It May Have Already Begun (3)
A ship, strangely enough, did not sink all that easily.
Beneath a vessel, there were compartments stacked from one level to the next. So even if a hole was blasted through the bottom and the hull tilted and twisted, it usually took time before the whole ship disappeared beneath the water.
That was common sense.
But—
RUMBLE!
Right now, that common sense was shattering before their eyes.
No one could tell exactly where or how the attack had struck, but the massive ship was being dragged beneath the surface in an instant.
The sight of black water swallowing the vessel whole was enough to plant terror in everyone watching.
"Th-the ship…."
If someone had simply attacked them instead, they might not have been quite so shaken. But to men unaccustomed to naval warfare, the idea that the ship itself was being attacked first was a shocking absurdity.
Someone finally came to their senses only when, with a thunderous crash, a second ship pitched sideways and began to capsize.
"S-stop it! Damn it, stop it already!"
The cry that rang out was closer to a scream than a shout. Those who had barely recovered their wits looked desperately toward the ship.
Yes. They had to stop it. If they let this continue, every ship would sink.
But how?
How were they supposed to stop an attack that came from somewhere they could not even see, an attack that dragged ships under the water?
"Jump in! The Water Bandits are attacking from below the surface!"
There was always someone quick to judge the situation. Such people would often point the way for the slower-minded. At the clear answer, the others rushed toward the water without needing to think twice.
Those who used light-footed movement arts hurled themselves into the river and struck the surface like cannonballs, sending huge sprays of water skyward again and again.
If someone had been able to watch the scene at leisure, they might have applauded and called it magnificent. Unfortunately, not a single person had that luxury.
RUMBLE!
And then, with another deafening crash, yet another ship tilted and was swallowed down in a froth of white water.
"You bastards!"
Yeop Sang of the Changgung-geomdae roared as he hurled himself into the water.
SPLASH!
The moment he plunged in, a violent shock ran through his body. He had entered too fast, and the force of breaking through the surface hit hard.
What truly horrified him, however, was something else entirely.
He could see nothing before his eyes.
An endless blackness.
The river at night was far darker than he had imagined.
Even his martial-trained eyesight could not make out a thing in the heavy, suffocating darkness. The instant he faced that void, a shiver ran down his spine. It was a fear far harder to overcome than he had expected.
But for better or worse, Yeop Sang was given no time to savor that fear.
Thud!
The instant something stabbed coldly into his chest and lower abdomen, fear became a luxury he could not afford.
Yeop Sang's mouth flew open. Black water rushed in relentlessly, filling his stomach and lungs through the gape.
"Glglgl…."
Bubbles spilled from his open mouth. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the long implements lodged in his chest and belly: the harpoons of the Water Bandits.
"Glk…."
But that was all.
His field of vision, which had only just begun to grasp their outline, was once again swallowed by darkness.
Deep, deep darkness.
The darkness of death.
Yeop Sang's motionless body drifted upward, slowly rising to the surface as if it were merely floating. Not only him, but several others who had rushed into the water in haste rose together as corpses.
If it had not been underwater… no, even if it had been underwater, if it had not been night, this would never have happened.
But the river swallowed in darkness was harsher on them than they could ever have imagined.
In a place where they could not see, could not feel, and could not breathe, everything they had learned was meaningless. Those who had not taken the time to choose a battlefield favorable to them in their panic paid the price in full.
"Soa! Namgung So!"
"Aaaagh!"
Watching the corpses rise, the swordsmen of the Namgung Family screamed themselves hoarse.
And then, at that exact moment—
CRASH!
As if determined to tear away every last shred of hope, yet another ship began to sink. The blood drained from the faces of the Namgung swordsmen.
Again….
Now there was only one ship still afloat on the violently churning water.
If they lost that one too, they would lose all means of escaping this island.
They knew they had to stop it, but their feet would not move. Who in their right mind would leap in when those who had already done so were surfacing as corpses in the blink of an eye?
"Move aside! I'm going!"
Then a voice thick with fury rang out behind them, and one man shot toward the water without the slightest hesitation.
"Gasp!"
"Y-young Master!"
"It's too dangerous!"
Seeing Namgung Do-wi's back as he dove toward the river, the Namgung swordsmen shouted in alarm. But he was already in the air, like a falcon diving on fish below the current.
With a spray of water, Namgung Do-wi vanished from sight at once.
Watching the family heir throw his life aside and hurl himself into the water, the swordsmen's eyes burned red.
"Protect the Young Master!"
"We must protect the ship and the Young Master both!"
"There is no fear in the name of Namgung! Go!"
The swordsmen guarding the riverbank, along with the Namgung disciples who had arrived late, all rallied with newfound courage and rushed after Namgung Do-wi, ashamed of their momentary hesitation.
At least, until a desperate scream cut through the night behind them.
"Not thereee!"
The men who had charged the water jolted and turned back in surprise.
By then, Namgung Myeong had rushed over, his face pale as paper, and was screaming at the top of his lungs.
"The ship is not it! The dock! Protect the dock! We have to protect the landing!"
"What?"
"The dock! Didn't I say the dock? We must protect the dock before the ship…."
BOOOOOOM!
At that moment, a massive explosion erupted, and a towering pillar of water surged up to wrap itself around the long dock built along the riverbank. Unable to withstand the force, the wooden structure shattered into pieces and flew up over the river like fireworks.
CRASH!
"Ah…."
Namgung Myeong's face went white, as though he had seen a ghost.
He clearly saw the pillar of water swallowing the White Thunder Cannon stationed on the dock.
"No…."
His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed where he stood.
BOOM!
At the same time, the very ship they had tried to defend to the end finally burst apart and sank beneath the water with a final explosion.
Namgung Myeong stared blankly at the scene, as if his spirit had fled from him entirely.
The absurdly long dock, and the White Thunder Cannons mounted there.
These were the heart of Maehwado's defense. The dock gave them ground to stand on and swing their swords, letting them narrow the distance to the shore and cling to survival by a thread.
And the White Thunder Cannons were the only line of defense that could keep ships from reaching that lifeline.
But now they had lost both the ground they fought on and the weapons that kept the enemy's ships away. They had even lost the vessels that were supposed to serve as their own feet.
W-wait… weapons?
Namgung Myeong snapped his head around in panic.
Sure enough, the Namgung warriors were rushing toward him after hearing the commotion.
"N-no! Don't come!"
Namgung Myeong screamed until his throat felt torn apart.
"Hold your positions, damn it! You fools! You idiots! The White Thunder Cannons stationed around the island must be protected! Go back! Right now, go baaaack!"
The cry was almost tragic in its desperation.
But it was too late. The warriors who had turned around in panic after hearing him found only completely wrecked gun emplacements and White Thunder Cannons that seemed to have vanished as though they had never existed.
"T-this…."
Everywhere else was the same.
The Water Bandits had waited until they heard the chaos, then leapt out of the water in an instant, smashed the artillery positions, and disappeared again just as smoothly.
Darkness and water.
Against those who could use both as they pleased, the Namgung Family's famed swordsmanship was useless. What good was a sword when you could not even face your opponent?
Those who returned to Namgung Myeong with hearts torn apart sank to their knees where they stood.
"Y-young Master. The gun emplacements have been destroyed."
"We failed to protect them."
"…."
Splash. Splash.
Namgung Do-wi, who had emerged from the water, looked at the state of the island and grit his teeth, his face also grave.
"…We were too late."
With disaster following disaster, Namgung Myeong looked across the island in dazed disbelief.
Everything that must never have been lost had been lost. The dock, the ships, the White Thunder Cannons.
This place could no longer be called Maehwado.
Without the weapons to resist the Water Bandits and without the dock that had restricted their movement, Maehwado was nothing more than a giant jar floating in the middle of the river. And now the Namgung Family had become the rats trapped inside it.
They had been outplayed. Completely.
Had they been careless in their vigilance? No.
Had they underestimated the enemy? Not that either.
The reason they had been brought so thoroughly to ruin was that they had never truly understood that this was an island in the middle of a river. They had failed to realize that no matter how fierce a lion might be, it would become crocodile food the moment darkness fell over the water.
"You've been taken apart rather nicely."
At the booming voice from behind him, Namgung Myeong clenched his jaw.
"F-Family Head."
As he turned, his eyes trembled violently.
Namgung Hwang strode toward them and casually threw something he had been holding in his hand.
Three heads.
The heads of Water Bandits rolled across the ground.
"Insects."
Namgung Myeong dropped to his knees and lowered his head nearly to the earth.
"Family Head! This one was incompetent and botched the matter. Please, punish me."
"Idiot!"
Seeing that, Namgung Hwang barked in fury.
"Lift your head! The men of the Namgung Family never bow their heads so easily!"
"F-Family Head…."
"What is the problem? Ships? Cannons? The dock? What does it matter if we lost such things?"
"…."
"Even if we have lost our footing, those bastards cannot set one foot on this island! Not a single Water Bandit will be allowed onto the land I defend, Namgung Hwang, the Emperor Sword."
Namgung Hwang drew his sword in a fierce motion and shouted,
"Water Bandits or Black Dragon King, it makes no difference! We only need to show those fish-brained fools that they can never hope to stand against the Namgung Family's sword! Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
At that thunderous cry, the Namgung swordsmen answered with renewed courage.
Namgung Hwang, who had instantly restored their collapsing morale, turned his hard face toward the black water.
...This is bad.
He had blustered enough to stop morale from dropping any further, but he was not foolish enough to think the situation wasn't dire.
Damn it.
Things were beginning to sweep in a direction he did not want.
Like a little boat being sucked into a whirlpool in the middle of the river.