Were You Hoping for Something? (2)
Namgung Hwang’s eyelids twitched.
He was trying as hard as he could not to show what he felt, but the words he’d just heard were enough to make that impossible.
“No food?”
“...Yes, Family Head.”
For a moment, Namgung Hwang gave a dry laugh. He was less angry now than utterly bewildered.
“This was a place where merchants traveling the Yangtze stayed. Of course there should be grain stored here.”
“...It seems Mount Hua withdrew and took everything with them.”
“...”
“And when the Water Bandit Sect took control of the island again, they apparently didn’t bring much grain with them either.”
Namgung Myeong shut his eyes tightly, then spoke again.
“I’m sorry, Family Head. I should have paid closer attention to matters like this...”
“I was the one who ordered Maehwado occupied. If anyone’s at fault, it’s me. You’ve got no reason to be bowing your head!”
Namgung Hwang cut him off and leaned back in his chair.
Food, huh...
On the face of it, it wasn’t such a huge problem. For ordinary soldiers, running out of food could decide the outcome of a war, but these men were martial artists. Going half a month without eating would not be a problem in itself.
But that’s only true under normal circumstances.
Everyone here was already exhausted beyond measure. The Water Bandit Sect’s constant raids were gnawing away at their strength and spirit with every passing moment.
And now they couldn’t even eat properly?
Then it’ll only get harder.
Each individual problem was truly insignificant.
The raids that never stopped.
The artillery shells falling from far away.
The lack of food.
The crushing pressure of not knowing how to get off the island.
Even the fear that, if enemy reinforcements arrived sooner, they might be forced to gamble their lives in a battle already stacked against them.
Each one on its own wasn’t that much. But piled together, they felt like several hundred pounds of iron bars had been dropped onto their shoulders.
Mud.
This place was mud—a swamp that sucked you deeper the harder you struggled to get free.
Namgung Hwang rubbed at his brow.
In a battlefield where both sides fought with everything they had, there were few who could match Namgung Hwang’s prowess. That was a fact everyone acknowledged, not just the Namgung Family.
But sword energies that pierced the heavens and blade auras that split rivers meant nothing in a situation like this.
“This is a river, isn’t it? If we’re short on food, we should be able to replenish it.”
“...We already checked. But those water bandits did something, because there aren’t any fish around the island.”
That was when Namgung Do-wi, who had been listening quietly to the exchange, spoke up.
“Even if we can catch fish, I don’t think we should eat them.”
“...Why not?”
“They’re bandits of the river, and they know the water better than we do. We don’t know what kind of tricks they might have played. If there’s something we should be careful about, then we should be careful.”
Namgung Hwang nodded heavily.
It might have been excessive caution. But the Namgung Family had already ended up in this situation because they had failed to be excessively cautious.
“What about water? Do we have enough drinking water?”
Namgung Myeong nodded.
“Even Tang Family poison experts couldn’t contaminate the Yangtze while it’s flowing like this. So I don’t think that’s something we need to worry about.”
“A blessing, if nothing else.”
Namgung Hwang muttered as he wiped his dry face. A weariness that was rarely seen in him clung heavily to his features.
It’s still fine. Still.
It felt as though someone were stabbing his stomach with needles, but he could still endure. He just couldn’t keep doing this forever.
“How much longer until reinforcements arrive?”
“...They should be hurrying as fast as they can.”
“They’d better be.”
Namgung Hwang leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.
Look at us.
They had charged in so boldly, only to end up surrounded and slowly withering away. And now they were reduced to waiting for Shaolin’s rescue...
“Damn it.”
When Namgung Do-wi saw the low curse slip from his lips, he let out a long sigh.
Is this really the right response?
The question rose in his mind.
It wasn’t that he doubted Namgung Myeong or Namgung Hwang’s judgment. But in the end, no matter how he looked at it, they were losing the power to strike back even as they held out.
If they went on like this a few more days, all they would be able to do was endure.
What would he have done?
At that moment, the one who came to Namgung Do-wi’s mind was none other than the Mount Hua Sword Hero, Chung Myung.
Rationally, he knew there was no other choice but to grit his teeth and endure. But his heart kept insisting that if the people here had been Mount Hua disciples instead of Namgung Family members, they would never have settled for that answer.
If it were the Mount Hua Sword Hero...
Just then—
Bang!
Namgung Hwang, who had been sitting in his chair, shot to his feet like lightning and drew the sword at his waist in a single motion.
“Intruders!”
Without delay, he swung his blade. White sword energy burst forth and tore straight through the roof of the hall.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!
The terrifying explosion shook the air, and the ruined roof was blown away in one piece.
Bang! Kwang! Kwaang!
Kwaaaaaang!
Explosions followed in rapid succession.
The first had been caused by Namgung Hwang’s sword energy, but the ones that came after had nothing to do with it.
It was shelling.
Artillery fire had begun raining down on the center of the island, all the way to where they stood.
Kwaaaang! Kwaaaaaang!
One hall after another was blown apart. Debris scattered in every direction.
“Aaaagh!”
“W-what the hell? Why is it hitting here?!”
Kwaaaaaang!
The shouts and screams of the panicked blended with the sounds of shells striking their targets.
“Block it! Cut the shells down!”
Namgung Hwang let loose a thunderous roar and launched himself into the air. The shells flying overhead were split apart and shattered one after another by his blade.
Once the elders understood what was happening, they quickly followed Namgung Hwang and began fending off the bombardment.
Once the Family Head and the elders stepped forward, stopping the artillery became far less difficult.
But after they finally blocked every shell, what they were left staring at was a scene that could only be called a disaster.
The halls were shattered, and those struck by the bombardment lay injured and groaning.
Some who had been trapped beneath collapsed buildings finally managed to crawl out, only to scream in fury, while those treating the wounded shouted desperately as they searched for supplies they urgently needed.
Grit.
Namgung Hwang clenched his teeth hard enough that they looked ready to snap.
“...What were the guards doing while the ships got this close to the island?”
“N-no, Family Head.”
“What?”
Namgung Myeong said with a bloodless face, “The... the ships are staying in position.”
Namgung Hwang turned his head at that. Sure enough, the ships were still floating on the dark river. Their distance looked no different from the daylight hours.
“...Then what the hell is this barrage?”
“It looks like... White Thunder Cannons.”
“...White Thunder Cannons?”
Namgung Myeong bit his lip and nodded.
“Their range is three times that of ordinary artillery. It seems they’ve begun using the White Thunder Cannons they took from the island in earnest.”
Crack.
Namgung Hwang clenched his fist so tightly it seemed his hand might split open.
“Black Dragon King! You son of a bitch!”
The blood rushed to his head so violently that he felt he might faint. The surging rage was almost more than he could bear. It wasn’t anger at being attacked. What he couldn’t endure was being attacked openly and not being able to do a damn thing about it.
“Then...”
Namgung Do-wi spoke in a low voice.
“That means they can keep firing from a distance like this.”
“...Cannons and gunpowder are limited. They can’t keep it up forever.”
“Then all they have to do is resupply, don’t they?”
“...”
Even Namgung Myeong had no answer to that. He was trying his best to look at the situation positively, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a single angle from which it could be interpreted favorably.
“Family Head.”
Namgung Do-wi looked at Namgung Hwang as though he had made up his mind.
“If this continues, we’ll all be wiped out.”
“...Do-wi.”
“We can’t keep waiting endlessly for reinforcements whose arrival we don’t even know. We’ve already lost the halls. The bombardment will keep coming. If we keep ourselves tense and on edge just to brace for every shell that falls, we won’t even last three days before we’re completely drained.”
Namgung Myeong immediately moved to object.
“Three days is more than enough time for Shaolin to arrive!”
“Yes, maybe. But what if the Water Bandit Sect launches an attack before then?”
“...”
Namgung Myeong fell silent.
Being able to survive for three days did not mean they could preserve their current strength for three days. And where was the guarantee that Shaolin would actually arrive within that time?
“Family Head. This won’t do.”
Namgung Hwang fixed Namgung Do-wi with burning eyes.
“Then what? What are you saying we should do?”
“What you said before.”
“Hm?”
Namgung Do-wi turned his head and looked out toward the river.
“You said that if it were just you, Family Head, you could break through that encirclement and reach the river. Was that true?”
Namgung Hwang’s face twisted.
“Of course it’s true. But didn’t I already tell you? Even if I break through and reach the shore, nothing changes. In fact, it only puts this place in greater danger...”
“Not the shore.”
“Hm?”
Namgung Hwang frowned, not understanding him at first. But Namgung Myeong’s eyes suddenly widened as though he had realized exactly what Namgung Do-wi meant.
“N-no way?”
“Yes.”
At Namgung Myeong’s reaction, Namgung Do-wi turned his gaze toward the river. At the far end of that line of sight stood a massive ship, half-swallowed by the dark.
A giant vessel painted in such oppressive black it seemed to devour the light around it.
“The Black Dragon Ship...”
A groan escaped Namgung Myeong’s mouth. Namgung Do-wi said firmly,
“If the Family Head leaves the island, then there’ll be no one left here who can face the Black Dragon King.”
“...”
“Then there’s only one answer.”
His voice sharpened like a blade.
“We strike the Black Dragon King instead. If we can cross the river, attack the Black Dragon Ship, and cut off the Black Dragon King’s head, then an encirclement like this won’t matter at all.”
Namgung Hwang’s eyes widened to their fullest.
“The Azure Sky knows no fear, and it never shrinks back. Rather than being beaten down and collapsing here, it would be right to gamble our lives and counterattack.”
“Do-wi...”
Namgung Do-wi’s blade-like gaze settled on the Black Dragon Ship.
If it were him, he would have done exactly this.
Back during the Yangtze River tragedy, the Mount Hua Sword Hero Chung Myung had abandoned everything else and charged straight for Jang Il-so’s neck. He must have believed that the only way to resolve such an overwhelmingly unfavorable situation was to cut down the man at the center of all those schemes.
This was the same. If their enemy was the Water Bandit Sect, then the only option was to cut out the core of the Water Bandit Sect.
“I’ll assist Father. If we want to save everyone here, this is the only way. Family Head! Please, make the decision!”
Namgung Do-wi lowered his head toward Namgung Hwang.
Namgung Hwang stared at him for a long moment, then bit down hard on his lip.
“...Impossible.”
“Family Head!”
Namgung Do-wi looked up in shock. He had never imagined Namgung Hwang would reject the proposal.
“I am a martial artist. But before that, I am the head of the Namgung Family.”
“...”
“I cannot allow a plan that will certainly kill everyone if it fails.”
“But if we do nothing...”
“Endure it!”
“...”
“Shaolin will come. Once Shaolin arrives, I’ll tear those insect-like water bandits apart and chew on their flesh if I have to! Until then...”
Gritch.
Namgung Hwang clenched his teeth so hard his lip split, and red blood trickled down.
“Until then, we endure by any means necessary!”
“...Understood.”
Namgung Do-wi answered in a dark voice. The Family Head’s command was absolute law. Once he had made his decision, there could be no further objection.
But...
If it were him, he would definitely have thought the same way I do.
A deep, heavy sigh escaped him.