Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: White Pig (2)
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'This is a headache.'
Cheol Woo, who had boldly plunged into the river current, furrowed his brow.
The water was flowing much faster than it had appeared from the deck after days of rain, and visibility was poor. With all sorts of debris floating around, it was hard even to keep his eyes open.
Still, he wasn't too worried. The conditions were the same for his opponents, after all.
'Here they come.'
He sensed a foreign presence approaching from the boat. It was riding the current downstream at a considerable speed.
Cheol Woo forced his eyes open as wide as he could without straining them, and the blurry shapes of his enemies came into view.
'One, two, three...'
There were more of them than expected.
The White Pig Band, which had been advancing without hesitation, froze upon spotting Cheol Woo. They clearly hadn't imagined anyone lying in wait for them in the water.
Their surprise quickly turned to sneers.
On land, that might be one thing, but in the water, they were confident they wouldn't lose to anyone.
When the White Pig Band's second-in-command, Bu Seolgon, pointed at Cheol Woo, eight of his underlings surged forward from behind and fanned out around him like wings. They all leveled their weapons at Cheol Woo in unison.
They were crossbows modified for ease of use in water.
Eight bolts sliced through the water toward Cheol Woo.
They were laughably slow compared to arrows in the air, with a much shorter range, but their target was equally sluggish. Range wasn't an issue at all.
The White Pig Band was convinced the bolts would pierce straight through Cheol Woo's body in one go.
Cheol Woo gazed scornfully at the arrows charging toward him and extended his hand.
Even with the water's powerful resistance, his movements were unhindered.
Compared to his usual speed, it was like a caterpillar crawling, but considering he was underwater, it was jaw-droppingly fast.
As six of the eight bolts landed in his grasp, astonishment spread across the faces of the shooters—and even those who had been watching leisurely. What shocked them more was that the remaining two bolts, which had slipped his grasp, struck his body only to bounce off harmlessly.
'A master.'
Bu Seolgon felt chills at the sight of Cheol Woo effortlessly neutralizing his men's attack. Now he understood why the man had jumped into the river alone. He must have absolute confidence in his martial arts.
'But this isn't land!'
On solid ground, he might not match up, but in the water, Bu Seolgon was certain he wouldn't lose.
With a flick of his fingers, Bu Seolgon signaled, and the halted assault resumed in an instant.
The crossbowmen fired bolt after bolt in rapid succession, while the rest swarmed in from all sides like a school of fish.
Facing the onslaught of arrows and enemies wielding daggers, Cheol Woo thought it might actually be fortunate that he'd jumped in instead of calling down his lightning.
He hurled the arrows he'd snatched.
Infused with the full might of Overlord Blood Victory Aura, the arrows flew twice as fast as those from the crossbows. Their power was incomparable, knocking aside incoming bolts with ease and still retaining their momentum.
No sooner had he released them than he sensed killing intent from below.
The moment he spotted the glinting dagger at his feet, Cheol Woo drew his knees toward his chest.
As his body curled and twisted into a spin, he naturally came face-to-face with the attacking enemy.
Grinning at the startled foe, Cheol Woo reached out.
His pot-lid-sized hand seized the face of the man charging blindly with his dagger.
Killing intent flared from above his head, so he straightened up and swiftly executed Thousand-Pound Drop.
Using the sudden sink of his body, he wrapped his legs around the neck of another enemy approaching from below.
The heads of the man gripped in his hand and the one snared by his legs exploded and snapped simultaneously.
Crunch!
It wasn't the sound but the eerie vibration transmitted through the water that halted the White Pig Band's attack in its tracks.
Cheol Woo moved toward the nearest enemy.
The panicked foe swam desperately to escape, but Cheol Woo was just a bit faster.
Successfully grabbing the man's ankle, Cheol Woo poured internal energy into it. The thrashing bandit spat blood from his mouth and went limp.
The White Pig Band's eyes filled with dismay at losing three comrades in the blink of an eye.
Cheol Woo scanned his surroundings with an arrogant expression, a sinister smile spreading across his face—until a sudden question arose.
He'd infused the arrows with internal energy before hurling them, expecting to take out at least three or four. Yet only one enemy had fallen. Even accounting for the water, it was ridiculous.
His aim had been dead-on. The minimal damage meant the enemies had blocked or dodged the arrows.
'Not bad.'
Cheol Woo regarded the regrouping White Pig Band in a new light.
Not a single one was gasping for breath despite their rapid movements. Their motions were fluid, and in terms of pure speed, some seemed even more adept than him.
'They've properly mastered water combat techniques.'
His thoughts didn't linger. The scattered archers were already unleashing another volley of arrows.
'Tch, they know full well arrows won't work on me.'
They weren't even closing in properly.
Cheol Woo couldn't hide his disappointment as he watched the arrows veer away to avoid him. His admiration from moments ago vanished into thin air.
'If you're not coming to me, I'll go to you.'
His interest waned. No curiosity remained. He just wanted to finish them off quickly and climb back aboard.
That was when he set his sights on a target and moved.
Something snagged his toes.
Something brushed his wrist.
'What the—?'
Before the question could fully form, sharp pressure clamped down on his face, neck, torso, and limbs.
He raised his restricted arm to see what was binding him.
So thin and transparent that it was impossible to detect unless viewed up close, multiple layers of thread were wound around his arm.
'When did they...? Ah, the arrows!'
Only then did he recall the arrows they'd been firing haphazardly. Threads must have been tied to them. But the sheer volume wrapped around his body was immense. Perhaps it was a trap prepared even before the arrows flew.
'I've been had.'
Cheol Woo gave a wry smile. Of course, it didn't scare him. He was far too strong to be caught by something like this.
The moment he tried to circulate his internal energy to prove thread couldn't harm him, an unidentified presence closed in. Its speed was absurdly fast. And its size enormous.
The bizarre creature narrowed the distance in an instant.
Recognizing it as a dolphin native to the Yangtze, Cheol Woo stared blankly. He'd heard from the sailors about dolphins inhabiting only this river, but seeing one up close was still shocking.
Even more astonishing was Bu Seolgon clinging to its back.
Gripping the dolphin's fin with one hand and a dagger the length of a foot with the other, Bu Seolgon charged with killing intent for a one-strike kill.
A sense of crisis hit him.
The dagger itself was no threat. His body could withstand even a skilled master's strike without a scratch.
The problem was the dolphin.
Fighting one underwater with restricted movement wasn't easy.
Even with free rein to move, a human battling a dolphin in water was absurd to begin with.
No matter how fast Cheol Woo was, he couldn't compare to a dolphin. Moreover, the creature's massive bulk made it a weapon in itself.
His decision was swift.
Sensing the danger, Cheol Woo immediately unleashed Thousand-Pound Drop.
Though threads bound his entire body and over a dozen men pulled to restrain him, the gap in their internal energy was too vast from the start.
Cheol Woo's body sank to the riverbed without resistance.
The dolphin shot past, its snout brushing his hair as it surged upward.
Having narrowly escaped by a hair's breadth, Cheol Woo continued sinking. The panicked White Pig Band yanked desperately on the threads, but they couldn't control him. Instead, Cheol Woo planted his feet on the bottom, spun his body, and applied sudden force, yanking most of his foes toward him violently.
Circulating Overlord Blood Victory Aura, Cheol Woo snapped the threads binding him in one go. Then he slowly stepped forward with his left foot.
Boom!
A heavy vibration erupted, kicking up a cloud of silt from the riverbed.
Rumble!
The water churned around Cheol Woo.
The White Pig Band's faces twisted in terror at the vibration pulsing through the water. They swam frantically to put as much distance as possible between them and him.
Cheol Woo thrust his left hand toward the approaching dolphin and his right toward the fleeing bandits.
Overlord Sixteen Punches—in a single motion, unleashing sixteen strikes.
Not as graceful as on land, but each punch whipped up a ferocious vortex.
The White Pig Band thrashed desperately to evade the pursuing whirlpools, but to no avail.
Not a single one escaped; every last member was caught in the vortices and crushed by the force within, their breaths snuffed out.
Bu Seolgon, riding the dolphin, was no exception.
The dolphin endured the vortex's impact through its sheer size and strength, staggering but recovering. But Bu Seolgon, clinging to its back, was gone by then.
Having ended the fight in one breath, Cheol Woo floated up contentedly with his handiwork. But he'd made the mistake of underestimating a beast's vengeance for its lost master.
The moment he sensed something and whipped his head around, a massive impact slammed into his body. Water poured into his unwittingly opened mouth.
As the stunned Cheol Woo struggled to regain his wits from the sudden blow, the dolphin that had vanished ahead charged back ferociously.
'You bastard, I'm not falling for that twice.'
Grinding his teeth, Cheol Woo punched toward the dolphin. But the beast, already battered by his fists, nimbly twisted away.
Cheol Woo shot out his arm and hooked the passing dolphin's fin—his fingers piercing it like a claw.
The dolphin writhed in agony, trying to shake him off, but Cheol Woo twisted harder and clambered onto its body.
'Heh heh heh! Die!'
With a grotesque laugh, Cheol Woo hammered his fists into the dolphin's head.
Emitting bizarre shrieks, the dolphin thrashed wildly before finally rocketing toward the surface at tremendous speed.
Since Cheol Woo had dived into the water, the mood aboard the ship had been grim.
The Yangtze Waterway Alliance had formed a blockade from all sides and held position, but most people had already sensed trouble upon seeing the White Pig Band leap from their boats.
"They have no intention of accepting our surrender."
Sima Geon approached Dam Po and said.
"Wh-what should we do?"
Having learned through the experienced captain what the Yangtze Waterway Alliance was attempting, Dam Po trembled pitifully.
"I told you earlier. We'll handle the fighting, so hide in the cabin."
"R-right, understood."
Confirming the Yangtze Waterway Alliance had no interest in surrender, Dam Po didn't argue.
"Captain, keep the boat pressed as close as possible, like I said."
"With their ships blocking the way like that, I'm not sure it's possible."
The captain eyed Dam Po discontentedly. He seemed to blame Dam Po for stubbornly ignoring Sima Geon's advice, blocking their escape.
"No need to worry about that. Just do your best to maneuver."
"Got it. I'll try my utmost. So..."
The captain trailed off and turned away. He then shouted at those still on deck to hurry to the cabins.
As the captain urged the crew along...
Something burst from the surface in a massive spray.
It was the dolphin.
Shattering the water in one explosive leap, it soared nearly to the deck level. But the people gaped not at the dolphin, but at Cheol Woo clinging to its back.
"Kuhahaha!"
His maniacal laughter, like a declaration of victory, shook the Yangtze as the dolphin, summoning its final strength to breach the surface, plummeted back down powerlessly.