Chapter 97
Chapter 97
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Drawing the Big Picture (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Poyang Lake!”
Man Chu shouted, pointing toward the vast expanse of water that stretched out like the sea.
“They call it the greatest in the world, but damn, it really is ridiculously wide.”
Cheol Woo stuck out his tongue at the endless horizon.
“Is it wider than Dongting Lake? I saw it once before when we shook off the Heavenly Demon Cult's pursuit, and it felt just as huge.”
Noe Jeon, who had laid eyes on Dongting Lake firsthand, asked with an expression that couldn't quite grasp its scale.
“How should I know? People say Poyang Lake is the biggest in the world, so I just go with that. What about you?”
Cheol Woo turned to Man Chu.
“No idea. Like you said, brother, that's just what people say.”
“So Dongting Lake might be bigger, then.”
Having seen it alone, Noe Jeon showed a pointless swell of pride.
“Maybe.”
“I vote for Dongting Lake being wider.”
“Not really curious.”
Cheol Woo replied with a disinterested face.
“So, where's this Hongik Stronghold?”
Sima Geon asked.
“I heard it's on the north side of Poyang Lake. We can count on some help along the way.”
“Let's hurry.”
“Yes.”
Sima Geon's group arrived at Poyang Lake but rode on for another half day before finally spotting the Hongik Stronghold right before them.
The stronghold jutted out from the land into the lake like a turtle's neck and head, earning it the name Turtle Head.
At the center of Turtle Head stood the Hongik Stronghold, accessible only via a narrow path along sheer cliffs. Spiral staircases carved into the cliffs connected densely to a dock right at the lake's edge.
“That's the only way into the Hongik Stronghold.”
Wang Chuk, who was aiding Sima Geon's group at Man Chu's request, pointed to the precarious path stretching out.
Wang Chuk was a disciple of the Beggars' Sect who had come to Jingde Town with Man Chu two years earlier after joining in Hangzhou. He had been a promising talent alongside Man Chu even back then.
“What's the situation with those bastards?”
Wang Chuk gave an awkward smile at Man Chu's question.
“I only just got here myself. If word had come a bit sooner, I could've prepared, but time was too tight.”
“No sect brothers around?”
“None. Those thugs have been causing so much havoc.”
Having suffered plenty, Wang Chuk jabbed his chin toward the stronghold, fury rising in his eyes.
“You'll get to see them pay the price today.”
Man Chu flashed a meaningful smile and looked at Cheol Woo with eyes full of trust.
“Right?”
At Man Chu's question, Cheol Woo smirked and nodded.
“Heh heh heh! We can count 'em all as dead. Boss, we hittin' 'em straight away?”
“Yeah.”
Sima Geon watched the bandits scurrying to and fro in numbers, then turned his head with a curt reply.
“Not changing your mind?”
“No.”
Man Chu nodded firmly, his face tense with anticipation of real combat experience.
“If the fight gets fierce, I might not be able to watch over you. Could get dangerous.”
“I'm fine. Never planned to just tag along under your protection.”
Man Chu declared his bold resolve. But Sima Geon had already quietly asked Noe Jeon to keep an eye on him.
“Brother Wang, wait here. It won't take long.”
“Huh? No, I should...”
“No. You've helped more than enough already. From here on, it's our fight.”
Sima Geon politely declined Wang Chuk's assistance.
“Understood. I'll do that.”
Receiving a nod from Man Chu, Wang Chuk didn't press the issue.
“Thank you.”
Sima Geon gave a light nod toward Wang Chuk and strode forward.
“Who goes there?”
Before he had taken a few steps, a voice thick with suspicion rang out.
Three men in shabby clothes, each carrying a strangely curved sword, blocked their path.
“You Hongik thugs?”
Cheol Woo asked. They were about a hundred paces from the stronghold, and though the bandits seemed thick in numbers, he held off from a direct charge just in case.
The response to Cheol Woo's question was the sudden blare of a warning horn.
Screeeeech!
At the shrill blast, Noe Jeon moved like lightning and sliced off the arm of the man blowing the horn.
“What the hell, these bastards. Sounding the alarm right off the bat.”
Irritated, Cheol Woo spun and punched toward the fleeing men. With sharp cries, they tumbled to the ground, twitching a few times before going still.
In the meantime, horns began blaring from all directions.
“Weird. It's like they knew we were coming.”
Cheol Woo tilted his head, sensing the scouts' coordinated movements.
“Doesn't matter.”
Sima Geon gave a cold smile at the scouts frantically blowing horns as they retreated.
“They're here.”
Yu Wol burst into the room, his face rigid.
“Already? Didn't you say tomorrow at the earliest?”
Yu Han, just rousing from his afternoon nap, couldn't hide his fluster.
“We have to hurry. Now!”
Yu Wol shouted urgently.
“Ah, got it.”
Finally grasping the urgency, Yu Han hastily donned his clothes.
“Preparations done?”
“Most of the valuables are on the ship, but the stuff in the south warehouse isn't.”
“Can't take that too, huh?”
Reading the greed in Yu Han's eyes, Yu Wol sighed.
“Even escaping will be tough. Trying to grab that too will get us caught.”
“Fine. Let's go.”
Under Yu Wol's sharp command, Yu Han finally shelved his greed.
As they exited the room, Yu Wol's trusted subordinates waited.
“Jin Wu Gi.”
“Yes, Deputy Leader.”
“Escort the Chief to the Black Dragon Ship.”
“Understood.”
At Jin Wu Gi's signal, the subordinates surrounded Yu Han.
“You not coming?”
Yu Han asked Yu Wol.
“Need to check the situation first. Someone has to hold them off while you escape.”
“No need for you to step up. Aren't there still fools talking about fighting them? Let those idiots handle it.”
“They're not the type to hold even if they want to.”
“Then you? Got confidence to stop 'em?”
“No. Just buying time...”
“If it's just time, those fools can manage. Come with me.”
As Yu Wol hesitated, Yu Han grabbed his arm and pleaded earnestly.
“This isn't an order from your chief. It's a father's request.”
Unlike his usual gruff demeanor, Yu Han's concern touched Yu Wol, dissolving the distance he had felt as an adopted son in an instant.
“Yes, Chief. I'll escort you.”
Yu Wol nodded firmly and stepped out with purpose.
'You can't die here. You've got so much to do for your little brother.'
Thinking of his late-in-life son, now building strength at the Yangtze Water Alliance headquarters, a sly smile crept across Yu Han's lips.
“Fire!”
By the time Sima Geon's group reached the entrance to the Hongik Stronghold, the bandits already in formation loosed a volley of arrows.
Dozens of arrows flew at once, but they didn't halt the group's advance. The moment they were fired, Noe Jeon dashed forward and batted them all aside.
As Noe Jeon charged ahead with a scornful look, several times more arrows than before rained down.
Startled by the sheer volume, Noe Jeon sneered at their weak power and swung his sword freely.
“Now! Loose!”
At the low shout, arrows whistled through the air at least three or four times faster than before, mixed in among the horde.
Not many, but hard to spot amid the swarm.
“Watch out.”
Cheol Woo warned.
His pride stung, Noe Jeon scowled and swung faster. Not a single arrow aimed at the group slipped past his blade.
“Hah!”
With a mighty shout, Noe Jeon leaped forward.
Every flash of his sword as he closed the gap drew screams from the bandits.
Not one of the twenty-odd bandits could block his blade, and they all fell in mere breaths.
“Isn't this a repeating crossbow? Since when do bandits use these?”
Cheol Woo nudged a rolling repeating crossbow with his foot, looking baffled.
“Well, well. And this is a proper crossbow.”
Cheol Woo picked up the crossbow beside it and handed it to Sima Geon.
“Not bad. They used weak repeating shots to blind us, then hid the heavy hitters to go for the kill.”
Sima Geon drew and released the string a few times. It had impressive tension.
“In tight quarters like this, it'd be hard to block.”
Cheol Woo crushed another repeating crossbow underfoot and cracked his knuckles while eyeing Noe Jeon, who scanned for more foes.
“Anyway, gatekeepers are down. Time for the real ones to show.”
As if on cue, bandits poured out from where the narrow path ended at the stronghold—easily over a hundred.
“What kind of bandits have this many?”
As Cheol Woo eyed them like insects, Noe Jeon moved.
“I'm going first.”
With those brief words, Noe Jeon plunged into the enemy ranks alone.
“That punk. Boss, didn't you tell Noe Jeon to protect the kid?”
Cheol Woo glanced at Man Chu, who stared blankly at Noe Jeon's exploits, and asked.
“I did. But things are what they are, so you'll have to cover instead.”
“Me? You're kidding.”
Cheol Woo shook his head in horror, but Sima Geon was already following Noe Jeon without a word.
“Die!”
Outer hall leader Jo Gon, whose bulk rivaled Cheol Woo's, swung a nangabong as thick as a child's torso.
“Fool.”
Noe Jeon dodged with a casual sway and sneered. Jo Gon swung wildly in rage, but before it connected, a red line appeared on his neck.
“Wha...? Uh...”
Jo Gon couldn't comprehend what happened.
His nangabong, which could shatter skulls, halted mid-swing, his limbs froze, and darkness followed.
Noe Jeon planted a foot on Jo Gon's log-like corpse and shouted at the hesitating bandits.
“Next.”
But none replied. None moved.
“Idiots...”
Noe Jeon's taunt cut short. All the bandits in his sight collapsed like felled rice stalks, their heads rolling haphazardly nearby.
“Ha.”
A hollow sigh escaped Noe Jeon.
The only one who could behead over a dozen bandits without him noticing was one person.
Confirming Sima Geon brushing past him, Noe Jeon quietly sheathed his sword.
Once Sima Geon got serious, hanging around would just get in the way.