The Frozen Fleet
'Seolcheon? Nam Ga-il?'
It was a name he had never heard before.
The vice-leader's mind raced.
But nothing came to mind.
He scrutinized his opponent once more, but it changed nothing.
A face he had never seen.
Martial arts he had never witnessed.
Though this man had somehow slipped through the Demonic Cult's vast information network, one thing was absolutely certain.
"V-Vice-leader—"
Crack!
His subordinate's skull shattered, ending his life instantly.
Would it be an exaggeration to say it looked like crushing an ant?
Yet, that was exactly what it looked like.
With an attitude so relaxed he might as well have been taking a leisurely stroll,
He trampled the Ghost Spirit Squad warrior to death.
So casually, and so calmly.
'If only we could unleash our demonic arts...'
Even in the face of death, the Ghost Spirit Squad members did not use their demonic arts, nor did they reveal their demonic qi.
No, they couldn't.
It was because of the strict order he had given: even if they were crushed like worthless bugs, they must never leave any trace of the Demonic Cult behind.
Crunch!
Another subordinate met his end in that brutal manner.
Yet, not a shred of guilt or remorse showed in the vice-leader's eyes.
He merely continued to coldly assess the enemy's strength.
'He is at least a master at the peak of the Transformation Realm.'
The man's power was comparable to their leader, Ho Baek-seon.
Now, the overwhelming presence the intruder exuded made sense.
Only if he and the entire Ghost Spirit Squad cast off all restraints and fought with everything they had would they stand a chance.
'Who on earth is he?'
The vice-leader analyzed the situation and the battlefield once more.
Fortunately, there were clear clues that could help.
Whoosh!
The opponent's qi carried a fierce, biting cold that felt as if it could freeze one's very bones.
The thick frost coating the surrounding area of the sinking ships was proof enough.
'Martial arts that manipulate yin-cold energy. And since he called us Central Plains insects, he isn't from around here. In that case, his origin must be...'
The Outer Realms.
It was only logical to assume he was a master from beyond the borders of the Central Plains.
"Everyone, halt the battle!"
The moment he reached a conclusion, the vice-leader barked the order.
Infused with powerful inner energy, his voice echoed across the river, causing all the warriors to retreat and bring the clash to a sudden halt.
The mysterious adversary stopped as well.
"Ho. So you are the leader of these insects."
The man who called himself Nam Ga-il did not press the attack. Instead, he stood on the half-destroyed deck of the fourth ship, looking down at the vice-leader.
Needless to say, the first three ships had already sunk.
"Are you an esteemed elder of the North Sea Ice Palace?"
"The North Sea... A nostalgic name. But you are mistaken. I have long since forgotten that place."
The North Sea Ice Palace.
It was one of the most powerful factions among the Four Outer Palaces.
Teeming with masters of ice arts who absolutely obeyed the Palace Lord, it was a group that no faction in the Central Plains dared to treat lightly or underestimate.
"You say you are not from the North Sea Ice Palace?"
"You seem to be hard of hearing, so I shall repeat myself. I am the sole successor of Seolcheon."
Hearing him call himself the successor of this generation, it seemed Seolcheon was a sect passed down to only a single disciple.
"We have never heard of this 'Seolcheon'! What grudge do you hold to commit such atrocities against our merchant group?!"
At the vice-leader's protest, Nam Ga-il sneered.
"Of course a creature like you wouldn't know. How could a mere watchdog comprehend the sins of its master?"
'This bastard!'
The vice-leader ground his teeth at being dismissed as a mere watchdog.
But Nam Ga-il paid him no mind, his gaze remaining fiercely predatory.
"Your master, Oh Chu-baek—that wretched insect stole the supreme treasure of our Seolcheon."
A treasure?
He had committed such madness over a mere object?
The vice-leader wasn't the only one who found it absurd; the warriors of the Geumhwang Merchant Group let out hollow, incredulous chuckles.
"To make matters worse, he had the audacity to hide it for so long, mocking me and Seolcheon. How could I let this slide? He must pay the appropriate price."
"Ha! So sinking three of our ships, including the lead vessel, is your idea of a price?"
Nam Ga-il gave a chilling laugh at the question.
"Do you truly think that is enough?"
"...!"
"Child. I will send every single ship anchored here to the bottom of the Yangtze River."
"!!"
"I will reduce everything the Geumhwang Merchant Group owns to ashes, and only then will I reclaim Seolcheon's treasure."
It was an arrogant declaration that destroying this grand fleet was merely the beginning, not the end.
"You disgusting, worthless insects. If you wish to live, do not dare to oppose me. Step back and bow your heads."
This was no empty threat.
A colossal wave of killing intent erupted from him, squeezing the hearts of everyone listening to their exchange.
"You are completely insane," the vice-leader muttered.
But the vice-leader was an exception.
He was not so weak as to tremble before mere killing intent.
The only reason he had bothered to waste his breath talking to this Nam Ga-il was for one purpose.
Clang!
Drawing his sword, the vice-leader roared.
"There is only one enemy! Kill him!"
Because the sudden raid had caught them off guard, he had needed to buy time for his men to prepare.
"Uwooooah!"
"Kill him!"
At the vice-leader's command, everyone on the deck surged forward like a pack of wild dogs.
The mercenaries, the Geumhwang Merchant Group's warriors, and even the disguised demons of the Ghost Spirit Squad—all of them charged.
However...
Watching the tidal wave of enemies rushing toward him, Nam Ga-il smiled.
"Yes. That is more like it."
Thud!
Nam Ga-il—or rather, Jeok-un—kicked out, obliterating the head of the foremost attacker.
Clank!
Iron chains bit into the ship's gunwale.
As temporary rope bridges were thrown across, the Ghost Spirit Squad and the mercenaries swarmed onto the fourth vessel.
It was a daunting number of enemies, enough to make anyone lose heart.
Yet Jeok-un remained perfectly composed.
"Die!"
"I'll be the one to kill him!"
A mercenary's wolf-tooth saber lunged for Jeok-un's throat.
Jeok-un lightly tilted his head back to dodge the blade. At the same time—
Crack!
A single knee strike shattered the mercenary's jaw.
"Keo-heok...!"
Whether he died of a concussion or survived, he was permanently out of the fight.
But there was no time to admire the handiwork.
"Kyahahaha!"
An unnamed mercenary lunged at him from behind.
Swish!
Jeok-un stepped to the side, wrapping inner energy around his shin.
Then, he simply kicked.
Crack!
Though it was a mere kick, it sounded as if an iron pillar had slammed into the man.
The result was no different either.
The enemy's waist was bent at a right angle.
Instant death.
Whoosh!
Having cleared his immediate surroundings, Jeok-un leaped straight onto the fifth ship.
"Aaargh!"
"H-Hieeeek!"
Only the location had changed.
The gruesome hellscape unfolded once more.
'T-This guy...!'
'We can't win!'
The mercenaries realized the truth.
Worthless scum like them stood absolutely no chance against the monstrous demon before them.
There was only one choice left.
Splash!
Splash!
The mercenaries backed away slowly before throwing themselves into the river.
Fortunately, the enemy did not pursue those who fled.
His warning that they should bow their heads if they wished to live was indeed true.
Clinging to pieces of wreckage, the mercenaries swam desperately for survival, fleeing the battlefield as fast as they could.
Now, only the warriors of the Geumhwang Merchant Group remained.
But it was no different for them.
"Keok...!"
A warrior who had tried to strike Jeok-un's back with an axe died instantly, his chest caving in from a single kick.
There was no mercy in Jeok-un's strikes.
He had clearly given them a chance to live.
He had absolutely no intention of sparing those who still swung their blades to kill him.
'Such arrogance is what invites death.'
Crack!
Another body collapsed with a dull, heavy thud.
Screams echoed, and blood splattered through the air.
"H-He's a monster! Run!"
"Escape!"
Just as the Geumhwang Merchant Group's warriors began throwing themselves into the Yangtze River like the mercenaries before them—
Swish!
A sharp, sudden attack lunged at Jeok-un.
It was a calculated strike, aiming perfectly for his blind spot amidst the chaos.
It was an ambush by a Ghost Spirit Squad demon who had moved like a shadow, waiting for the perfect moment.
Since he could not use demonic arts, he had aimed to deliver a fatal blow by exploiting a brief opening.
Whoosh!
Jeok-un evaded the attack with a fluid, effortless movement.
There was no way it would land.
From the very beginning, he had mapped out the movements of every Ghost Spirit Squad member who exuded even a trace of demonic qi.
Sss!
Though the ambush failed, the Ghost Spirit Squad warrior showed no panic, attempting to blend back into the crowd and vanish.
'Do you think I'd let you?'
Step!
Jeok-un stomped his foot down.
In an instant, his elegant, dance-like movements transformed into something tyrannical and explosive.
Moving at an incredible speed that the eye could not follow—
"...!!"
He slipped right behind the Ghost Spirit Squad demon.
'Run wild, Wuzhui.'
Jeok-un unleashed the power of Wuzhui.
The power of Wuzhui did not merely lie in walking on water or running at high speeds.
If he could store and release the energy of nature, it was only natural that it could be weaponized in combat.
Whoosh!
Swallowing the energy of the Ice Sovereign flowing from his dantian, Wuzhui added its stored natural energy, causing it to explode with even greater intensity.
The true value of Wuzhui's power revealed itself when facing multiple opponents.
Every time Jeok-un walked, kicked, pushed, or trampled, only death remained in his wake—a testament to that very power.
Swoosh!
Jeok-un whipped his leg like a lash toward the Ghost Spirit Squad demon who had ambushed him.
That single kick—
Rumble!
Like a landslide triggered by Mother Nature, it started from the tip of Jeok-un's foot.
And then, it rippled far beyond.
The destruction expanded, widening its area of effect.
Whoosh!
A blizzard born of yin-cold energy swept through the surroundings.
The ship's deck froze bone-white, the masts shattered, and the doors warped.
As the vessel transformed into a shipwreck trapped in a frozen northern lake—
'Shatter.'
Boom!
Jeok-un lightly stamped his foot.
The fracture that began on the deck tore all the way down to the keel.
Half of the Ghost Spirit Squad demons on board froze to death instantly, plunging into the deep, dark depths of the Yangtze River.
Before anyone knew it, the eighth ship had been destroyed.
True to his word, Jeok-un was poised to sink every last vessel.
"C-Chief!"
At that moment, the chief administrator of the Geumhwang Merchant Group screamed hysterically from the flagship where the vice-leader stood.
"Do something! At this rate, our entire merchant group will be ruined! We won't save a single copper!"
Even as the administrator flailed in panic, the ships continued to sink one after another.
Nearly half of their cargo had already been swallowed by the Yangtze River.
If they couldn't protect what was left, the Geumhwang Merchant Group would truly face total ruin.
"Hurry... Keok!"
The moment the administrator raised his voice to urge him once more—
Consumed by rage, the vice-leader fully revealed the demonic nature he had been hiding.
"Where does a worthless insect get the right to raise his voice?"
"K-Kgh...!"
The administrator thrashed.
He tapped the vice-leader's forearm, begging to be let down.
Snap...
With a sickening sound, the administrator's head twisted.
His neck was broken.
Whoosh!
At that exact moment, a colossal blizzard swept toward the vice-leader.
The vice-leader threw himself backward, barely managing to deflect the attack.
Tap.
Landing lightly on the deck, Jeok-un spoke coldly.
"I appreciate you killing the man I was going to kill anyway, but..."
"..."
"It seems it is your turn now."
Jeok-un and the vice-leader's gazes locked fiercely in midair.