Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The Burning Pirate Ship
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*Flap!*
A carrier pigeon landed on the Flying Dragon.
Go Un-hyo took a letter from the pigeon and handed it to me.
It was from Jang Ung. The letter stated that Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's associates had arrived safely and were proceeding with their schedule, and that Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo still didn't know I had left Dong-ro County.
Go Un-hyo placed the pigeon in a cage. Inside the large cage were about a dozen carrier pigeons.
The pigeons were raised at the Peerless Sect, so if released from the Flying Dragon, they would find their way back to the sect in Dong-ro County.
* * *
Chae Gwang hurried up to the upper deck.
“Sir, we have a problem.”
“What is it?”
Chae Gwang pointed ahead.
“Look over there.”
Ahead of the Flying Dragon, more than twenty ships, large and small, were gathered, unable to advance. It was a scene of complete gridlock.
Chae Gwang respectfully offered me a long, cylindrical object.
“It's the Great Python Gang of the East Sea. Please, look.”
“What is this?”
“It's a spyglass. You can see distant objects up close with it.”
Most sailors owned a spyglass, an item imported from foreign lands.
I had heard that the Four Seas Way had a pirate group under its command called the Great Python Gang of the East Sea.
Just as the Yangtze River Bandits operated on the Yangtze, the Yellow River Bandits on the Yellow River, and the Dongting Lake Bandits on Dongting Lake, the Great Python Gang of the East Sea engaged in plunder and murder across the vast East Sea.
The East Sea was so vast that the scale of the Great Python Gang was immense. They roamed the sea with dozens of pirate ships, and the government forces were utterly powerless to stop them.
I looked ahead and activated my Skynet Divine Eyes. As I've mentioned before, Skynet's Ultimate Reach could be used at any time, regardless of whether my martial arts were active.
Dozens of ships were lined up in a long band ahead, and about ten *li* in front of them was a massive vessel.
It was a colossal ship, five or six times the size of the Flying Dragon—a pirate ship of the Great Python Gang.
Beyond the pirate ship, only a few other vessels were scattered in the distance.
Those ships had passed the Great Python Gang, and they had likely been thoroughly plundered.
High on the pirate ship, a flag fluttered, bearing the image of a black python with a sword in its mouth. It was the mark of the Great Python Gang.
Chae Gwang spoke in a tense voice.
“The Great Python Gang is under the command of the Four Seas Way.”
“Are they plundering the ships?”
“Yes. They are a ruthless and cruel band of pirates. If you hand over your goods without a fight, they'll let you go. But if you resist in the slightest, they'll slaughter everyone after looting the ship.”
Plunder and murder were happening in broad daylight, yet the nation was powerless to intervene. One could only imagine the arduous lives the common people led.
“Then why don't they just flee? Their ship is so large, it seems like they couldn't give chase.”
“The pirate ship carries several smaller, faster boats. If anyone tries to escape, those boats immediately pursue and burn them down.”
Chae Gwang pointed behind us.
“Look there.”
I turned around and saw that another ship had appeared, about five *li* to the south. It was slightly smaller than the pirate ship to the north, but it too flew the flag of a python with a sword in its mouth. It was the Great Python Gang.
Two of their pirate ships had us surrounded.
Behind the Flying Dragon were fifteen or sixteen more merchant ships, all of them trapped.
Just then, the pirate ship behind us lowered two sleek boats tied with ropes into the sea. Dozens of pirates armed with swords and sabers were aboard them.
“A bunch of vermin.”
But Chae Gwang didn't look worried at all. With the Fire Dragon Sword, the most famous figure in the martial world today, aboard the Flying Dragon, there was nothing to fear.
“Go on with your duties.”
“I will take my leave.”
Chae Gwang bowed respectfully and withdrew.
I sat down in a chair, closed my eyes, and began to meditate to activate my martial arts.
Chae Gwang lowered all but one of the sails and proceeded slowly.
After half a quarter-hour, my martial arts activated. I opened my eyes and stood up.
The pirate ship ahead was pulling a nearby merchant ship closer with several iron grappling hooks.
Their method was to pull a ship close, latch on, and then have the pirates swarm aboard to plunder it.
The Flying Dragon was a little closer to the pirate ship ahead than it had been a short while ago.
While I was meditating, Ja-un had come up to the upper deck and was waiting by my side.
She had heard about the situation from Go Un-hyo and now had a faint, amused smile on her lips.
Seeing my eyes open, Ja-un beamed.
“Were you taking a nap sitting up?”
“Yes.”
“Oh?”
“What's wrong?”
“Saying ‘yes’ like that... you sound like an old man!”
“Do I?”
I gave an awkward laugh. Lately, I'd found myself unconsciously using that particular tone when speaking to young women.
Ja-un pointed behind us, her tone sharp.
“Look over there! The pirates are boarding the ship!”
The two smaller boats were pressed up against the much larger merchant ships. Having hooked grappling lines to the railings, the pirates were now climbing up the ropes.
The nearest merchant ship was about three hundred *zhang* away. I decided I had to kill the pirates climbing aboard it first. If they made it onto the ship, they might start killing people.
I raised my internal energy, extended my left arm, and spread my thumb and index finger wide to form a bowstring.
*Swoosh...*
Ja-un watched my actions intently before crying out in amazement.
“My goodness! What is that between your thumb and index finger?”
With my right thumb and index finger, I grasped the faint white line that had appeared between my left thumb and index finger. I slowly drew it back, aiming at a pirate three hundred *zhang* away who was climbing a rope onto the merchant ship.
When the translucent bowstring was stretched taut like a slingshot, I released my right hand.
*Twack!*
A formless bolt of energy shot from between my left thumb and index finger.
It was the Thousand White Elasticity.
I had infused it with far less energy than when I was practicing at the secret location by the Qiantang River, so the sound wasn't loud.
*Pooof...*
“Guh!”
The moment it was fired, a pirate's torso was pierced through, and he was sent flying into the air.
Then, a thin white line appeared, stretching in a straight path from between my left thumb and index finger all the way to the pirate who was now flying through the air, dead. It created a visible trajectory.
“Ah! It's beautiful!”
As Ja-un gasped in awe, I fired a second shot of Thousand White Elasticity.
*Twack!*
*Pooof...*
“Huk!”
The faint sound of the energy bolt piercing the pirate's body reached my ears, followed by his death cry. And again, a long white trajectory stretched out.
Killing the twenty or so pirates clinging to the merchant ship one by one was tedious.
So this time, I formed two bowstrings—one between my thumb and index finger, the other between my index and middle finger. With my right hand, I grasped both strings, one with my thumb and index finger, the other with my middle and ring finger, and fired.
*Twack! Twack!*
Two pirates three hundred *zhang* away were hit and sent flying, followed by the long, white trajectories.
If I had an extra finger, a sixth one, I could have fired three shots at once.
After dealing with all the pirates climbing up to plunder the ship, I turned my attention to the pirate vessel behind us.
There were over a hundred pirates on that colossal ship, and I intended to annihilate them all.
*'I should burn it down with Yang Essence.'*
The pirate ship was five *li* away, so the only way to send Yang Essence that far was with Thousand White Elasticity.
*Swoooosh!*
I aimed at the pirate ship. Then, I formed a small pellet of Yang Essence, wrapped in a hundred years of internal energy, between my right thumb and index finger, placed it on the bowstring of my left hand, and pulled back with all my might.
Go Un-hyo, Ja-un, and on the main deck, Chae Gwang and the other sailors watched with tense expressions.
*Twaang!*
Even though the pirate ship was five *li* away, the bolt of Thousand White Elasticity struck its side in a single breath.
*Craaack!*
A long, thick white line, even more substantial than before, stretched in a straight path from my left hand to the pirate ship. Within the white line, a red streak was visible. That was the Yang Essence.
“Ah!”
Ja-un and the sailors gasped. The sight of the trajectory stretching in a perfect straight line for a full five *li* was breathtakingly beautiful.
While I was at it, I fired three more shots of Thousand White Elasticity mixed with Yang Essence, aiming for different parts of the pirate ship.
*Twaang! Twaang! Twaang!*
Witnessing this, Go Un-hyo's eyes widened in astonishment, while Ja-un clasped her hands to her chest, repeatedly gasping, "Ah!"
For now, there were just four small holes in the side of the pirate ship, but in a moment, the Yang Essence would set it ablaze.
Thousand White Elasticity was useful for killing enemies one by one at a distance, but for burning down a pirate ship like this, the Fire Dragon Sword was the perfect tool.
*Shhhing!*
I kept my eyes on the pirate ship ten *li* ahead as I drew the Fire Dragon Sword, holding it with both hands and raising it high above my head.
Go Un-hyo and Ja-un, anticipating what I was about to do, watched with tense faces.
Following the incantation for the second stance of the Three Absolutes of the Azure Sky, Myriad Calamities Severance, I swung the Fire Dragon Sword with all my strength.
*Kwwaaaaaaah!*
In that instant, a thick pillar of golden light erupted forth.
It was Yang Essence, unleashed from the Fire Dragon Sword.
“Ah!”
Ja-un watched the scene, entranced.
The golden beam of light flew through the air, trailing a long tail, until it was directly above the pirate ship, where it plunged downward.
In that moment, the golden beam seemed to split into six, spreading out like a net and piercing the pirate ship in multiple places.
*CRACK-BOOM!*
Pure internal energy wouldn't have been able to travel ten *li* with Myriad Calamities Severance, but Yang Essence could.
Go Un-hyo, Ja-un, the three sailors, the cook, and the maid all watched the spectacle, each with a different expression on their face.
Ja-un pointed behind us.
“My lord! Look over there!”
In the direction she pointed, the rear pirate ship was now on fire.
The pirates on board were running about frantically, trying to extinguish the flames, but it was hopeless.
Go Un-hyo pointed to the pirate ship ahead.
“Brother, the merchant ship is in danger.”
The front pirate ship was also beginning to erupt in flames across its deck and cabins. The merchant ship, tethered close by grappling ropes, was in peril.
Moreover, a dozen or so pirates who had already boarded the merchant ship could be seen running around in confusion.
I used Thousand White Elasticity to pick off the pirates on the merchant ship one by one as they stood there dumbfounded, staring at their burning vessel.
Most of the pirates either had their heads blown clean off or a chunk of their upper body torn away.
Watching this, I realized that the projectile from Thousand White Elasticity gradually expanded as it traveled over a long distance.
Fifteen *li* apart, the two pirate ships, one to the north and one to the south, were burning fiercely.
Both ships had become massive fireballs. The sea was teeming with pirates who had jumped overboard, packed together and bobbing in the water.
The merchant ships and other vessels that had been on the verge of being plundered just moments ago now watched from a distance. No one made a move to save the pirates.
As the Flying Dragon unfurled its three sails and passed by, the people on the dozens of other ships cheered or bowed respectfully to express their gratitude.
They shouted, asking who we were, but we didn't answer.
* * *
Before reaching Chongming, the point where the lower Yangtze River meets the East Sea, night fell. We moved to a shallow area near the coast, dropped anchor, and moored for the night.
We were in no hurry, so the plan was to sleep at night and sail only during the day.
Everyone aboard the Flying Dragon gathered on the upper deck for dinner.
There were eight of us in total: myself, Go Un-hyo, Ja-un, the cook, the maid, and Chae Gwang with his two sailors.
The sailors, the cook, and the maid had no idea why they had been summoned for dinner.
Only Ja-un and I were seated; everyone else, including Go Un-hyo, was standing.
I said.
“From now on, we will all eat breakfast and dinner together.”
“Good heavens! How could we possibly presume to do such a thing?”
At my words, Chae Gwang, the sailors, the cook, and the maid were startled and waved their hands frantically in refusal.
I said curtly.
“It's an order.”
The cook, the maid, and the sailors flinched at that.