Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: This Is How Power Is Used!
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A large merchant ship appeared out of nowhere at the Yangtze River Fortress headquarters, cutting across the middle of the lake and serenely advancing toward the docks where the Fortress Lord resided.
Dozens of the Yangtze River Fortress’s vessels, large and small, surrounded the merchant ship, moving alongside it.
*Bwooo! Bwooo!*
*Dudududududu!*
The Yangtze River Fortress was in an uproar. Conch horns blared and drums beat from all directions as the river pirates from the five docks converged on the inner port where the merchant ship was heading.
I asked Heuk-wol for the information I needed.
“What kind of man is the Fortress Lord?”
“They call him the Water Dragon Spear King. He’s a cruel and vicious man. At the slightest offense, he’ll burn an entire village to the ground and order his men to rape the women before kidnapping or killing them.”
“What does he do with the kidnapped women?”
“He distributes them among his men at the main fortress to be taken as wives, concubines, or used as maids.”
I gazed at the approaching docks.
Heuk-wol’s face was filled with indignation.
“The Water Dragon Spear King is a man who commits every evil imaginable in this world! Because of him, hundreds of thousands of people who make their living on the Yangtze River shed tears of blood!”
“He deserves to die, then.”
“Yes, he does. Please, kill him. If the Yangtze River Fortress disappears, not just us, but the hundreds of thousands of people along the Yangtze will weep and dance with joy!”
I nodded.
“Hundreds of thousands of people weeping and dancing… that would be quite a sight.”
*Thump!*
The merchant ship reached the docks.
I instructed Heuk-wol.
“You will follow me. Instruct your men to move the ship far from the docks once we disembark.”
“Understood.”
Then I commanded the branch members.
“You will prevent them from boarding the ship.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Let’s go.”
Nine members of the Peerless Sect led the way down the ramp, followed by Jang Ung, myself, Go Un-hyo, and Heuk-wol.
My martial arts were not yet active, so I descended the steps slowly.
Go Un-hyo, perhaps finding my descent unsteady, gently took my arm.
A wooden bridge, about twenty paces long, stretched from the shore to the lake, and we disembarked at its end.
The Peerless Sect members went first, then Jang Ung, then myself and Heuk-wol. Go Un-hyo slowly walked across the wooden bridge.
At the end of the bridge, hundreds of river pirates were swarming, and dozens of them, weapons drawn, were charging across it.
The pirates reached the middle of the bridge and blocked the path of the Peerless Sect members, shouting.
“Who are you?”
“Do you know where you are? Are you tired of living?”
Two men who appeared to be sub-leaders stood at the forefront, veins bulging in their necks as they yelled.
Wang Gilsang of the third team, leading the Peerless Sect members, bellowed back.
“We are from the Martial Alliance’s Dong-ro Grand Branch! Bring out your Fortress Lord!”
“The Martial Alliance?”
“The Dong-ro Grand Branch?”
The sub-leaders and pirates flinched at the words ‘Martial Alliance’ and began murmuring amongst themselves.
Then, someone let out a choked cry, as if a large fishbone was stuck in their throat.
“Hah! He said the Dong-ro Grand Branch!”
“Dong-ro Grand Branch? What’s that?”
“You don’t know of the Fire Dragon Sword, the Grand Branch Master of the Martial Alliance’s Dong-ro Grand Branch?”
“The Fire Dragon Sword… Whoa!”
The moniker ‘Fire Dragon Sword’ had become so famous that it was even known here at the headquarters of the Yangtze River Fortress.
The Peerless Sect’s Wang Gilsang roared with authority.
“Bring out that bastard you call the Fortress Lord at once, and all of you, back away!”
As the Peerless Sect members advanced with imposing momentum, the terrified river pirates faltered and retreated.
Just then, someone from the shore shouted.
“What are you all doing? Strike them down!”
But far from attacking, the river pirates retreated even faster, eventually turning to flee for their lives.
The shore where the wooden bridge began was in a clamorous uproar for a while. Everyone now knew we were from the Dong-ro Grand Branch.
Then, in an instant, it fell silent.
We walked across the wooden bridge at a leisurely pace.
As the Peerless Sect members in front reached the end of the bridge, the river pirates gathered before a low hill on the shore hesitated and backed away.
Just then, a deep voice came from behind the pirates.
“Do not retreat!”
A few men pushed through the crowd of pirates and stepped forward.
There were three of them, and they seemed to be mid-level chieftains. With the pirates led by the sub-leaders retreating, the mid-level chieftains had stepped up.
The Peerless Sect members parted to form a path, and I, with my hands clasped behind my back, walked slowly to the front.
The gazes of all the river pirates focused on me.
One of the mid-level chieftains spoke cautiously, his face tense.
“Who might you be?”
I answered quietly.
“I am Ak Bi-ryong.”
“…”
The eyes of the mid-level chieftain who had just spoken widened like saucers, his mouth falling open.
Even a common river pirate would know that the name that followed the moniker ‘Fire Dragon Sword’ was Ak Bi-ryong.
The mere mention that the uninvited guests were from the Dong-ro Grand Branch had already stirred a hornet’s nest; the news that the Fire Dragon Sword himself had graced them with his presence made him want to cut off his own ears.
“Are you truly the Fire Dragon Sword?”
“Where is that man, the Water Dragon Spear King?”
For a moment, it was as silent as a tomb. The crowd of hundreds of pirates either watched my every move or glanced nervously behind them, holding their breath.
Jang Ung, to my left, stomped his foot. *Thump!*
“Which one of you is the Water Dragon Spear King? Show yourself!”
This time, a slight stir went through the crowd.
I sensed that the Fortress Lord, the Water Dragon Spear King, was not among the pirates gathered on the low hill in front of me.
If he were, the pirates would surely be looking at him by now, but no one was.
So I gave an order to Go Un-hyo.
“Un-hyo, go and bring him here.”
“Yes!”
*Whoosh!*
The moment my words fell, Go Un-hyo shot forward like an arrow.
“Whoa!”
“Hah!”
Go Un-hyo flew diagonally over the heads of the pirates for seven or eight paces, lightly tapped one of their heads to launch himself up again, and shot toward the cluster of pavilions and dozens of houses atop the hill.
As the pirates stared after him with dazed expressions, someone in the back shrieked.
“There are barely ten of them! Kill them!”
Whether pushed from behind or not, about twenty pirates at the front stumbled forward in a chaotic rush.
As if on cue, the Peerless Sect members drew their swords and charged.
*Chachachaaang!*
It seemed the words ‘barely ten of them’ had given them courage.
The Peerless Sect members were all at the level of high-tier first-rate masters; common forest bandits were no match for them.
They attacked the pirates with the force of a raging storm.
*Swish!*
“Gah!”
“Uwaaah!”
In the blink of an eye, about twenty pirates fell, spewing blood, but the Peerless Sect members didn’t stop, cutting a path through the heart of the pirates as they unleashed their assault.
The scene was like nine ferocious tigers leaping into a pack of dogs.
“Waaah! We’re no match for them!”
“Agh! Retreat! Scatter!”
In the span of just ten breaths, the Peerless Sect members had killed over fifty pirates and stopped halfway up the hill.
The pirates had retreated to a safe distance, panting as they clutched their startled chests.
In this situation, neither the mid-level chieftains nor the sub-leaders dared to order another attack.
Just then, Go Un-hyo shot back like a lightning bolt, kicking off the ground from the top of the hill and flying over the pirates' heads to land before me.
He was carrying a large, stout man in his forties on his shoulder. He spoke to me respectfully.
“I have returned.”
He then slammed the man he was carrying onto the ground.
*Thump!*
“Gah!”
The man, who had a glaive-like spear strapped to his back, was none other than the Fortress Lord, the Water Dragon Spear King. He hadn't even had a chance to draw his weapon before being subdued by Go Un-hyo.
Furthermore, his right arm had been cleanly severed at the shoulder, yet not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound.
Go Un-hyo stomped on the Water Dragon Spear King’s back.
*Stomp!*
“Kneel!”
“Ugh!”
The Water Dragon Spear King fell forward, his face smashing against the wooden bridge, becoming a bloody mess.
He lifted his face to look up at me.
“Hnngh… Who are you?”
“Watch your tongue.”
*Swish!*
Go Un-hyo’s Blood Shadow Sword flashed with a crimson light, and in a single motion, it sliced off the Water Dragon Spear King’s left arm at the shoulder.
“Gah!”
The Water Dragon Spear King was suddenly left without either arm, unable to get up on his own from his prostrate position.
Go Un-hyo grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and forced him into a sitting position.
“Ugh… Why are you doing this?”
It seemed the Water Dragon Spear King still hadn’t grasped the situation.
I spoke quietly.
“Heuk-wol, step forward.”
“Ah!”
Heuk-wol, witnessing the scene before him and seeing the Water Dragon Spear King with both arms severed and covered in blood, couldn't hide his astonishment.
“Is this man the Fortress Lord of the Yangtze River Fortress?”
Heuk-wol examined the Water Dragon Spear King and nodded.
“Yes! This bastard is the eternal demon, the Water Dragon Spear King!”
“Give Heuk-wol a sword.”
Jang Ung immediately drew his sword and offered it to Heuk-wol.
I spoke to the stunned Heuk-wol.
“Kill the Water Dragon Spear King with your own hands.”
“M… me?”
“Before you kill him, don’t forget to make him understand exactly who you are and why he must die!”
“Mmm!”
The Water Dragon Spear King struggled where he sat.
“W-wait! Who are you people, and why are you doing this to me? Huh? What have I done wrong…?”
“Shut your mouth!”
*Thwack!*
“Keuk!”
Heuk-wol kicked the Water Dragon Spear King in the chest.
Looking at the fallen man, Heuk-wol couldn’t hold back the tears that welled in his eyes.
“Sob!”
I completely understood Heuk-wol’s weeping. I, too, had been in his position countless times in the past.
Heuk-wol cried out as if vomiting blood.
“I am Heuk-wol, once the Fortress Lord of the Twelve Fortresses of Lake Tai! Do you recognize me?”
“Hnngh… How would I know a bastard like you…?”
“Of course, you wouldn’t! To you, we were nothing more than insects!”
The Water Dragon Spear King struggled to look back, shrieking desperately.
“You bastards! What are you doing? Attack them! Kill them all! Now!”
But none of the river pirates moved. In fact, some of them retreated even further.
Heuk-wol pointed his sword at the Water Dragon Spear King.
“You bastard! You brutally murdered the previous Fortress Lord, who was like a father to me!”
*Stab!*
“Heuk!”
The sword Heuk-wol thrust forward plunged deep into the center of the Water Dragon Spear King’s chest.
“Keeeeuh…”
The Water Dragon Spear King collapsed sideways, his eyes bulging.
“Keeuh! Save me… please… I’ll give you anything you want…”
“Oh? You’ll give me anything I want?”
“Y-yes. What is it you want?”
“Hehehe! You bastard! What I want is your life!”
*Stab!*
This time, he stabbed deep into his side, then dragged the sword sideways.
His flank split open, and his intestines spilled out.
Having lost all reason, Heuk-wol gripped the sword with both hands and began to hack and slash at the Water Dragon Spear King indiscriminately.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thud! Thud!*
Flesh and blood flew, and the Water Dragon Spear King’s pig-like squeals echoed for a time before falling silent.
Still, Heuk-wol didn’t stop, continuing to butcher the man until he was nothing more than a lump of meat.
“Hah… hah… hah… hah!”
Heuk-wol, covered in blood from head to toe, panted heavily.
Jang Ung took the sword from Heuk-wol’s hand and flicked it once, splattering a line of blood across the wooden bridge. He then sheathed the sword on his back.
Heuk-wol slowly turned to face me and performed a deep bow.
“Sob! Thank you! I will repay this debt until the day I die!”
“Rise.”
Heuk-wol sobbed, banging his head on the floor.
“Uheheuk! I never dreamed such a day would come in my lifetime…!”
“How can a man who won’t even listen to my command to rise speak of repaying a debt?”
“…”
After watching Heuk-wol wipe his tears with his fist and stand up, I turned to the river pirates and spoke.
“As of this moment, the Yangtze River Fortress is disbanded. That is all!”
As I watched the systematic dismantling of the Yangtze River Fortress under Jang Ung’s command, I muttered to myself.
‘Yes! This is how you use power!’