An Unexpected Lead (1)
Soon, the clamor of bells rang out wildly.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
That must mean the pirates are attacking.
I asked the innkeeper.
"What do you do here when pirates come raiding?"
"Non-combatants evacuate to the shelters, while the rest of the fighters respond immediately to the pirates."
"And who are the fighters?"
"Disciples of the Hae-nam Sect, the village militias, and soldiers from the county office and deputy office."
I could see the elderly, women, and children hurrying off somewhere.
They packed their belongings in an instant and moved with disciplined precision—they were clearly used to this kind of evacuation.
In other words, they had their escape kits prepared in advance.
"I've heard that pirate raids are frequent on Hae-nam Island."
"That's right. It's been quiet for a while, but it seems they've heard rumors of the large grain shipment that was recently released."
"My donation must be the problem, then."
I spoke with a wry smile, and the innkeeper waved his hands frantically.
"Aigoo! You mustn't say that! How many lives were saved from starvation thanks to your heroism? Don't talk like that!"
That made me feel grateful.
"They're just coming pirates, that's all. So please, evacuate."
"Pardon? Evacuate?"
"Of course, I know you're an exceptional warrior, but how could we ask the hero who saved us to fight for our sake?"
"No. If I have this power and don't use it, what would heaven think of me?"
I spoke firmly and stepped back inside the inn.
My entourage was already gathered, waiting for me.
"I'm issuing an order now. Or rather, not an order—a request."
I looked at each of my guards in turn.
"I plan to fight the pirates invading Hae-nam Island. But I don't want to command you to risk your lives for me. Your lives are as precious as mine. So if any of you wish to fight alongside me, I'd be grateful. If you refuse, that's fine too. I won't hold it against you."
At my words, the guards let out sighs, and the Seo-u Warrior stepped forward as their representative.
"Sigh, young master. The very purpose of us guards is to protect you. That's absolute."
"He's right."
The Yeo Eung-am Warrior continued.
"Don't put us to shame. Wherever you go, we follow—that's what we guards are for."
The Myeong-jong Warrior gripped his sword and added,
"Even if not as your personal guard, as a righteous martial artist, I don't want to be one who'd bring shame on himself."
I smiled and clasped my hands in a fist salute to them.
"Thank you for saying that."
Then I turned to Seo Hyang Sojeo.
"Deputy Overseer Gwak... no, madam, please evacuate quickly. And Palgap."
"Yes, young master."
"Protect her."
"With my life."
"Alright, let's go."
With that, I led my six guards toward where the fighters were heading.
The pirates had landed at the southeastern tip of Hae-nam Island.
There, Hae-nam Sect members and island soldiers were already erecting wooden barricades.
True to people long tormented by pirates, their response was calm and swift.
"Ah! Seonhyeopmirang Daehyeop!"
The one who recognized and ran over was the Cheongryu Warrior.
"Why have you come all the way here?"
"Why? To fight the pirates alongside you all, of course."
"But daehyeop, you..."
"Is this the time to quibble? We need every cat's paw we can get, right?"
"True enough. Then, if you don't mind, we gratefully accept your help."
The Hae-nam Sect leader had finally warmed up to me— no need to play it safe and lose that goodwill.
And if we overcame this crisis together, they'd truly open their hearts to me.
Hae-nam Island was an island, after all.
And islands, with their harsh isolation, tended to make people band tightly together.
Thanks to my relief donation and the sect leader's praise, they treated me like a hero, but that didn't mean they'd fully let down their guard.
It was similar to Sacheon Castle, an island amid the mainland.
Beyond that, I simply wanted to help these people suffering under the pirates.
I gazed at the pirates approaching from afar.
At their vanguard were archers, followed by men with hooks and ropes.
The plan seemed to be suppressing or pinning us down with arrow volleys, then toppling the barricades.
"Shields up!"
At the commander's order, soldiers raised shields, with spearmen thrusting out between them.
Thud thud thud thud!
Arrows thudded into the shields.
They were holding off the arrows for now, but if the barricades fell, our side would take heavy losses.
What to do?
As I pondered, I called to the Cheongryu Warrior.
"Cheongryu Warrior."
"Yes!"
"I'm thinking of slipping through their lines and wreaking havoc. Possible?"
"Of course."
"Then let's go!"
I led my guards and the Cheongryu Warrior in a flank attack on their side.
To minimize risk, only peak experts or better joined.
And we began cutting them down indiscriminately.
"Argh! Wh-what the hell?"
"Where did these bastards come from?"
"Gahk!"
To the pirates, our sudden intrusion by five elite warriors must have felt like a disaster.
Their formation crumbled in moments.
Even a polished elite unit turns into a rabble the instant their lines break.
Conversely, even untrained men can hold if they keep formation.
Plus, night had fallen, visibility poor.
As peak warriors, we sensed and saw their moves, but they couldn't—easy prey.
"Time to pull back."
"Yes!"
Having disrupted their lines, we swiftly withdrew.
"They're running!"
"Damn it! Where do you think you're going!"
I simply severed the throat of the pirate blocking me.
Honestly, with our level of skill, we could take most of them.
But even peak warriors aren't inexhaustible.
And we had to prepare for the worst.
Because these weren't all of them.
The real force was on the ships.
And the dark faction aura from them resembled those under Cheon Cheon-bok.
Dark auras aren't all the same.
Thanks to us scattering their front lines, the battle was turning in our favor.
Then someone approached from behind and spoke to the Cheongryu Warrior.
"Leave this to the soldiers and militia now. We'll attack the ships."
"I'll help too."
He turned to me at my words.
"We have to board the ships. That means swimming in from the sea. Can you manage?"
"Of course."
"Then I leave it to you. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Do-jin, captain of the assault squad."
Meaning the Hae-nam Sect ran their own strike force.
No need for us here anymore.
So I followed him toward the ships.
Ships were the pirates' lifeblood.
Without them, no piracy—and they could flee danger.
Sinking the ships crippled them.
Thus, they guarded ships desperately, often leaving their strongest aboard.
Heading to take the pirate ships: Cheongryu Warrior, twenty-three Hae-nam Sect warriors, and our seven.
More sect warriors stayed to fight the landed pirates.
"Change into these night suits."
Captain Do-jin and his men handed us night suits.
Not pure black.
A faded black, like washed-out ink.
Seeing everyone else's were similar, they weren't giving us the bad ones.
Guess I should send some proper night suits to the Hae-nam Sect later.
We moved swiftly, but the pirates weren't fools—guards blocked ship paths.
"We'll handle them."
"Make sure they don't fire signal flares."
"Let's go together."
Seo-u and Jin Yu Warriors dashed first, slitting throats.
They collapsed without a scream.
By then, we'd cleared the rest; Captain Do-jin recovered their signal flares.
"Strike these hard, and they shoot blue flames. That's how the ship pirates know to go on alert."
"I see."
We stealthily approached the ships again, reaching a wall behind where they were visible.
"What's the plan?"
Captain Do-jin replied.
"We're thirty total, so three teams. Each boards a ship within the set time, then attacks on signal."
"That's it?"
"Yes. Too fluid for elaborate tactics. Each team adapts on the fly. And..."
And?
"Everyone returns alive."
"Understood."
Simultaneous strikes prevented other ships from noticing.
I continued.
"Three teams, right? Then assign one extra warrior to us."
"Just eight then? You sure?"
"Of course. We're pretty skilled ourselves."
Thus, our eight took the central ship and headed there.
In the quiet, we saw figures patrolling the deck.
Time limit: half a shichen ahead.
Board within that.
I checked the gear from Captain Do-jin: hook-equipped climbing tools.
The Hae-nam warrior assigned to us explained usage briefly.
We donned them and slipped silently into the water.
Swam slowly to the ship, clinging tight.
I chuckled at my faded night suit.
I'd thought the sect was cash-strapped, but no.
Moonlit sea—pure black would've stood out.
My judgment was off.
I reflected briefly, then sent a sound transmission to all.
- Alright, let's climb.
- Yes.
- We'll circle to the opposite side.
- We'll take the bow.
- You two the stern, the other two starboard.
We eight paired off, positioned, and began climbing with the tools.
Captain Do-jin's gear made it easy.
Probably refined through hard trial.
Before fully aboard, we paused.
Couldn't get spotted pre-signal.
And...
Piiieek!
Sudden flute signal.
I vaulted aboard instantly, slashing the nearest pirate.
Slash!
"Gurk!"
I spread my energy at once, locating the strongest on board.
Had questions for him.
Multiple ships like this meant a pirate crew, with sub-captains per vessel.
One captain total.
His ship usually central.
That's why I took this one.
Heading to the captain's quarters, my group converged.
We arrived—and
"Hahaha! I knew you'd board the ships."
With that voice, pirates surrounded us in a flash.
Glancing aside, other ships same plight.
They'd anticipated our plan, prepared counterstrike.
"H-how..."
Our Hae-nam support looked panicked.
"Our plans never leaked before."
I whispered to him.
"What did you do with captured ships before?"
"Burned or sold as merchant vessels."
"And captured pirates?"
"All killed."
Then someone on Hae-nam Island was colluding.
Only one answer.
Chae Hong Merchant Group's leader, Cheon Cheon-bok.
His hired guards' auras matched these pirates'.
Plus ties to the branch head...
Ha!
All in cahoots, then.
I smirked.
Meaning shaking down their captain would get my answers.
They figured they'd repel us, loot, and sail off.
One thing they didn't count on.
Me.
Then—
Whiiiiiish!
Thunk thunk thunk thunk!
Countless arrows slamming into the ship in an instant.
Huh?
These arrows... feel familiar?