Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 759
The black-painted ship was imposing, crushing anyone just by looking at it. It was even more so after seeing the shape of a vicious whale at the front of the ship, the dragon head.
‘Dragon Ship.’
A ship symbolizing the Water Fortress, which is allowed to only eighteen Chaeju of the Yangtze River Water Fortress.
In other words, the Chaeju is now on board that ship.
“…There’s not just one or two.”
“It seems like all the pirates of the Water Fortress have gathered.”
Tension began to appear on the faces of Mount Hua’s disciples as well.
‘Did each Water Fortress have this many pirates?’
Of course, that ship won’t be crammed with pirates like the fast ship they were dealing with a while ago.
However, even assuming it is only half full, the number will exceed a few hundred.
“Captain!”
Baek Cheon turned his head and looked at the captain.
“Can we go to the shore?”
“I- Impossible.”
The captain shook his head with a strained face.
“Pirate ships are naturally faster than ordinary ships. Even with the same ship, there’s a speed difference depending on whether they carry cargo or not… with this cargo-laden ship, we simply can’t reach that speed.”
“Hmm.”
“Furthermore, due to the attack we received a while ago, there’s a hole in the ship. Everyone’s trying to bail water out, but if we recklessly try to speed up, water will enter faster and the ship will sink. Then we really will all die.”
Baek Cheon’s gaze instinctively headed toward the shore.
The land is so far away that it’s almost daunting.
‘It’s over five Li to the shore.’
The Yangtze River is originally an incredibly wide river, reaching five Li in width. But here is where the tributary of the Yangtze River flows into the Dongjing Lake. The current is slow and it’s adjacent to the lake, so the width of the river is three times the usual width of the Yangtze River.
The river is fifteen Li wide, and from the center, they need to swim at least five Li to get to the shore. If it were only Mount Hua’s disciples, it wouldn’t be so difficult, but for the commoners on this ship to swim such a distance is almost impossible.
‘Furthermore, even if it’s possible, if the pirates who are used to underwater attacks assault from the water, there’s no way to defend against it.’
They could abandon the commoners and go, but… That is not the way for Mount Hua’s disciples to consider.
Baek Cheon bit his lips tightly.
‘Was I too hasty?’
He had taken the task of facing pirates on the river too lightly. He thought they would just have to face about one ship, but who would have imagined that the entire personnel of the Water Fortress would come out on their ships?
“Sasuk.”
It was a call for what to do. Baek Cheon chewed his lips for a moment and rolled his head. His eyes began to settle rather calmly.
‘What would he have done?’
There’s nothing to think about.
– No, whether there are many or few pirates, what does that matter! Those bastards can’t do anything once their heads are off. Don’t worry about the others and just rush straight to take down the boss!
‘Alright! Got it!’
Baek Cheon said decisively.
“Listen to me carefully.”
“Yes, Sasuk.”
“When the Dragon Ship approaches, we’ll cross over. Baek Sang and Soso will stay here to protect the commoners, and the rest will rush onto the Dragon Ship in one fell swoop to capture the Chaeju.”
“Yes, understood.”
The faces of Mount Hua’s disciples, who had not been able to erase their bewilderment until now, showed a stern expressions as if it had never happened.
As the size of the Dragon Ship is massive, the number of pirates aboard it will also be large. They have no idea how difficult it would be to jump on such a ship and aim for Chaeju.
But once the order is given, there’s no hesitation.
“Then get ready…. Huh?”
That’s when Jo-Gol tilted his head.
“Sasuk.”
“Hm?”
“Those bastards suddenly slowing down?”
“….”
“They seem to be stopping?”
Mount Hua’s disciples watched the ships that had stopped at a safe distance with puzzled faces.
“Puaaa!”
Bong Chung, who had surged out of the water, grabbed the rope ladder that had been thrown down from the Dragon Ship.
“Hnggg. What a mess this is.”
As he climbed up the rope ladder with his teeth gritted, his subordinates, who had been waiting behind him, followed him one after another.
“Hmm.”
Once Bong Chung set foot on the deck, he wiped the water from his face and took a deep breath. There were pirates lined from side to side and huge wooden chairs set in the middle of the deck. Running in front of the chair without a moment’s notice, he fell flat on his face.
“Ple- Please kill me, Chaeju!”
“Kill you?”
A middle-aged man, dressed in a blue robe, looked down at Bong Chung prostrating with his forehead on the deck and let out a faint smirk.
“That’s right. If a man called a ‘Hero’ of the Yangtze River lost his ship and ran away without pride, of course, he should die.”
“Chae- Chaeju….”
“Jo Seung (조승(曺昇)).”
“Yes, Chaeju!”
“Chop him up and throw him to the fish.”
Bong Chung’s face drained of blood.
“Chae- Chaeju!”
“Open that mouth one more time and I’ll tear it myself.”
In a truly brutal mood, Bong Chung couldn’t even think of making an excuse, and only broke into a cold sweat with a tired face.
“Chaeju.”
At that moment, a man called Jo Seung softly opened his mouth.
“The fact that Bong Chung made an ugly appearance is true. But given the circumstances, I don’t think it’s just Bang Chung who is to blame.”
“What’s the reason?”
“There’s someone who can sink a fast ship like ours in one hit. No matter what measures we took, it would’ve been difficult to avoid the same outcome.”
“Hmm.”
Chaeju of Great Whale Fortress and Yeo Gwang-gye (여광계(呂光啓)) of Barbarous Black Fish (잔포흑어(殘暴黑魚)) nodded as if he acknowledged the point.
“An uncontrollable force.”
However, the Barbarous Black Fish soon clicked his tongue with an unhappy face.
“Even so, the sin of losing a ship and coming back is severe. Demote him to a crew member and imprison him for a fortnight. Don’t give him a single sip of water.”
“Yes!”
“Tha- Thank you, Chaeju!”
Bong Chung, as if it was a relief just to have his life spared, continuously bowed his head.
“……A power enough to sink a fast ship with a single blow… What the hell did they come here to scavenge in the Yangtze River?”
“The- They said Mount Hua.”
At Bong Chung’s answer, the Barbarous Black Fish’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“Mount Hua?”
“Yes! The one who released the power was a monk, but he said himself that he came from Mount Hua.”
“Mount Hua….”
The Barbarous Black Fish turned his head slightly and looked at Jo Seung.
“I think it’s because of the Special Delivery. It’s a famous fact that Mount Hua is behind Eunha Courier Service.”
“Hmm. Really?”
Jo Seung asked while looking at Bong Chung.
“Were they young fellows?”
“Yes! They were indeed young. There were seven of them.”
The face of The Barbarous Black Fish was distorted by the incredible answer.
“You’re saying you lost a ship and ran away from just seven guys! You piranha-like bastard!”
“Hiiik!”
Again, Jo Seung quickly stepped in to calm the Barbarous Black Fish down.
“If they are young fellows from Mount Hua, there’s a high chance they are Mount Hua Five Swords.”
“…Mount Hua Five Swords?”
“Yes, if it’s Mount Hua Five Swords who defeated Wudang’s first-class disciples in a spar, it’s not an easy opponent. Furthermore, if Mount Hua Divine Dragon, who defeated the shaman’s elder, was on that ship, he couldn’t have been easy to deal with.”
“Ugh.”
The Barbarous Black Fish glared at Bong Chung with displeasure, then stared at the merchant ship floating across.
“So, Mount Hua Five Swords, those guys we’re hearing so much about these days?”
“Yes, Chaeju.”
“Hmm.”
Barbarous Black Fish’s eyes flickered.
“They seem to have quite the reputation. And they must have the ability to match that reputation, and judging by their decision to get on the ship and face us, they must be filled with confidence.”
A cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“But life doesn’t always go the way you want it to. I dare them to pay the price for daring to confront us on the river. Let’s take them in.”
“Yes! As commanded!”
The pirates on the deck began to move in unison.
The Barbarous Black Fish murmured while gripping the armrest of the chair.
“Mount Hua….”
A sinister smile spread across his face.
“They’re not coming?”
“What are they doing?”
Mount Hua’s disciples looked at the Dragon Ship with somewhat deflated expressions.
The ship had come racing with such ferocity that they had expected it to engage any moment, yet it had stopped a distance away and hadn’t moved since. They couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“Do you think they’re scared?”
“Scared?”
“Yes, we have our own reputation now, don’t we? They’re nothing but some pirates. How dare they mess with the Five Swords of Mount Hua! Hahaha!”
“Gol-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t I ask you to keep your mouth shut?”
“….”
Yoon Jong, who glared at Jo-Gol calmly with an annoyed expression, turned to the Dragon Ship again.
It was then.
“They’re moving!”
“…but it doesn’t look like they’re coming towards us?”
The Dragon Ship slowly started to rotate on the spot.
“Can they do that?”
“They have oars, don’t they? If they row the oars on each side in opposite directions, it’s possible.”
The Dragon Ship, rotating slowly, turned completely in the opposite direction. The disciples of Mount Hua all tilted their heads in confusion.
“Are they just going to leave?”
“I know right. Why are they turning around….”
It was then.
Deureureuk!
Just then, a door installed at the back of the Dragon Ship opened, and something dark flew out.
“Is it that thing they fired before?”
“No!”
Mount Hua’s disciples, who had been expecting the same attack to be repeated, instantly widened their eyes.
It is true that it was another harpoon again, but the size was enormous.
It was easily twice the size of the harpoon the fast ship had fired, and its speed was remarkable.
“Chain?”
And a long chain was attached to the harpoon.
Kwagagak!
Kwagwang!
Two harpoons fired were lodged in the ship. The shock caused the ship to stagger as if it had met a huge wave.
Deureureuk!
The chain connected to the harpoon was pulled tight.
“These bastards!”
“What are they doing?”
“No way….”
And at that moment, the dragon ship, which had stopped, started moving again.
Giiing!
The sound of the chains rubbing against each other was as if a giant whale was crying. As the Dragon Ship increased its speed, the ship they were on was forcibly tilted in the direction the Dragon Ship was moving.
“Wha- What!”
“Damn it, we’re being dragged!”
There was confusion in the eyes of the Five Swords.
They had never even imagined such a thing.
To make matters worse, fast ship around Dragon Ship crept up to their side and began to surround the merchant ship as if escorting it. It was as if they wouldn’t let a single ant escape.
Even in the midst of this, seeing the high-speed ship thoroughly maintaining a distance that cannot be jumped over by Lightness Art, the phrase ‘Dragon’s Tactics’ naturally came to mind.
“Where are they dragging us to?”
“What do you mean where? Their hideout, of course!”
Jo-Gol clenched his teeth.
Fighting them on the ship is difficult. But on the flip side, there is an advantage. The number of people that can board a ship is limited.
However, if they are dragged to land like this, the seven of them will have to face the many pirates alone.
‘If that happens, we wouldn’t have bothered with all this effort!’
“If we get dragged along, we’re done for!”
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean ‘what should we do’?”
Jo-Gol shouted out loud.
“Nothing has changed from the original plan! They’re kindly paving the way for us, we should repay them by cutting their throats! I’m going first!”
“Gol-ah!”
“Hey, you bastard! stop!”
Jo-Gol jumped onto the railing as if he had nothing to wait for.
Tak!
Then, he began running at a frightful speed along the chain that connected the ships.
“I was already frustrated, and now they’re even providing a path! How kind of them!”
It was just when Jo-Gol, who had Plum Blossom Sword in one hand, was running like a bolt of lightning with his eyes shining.
One person stuck his head out of the Dragon Ship and gestured lightly. Then, archers from the Dragon Ship and the surrounding fast ship, their bows were drawn, all revealed themselves at once.
Jo-Gol’s mouth gaped open in surprise.
“Huh?”
‘….I didn’t expect this?’
“Shoot!”
Swiiiing! Swiing! Swiiiing!
Arrows that were let loose from the bows soared up, darkening the sky.
“Wow… That’s a spectacular sight.”
And it started pouring down on Jo-Gol like black rain.
“…I shouldn’t have been so cocky.”
Regret is always too late, no matter how soon.