Chapter 77: Chapter 77
The place where the ship carrying the Water Dragon Stronghold’s water bandits arrived was a cave formed on a cliff.
As soon as the ship entered the cave, it gradually became dyed in darkness.
“I should kill the wench now.”
The impression of Heuk-ya-no (Black Night Old Man), who was gradually sinking into the darkness, suddenly crumpled.
How many times had he repeated saving the couple he could have killed under the Stronghold Leader’s orders?
In the meantime, the two had grown up.
In particular, the growth shown by the woman was so steep that it felt scary.
“When I first saw her, she couldn’t even match a single exchange, but now she surpasses a hundred exchanges.”
It was hard to believe even after seeing it.
At first, she was busy just blocking the Black Night Palm (Heuk-ya-jang), but now, blocking wasn’t enough, and she was even counterattacking.
‘I should nip it in the bud right now.’
He shook his head with a sigh.
But he couldn’t do that either.
Because it would be an act of disobeying the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader’s order to pull out at an appropriate line.
“Why did the Stronghold Leader give such an useless order…”
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no gain.
Was that all?
As they continued to repeat an useless war of attrition, complaints were even piling up inside the Water Dragon Stronghold.
‘Hah, I don’t know the Stronghold Leader’s intentions.’
When Heuk-ya-no pressed his forehead with his index finger as if he had a headache.
Thump…
Just in time, the ship stopped.
At the same time, brilliant lights turned on one by one on the ceiling and in all directions.
They were exactly Night Illuminating Pearls.
How many they had stolen in the meantime, there wasn’t just one or two Night Illuminating Pearls.
“Oh my, what kind of hardship is this.”
“What can we do? It’s the Stronghold Leader’s order. We just have to put our heads down and do it.”
The water bandits who were venting their complaints started to pour out of the ship.
“…Do I have to wait in the end?”
The moment Heuk-ya-no took a step while looking at his subordinates exiting the ship’s passage like a procession of ants.
Creeeak…
The door to the steering room opened.
“Good work today as well…”
The expression of Heuk-ya-no, who was turning his head to the side, slowly stiffened like a stone statue.
The person who opened the door and appeared was not a subordinate, but an unfamiliar young man.
“You are…”
At that moment, his eyes met the young man’s.
Pitch-black pupils slowly captured Heuk-ya-no’s gaze and plunged him into darkness.
Swish… Swish…
Heuk-ya-no shook his head greatly.
Soon recovering his senses, he moved his right hand to grasp his weapon and parted his lips.
“Wow, your mental strength is good.”
A smile formed on the young man’s mouth.
A smile as light as a fluff.
However, Heuk-ya-no, looking at that smile, felt his liver and gallbladder run cold.
“…Who are you?”
Swish…
Suddenly, the young man’s figure disappeared in a flash.
At the same time, Heuk-ya-no’s face turned completely white.
The young man was right in front of his nose.
“…W-when!”
“There’s no need for you to know who I am.”
The moment those words ended.
Flash!
A sword light swallowed Heuk-ya-no’s vision.
‘How could such a master…!’
And that was the last thought Heuk-ya-no had.
Splaash…
It was in the blink of an eye that the blood spurting from Heuk-ya-no’s neck dyed the wooden planks on the floor bright red.
“What, the headquarters is in a place like this.”
Cheon-hwi clicked his tongue.
Just the way here was complicated.
And a cave was the headquarters?
It was natural that he had a hard time finding it.
Would anyone have ever thought that the headquarters of the Water Dragon Stronghold, which was counted among the best even in the Yangtze River Waterways Stronghold, was a cave on a cliff?
“There are quite a few guys still left inside.”
Cheon-hwi muttered while shaking off the blood on his sword blade and turned his body.
“Oh my, my joints are aching.”
“Why do we have to do this crap, geez.”
The water bandits, who were grumbling and coming out just in time, were flustered when they saw Cheon-hwi.
“Huh? Who are you?”
“Was there a guy like that?”
“Gasp!”
At that time, they swallowed their breath simultaneously.
There was a corpse in front of the young man.
The corpse of Heuk-ya-no, exactly!
“E-Elder?!”
“An enemy… Keuk!”
The moment they tried to quickly shout.
Flash!
A sharp sword light flashed once again, and soon cold corpses piled up.
“I’ve taken care of everything inside.”
Cheon-hwi slowly took a step.
“Shall we clean up now?”
* * *
“Kuaaak!”
“S-save me!”
Those outside suddenly felt something was wrong with the screams running rampant inside the ship and urgently picked up their weapons.
“W-what is going on!”
“Screams are being heard from the ship Elder Heuk-ya-no is on!”
“O-on the ship? Is it an enemy?”
“I do not know.”
Around the time the tense ones swallowed their saliva and glared at the ship.
“…It became quiet.”
The screams completely stopped.
At the same time.
Creeeak… Creeeak…
The sound of stepping on wooden planks spread.
Soon, the closed door of the ship opened, and a young man revealed his figure.
He was a handsome young man wearing a pitch-black martial arts uniform.
A single streak of blood was dripping down the cheek of the young man with a sharp impression.
Then, the young man raised his head.
“Let’s see. Even at a rough glance, it exceeds a hundred.”
A low whisper spread.
Grin…
At the same time, his red lips tore to the side, revealing pure white teeth.
“It will take a little time.”
Cheon-hwi immediately kicked off the ground.
Unfurling the Dark Fragrance Float, he arrived at the bottom of the cave from the ship in a single breath and slashed those who didn’t even know he had moved yet.
Slash!
At the cold sound, the person next to him tried to turn his head.
Slice!
The sword slashed him before that.
As if showing how fast it was, the fallen person died without even being able to scream.
“It’s an enemy!”
“An enemy has appeared!”
Only then did the water bandits freak out and shout.
“What? An enemy? How many?”
“Where are they!”
Water bandits appeared from all directions.
Cheon-hwi stroked his chin once while looking at the densely appearing water bandits.
“It’s gross.”
He muttered while looking at the water bandits appearing endlessly like cockroaches, wondering where all those people had been hiding.
“Why are there so many.”
The water bandits who came outside looked around to find the enemy, and discovered Cheon-hwi.
“One person?”
The water bandits looked at the water bandit who requested help with deflated expressions.
“H-he’s not an opponent to look down on! Look at the corpses over there!”
The expressions of the water bandits, who followed the water bandit’s pointing finger and saw the mountain of corpses and sea of blood hidden behind Cheon-hwi, instantly stiffened.
And at the same time, they gripped their weapons.
Meanwhile, Cheon-hwi looked at the water bandits who appeared in swarms. No, to be precise, he was looking at the unique weapons they carried.
‘They are fascinating weapons.’
There was a curved blade with a bent tip, and there was also a whip with sharp thorns attached to it.
Each and every one of them was a vicious weapon that didn’t hide their murderous intent at all.
Tap!
At that time, the man holding the whip kicked off the ground. And then, he swung the whip with a rough hand gesture.
The whip, swung while cutting through the wind, shot toward Cheon-hwi’s flank.
Grab.
Cheon-hwi lightly dodged the charging person’s attack and grabbed the thorn-attached whip.
“It’s quite an interesting weapon.”
“I will make it more fun for you.”
The man sneered and pulled the whip.
However.
“Heup!”
The whip did not move at all.
Yank!
At that moment, his body was pulled forward.
“When will you make it more fun?”
“Heop!”
The moment he, in a panic, let go of the whip.
“Shall I show you instead? Here. Look.”
Cheon-hwi, who had somehow fixed his grip on the whip properly, swung it forcefully.
Crack!
A refreshing sound resonated.
The man’s clothing was torn to shreds by the thorns, and blood splattered in all directions.
“Kuaaak!”
A scream erupted from his dantian.
However, the attacks did not stop.
Crack! Crack!
Cheon-hwi, who swung the whip a few times, wrapped him up round and round and then burst him in a single blow.
“Then next.”
Cheon-hwi scanned those who were frozen stiff.
Their pupils were drenched in fear, but Cheon-hwi didn’t even care.
“If you aren’t coming.”
Cheon-hwi immediately stepped forward.
“I will go first.”
For a moment, a few of them tried to drop their weapons and run away, but a sword light flashed before that.
“Don’t think of living. Unlike last time, this time I will cut it off from the root.”
Cheon-hwi’s voice was dry.
From the moment he received the mission, the only thing he had been thinking about was one.
The extermination of the Water Dragon Stronghold.
Without leaving a single person behind.
* * *
Inside the room where the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader stayed.
The inside was filled with all sorts of rare and precious items.
There, a middle-aged man who was small but whose entire body looked solid, and an older man wearing a bamboo hat pressed down, sat on chairs and looked at each other.
The older man wearing the bamboo hat twitched his lips at the commotion happening outside.
“It is noisy outside.”
“There is no need to care.”
Unlike him, the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader was calm.
It was an attitude stemming from the confidence that although the Water Dragon Stronghold had been ambushed a few times in the past, it had never been captured.
“Do you know that the General Stronghold Leader has moved?”
The older man’s eyes became cold.
“That person has already moved?”
“Huhu. You were underestimating the General Stronghold Leader.”
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader sneered at him.
The General Stronghold Leader of the Yangtze River Waterways Stronghold.
In the Jianghu, he was known as an ignorant person who only knew strength, but the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader knew well.
That he was a person like a snake.
“He is a far more outstanding person than you all know.”
“You seem to trust him.”
“It is not trust, but a fact.”
The older man, who slightly lifted his bamboo hat, parted his lips as he looked at the eyes that had not a single lie.
“Even so, do not think about betraying us.”
“What? Betrayal?”
Suddenly, the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader threw a fit.
No, that was not a fit, but anger.
“You spew flashy words on the outside while using me.”
“Haha. Using you, that is a truly disappointing thing to say. Isn’t it a fair trade.”
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader, who saw the older man speaking slyly, seemingly unable to hold it in any longer, raised his right hand and slammed the table with a bang.
“Put some spit on your mouth before you spew such nonsense.”
Having spat out his words word by word with force as if chewing them up, he piercingly glared at the bamboo hat deeply pressed down by the older man.
“Despite having played with me while holding my weakness.”
“However, you were the one who followed in the end, weren’t you.”
At the words that hit the mark, the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader clenched his teeth, having lost his words.
For a short while after glaring at each other for a long time.
“…….”
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader eventually collapsed back into his seat and asked with a detached expression.
“What is the Ten Nights Sect (Sip-ya-mun) aiming for that you are trying to make the Yangtze River Waterways Stronghold and the Murim Alliance collide?”
The older man’s identity was surprising.
The Ten Nights Sect, a mysterious sect that ruled the night.
He was a disciple of the sect known as the most mysterious and secretive under heaven, a pillar of the Six Imperial Sects, no, the Five Imperial Sects.
“My lips are not loose.”
The Ten Nights Sect disciple grinned.
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader, who grasped the meaning contained in that smile, frowned.
“Then why did you come today?”
“That is for the next order, of course.”
“…Until when do I have to do this?”
“That is.”
The Ten Nights Sect disciple slightly lifted his bamboo hat.
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader was reflected in his pitch-black pupils.
That appearance looked as if he was trapped in an inescapable prison.
“Won’t it be for your entire life.”
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader squeezed his two eyes shut.
His weakness that he had to hide for his entire life. Of all things, he had ended up being caught by these vicious bastards.
‘I should have struggled back then.’
It was a late regret.
He was already deeply soaking one foot in the terrible swamp they had created.
Having dropped his shoulders with a liberated expression, he muttered as if spitting out a lament.
“Right. What is the order this time. Are you telling me to kill all of the dispatched Chivalrous Commission Squad now?”
It was just a word he spat out helplessly.
Touching the Chivalrous Commission Squad meant touching the Murim Alliance.
Because if things went wrong even a little, it was something that could trigger a war between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.
However.
“You know it surprisingly well.”
“…!”
The Water Dragon Stronghold Leader’s pupils shook.
“N-now, are you thinking of starting a war?”
Instead of words, he smiled faintly.
And that cold smile deeply pierced the heart of the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader, who swallowed his breath, like a sharp thorn.
“You’re crazy. You’re completely crazy.”
When the Water Dragon Stronghold Leader could not help but be astonished.
Crash!
The door shattered and dust rose.
At the same time, Cheon-hwi revealed his figure, piercing through the densely bloomed dust.
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