Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel - Chapter 575

Chapter 575

It was a ship unlike any other seen on the river.

Designed for ocean navigation, it had a streamlined hull, a high bow, and numerous masts.

At first glance, it looked very different from the usual Yangtze ships.

The masts of the massive ship fluttered with banners symbolizing the Martial Sword Alliance.

Even though it was far away, the ship was so massive that the turbulent waves rolled up to the boat on which Pyo Wol and the others were sailing.

Every time the waves hit, Pyo Wol’s boat seemed to tilt and rock as if it would capsize at any moment.

Sal-no quickly used his internal energy to stabilize the rocking boat. But the big waves didn’t stop at one; they came in twos and threes, constantly crashing into them.

It was only when Soma stepped in to take an oar that they finally found stability.

Meanwhile, the ship of the Martial Sword Alliance passed by Pyo Wol’s boat and disappeared into the distance.

Sal-no, still holding an oar, opened his mouth.

“Fortunately, it seems they didn’t see us.”

“Since our boat is so small and far away, they may not have seen us, or they may have considered us insignificant and just passed us by.

“Or maybe something urgent came up and that’s why they’re in such a hurry. Either way, it’s lucky for us.

“Hmm!”

Pyo Wol nodded at Sal-no’s words.

A vessel of that size could easily hold over a hundred martial artists. There would have been nothing good about encountering such a massive ship in the middle of the Yangtze.

They didn’t know what urgent matter was making the ship sail so hastily, but for Pyo Wol and the others, it had turned out for the best. Thanks to this, the other party had not paid them any attention.

“Uh-yo-cha!”

Sal-no began to row with renewed vigor.

The boat resumed its smooth sailing along the river.

Only then did Sal-no let out a sigh of relief.

Navigating the Yangtze in a small boat was no easy task.

Sal-no would not have taken on such a challenging task if Pyo Wol had not been with him.

Nevertheless, the boat continued to glide steadily down the Yangtze, thanks to Sal-no’s efforts. They had been traveling for half an hour when it happened.

“Brother!”

Soma, who had been watching the front, called out to Pyo Wol.

As Pyo Wol looked over, Soma pointed ahead on the river.

“There are corpses over there….”

“Corpses?”

Pyo Wol looked in the direction that Soma was pointing.

From afar, he could see several bodies floating on the water.

Sal-no steered the boat toward the corpses.

Pyo Wol examined the clothing on one of the floating bodies:

“They’re martial artists from the Silver Hall”

“It seems there was a naval battle. There are more bodies over there as well.”

Sal-no pointed downstream on the river.

More floating bodies were visible in that direction.

Soma voiced his thoughts:

“Looks like they fought a ship from Silver Lotus Hall not far from here?”

They were not far from Poyang Lake.

It wouldn’t be strange for the Golden Heavenly Hall and the Silver Lotus Hall to be fighting. The problem was that they were fighting in the area that Pyo Wol was passing through.

Sal-no asked Pyo Wol:

“What should we do? Shall we turn back?”

They had just entered a gorge-like terrain, and there were no suitable places to dock the boat.

The only way to avoid the conflict between the Golden Heavenly Hall and the Silver Lotus Society was to retrace their steps.

Pyo Wol shook his head:

“No, let’s keep going.”

“Understood.”

Sal-no said nothing more and continued to row.

As they moved downstream, more bodies floating on the water came into view. Eventually, two ships were spotted in the middle of the river, engaged in a fierce battle.

One was a ship of the Martial Sword Alliance, which they had seen earlier, and the other was a Unmado Riverboat, a common sight on the Yangtze.

The two ships clashed in the middle of the river like a tug-of-war.

Crash!

The colossal hulls collided, and the sound of breaking wood reached even the boat Pyo Wol was on.

Crash!

The Martial Sword Alliance’s ship pushed down on the bow of the Unmado Riverboat. The bow of the Martial Sword Alliance ship was naturally higher, so the Unmado Riverboat was sucked under.

The sailors on the Unmado Riverboat tried to escape, but it was in vain. The ship was sinking steadily. If it continued like this, it would surely be submerged entirely soon.

“Cowardly scoundrels!”

“Head to that ship,”

“Chaha!”

The martial artists on the sinking Unmado Riverboat leaped towards the Martial Sword Alliance’s ship. However, the Martial Sword Alliance’s martial artists stood firm, defending against the incoming fighters from the Silver Lotus Hall.

The Martial Sword Alliance martial artists had the advantage.

They held a higher position and were not under immediate pressure. On the other hand, the martial artists of the Silver Lotus Hall had to risk their lives to escape from the sinking ship.

Their anxiety naturally led to clumsy movements.

“Kuack!”

“Kuk!”

The Psychological pressure prevented them from displaying their true abilities.

The Silver Lotus Hall martial artists who tried to board the ship were defeated and fell into the water injured. The survivors struggled to pull them onto the sinking Unmado Riverboat.

However, this was not a permanent solution.

A young martial artist, clad in blue, gritted his teeth.

With eyes like a hawk and a strong jawline, His name was Eum Jeong-han.

He was called the Blue Winged Falcon, a prominent member of the Silver Lotus Hall.

Eum Jeong-han shouted:

“Everyone, focus your minds.”

He was in charge of the Unmado Riverboat.

The ship was filled with young martial artists who wanted to join the Silver Lotus Hall. However, the Golden Heavenly Hall had somehow found out and sent a Martial Sword Alliance ship in a surprise attack.

On the Martial Sword Alliance ship, there was a young martial artist who was about the same age as Eum Jeong-han.

He had a peculiar smile on his face.

His small eyes, barely visible, were curved into crescents, and a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

Despite witnessing numerous deaths before him, his childish smile did not fade.

His name was Gi Han-seong.

He was one of the Four Great Martial Artists, known as the Wind Spirit Swordsman.

Gi Han-seong looked at Eum Jeong-han and declared,

“You will die here today, Eum Jeong-han!”

“Gi Han-seong!”

Eum Jeong-han roared, launching himself at Gi Han-seong, followed by the warriors of Silver Lotus Hall.

“Chyaa!”

A blue sword aura surged from Eum Jeong-han’s sword, bearing down on Gi Han-seong.

“Hmph!”

In an instant, Gi Han-seong scoffed, throwing a punch. Azure mist began to form around his fist.

He had unleashed his fist qi.

Kwaang!

“Ugh!”

With a loud blast, Eum Jeong-han was thrown back onto the Unmado River boat.

Although both suffered similar blows, Eum Jeong-han, unsupported in midair, suffered greater damage.

“shit!”

Eum Jeong-han hastily got up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

Blood was visible at the corner of his mouth.

He was injured.

But he couldn’t afford to rest.

“Agh!”

“Urk!”

His warriors, who had lunged after him, were screaming as they fell.

Eum Jeong-han gritted his teeth.

“You cowardly scum!”

“Cowardly or not, all that matters is winning.”

Gi Han-seong calmly retorted.

His eyes flickered with a killing intent.

He had led this surprise attack.

The tactic of silently approaching the Unmado River boat and crushing it outright had been very effective.

Because the Martial Sword Alliance’s ship was much larger and sturdier than the Unmado River boat, this strategy was possible.

The ambushed river boat was sinking, and the warriors aboard were at a disadvantage.

Unless another ship came to rescue them, all the martial artists of the Silver Lotus Hall were going to be killed.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh? There’s a boat approaching.”

One of his subordinates pointed upstream.

Indeed, a small boat was coming downstream from the upper course.

It was so small that it could be called a one-man boat. No matter how many people boarded it, it seemed to sink after five or six people.

Under normal circumstances, they would have simply let it pass. But not today.

It was a golden opportunity to destroy Blue Winged Falcon Eum Jeong-han and the elites of the Silver Lotus Hall. They couldn’t give them the slightest chance to escape.

Gi Han-seong issued an order to his subordinate.

“Take care of it.”

“Understood!”

Swish!

As soon as Gi Han-seong’s command was given, a small boat descended.

The boat carried about ten martial artists.

They rowed and approached the boat with Pyo Wol and the others.

Five of the ten martial artists rowed together

Each time they rowed, the little boat shot out at a frightening speed.

They quickly caught up to the boat with Pyo Wol and others.

“Halt!”

The martial artists from the Golden Heavenly Hall shouted, blocking Pyo Wol’s ship.

At this, Sal-no clicked his tongue.

“Tsk!”

“I told you to stop.”

The martial artists from the Golden Heavenly Hall yelled again.

Sal-no ignored them, trying to steer clear of their ship. However, the martial artists from the Golden Heavenly Hall quickly changed their direction and blocked their way again.

“You dare disobey our orders and flee? You’re all suspicious. Take them all out.”

The one leading the martial artists on the boat gave the order.

“Understood!”

“Charge!”

Responding to the command, the martial artists threw themselves towards the boat Pyo Wol was on.

Before they knew it, they had drawn their swords.

Swoosh!

Their swords were launched toward Pyo Wol, Sal-no, and others.

Without even confirming their identities, they launched an attack with the intent to kill.

“How dare you!”

At that moment, a murderous glint flashed in Sal-no’s eyes.

He was infuriated that they dared to attack Pyo Wol without question.

Normally, he would avoid drawing attention to himself, but this time he could not let it go.

Sal-no swung the oar he’d been dipping in the river toward the martial artists who’d launched the attack.

Splash!

A spray of water shot into the air, obscuring the martial artists’ vision.

“What’s happening?”

“My goodness!”

Whizzing!

At that instant, numerous silver needles burst through the wall of water.

The silver needles mixed with water were impossible to see with Naked Eyes

“Argh!”

“Ack!”

The martial artists launching the attack screamed as they fell into the water.

Slender needles as thin as ox hair filled their faces and chests.

“It’s an ambush.”

“Everyone, be careful!”

The martial artists still onboard were horrified.

Especially the leader of the martial artists, whose eyes nearly popped out in shock.

He knew how difficult it was to penetrate the spray of water with such thin needles.

To penetrate the barrier of water with slender needles, which could be carried away by a mere breeze, required extraordinary internal energy.

He had not expected the cultivation of the old man on the boat to be so profound.

“Everyone, be carefu…”

He was about to warn his subordinates when.

Whizzing!

“Ugh!”

“Agh!”

Again, the ox hair needles flew, and his subordinates screamed and fell into the river.

The martial artists who fell into the water never moved again.

They were all dead.

It didn’t make sense for them to die so quickly, just by being hit by the needles.

“It’s, it’s poison.”

And it was an extremely deadly poison at that.

Only then did the chief martial artist realize that these were not ordinary men.

“Run, run away!”

He hastily ordered his subordinates. But there were only three left, including himself.

They had arrived with ten men, and in an instant, seven had been fatally struck by the ox-hair needles.

Splash!

All of a sudden, the boat they were on began rocking violently.

The next thing they knew, Sal-no was on their boat with an oar.

“The, the boatman…”

The leader and his subordinates tried to attack Sal-no, but Sal-no was faster and swung his oar horizontally.

Slish!

A chilling cutting sound echoed across the boat.

“Kkhhhh!”

The leader clutched at his throat with both hands, his eyes bulging as red blood flowed between his fingers.

The same happened to the other subordinates.

They staggered and fell into the river.

All of them were dead.

“Hmph!”

It was then that Sal-no snorted in contempt.

Whoosh!

The huge boat carrying the martial artists from the Golden Heavenly Hall turned in their direction, then surged toward them, cutting through the current.

Sal-no shook his head.

“It seems a peaceful resolution is not an option.”