Chapter 3: Chapter 3
“Kill him!”
At the single phrase someone shouted in fury, the pirates raised their broadswords and swarmed in like a mob.
Not to mention the six pirates who had already boarded the boat, in the rear, easily around a dozen more were crossing over along the iron chains.
However, Cheon Woo-jin felt a sense of doubt.
‘Is it true that they are really trying to kill me?’
Though they said to kill, he felt a momentum entirely different from when Master Black Elder killed people.
Naturally, this was not referring to the difference in martial prowess.
When Black Elder showed killing intent toward someone, the determination that he would kill the opponent no matter what happened was clearly felt even by Cheon Woo-jin beside him.
‘Of course, the party receiving that killing intent was probably the most terrified, but…’
At any rate, in that sense, the killing intent the pirates displayed was truly unsightly. It looked like a mindset of, ‘if we kill him, great, and if not, nothing we can do.’
Soon, right about when the pirates approached right before his nose.
Cheon Woo-jin paused as he was about to draw the Crescent Moon Staff strapped to his back. If he swung it carelessly, it felt as though not only the pirates’ ships, but even the boat he was riding on would all be utterly destroyed.
Since he could not make the boatman who had shown him kindness unemployed, Cheon Woo-jin took his hand off the staff and pulled out the Crane Feather Fan.
Flap!
The three white cranes painted on the fan revealed themselves.
For a moment, doubt flashed through the pirates’ minds.
‘A young punk like this with a fan?’
Usually, fans were weapons often favored by elderly masters of the martial world or Daoists.
Soon, as Cheon Woo-jin gently waved the Crane Feather Fan, a gentle breeze swirled around. He intended to talk to the excited pirates first after cutting off their wrists, at least.
Of course, unlike Cheon Woo-jin’s thoughts, it was doubtful whether a conversation would work with pirates whose wrists had been cut off.
Right about when the Crane Feather Fan was about to be swung with a noble posture.
“W-Wait!”
At the boatman’s sudden shout out of nowhere, the movements of everyone standing on the boat came to an abrupt halt.
The boatman, whose nape was still bright red from being grabbed by the pirate, rushed over urgently and continued speaking.
“I-I will give you more money. I will give you plenty, very plenty, even for the medical expenses of the injured person, so let us stop. Yes? It is not as if we’ve seen each other for just a day or two, so please, I beg of you, please stop.”
The boatman bowed his head almost as if begging.
The pirates exchanged glances among themselves.
The boatman, watching their reactions, hurriedly continued speaking.
“Great heroes, I have an obligation to protect the people aboard my boat. I have lived for thirty years with such a mindset, so how could I watch this young man get struck by a blade and die on my boat?”
It was then.
“Ah really, I can’t take this anymore.”
A man sprang up from among the rising talents.
Everyone’s attention focused on him. The man, who was as handsome as a painting, drew the saber at his waist, walked up to Cheon Woo-jin, and spoke.
“You, young hero, are a champion of justice, and the person here is a boatman of rare convictions…”
Song Yi-yeon, who let out a deep sigh, pointed his saber at the pirates.
“Sitting still makes me feel like total trash, doesn’t it?”
Did those words serve as a catalyst?
“Ha, I really have to pass this exam, seriously…”
“Do you think I’d want to use up all my strength before even arriving either?”
Once again, three rising talents grumbled and stood up. In the midst of that, one man pointed at Cheon Woo-jin and muttered.
“You’re also truly reckless, young hero. How many are their numbers for you to step forward so thoughtlessly like that?”
Cheon Woo-jin merely shrugged his shoulders. In truth, whether they were here or not, the result would not change.
The pirates exchanged glances.
The opponents were at most five naive fools of the Righteous Path who knew nothing of the world.
However, if the other rising talents began stepping forward caught up in the atmosphere, the story would change.
No matter how young they were, they had properly learned martial arts, and their numbers alone seemed to easily reach thirty.
Even so, backing down in this situation would make them look as though they were running away in fear of a mere five people.
Right when the pirates were gauging the situation.
“Are you going to fight, or not?”
Everyone’s attention converged on the ice-cold, slender voice. Her originally cold impression stood out even more as she furrowed her brows.
Looking at the pirates with a face full of disdain, she spoke.
“If you aren’t going to fight, beat it right now.”
“…”
Song Yi-yeon, watching this, pointed at her and spoke.
“Could you perhaps be from the Zhuge Clan?”
“…I am not.”
Startled, she denied it half a beat late.
Song Yi-yeon’s eyes narrowed.
“I know someone from the Zhuge Clan well, and you look remarkably alike. Are you really not?”
“I said I’m not, didn’t I?”
Song Yi-yeon actually did not care whether she was from the Zhuge Clan or not. He merely wanted to burden the pirates with risk.
“It really seems like you’re from the Zhuge Clan…”
“I said no!”
“Hah, if not, then whatever.”
Song Yi-yeon shrugged his shoulders.
She glared at Song Yi-yeon like that, then spoke.
“Whether I’m from the Zhuge Clan or not, at any rate, I have no intention of stepping in. I have no desire to cross hands with pirates, and I dislike delaying time any further. Is there anyone else who will step forward besides those five?”
Having spoken thus, the woman scanned the surroundings.
However, everyone merely averted their eyes.
If they had intended to step forward in the first place, they would have done so long ago.
Having confirmed this, she spoke in a voice that somehow carried a sigh.
“There are none. Now then, choose your side. Will you fight, or will you run?”
The pirates grinned, revealing their yellow teeth.
It was a smile that matched their characteristic disheveled hair remarkably well.
“The pretty young lady has quite a refreshing personality as well. Very well, we will drag out the time no longer. We will slaughter the five bastards here and the boatman, and guide the boat to the destination ourselves.”
Naturally, they intended to plunder all provisions and the boat, with the exception of the rising talents’ luggage.
Now that they confirmed the other bastards would not step in, there was no reason to hesitate.
The pirates’ momentum changed in an instant.
Before long, even the pirates on the other ships had all crossed over, creating a situation where nearly twenty pirates stood upon the boat.
The four rising talents excluding Cheon Woo-jin swallowed their saliva. The thought that they might unluckily die in this battle filled each of their minds.
In an instant, the pirates, having exchanged glances, leaped in unison. At the same time, Song Yi-yeon sprang forward like an arrow and swung his long saber, with three rising talents following behind him.
Clang, clang, clash!
In a flash, the sabers and swords of the rising talents and pirates tangled wildly in the air.
“…”
Amazingly, Cheon Woo-jin merely watched this.
“Y-Young hero?”
Blocking a pirate’s broadsword, Song Yi-yeon called out to Cheon Woo-jin anxiously. The boatman and rising talents observing this from afar thought that Cheon Woo-jin had actually grown terrified.
Actual combat was originally like that. No matter how diligently one trained, the body was bound to freeze when facing a fight where bladed weapons and blood ran rampant for the first time.
However, the reason Cheon Woo-jin stood still was not something like that. He alternately looked at Song Yi-yeon, the woman of cold impression, and the boatman, tilting his head.
Everyone had strange points.
First of all, Song Yi-yeon was not displaying his abilities properly. With his martial prowess, he should have already killed three or four pirates, yet there was still not a single dead pirate.
A pirate who spotted the motionless Cheon Woo-jin shouted.
“That son of a bitch started the fight and is slinking back behind! Strike that bastard first!”
Belatedly noticing Cheon Woo-jin, several pirates charged with irritated expressions.
In an instant, Song Yi-yeon’s movements became fast beyond comparison to before.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Song Yi-yeon blocked the pirates rushing toward Cheon Woo-jin.
Although it was absurd that he took a step back once the fight actually broke out, at any rate, he could not let him die.
However, the difference in numbers was simply too overwhelming.
Between the three pirates Song Yi-yeon was holding off, two pirates persistently dashed toward Cheon Woo-jin.
“Young Hero Woo-jin! Dodge!”
“Die!”
Broadswords whose chipped edges felt all the more chilling fell over Cheon Woo-jin’s head.
“Young hero!!”
Despite Song Yi-yeon’s urgent shout, Cheon Woo-jin remained unmoving.
At this moment, he felt resentful toward the bastards who were merely watching idly from behind.
Of course, several rising talents stirred as if unable to watch the death, but it was already far too late.
Soon, blood gushed like a fountain above Cheon Woo-jin’s head.
Several rising talents even closed their eyes and turned their heads away.
However, the scream that followed was not Cheon Woo-jin’s.
“A-Aaaargh!”
“Guh!”
Two wrists fell to the floor while still gripping their broadswords. The pirates clutched their wrists with their opposite hands and collapsed.
He could have severed their necks in a single strike, but deliberately cutting only their wrists was a kindness Cheon Woo-jin showed.
Cheon Woo-jin approached the pirates writhing in pain on the floor and spoke in a low voice.
“Now that your wrists have become like that, you won’t be able to hold weapons anymore. Since this opportunity has come, how about living a good life?”
“…”
In an instant, chills ran down the spines of everyone on the boat, including Song Yi-yeon, the pirates, and the boatman.
Cheon Woo-jin’s tone was not sarcastic. He purely wanted the pirates to live that way.
A strange sense of dissonance was felt from a way of thinking that was somehow different from an ordinary person’s.
‘Is that something to say after cutting them off yourself?’
Song Yi-yeon thought to himself, unable to say it out loud.
Everyone on the boat stopped their movements and stared only at Cheon Woo-jin.
Only then did Cheon Woo-jin, looking around, widen his eyes.
“Why is everyone like that?”
“Y-You bastard…!”
Did that innocent face provoke the desire for revenge in the pirates whose wrists were severed?
Several pirates charged toward Cheon Woo-jin.
Flap!
At the same time, Cheon Woo-jin’s Crane Feather Fan unfurled once more.
The pirates instinctively stopped dead in their tracks.
Cheon Woo-jin looked at them and pondered for a moment.
‘What would my masters have done?’
If it were Master Black Elder, he would have killed them all, and if it were Master White Elder, he would have persuaded them with words first.
“Hmm…”
Because no conclusion came easily no matter how much he pondered, Cheon Woo-jin asked the woman of cold impression.
“What should I do?”
At that sudden question, everyone’s gazes turned toward her.
After engaging in a staring contest with Cheon Woo-jin for a moment, she let out a deep sigh and stood up from her seat.
“I am Zhuge Rin, Vice Squad Leader of the Martial Alliance’s Black Tortoise Squad.”
“W-What does that…”
The pirates blinked their eyes with their whole bodies stiffened.
In the midst of that, Song Yi-yeon let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Whoa, damn, I was just saying that.”
“…”
Zhuge Rin, who glared at Song Yi-yeon with a displeased expression, walked toward the place where the fight had been raging and spoke.
“You pirate folks who worked hard may now get lost, and the people who passed the preliminary exam are the five who stepped forward just now. I am sorry to the rest, but the gates of the Martial Alliance are not open to those who feigned ignorance of injustice.”
“…”
Not to mention the pirates, even the rising talents merely stared at Zhuge Rin with dazed expressions.
“You punk, what are you spacing out for?”
In an instant, everyone’s heads whipped around.
The boatman who had been oppressed by the pirates was swinging his fist. The problem was that the large fist could barely be seen in silhouette, moving at a speed difficult to track with the eyes.
“I told you to get lost, didn’t I?”
Wham!
A fist the size of a pot lid struck the pirate’s face.
The pirate, who was flung back just like that, embedded into a rock on the opposite riverbank with a thud, then splashed into the water.
The boatman, watching this with satisfaction, dusted off his hands and spoke.
“He’s a pirate of sorts, so he won’t drown.”
Glug, glug…
The unconscious pirate was a slightly different story.
“If not, then whatever.”
The boatman broke into boisterous laughter.
“…”
Once again, an awkward silence settled over the area.
Regardless, the boatman, who naturally stood beside Zhuge Rin, spoke as if declaring to everyone.
“I am Cheol Ji-ak, Black Tortoise Squad Leader of the Martial Alliance. My damn role as a boatman ends today as well. You pirate bastards, if you don’t beat it by the count of three, I will consider it a challenge to the Martial Alliance and follow legitimate yet somewhat violent procedures. One…”
Before his words could even finish, the pirates were already fleeing back along the iron chains. Those who were impatient even threw their bodies into the water.
Cheol Ji-ak, watching this with satisfaction, approached Cheon Woo-jin with a quite serious face and asked.
“You, since when did you know we were from the Martial Alliance? You’d better answer straight.”
The entrance exam was prepared under strict secrecy.
This was to prevent occupying positions through connections or wealth in the Martial Alliance, which pursued fairness.
Therefore, Cheon Woo-jin’s answer was exceedingly important.
If the contents of this exam had been leaked to the outside in advance…
“I only just found out as well, though.”
“Huh?”
Cheon Woo-jin pointed at Zhuge Rin and spoke.
“That person was talking all on her own.”
“…”
Zhuge Rin’s jaw dropped slightly.