“Dieeee!”

“Ahh! You pirate bastard!”

“I will kill you!”

Mount Hua’s disciples closed their eyes and charged at him.

“W-what?”

“What is wrong with these bastards!”

It was only natural to gain momentum against an opponent.

But there was a huge difference between gaining momentum and going full circle. Mount Hua’s disciples rushed at the pirates as if they had seen their mortal enemies.

“Ahhh! You bastards!”

“W-why are you being like this!”

It might be embarrassing for the pirates, but from the perspective of the Mount Hua disciples, it was completely natural.

How hard had they been training until now?

After meeting with the Wudang sect, they realized what they were lacking and trained to ensure that didn’t happen again. Didn’t they even devise new means to avoid being deficient in fights?

The fierceness wasn’t enough yet to show their true strength, but in any case, it was still an attack.

And they had no doubt that this battle would also require them to do their best, as they had learned to put in their utmost effort.

But…

“I will drag you by the stomach!”

“Get him caught in the net and flop around!”

“Drink poison!”

“Is this what people even do? You fucking bastards!”

Of course, that wasn’t what they did. But to the Mount Hua disciples, who hadn’t lived such a nuanced life, pirates were just pirates.

The disciples of Mount Hua, who rolled their eyes like Chung Myung, swung their swords. Looking at the sword’s bizarre path and the fierce force, one could believe that it wasn’t the Justice faction but the Evil Faction attacking and engaging in a battle for power.

“Ahhhh!”

Jo Gul’s sword spun as if it was about to crush a person to pieces.

“Y-You insane people!”

“I cannot stand them! Jump off!”

“Where do you people think you are going!”

The disciples of Mount Hua rushed at them, their eyes almost completely white with fury. At the same time, the pirates ran desperately and barely managed to throw themselves into the river.

“Are you trying to run?”

“Yah! Cross over, cross over! To the next ship!”

“Here I come!”

Seeing their wild eyes, the Green Forest bandits stayed silent.

‘Let us not get involved in this.’

‘They seem like those who live in the mountains… if they come over to our mountains, we won’t seem so special anymore.’

‘I need to tell everyone not to even think about fighting with the Mount Hua Sect.’

What could they say when the leader was running rampant all alone, and his subordinates were equally ferocious?

The guys here alone could devour a large mountain, too, if given the chance. Then, the place of Green Forest would also change…

“There! There!”

“There are a lot of pirate bastards over there!”

“Knock them all to death!”

“Um, Taoists… calm down a little…”

“What?”

“N-nothing…”

Who was the bandit and who was the Taoist here?

Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one around serious enough to question the facts.

“Ughhh!”

Rumble!

Meanwhile, Chung Myung was sinking another ship in front of them.

At the front, he flew like a pirate king, destroying the ship, and at the back, the party with Baek Cheon, including the monk, led the bandits and crossed the ships, sweeping the pirates down.

“Kuaak!”

“D-damn it!”

A look of confusion was evident on the faces of the pirates who abandoned the ship and fled.

In the first place, if the pirates didn’t push back with their numbers, they would be no match for the Mount Hua disciples. The Five Swords were now stronger than most middle-level clans or sects.

Once they boarded the ship, there was no other way out for the pirates. On a ship with limited space, using their numerical advantage was tough, and it wasn’t easy to use different weapons.

Therefore, they had to fight based solely on their skills. Despite their shaky footing, the Mount Hua disciples were not going to struggle against the pirates.

Moreover,

“Ahhh! Follow them!”

“Mount Hua! Mount Hua! Mount Hua!”

“They aren’t Mount Hua; they are bandits! They are Mount Hua bandits!”

“Who cares about all that!”

The bandits, who liked to suppress the strong whenever they saw one, were swept away by the momentum of the Mount Hua disciples. They shouted loudly and drove the pirates away.

Im So-Byeong, who was watching the process while standing at the bow of the ship without crossing over, scratched the back of his head with his fan.

“This…”

His head slowly tilted to the side.

“Does this make sense?”

Of course, he had no complaints about this. On the contrary, it was clearly a situation that can be called joyful. But he couldn’t help but find it strange.

‘This isn’t a situation where the battle should happen like this.’

The other side took advantage of the land and fought the battle wisely. Even if Im So-Byeong personally commanded and fought with similar strength, he would end up taking a good amount of damage.

‘At least I would have to risk around half a ship being destroyed.’

It was inevitable with the artillery attacks that were happening. Even if the ancestor came back alive, he would only reduce a certain amount of damage. Still, it would be difficult to change the situation.

But that ridiculous human there jumped in alone and turned the battlefield upside down.

“Hahaha. It is turning.”

It was a moment when everything he had learned was denied, but Im So-Byeong was more happy than angry.

“Right. This is how one becomes Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon!”

That person should have a taste of this.

“Take out the harpoon! Attack the next ship!”

“Yes!”

Slash!

Im So-Byeong swung his fan.

“Do not lose the momentum! Push and rush in right away! Archers! What are you doing? Shoot and kill those who are in the water!”

“Yes!”

As the whistle rang out, the archers on each ship began to shoot arrows.

“Kuak!”

“I-It’s the arrows! Dive in!”

“N-No!”

The current around them was extremely rough.

“Ahhh!”

Those who were pierced by Mount Hua’s swords let out desperate screams. Those whose necks were pierced died instantly, while those hit elsewhere had a tough time swimming.

The steep current swept them away, making it impossible to move properly and dragging them down.

“S-spare me!”

“Help me! Please!”

Jo Seung clicked his tongue as he watched the tragedy unfold on the river.

“If you look down on the river, things won’t work out for you.”

So, in order to cook and eat right, labor was needed.

“Um… Green Forest King.”

“What?”

Jo Seung spoke as if he felt bad.

“In my opinion, it would be better to place those who use spears on the edge of the ship.”

“Spears?”

“Yes… when people fall into the water, they cannot see anything, so they will climb up, not caring whether it’s the pirate ship or ours. Survival is their priority.”

“Hoo.”

Im So-Byeong looked at Jo Seung with shock.

“Nice opinion. Let’s do that.”

“Thank you!”

Jo Seung quickly bowed his waist.

Even though he didn’t care much about the Great Whale Pirates, Im So-Byeong was not to be underestimated. Wasn’t Im So-Byeong on the same level as the Black Dragon King, who rules the Yangtze River?

Just knowing that the Green Forest King accepted his opinion made him feel happy.

“You are pretty smart.”

“T-thank you.”

“The pirates seem smart too. You must have had a lot of trouble, right?”

“… well….”

“Are you interested in working for me?”

“Uh? Is that alright?”

“Oh, by the way, you weren’t given a choice. If you don’t come under my wing, there is a high chance you will be taken away by that guy and live your life in hell.”

At Im So-Byeong’s words, Jo Seung looked blankly. He saw Chung Myung rising above the ship, roaring and running wild.

“Uhahahaha! Die! Die, you bastard!”

“….”

Jo Seung turned his head again with an expressionless face and fell flat on the ground.

“I will accept it!”

“It is nice that you made the right decision. Then let us change clothes first. That guy isn’t good at remembering people’s faces, so he might beat you the moment he sees you.”

“….”

“Tsk tsk. It is because he is so vicious.”

A situation arose where the bandit leader was criticizing the Taoists for being vicious. Still, no one on the ship thought it was strange.

It was truly sad.

“R-retreat!”

“Go back to the base! He won’t be defeated here!”

The ship carrying the survivors began to turn its bow with all its might.

This was where an absurd scene of bandits fleeing to the land to avoid the bandits and mountain-dwelling Taoist people actually took place.

“Y-yah, you bastard!”

“Take us with you too!”

“Oh my…”

Those who were drowning and being showered with arrows looked at the ship moving away with despairing eyes. Retreat was something that could happen at any time if the tide was against you, but what kind of person would abandon and run away when nearly half of them were in the water?

“N-Now, we are dead for sure…”

There was no other way.

Those who climbed onto the enemy ship to survive were knocked down with spears and fell into the water. Now, there was only one choice: drown in the water or get hit by an arrow. It wasn’t known if there were people who managed to swim to the river’s edge, but it was probably only a small number.

At the very moment when despair fell into the eyes of the enemies.

“Are those bastards running away now?”

An evil and cruel voice exploded over the river.

“Chase! Go after them!”

“Be sure to start with the remnants…”

“It is obvious that we need to go after them! Why aren’t you moving fast?”

“I-I am coming. Let us leave these guys alone and chase after the ships! No! Stop aiming for them, you bastards! Chase after them!”

The folded oars came back, and the ship began to move ahead.

“It is said that if you fall behind, you die! Follow me!”

“Yes!”

The ship carrying the Green Forest bandits escaped between the sinking ships and began to move ahead at full speed. Meanwhile, the Green Forest bandits who had boarded the pirate ships also quickly got back onto their ship.

“Did you people eat slugs or what? Why are you so damn slow?”

“I-I am doing my best now!”

“Best? The only thing you people do is row and loot, and now you cannot even do that properly? And you want to live? Why would anyone help you out?”

“I-I am rowing at full speed now!”

“Hurry!”

The bandits rushed ahead and into the cabin. The pirate shouted as he grabbed the pole in the cabin and went down in one go.

“M-move quickly! Quick, you people! If he comes down, we will be beaten to death here!”

Who didn’t know who ‘he’ was?

“Eik!”

“Gosu hit those drums quickly! Now!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The drumming sound of the drummer sitting at the front of the room began to get faster. Then the people rowing the oars moved them faster and faster.

Rowing was harder labor than one could imagine, but since they were warriors who had learned martial arts, the speed was so fast that it was uncanny.

“Hurry! Faster!”

“Euhhh!”

“Kuaaaak!”

The fear even increased, and the pirates holding the oars rowed to the point of puking out blood. There was a repeated breaking sound from the oars, and the ship began to move out at an incredible speed.

“Nice!”

Chung Myung nodded with a satisfied expression. The distance to the fleeing ships was gradually narrowing.

“Let’s go!”

Chung Myung boarded the leading ship, drew his sword, and pointed it ahead.

Soon, the fleeing ships were seen anchoring, almost crashing into an island of reeds.

“Uh?”

Thud!

Woanngggg!

The ships that hit the sandbank made a thundering noise and went over.

“Yah! Wait! Reduce the speed! Slow down! Stop, you bastards!”

Of course, a ship that has gained speed cannot stop at once.

“We will crash!”

“Hold on tight! No, just jump out!”

‘Euhhhh! What are you doing, insane bastard!’

The oars were desperately lowered, but there was no way they could stop the ship.

Chung Myung smiled happily as he watched the ships getting closer at a high pace.

“Was it a bit much?”

KWAAANNNNNGGGGGG!

The ship with Chung Myung hit the back of the pirate ship and was literally destroyed.

“AHHH! You bastard!!”

The desperate voice of Jo Seung, who was unable to handle the force of the collision, soared into the air, and his shout echoed faintly over the flowing river.