Chapter 110

Chapter 110
## Chapter 110: Yangtze Blood Battle (2)

They had managed to plow through the initial blockade of pirate vessels, but the danger was far from over. Unlike the heavy merchant ships built for hauling freight and passengers, these pirate crafts were engineered for rapid raiding and evading official patrols, making them far more maneuverable and swift.

The gap between the commercial vessel and the surrounding fleet of the Yangtze Waterway Alliance had shrunk to less than twenty zhang.

A sharp signal horn echoed across the water, and shortly after, the merchant ship was rocked by a massive impact.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A series of violent jolts followed.

Large harpoon-like arrows, trailing thick ropes, rained down from the enemy ships and embedded themselves into the wood.

Cheol Woo and Sima Geon moved with blurring speed to deflect the projectiles, but the sheer volume of the barrage coming from every possible vector eventually forced them to stop.

The iron-tipped bolts struck the deck, the mid-hull, and even the waterline, pinning the merchant ship in place like a fly caught in a web.

“What’s the play?”

Cheol Woo asked, tugging on one of the taut ropes as he watched the pirate ships pull closer.

“No need for complex plans. Just go wild.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear. No sense in standing around waiting.”

A wide smirk spread across Cheol Woo’s face as he picked out a likely pirate vessel to board.

“Try not to overdo it.”

“Why the concern? I might be built like a mountain, but I’m as light as a bird over the waves. If I don’t want to be caught, nobody is catching me when I decide to bolt.”

Cheol Woo gave Noejeon a mock scowl at the ambiguous advice and began rotating his fists with a low hum of power.

“Just wait. I’ll make sure you can’t talk back later.”

Leaving that dark threat hanging, Cheol Woo sprinted across the wood and vaulted over the side of the ship with a powerful kick.

“Gwahahaha! Witness the Diamond Yaksha, Cheol Woo!”

His voice carried the resonance of a predatory beast as he cleared the distance to the pirate ship in a single leap.

“Honestly, that guy…”

Noejeon shook his head, looking as though he had just witnessed something deeply embarrassing.

His eyes then caught the expressions of the women standing nearby. Seeing their looks of pure judgment—as if they were staring at a complete moron—made his face flush with heat.

“You two, stay at the cabin doors.”

Sima Geon gestured toward the interior entrance while addressing Noejeon and Manchu.

“Understood.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two replied in perfect harmony.

Sima Geon reached out and gripped Manchu’s shoulder.

“Our time training together has been brief, but look at this as the perfect field test.”

“I understand.”

A palpable warmth began to radiate from Manchu’s frame as he spoke.

“Keep in mind that the Intoxicated Immortal Step is a peerless movement art. Stay loose. If you master that fluidity, these river rats won’t even be able to graze your clothes.”

“I won’t forget.”

Giving Manchu one last encouraging pat, Sima Geon crossed over to Neung Sohwa and her companions.

“As you can see, we’ve been cornered.”

“So it seems.”

Neung Sohwa’s response was clipped. She took a moment to look at the pirate ship Cheol Woo had boarded—which was already descending into total mayhem—before she slowly unsheathed her blade.

“Don’t fret over us. We are more than capable.”

“Very well. I wish you success in the fray.”

Sima Geon gave a polite martial salute and walked away.

*If they realize who she is, they won’t keep their heads on their shoulders.*

As he felt the sharp combat intent radiating from Neung Sohwa, he mused that the Yangtze Waterway Alliance had finally bitten off more than they could chew. However, he didn’t realize that her freezing aura wasn’t directed at the pirates—it was pointed squarely at his own back.

CRASH!

The railing splintered as Deung Cheol vaulted onto the merchant ship’s deck.

Positioning himself at the front of the boarding party with a dramatic entrance, he immediately scanned the deck for his target.

“There you are!”

His tone was thick with hatred as he pointed his heavy axe toward Sima Geon, who was walking toward him with an air of total calm.

“I don’t believe we’ve met, though you seem to know me. Are you a pirate from Hongik Hall?”

“Shut your mouth! This has nothing to do with Hongik Hall!”

“Who then?”

“Bi. Woong. Stronghold.”

Deung Cheol growled out the name slowly, as if the words themselves were a curse.

“Biwoong… Ah, the axe.”

Sima Geon remembered the pirate whose throat Neung Sohwa had collapsed after he had gone on a mindless rampage with an axe, just as Deung Cheol was doing now.

“This might sound blunt, but technically, I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

“Stop lying!”

“Believe what you like. But I didn’t lay a finger on your men. The person who dismantled the Biwoong Stronghold pirates was her.”

Sima Geon thumbed back toward Neung Sohwa, who was watching the exchange with a look of pure disbelief.

Deung Cheol’s eyes shifted to where he pointed.

“To think you’d try such a pathetic lie…”

His loud voice trailed off into a sudden silence.

At first, he was certain Sima Geon was mocking him. But when his gaze locked with Neung Sohwa’s glacial stare, the reality of the situation hit him like a physical blow.

Her eyes held no specific hatred, only a terrifying neutrality—yet it sent a wave of dread through his marrow, making his knees feel weak.

Deung Cheol took a jagged breath, unaware of his own reaction.

Within seconds, cold perspiration began to roll down his forehead.

“Personal vendettas should be settled between the parties involved. That’s my philosophy as well.”

Sima Geon turned his back on the pirate.

Deung Cheol was stunned by the man’s audacity, turning his spine to an armed enemy in the middle of a battlefield.

He was completely exposed.

A single chop of the axe would have ended it—but every instinct in Deung Cheol’s body shrieked at him to stay still.

*The vendetta comes first.*

Convinced that there was no reason to fight a secondary target when his true enemy was right there, he made excuses to himself and turned his attention fully to Neung Sohwa.

“Were you the one who slaughtered my sons and took the Biwoong Stronghold?”

Neung Sohwa’s elegant eyebrows twitched slightly at the man’s vulgar tone.

“If the group of criminals we encountered yesterday belonged to that stronghold, then yes. What of it?”

“I’m going to tear you apart and end your life.”

Having finally found the object of his rage, Deung Cheol gave a guttural cry and lunged forward.

The sight of him swinging a weapon as large as his own torso with a single arm, barely maintaining his center of gravity, was terrifying to behold.

Having lost his two children—the only things he truly valued—he was a hollow shell of a man.

A person with nothing left to lose is the most dangerous opponent.

That was the state of Deung Cheol.

He had no desire for survival, no lingering fear.

He was willing to sacrifice his very soul for blood.

Deung Cheol threw himself into the assault, his axe carving through the air.

Every strike was saturated with an incredible, desperate bloodlust.

But Neung Sohwa didn’t even flinch.

She caught the downward swing of the massive axe—a blow with enough force to split a boulder—using only a single sword. It was a display of skill that bordered on the supernatural. Most impressively, she hadn’t moved an inch backward. If anything, the ferocity of the exchange was pushing Deung Cheol further back.

*What kind of monster is this woman…*

Deung Cheol’s expression, previously filled only with rage, began to crack under the weight of sheer shock.

“Tahat!”

Just as the duel between Deung Cheol and Neung Sohwa reached a fever pitch, Sima Geon—who had been walking away—suddenly whipped around and swung the Heavenly Demon Sword.

A wave of sword qi surged from the steel, slicing through the air in a horizontal arc and catching the pirates who were currently sliding across the ropes.

A few lucky ones let go early and fell into the river, but the rest were cut in half at the waist and died instantly. That one movement froze every other pirate still waiting on the lines.

Sima Geon looked at the survivors with a refined grace, then stepped onto one of the ropes himself. This particular line led directly to the flagship where the leader of the Yangtze Waterway Alliance was stationed.

Sima Geon hadn’t picked this rope because of the leader, though.

During Deung Cheol’s rambling about revenge, he had spotted a familiar face by chance. While they hadn’t fought, he had a hazy memory of seeing this man on Sungmyeong Island: Yu Wol.

In this sea of pirates, where identifying specific Hongik Hall members was nearly impossible, Yu Wol was the most reliable lead to find their commander.

Sima Geon placed his feet on the rope and began to walk as if taking a stroll in a garden, his hands tucked behind his back—a stark contrast to the pirates who had been white-knuckling the rope to climb.

The rope, which usually bucked and swayed under the weight of a climber, stayed eerily still beneath him. His weightless stride was reminiscent of the Grass-Flying Step, causing a wave of anxiety to ripple through the observing enemy.

“Remarkable.”

“Truly. It’s easy to see why he has such a reputation.”

Cho Su and Yu Ak, who had been prepping to board the merchant ship themselves, couldn’t suppress their awe. This man had slaughtered their men in a single heartbeat and was now casually walking toward their own ship as if he were a guest.

To walk directly into the heart of the Yangtze Waterway Alliance’s combined strength—the sheer guts of it was staggering.

“This is going to be a grueling engagement.”

“Tsk. You can’t even keep your own brother in line—what a disaster.”

Yu Ak gave a tight, pained smile at Cho Su’s remark.

“The boy is one thing, but what can you do with the old man? Besides, I know he’s doing this all for that grown son of his.”

“That’s not the real issue.”

Cho Su looked over his shoulder meaningfully.

Yu Mok, the second-in-command of the alliance’s internal affairs unit, stood with a face carved from tension, staring at Sima Geon. Next to him, Yu Han—the catalyst for this entire mess—was fidgeting nervously.

“The boy has talent, but he’s not built to lead. That one, however, is a different story.”

Cho Su gestured toward Yu Wol, who was visibly trembling with fear but whose eyes still burned with a fighting spirit.

“I agree.”

Cho Su looked at him, surprised by Yu Ak’s instant confirmation.

“Wait, really?”

“If we survive this, I’m bringing him to the main office. He’s seen enough of the world by now—there’s no point in wasting him on low-level grunt work anymore.”

“The people vying for the succession will throw a fit. But it feels like the right move for once.”

“I’ll provide the opening. Whether he can hold it is up to him. Enough talk, though. We have to manage the catastrophe standing right in front of us.”

Trusting his sharpened instincts, Cho Su felt that “catastrophe” was the only word that fit the man approaching them.

“Mm, a wise choice.”

Sima Geon kicked off the rope and touched down softly on the deck. He offered a small smile as he looked at the high-ranking members of the Yangtze Waterway Alliance who were glaring at him, then he shifted his focus to Yu Wol.

“I’m not sure about the rest of these people. But you and I? We have plenty to talk about.”

As Sima Geon’s attention locked onto him, Yu Wol stepped forward.

“If I’m remembering right, it was Sungmyeong Island, wasn’t it?”

“Correct.”

“I thought so. If I had known then that you were part of Hongik Hall, I wouldn’t have had to travel this far.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to your younger brother.”

The smile fell from Sima Geon’s face at Yu Wol’s words.

“Sorry? That’s a cheap sentiment from a human trafficker. We cut off his limbs and gave him back to you in one piece, didn’t we?”

Sima Geon’s simmering rage began to bleed into the air. The pressure emanating from him was so heavy that even the pirates with significant internal cultivation began to sway on their feet.

“That’s enough.”

Unable to endure the tension, Yu Ak stepped into the center.

“I am the head of the Yangtze Waterway Alliance, Yu Ak.”

Yu Ak introduced himself with pride, but Sima Geon looked away as if the man were invisible.

“Which one of you is the leader of Hongik Hall?”

The eyes of several pirates drifted involuntarily toward Yu Han, a detail Sima Geon caught instantly.

Sima Geon’s freezing gaze met the eyes of Yu Han, who was currently white-knuckling Yu Mok’s hand.

“Old man. So it’s you.”

A lethal grin spread across Sima Geon’s face.