episode_0137

137. Free-for-all.

The structure of a ship is largely divided into two parts.

The upper deck where crew and passengers reside, and the lower deck where the mechanisms that move the ship are located.

The pirates, who were hurriedly using fire starters, scanned their surroundings.

A pungent smell of oil stung their noses. Oil, thickly smeared on the wooden walls of the lower deck, was visible.

Whoosh-!

“We did it, we di······ Keuheuk!”

A pirate, screaming in joy, suddenly clutched his neck. Before he knew it, a bluish blade was protruding from it.

They succeeded in setting the fire, but the pirates’ lives were extinguished one by one.

“Kill them all! No, leave a few alive! We need to extract information!”

“Kkeuaaaak!”

The warriors who came down after them mercilessly butchered the pirates.

Thwack-!

A warrior who had cut down a pirate turned his head sharply.

A look of despair appeared on the warrior’s face.

“Damn it! What do we do! It’s going to sink soon!”

Then, one of the dying pirates retorted. A bitter sneer was on his lips.

“Heu, heu. The currents of the Yellow River are famous for being strong. Why are you struggling so much? We’ll meet again down there anyway.”

“Shut up!”

“Keoheoeok!”

The warrior immediately killed the pirate who had spouted nonsense. Nevertheless, his expression did not ease.

“Kkeueue······.”

The consciousness of the pirate clutching his heart gradually faded.

The pirate recalled the face of his daughter, who had become a late-stage disciple of the White Path. It was a shameful thing. A father being a pirate, a late-stage disciple.

‘Juhyang-ah······. Please, you at least, live an honorable life.’

He did not regret his death. That is a father’s heart.

He kept his promise to the Lord. Now his daughter would receive generous support.

It was at that moment. A huge man broke through the floor of the ship and descended to the lower deck.

Crack- Kwaaaang!

It was a familiar face.

“Black Origin-nim!”

A faint hope bloomed on the warriors’ faces.

The groundless expectation that, since someone of higher rank than them had come, a way out would somehow be found.

Black Origin also sensed the feelings of those warriors. He forcibly maintained a nonchalant expression.

However, his insides were burning black.

“Kill them all! We’ve already grasped all of these guys’ objectives! We’ve captured some pirates as well, so don’t waste your strength unnecessarily!”

“Yes!”

The warriors who heard Black Origin’s words slaughtered the pirates at an even faster pace.

What’s more difficult than a certain kill is an ambiguous suppression.

Thanks to this, all the pirates on the lower deck soon died.

“Heoeok, heok. Kkeueueung.”

The warriors bent over, catching their breath. The pirates’ level was low, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult.

Black Origin shouted quickly. The burning underside of the ship was visible. He had to hurry.

“What are you doing! Quickly, bring over buckets and the like! The ship is sinking!”

“Yes, yes!”

But Black Origin also knew. It was already too late.

Gurgle, gurgle-!

Clear river water seeped out from the bottom where the hole had been revealed.

Once a hole is made, the speed at which it widens accelerates.

Puhwaak!

“Keueuek!”

Black Origin wiped the water that splashed on his face with the back of his hand. Splash, his feet were gradually getting wet.

Oso-so- a chilling shiver ran down his spine.

‘It’s sinking. Is the Lord safe?’

He couldn’t know. Black King was currently massacring the pirates on the upper deck.

The pirates’ martial prowess couldn’t threaten Black King. Black Origin tried hard to suppress his anxiety.

Kwaaaang!!!

At that moment, to make matters worse, a huge explosion shook the ship.

At the same time, he felt the massive wave of internal energy. Somehow, its nature was slightly different.

Black Origin, who was putting out the fire using a bucket, suddenly raised his head.

He had recently experienced a similar feeling.

‘Cult Leader! It’s similar to him, but also slightly different! Is it sorcery!’

Two possibilities came to mind.

The first was the possibility that the Cult Leader had betrayed them.

The second was······

“Lord!”

Crack, Black Origin broke through the ceiling and went up to the upper deck.

And he could see it. Arrows densely filling the sky, and colorful sorceries.

‘White Path, evil bastards have been lying in ambush all along!’

Swoo-e-e-e-k-

Something invisible was shot at Black Origin at a rapid speed. He didn’t know it, but it was a spell called Wind Cutter.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Paaaaang!

Black Origin easily shattered it by swinging his fist. Even though he had shattered the spell with his bare hands, his fist was unscathed.

Of course, the attack wasn’t over. Black Origin turned his head, smashing various attacks.

His expression twisted fiercely.

“River Fiend!”

Fortunately, the River Fiend was dead. Black King’s right hand was seen piercing the River Fiend’s chest.

Black King and Black Origin’s eyes met. Black Origin quickly approached Black King.

“Lord! Are you safe!”

“I’m fine. But this ship doesn’t seem to be doing so well.”

Indeed, that was true. His eye level was lower than before. The two warriors’ subtle senses detected this.

Black King said in a bitter tone.

“To think that Chaeju would betray us······. I should have sensed something strange from the drastic decrease in the number of the River Garrison.”

“It’s not your fault, Lord! First, we need to get out of here quickly!”

“······ Right, we need to. Chief Officer Shim.”

Chief Officer Shim, who was breaking the incoming arrows, answered.

“Yes.”

“What should we do?”

“It’s a desperate situation. The ship will sink soon, and even if we barely make it to land, we’ll encounter White Path experts.”

Black Origin’s anger flared up slightly. So, what’s he supposed to do?

Fortunately, Chief Officer Shim wasn’t trying to make Black King and Black Origin angry.

“Let’s scatter. Lord, Black Origin, Black Shin, all the other warriors too. We must scatter as much as possible.”

Black Origin frowned.

“Wait, Chief Officer. Isn’t that too dangerous, even if it’s like this? We’ll definitely be taken down one by one.”

“Then do you have any other clever ideas? Even at this moment, the ship is sinking. Soon, whether we like it or not, we’ll be swept away by the river. That’s the best way.”

“······.”

Black Origin was speechless. Unfortunately, there was no plan that surpassed Chief Officer Shim’s proposal.

The White Path had already seized the initiative. Just surviving was a miracle.

The Chief Officer said in a businesslike tone.

“After scattering, gather again at Black King Fortress. We haven’t lost yet. Not all the White Path experts have come to the Yellow River.”

Even though the pirates made a deal with the White Path, their roots are in the Black Path.

Some suspicion towards the pirates will surely remain. Some White Path warriors will be guarding other places.

Black King, who had been silent, said quietly.

“It’s decided then. There’s no more time to delay. Then.”

Black King jumped into the river without the slightest hesitation.

Black Origin shouted. His voice was full of shameful emotion.

“Black King Fortress! Let’s meet again at Black King Fortress! Everyone! Enter the water!”

Having said that, Black Origin also jumped into the air.

The warriors, who had been blankly standing for a moment, jumped off the ship one by one.

Plop- Thud!

Small, circular waveforms bloomed like lotus flowers on the massive river.

Someone who had been monitoring Black King’s movements from the riverbank shouted.

“Black King and his underlings have entered the river! Kill them! Kill them!”

“Uooooooo!”

The excitement of battle enveloped them. They screamed and fired arrows and spells.

In particular, the performance of archer and mage job players stood out.

In a way, it was obvious. Warriors do not learn techniques for dealing with large numbers. On the other hand, archers and mages were humans specialized in annihilating large numbers.

“Become my karma!”

Shoooooo-

When the White Path camp’s mage waved his hand, a huge stone fell in an arc into the Yellow River.

Clack! The mage clasped his hands together. Then, cracks like spiderwebs appeared on the stone. Soon, the finely broken stones attacked the Black King Fortress warriors hiding in the water.

Puhpuhpuhpeong!

Even though it was split into several pieces, the damage was by no means negligible. Each one was the size of an amber gemstone. Moreover, since they were imbued with magical power, getting hit wrong would definitely mean going to the grave.

“Keoheok! Keureureuk-!”

“M, my knee! I don’t want to die! Help me!”

Humans are beings that walk on land. Movement in the water was not human territory. Even injuries that were bearable on land were not in the water.

Many warriors died instantly on the spot, or drowned helplessly. The latter was much more common.

‘Am I going to die like this? To die just from drinking water, without even fighting properly?’

The Black King Fortress warriors’ complexions turned dark. Wouldn’t it be more honorable to die facing swords, than to drown at the last moment?

There was no shame like this.

‘No way. At least, I’ll kill one of them.’

All he had was a sword. That was enough.

Thud, someone gritted their teeth and gripped the sword hilt. His hands trembled. To a warrior, a sword is another self. An object that cannot be thrown away carelessly, something that must be cherished more than anything else.

That’s why it had to be now.

“Hoo-eup!”

The warrior momentarily held his breath, then twisted his waist and rotated his entire body.

A strong current surged. It felt like it was stopping him. As if telling him not to do anything he would regret, it restrained the warrior’s actions.

However, the warrior had already made up his mind, and a mere current could not break it.

Swoo-e-e-e-k-

The sword advanced, piercing through the fluttering water droplets. The bluish blade pointed at an unknown swordsman of the White Path.

On the other hand, the warrior couldn’t see the blade. All he could see was the tip of the sword hilt, the round sword pommel.

Thwack-!

Eventually, a round stamp was imprinted on the swordsman’s chest. The warrior grinned.

The inscription on the stamp read:

Black (黑).

Glug-

The unknown warrior of the Black Path, who had lost his sword, sank deep into the river. It was a final moment that no one would recognize.