Wooong!
White qi swirled from the tip of the sword. The enhanced qi erupted in an instant, sweeping away the front.
Kwaang!
Namgung Hwang shouted at the top of his lungs after sweeping away the pirates rushing in from the front with a single blow.
"Black Dragon King!"
A voice like the roar of a lion.
That voice instantly broke the enemies' will to fight and raised the morale of his allies.
"Where are you, Black Dragon King! Did you run back in fear? Come out here right now! I want to settle the score!"
Kwaang!
The steps of Namgung Hwang shook the ground.
'That monster!'
At that terrifying force, the face of the Underworld Old Monster, Yeo Dal, who was the guardian of the pirates, turned pale.
It was known that the Namgung family pursued the path of a blade, unlike any other sword sects that used the sword, but even in the Namgung family, the sword of Namgung Hwang was known to be unique and special.
It was like firing a cannon with a sword.
'The path of the Peng family would be gentler!'
He had already seen the sword with his own eyes once, but it felt completely different then.
He didn't know if it was because Namgung Hwang's martial arts had improved dramatically over the past three years, or because he was not the Black Dragon King. Yeo Dal hadn't yet reached the level where he could know that.
"Black Dragon KINGGGGG!"
Kwaang!
"D-damn it!"
Looking at the shattered and flying pavilion, Yeo Dal eventually shouted urgently.
"Retreat! Retreat right now!"
"G-Guardian! The Black Dragon King told us to defend this place no matter what!"
"You idiots! Even if we block them, we cannot defend them! And who is going to fight Namgung Hwang? The Black Dragon King isn't here right now!"
"T-that…!"
"Shut up and tell them to retreat immediately! Before you all die!"
If the power of the pirates had gathered there, Yeo Dal wouldn't have chosen to retreat. No matter how great the Namgung Family was, weren't the pirates also one of the Five Sects in Shenzhou?
In a small-scale battle between warriors, it would be difficult to defeat the Namgung family. Still, in an all-out war, the pirates could actually overwhelm them.
However, they were currently lacking such troops.
The Black Dragon King was attacking merchant ships on the Yangtze River as soon as they appeared to increase the amount of goods going to and from Plum Blossom Island. In other words, there were more ships than usual on the Yangtze River.
Naturally, the number of ships guarding the place had to be small.
"Get back! Get back immediately! Get on the ship! We are retreating to the island!"
Yeo Dal clenched his teeth.
"This damned Namgung family!"
If he gave up the dock and retreated to Plum Blossom Island, the Black Dragon King would not leave him alone. It was clear that he had failed to carry out his orders.
'Still, it is a whole lot better than dying.'
The wrath of the Black Dragon King in the distance was more frightening than the sword of Namgung Hwang in front of him.
Kwaang!
At that moment, several more pirates were sent flying, blood-drenched by the sword of Namgung Hwang.
"Retreat! Hurry upppp!"
At his order, the pirates turned around and ran.
In fact, even before he gave the order, they had all been thinking about running away somehow.
Namgung Hwang's skills were truly overwhelming. In the first place, it was not something that the people gathered there could deal with.
'How could these seclusion sect bastards even move this quickly?'
The reason the Black Dragon King decided to vacate the place, even though he knew there weren't enough troops there, was because he thought it would take at least 10 days for the sect, who could barely move after talking for a long time, to proceed right.
But who would have imagined that the Namgung Family would suddenly appear at this time?
"Sir Guardian!"
"I know!"
Yeo Dal nodded. He couldn't hesitate any longer. If he delayed any further, he risked losing his head.
"Start the ship! Get on board immediately…"
But Yeo Dal's eyes, as he gave orders, suddenly widened in shock.
Through the large pavilions, on a different path from Namgung Hwang, warriors were rushing in. It was the Blue Sky Swordsmen.
At the forefront, a young warrior was seen swinging his sword like lightning. At first glance, he didn't seem like someone who could deal with them.
"Abandon the ship, abandon that ship! Damn it, we will leave that ship behind! Just jump in! Swim to the island!"
There was no time to leisurely start the ship. Those who had launched the ship early managed to board it, but among the ships anchored at the dock, only two made it to the shore.
Realizing there was no time to board a ship, the pirates rushed into the water.
"Get out of the way!"
"Don't grab me, you moron! Let go!"
"You bastards!"
It was a state of horror beyond words.
This was true for both the warriors and soldiers. When they have orders in their minds and something to protect, they do not spare their own lives.
But the moment that control disappears, all that remains are a few hundred cowards whose most important task is to survive.
The pirates jumped into the river, pulling and pushing their comrades. Many fell as they tried to get ahead of the others, and many reflexively swung their weapons to the side.
"Ackkk!"
"T-this son of a bitch, stabbed me?"
If they had retreated in an orderly manner, they would have already escaped. Still, they delayed the situation even more by trying to get ahead just a little. And the Namgung family's swords coldly pierced their backs.
"ACKKKK!"
"Run away! The Namgung Family is coming!"
Splash! Splash!
The pirates who had jumped into the water skillfully swam towards Plum Blossom Island, moving swiftly without looking back. However, before the others could leap into the sea, those struck by the Namgung family's swords screamed and collapsed helplessly on the spot.
Euk.
"Hmph!"
As Namgung Hwang's feet touched the water's edge, the pirates split into two groups: those who had jumped into the water and escaped quickly, and those left behind without reaching the water.
Namgung Hwang's eyes were filled with anger.
"These fucking morons!"
A landslide victory.
It was a landslide victory that couldn't even be described as one-sided. But that fact did not bring Namgung Hwang any joy. It only increased his disgust for having made peace with such incompetent individuals.
"This is…!"
Namgung Hwang's eyes turned to the two ships, turning their bows.
"Get out of my way!"
Namgung Hwang, who had been guarding the side, pulled back his sword and raised it powerfully above his head.
Wooong!
The thick white sword qi swirled around his sword once again.
The sword qi, which had risen a little over a foot above his head, gathered around the sword.
"N-NO!"
"JUMPPP! NOWWWWW!"
The pirates who saw the scene from the ship screamed in confusion and jumped off the ship. They had already seen what happened when the white qi gathered around the sword.
Kwaang!
Namgung Hwang, who had stepped hard on the ground, immediately lowered the sword vertically. The qi that was released shot out like a cannon and flew straight towards the ship.
Kwaaang!
The sword qi struck the ship and crushed the wood that made up the vessel. The wood that directly touched the sword qi turned to dust and scattered, and even the parts that didn't get touched by the sword qi shattered into pieces because they couldn't handle the force.
Kwaaaang!
In an instant, the entire ship exploded and scattered across the surface of the Yangtze River. Not only the pirates but even the Blue Sky Swordsmen were shocked by the terrifying scene.
Namgung Hwang's gaze shifted to the ship that was still intact. However, the quick-witted pirates had already desperately escaped the ship and jumped into the Yangtze River.
"Tsk!"
Namgung Hwang, deciding that destroying that ship would be meaningless, sheathed his sword.
The sight of the pirates desperately swimming towards Plum Blossom Island, densely filling the wide Yangtze River, was unsettling.
"… damn it. That Black Dragon King!"
At this point, Namgung Hwang couldn't help but realize that the Black Dragon King wasn't there. The Black Dragon King was a sly man, but he wasn't one to avoid fights. If he were present, he would have blocked Namgung Hwang's path.
"Lord, it is a complete victory!"
"… a victory?"
Namgung Hwang looked back.
The merchants who had been hiding inside the bar, following instructions, had gathered and were cheering from behind. This meant that all the pirates who dared to set foot on the Northern land had been killed or driven off.
"Hmph!"
However, Namgung Hwang couldn't be satisfied with this.
"What victory!"
"Huh?"
"Since when has taken back what was supposed to be yours been called a victory? Victory is something you can only claim when you make someone else's possession your own! You cannot call it a victory just because you have defeated a thief who broke into your house!"
Namgung Myung bowed his head at those words.
"I was afraid of the pirates who could be dealt with whenever we wanted, so I kept my head down for three years…"
Namgung Hwang gritted his teeth, and his eyes lit up.
This kind of victory would not compensate for their past humiliation. There was no Black Dragon King or the elite of the Black Dragon pirates. Even if he killed a thousand of those fools, he wouldn't feel the slightest satisfaction.
"Prepare the ship!"
"L-Lord?"
"Excuse me!"
Namgung Hwang's chin pointed towards the island in the middle of the Yangtze River.
"Is that the Northern Land? Southern Land?"
"…t-that."
When Namgung Myung couldn't answer, Namgung Do-Wei, who was standing next to him, spoke instead.
"That isn't the Northern Land, but it doesn't mean it's the Southern Land either. It's just an island."
"Yes!"
Namgung Hwang shouted in a booming voice.
"No matter how mistakenly it was made, a treaty is a treaty. The Namgung family will not set foot on the Southern Land before the treaty's deadline is met. It means that the Namgung family will definitely keep their word!"
"Yes, my Lord."
"But that is not the Southern Land!"
Namgung Hwang's eyes flared with intensity.
"Prepare the ship. I cannot stand to watch those filthy thugs set up camp there and aim for the Northern Lands any longer. I will land on the island myself and eliminate those fools!"
"L-Lord. That is too dangerous. Please reconsider."
Namgung Myung said hurriedly.
"As you can see, that is an island. We have to cross the waters to get there."
"So?"
"In other words, if we enter the island, we might be isolated. Support from our allies will become difficult, and it is an easy location for the pirates to attack us."
"Who doesn't know that?"
"Uh?"
Namgung Hwang looked at Namgung Myung with seething eyes.
"Mount Hua has protected that land for three whole years. That island is not part of the treaty and can be attacked at any time!"
"T-that is…"
"Surely you are not saying what Mount Hua can do… no, what the Green Forest, not Mount Hua, could do, we, the Namgung family, cannot do?"
"I-I absolutely didn't mean that, but…!"
"Then get it all ready."
"L-Lord, just listen to me once…"
Namgung Myung tried to stop him again, but Namgung Hwang clicked his tongue with a displeased look.
"I am not so stupid as to not know what you are thinking. I am not losing my mind and just going at you without thinking."
"…"
"Don't you know? There is no Black Dragon King in that place now. And there are no Black Dragon pirates. That means it is an uninhabited island. If we don't do it now, it will be ten times harder to conquer that island."
"That is true, but…"
"If you don't move when the chance comes, you will have to put in several times more effort later. Now is the time to move!"
Namgung Myung bit his lip and nodded. Namgung Hwang's words were not wrong.
"Understood, Lord!"
"Let us start the ship! I will take over that island!"
"Yes!"
Namgung Hwang's fierce eyes turned to the Plum Blossom Island.
'Black Dragon King, I will grab him by the leash. It is me, Namgung Hwang, who does it!'
A triumphant smile spread across his face.