The Black Dragon King's mouth twisted slightly as he stood on the deck, gazing at Plum Blossom Island.
"The situation is?"
"It is progressing steadily. Soon, all of their remaining energy to stand will be exhausted."
"Hmm."
The Black Dragon King snorted, clearly pleased with the report.
'Emperor's Sword.'
Sometimes, Namgung Hwang's angry voice could be heard. Whenever he heard it, the Black Dragon King couldn't suppress the smile that bloomed.
"What an idiot."
How foolish must one be to dare to fight pirates on the water?
Now that they were on the water, they were no longer adversaries to the pirates. They were merely prey to be skillfully cooked and devoured.
"Black Dragon King. Since the enemies seem exhausted enough, why don't we start tightening the reins…?"
"What nonsense."
The Black Dragon King waved his hand dismissively.
"This is fishing."
A mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"When catching a big fish, one shouldn't show off strength. If you try to fight with force, the fishing line will break, and you will most likely lose the fish you have finally caught. What is important in fishing is not strength but patience."
The Black Dragon King's eyes glared at Plum Blossom Island. It was the gaze of a predator waiting for his moment.
"Just relax a little more. No matter how big the fish is, if it loses strength, it will be dragged up onto the ship."
He gestured at Plum Blossom Island with his chin.
"Keep attacking! Just like releasing and tightening a fishing line, attack again when the tension is relieved."
"Yes!"
"Hehehe."
A triumphant air flowed from the Black Dragon King's eyes.
'Even so, he was just a young whelp raised in a secure greenhouse.'
He acknowledged the skills of Namgung Hwang. His courage and innate tyranny were enough to make even the Black Dragon King feel threatened.
However, this was the world of murim. It wasn't a world where one's strength alone could determine victory.
The Namgung family must be keenly aware of the feelings of a fish caught on the hook.
'The more they resist, the deeper the needle digs in, and the more strength is lost.'
The needle called the Yangtze River was already deeply embedded in the Namgung family's throat. There was no way to pull it out on one's own.
Hunger, fatigue, fear, and faint hope.
All of that would be pushing the Namgung family to the bottom of hell right now.
'Two days at most.'
It wasn't good to drag things out too much. There was a time for everything. If the Black Dragon King's calculations were right, if he just relaxed his strength for another two or more days, he could completely destroy the Namgung family without any damage, all by himself, without even waiting for support.
"Continue with the attack!"
"Yes!"
The Black Dragon King laughed softly.
"Namgung Hwang… I will personally cut off your head."
His burning eyes looked as if they would gulp down Plum Blossom Island at any moment.
Meanwhile, Namgung Hwang's eyes were dark and sunken.
The dark shadows cast under his narrowed eyes seemed to tell how deep the agony was at the moment.
"… You have no intention of attacking."
"Lord…."
Namgung Hwang sneered at himself as he looked at the ships still surrounding the island. When he turned his gaze, he saw Namgung family members who had collapsed from exhaustion.
"…"
After staring at them silently for a long time, a sigh escaped Namgung Hwang's mouth.
The attack finally stopped.
However, he knew. The reason they stopped attacking wasn't because they lacked strength. They knew that it was much more effective to shake them up by repeatedly attacking and leaving them alone than to keep charging.
"Namgung Myung."
"Yes… Hyung."
Namgung Myung, who had briefly considered calling him Lord, ended up calling him 'hyung'. This was because he guessed that the person Namgung Hwang was looking for wasn't the leader of the Blue Sky warriors, but his younger brother Namgung Myung.
"Was I wrong?"
Namgung Hwang said in a voice which was mocking himself.
"What Do-Wei said. You have to kill Black Dragon King. Will you still have the strength to do it? if not, you will end up exhausted and die."
"Hyung…"
"It is happening just as he said."
The Namgung family swordsmen who had slumped down looked like they no longer had the strength to lift their swords. They were barely able to maintain their pride by not falling into the ground.
But how long would they last?
Everyone was already pushing to their limit. Even Namgung Hwang was dizzy from the fatigue and exhaustion that was coming, so how much worse must it be for them?
"Tell me, Namgung Myung."
"…"
"Was I wrong?"
"H-Hyung!"
"That isn't true. Your choice was the best. No lord of a family would risk his family's life and go on an adventure!"
"…."
"It isn't over yet. If you hold on a little longer… if you hold a little longer, support will definitely come!"
"Support huh…"
Namgung Hwang smiled softly.
"What if it doesn't come?"
"T-that…"
Namgung Myung couldn't bring himself to answer. He knew the result, and so did Namgung Hwang.
"Hehehe."
Namgung Hwang's shoulders shook.
"I cannot stand it. I cannot stand it…"
Crack.
He clenched his fists so hard that his joints popped.
"What I really cannot stand is not death. It is not the destruction of the Namgung family."
"…"
"Those people, those people who trusted in me for the past three years and endured the painful training… I cannot let them die as a swordsman, and I might let them die like they are being hunted down… I feel so resentful of this and guilty."
Namgung Hwang's voice trembled.
He couldn't suppress his resentment and anger, nor the disgust he felt towards himself.
"Hyung…"
"Did I really make that choice for the sake of this family's future?"
"… Uh?"
Though the words were directed at Namgung Myung, they were not truly a question for him. It was a question for himself.
"Could it be that I was just afraid?"
Namgung Myung held his breath, unable to offer even a feeble consolation. The weight of Namgung Hwang's voice was overwhelming.
"Could it be that I was afraid of risking my family's fate and their lives on my sword?"
Namgung Myung bit his lip instead.
He had never seen Namgung Hwang look so vulnerable. Despite their similar ages, Namgung Hwang had always seemed as formidable as the Great Mountain.
But now, Namgung Hwang was crumbling.
"Hyung! You cannot be like this. Hyung, you are the Lord of the Namgung family! Even if everything else in the world can be shaken, you alone cannot be shaken!"
"… Right. Right, that is what it means to be the Lord of the family."
Namgung Hwang closed his eyes tightly.
Family Lord. The weight of that title was now pressing on him endlessly.
"I…"
Namgung Hwang spoke self-deprecatingly.
"There have been more than a few times when I regretted being born in this era."
"…."
It was a somewhat random statement, but Namgung Myung didn't interrupt him. Namgung Hwang simply needed someone to listen.
"In this peaceful era, there is no need to wield my sword."
Namgung Hwang's gaze turned to the distant sky.
"A hundred years ago, if I had been born in a time of chaos… I would have gained a reputation incomparable to what it is now, and I would have been confident that I could become the one who saved the world. I would have cut off the head of the Heavenly Demon with my own sword."
"Hyung…"
"But…"
Namgung Hwang's mouth burst into laughter.
"They have been fighting this war for years… enduring a hell incomparable to this, watching their own family and disciples cough up blood and have their throats slit next to them, yet they just fought and fought…"
"…"
"How could that have happened? How…how could their will and hearts not be broken?"
Namgung Hwang's voice was listless. It was the first time in his life that he had felt so small.
"I cannot even muster the courage to cut off the Black Dragon King's head and save my family… and chaos? Heavenly Demon? Hehehe."
He shook his head with a laugh.
"I was just a one-day-old puppy who didn't know his rightful place. That is all I was. All I could do was…"
His fists clenched as if they were going to burst.
"Hyung…"
"I know."
However, before Namgung Myung could offer words of comfort, Namgung Hwang immediately shook his head.
"I know this isn't the time to be like this."
"…."
"Blue Sky leader."
"Yes, lord."
"The pirates will launch an all-out attack within a few days. They will try to finish us off by using all their strength."
"Yes."
"Until then, somehow, let the men take turns resting."
Namgung Hwang clenched his teeth.
"At least we shouldn't die without swinging our swords even once."
"I will follow the orders!"
Namgung Myung ran towards the men. Namgung Hwang, who was staring at them, let out another deep sigh.
The attacks continued without stopping.
The Namgung Family, who had lost a place to hide, changed their strategy and formed a circle in the center of the island. Those on the outside protected those on the inside, and they took turns resting a little.
It was hard to rest comfortably in a situation where the cannons were flying in, and the pirates were slowly attacking. Still, they were able to preserve their stamina just by not having to swing their swords.
But that wasn't very good.
Those who gathered inside were able to face their surroundings more objectively than before, and they couldn't help but feel the bitter reality of how desperate their situation was.
A faint hope.
A desperate but endless belief that someone would definitely come to save them was all that sustained them.
But… one day passed, two days passed, and the third day came…
The rescue didn't come.
"…."
Namgung Do-Wei opened his eyes with difficulty and looked at the setting sun.
The warm sunlight was indeed comforting, but now, even this was too much for him to bear.
'… it didn't come?'
He instinctively turned his head to look at the riverside, but he still couldn't see anyone. The riverside was so empty that it couldn't be more despondent.
"Cough."
A dry cough escaped him. Even though he had drunk enough water, his entire body felt dried up.
'Can I endure any longer?'
No, it didn't matter if he could. He had to endure it no matter what.
Some were having a harder time than him.
Namgung Do-Wei instinctively grabbed his sword and drove it into the ground. Then he barely managed to get up.
His eyes, gleaming with anger, landed on the ships of the pirates. How could those ships surrounding Plum Blossom Island be so hateful…
"…!"
At that moment, Namgung Do-Wei's eyes widened further.
"Uh…."
His mouth fell open and his eyes trembled.
"G-get up! Get up, everyone!"
A voice squeezed out.
The ships that had been circling around Plum Blossom Island and killing the Namgung family were all turning their bows toward the island!
Blood burst out of Namgung Do-Wei's mouth. But he didn't even notice as he shouted like he was cursing.
"Here it comes! Attack!"
This was the final attack of the pirates, an all-out assault to cut off the Namgung family's life.
The long and drawn-out final chapter of the Yangtze River was unfolding.