What were you all expecting? (2)
Namgung Hwang’s eye twitched.
He was doing his best not to show any emotion, but the words he’d just heard were simply too much to bear.
“We’re out of food?”
“…Yes, My Lord.”
For a moment, Namgung Hwang let out a hollow laugh.
He was now more dismayed than angry.
“This place used to house merchants traveling along the Yangtze River. Surely there must’ve been grain stored here?”
“…It seems that Nokrim’s forces took everything with them when they withdrew.”
“…”
“And when Surochae took over the island again, they apparently didn’t bring much grain with them.”
Namgung Myeong closed his eyes tightly, then opened his mouth again.
“I apologize, My Lord. I should have paid attention to these kinds of details as well…”
“I’m the one who gave the order to seize Maehwado. If there’s blame to bear, it’s mine. You have no reason to lower your head!”
Namgung Hwang cut him off firmly and leaned back in his chair.
‘Food, huh…’
At face value, it didn’t seem like a serious problem.
For ordinary soldiers, a lack of food could decide the outcome of a war.
But these were martial artists. Even without eating, they could endure for half a month without issue.
‘But that’s only possible in normal circumstances.’
Those on this island were already worn to the bone.
Surochae’s relentless assaults were steadily gnawing at their spirit even at this very moment.
And now, on top of everything, they couldn’t even eat properly?
‘It’s only going to get harder.’
Each issue on its own was minor.
The continuous raids.
The cannon fire flying in from afar.
The lack of food.
The pressure of being trapped on the island with no clear escape.
The anxiety that, if enemy reinforcements arrived first, they might have to fight a losing battle with their lives on the line.
Taken one by one, none of it seemed that grave.
But piled together, they became a crushing burden – as if hundreds of geun [근(斤) – approx. 600 grams] of steel bars had been dropped onto their shoulders.
A mire.
This place was a mire.
A swamp that sucked you in deeper the more you struggled to escape.
Namgung Hwang rubbed his brow.
In a full-scale battlefield where both sides fought with all their might, few could match Namgung Hwang’s prowess.
This wasn’t just the opinion of Namgung clan – it was something even outsiders acknowledged.
But not even a sword energy that could pierce the heavens, nor the power to split a river, had any meaning in a situation like this.
“Is this not a river? If we’re short on food, we can resupply.”
“…We’ve already checked. But for some reason – whatever the pirates did – there isn’t a single fish around the island.”
At that moment, Namgung Dowi, who had been silently listening to the conversation, finally spoke.
“Even if we could catch fish, I don’t think we should eat it.”
“…Why not?”
“They’re river pirates, and far more familiar with the water than we are. Who knows what they might have done. If there’s something we ought to be wary of, then it’s best we stay cautious.”
Namgung Hwang nodded heavily.
It might be called excessive worry – but it was that very failure to worry enough that had landed Namgung clan in this situation in the first place.
“What about the water? Is drinking water a problem?”
Namgung Myeong nodded.
“Even Tang Clan wouldn’t be able to pollute the flowing waters of the Yangtze. So we shouldn’t have to worry about that.”
“A small mercy in all this misfortune.”
Namgung Hwang muttered as he wiped his face dry.
A deep weariness, rarely seen on him, clung to his features.
‘It’s still manageable – for now.’
It felt like needles stabbing at his gut, but he could still endure.
Still, there was a limit to how long that endurance would last.
“Are reinforcements still far off?”
“…They must be hurrying.”
“They’d better be.”
Namgung Hwang leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.
‘What a sight.’
They charge forth with fiery spirit only to be surrounded and whittled down.
And to think, expecting salvation from Shaolin amidst all this…
“Damn it.”
Seeing Namgung Hwang mutter to himself, Namgung Dowi let out a deep sigh.
‘Is this really the right course of action?’
Doubt began to rise in his mind.
Of course, it wasn’t that Namgung Dowi doubted the judgment of Namgung Myeong or Namgung Hwang.
But looking at the outcome, it was clear – they were holding out, yes, but losing the strength to resist with every passing moment.
Give it a few more days like this, and all they’d be able to do is endure.
‘What would he have done?’
At that moment, the person who came to Namgung Dowi’s mind was none other than Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung.
Rationally, he understood there was no choice but to grit their teeth and wait it out.
But his heart kept whispering that if those trapped here weren’t Namgung clan, but Hwasan instead… they would never be thinking this way.
‘If it were Hwasan Geomhyeop…’
And right then.
Bang!
Namgung Hwang shot to his feet like lightning from the chair and drew the sword at his waist in a flash.
“This…!”
Without hesitation, he swung.
A white sword energy burst forth, tearing through the roof of the hall and shooting into the sky.
Kwaaaaang!
A thunderous roar exploded as the shredded roof blew away entirely.
Boon! Boom!
Kwaaang!
More explosions followed.
The first had come from Namgung Hwang’s sword energy.
But the blasts that came afterward had nothing to do with his strike.
They were cannon fire.
Shells were now raining down on the center of the island, right where they were.
Boom! Boom!
One hall after another exploded in flames. Debris scattered in all directions.
“Aaaaagh!”
“W-What is this?! Why are they bombing this area?!”
Kwaaaaang!
Panic-stricken screams and shouts mixed with the deafening crashes of exploding shells.
“Block them! Cut them down!”
Namgung Hwang let out a thunderous roar and leapt into the air.
The shells flying overhead were instantly sliced apart by his sword.
The elders, quickly grasping the situation, followed Namgung Hwang’s lead and began intercepting the barrage.
With the Lord and the elders stepping in directly, deflecting the cannon fire wasn’t especially difficult.
But once the bombardment had been completely dealt with, what remained before them could only be described as a scene of utter devastation.
Shattered buildings.
People groaning in pain from their injuries.
Others crawling out from collapsed buildings, overcome with rage and letting out wails of anguish.
Among them, those tending to the wounded shouted frantically, scrambling to find urgently needed supplies.
Grrrrrk.
Namgung Hwang ground his teeth so hard it sounded like they might crack.
“…What were the perimeter guards doing while the enemy ships got this close to the island?!”
“N-No, My Lord!”
“What?”
Namgung Myeong, his face gone pale, stammered out a reply.
“The ships… they haven’t moved. They’re still in their original positions.”
At those words, Namgung Hwang turned his head.
He could see the ships floating on the darkened river. Indeed, they were at the same distance as during the day.
“…Then what the hell is this attack?”
“I… I believe it’s the Thunder Cannon.”
“…Thunder Cannon?”
Namgung Myeong bit his lip and nodded.
“The White Thunder Cannon has a range three times that of standard artillery. It seems they’ve begun using the cannons they seized from the island in earnest.”
Crack.
Namgung Hwang clenched his fists so hard they seemed ready to shatter.
“Black Dragon King! That son of a bitch!”
Blood rushed to his head – he felt as if he might faint.
The rage flooding through him was unbearable.
It wasn’t the attack itself that enraged him.
It was the fact that they were being brazenly bombarded – and yet there was nothing they could do. That was what made it intolerable.
“Then…”
Namgung Dowi spoke in a low, subdued voice.
“That means they can now fire on us without pause even from that distance.”
“…They won’t be able to keep it up. They’re limited by the amount of powder and shells they have.”
“They can resupply, can’t they?”
“…”
Namgung Myeong couldn’t bring himself to answer that.
He tried to view the situation as positively as he could – but no matter how hard he tried, there was no room for optimism.
“My Lord.”
Namgung Dowi looked straight at Namgung Hwang, as if he had made up his mind.
“If this continues… we will be annihilated.”
“…Dowi.”
“We can’t just sit around waiting for reinforcements that may never come. We’ve already lost the buildings. The bombardment will continue without pause. If we keep straining our nerves to brace for each incoming cannon ball, we won’t last even three days – our strength will run dry.”
Namgung Myeong stepped forward and countered Namgung Dowi.
“Three days is more than enough time for Shaolin to arrive!”
“Yes, that may be true. But what if Surochae launches an attack before they arrive?”
“…”
Namgung Myeong fell silent.
Saying they could last three days didn’t mean they could maintain their current strength for all three.
And there was no guarantee Shaolin would arrive within that time.
“My Lord. We can’t go on like this.”
Namgung Hwang looked at Namgung Dowi with burning eyes.
“Then what? What do you propose?”
“What you said before.”
“Hm?”
Namgung Dowi turned his head and looked towards the river.
“When you said that if it were just you, you could break through the encirclement and cross the river – did you mean it?”
Namgung Hwang’s face twisted.
“Of course it’s possible. But I already told you – even if I broke through the siege and reached the shore, it wouldn’t change anything. It would only put this place in greater danger…”
“Not the shore.”
“…Hm?”
Namgung Hwang furrowed his brows, not understanding Dowi’s words at first.
But Namgung Myeong suddenly widened his eyes, as if he instantly realized what Dowi was getting at.
“No… surely you don’t mean…?”
“Yes.”
At Namgung Myeong’s reaction, Namgung Dowi turned his head.
At the end of his gaze was a massive ship, half-shrouded in darkness, floating ominously on the pitch-black river.
A massive vessel painted in an oppressively black hue.
“…The Black Dragon Ship.”
Namgung Myeong’s voice came out in a strained whisper.
Namgung Dowi spoke firmly.
“If the Lord leaves the island, there’s no one left here who can face the Black Dragon King.”
“…”
“Then there’s only one option left.”
There was a blade-sharp edge in his voice.
“We strike first. We cross the river, attack the Black Dragon Ship, and if we can sever the Black Dragon King’s head, then this siege won’t matter at all.”
Namgung Hwang’s eyes widened to their fullest.
“Azure Sky Sword Unit knows no fear, and it does not back away. Rather than stand here and take blows until we collapse, it’s better to stake our lives and strike back.”
“…Dowi.”
Namgung Dowi’s razor-sharp gaze fixed on the Black Dragon Ship.
‘If it were him, this is what he would’ve done.’
Back during the Yangtze Diver Disaster, Hwasan Geomhyeop had thrown everything aside to charge straight for Jang Ilso’s neck.
Because in such an impossible situation, the only way out was to kill the one at the center of all the schemes.
And it was the same now.
If their enemies were Surochae, then there was only one solution:
Eliminate the core of Surochae.
“I will assist you, Father. If we are to save everyone here, that is the only path available to us. My Lord! Make the call!”
Namgung Dowi bowed his head to Namgung Hwang.
Namgung Hwang stared at him for a long moment before biting down on his lip.
“…No.”
“My Lord!”
Namgung Dowi looked up at him in shock.
He had never imagined that Namgung Hwang would refuse.
“I am a warrior. But more than that – I am the head of Namgung Clan.”
“…”
“I cannot carry out an operation where failure would mean everyone’s death.”
“But if we continue like this-”
“Endure!”
“…”
“Shaolin will come. Once they arrive, we’ll tear those vile pirates limb from limb and feast on their flesh! Until then…”
Crack!
Namgung Hwang’s lips split as he clenched them tightly, and red blood began to trickle down.
“Until then, we endure – no matter what it takes!”
“…Understood.”
Namgung Dowi answered in a low, heavy voice.
The Lord’s command was absolute law. Once a decision had been made, there could be no further protest.
But still.
‘If it were him, he would have thought the same as I do.’
A deep, heavy sigh slipped from his chest.
________
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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