I’m going to show them what true despair is. (1)
The pirates surged in, filling the riverbank completely like a flood.
A pack of jackals drawn by the scent of blood? No, it would be more fitting to call them a swarm of sharks attracted to the scent of blood.
With their eyes drenched in madness, they screamed with malicious fury as they lunged for the flesh of Namgung clan.
Clashing battle lines.
Enemies consumed by frenzy charged endlessly, shrieking like beasts rather than men, and the sight alone was enough to paint despair on the faces of those barely holding their ground.
“Kahaaargh!”
The surging hordes at last leapt over the heads of Namgung clan. For a moment, their suddenly suspended figures blocked the sun, casting a long shadow over Namgung clan.
As if to foretell their fate.
“Taaaargh!”
But the ones to face them were none other than Namgung clan.
Even as despair bore down on them, their instincts naturally found the path of the sword. And before their minds could even catch up, their blades had already pierced the pirates.
Thwuck! Thwuuck!
The iron swords of Namgung simultaneously skewered the bodies of the pirates. As the blades burst through their backs, blood spurted out like rain and drenched the swordsmen of Namgung.
The sensation of hot blood splashing across their faces snapped the dazed swordsmen back to their senses.
But this was only the beginning.
“Kill them aaaaaall!”
“Ram a harpoon down their throats!”
The pirates charged forward without the slightest regard for the blood of their fallen comrades, leaping into the forest of raised blades without a hint of hesitation.
The madness of the battlefield.
A person alone cannot face death with composure. But when the ragged breath of another pours down from behind, one can even forget about their own demise.
The pirates stormed in, trampling over corpses and blades.
Outnumbered and overwhelmed.
The swordsmen of Namgung clan swung their blades desperately to push them back, but the pirates thrashed their harpoons wildly even as their own necks were severed.
“Aaaargh!”
The battlefield is a land ruled by morale. Blades weighed down by doubt cannot find their path.
Had they been in peak condition, things might have turned out differently – but Namgung swordsmen had already exhausted all their strength.
And so… all that remained was collapse.
Crunch!
A sharp harpoon pierced through a shoulder and burst out through the side.
“Ghhk….”
A searing pain radiated from deep within the body.
But the enemy’s claws gave them no chance to even savor the approach of death.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Ravenous harpoons tore again and again into the collapsing body.
The swordsman, riddled with dozens of holes, crumbled on the spot, unable to even leave behind a whole corpse.
Shrrk!
A violently swung sword shattered the harpoon outright and tore the neck. Yet another blade, rebelling in turn, deflected the harpoon aside and punched through the solar plexus.
All at once, the battle lines collapsed, and the two sides became a tangled, chaotic mess.
“Hold the line! Damn it, don’t let it break apart!”
Namgung Myeong shouted as though spitting blood.
Namgung clan was fewer in numbers than the pirates.
Of course, each one of them was a master that these pirates could never dare approach. But this was no martial arts arena.
No matter how skilled one might be, the battlefield was filled with screams and death from all directions.
How could anyone fend off a weapon flying at their back in such a hellish place?
The moment the formation crumbled, annihilation was inevitable.
“Hold them! Hold them back!”
At the very moment Namgung Myeong roared, he drew his sword and charged forward. He knew this was not the time to shout commands from behind – the formation was collapsing, and it was time to throw himself into the fight to restore it.
As he moved, the elders who had been waiting in the rear also sprang forward without hesitation.
Flash!
Swords swung like lightning.
“You will not pass until you’ve killed me!”
“Come, dogs of Surochae!”
The elders fought with desperation.
Those dying before them were none other than their sons, grandsons, and disciples.
Even in the face of their loved ones’ deaths, they had gritted their teeth and held back – until now.
Finally given the chance to move, their blades tore into the bodies of the pirates in a single swing.
“Aaaargh!”
“Ku, khak! You damn… bast…”
But the tide of battle wasn’t turning as easily as they’d hoped.
Though the masters at the peak of their power cut down wave after wave of pirates in an instant, the sheer number of incoming enemies made their efforts seem almost insignificant.
Blood filled Namgung Myeong’s eyes.
‘If only this weren’t here…’
If only this weren’t an island – an empty, desolate island with nothing on it – they wouldn’t have been so overwhelmed.
But on this island, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to lean their backs.
And now the enemy was driving them from all sides.
Even the surrounding buildings that might’ve offered cover had all been blasted to rubble by artillery.
All that remained were the iron swords in their hands and the comrades at their shoulders.
No.
There was still something more.
“Oooooooooh!”
A roar loud enough to rupture eardrums exploded through the air, and in the next instant, a blinding white sword energy fell like a bomb upon the heads of the charging pirates.
“Ah…”
The pirates, who had rushed forward without a glance back, suddenly went blank.
Their dazed eyes, stunned by the shock, slowly regained focus – only to fill with horror and dread, not madness.
Boom! Booom! Boooom!
The white sword energy tore through the pirates, crushing them completely.
Just one sword strike.
With that single strike, nearly twenty pirates were turned into chunks of flesh, their bodies mutilated beyond recognition.
The energy that slammed into the earth left not even a drop of blood in its wake.
Boooom!
The blast swept through the surroundings.
The pirates froze in place, stunned by the overwhelming sight.
“Wh-What the hell is that…?”
“Th-The Emperor’s Sword!”
No one wanted to foolishly charge into that sword energy and be swept away.
But the battlefield gave them no chance to acknowledge the truth.
“Out of the way, you idiots!”
“Uwaaaah!”
Those who hadn’t seen the full might of the sword energy due to the densely packed backs of their comrades, simply kicked aside the frozen figures and pressed forward like moths drawn to a flame.
Boooom!
Another blast of white sword energy erupted.
Namgung Hwang, the Emperor’s Sword.
He, too, was already exhausted beyond measure.
Yet his sword proved, with terrifying clarity, why he was called the Emperor’s Sword.
“Kill theeeeeem!”
But he was only one man.
With pirates swarming like ants from every direction, his sword felt far too short, and his body far too small to hold them all back.
“Haaaaargh!”
A trembling roar tore from Namgung Hwang’s throat.
Boom! Boom!
Each swing of his sword unleashed devastating force, a storm of sword energy.
“Black Dragon Kiiiiiiiing!”
Blood filled Namgung Hwang’s eyes.
“Do all your men have to die before you crawl out?! You coward! The world laughs at the thought of a coward like you being called the King of the Yangtze!”
His words were scornful, but his voice trembled with desperation.
He was trying, with everything he had, to provoke the Black Dragon King – to draw him out.
But the Black Dragon King didn’t move.
With only a fishy smirk on his lips, the Black Dragon King simply watched Namgung Hwang thrashing like a wild wolf among a flock of sheep.
“Ugh…”
They were close enough to feel each other’s gaze directly, yet Namgung Hwang couldn’t rush at the one staring him down.
He knew instinctively that the moment he stepped away from this place, regardless of their personal duel, Namgung clan would be annihilated.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
Namgung Hwang sliced straight through the waist of an oncoming pirate.
Blood and entrails spilled from the gaping cut, splattering across his entire body.
The heat, the nauseating stench – his every sense was overwhelmed.
In the middle of the battlefield, Namgung Hwang roared, and roared again.
They are dying.
“Aaaaaargh!”
His disciple.
Dying again.
“Graaaaaaah!”
His family.
An overwhelming disadvantage.
For every one of Namgung member who fell, more than ten enemies were brought down with them.
It was a fight worthy of the name of Namgung clan.
But who could take joy in this?
Who would willingly trade their life for the life of an enemy?
“You sons of bitches!”
Namgung Hwang saw it.
His son, Namgung Dowi, cutting down enemies while shedding tears of blood.
His sword was swift and unyielding. Even in despair, it shone with a distinct light – the very light that Namgung clan had long pursued.
But…
‘Even this sword will meet its end here.’
Realizing the fate of his clan, hot tears finally welled up in Namgung Hwang’s eyes.
Even if his arm were severed, even if a poisoned dagger were lodged in his heart, no tears would flow from this iron man’s eyes.
But in the face of dying kin and a future of ruin for his clan, he was no more than a frail human being.
Everything was his fault.
All of it – his sin.
If he could save even one more life, he would gladly have his body ground to dust and suffer eternal torment in hell for a thousand years.
But the heavens didn’t even grant him the chance to sacrifice himself.
As if his life were too insignificant to matter.
The blood of the pirates and Namgung clan mixed together on the ground.
While alive, they had been enemies – but in death, they were nothing more than the same lifeless corpses.
“P-Please! Spare meeeeee!”
“I-I don’t want this anymore!”
They were breaking.
Though they had fought with resolve even in the face of death, that will could not endure the fear of relentless harpoons aimed at their hearts, nor the sight of comrades dying beside them.
One by one, they began to stagger back, weeping and sobbing.
“Do not fall baaaack!”
“Hold the line! Please! Please!”
The cries of Namgung Dowi and Namgung Myeong intertwined and rang out in anguish through the sky over Maehwado.
They had intended to die like warriors, preserving the name of Namgung in their final moments.
But the death they faced was not at all romantic.
Name? Honor? Dignity?
What use are things like name, honor, and dignity to the dead, sprawled on the ground?
They just want to live. Even a moment longer.
Even if it means using a comrade as a shield in their place – just one more fleeting moment…
“Ugh… Uwaaaaaaaah!”
A lion’s roar burst from Namgung Hwang’s mouth, consumed by rage and despair.
His presence was like that of a tiger standing among wolves.
Even wolves with sharp fangs dare not challenge a tiger.
But on such a vast battlefield, there’s only so much a single tiger can do.
Paaaang.
A head flew through the air from somewhere and landed at Namgung Hwang’s feet.
“…”
Namgung Hwang couldn’t bring himself to look at it – he turned his head away.
A heavy flood of bloody tears poured within his chest.
‘Fine. Let us all die here.’
He clenched his teeth and drew forth every last ounce of his inner strength.
If he we was going to die anyway, then he would take down at least one more of those bastards with him.
Hope? There was no such thing in his mind anymore.
“Ugh…”
But at that very moment.
A scream, unbelievable to his ears, rang out.
“Uwaaaaaaaah! They’re here! They’re hereeeeeee!”
He turned his head sharply towards the sound.
“Shaolin! Shaolin is here! Shaolin has arrived!”
Shaolin?
Like rain after a drought, the news swept across the battlefield.
The eyes of the collapsing swordsmen of Namgung clan filled with shock and joy.
Everyone turned with desperate faces towards the far side of the river.
“Ah… Ahhh…”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Damn it! They’re here! Reinforcements are heeeeeere!”
The moment they confirmed the figures standing on the opposite riverbank wearing yellow robes, the swordsmen of Namgung clan screamed until their throats gave out.
“Shaolin has come to help!”
“Hold on! Hold the line!”
“You bastards! We’ll kill every last one of you!”
Shaolin’s appearance was pure joy for Namgung clan – but for Surochae, it was a message of despair.
“Sh-Shaolin?”
“Did they say Shaolin’s here?”
The pirates had eyes of their own.
And the moment they saw Shaolin’s forces gathered on the far bank, clarity quickly returned to their dazed minds.
“Why… Why would Shaolin…?”
“Damn it!”
They knew, too.
The river, though wide for ordinary men, meant nothing to Shaolin monks.
If they wished, they could cross it in a flash and join the battle on Maehwado.
The pirates’ movements paused for a moment.
Chaos and confusion were washing over Maehwado again and again.
“Abbot!”
“Mmm!”
Beop Jong bit his lip hard and nodded firmly.
“We’re not too late! No… we’re a little late, but not so late that it can’t be turned around!”
Had they been even a moment later, no one would have been left alive over there.
It was painful that the battle had already begun before their arrival – but Namgung clan had not been annihilated.
If they could save even half of their forces, then victory was still within reach!
“Abbot! There’s no time to delay!”
“Indeed!”
A mighty lion’s roar erupted from Beop Jong’s mouth.
“Disciples, hear me! Cross the river and support Namgung clan! Drive out the vile Surochae from that island!”
“Yes!”
Beop Jong’s monk robes billowed in the rising wind.
‘This time, we’ve won!’
Beop Jong clenched his fist.
This battle had always been about who would arrive first.
Now that they had reached the battlefield ahead of the enemy, the outcome was as good as decided.
No matter how formidable Surochae was, they couldn’t possibly take on both Shaolin and Namgung at once.
It didn’t matter how battered Namgung clan was.
Shaolin alone could deal with Surochae.
Just keeping the enemy pinned to that island meant Namgung had fulfilled their role.
“Now! Go and drive out thise evil-”
It was then.
Just as Beop Jong raised his voice in a valiant outcry, he suddenly flinched.
Jolt.
The man who had been roaring flinched and fell silent. Then he began shouting urgently.
“S-Stop! Everyone, stop where you are!”
Shaolin monks, who had been about to leap into the river, turned around in alarm at the desperate voice from behind them.
“A-Abbot?”
Beop Gye, too, looked at Beop Jong with a confused expression.
Was this really the time for hesitation?
“…Abbot?”
But at the moment he saw Beop Jong’s face, he flinched. Beop Jong was as pale as if he had seen a ghost.
“Wh-What is it…”
“A-Amitabha…”
Beop Jong’s voice trembled uncontrollably.
“Why… Why! Why!”
As he burst out in fury, Beop Gye seemed to sense something and slowly turned his head.
His gaze followed the direction Beop Jong had already been glaring at. Upstream along the river.
“Ah…”
Only then did Beop Gye see it too.
A massive fleet had begun to appear, riding the bend of the wide river.
“Th-This…”
There was no mistaking it.
It couldn’t be ignored.
With trained eyes, there was no choice but to acknowledge what they were seeing.
Of the dozens of ships now revealing themselves, one colossal vessel stood at the very front.
And standing at the prow of that ship was a single man.
It was impossible to mistake. How could one ever forget that figure? If you had seen him even once, you could never forget.
“J-Jang…”
A voice, drained of all strength, slipped from Beop Gye’s mouth.
“Jang Ilso…”
Paegun Jang Ilso.
At the head of the fleet advancing towards Maehwado, he looked out at the line of Shaolin monks along the riverbank – and slowly raised one corner of his mouth.
“Well, well. You’ve all come rushing in so earnestly.”
Covering his face with a hand adorned with rings of all colors, he let out a chilling, twisted smile.
“What’s wrong? Were you expecting something? Hahahahahah! Ahahahahahahahaha!!!”
At the sound of Jang Ilso’s laugh, brimming with joy and madness, even the Yangtze River seemed to hold its breath.
________
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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