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Chapter : 04
While Jiwon stayed close to Yeonhwa, keeping an eye on all directions,
Yeonhwa looked back at those who were clearly the cause of all this chaos.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, their eyes met.
It seemed very surprising to Gu Heeryang and Gwak So that Yeonhwa had been the first to sense the signs of this disaster.
Unlike Gu Heeryang, who raised one eyebrow, Gwak So muttered, “Oh,” in admiration, and then smiled coyly.
“That little fox dares to—!”
Jiwon bared his teeth fiercely, clearly annoyed at the antics of Deputy Leader Gwak So.
But he couldn’t stay angry for long.
Swish, swish, swish! Swish, swish, swish!
“Attack!”
Moon Jeongmyeong, who had been scanning the area nervously because of the ominous feeling, was startled by the sudden downpour of arrows and shouted.
Judging by the attacks coming simultaneously from the left and right sides of their ship, it seemed they had already been surrounded by enemies.
Gripping the ship’s railing and focusing his internal energy to sense the fog outside, he confirmed it:
Medium-sized enemy boats, surely the attackers’, were emerging from the mist and quickly closing in.
While they were busy paying attention to the left and right, a new boat appeared, blocking the bow and stern, leaving their ship trapped in the middle with no room to move.
Naturally, the arrow attacks on the trapped ship intensified.
Thwack! Pop! Thwack!
The Zhuque Squad members raised their swords to deflect the arrows, frowning.
“Damn it! Where the hell is the Guardian Squad?”
“They all went down to the lower decks to rest as soon as they boarded, except for the Commander and a few others! Now that it’s this chaotic upstairs, they’ll be back soon. Just hold on a little longer!”
After all, these were elite warriors of the Death God Squad from the academy—no way they’d fall easily to some bandits.
But when a second attack followed the arrow barrage, everyone’s faces turned pale.
Swaaaak! Swaaaak!
From the boats surrounding the left side of the ship, they had thrown chains with hooks the size of a human head.
The hooks slammed onto the deck with a loud thunk, startling the Death God Squad members so much they couldn’t even recover their composure.
The hooks that had been lodged along the side of the deck were suddenly pulled tight by the chains!
Creeeak! Creeeak!
The hooks scraped the deck as they were pulled back, then caught firmly on the side railings.
The enemy boats outside began pulling the chains with full force.
Screeeech!
The side of the ship with the hooked chains tilted sideways from the pull.
Luckily, the ship was large, heavily loaded, and had many cabins, so it didn’t tip drastically—but it was enough for those standing on deck to slip.
This alone wasn’t a major threat, but when combined with arrows raining from all directions…
“Ugh, ha!”
“Help!”
Even a slight stumble or loss of balance increased the risk of being hit by arrows.
The situation became increasingly urgent.
Yeonhwa found it absurd, thinking the chaos unfolding before her eyes was orchestrated by the Guardian Commander and Deputy.
‘They said we should train as if it were real battle… but they’re actually staging a real battle.’
It was true what they said: the Guardian Commander had no rear, and the Deputy had no front.
“Ahhhh!”
At that moment, a White Tiger Squad member, hit by an arrow, dropped his weapon and flailed, rolling toward Yeonhwa’s position.
If left unchecked, he would collide with her.
As Yeonhwa moved her hand…
“There’s a gap! Block it! Don’t let it touch the young lady!”
A Black Tortoise Squad member at the front panicked and swiftly kicked.
“Gah!”
The White Tiger Squad member was sent sprawling by the kick.
Though it was less harsh than a full collision, he couldn’t help but be furious at his humiliating fall.
“Damn it… who kicks a person like that—”
The grinding of his teeth could be heard as he stood, but the Black Tortoise Squad ignored him, issuing urgent warnings to each other instead.
“One scratch on the young lady is worth our lives, got it?”
“Exactly. Remember last time when she got slightly hurt, and that bastard Jiwon almost got his neck snapped? If anything happens this time, it won’t just be him.”
The Black Tortoise Squad shuddered at the memory of the punishment.
After experiencing it once or twice, even just seeing the Martial Arts Hall was enough to make them tense.
No matter how beautiful the young lady was, and even if she wasn’t as cold to them as outsiders would be, they couldn’t help but be wary.
Yeonhwa could sense it perfectly.
‘Please, young lady, please! Don’t intervene and make things worse!’
Yeonhwa glanced at the sword in her scabbard.
A fire of longing blazed in her large eyes.
But as quickly as it flared, it died down, leaving her gaze cold and resolute.
She finally looked away from the sword and closed her eyes.
But as is often the case in life, giving up didn’t make the situation any easier.
Among the enemy boats, the leader’s vessel faced the bow of the ship carrying the Martial Arts Alliance party.
“Damn it…”
Wang Cheogi, the bandit leader, scowled.
It was unnerving that such a large ship had somehow gotten lost while on a leisure trip.
Still, even though Wang Cheogi’s group had the best conditions in Seoreung Gorge—the entrance to the Three Gorges and the most treacherous of them all—they had been starving for prey because of the Martial Arts Alliance’s presence.
Unable to resist the sight of easy prey, Wang Cheogi decided to call in reinforcements and attack together.
“But… what? Why are they holding out so well?”
Meanwhile, the number of warriors emerging from the lower decks of the ship was increasing steadily, causing more chaos on deck.
Wang Cheogi had hoped to capture the ship intact for plunder, but now there was no choice—once the attack began, it had to end decisively.
He blew a long horn resembling an animal’s fang.
Bwoooouu!
Taking this as a signal, the attackers switched to fire arrows.
The cloth wrapped around the arrow tips, soaked in oil, ignited instantly, sending flames flying.
They shot directly at the large ship trapped in the middle.
“Fire! The ship’s on fire!”
Flames spread across the ship, black smoke billowing, and real screams of terror finally began.
Watching the deck moments before complete chaos, Yeonhwa frowned.
Regular arrows could be deflected, but fire arrows couldn’t simply be knocked away—they would spread flames if mishandled.
When flaming sparks set clothing and hair alight, the Guardian Squad raised their swords high and spun them to create gusts of wind.
“Hide behind me!”
“Come here, it’s safe here!”
Whoosh!
The wind from the swords blew the fire arrows off the ship.
“Thank you!”
The Death God Squad escaped danger thanks to the Guardian Squad’s help, but that also meant the Guardians lost the chance to strike back at the attackers.
Moreover, once the Guardians moved onto the deck, it became so crowded that there was hardly any space to maneuver.
The arrows from the attackers weren’t infinite, so the Death God Squad only had to hold on—but panic spread quickly among them.
Of course, some, like Moon Jeongmyeong, the Azure Dragon Squad, and a few exceptional members of the Zhuque and White Tiger Squads, acted differently.
Clang, kaang!
Moon Jeongmyeong urged the Azure Dragon Squad to cut the hooked chains on the ship’s left side.
Others moved to the mast in the center of the deck when fire arrows were shot, to prevent the sails from catching fire and falling onto the deck.
“There aren’t enough people! Come here! Let’s do it together!”
“Over there! Put out the fire first!”
As they ran frantically trying to turn the tide, Yeonhwa, surrounded by Black Tortoise Squad members like a precious flower, caught their eyes even amidst the chaos.
“Hah! Even now, your safety is all that matters?”
“Really shameless!”
Mu-deok of Shaolin, impatient as ever, couldn’t hide his disgust, and many agreed.
“Finally, the true skill of the Black Tortoise Leader, hidden behind the fame of the Three Spirits, is revealed! Even in this danger, she’s not hiding her face like a scared little mouse!”
“With skills like that, she can even make a name for herself in the Martial Arts Alliance in front of the Guardian Commander! Well, good! Now no one can claim she’s more powerful than the Guardian Commander!”
Some even expressed more hatred and contempt than they did toward the attackers.
Until now, Yeonhwa had only observed the situation.
Then, suddenly—
KWAANG! KWAANG!
A loud impact echoed from the bow of the ship.
