Chapter 113
“I learned something interesting while tracking the Baek Sword Sect’s group,” Dark Sky Demonic Monarch Jeon Gok said.
“What is it?” Blood Sword Demonic Monarch Yang Hwa-Gun asked.
“I heard that they commissioned the East Lake Merchant Association to transport five hundred thousand silver nyangs from Wuchang to Nanjing and that they plan to hire the Eun Merchant Group to transport that huge amount of money to Wenzhou.”
“So you want to target the five hundred thousand silver nyangs?” the baffled Hwa-Gun asked.
“This isn’t just about the five hundred thousand silver nyangs. The Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch and Nine Dragons Fist Hwang Rei will also be on the Eun Merchant Group’s ship since they’re the ones moving the money.”
“Then your goal is to kill the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch and Hwang Rei and take the five hundred thousand silver nyangs?”
“That’s right. Those two killed half of the Four Seas Gang’s forces. Do you plan to just stay on the sidelines and continue observing?” Jeon Gok asked Hwa-Gun and Jae Cheon-Kang.
“Although they did eliminate two of the Four Seas’ Dragons and destroy half of the Four Seas’ Ten Great Armadas, that’s just a testament to how strong their martial arts are. Even if the two of you face them, I still think it would be difficult to guarantee victory,” Cheon-Kang said, expressing his doubts.
“They didn’t do all that themselves. The Great Namgung Family’s Divine Wind Sword Saint and their Young Patriarch also fought in that battle. If the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch and the Nine Dragons Fist were the only people there, our forces would not have been annihilated,” Jeon Gok argued. “The Divine Wind Sword Saint is no longer with them. I’m ready to leave with the Blood Sword Demonic Monarch and the Higher Demons. No matter how strong they are, it will be difficult for them to overpower us.”
“The Dark Sky Demonic Monarch has a point. If the three of us work together, we’ll have a good chance to emerge victorious. Now that the Four Seas Gang has been confirmed to be connected to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, the righteous sects’ alliance will definitely not leave the Four Seas Gang alone. We have to make a move before they do and reduce the enemy’s force even by just a little,” Hwa-Gun agreed with Jeon Gok.
“It was under your insistence as well that I mobilized the forces of the Four Seas Gang for the recent operation. However, the result, as you both are already well aware of, was total annihilation. If things go south again this time, the Four Seas Gang, the very organization that I have devoted all my life to, will be ruined. Of course, I am well aware of your skills, esteemed Demonic Monarchs, but from my point of view, we require a more solid number of forces if you want the Four Seas Gang to mobilize.” Cheon-Kang countered, demanding more reinforcements from the two.
Hwa-Gun’s expression stiffened.
“If the Invincible Divine Demon sees your indecisiveness, Gang Leader Jae, he would be very disappointed. The esteemed Invincible Divine Demon regards you highly. He even wants to entrust the four seas to you once the Nine Celestial Demons Sect has taken control of the world. The Four Seas Gang is insignificant compared to that great mission, yet it seems you value your organization more than the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.”
“That’s definitely not the case. The moment I decided to follow the esteemed Invincible Divine Demon, the Invincible Clan and the Nine Celestial Demons Sect became my utmost priority. However, the Four Seas Gang is where my roots are. The esteemed Invincible Divine Demon favors me because he expects the Four Seas Gang to play a big role in our great mission. That’s why I’m trying to conserve my forces until the esteemed Invincible Divine Demon starts making a move. I find it disrespectful to hear you say that I value the Nine Celestial Demons Sect less than the Four Seas Gang.” Cheon-Kang sounded displeased.
Cheon-Kang’s foundation lay with the Four Seas Gang, and losing it would mean his value to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect plummeting to the bottom. Although his martial arts had reached the Absolute Realm, he still had trouble receiving preferential treatment since he didn’t belong to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect in the past. If he lost the Four Seas Gang, he would be sent to all sorts of battlefields, one of which was bound to be his grave. Hence, he couldn’t recklessly mobilize his remaining forces.
“Well said, but what the Invincible Divine Demon wants from you is to reduce the power of murim’s forces as much as possible before he makes a move. It’s time to step forward. Despite his young age, the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch has already reached the Absolute Realm. Considering how amazingly talented he is, he’ll soon become a huge obstacle to the great mission of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect if we leave him be. We have to nip that in the bud now that we have the perfect opportunity to.”
However, Hwa-Gun had no intention of being considerate of Cheon-Kang’s position. He pressured Cheon-Kang by borrowing the name of the Invincible Divine Demon. What made it worse was that he had a point. Considering the pace of Mu-Gun’s growth, they had to eliminate him while they still had the chance.
As Cheon-Kang said, it would be best to launch an attack with a bigger force. However, there was no time for that. He was well aware that it would be harder to eliminate Mu-Gun once he had returned to the Baek Sword Sect, considering Baek Cheon-Sang and the other three Heavenly Extreme Adventurers would be present then. Hence, he found it difficult to argue against the Blood Sword Demonic Monarch.
“I understand why you’re worried, Gang Leader Jae, but with me, the Blood Sword Demonic Monarch, and the hundred martial arts masters we brought with us, we can easily win. Moreover, even if your concerns do come true, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect will not treat you poorly. Isn’t that right?” Jeon Gok asked Hwa-Gun to reassure and persuade Cheon-Kang.
“The esteemed Invincible Divine Demon certainly won’t treat you poorly. However, if you refuse, and we lose this opportunity because of you, he will be very disappointed. I doubt he will still favor you then.”
Pressured by the two Demonic Monarchs, Cheon-Kang could no longer refuse.
“Fine. I will make preparations to mobilize the forces of the Four Seas Gang.”
“Well thought out. Your loyalty will please the esteemed Invincible Divine Demon, Gang Leader Jae.”
Four Seas’ Divine Dragon Cheon-Kang convened all the remaining forces of the Four Seas Gang, including the Four Seas’ Five Great Armada. The hundred demonic practitioners that the Blood Sword Demonic Monarch and the Dark Sky Demonic Monarch brought along also prepared for battle. Three days before Mu-Gun and his group left Nanjing, the Four Seas Gang finished all preparations and headed toward Nanjing, which was south of the Black Spirit Island.
* * *
Mu-Gun and his group headed to Wenzhou aboard the Baek Sword Sect’s ship, which was escorting the Eun Merchant Group’s merchant ships. Having come out to sea via the Changjiang River, they began to steer south toward the Zhejiang Province. Expecting that the Four Seas Gang would target him for annihilating five of their Great Armadas at the Changjiang River, he requested the Eun Merchant Group to leave for Wenzhou as soon as possible.
However, their fleet’s speed was restrained by the weight of the five hundred thousand silver nyangs. Fortunately, that weight was shared by three ships. Otherwise, bringing all the money would have been impossible. Still, since the Eun Merchant Group’s merchant ships steered through the sea slower than usual, the Four Seas Gang gained room to catch up to them.
“The Four Seas Gang is here!” the martial artist in charge of surveillance shouted from the escort ship that followed the Eun Merchant Group’s ships from behind, having spotted pirate ships in the distance.
Immediately heading to the stern to confirm, Mu-Gun saw six pirate ships in total. Considering each of the Four Seas Gang’s ships carried a hundred combatants on average, there could be six hundred pirates coming for them.
On the other hand, Mu-Gun’s group only had a total of two hundred martial artists aboard the two escort ships. Just to eliminate two hundred martial artists, the Four Seas Gang sent six hundred pirates and six ships.
“They seem greatly determined to eliminate us,” Nine Dragons Fist Hwang Rei, who was next to Mu-Gun, said with a stiff expression.
“I’m glad they came to us on their own accord. I’ve been meaning to put an end to them anyway.”
Mu-Gun had no intention of leaving the Four Seas Gang alone given that they were related to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. Since he had been planning to wipe them out entirely in due course anyway, he actually thought this was a great opportunity.
“Considering they’re going on the offensive again, the Nine Celestial Demons Sect has probably sent them reinforcements. Do we even have a chance of winning?” Hwang Rei asked.
They had killed two of the Three Dragons of the Four Seas and half of the Four Seas’ Ten Supreme Commanders in Changjiang River earlier, which meant the only martial arts masters in the Four Seas Gang now were the Four Seas’ Divine Dragon and the remaining Supreme Commanders. It would be difficult for them alone to handle Mu-Gun and Hwang Rei.
They could approach this with a human-wave strategy using the six hundred pirates they brought with them, but the Four Seas’ Divine Dragon likely wouldn’t use such a reckless tactic. Hence, this could only mean that they had prepared enough forces to deal with Mu-Gun and Hwang Rei. To achieve that, The Four Seas Gang could only borrow help from the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.
“Did you not see how I dealt with the Four Seas Gang’s pirate ships at the Changjiang River?”
“So you plan to create another tsunami to destroy those ships as well.”
“Even pirates will have trouble surviving at sea if their pirate ship sinks.”
“But can you really destroy six pirate ships? That might be possible if you can get them to close in on each other and head toward us. Otherwise, you would have to destroy the ships one by one.”
Instead of coming at them all at once, the Four Seas Gang’s pirate ships maintained a straight line and kept a certain distance between them. They likely planned to keep the straight formation until they were close enough to spread to the sides and surround the escort ships. Even if Mu-Gun started a tsunami, it could only submerge one ship at a time for as long as they kept their distance.
The Four Seas Gang’s current formation would require Mu-Gun to create six tsunamis to destroy their entire fleet. However, considering each one exhausted huge amounts of internal energy, he wouldn’t have any internal energy left if he tried to summon six. It wouldn’t matter if he became fatigued for as long as he could destroy all the pirate ships, but there was no guarantee that every single tsunami could successfully take down a ship.
“That’s why I plan to destroy their captain’s ship first,” Mu-Gun mentioned his plan.
“Their captain’s ship?”
“The Four Seas Gang Leader and the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s martial arts masters are probably in the same ship. If it sinks, the others will have to prioritize saving them. We will use that opportunity to deal with the rest.” Mu-Gun elaborated.
“You think the other ships will gather around to save the martial arts masters and pirates aboard their leader’s ship?”
“That’s right. If the Four Seas Gang Leader starts drowning, they won’t be able to just ignore him and still focus on attacking us.”
“But wouldn’t the other martial arts masters be powerful enough to defend against the incoming tsunami?”
“That’s where you come in. I need your help, Venerable Elder.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Before I make a move, please unleash the Nine Dragons Sky Shower toward their leader’s ship.”
“The Nine Dragons Sky Shower?”
“Yes. To block your Nine Dragon Sky Shower, the martial arts masters on the captain’s ship will have no choice but to step up. I’ll create a tsunami at that moment, and no one will be available to stop it.”
The Nine Dragons Sky Shower, a fist technique that unleashed nine dragon-shaped vajra qi, was the final technique in the Supreme Nine Dragons Fist Art. Connected to the user’s mind, the nine dragon-shaped vajra qi could display unrestrained movements just like how a martial arts master could control a sword with qi. Moreover, it could also extend up to a hundred feet in length.
Though some would think that the power of the technique would have to be divided between the nine vajra qi, each of them was actually equally just as powerful as summoning just one dragon-shaped vajra qi. It was as if nine Hwang Reis simultaneously unleashed a dragon-shaped vajra qi. The Nine Dragons Sky Shower would force the martial arts masters to block it. Taking advantage of that moment, Mu-Gun would then create a tsunami with the Heavenly Sea Waves Saber Art, sinking the captain’s ship.
“That’s not a bad idea. But you do know that after I use the Nine Dragons Sky Shower, I will no longer be able to help you, right?”
“What did you do for the past thirty years instead of increasing your internal energy?”
“Who would have known that you would reappear in murim? So, do I do it or not?”
“Do it, please. I will take care of the rest.”
“I can trust you, right?”
“Don’t worry. I will not let anything happen to you, Venerable Elder,” Mu-Gun confidently said.
Hwang Rei nodded. As they were talking, the pirate ships closed the distance to about three hundred feet away. Mu-Gun sent the Eun Merchant Group’s merchant ships ahead, then made the escort ships slow down. As the escort ships’ speed decreased, the distance between the pirate ships narrowed even faster. Now only two hundred feet away, the pirate ships spread out and began to surround the two escort ships, which were all within Mu-Gun’s expectations.
“Get closer to their captain’s ship!”
Instead of escaping the encirclement, Mu-Gun instructed the ships to approach the captain’s ship, which was further inside it. The two escort ships did as instructed.
“What are they trying to do?”
Flustered, Hwa-Gun, who was aboard the captain’s ship with Cheon-Kang, asked when he noticed the escort ships were steering toward them—like moths jumping into flames—instead of running away.
“They have probably decided to fight to the bitter end. It’s all or nothing for them now after all, considering there’s no use trying to escape,” Jeon Gok said.
“I was worried about what we should do if they turned tail and ran away, but it seems that’s not going to happen.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple. They are coming at us with the intention to defeat the masters on our ship. Just as the Dark Sky Demonic Monarch said, they could be fighting back as a last-ditch effort, but there’s a chance they’re just confident that they can defeat us,” Cheon-Kang added, refusing to let his guard down.
“Don’t worry. We have so many martial arts masters on this ship alone that no matter what they’re planning, we won’t fall prey to it,” Hwa-Gun reassured them. It was as if he was saying that Cheon-Kang’s worry wasn’t necessary.
Not long after, they noticed Nine Dragons Fist Hwang Rei standing at the escort ship’s prow. Even though they were still a hundred feet away, they could sense an unusual flow of energy gathering around him.
“He seems to be trying to do something.” Cheon-Kang seemed nervous.
“There’s no point attacking us from that distance. He’s just making a last-ditch effort.”
Hwa-Gun and Jeon Gok remained calm and relaxed. However, that soon changed.
The energy swirling around Hwang Rei had clumped together to form a huge dragon-shaped vajra qi.
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