I Will Make It Like That. (4)

“Huuup!”

The Yangtze River Four Fish leaped out of the water and gulped breath greedily. Wiping the water trickling down his face with a careless hand, he floated and stared at the fire raging fiercely in the distance.

“They’re burning nicely.”

A fishy smile spread across his face.

With flames like that, even the most sturdily built ships wouldn’t be able to remain functional. Of course, the fast vessels they had taken also burned to cinders, but that didn’t matter; the Pirates still had plenty of ships.

“Truly, should we call him the Alliance lord?”

Even Yangtze River Four Fish hadn’t imagined they’d guard the ships so sloppily.

No, perhaps it wasn’t originally like that; the Alliance lord’s movements must have drawn even those guarding the ships elsewhere.

In any case, the undeniable fact was that Jang Ilso’s strategy had worked perfectly.

“Has everyone returned?”

“Not all of us yet…”

Yangtze River Four Fish glanced down at the water.

“A day for Yangtze river fish to feast.”

“…”

“The mission is complete. That’s enough. We’re returning.”

“Yes!”

He began swimming to the opposite riverbank. Those trained in water martial arts cut through the Yangtze river like fish born and raised in the water.

Leaving the still-burning riverbank behind.

❀ ❀ ❀

Beop Jeong’s face was stained red by the shadows of the blazing flames. Staring at the burning ships as black smoke billowed, his expression was hardened to a grim degree.

“Th-the… filthy bastards!”

Jong Ri-Hyung couldn’t contain his wrath and spat curses in a choked voice. Those guarding the ships were none other than his disciples. Beop Jeong saw burning ships, but Jong Ri-Hyung saw the bodies of his disciples being carried out from them.

“Abbott!”

Jong Ri-Hyung cried out, his face twisted with rage.

“Those vile bastards must pay a thousand deaths over a million times!”

“Calm down, Jong Sect leader.”

“Do I look like I can calm down?!”

Peng Yeop tried to restrain him, but only provoked more of Jong Ri-Hyung’s fury. Even usually taciturn, cold Paeng Yeop flinched at the intensity.

“Th…”

Grrr-click.

The sound of his teeth grinding rang out from Jong Ri-Hyung’s mouth.

The charred bodies of the disciples, turned into lumps of coal, were still being carried out from the ships. Fortunately, they hadn’t lost many, but these were disciples raised like children—seeing them reduced to charcoal in an instant, how could Jong Ri-Hyung not be distraught?

“How could they commit such a barbaric act!”

As he exploded in anger, a short, hollow laugh escaped Paeng Yeop.

Barbaric? What is barbaric—killing people?

The Four Sects Alliance and the Nine Great Sects were at war to begin with. Though no formal declaration had been made, everyone under heaven would think so—even the Four Sects Alliance and the Nine Great Sects themselves.

Can a surprise attack during wartime truly be called barbaric?

“Abbott! Are you going to leave those Pirates be?!”

As Jong Ri-Hyung shouted again, Beop Jeong turned with a hardened face, then asked in a low voice.

“…What do you propose?”

“What a ridiculous thing to say…!”

“We’ve lost all the ships we were going to take—what method do you propose to strike them? Will you swim across? Against Pirates trained in water martial arts?”

Jong Ri-Hyung couldn’t answer and trembled.

He’d lost his reason in anger for a moment, but Beop Jeong’s words instantly snapped him back to reality.

The ships here had been desperately gathered to prevent the Four Sects Alliance from crossing. Having lost them all, those gathered here had no way to cross the Yangtze river.

“And even the minimal means to stop them from moving freely along the Yangtze river has vanished.”

Peng Yeop muttered in an emotionless voice.

“A clear blunder.”

Beop Jeong, who had been quietly listening, squeezed his eyes shut.

“We should have guarded the ships more securely.”

“Are you saying our children’s abilities were lacking?”

At Peng Yeop’s offhand remark, Jong Ri-Hyung snapped his eyes open and glared. In this tense state, such words were hard to take lightly.

This time, Peng Yeop did not back down either.

“Wasn’t that the result?”

“Watch your words! Was it reasonable to expect that number of people to guard so many ships in the first place?”

Jong Ri-Hyung pressed Peng Yeop, his tone verging on vicious.

“And if the personnel had been at normal levels, we wouldn’t have been defeated by those mere numbers! Yet more than half of the children guarding the ships were suddenly summoned to the manor hall!”

“Their force was only numerical—your men should have been able to handle them.”

“Are you finished!”

“…Let’s stop.”

A hollow sound escaped Beop Jeong.

It was Beop Jeong who, startled by Jang Ilso’s movements, ordered people from all directions to be gathered to hall to stand by.

But who could fail to react like that? The opponent was Jang Ilso.

‘We’ve been played completely.’

Jang Ilso had known.

That his mere movement would alarm Beop Jeong into mobilizing forces, thereby leaving the ships relatively undefended.

He’d been watching this place like the palm of his hand from a thousand li away.

No, perhaps the thing placed on that palm wasn’t the situation here but Beop Jeong himself.

“What good is blaming each other for what’s already happened? Peng, cease as well. It isn’t appropriate to speak to someone who lost disciples.”

“I’m sorry.”

When Lord Peng apologized, heavy silence fell again.

The three of them watched the ships with the flames still uncontained. Disciples from each sect ran about trying desperately to control the blaze, but with oil added it seemed nearly impossible.

When the fires were finally put out, how many usable ships would remain?

“Now…”

A weak voice escaped Jong Ri-Hyung. After his rage surged, he seemed drained.

“Now… what should we do?”

Peng Yeop couldn’t answer that either.

If they’d ridden the momentum of burning the ships and attacked here directly, the situation would have been clearer—you’d just fight back.

But they only burned the ships and withdrew.

They’d been properly struck but refused to fight, leaving them to hold their stinging cheeks and stare dumbly across the river.

Peng Yeop let out a deep sigh.

“What can we do? We must get ships again as quickly as possible.”

“Haven’t we already gathered all the ships we could from the Yangtze river?”

“We should at least pull in small fishing boats as a temporary measure and build new ships.”

“Easier said than done—this isn’t something you fix in a day or two.”

“…So you’ll just sit idle and watch?”

Sharp words flew between them again as if they had never quieted. A deep sigh escaped Beop Jeong.

What should be done?

Even Beop Jeong—what remedy could he have in such a situation?

Paeng Yeop was right. What was lost was lost; they needed to secure ships quickly so the Pirates couldn’t prowl the Yangtze river at will…

“A-Abbott!”

Before he could finish his thought, Jong Ri-Hyung shouted. Beop Jeong suppressed a surge of anger and spoke.

“First… yes, first, as Lord Peng said…”

“N-no! Abbott, look over there! There!”

At that, Beop Jeong opened his closed eyes.

‘There?’

What Jong Ri-Hyung pointed to were only the burning ships. They’d already been accounted for—what else was there to see?

“Even if we salvage a few…”

“That’s not it! Not the fire—look behind it!”

“Behind?”

Only then did Beop Jeong turn his gaze to the distance. Through the licking flames he caught glimpses of what lay beyond, and his eyes widened to the point of staring.

“P- Pirates! They’re moving—the Pirates are moving!”

A chill ran down Beop Jeong’s spine.

The massive fleet of the Pirates, which had long occupied the center of the Yangtze river around Plum Blossom Island, were all turning their bows at once.

Their direction was…

‘East.’

Yes. It was the very direction Jang Ilso had headed.

“Wh-why are they suddenly…?”

Jong Ri-Hyung murmured blankly, and Peng Yeop answered in a cold voice.

“They can move now, can’t they?”

“…What do you mean?”

“It’s true the Pirates had a knife at our throats, but conversely we had daggers at theirs. If their fleet pulled back, we could cross the river and strike at the Four Sects Alliance’s main camp.”

“…Yes?”

“But now that no longer matters. They’ll need ships to ferry them. Ships to move them to the nearest shore from Henan.”

Jong Ri-Hyung spoke as if he didn’t understand.

“No, we only lost our ships—we haven’t had our hands and feet cut off. Without the Pirates, it’s not that hard to swim across a river like this…”

“What’s there?”

“The Four Sects Alliance’s main camp, as you said…”

Jong Ri-Hyung stopped mid-sentence. He too understood Peng Yeop’s meaning now.

Across the river was the Four Sects Alliance’s main camp. But what did that main camp really have?

‘Nothing at all.’

The main camp was meaningless. What mattered about a few buildings hastily erected recently?

The Four Sects Alliance’s main camp only had significance because Jang Ilso was there.

Even if they burned the main camp while the bandits had fled and only civilians remained in Southern lands, what would they gain?

But the Four Sects Alliance was different. By ravaging Henan, they could extract enormous gains.

If they swam across and burned the Four Sects Alliance’s main camp, Jang Ilso would not hesitate; he’d cross to the Northern lands and push into Henan.

“Th-this…”

Jong Ri-Hyung’s face turned pale as death.

“If that’s the case, they should’ve just left with those ships in the first place…”

“Then could they have burned our ships?”

“…Are you saying that Jang Ilso showed his movement because he foresaw all of this?”

Peng Yeop didn’t answer, but even a child could see that silence meant yes.

Meanwhile, the Pirates’ ships steadily moved eastward.

“A- Abbott. How…”

“The ships…”

Beop Jeong bit his lip and then spoke with a sigh.

“Call in those fighting the fires.”

“Sorry?”

A cold murderous glint flashed in Beop Jeong’s eyes.

“This was bound to happen. Gather the disciples. We will follow them to Anhui.”

“…”

“Let this news leak to the Heavenly Friends Alliance as well.”

“A- Abbott?”

Jong Ri-Hyung flinched at the light flowing from his eyes.

“In the end, peace is unattainable without eliminating the villains.”

“…”

“We were bested by the enemy. We must admit that. But Jang Ilso must also learn one thing.”

The gentle, wise monk was nowhere to be seen; Beop Jeong’s voice was icy.

“No matter the stratagems, without strength they mean nothing. The moment they cross that river that will be Jang Ilso’s end. I will make it so.”

His prayer beads shattered in his hand and fell apart into dust.