We’ll have to force them go that way. (4)

“Phew!”

Cheog Il gasped for air as he emerged from the water, his breath ragged. He wiped the water from his face with his hand and floated, observing the raging flames in the distance.

“They burn well.”

A wry smile crept onto his face.

With such intense flames, even the sturdiest ships would struggle to maintain their function. Of course, it didn’t matter that all the speedboats they brought had burned – there were still plenty of ships left in Surochae.

“Should I really call him Ryeonju?”

Cheog Il hadn’t even considered that they would so carelessly leave their ships undefended.

No, perhaps it wasn’t carelessness at all. Maybe the movement of Ryeonju dispersed those guarding the ships to other areas.

In any case, one thing was certain: Ryeonju’s plan had worked out flawlessly.

“Is everyone back?”

“Not quite yet…”

Cheog Il glanced down at the water below.

“It’s a day for the river fish to feast.”

“…Yes.”

He resumed his stroke, propelling himself back to the opposite bank. The bodies of those trained in aquatic combat moved through the river like fish born and raised in the water, cutting through the Yangtze with ease.

Leaving the still-burning riverside behind.

❀ ❀ ❀

The burning flames cast a crimson shadow over Beop Jong’s face. His expression hardened as he watched the burning ships, billowing smoke rising in columns.

“These… these filthy scoundrels!”

Jongli Hyeong couldn’t contain his anger, spitting curses in a suppressed voice. It was his disciples who had been guarding the ships. While all Beop Jong could see were the burning ships, Jongli Hyeong saw the bodies of his disciples being carried away from those ships.

“Abbot!”

Jongli Hyeong yelled, his face contorted in anger.

“We must bring those vile scoundrels to justice and make them pay!”

“Calm yourself, Sect Leader Jongli.”

“Do I look calm to you?!”

Paeng Yeop tried to reason with Jongli Hyeong, but his anger only intensified. Even Paeng Yeop, who was usually stoic and composed, seemed shaken.

“This…”

Thunk.

A grinding sound emanated from Jongli Hyeong’s mouth.

The bodies of his disciples, reduced to charcoal, were being moved out of the ships one after another at this very moment. Fortunately, he did not lose many disciples during his ordeal, but these were disciples whom he raised as if they were his own children. Jongli Hyeong must have felt terrible that such people were reduced to charcoal in an instant.

“How could they commit such a shameless act!”

As Jongli Hyeong vented his anger, a hollow laugh escaped Paeng Yeop’s lips.

Shameless? What’s shameless about it? Killing people?

From the outset, Sapaeryeon and Gupailbang were in a state of war. While it hadn’t been officially declared from either side, it was a sentiment shared by everyone under the heavens, even amongst Sapaeryeon and Gupailbang themselves.

Can a surprise attack during war truly be considered a shameless act?

“Abbot! Are you just going to let those Surochae scoundrels be?”

As Jongli Hyeong’s expression darkened once more, Beop Jong turned with a stern face. Then, in a calm voice, he inquired,

“…What do you propose we do?”

“What nonsense…!”

“After losing all our ships, are you suggesting we go after them on water? Are you prepared for a naval battle against Surochae? Against those adept in naval warfare?”

Upon hearing those words, Jongli Hyeong could not bring himself to reply and trembled uncontrollably. Though momentarily consumed by anger, upon hearing Beop Jong’s words, he swiftly regained his sense of reality.

The ships that had originally been here were gathered desperately to block Sapaeryeon’s advance. Now that they had all been lost, those gathered here had no means to cross the river.

“And even the bare minimum means to impede their movement along the river has disappeared.”

Paeng Yeop muttered emotionlessly.

“It’s a clear oversight.”

Beop Jong, who had been silently listening, tightly shut his eyes.

“We should have held the ships a bit tighter.”

“Are you suggesting our disciples were inadequate for the task?”

At Paeng Yeop’s casually spoken words, Jongli Hyeong shot him a sharp glance, fully aware that in such a heightened state of sensitivity, it was easy to miss subtleties in conversation.

This time, Paeng Yeop didn’t back down either.

“In the end, didn’t it turn out that way?”

“Be careful with your words! Was it reasonable to expect to defend this many ships with that few people?”

Jongli Hyeong confronted Paeng Yeop with a fierce glare, his frustration written on his face.

“And if we had the usual number of personnel, we wouldn’t have succumbed to those pirate bastards! Weren’t more than half of those defending the ships suddenly call up to the manor?”

“The enemy was merely the pirates, we could have managed with the available manpower.”

“Have you said enough?”

“…Let’s stop here.”

A disheartened voice escaped from Beop Jong’s lips.

It was none other than him who had startled those around him by ordering them to gather at the manor, despite being engaged in their respective tasks all around.

But who wouldn’t react in such a way? Especially when the opponent was Paegun Jang Ilso.

‘I was completely played.’

Jang Ilso knew it well.

Just his movements alone were enough to make Beop Jong mobilize troops. As a result, the defenses of the ships would inevitably weaken.

Even from a thousand li away, he had been watching this place as if it were in the palm of his hand.

No, perhaps what’s resting in the palm of his hand isn’t the situation here, but rather Beop Jong himself.

“What good does it do to blame each other for what’s already happened? Lord Paeng, please stop. It doesn’t seem fitting to admonish someone who has lost their disciples.”

“I apologize.”

After Lord Paeng apologized, another heavy silence fell.

The three of them remained speechless for a while, still staring at the ships that had not yet caught fire. Despite the disciples of each martial arts sect running around trying to save them, it was not an easy task with oil spread all over the ships.

Indeed, when all the fires are extinguished, how many ships will be left to use?

“Now…”

A weak voice escaped from Jongli Hyeong’s lips. After the surge of anger, he seemed completely helpless.

“Now… what should we do?”

Even Pang Yeop couldn’t find an answer to that question.

It would have been simpler if they had attacked directly after setting the ships on fire. At least then they could have fought back.

But they had simply set the ships ablaze and retreated. They had received a blow without being given a chance to retaliate, leaving them to stare across the river with stunned expressions.

Pang Yeop let out a deep sigh.

“What can we do? We need to recover the ships as soon as possible.”

“We’ve gathered all the ships we could from the Yangtze River, haven’t we?”

“Even if we have to bring in small boats as makeshift measures and build new ships?”

“Easy to say, but do you think that can be done in a day or two?”

“…So are you suggesting we just stand by and watch?”

Sharp words were exchanged between the two, and tension is the air rose again. Beop Jong simply let out a deep sigh.

What should they do?

Even if he was the Abbot, what solution could he possibly offer in such a situation?

Pang Yeop was right. What’s lost is lost, and they needed to quickly rebuild their ships. Only then could they prevent those Surochae ships from freely roaming the Yangtze River…

“A-Abbot!”

Before he could fully grasp his thoughts, Jongli Hyeong shouted out. Beop Jong suppressed the rising anger and spoke up.

“For now… Yes, for now, as Lord Paeng suggests…”

“N-No! Abbot, look over there! Look!”

At Jongli Hyeong’s words, Beop Jong opened his eyes, previously closed in thought.

‘What?’

The only things at the spot Jongli Hyeong pointed to were the burning ships. They had already confirmed everything, so what else was there to see?

“We should try to save a few…”

“No! I mean, look behind the fire!”

“Behind?”

Finally, Beop Jong shifted his gaze to a distant place. Amidst the flickering flames, the scene behind them came into view, and for a moment, Beop Jong’s eyes widened as much as they could.

“Surochae! Their fleet! They’re moving, they are!”

A chill ran down Beop Jong’s spine.

The massive fleets of Surochae, which had long occupied the center of the Yangtze River around Maehwado, were all suddenly changing course.

Their direction…

‘To the east.’

Indeed, it’s the direction Jang Ilso is heading.

“W-Why are they suddenly…?”

As Jongli Hyeong muttered in confusion, Pang Yeop responded with a chilling tone.

“Can’t we move now?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“While it’s true that Surochae had their swords pointed at us, if we turn it around, we also had them at the edge of our blades. If Surochae fleets withdraw, we could cross the river and advance toward Sapaeryeon’s headquarters.”

“Um…?”

“But now it doesn’t matter. What we need are ships to cross. Ships to go to the nearest land in Henan.”

Jongli Hyeong spoke as if he didn’t understand.

“N-No. We lost our ships, but it’s not like our hands and feet were cut off, right? Without Surochae, crossing a river like this isn’t that difficult…”

“What’s over there?”

“As you said, Sapaeryeon’s headquarters…”

Jongli Hyeong stopped speaking abruptly, realizing Paeng Yeop’s point.

Across the river were Sapaeryeon’s headquarters. But what was in there?

‘Nothing.’

The headquarters held no significance. At best, there were a few buildings to be burned. What importance could they hold?

The significance of Sapaeryeon’s headquarters lies in the fact that Jang Ilso resides there.

If all the villains were to flee and only civilians remained in Gangnam, what could be gained by burning down the headquarters? But Sapaeryeon is different. Just by stirring up Henan, they could obtain tremendous gains. If they were to cross the river from here and set fire to Sapaeryeon’s headquarters, Jang Ilso wouldn’t even look back and advance into Henan without hesitation.

“I-I can’t believe…”

Jongli Hyeong’s face turned pale.

“If that’s the case, then why didn’t we just go with those ships in the first place?”

“Could we have set our own ships on fire?”

“…Are you saying… Jang Ilso foresaw all this and revealed his movements?”

Paeng Yeop didn’t respond. But even without a response, one could infer that his silence meant ‘yes’.

Meanwhile, Surochae’s ships continued steadily eastward.

“A-Abbot… What should we…”

“The ships…”

Beop Jong bit his lip for a moment before speaking.

“Summon those who are extinguishing the fire.”

“Yes?”

A cold murderous determination flickered in Beop Jong’s eyes.

“It was bound to come to this. Gather the disciples. We’ll follow them to Anhui.”

“…”

“Spread the word so that this news reaches Cheonumaeng.”

“A-Abbot?”

The aura emanating from his eyes startled Jongli Hyeong.

“In the end, peace is elusive without eliminating the enemy.”

“…”

“We’ve suffered at the hands of our enemies. That’s undeniable. But Jang Ilso must also understand one thing.”

The gentle and wise demeanor of the old monk was nowhere to be found, and the voice that came from Beop Jong’s mouth was only cold.

“No matter how cunning his schemes are, they are meaningless if he lacks strength. The moment he crosses that river will be Jang Ilso’s last. I’ll make sure of it.”

His jade praying beads shattered into pieces, falling from his grasp with a clatter.