Chapter 8: Ak Mun-yeong

My grandfather had the ability to see spirits like me.

When I was nine, I was wandering around like a beggar and happened to be talking with a spirit when my grandfather saw me and took me in.

“Never let others know about your ability. If anyone finds out about your ability, you’ll be in great danger.”

Ever since I heard my grandfather’s words, I’ve always been careful not to reveal my ability.

Even for highly skilled martial artists, it was no easy task to deal with water bandits in the water.

If the water bandits felt the situation was unfavorable, they would get on their boats and flee into the water, making them difficult to pursue.

Since the water bandits had lived in the water for at least a few years, and at most a few decades, it was difficult to catch up with them even with boats carrying experienced fishermen, if they were determined to escape.

The water bandits’ primary targets for raids were merchant ships and passenger ships crossing the river.

And occasionally, they would land and plunder small villages.

“Those bastards! What right do they have to subjugate us? Are those Martial Alliance bastards government officials?”

The stronghold leader, furious at the Martial Alliance’s Four Divine Units, gathered the water bandits who were sprawled inside the water stronghold.

“Prepare to raid the merchant ship.”

At his command, the water bandits rose from their places one by one and crossed over to the boat.

The water bandits’ stronghold was a place where several boats were tied together.

The largest boat, mainly used as the stronghold leader’s residence, was the biggest, and the rest were all similar in size.

If government officials were to attack the water stronghold, they would untie all the ropes and row away in all directions, making it extremely difficult to wipe out the water bandits.

Large-scale water strongholds had several warships that were much larger than merchant ships, and this water stronghold was also quite large, with many water bandits and a two-story warship used as the stronghold leader’s residence.

Dozens of water bandits who had crossed over to the boat hesitated and looked around cautiously.

“How can we work with the Martial Alliance’s Four Divine Units watching us with their eyes wide open?”

Most of the water bandits were terrified of the Martial Alliance’s Four Divine Units.

In response, the stronghold leader calmly lifted his favorite weapon, a pair of chain sickles.

The chain sickles were weapons shaped like sickles, and their short length made them convenient to use inside the boat, and the stronghold leader handled the chain sickles as if they were extensions of his own body.

“So? Are we going to live by catching fish because we’re afraid of them? They’re on land, and we’re in the water, so what’s there to be afraid of?”

As the stronghold leader’s spirit became fierce, the water bandits quickly boarded small boats without saying a word.

As the water bandits boarded the boats, two men in black emerged from the stronghold leader’s boat.

“You’ve come out?”

The stronghold leader bowed slightly.

“Let’s see what the Martial Alliance’s Four Divine Units are made of.”

As the men in black also boarded the boat, the stronghold leader’s face brightened, and he quickly followed them onto the boat.

They were the men sent by the head of the Green Forest Eighteen Units’ general headquarters.

These days, it seemed that the general headquarters was recruiting outside experts, as new faces were often seen when he visited the general headquarters on business.

These men were not experts from the general headquarters but outsiders, and their martial arts were extraordinary.

He had actually witnessed them practicing their martial arts on the boat before, and the murderous aura emanating from their swords was enough to engulf the entire water stronghold.

In any case, it felt like he had gained a thousand troops and horses, as they said they would help in the fight against the Four Divine Units, which might occur.

A merchant ship was crossing the Yangtze River, with the land right in front of it.

The merchants on board were greatly relieved as the land approached.

There were many goods piled up inside the ship for the journey.

At that moment, a sailor who was looking around from the bow shouted urgently.

“Water bandits! Water bandits have appeared!”

At the sailor’s shout, the ship owner, who had spotted small boats approaching at high speed, quickly gave orders.

“All sailors, go down to the hold and row!”

Accordingly, all the sailors went down to the hold and grabbed the oars.

With the wind filling the sails and the oars being rowed, the ship moved even faster.

However, the water bandits’ small boats were already rapidly approaching the front of the merchant ship.

Whoosh! Whoosh……!

Iron hooks flew from the small boats towards the ship’s railing.

The ship owner pulled out the hooks caught on the railing and threw them into the river, but the water bandits were already climbing up the ship from the other side, using the ropes attached to the hooks.

‘Just a little further, and we’ll reach the land……’

The ship owner looked at the port in sight and felt frustrated.

People were already gathered at the port, waiting to board the ship.

“If you value your lives, surrender the ship!”

The water bandits who had boarded the merchant ship shouted triumphantly.

Slash. Slash……

However, as soon as they boarded the merchant ship, their necks were severed.

Following that, young martial artists poured out from the hold.

The martial artists, numbering over twenty, mercilessly stabbed and dropped the water bandits who were climbing up the ship using the hooks.

Kyaaa……Argh!

Aaaargh……!

The water bandits fell into the river, spraying blood.

Soon, the river where they had fallen turned red.

“D*mn it……!”

The stronghold leader was furious as his subordinates fell into the river without even managing to board the merchant ship.

But he could only be frustrated, as there was nothing he could do with the Four Divine Units already on the ship.

“Retreat……!”

In this difficult situation, he had to abandon his pursuit and withdraw as quickly as possible.

“Stop!”

But at that moment, the men in black rose from the boat.

Whoosh!

They skillfully threw hooks and caught them on the merchant ship.

“Pull!”

Then they ordered the water bandits on their boat to pull the ropes.

Thud!

As the water bandits instinctively pulled the ropes connected to the hooks, they used the recoil to launch themselves into the air.

Their figures, soaring through the air, landed on the merchant ship in an instant.

The stronghold leader, watching the scene from another boat, couldn’t help but admire them.

How great must their movement techniques be to pull off such a feat so effortlessly?

But it was too early to be impressed.

Just as they were about to land inside the merchant ship, a flash of light erupted from within the ship.

Bang!

The men who were landing inside the merchant ship were flung back into the air and landed on the water bandits’ boat.

The stronghold leader’s heart skipped a beat as he turned his gaze towards the merchant ship.

“Ak……Mun-yeong……”

And a groan escaped his lips.

The woman in black martial arts attire, standing on the ship’s railing with a spear in her hand, was undoubtedly Ak Mun-yeong, the unit leader of the Southern Heavenly Vermilion Bird Unit.

Her spear technique was unmatched, and even within the Four Divine Units, there was no one who could rival her. She had proven her martial arts prowess by piercing the mouth of Seok-gwang, the Green Scarred Bandit, one of the stronghold leaders of the Green Forest Eighteen Units, with her spear.

The woman, holding a long spear that matched her slender and tall figure, kicked off the railing and soared into the air.

Her figure, accompanied by a chilling spear blade, plunged towards the water bandits’ boat.

Bang……!

The spear blade pierced through the wooden floor of the water bandits’ boat in an instant.

Broken pieces of wood scattered, and water gushed up through the hole in the floor.

The water bandits, as if they didn’t dare to confront her, all jumped into the river.

Splash……! Splash……!

The men who had landed on that boat leaped to another nearby boat.

Following her, about ten young martial artists also jumped over the ship’s railing and onto the water bandits’ boat.

At that moment, the stronghold leader felt his vision blurring.

But he had to escape from this place somehow, so he urged the water bandits.

“Row quickly!”

At the same time, young martial artists also landed on the boat he was on.

Thwack! Thwack……!

The young martial artists who landed on the deck mercilessly struck the heads of the water bandits rowing with their swords and knives.

Aaaargh!

Kyaaargh!

Immediately, the water bandits’ heads were split open, and agonizing screams filled the air.

As the water bandits screamed and collapsed on the floor, the small boat lost its balance and tilted.

The stronghold leader drew the chain sickles he had at his waist.

At the same time, he placed his right leg on the railing of the tilting boat and exerted force.

The boat, which was already tilting, swayed violently and lost its balance, causing the martial artists of the Four Divine Units to fall to the floor with cries of surprise.

Ugh!

Ugh!

As they desperately tried to get up, the boat tilted in the opposite direction, causing them to tumble on the floor once again.

Hehehe……

The stronghold leader laughed at the young martial artists rolling around on the floor.

How foolish these people were.

To dare to jump into the boat of those who had lived their entire lives on the water.

He raised the chain sickles in his hand and swung them down at the head of a young female martial artist who was trying to get up.

No, he tried to swing them down.

But at that moment, a chilling sensation came from the direction of the land.

Thwack!

The moment he turned his head to check, an arrow pierced deep into his neck.

Ak Mun-yeong stood on the boat littered with the corpses of water bandits and examined the flowing river.

The men in black had jumped into the river as soon as the situation became unfavorable.

The clothes they wore were different from those of the other water bandits, and their martial arts were incomparable to the water bandits.

“We should have caught them.”

Lately, the bandits had been acting more violently than ever before, as if they had made a pact.

She suspected that there was someone behind them and wanted to investigate, but the situation wasn’t favorable.

Even if they captured the bandits alive and interrogated them, they wouldn’t know much.

She put aside her regret and checked on the unit members who had boarded the water bandits’ boat.

Fortunately, it seemed like no one was seriously injured or killed.

“Unit Leader. We’ve caught the stronghold leader.”

At the female unit member’s words, she leaped and moved to the other boat.

Sure enough, a middle-aged man with chain sickles in both hands was sprawled on the floor with an arrow piercing his neck.

‘An arrow?’

Ak Mun-yeong thought that the arrow that had pierced the stronghold leader’s neck had been shot by the unit members remaining on the merchant ship.

“Good work, everyone. Let’s return to land.”

At her command, the Vermilion Bird Unit grabbed the oars scattered inside the boat.

‘Another failure.’

Although many water bandits had died, their deaths didn’t help her work in the slightest.

Who in the world would collect the corpses of water bandits, put them in coffins, and even hold funerals for them?

Even if they had families, they would pretend not to know them for fear of being caught by the government officials.

“Let’s go back now!”

I shouted at the villagers who were still staring intently at the river.

“Let’s watch a little longer before we go back, Dong-jae. Who knows? There might be some dead among the Martial Alliance martial artists.”

The villagers seemed very reluctant to return empty-handed.

“Then please stay a little longer. I’ll go back slowly.”

I got on the cart and slowly drove the horse out of the port.

“Why are you leaving after saving the Martial Alliance martial artist?”

My uncle, who had appeared out of nowhere, sat next to me and glared at me.

“I didn’t do it to show off.”

I responded as if it was nothing special.

Then my uncle roared in anger.

“You should show off! You should show off so you can get recommended and enter the Martial Alliance!”

Desperation was mixed with anger in my uncle’s voice.

“But how can I go up to them and say, ‘I shot the arrow and caught the water bandit’? It’s embarrassing.”

“What’s so embarrassing about it? Turn the horse around now!”

I, startled, lightly pulled the reins of the horses that were about to run wild.

“Uncle, please don’t shout. The horses are getting scared because you’re shouting. Even if people don’t hear you, the horses do.”

“How can they hear my voice?”

“They just do.”

As the cart moved further away from the port, my uncle seemed to have given up and sighed deeply.

Sigh……

“By the way…… Why are you suddenly doing something you’ve never done before? Why did you s*oot the arrow and help the Martial Alliance martial artists?”