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| CHAPTER 320 |
Pyowol and Yurayeon watched a sinking ship from the island.
The ship, engulfed in flames, was spewing flames and sinking under the sea. It looked like a whale screaming and dying.
Around the sinking ship, pieces of corpses were floating.
There were also corpses of those who died from the stingray, but most of the bodies were those who died from the cannons.
"How could this happen?"
Yurayeon looked at the scene with her mouth covered by her hand.
The ship that fired the cannons was clearly their ally. Yet they fired the cannons without hesitation.
According to Yurayeon's common sense, such behavior was incomprehensible.
"They must be on the same side... do they not value their comrades' lives?"
"Keeping the secret is more important than the lives of their comrades."
"But still, how can humans...?"
Yurayeon's lips trembled.
She had various wounds all over her body.
They were the wounds she had received from Jin Yugeon.
Their fight was fierce.
In terms of martial arts alone, Yurayeon was far superior, but Jin Yugeon's swordsmanship was not to be underestimated.
With his practical experience, his swordsmanship was so ruthless that Yurayeon couldn't easily subdue him. To make matters worse, his subordinates joined the fight, and she was pushed into a corner.
If the cannon had not been fired at that moment, Yurayeon would have been seriously injured.
When the cannon hit the ship, Jin Yugeon and his subordinates stopped fighting and fled the ship together without any hesitation.
They left as swiftly as a receding tide, and Yurayeon was unable to catch up.
Jin Yugeon and his men, who had escaped the burning ship, returned to the Ghost Fleet, which was three hundred yards away, on a small boat.
Along the way, several ships were overturned by huge waves, and many people lost their lives to sharks.
They didn't even bother to rescue those who fell into the sea.
Yurayeon escaped to the island near the ship with Pyowol. It was the same island they had used to infiltrate the fleet.
"In the end, we've gained nothing. Well, we've recovered Mahon, so it's not like we've gained nothing at all. But still, it's surprising. I can't believe there's such a group in the world."
Yurayeon trembled.
When it seemed that the identity of the Ghost Ship's crew was about to be revealed, they fired a cannon and sank the ship completely. They saved their own lives and that of Pyo-wol, but they couldn't save a single person who was trapped with them.
They didn't even know what kind of circumstances those people had or where they had been captured, let alone their names.
The hopeless look in their eyes still haunted them.
It seemed like they wouldn't be able to forget their gaze for a long time.
In the end, they were left to sink in the cold sea without being rescued.
Yul-ah-yeon couldn't forgive herself for not being able to save them.
"Ha!"
Yul-ah-yeon's shallow sigh disappeared into the sound of the waves.
Pyo-wol suddenly looked at her own hand.
The blunt end of a broken spear was sticking out of it.
It was the spear thrown by the Ghost Ship's captain. Pyo-wol had cut off the clumsy wooden part and only kept the metal spearhead.
It was the only clue to finding the captain of the Ghost Ship.
At present, the only thing related to him was the spearhead. That's why Pyo-wol had bothered to bring it with her.
The gaze and the pressure from the captain still shook Pyo-wol's heart.
Pyowol and Yura-yeon returned to Haemun by riding the Tai Mu Sang's boat.
The first person to greet them was Tarha.
"Are you okay?"
Tarha patted the body of his only granddaughter, who was covered in wounds.
"I'm fine."
"Are you really okay? You're so badly hurt. What happened exactly?"
"Well, it might be hard to believe."
"Still, tell me."
At Tarha's urging, Yura-yeon told the story of their experience with the Ghost Brigade. After hearing all the stories, Tarha sighed heavily.
"It's hard to believe that such a ridiculous group exists in this world."
"Thanks Young Master Pyo, we were able to retrieve Mahondo."
Yura-yeon handed the Mahondo she received from Pyowol back to Tarha.
"Phew!"
Tarha breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the Mahondo in his hand.
He had come from thousands of miles away to find this item. He had achieved his goal of getting it, but his heart was not at ease.
Tarha looked at Pyowol.
"Thank you for helping me! We probably need to have a lot of talk. How about we sit down and have an honest conversation at this point?"
"Sure!"
Pyo-wol nodded.
Together with Taemu-sang, the four of them left the harbor and headed to the inn. The inn had already been emptied by the orders of the Juk-geon-hoe, so the three of them could comfortably converse without worrying about outside attention.
As Taemu-sang had nothing noteworthy to say, he waited outside for the conversation to finish.
The conversation was initiated by Pyo-wol.
"The first time I became aware of them was..."
Pyo-wol's story went on for a long time.
He calmly talked about what he had experienced and what he had learned so far. However, Tar-ha and Yura-yeon's expressions were very serious as they listened to his story.
He had no idea that such a terrifying group existed behind Kang-ho.
"Gu-ryong-salmak?!"
"What group are you talking about and where did they originate?" The expressions on the two people were very serious.
In the past, they wouldn't have cared about hearing such stories because it didn't concern them. But this time, it was different. They learned that the Ghost Fleet's activities extended beyond the sea and caused ongoing unrest in the western region.
The Ghost Fleet was not just a problem for the coastal area, but also for the western region. As long as they remained strong, the war in the west would never end.
Tarha asked Pyowol, "Why are you pursuing this group? Do you have a personal grudge against them?"
"I just got caught up in it somehow..."
"Just for that reason?"
"Sometimes you have to fight for something even if it's not a good reason."
"I see. So what are you going to do now? Are you going to continue pursuing the Ghost Fleet?"
"No!"
"Why not? You've been tracking them this whole time?"
"How can we know where they are and chase them in the vast sea? The sea and land are different. It's not that we don't want to do it, we just can't."
Pyowol judged coolly.
The fact that they were able to hide on the ghost ship this time was simply because of luck. They happened to be anchored not far from Hae-mun, and were able to start tracking immediately. It would have been impossible to even think about pursuing them if Taemu Sang didn't know how to sail the ship.
It was thanks to the coincidence of various factors that they were able to reveal the identity of the ghost fleet. If even one thing had been missing, they would never have found the ghost fleet.
They destroyed all the evidence, even shooting the cargo on the boat their colleagues were riding.
So the meticulous ones gave no clue to their pursuit.
Furthermore, it was impossible to track them hiding in the sea, not even on land.
It was not Pyowol's way to waste time on impossible things.
Pyowol preferred to focus on things that were possible and had a chance of success.
That's why he decided to leave the pursuit of the ghost fleet alone.
"They'll come looking for me when the time comes anyway."
I still remember the gaze of the ghost fleet commander who looked at himself.
There are not many pilots who can show off themselves and cross the incredible distance of 300 sheets in the river.
I didn't think that such a person would always stay on the sea. As a human being, it was certain that he would eventually come up on the land.
He felt that fate would bring him and Pyowol together, even if Pyowol didn't look for him specifically.
Tarha asked,
"What about the Dragon Slaying Shield? Will you continue to pursue it?"
"No!"
"Why did you stop tracking them after all this time?"
"It seems like there are limits to tracking them this way. It would be much more efficient to make them come to me."
"Well, that makes sense."
Tarha nodded.
This time, Pyowol asked, "What are you going to do? Are you going to go back to Seoyeok?"
"We were originally planning on doing that, but we changed our minds. If we go back now, the unrest in Seoyeok will continue as long as we can't get rid of the root cause, which is the Ghost Fleet. We'd rather stay here and try to figure out their movements."
"Do you mean you'll stay here?"
"We're thinking of establishing a base here this time. Fortunately, the factions that rule this place are weaker than we thought."
Pyowol immediately realized Tarha's intentions. He intended to seize Haemun.
Having already partially seized the Red Banner Group, the only remaining obstacle was the Haeryong faction. Even though they claimed to be the rulers of Haemun, there were no absolute masters, so Tarha could easily suppress them with his martial arts.
Some people didn't know whether to interpret Tarha's actions as an invasion of Seoyeok to take control of the river, and they didn't know if that was really his intention. However, Pyowol didn't care.
What was important was that Tarha and Yura-yeon would seize Haemun, and that would help him in his own actions.
"This is the most active place for trading with the New Outsiders. If we can control this place, we will surely be able to detect the Ghost Fleet's movement someday."
"However, we may never be able to return to the Western Territory."
"That's okay. Even though I may be treated as a foreigner and die, my granddaughter and great-granddaughter have half of this place's blood running through them, so they can easily adapt here."
A resigned smile crossed Tarha's face.
It was a strange smile that seemed to accept everything and yet also appeared to be setting fire to the past.
Tarha spoke to Yurayen.
"Bring him here. He must be exhausted waiting outside."
"Yes!"
Yurayen went outside immediately.
When she returned shortly after, Taemusang was with her.
Taemu Sang noticed the serious atmosphere and rolled his eyes. His gesture of being aware of the situation was funny, so Tarha couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Haha! He's like a rain-soaked cat, trying to be aware of things."
It was not long since Taemu Sang returned from the sea, and his whole body was soaked in saltwater. While Pyowol, Tarha, and Yulayeon expelled moisture with their inner energy, Taemu Sang couldn't do it.
Still, Taemu Sang didn't give up and said confidently, "I may look like a cat now, but I will become a big tiger someday, so don't be surprised."
"A tiger?"
"Yes! Not just any tiger, but a great tiger that rules over the river."
"He sure has big ambitions."
"I'll show you that I'm not just talking nonsense."
"Do you have the confidence to learn martial arts properly?"
"I'll learn it with all my might. Master!"
Taemu Sang kneeled down.
He had already decided to learn martial arts from Tarha, no matter what it takes.
Before, he said he would postpone learning until he avenged the children, but he realized that it was impossible to avenge them without mastering martial arts.
Even when he saw Pyowol and Yulayeon boarding the Ghost Ship because he couldn't learn martial arts, he had to watch helplessly.
He didn't want to be at the mercy of others anymore.
To avoid being dominated by others, he had to learn martial arts himself.
At that moment, another boy appeared inside the guesthouse.
It was Geumyeon, who also wanted to learn martial arts.
On the clothes of Geomyeong, the bloodstains were clearly visible. They were traces of wounds from the previous night.
Although it was still difficult for him to move his body, Geomyeong managed to approach Tarha. And like Taemu Ssang, he kneeled down.
"Please teach me as well, master!"
"Well, well! You've brought not one but two disciples from a faraway place where there are none to be found."
His words were like an acceptance of Geomyeong as a disciple.
Geomyeong spoke with his head pressed to the ground.
"I will never disappoint you."
"Hehe!"
Tarha shook his head.
Not only Taemu Ssang but also Geomyeong were exceptional in terms of their abilities.
Finding disciples like them was never an easy task.
"Good! I will accept both of you as disciples of the Mara Order sect. However, learning the martial arts of the Mara Order sect is never an easy task. You may even lose your life in the process of training. So if you're afraid, you can withdraw your offer right now."
"If I can become as strong as you, I am willing to risk my life."
"I feel the same way."
The resolute voices of Taemu Ssang and Geomyeong echoed throughout the audience
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