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The First Elder, Blood Sword Emperor Dan Wei-kang, once told me.
‘The Eighteen River Families and the Green Forest differ from normal martial sects. They are the closest to the true essence of the Forces of Evil. They are driven strictly by only their own vested interests and the logic of power.’
He was right.
Their inherent character was different from other Murim sects. They did not come to enhance their martial arts but learned them for their own purpose.
And that purpose was to steal.
They were a group that made a living by taking the property of others.
Actually, that also meant they were far from a group that could be negotiated with.
‘Then, how do I bring them under me?’
Give them goods?
It was far from reaping a living under the mountains. I’ve been holding on well so far, but how do I persuade them to join hands with us to deal with the Murim Alliance?
I wondered if this would work.
In response to this, Dan Wei-kang provided a simple answer.
‘Sometimes the simplest answer is the best.’
‘Simple?’
‘Show them overwhelming power.’
We’ll soon see if that method would work.
The pirates of the waterways were staring at me as if I was a monster. The impact of my landing had been strong enough to shake the ship, and all of them fell silent.
Their faces were full of alertness.
“Ha!”
Of course, not all of them reacted the same. Gal Yong, the oldest of the three brothers, opened his mouth.
“Obey? Did you just tell us to obey?”
“That’s right.”
I gave him a short answer.
In the justice faction, they would treat an opponent with some respect. However, I decided to follow the laws of the Evil Faction.
I acted as an arrogant and overbearing Blood Demon of the Blood Sect.
Papapak!
At that moment, hooks and ropes flew in from all sides, catching the target ship that had almost drifted into the current.
They were definitely seasoned pirates.
Papapak!
Numerous pirates came over after jumping over the ropes.
There were some warriors at the peak level here, but most seemed to be normal pirates.
The pirates all turned towards me as they sensed something strange was happening on the ship. It seemed that since they were a large group, they would not easily back down.
Or was it to save their leader’s face?
Gal Yong then said to me.
“No, what did the Blood Sect leader eat last night? Why are you speaking about obedience now? Are you mistaking this for dry land?”
He clearly didn’t like it.
The sailors seemed to be frightened by all the pirates around them and gradually gathered into a corner.
They’re trying to take advantage of numbers. I simply sighed and smiled.
“Now that the Beggars Union leader is dead, the Murim Alliance will aim for the River Families in earnest.”
Gal Yong narrowed his eyes at my words.
And he then spoke loudly.
“The Alliance made their own underhanded move first. Did we come on land to kill him?”
Pak!
Gal Yong kicked Hong Gu-ga’s decapitated head. The poor beggar couldn’t even stay dead in peace.
“He died on the Yangtze River, so that would be enough justification. It is also a good enough reason to draw out the sect’s power.”
“What, so you want us to serve the Blood Sect? If we were afraid of such a thing, we would have disbanded right after the Great War.”
“It must have been proven that the advantage of location no longer works like before?”
“Proven?”
I looked at the three brothers and said.
“I don’t see one of them. Was he the owner of the ship?”
I referred to one of the members of the Yangtze River people. Hearing this, Gal Yong shouted at me with a stiff face.
“Did you see it? Where did the ship explode?”
Just as I thought, this was why all of their ships, which should have been spread across the Yangtze River, were gathered here.
It meant that they were preparing to go up against a common enemy. It seemed like a good chance to mention them.
“An unknown force is operating behind the scene to ensure that the two sides end up colliding against each other despite their own internal affairs. I think you were tricked as well.”
“Who got tricked!?”
Gal Yong shouted in a loud voice, his face flushed with anger.
“The blood of our brother will be punished with blood.”
Hearing Gal Yong’s cry, all of the pirates onboard roared.
“We will punish them with blood!”
“Woahhh!!”
A thunderous roar could be heard coming from each ship as the sound spread. The pirates, who reached as far as Sichuan, seemed to want to engulf the entire Yangtze River.
Even if there were only a few of them, their efforts wouldn’t be in vain.
Seeing his subordinates follow behind him, Gal Yong shouted at me.
“Tell me where they are!”
“That seems like a command.”
Hearing this, Gal Yong smiled.
“Do you think a warrior who crossed the wall can handle thousands of people alone?”
Srng!
Hearing this, the pirates who had crossed the ropes unsheathed their weapons and surrounded me. Gal Yong then aimed his claws and shouted.
“Blood Sect leader. Tell us where they are. Wouldn’t it be nice to not fight here today?”
He made this proposal as if he was being generous. He must have realized that, despite how outnumbered I was, any clash would lead to them taking damage.
Hearing this, I smiled and told him.
“Try doing it properly.”
“Blood Sect leader. Kindly consider this just once…”
Swish!
Before he could finish his words, Blood Demon Sword floated and flew at him. Confused, Gal Yong crossed his hands and blocked them with his claws.
Shhhng!
“There was intent in that!”
“I thought it would be good to secure the upper hand right now.”
“What?”
Ignoring his confusion, I stepped forward.
Kwang!
The sound of my step vibrated around us as he looked at me in shock.
At that moment, most of his pirates fell to the ground.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The same happened with the escort services and the sailors.
At least 200 pirates dropped to the ground. The only ones left standing on the ship were the three brothers of the Yangtze River families and no more than 20 skilled warriors.
Gal Yong looked puzzled.
“What is this….”
The Illusion Eye’s suggestion was made through sound. The more I used it, the more I got used to it.
At least, it seemed so to me since even first-rate warriors were caught in it.
Some of my innate qi was consumed, but this wasn’t at a level where it was a big problem. If I got stronger, I could even use it on master-level warriors.
“Filling your morale baselessly doesn’t work.”
I walked a step closer.
The expression on their faces changed. It was the same for everyone else.
Two hundred people onboard the ship suddenly collapsed. It was only natural for them to become afraid.
“What trick did you use?”
Gal Ho, one of the three brothers, shouted at me.
It seemed that he had some doubts about how his men could collapse so suddenly.
“You don’t need to know.”
With that, I walked over to Gal Yong.
“You!”
Gal Yong shouted with urgency.
The rest of the warriors of the river families on the deck were puzzled by the situation. Still, they ran toward me after a slight hesitation.
I thought that they would be scared, but they still obeyed the orders. I would like to applaud this kind of loyalty, but I still needed to take them down.
Showing a good sense of combination, two people attacked me at the same time. In response, I simply caught their swords lightly between my fingers.
Chang!
“The b-blade is…”
“Caught with his fingers…”
Clang!
As they were stunned by surprise, I used my internal qi to break their blades.
I then punched them both at the same time.
“Kuak!”
“Ack!”
The two that were hit flew back as if they had been hit by stones. One was caught by the deck, while the other fell into the river.
“This cannot….”
“L-leader that…?”
The others were shocked and could no longer attack me.
I only used internal qi to the third level, with low strength. Yet, even I was amazed at how effective it was.
“What are you doing! Continue to attack!”
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They attacked me according to Gal Yong’s orders. Their weapons came from all angles to try and cut me down, but…
‘Hmm. Have I always dealt with enemies who were too strong?’
Even these master-level warriors seemed like nothing now. Their movements were too slow.
This was why there’s always a fuss when someone who crosses the wall takes a side during fights.
Such a different level.
Chachachang!
“Damn it!”
“He is standing still!”
“Dam it all!”
They all swung their blades, but I simply moved my upper body to evade them.
Some aimed for my lower body, but I stabbed them through the neck or stomach before they even reached me.
Puak!
“Ack!”
It was just a few moments, but all of them were struggling, and six of them collapsed completely.
Gal Yong then cried out.
“Enough!”
Hearing this order, all of the pirates attacking me withdrew.
“Leader!”
“It is impossible for you people.”
Did he realize it only now?
Gal Yong pointed to the Blood Demon Sword flying around me and asked,
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“I’ve never seen a warrior who has crossed the wall be able to handle a sword like this.”
“You speak like you have dealt with many warriors who crossed the wall.”
“Never one like you.”
‘Hmm.’
He wasn’t bluffing.
He seemed to have more experience than I thought. Actually, Dan Wei-kang had worked with these people a decade ago and achieved satisfactory results.
It wouldn’t have been an ordinary joint effort, and the pirates wouldn’t be willing to fight without knowing the odds.
But there was one problem.
“Can you handle me?”
“What?”
“One is missing among the four. There should be a gap in your usual performance.”
Hearing this, Gal Yong and his brothers looked at me strangely.
What did this mean?
Gal Yong then snorted.
“Our joint attack was made using three people. Stop worrying about other things, Blood Sect leader.”
Three against one.
Well, it should work out fine for them.
The three of them took their stances with the determination to take me down.
Gal Yong shouted.
“Blood Sect leader. Let us follow the rules of Murim.”
“The rules?”
“In Murim, the words of the strong are the law. Suppose you, as sect leader, can overcome our joint efforts. In that case, we will favorably consider joining the 18 River Families of the Yangtze River with your sect.”
“I will consider it.”
“But if you lose, give us the information and leave.”
It wasn’t unreasonable.
But I had to correct them.
“It seems like you are misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstand?”
“You aren’t joining me. You will obey me.”
Gal Yong’s expression changed after hearing my words.
“You are looking down on us.”
“Pirate leader. You said so with your own mouth, the rule of strong.”
“Hah!”
He snorted and said,
“Fine. I will accept it. If you win, we come under the Blood Sect. However, if it happens, then the balance of the conditions doesn’t match now. If we win, along with information, the Blood Sect should also come under us.”
He came out with a bold reply.
His pride must have taken a hit as I continued telling him to be under me.
That was why he wanted the Blood Sect to come under him.
Just what kind of guts does he have?
“Let’s do that.”
“You seem upset. Ho, Yong.”
“I get it.”
“Let us display our skills.”
Hearing this call, the younger brothers took their stances. Gal Ho swung the hook-shaped blade, and Gal Yong spun the spiked iron ball.
I pointed my hand to them and said,
“Change places.”
“Place?”
“Wouldn’t it be a pity if we killed those who fainted?”
There were still unconscious people on deck, and it was more effective to just move away.
When I first learned the Illusion Eye, I could wake them with just a shock or something, but they were in a deep sleep now.
If we fought here, the ship would sink.
“Fine.”
Gal Yong looked at them, nodded, and used the rope next to the ship.
There were few pirates on the ship we moved to. I followed them there because I knew they had sent most of their members to the merchant ship.
The three of them retook stances, and I told them.
“It wouldn’t matter to lose one ship, right?”
“What?”
As soon as he asked this, I released the upper dantian and activated the Blood Demon Flame.
It didn’t end there since I readied myself to use the True Blood Diamond Body.
Wooong!!
Their expressions became stiff as they felt the overwhelming force from my body. I didn’t care about controlling my strength, either.
I was curious to see how far I could go with both Blood techniques.
‘I was told to show how overwhelmingly strong I am.’
I called for Blood Demon Sword, and his blade turned red as he reached me.
‘Then now… let us see it. Let us start with the Blood Demon Sword techniques!’
I released it using my 10th level of internal qi.
As soon as I raised my sword and swung it at the three of them, an overwhelming red wind blew.
“Damn it!”
“Avoid it!”
The three of them were scared and evaded the strike.
Kwaaang!
The red wind moved right between them and didn’t stop. As if cutting the deck wasn’t enough, it had also split the river.
“This is insane…”
Gal Yong was struck dumb by the sight. The pirates who watched from the other ships were also shocked.
Then the ship began to move.
Kuaaaakkkk!
“Ugh?”
The cracked deck began to split to the side as the boat began to tip.
Half of the deck was still attached to the other ships, so it still maintained its position. However, I could cut the ship in half if I wanted to.
It was my first time trying this out.
Sensing that their fighting spirit was dropping, Gal Yong tried to urge his now-pale brothers.
“Do not be intimidated! Working together in close combat gives us the advantage!”
He was trying to rally them. Would it work, though?
They grabbed their weapons and tried to move again.
“Joint effort.”
Swish!
The Blood Demon Sword flew from my hand and blocked Gal Ho’s path.
“Uh?”
And it didn’t end there.
Something else flew in the air and blocked Gal Yung’s path.
It was True Evil Sword.
‘…!!’
“Now, you can’t say it’s cowardly for the three of you to go against me, right?”
Hearing this, Gal Yong was dumbfounded.
“…What the fuck?”