Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 89

089. Battle on the Ship

Swaaa.

People anxiously watched the approaching ships and the Namgung Clan members, assessing the situation.

Some merchants were already gathering their belongings.

Woon-hyun quietly picked up the bundle and the wooden sword wrapped in cloth that he had placed to one side.

At that moment, a loud shout came from the pirates’ ship.

“Stop there!”

The captain of the merchant ship responded loudly to the shout.

“What’s going on?”

Seeing the captain respond, Jang Sam-chae, the Fan Leader [a mid-level leader in the pirate organization], thought it was worth a try.

Perhaps he could finish the business safely.

“Which merchant guild do you belong to, and where are you going?”

‘Crap, do we have to go through this procedure?’

Jang Sam-chae grumbled inwardly, listening to his subordinate shouting according to the established procedure.

But this was also determined by the Clan Lord.

As the Fan Leader, Jang Sam-chae had no choice but to follow, and in a situation like this, it might be better to gauge the opponent’s mood.

“This ship belongs to the Hoam Merchant Guild and is currently heading to Junggyeong.”

At the captain’s words, the subordinate who had shouted first looked at Jang Sam-chae.

Finally, the standard procedure was over, and it was his turn to step in.

Jang Sam-chae rose from his seat and spoke to the captain, who was standing on the bow of the opposite ship, in a seemingly dignified voice.

“So, you belong to the Hoam Merchant Guild. If you are with the Hoam Merchant Guild, you can rest assured under our protection.”

In other words, if they quietly paid the toll, he wouldn’t touch them.

Jang Sam-chae hoped that things would end well in this atmosphere.

However, reality doesn’t always meet expectations.

“Hmph! Protection? Who is protecting whom?”

One of the Namgung Clan warriors said.

But Jang Sam-chae pretended not to hear and spoke to the captain.

“Captain, you should know the etiquette of the waterways. So, now pay the toll and…”

“The Hoam Merchant Guild will not pay tolls from now on!”

The answer came not from the captain but from the martial artist next to him.

It was the young man who had spoken sarcastically earlier.

Jang Sam-chae frowned.

The captain had already stepped back, and the young martial artist stood on the bow, looking down at Jang Sam-chae, and said.

“From now on, no one will be able to collect tolls from the Hoam Merchant Guild’s ships.”

Jang Sam-chae’s stomach churned.

However, he continued to speak in a deliberately dignified voice.

“Young hero, it seems you don’t know the etiquette of the Jang River…”

“You! How dare a pirate call me young!”

Jang Sam-chae was dumbfounded.

He was clearly younger than him, but the other party was making a fuss about being called young.

“If you don’t retreat, I, Namgung Sangmin, will not forgive you!”

Jang Sam-chae’s anger flared at the other party’s words, who was even pointing a finger at him.

“What, you little brat? What are you going on about? Do you think I’m a pushover?”

“Eek! How dare a pirate!”

Ching.

Namgung Sangmin, his face flushed, drew his sword without hesitation.

He was trying to show off his power against the pirates, but he felt ashamed when Jang Sam-chae cursed at him.

However, Jang Sam-chae was not one to be intimidated by Namgung Sangmin drawing his sword.

“Oh yeah, you think I’m scared of you drawing your sword? The position of Fan Leader wasn’t won by gambling!”

Ching.

Jang Sam-chae also drew his sword, not wanting to be outdone.

This was the Jang River, their familiar territory.

Moreover, Jang Sam-chae’s late joining and rise to the position of Fan Leader was due to his outstanding skills.

In terms of skill, Jang Sam-chae was confident that he was better than the other Fan Leaders.

“Fan Leader, if you do this…”

A subordinate tried to stop him, but Jang Sam-chae was already shouting loudly.

“Even a dog eats halfway in its own home! You need to know that this is the Jang River, not the Namgung Clan. Go! Let’s show those guys a taste of our power!”

“Waaaaaa!”

With a shout, the pirates’ ships began to move towards the merchant ship.

The pirates’ attack was now unavoidable.

Woon-hyun, who had been watching the situation, quickly said to the other merchants.

“Hurry and get away… Oh, dear.”

Woon-hyun frowned.

The merchants also had eyes and ears, so they had been trying to escape from the beginning.

But they couldn’t move as they wanted.

They hadn’t realized it in the cool river breeze, but they were already quite drunk.

“Please get up quickly.”

Woon-hyun quickly supported an elderly merchant.

However, it was not easy to escape.

In the meantime, the pirates were throwing ropes onto the merchant ship and crossing over in groups.

“Waaaaa!”

“Defend!”

Ching, chaeng.

The sailors and Namgung Clan warriors fought back, but they were outnumbered by the pirates.

No matter what happened later, they had to escape first.

Crash, kwajang.

“S, save me!”

Someone shouted.

Sure enough.

The pirates who had crossed over late began to target the merchants.

And it was the same for the merchants who were with Woon-hyun.

“Kehehe. Where do you think you’re going?”

“If you hand over your belongings, we might spare your lives. Do you understand what I’m saying? Huh? Hehehehe.”

Two pirates, who had climbed up unnoticed, said with a laugh.

‘Of all times.’

Woon-hyun wore a troubled expression.

Judging by the pirates’ appearance, they didn’t seem like they would let them go easily.

Moreover, Jang Kyung-gyu and the other merchants were drunk and couldn’t even stand properly.

‘Two people…’

Even though there were two of them, they weren’t as formidable as when he faced Bingseol.

Swish.

Woon-hyun released the hand that was supporting the merchant.

And he slowly put down the luggage he was holding in one hand.

“Huh? What?”

The pirates frowned at Woon-hyun’s suspicious movements.

But when they saw what Woon-hyun had taken out, they wore a dumbfounded expression.

“What, is he crazy?”

The pirates chuckled.

It was understandable.

Against their sharp swords, Woon-hyun had taken out a crude wooden sword.

However, Woon-hyun’s eyes were extremely serious.

With an utmost serious, but slightly awkward tone, Woon-hyun said to the pirates.

“Come on, then.”

***

“Kuaaak!”

A pirate screamed as the blade drew blood.

Lee Seo-yeon, with her long hair flying, approached to deliver a fatal blow to her opponent.

Chaeng.

Suddenly, Lee Seo-yeon reflexively twisted her body at the sharp sound coming from the side.

“Junior sister, you must be careful.”

A young man wearing the Namgung Clan’s uniform winked at Lee Seo-yeon.

He had deflected the pirate’s sword that was flying towards her.

“Unnecessary interference.”

Lee Seo-yeon responded coldly, but the young man said with a smile.

“Of course, it would be strange if someone who learned the Namgung Clan’s sword couldn’t handle this much alone.”

Even as he continued to speak, the young man’s sword was flying towards the pirate.

Shwiik.

“Kwak!”

The pirate screamed, blood spurting from his chest.

It was a fatal wound.

Lee Seo-yeon slightly frowned her beautiful eyes.

“Blood is splattering.”

The young man shrugged.

“It can’t be helped. You have to be prepared to get your hands dirty if you want to clean up the trash.”

“So, you’re saying you’re getting your hands dirty for our Hoam Merchant Guild, is that it?”

“Well, not exactly… Haa!”

Shwiik, chaeng.

The young man swung his sword to meet a pirate who had rushed at him.

The pirate’s sword was quite flashy, but it was no match for the young man.

Lee Seo-yeon turned her head, confident that the pirate would fall, spraying blood.

Chaeng, chaeng.

“Ugh!”

Kwajangchang.

The fight was still in full swing, but the outcome was becoming increasingly clear.

Although the pirates were numerous, they were no match for the well-trained Namgung Clan warriors.

Of course, there would be some damage to the ship and cargo, but this much loss had to be tolerated in order to break the spirit of the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance].

‘Hmm.’

Lee Seo-yeon slightly frowned her beautiful eyes.

Namgung Sangmin, who had confidently stepped forward, was evenly matched against the Murim Alliance’s Fan Leader.

Of course, he had the upper hand, but he wasn’t showing a very good performance compared to his boastful attitude.

‘Disappointing.’

Namgung Sangmin had stepped forward because he was conscious of Lee Seo-yeon.

He had been keeping an eye on Lee Seo-yeon, the daughter of the Honam Merchant Guild and who had learned the sword in the Namgung Clan as a foreign disciple.

Lee Seo-yeon didn’t dislike him either. But it was also true that he didn’t meet her expectations.

If she had to compare, the young man she had just spoken to would be better.

It was then.

“Pfft.”

Lee Seo-yeon, who was looking around, unknowingly let out a laugh.

A very unique, even somewhat comical sight had caught her eye.

‘What is that?’

It was only natural that Lee Seo-yeon couldn’t hold back her laughter.

A young man dressed as a scholar was having a tense battle of nerves with two pirates.

With only a crude wooden sword in his hand.

‘Goodness…’

Lee Seo-yeon was dumbfounded.

He was standing there with a serious expression, but the scholar was holding a wooden sword.

Against two pirates who were brandishing their menacing blades.

‘Really, only a clueless scholar would do something like that.’

Tat.

With a smile on her face, Lee Seo-yeon kicked off the ground and flew into the air.

It was funny now, but the sight of that scholar spraying blood and falling to his death would not be pleasant at all.

***

“What? Come on, then?”

The pirate frowned.

“Is this guy looking down on us? Who do you think you are, telling us to come?”

“Right? Hey! Do we look like dogs and pigs to you? Get out your club.”

The pirates facing Woon-hyun were even laughing.

They had been nervous when the other party unwrapped the cloth, but it turned out to be a crude wooden sword.

“Put that down and get lost before you get hurt, huh?”

“Yeah. If you get stabbed, you’ll be… Keok!”

With a sudden groan, one of the pirates collapsed.

The pirate next to him hurriedly turned around, but before he could grasp the situation, a blade flashed sharply.

“Aaaagh!”

The two pirates, who had been so confident, fell in an instant.

And in the place where they had been standing, a beautiful young lady fluttered her clothes and descended from the air.

Sabak.

It was Lee Seo-yeon.

Standing in front of Woon-hyun, she lightly swung her sword to shake off the blood.

Pit.

Blood drew a red line on the floor.

Woon-hyun blinked and looked at Lee Seo-yeon.

She was the very lady who stood out among the Namgung Clan warriors.

“Puhut.”

Lee Seo-yeon laughed again at Woon-hyun’s dazed appearance with the wooden sword in his hand.

At the sight, Woon-hyun’s face turned red without him realizing it.

Lee Seo-yeon said to Woon-hyun with a smile.

“Your courage is commendable, but you should know your own abilities, right?”

Woon-hyun was flustered.

He hesitated whether to thank her or explain that he was confident in facing them, but Lee Seo-yeon had already kicked off the ground and left.

Tak.

“Ah, over there…”

Woon-hyun finally spoke, but Lee Seo-yeon had already flown towards the bow of the ship.

“That’s not it…”

Woon-hyun muttered. But it was already done.

Woon-hyun, who had rewrapped the wooden sword in cloth, looked back at Jang Kyung-gyu and the merchants who were sitting down.

“Let’s get out of here for now. The fight seems to be coming to an end…”

Sure enough, the number of pirates had clearly decreased.

Most of the pirates who had confidently climbed onto the deck were retreating to their ships.

The pirate who had stepped forward as the Fan Leader was nowhere to be seen, having already fled.

“Ugh…”

In addition to the fallen pirates, there were a considerable number of wounded sailors on the deck.

Woon-hyun frowned at the bitter smell of blood.

“Tsk.”

Woon-hyun clicked his tongue.

Although it was filled with red blood and groans, the Namgung Clan warriors were rather proud, shining their eyes.

This was the Murim world, and this was reality.

And a person who lived in this kind of world was a Murim warrior.

Woon-hyun could not imagine or accept himself living in such a world.

“The foolishness of people…”

Woon-hyun muttered to himself as he supported the fallen Jang Kyung-gyu.

There was no end to greed and foolishness, and unfortunate things did not disappear.

Woon-hyun looked at the receding pirates’ ships.

With the sunset painting the Jang River red, the Murim Alliance’s attack came to an end in vain.