Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1374

Splash!

Fast ships moved quickly on the rough Yangtze River. Their wooden sides cut through the water.

Qi Yi, the Chief of the Black Shark Unit, known as the Yangtze River Shark, stood at the front of the ship, looking at the shore. He was not happy.

He muttered, his anger rising, “Pathetic.”

Dozens of ships were lined up on the shore, but no one seemed to be guarding them. The ships were there in case the Four Seas Alliance tried to cross the river, but it looked like everyone had stopped watching carefully. The ships were probably empty.

“They must have thought we would never attack first. What fools.”

Qi Yi thought for a moment. It wasn’t completely their fault they were unprepared. Under the Black Dragon King, they would never have attacked like this.

The Black Dragon King cared only about the money he made from the Yangtze River. He didn’t want any fighting that might cause trouble. He always tried to make as much money as possible while keeping things calm.

The Black Dragon King was careful. He would never attack docks where important groups like Shaolin (a famous temple known for martial arts), the Great Clan (a powerful family group), and the Peng family were stationed. It was too risky.

But now, the Overlord was in charge. Things were different.

The Overlord didn’t care about the Yangtze River. He wanted the land north of the river. To take that land, he was ready to fight anyone, even Shaolin.

“Chief, we’re almost there. How fast should we go?”

“Full speed!”

“F-Full speed?”

“Ram them! Don’t give them time to get ready!”

“A-Alright!”

His assistant sounded nervous. Qi Yi grinned, twisting his lips.

“If they were careless, they’ll pay the price.”

Splash!

The fast ships were now very close to the shore, but they didn’t slow down. Instead, they went even faster, heading straight for the docked ships.

The faces of those who finally saw the attack turned white with fear.

“T-They’re coming!”

“T-Those crazy people…!”

“Get back! They’re going to crash!”

Boom!

Crack!

The big ships crashed into each other. Water exploded upwards, and pieces of wood flew everywhere.

“Aaaargh!”

People who couldn’t jump off the ships in time were thrown around. But this was just the start.

Boom!

Boom!

The River Troop’s ships kept crashing into the docked ships without stopping.

The River Troop’s ships were built for fighting on water and were much stronger than the ships that were quickly built just to be as big, but not as strong. So, when the stronger ships crashed into them at full speed, the result was clear.

Thud!

Qi Yi slammed his weapon onto the deck and shouted loudly, making the water shake.

“Attack!”

“Yes!”

The River Troop’s pirates took advantage of the crash and quickly jumped onto the damaged ships.

“Don’t be afraid! They’re just pirates!”

“We have to protect the other ships!”

Disciples from the Great Clan heard the noise and ran to help. Those already guarding the ships took out their weapons. Everything was chaotic.

But they were only partly right.

The disciples were from well-known groups, and if they were fighting on land, they wouldn’t be afraid of pirates.

But they weren’t on solid ground.

Crash!

Just as the Great Clan’s disciples were about to attack with their swords, the ship shook hard again and leaned to one side.

“Ugh, what’s happening!”

“The ship, the ship is…!”

The Great Clan’s disciples were confused. But the pirates seemed ready for this. They ran across the tilting deck as if it were flat.

“Die!”

The pirates quickly got in among the disciples who hadn’t formed a battle line. Soon, everyone was fighting, and it was hard to tell who was on which side. The pirates were used to this kind of messy fighting on ships, and they were comfortable in the chaos.

Crash!

Explosions happened everywhere.

Pirates who had jumped into the water when the ships crashed were now making holes in the sides of the docked ships.

Pirates who were strong enough used their swords to make holes in the ships. Others, who were not as strong, used bombs they had brought with them on the lower parts of the ships.

Crash!

Each time a bomb exploded, the ships tilted more and more.

The shore quickly became a scene of terrible destruction.

If they had been ready, they wouldn’t have lost so quickly. But the attack was a surprise, and everyone was confused and couldn’t tell friend from foe.

“Aaaargh!”

“Brother!”

Someone screamed as a sharp weapon stabbed them from behind. Before that scream could stop, a sword struck their neck.

“Y-You cowardly pirates!”

Seo Heum, a top disciple of the Great Clan, saw this and screamed, swinging his sword. The sword quickly stabbed a pirate, but more and more enemies kept coming.

Like a wave, the pirates climbed onto the tilting ships.

“Hold on! Help is coming!”

He was right.

“Oooooooooh!”

A loud shout came from behind them as they fought. People in yellow robes were running towards them. It was Shaolin!

“It’s Shaolin!”

“Shaolin is here to help! Hold on!”

Even though they weren’t as famous as they used to be, Shaolin was still respected in the martial arts world. The Great Clan’s disciples felt hopeful when they heard Shaolin was coming.

Seo Heum tried to stay calm and shouted, “Focus on defense! We’ll push them back when Shaolin gets here!”

“Yes!”

He bit his lip. It wasn’t just Shaolin. His fellow disciples would be here soon, and when they arrived, they would kill all the pirates.

‘I’ll make them pay for this dirty trick.’

But then, Seo Heum wondered about something.

‘What is it?’

He wasn’t looking at the fighting on the ships. He was looking past that, at the sides of the ships.

The pirates who were climbing onto the deck were carrying something big and black.

‘Jars?’

They were big jars that needed two arms to hold. Before he could wonder what was in them, the pirates opened the jars and poured the liquid onto the deck.

Seo Heum stepped back.

‘Poison?’

But then, he smelled the liquid. He knew that smell. Seo Heum’s eyes opened wide.

“N-No…!”

He saw the pirates smiling as they pulled something out of their pockets.

“F-Fire starters! Run! It’s oil!”

The fire starters fell onto the deck.

Whoosh!

The flames quickly spread across the oil. The deck was covered in fire.

“F-Fire!”

“Aaaargh! My back! Fire on my back!”

The Great Clan’s disciples couldn’t escape the fire. They screamed and ran around. The same thing was happening on the other ships. The fire was destroying everything.

“T-These crazy people…”

It wasn’t just the ships that were burning. The oil had spilled onto the water, and the river was on fire too.

Seo Heum couldn’t stand up. He was terrified by the fire.

Whoosh!

The fire burned everything, including the ships of the Great Clan and even the River Troop’s ships.

“Ah… Aah…”

How could they stop this? All they could see was fire.

“Oooooooooh!”

Beopgye, who had arrived with his disciples, roared in anger.

“You evil people, I will never forgive you!”

But Qi Yi just smiled.

“The monk is very angry.”

He didn’t care about Beopgye’s anger.

“We’ve done what we came to do, so let’s go. Everyone, retreat.”

“Retreat! Retreat!”

The pirates jumped into the burning Yangtze River.

Splash! Splash!

“H-Hey, where are you going!”

The Great Clan’s disciples were angry. They ignored the flames and swung their swords at the pirates.

But only a few pirates were hit. Most of them had already jumped into the river. They disappeared as quickly as they had come.

The River Troop’s pirates were trained to fight in the water. They could easily swim under the flames.

“Fools.”

Qi Yi smiled at Beopgye and jumped into the burning river.

Boom!

Beopgye jumped onto the deck, shaking with anger. All that was left were burning ships and dead bodies. The enemies were gone.

“T-This is…”

He couldn’t take his disciples into the water. They weren’t trained to fight there. Beopgye looked around, feeling lost.

Nearly thirty ships were burning. They had worked hard to get those ships.

Crack!

The damaged ships broke apart and sank into the water. At least the fire would go out when they sank.

“W-What are you doing! Put it out! Put out the fire!”

Beopgye shouted, sounding crazy.

“Put out the fire now! We have to save at least one ship! Put out the fire!”

“Elder.”

Someone grabbed his arm. He turned around and saw a Shaolin disciple shaking his head.

“…It’s too late.”

“…”

Beopgye looked back at the fire.

Black smoke rose into the sky, showing everyone what had happened.

“Ah, Amitabha…”

He spoke softly, like a prayer.

‘What should I do? What should I do now?’

People were screaming, crying, and trying to put out the fire. It was a terrible scene. Beopgye closed his eyes.