Unrivaled Spear Demon
69 The Yangtze River Pirates (3)
…Splash!
The Butcher of the Yangtze fell into the water.
Watching this, Chui thought to himself.
‘I suppose their teamwork isn’t exactly stellar.’
Compared to the Orthodox Faction, the organizations of the Unorthodox Faction lacked deep bonds, even among their own cohorts.
Besides, these were river pirates who made their living by plundering the Yangtze.
It would be no surprise at all if they turned on each other and started a bloodbath.
……However.
“What is that guy? Kill him too!”
“Kill anyone who looks like they’re associated with that sow!”
“Better not leave any roots of trouble. Bring me my bow and arrows!”
“The rest of you, lower the nets! We’re going to scour the riverbed clean!”
The pirates unleashed nets and arrows toward Chui as well.
It seemed they intended to kill everyone present.
Since he had encountered river pirates on the river, a skirmish was inevitable.
That was Chui’s assessment.
“Not happening.”
Chui sank down to the riverbed.
There, he could see a thick layer of smooth black pebbles.
…Thump!
Chui slammed his staff down, sending vibrations through the gravel.
Creeeak-crack! Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
A massive shockwave shattered all the pebbles, and the fine silt that had been settled beneath them began to disperse upward.
The clear water turned murky in an instant.
…Thump! …Thump! …Thump!
Chui continued to stomp his feet, kicking up clouds of mud.
The arrows raining down from above gradually began to lose their accuracy.
Ping—
A stray arrow grazed Chui’s cheek.
‘They’re imbued with internal energy.’
It seemed there were some skilled archers on the boat.
Judging by the hierarchy of the Yangtze River Pirate Fleets, they were likely of the ‘Thousand-Head’ rank.
‘……No wonder the arrows have been thudding all the way down to the riverbed since earlier.’
Chui retreated deep into the riverbed to avoid the arrows.
However, he could not simply hide at the bottom forever.
Unlike the Paedo Guild, these pirates had a method to torment enemies hiding underwater.
…Swish!
A net lowered from the boat spread wide and began to sweep the bottom.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter!
The hook-shaped lead weights attached to the edges of the dragnet scraped between the pebbles, rushing toward him at a ferocious speed.
Fish swimming in the upper, middle, and lower layers of the water were all caught in the mesh.
Chui, too, was instantly ensnared by the net sweeping through the water.
“…….”
The net was incredibly tough and coarse.
It had been woven from several layers of tree bark, vines, and animal tendons, then treated with salt, so it could not be torn apart in one go.
Furthermore, with the strong current, there was no way out.
Once caught in such a net underwater, one had to entrust their life to whoever was pulling it up.
If the net wasn’t pulled up, one would inevitably drown, tightly bound beneath the water.
However, Chui did not like leaving his life to the mercy of others.
…Slash!
Chui drew the Yuchang Sword he had strapped to his waist and sliced through the netting.
A hole opened in the tough mesh, and Chui slipped through.
The time he spent being dragged by the pirates was not long. The boat could not have moved far.
“…….”
Lifting his head, he could see the bottom of the boat pulling the net above him.
Chui swung his staff violently toward the rear of the boat.
Whoosh!
A massive current surged, pulling up an immense quantity of gravel and mud.
Rumble!
It writhed like a giant dragon before beginning to surge toward the surface.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-boom!
With a thunderous roar, a dark wave erupted. It was not just the size that mattered; it was a wave carrying an enormous weight of gravel and mud within its depths.
Naturally, the pirates on the surface were thrown into chaos.
“Wh-what is that!?”
“A wave is coming! Turn the rudder!”
“Helmsman! Where did that bastard go!?”
“Aaaargh! It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s coming!”
Seeing the wave crashing down from behind, the boat hurriedly turned its bow to the port side.
Swoooosh!
As the boat tilted diagonally, the impact of the wave was significantly reduced.
Crash-bang-thud! Crack! Crunch!
Several pirates rolled across the deck, striking the mast or railings and dying instantly from broken necks.
However, even if they survived the wave, they could not avoid the hail of gravel and mud raining down from within it.
Splatter— Crack-crack-crack!
The planks forming the boat groaned in agony as they shattered.
The pirates on the deck gritted their teeth and shouted.
“The bastard is on the bottom!”
“He’s a monster! He’s creating a tsunami!”
“The nets! Bring the nets! Bring every single one we have!”
“Forget the bows! Throw the nets!”
Nothing could be seen in the water, which had turned into a mud pit.
Consequently, the pirates could no longer fire their bows.
Swish— Swish— Swoooosh—
Soon, several layers of nets were thrown in succession.
Not content with that, the pirates were steering the boat toward areas where they had already cast nets, as well as where they had discarded old, broken ones.
‘……Hmm.’
Chui quickly realized this fact as well.
Every time the water surged, discarded nets floating in the water clung to him like black ghosts.
Slash— Rip!
Chui swung the blade of the Yuchang Sword, cutting through the nets that were wrapping around him in layers.
If he hadn’t had a sharp, keen blade like the Yuchang Sword, it would not have been easy to cut through the nets with just an awl, hammer, or staff.
Chui muttered briefly, feeling grateful to O Ja-un for having crossed the plank road.
‘I’ve received, so I shall return.’
Chui laid his staff horizontally and stirred the water with a wide, powerful sweep.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble!*
The current swirled, forming the shape of a vortex.
Kuu-oooooooh!
The mass of water bulging above the surface seemed to twist and contort into a whirlpool, soon creating a massive, vortex-shaped water column.
“Wh-what is that?”
The pirates on the boat stood with their mouths agape, not even thinking to turn the wheel.
The previous large wave could have been overcome with skillful steering, but this was beyond any remedy.
It was a natural disaster that even the most seasoned Yangtze River pirates had never seen before.
Soon.
*Cr-ack-crack-crack!*
The water current Chui had created struck the side of the boat.
The planks tore like wet paper. The pirates inside began to be swept away like a colony of ants caught in a flood.
Of course, that was not all.
Mud, wood fragments, gravel, reef debris, ropes, torn net scraps, lead net weights, fish, and more were caught in the current, flying at tremendous speeds.
*Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!*
They slammed into the bodies of the pirates who were clinging to the boat.
One pirate was struck in the face by a flying lump of mud, causing both his eyeballs to burst and shattering his nasal bone and front teeth.
Another pirate had his torso pierced by flying gravel.
Another had his fingers torn off as they were caught in the mesh of a net.
Another died instantly when a flying fish embedded itself in his face.
They were dying.
They were all dying.
It didn’t matter if they were Thousand-Head rank or Ten-Head rank.
“Aaaargh! How are we supposed to fight something like that!?”
One pirate, overcome with terror, abandoned the boat.
He kicked off the deck and dove into the water, but.
“……!”
By sheer misfortune, Chui was there.
“?”
Chui thrust his awl toward the pirate swimming fiercely toward him.
…Pop!
With the sound of leather being punctured, blood sprayed out.
“Aaaargh!”
Screams of pirates echoed from all around.
It seemed they were all abandoning the boat and diving into the water.
Chui stabbed and killed the pirates one by one as they dove into the water of their own accord.
It was a return gift for the nets and arrows.
“Gack!”
“Kuh-ack!”
Bubble-bubble-bubble…….
The corpses of the pirates who had dove into the water began to float to the surface one by one.
Most had died not by Chui’s awl, but by being struck by debris carried by the current or by drowning after becoming entangled in discarded nets.
“…….”
Chui turned his head from side to side.
The water, once so clear, had turned dark red with mud and blood.
With his vision completely obscured, he had no choice but to rely on his giga (sense of energy).
‘None left.’
He could not sense the presence of anything living.
He had even released the Changwi to scour the surroundings, but not a single pirate remained alive.
Thrust—
Chui found a relatively shallow part of the riverbed and planted his staff vertically into it.
Then, standing on it, he straightened his legs and waist.
Swish—
Chui poked his head above the surface.
“Huuu—”
Everything rippling around him was pitch black and blood-red. The stench of fish, mud, and blood hung heavy in the air.
Chui took his eyes off the boat, which was slowly sinking in the distance, and looked toward the shore.
“No reinforcements?”
It was strange.
He had caused quite a commotion on the river, yet he saw no pirates coming to provide support.
Usually, bandits were like lice; kill one and ten come, kill ten and a hundred follow.
“Curious.”
Chui shrugged his shoulders.
Then, he retrieved his staff, descended to the riverbed, and walked up to the shore.
Poof!
He infused his internal energy to shake off his clothes, and the moisture vanished instantly.
It was closer to being shaken off by a shockwave than drying.
However, Chui remained standing in place for a while even after drying his clothes.
This was in case any additional pirates might arrive.
“…….”
But even as time passed, he felt no presence.
Chui waited until all the black things had sunk and the red things had been washed away in the dark red river, but nothing happened.
“A strange affair.”
Chui checked that his staff and the Yuchang Sword blade were intact, confirmed that his awl, hammer, and bundle of silk thread were all present, and then began to walk away.
It was a pity that he had lost his poison jars and the few remaining caltrops while escaping the net, but that was unavoidable.
Before long, Chui walked toward the lower reaches of the river.
After crossing a few peaks, he saw a stream lined with black gravel once again.
“……!”
An interesting scene was unfolding there.
“Haa… haa… haa….”
The Butcher of the Yangtze.
She appeared to have barely dragged herself onto the shore after suffering through a thousand hardships while drifting downstream.
Soaked to the bone and gasping for breath with an exhausted expression, the Butcher of the Yangtze was surrounded by dozens of river pirates swarming like a hive of bees.
He could see several pirates already lying on the ground.
Given that every one of them had their heads split in two, it was likely the handiwork of the Butcher of the Yangtze’s axe.
“I wondered where they had all gone; they were gathered over there.”
The remaining forces Chui had anticipated were all concentrated in that spot.
It seemed these pirates had come there from the start to strike at the Butcher of the Yangtze.
The Butcher of the Yangtze, surrounded by her own subordinates and on the verge of death.
Of course, naturally, Chui had no reason to help her.
…….
That was the case, at least, until a familiar name reached his ears from the mouth of one of the swarming pirates.
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