Chapter 78 : Tang Serin (2)

Chapter 78: Tang Serin (2)

She dreamt of Illyun dying.

It was truly an absurd dream.

Peng So-hye regretted it.

This was why she should never have touched alcohol she couldn’t even drink in the first place.

Without realizing it, she must have fallen asleep.

……But something was strange.

‘If I knew it was a dream, why am I not waking up?’

As she blankly sank into thought at that moment.

Pang……!

……So-hye!

A voice suddenly rang out in her ears.

It was a voice so very familiar.

Slap!

Her cheek burned as if it were on fire.

At the same time, Peng Daeho’s face came into view before her.

“O, Oppa?”

“Get a grip! This is real! If your mind crumbles, you won’t survive!”

Peng Daeho spoke with a grave expression she had never seen before in her life, then once again threw himself into battle against the charging enemy.

Watching his back, Peng So-hye suddenly became aware of the reality she had tried so hard to ignore by closing her eyes.

Cha-cheng!

Kwaang!

The ghastly clash of blades resounded from all sides, and the scene burned into her eyes.

‘Ah.’

The once-brilliant banquet hall of the pavilion was now a wreck.

Blood had drenched the floor, and corpses were strewn everywhere.

The moment Illyun died, water bandits had poured into the pavilion, and immediately, a shipboard melee had erupted.

‘Wh-what is this?’

At the age of fifteen, when she was recruited into the Nine Dragons Four Phoenixes, she had carried out countless missions for the Murim Alliance over the past ten years.

But this was the age of peace.

Never had she seen her comrades meet such a gruesome death right before her eyes, nor had she ever been thrust into such a life-or-death struggle.

Pabat!

“Die!”

At that moment, one of the water bandits lunged at her with ferocity.

The man swung the sharp hook mounted on his bracer like a dagger.

Ordinarily, she would have evaded easily, but now terror bound her whole body.

Like a mouse before a snake, she could not move at all.

Seogeok!

A chilling sound of slicing followed.

But Peng So-hye was unharmed.

Peng Daeho, who had returned to her side without her noticing, had intercepted the attack for her.

“Die-.”

“Urk!”

Pupuk!

Peng Daeho’s broadsword pierced through the hook-wielding bandit’s abdomen.

As though he were her personal guard, he stood before her, swinging his blade with unrelenting ferocity so that none could approach.

Drip, drip.

Blood flowed from a wound on Peng Daeho’s shoulder.

At that moment, Peng So-hye felt her own blood turn cold.

Now she could see that his body bore wounds all over.

While she had been pathetically breaking down.

Her brother had thrown his entire body on the line to protect her.

‘……The fool was me.’

Ssshh!

Paz!

Suddenly, a blue aura burst forth from Peng So-hye’s entire body.

It was the Peng Clan’s ultimate technique, Thunderclap Divine Art.

Crack!

She rose to her feet, clenching her fists with all her strength.

In her eyes, there was no longer any fear or terror.

Pabat!

With that, she stomped the ground and charged forward.

And at the water bandit who was swinging an iron cudgel toward Peng Daeho.

Wooong!

She unleashed a fist overflowing with domineering energy.

Once more, it must be said—her alias was Armor-Breaking Xi Shi.

The “Xi Shi” honored her beauty.

Kwaaang!

A violent explosion thundered out.

“Ku-ruk.”

Thud.

The bandit targeting Peng Daeho was blown back and slammed into the wall, instantly killed.

Peng So-hye turned to her brother.

“I’m sorry, Orabeoni. I’m fine now.”

The “Armor-Breaking” meant a savage strength, capable of shattering armor with her fists.

Peopeong!

With the sound of a drum exploding, another water bandit was sent flying into the sea.

Seeing Peng So-hye now fighting with clarity and determination.

‘For now, the worst has been avoided.’

Peng Daeho finally let out a breath.

“Die!”

Of course, even in such a brief moment, the battle still raged on.

A bandit wearing a yellow turban swung a Water-Splitting Dagger at his side.

Whiik!

But having already predicted the move, Peng Daeho pivoted on one foot, spinning like a top.

Kwajik!

With the broad side of his broadsword, he crushed the man’s skull outright.

The bandit collapsed lifelessly, his head split open.

As he moved to confirm the kill, Peng Daeho’s gaze faltered.

Right beside the fallen enemy lay the cold corpse of Illyun.

But as he studied the wound on his comrade’s head, confusion welled in Peng Daeho’s mind.

‘……Something’s wrong.’

Above the hole in Illyun’s head, there was a small mark, like the bite of a shark’s tooth.

That trace was as good as a confession of who the assailant was.

One of the Five Evils of the Demonic Alliance, the master of the Eastern Eighteen Raids, and the lowest seat among the Ten Great Experts—Blood Sea Dragon King, Gang Cheol-eon’s infamous ultimate technique.

The traces left behind were those unique to Flood Dragon Finger.

Blood Sea Dragon King was a master of the Manifestation Realm.

If he had truly acted, everyone here would already be dead.

It had to be one of his disciples who had struck.

But.

Precisely because the situation seemed so obvious, Peng Daeho’s doubts only deepened.

‘……Doesn’t this feel as if someone is spoon-feeding us the culprit?’

Of course, there was overwhelming evidence pointing toward the Five Evils and the Eastern Eighteen Raids.

The traces of Flood Dragon Finger.

The water bandits assailing them now.

And the past reports that Gang Cheol-eon, among the leaders of the Five Evils, was the roughest and most hostile toward the Murim Alliance.

But even so, this didn’t make sense.

Launching a sudden attack here, right under the nose of the Murim Alliance’s headquarters?

And beginning the battle by killing Shaolin’s Great Disciple, who had remained neutral for countless years?

Even for someone belligerent, this was too much.

There was no explanation for why the Eastern Eighteen Raids would suddenly try to trigger a Great War between the Orthodox and Unorthodox.

‘And beyond that—there’s no way such a massive swarm of bandits could approach without being detected by the Murim Alliance’s surveillance network in Kaifeng. Unless…… there was help from inside.’

Just as Peng Daeho was searching for a sliver of truth amidst the chaos.

Pupuk!

A sickening sound of flesh tearing erupted nearby.

“Ku, kuk?! Kugh!”

“Kyaa! No!”

“Wi, Wi Jibo!”

From the opposite side, where he had been fighting alongside Unjung and Hwangbo Yeong, Wi Jibo’s chest was pierced through by a blade.

The light quickly faded from Wi Jibo’s eyes.

“Hhhk.”

“Uwaaa! You bastards!”

And so, the second casualty fell.

But truthfully, Wi Jibo’s death had been inevitable.

Even before the ambush, he had been so drunk he could hardly stand.

The only reason he lasted this long was thanks to Unjung and Hwangbo Yeong.

But no matter how much it had been foreseen, the shock of it happening in reality was no less devastating.

Peng Daeho clenched his teeth once more.

‘……No. What matters now is something else.’

The question of who these attackers were and why they had struck could wait.

What mattered now was that lives were being lost in this perilous battle.

And that his younger sister was right behind him, depending on him for protection.

Seogeok!

Peng Daeho slashed down the enemy before him with his broadsword and shouted back at his sister.

“So-hye, we need to get out of this pavilion first!”

“Got it!”

“Y-young Master Peng!”

“L-let us come with you!”

Unjung and Hwangbo Yeong scrambled to follow behind them.

Whether they would be of help was uncertain, but Peng Daeho did not refuse.

Kwaang!

Kicking the door apart, Peng Daeho led them out of the pavilion and onto the central deck of the tower ship.

“Wh-what?”

“……The Namgung Clan’s guards are all dead??”

He had wondered why reinforcements never arrived, but now saw the Namgung Clan’s guards lying cold and lifeless across the deck.

While everyone else reeled in shock.

“Staying exposed on the central deck will only get us surrounded. We need to move to the stern or the bow.”

“Y-yes!”

“R-right!”

Only Peng Daeho calmly assessed the situation.

Cha-cheng!

Cheng!

The sounds of fighting already rang from both stern and bow.

At the front and rear of the ship, the groups had divided: one side with the Namgung siblings, the other with Tang Serin and Nam Mujin.

If all four of them went to one side, the other would surely fall.

They too needed to split into pairs and give aid.

‘Wait?’

‘If that’s the case……!’

In that instant, Unjung and Hwangbo Yeong’s eyes trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck.

Then.

“W-we’ll go help the bow!”

“I’ll go too-!”

Pabat!

Before Peng Daeho could answer, the two had already launched themselves with their movement arts, rushing to join the Namgung siblings.

In that brief instant, they had decided that aiding the Namgung siblings was the better choice.

After all, while Tang Serin’s martial arts were said to be nearly unchanged from ten years ago, both Namgung siblings were famed swordsmen throughout the martial world.

‘Even in a moment like this, they weigh the scales.’

It was perhaps natural in such a life-or-death moment, but Peng Daeho’s gaze toward them inevitably grew cold.

“Let’s go too. Stay sharp.”

“Mm.”

Pabat!

The two of them immediately headed for the stern.

Chwaak!

Seogeok!

They cut down the water bandits climbing the ship’s hull as they advanced.

But all the while, Peng So-hye’s expression darkened visibly.

She had likely sensed what they would soon find with Tang Serin.

‘The bandits’ average level isn’t low. They might already be on the brink of death…….’

The only possible saving factor was Nam Mujin’s experience, being from Mount Hainan Sect.

That sect, based on Hainan Island, was known for countless battles against Japanese raiders from the East, and thus for its expertise in naval warfare.

And with Nam Mujin’s martial arts, famed as the Lightning Sword……

Suddenly, Peng Daeho’s eyes widened in shock as he reached the stern.

The situation was nothing like he had imagined.

“Right side!”

“Yes-!”

The one leading the battle was not Nam Mujin.

To his astonishment, it was Tang Serin of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Shwaeak!

Kwaduk!

Each time the black iron fan in her hand traced an arc, bandits’ necks snapped to the side as they dropped like dominoes.

Tat! Tadad!

On the rocking ship, amidst the churning waters, hers alone was the stance that never wavered.

It was the composure of one who had fought countless battles at sea.

But she did not stop there.

Shwaeak!

“Kuuhp!”

When Nam Mujin faltered under a combined assault,

Tang Serin, without even turning her head, whipped her other hand like the wind.

Chwararak!

Her sleeve fluttered like a banner, scattering a rain of hidden weapons.

Pupupuk!

Thud.

With a grotesque noise, the bandit targeting Nam Mujin collapsed on the deck, looking like a cactus in full bloom.

“Stay focused!”

“……Forgive me!”

At that moment, as Tang Serin sharply scolded Nam Mujin.

Her gaze met Peng Daeho’s in midair.

Flinch.

When Tang Serin narrowed her brow, Peng Daeho instinctively shrank back.

‘What are you doing! If you’ve come, then hurry and join the fight!’

That silent rebuke transmitted to him as if by instinct.

Pabat!

Peng Daeho immediately hurled himself into the fray.