“Hyung-nim… why is the young master over there?”

Subong’s face was bewildered.

“The young master, is the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero?”

The subordinates who had identified Cheon Mubaeck’s identity could not hide their bewilderment.

The Subongs had guessed that this Unorthodox Alliance journey was a process to unify the Unorthodox Alliance.

If not that, they had thought it was at least the founding of a new Unorthodox Alliance sect based in Hubei.

But the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero. Why on earth was Cheon Mubaeck gathering the Unorthodox Alliance?

As the murmuring spread on the boat, Neung-heo was worried that it would reach Wang Jeonyu’s ears if he left it as it was.

But it was not easy to explain the detailed contents. He just made up some words to quiet them down for now.

“The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is planning a grand scheme for the martial world with you guys. So everyone, act with sense!”

The part that Neung-heo had focused on the most when selecting the personnel was their sense and cunning.

It was the result of the belief that if you were a member of the Unorthodox Alliance, you had to live with at least one sense.

But, this was not a story that could be easily passed over even if one had sense.

If one or two people questioned the roughly made-up words and even rebelled, the matter would become complicated.

‘If things go wrong, I’ll just crush them like a member of the Unorthodox Alliance.’

Neung-heo’s eyes flashed eerily.

He had made up his mind to crush a few guys and make them shut up with fear.

Was it that the flimsy words that Neung-heo had roughly made up did not work? Subong stared at Neung-heo with a stiff face. A sense of tension lingered on the boat. But the moment Subong’s mouth opened, the tension was broken.

“I see. I felt that he was an unusual person for some reason… I understand.”

“…Huh?”

As Subong agreed so naturally, Neung-heo was rather taken aback.

Subong nodded his head with a relieved smile.

“So that’s what it was. Now I understand everything. If he were just going to found an Unorthodox Alliance sect, he would have just brought all the strong Unorthodox Alliance guys. But you, hyung-nim, didn’t do that.”

“Huh?”

“The guy who traded in people, the guy who sold his daughter to a courtesan house by making her fall into debt, the guys with human faces and beast hearts who destroyed people and families while running a gambling den, didn’t you kick them all out and throw them in the government office?”

“Well, that’s… right.”

Well, it wasn’t like he was taking them to war right away. Those guys were so vicious that they were really troublesome to manage. Wasn’t the purpose just to fill the numbers? It was better to kick out the guys who were troublesome to manage.

“Now I understand. Gathering low-lifes like me, you must have a scheme to pity us, educate us, and make us helpful to the justice of the martial world. Indeed… I understand. I will act with sense!”

“…”

This bastard, he’s so clueless.

“Then should we pretend to be members of the Unorthodox Alliance and pretend to fight now?”

At the somewhat excited question, Neung-heo swallowed a groan.

Neung-heo had noticed why Cheon Mubaeck was there and what he was trying to do.

‘He must be telling me to fight moderately with sense and then retreat.’

Could they plunder a boat against none other than the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero?

Then they could just pretend to fight and retreat due to being outnumbered. In the meantime, the cruise ship would quickly escape. Then Neung-heo would not be refusing Wang Jeonyu’s words, and he would not have to plunder the cruise ship.

It was certainly a good method.

‘But…’

Neung-heo’s expression could not be smoothed out.

Because.

‘Damn it, why is he spreading so much killing intent?’

A killing intent that seeped in like a blade, to the point where his whole body tingled.

Cheon Mubaeck’s expressionless face, holding a pure white sword and aiming it this way.

Neung-heo had long since realized the meaning contained in that expression.

That which he had already noticed, but had denied, saying it couldn’t be.

“Damn… that man is determined.”

This was not just an act of matching each other.

At that time, Cheon Mubaeck jumped from the bow. At the same time, a pure white sword qi shot up from his sword.

“He’s really trying to kill me?”

Neung-heo’s face turned pale.

* * *

River pirates.

On the river, on the lake, was there a name more frightening than that?

Moreover, on this cruise ship, there were no people with swords who looked like martial artists.

When the river pirates appeared, Gilseong, who had made up his mind to be filial to his old mother for the first time, felt as if the sky were falling.

He had studied countless times and had finally passed the state examination. Now that he was about to succeed, he had wanted to take his old mother, who had supported him for his studies her whole life, on a cruise…

“Don’t worry, mother. The distance is still far, so we just have to run away with all our might.”

The captain had turned the boat as soon as he saw the river pirates.

Unfortunately, the hull was heavy. There was no way it could be faster than the nimble boats of the river pirates who made a living by plundering. As the rough faces and the laughter filled with killing intent of the river pirates got closer, Gilseong’s face turned pale.

Although he held his scared old mother’s wrinkled hand tightly, he could not calm his violently beating heart.

“I-if this goes on, we’ll all die!”

“What should we do, go faster! Captain! Steer the boat quickly!”

The passengers, who were in a state of panic, shouted.

Did they say that a superhuman ability was displayed when one was in a crisis?

Gilseong’s head rather became cold when he was in danger.

“The luggage, throw away all the luggage! Let’s lighten the boat!”

Gilseong shouted so and threw all the miscellaneous items on the deck into the river.

At that action, the passengers joined in one by one and threw away all the luggage.

It certainly seemed that the boat had become lighter after throwing away the luggage.

But it was a long way to shake off the fiercely chasing boats of the river pirates.

Gilseong racked his brain endlessly to find a way to save at least his old mother.

But even if he found a hole in front of a completely blocked wall, would a non-existent hole suddenly appear?

‘Ah… ah.’

There isn’t. There is no way. There is no hole to escape.

Gilseong, who had an intuition, could only hug his trembling old mother tightly.

It was then.

“Hey captain, don’t look back and steer the boat towards the dock.”

It was a calm and serious voice that did not fit the situation.

But the voice was strange. It had a magic that made the listener’s mind and body at ease.

Surprisingly, the trembling of his old mother that he had felt in his arms subsided in an instant.

Gilseong, who had turned his gaze to the owner of the voice, felt a sense of incongruity for a moment.

‘A young man with a sword?’

A young man who looked at least ten years younger than him.

He had two swords at his waist.

A martial artist.

If there were such a martial artist on the cruise ship, he would have recognized him long ago. Because it was not a boat with that many people on it.

But Gilseong had seen such a man for the first time.

Soon, he witnessed the young man’s hair glinting slightly in the sunlight.

‘Water?’

Wet hair. Come to think of it, there were wet footprints at the man’s feet.

As if he had swum and boarded the boat.

The man slowly drew his sword and stood on the bow.

On the shaking bow where even an ordinary person would find it difficult to keep their balance, the young man stood firmly.

“…!”

It was clearly the back of a person who was much younger.

But the moment he saw that back, Gilseong felt as if he could see a hole to escape in front of the wall that had been so bleak until now.

“I, the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, Cheon Mubaeck, will bury all of you bastards!”

Gilseong hugged his old mother tightly.

There was only one thing in his head.

‘We’re saved…!’

The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.

In the current martial world, that was the meaning that that moniker had.

* * *

Cheon Mubaeck stood on the bow and looked at the front.

‘Hmm. The king of the river pirates, the absolute ruler who dominates the river, indeed, that moniker suits him.’

The fleet of Wang Jeonyu, seen from the other side, gave off a sense of grandeur and pressure.

The boat, which seemed to be at least three times larger than the cruise ship and had up to three floors, was extremely luxurious.

Wang Jeonyu was there.

‘Should I take this opportunity to kill Wang Jeonyu?’

A thought that came to mind.

But Cheon Mubaeck soon shook his head.

To be honest, he could kill him if he put his mind to it. But the problem was getting away. This was on the river, and on the river, the river pirates had skills that were difficult to judge by just their internal energy.

Of course, Cheon Mubaeck, whose middle dantian had been strengthened, was confident enough, but the problem was Neung-heo and his guys. Moreover, Cheon Mubaeck had something in mind.

‘The Unorthodox Alliance is truly gray. Not the Demonic Path, not the Orthodox Path. They are guys who can switch sides at any time if a sufficient benefit is presented.’

Cheon Mubaeck decided to watch for now.

Because what would happen to the Unorthodox Alliance was all just speculation.

To see for himself. That was the fastest way.

‘If so, I’ll have to use some tricks.’

When the prominent members of the Unorthodox Alliance of the Central Plains gathered in one place, would Neung-heo’s Black Heart Gang be able to hold its head up?

It was impossible.

‘If it’s impossible, I have to make it possible.’

Cheon Mubaeck smiled slyly inwardly and then let out a lion’s roar.

“You worms who can’t do anything when you get on land, isn’t it ridiculous to call yourselves kings and what not on the river?”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s shout, the faces of the river pirates flushed red.

All the river pirates on the deck rushed out, took out their ominous weapons, and were glaring at Cheon Mubaeck. Although a killing intent that would make one’s flesh tingle was pouring out, Cheon Mubaeck was calm.

“You morons. You’re scared of the sea, so you’re just freshwater fish that splash around in the river.”

At Cheon Mubaeck’s continued outburst, Wang Jeonyu’s voice, filled with internal energy, finally rang out, unable to bear it any longer.

“What a brat, buzzing like a mosquito!”

As if there was a reason he was called the River King, his internal energy was considerable.

As soon as the River King’s voice was heard, the river pirates finally poured out curses with triumphant expressions.

A man with a huge build appeared from among the river pirates.

His height was about a hand shorter than average, but because of his thick arms and legs, and his upper body muscles that were so full that they seemed hypertrophied, he did not give the impression of being small at all.

Although he might look like an ignorant martial artist at first glance, he was definitely not.

His posture as he walked on the shaking boat, the swing of his arms, and the change in his facial expression.

Seeing all of that, Cheon Mubaeck guessed.

‘At least in a fight, he is a guy who is cunning and does not hesitate to use tricks.’

Cheon Mubaeck, who had grasped Wang Jeonyu in an instant, immediately realized how he should move.

Wang Jeonyu showed his pure white teeth as he looked at Cheon Mubaeck.

“Hehe. The false fame of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is widespread in the martial world, but to think it was such a brat. The Orthodox Martial World guys are crazy about making heroes, aren’t they?”

“Hoho, the stupid name of the River King is not heard at all in the martial world, but to think it was such a short boar-like guy. I see why the river pirate guys are ashamed of their leader, don’t you?”

It was a provocation that returned his own words exactly.

Wang Jeonyu’s face turned bright red. A short boar. Wasn’t that the sound he hated the most?

“You brat!”

Wang Jeonyu suddenly swung his blunt, crescent-shaped greatsword.

A sword qi poured out like a thunderbolt.

Puaaaaaang!

Cheon Mubaeck swung his sword and blocked the sword qi that was flying, splitting the water.

A huge impact was transmitted to the surface of the water in a concentric circle. A strong wave rippled on the calm lake, and the boat shook greatly.

As a result, Cheon Mubaeck jumped up and crossed the boat.

At the same time, he shouted to the people on the cruise ship.

“I will block them here, so run away with all your might!”

The boat that Cheon Mubaeck had jumped over was the closest boat.

Neung-heo’s boat.

The moment Cheon Mubaeck landed on Neung-heo’s boat, he quickly exchanged glances.

Wasn’t Neung-heo also a person who would not be sad if he were second in terms of sense?

‘Fight moderately and then retreat!’

Neung-heo, who had received that meaning, immediately drew his sword.

To act moderately and deceive Wang Jeonyu’s eyes.

Neung-heo thought so and stretched out his sword.

But…

‘Weren’t we… supposed to fight moderately?’

From Cheon Mubaeck’s sword, a long, pure white sword qi shot up.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep