Death drifts moon - Chapter 589
Chapter 589
“It’s the Sea Dragon Manor.”
“The Sea Dragon Manor?”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, Dokgo Hwang responded with a question.
“It’s a sect that recently rose to power as the ruler of Sea Gate City. Interestingly, their origin is in the western regions.”
“The west? How dare someone who is not even from the central plains establish a sect in Sea Gate city?”
Anger washed over Dokgo Hwang’s face.
The people of Kangho are often considered to be free-spirited and have an open relationship with foreigners.
But in reality, this was rarely the case.
In fact, they often ostracized outsiders more than anyone else.
They might fight among themselves, but if a martial artist from outside Kangho became famous, they’d unite against him.
This mentality was no different in the Southern Sea martial world.
The martial world of the Southern Sea was also despised by Kangho. It was shunned because it was on the fringe, even though it was a part of Kangho.
For the same reason, Dokgo Hwang, the ruler of the South Sea, looked down on outsiders.
He couldn’t bear to see foreigners come into his territory and set up their own domain.
His nature was already like that, and learning that the master of Sea Dragon Manor was not from the Central Plains, but a foreigner, only fueled his anger.
“Is it certain that Pyo Wol is at Sea Dragon Manor?”
“I have not confirmed it myself. But the circumstances make it almost certain.
“Circumstances?”
“Yes! Recently, unknown figures were seen entering Sea Dragon Manor. Among them, two match the appearance of those we are chasing.”
“The boy and the old man, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s almost certain.”
Dokgo Hwang muttered, nodding his head.
Pyo Wol was an assassin.
Changing faces was not a difficult task for him.
No matter how he transformed, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Dokgo Hwang issued an order.
“Prepare those who came by ship.”
“Shouldn’t we be waiting’ for backup?”
He asked with a puzzled expression.
Support ships with reinforcements from the Martial Sword Alliance were on their way. It seemed best to wait for them.
“How far are they?”
“They should be almost here.”
“Send a Hawk to keep an eye on the Ghost Fleet. Be ready to suppress them if they betray us.”
“Ah! Understood.”
“They cannot be trusted.”
He did not fully trust Go Il-won and the Ghost Fleet.
Likely, the feeling was mutual.
“Go Il-won does not know that we have additional forces. We must make sure that they do not discover them until the very end.
“I will be mindful of that.”
The subordinate bowed his head, responding loudly.
The martial artists still on the ship began to disembark.
The area around the pier was already under the control of Dokgo Hwang’s warriors.
Those on other ships were confined to their cabins, and the workers were herded into nearby warehouses to prevent any information from leaking out.
As a result, there wasn’t an ant on the docks except for them.
Dokgo Hwang glanced around momentarily.
The salty sea smell permeated his nostrils.
To some, this might have seemed like a nauseating stench, but to him, it was the nostalgic smell of his homeland
“Excellent!”
Dokgo Hwang moved on with a cold smile, followed by his warriors.
Now that he knew where Pyo Wol was, he no longer worried about the stares around him.
Suddenly, his gaze turned to the edge of the pier.
There, someone was watching them.
It was one of the martial artists from the Ghost Fleet who had stayed behind as a contact
person.
One of Dokgo Hwang’s underlings rushed over to him and explained the whole situation.
The martial artist from the Ghost Fleet nodded in understanding and then disappeared from sight.
He was off to report to his master, Go Il-won.
Seeing this, Dokgo Hwang muttered to himself,
“It would be good if he showed up on time…”
If Go Il-won was a wise man, he would show up on time to cooperate; if not, he would waste time foolishly.
He thought that Go Il-won would appear at the right time.
After all, if he had the audacity and mindset to discover that Dokgo Hwang had come and directly visit to form a secret alliance, he would never miss such an opportunity.
Of course, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t show up.
He was confident that the forces he brought along could sweep the Sea Dragon Manor in an instant
but facing Pyo Wol was another matter entirely.
In the region, the only martial artist who could suppress Pyo Wol was Dokgo Hwang himself;and he was confident that he could defeat Pyo Wol.
It was when Dokgo Hwang and the martial artists of the Martial Sword Alliance had left the docks and entered the busy street.
“Hold on! What’s going on there?”
“Stop.”
A group of martial artists blocked their path.
They were the martial artists of Sea Dragon Manor.
Under Tarha’s command, they had been patrolling the streets and stopped when they saw the unfamiliar group.
Their response was ruthless.
Chweeak!
Some of the martial artists behind Dokgo Hwang stepped forward and attacked them.
“Aagh!”
“Gah!”
The martial artists of Sea Dragon Manor lost their lives without being able to respond.
There was a tremendous gap between the martial artists of Martial Sword Alliance and those of Sea Dragon Manor.
There was bound to be an insurmountable difference between Sea Dragon Manor, which targeted the residents of Sea Gate City, and the Martial Sword Alliance, which aspired to rule the entire Kangho.
The martial artists of Martial Sword Alliance were relentless.
Seogeuk! Shwieek!
They attacked the martial artists of Sea Dragon Manor without mercy and killed them.
The ground was strewn with the corpses of Sea Dragon Manor’s martial artists, and silence settled on the street.
There were many people on the street, but none of them dared to speak up.
It was because the martial artists of Martial Sword Alliance were watching them.
The killing intent they radiated dominated the entire street.
Those suffocated by the killing intent dared not even breathe loudly.
A mere cough seemed to be enough to provoke an attack from the Martial Sword Alliance martial artists. They could not even swallow their saliva, just stare at them.
Chukchuk!
Under the leadership of Dokgo Hwang, the martial artists of the Martial Sword Alliance moved again.
Their synchronized steps, moving as a cohesive unit, were similar to those of a single massive organism.
The people of Sea Gate City had never seen such a spectacle.
They had never heard of hundreds of people becoming a single entity and radiating such a tremendous amount of killing intent.
People finally found the courage to breathe when they were far enough away.
“Haah!”
“I thought we were going to die.”
“Crazy!”
People stared in the direction where the Martial Sword Alliance martial artists had gone, their faces pale and exhausted.
***
“The Martial Sword Alliance has made a move.”
“The target?”
“Sea Dragon Manor. They say the Reaper is there.”
“So, he was there after all.”
When he heard Jo Pyeongrak’s report, Go Il-won nodded. It was as if he had expected this.
“The Martial Sword Alliance has requested troops. What shall we do?”
“We must send them, of course. We promised.”
“Do you really intend to keep the promise?”
“When have I ever broken one?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“Send the troops as promised. But our objective is slightly different.”
“Yes?”
“Destroy Sea Gate city entirely.”
Jo Pyeongrak’s jaw dropped in surprise at Go Il-Won’s unexpected words.
“Merely killing him does not quench my wrath. By destroying Sea Gate city, I will further amplify the chaos in the world.”
Go Il-won’s intentions were not solely motivated by revenge.
Revenge was merely a secondary result.
His true objective was to plunge the world into chaos.
The original purpose of Guryongsalmak was also the same.
To plunge the world into chaos, create numerous opportunities, and expand the scope of the Guryongsalmak with those opportunities.
Although Guryongsalmak had been ruined by Pyo Wol, Go Il-won had not given up.
He will rebuild it the way his grandmother and father did. To do so, he would need chaos in the world.
Already, sparks of strife were erupting throughout Kangho.
The clash between Golden Heavenly Hall and Silver Lotus Hall.
The war between the Wudang Sect and Dragon Mountain Manor.
Add to that the catastrophe of Sea Gate City, and the world’s chaos would reach its peak.
“Begin!”
“By your command!”
Jo Pyeongrak saluted Go Il-won and went outside.
The ships of the Ghost Fleet soon set sail for Sea Gate city.
More than a dozen ships broke through the waves in unison and entered the upper dock.
The docks were occupied by ships already at anchor.
Under normal circumstances, the arriving ships would have to wait for the anchored ships to depart. But the Ghost Fleet had no restraint.
Crash! Crunch!
The ships of the Ghost Fleet mercilessly pushed aside the ships already anchored at the dock.
Cracks appeared in the hulls of the anchored ships, and they broke apart.
“What, what’s happening?”
“Aaah! Get out of the way!”
“Jump off.”
In a panic, the sailors on board jumped.
Some jumped into the sea, while others were lucky enough to land on the dock.
Those who made it to the dock alive had to watch their boats crumble to pieces.
Crack! Snap!
The ships of the Ghost Fleet ruthlessly pushed the anchored ships.
In size, height, and strength, there was no comparison.
The anchored ships eventually broke apart and sank into the sea, their places taken by the ships of the Ghost Fleet.
“What are they doing?”
“Those bastards!”
Unable to contain their anger, some people approached the Ghost Fleet to protest.
At that moment, the ladders were lowered and the martial artists of the Ghost Fleet swarmed down.
Their fierce demeanor left the protestors speechless, mouths agape.
When they saw the martial artists disembarking from the Ghost Fleet, they froze.
Before their minds, their bodies would recognize and react to their fear. But their minds were too empty to recognize it.
Shing!
Cold blades swished above their heads.
“Aaack!”
“Ugh!”
The brave souls who tried to protest were silenced, their cries echoing.
“Waaah!”
“Run, run away!”
The onlookers scattered like a swarm of locusts in all directions.
The martial artists of the Ghost Fleet did not pursue them.
They had a clear goal: the destruction of Sea Gate city.
There was no reason to waste energy on trivial matters in the face of a great goal.
Creak!
The goods on the ship were tied to ropes and lowered onto the dock.
The amount of goods was enough to fill a few carts, all wrapped tightly in waterproof cloth.
The martial artists of the Ghost Fleet began to unpack the cloth and distribute the goods inside,
their movements being extremely cautious.
Go Il-won watched the scene from the lead ship.
The items they distributed were similar to wall bombs. The difference was that they could time the explosion with a wick.
The advantage of having ships was the freedom to raid foreign lands like the Western Regions and plunder their ships.
Valuables could be sold at high prices, but some of the stolen goods could not be sold.
The wall-breaking bombs that were distributed were one such item.
Go Il-won couldn’t remember which ship they had looted, but he knew it was one used by the royal family of the Western Regions.
The western region was historically rich in minerals such as saltpeter and sulfur, which were essential to the manufacture of gunpowder, hence the development of such explosives.
The ship they plundered was loaded with these gunpowder charges, originally made for use by the royal family.
Until now, there was no reason to use them; they were just stored on the ship.
But revenge and a grand plan had aligned, necessitating their use.
The martial artists who had received the wall-breaking bombs dispersed throughout Sea Gate city.
Go Il-won watched the scene, arms crossed.
