novelraw Chapter 100 : Feeling the Waves (7)
Chapter 100 : Feeling the Waves (7)
An island in Hainan.
A large number of people are moving in perfect order.
These were the sailors of the Imperial Court who, just a few days ago, had given up hope, thinking they would become fish food in the middle of the sea.
As they repaired the broken ship, they all recalled the events of just a few days ago.
All the sailors here were experts who had worked at sea for over ten years.
Even for them, it was the first time they had experienced a ship breaking in half.
Their legs were still trembling.
Was the first man who had saved them alive?
And the woman who had saved them the second time...
-Build a ship as quickly as possible.
After dropping them off on this island, she had set out into the vast sea on a roughly made raft.
She was a strange woman, but the martial prowess she had shown when she saved them and the atmosphere she exuded were like seeing a general of the Imperial Court, whom they had only heard about in rumors.
The important thing was that they had survived, and they had to return to the Imperial Court as soon as possible to dispatch a rescue team.
Even if their benefactor who had saved them was fated to become fish food, they had to bring back his remains to land.
The chief sailor who was directing the scene shouted.
"Hurry up! We return as soon as possible!"
The sailors answered in unison.
"Yes!"
The Imperial Court never forgets a favor or a grudge.
That was the unwritten rule of the Imperial Court. Even if the target was a martial artist, who was the subject of the treaty of non-interference between the government and the martial world.
***
Eun Ga-yeong said.
"It would be troublesome if you died, Sword Emperor."
Yoo Jae-ha couldn't understand what she was saying at all.
"If you die, I can no longer proceed with my observation."
Yoo Jae-ha had felt the Rakshasa Divine Maiden's energy before he fainted. So, although he was a little surprised that she had appeared here, it wasn't that surprising.
But he couldn't understand the words that came from her.
"Observation?"
"Yes."
Whether the opponent understood her words or not, Eun Ga-yeong was serious right now.
The one who had first taught her freedom in the world was none other than the Sword Emperor. But Eun Ga-yeong still didn't know much about this freedom.
Therefore, from that day on, the benchmark for all her actions was the Sword Emperor, and the words he had said.
-Do what you want with your own will.
A vast, empty sea.
A single light erected there.
It was visible even with her eyes closed.
To Eun Ga-yeong, it was like the only lighthouse that prevented her from getting lost.
To her, who was now lost, she needed a light to illuminate the path, and that was the Sword Emperor, Yoo Jae-ha.
From another perspective, her current actions could be said to be the first manifestation of her will in her life.
This was different from Namgung Mu-gwang's case.
An action done with her own pure will, without the influence of anyone else.
Therefore, at this moment, she was feeling an emotion completely different from her previous life.
The man who was looking at her with a surprised expression.
'He's ugly.'
The man behind him who was watching it.
'His eyes are annoying.'
And the Sword Emperor who was staring at her intently.
'He's alive.'
The last emotion was unfamiliar.
Something tickled her chest.
Was it a sense of relief that she could proceed with her observation?
She couldn't tell.
Eun Ga-yeong put aside the surging emotions and did what she had to do. She pointed her sword at the man in front of her and asked.
"Are you an enemy?"
***
I couldn't quite understand what the Rakshasa Divine Maiden was saying. Since she was always one to speak in riddles, I decided not to think too much about it. What was certain was that the situation had changed drastically with her intrusion.
Above all, I let out a sigh of relief that the kid was safe.
I almost lost a valuable future labor force.
If the labor force of an ordinary person was '1', the Hainan Sword Demon was an excellent slave with a labor force of at least '100'... no, a talent.
And the future Sword King, who had another '100' labor force, was also alive.
Furthermore, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden's labor force could be said to be '1000'. However, since an uncontrolled labor force would only bring chaos, I thoroughly excluded her. I had no intention of using the Rakshasa Divine Maiden as a labor force. I'd get my head cut off if I did.
I untied the thread tied to my foot. And I stood next to the Rakshasa Divine Maiden.
I didn't know why she was here, but anyway, the numbers were even now.
The opponent was, by estimation, a master of the Profound Realm.
The energy felt from those two was closer to demonic qi than the qi of the Orthodox Faction, so should I call it Soul Detachment?
But this side also had one from the Profound Realm and one from the Soul Detachment. A total of two.
As they say, a fight has to have even numbers.
It seemed that they also agreed with this thought.
The man holding the saber opened his mouth.
"A one-on-one fight would have been boring, but it's great that the numbers are even."
The man with the shaggy beard stood in front of me.
"I'll take you. It's boring to fight a woman."
I shrugged my shoulders. It seemed this man still didn't know that women are not all the same.
In my eyes, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden looked like a monster, not a woman.
In front of such a Rakshasa Divine Maiden, a man with two sickles hanging down took his place.
"I also find it boring to fight a woman, so I'll finish it quickly."
At the opponent's provocation, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden repeated the same question as before.
"Are you an enemy?"
She has a strange stubbornness. I just answered for her.
"Those two are enemies."
"Should I kill them?"
As expected, her old personality hasn't gone anywhere.
"Yeah."
"I see."
Hearing my answer, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden's expression, which had been complex and subtle, became somewhat refreshed.
To have such an expression when killing someone... it's a good thing she was born in the Orthodox Faction. If the Rakshasa Divine Maiden had been born in the Heavenly Demon Cult or the Blood Cult, I'm sure she would have become a great demonic head by now.
It seemed I didn't have to worry about the Rakshasa Divine Maiden's side. I focused on the opponent in front of me.
At the same time, I followed the tail of the question I had earlier.
What on earth is the meaning of this place that two masters of the Profound Realm, not even the Transformation Realm, have come to guard?
And the Black Heaven, which moves such masters, was thought to be a much larger organization than I had imagined.
Above all, based on the revealed circumstances, it was highly likely that what they were plotting was not a simple show of power.
Clang!
It seemed the fight had already started over there.
"Shall we start soon too?"
The opponent was swinging his saber in the air as if his body was itching.
I also loosened my wrist, which had been injured earlier. Fortunately, it had recovered. Before the fight started, I didn't expect much and casually asked about his intentions.
"You guys, you're the Black Heaven, right?"
"That's right. I am the Blood-Faced Demon of the Black Heaven. That guy over there is the Sea-Faced Demon."
I was momentarily stunned.
"Is it okay to tell me that so easily?"
The opponent, the Blood-Faced Demon, chuckled.
"There's no reason I can't."
"Can you also tell me the purpose of this place?"
He would never tell me this.
And I had to admit that I had underestimated the man named the Blood-Faced Demon.
"We will take over all of Hainan. And we plan to use the people of Hainan as slaves to turn the island of Hainan itself into a salt production site. These islands are like a testing ground to practice that plan. We've already made a deal with the officials in charge of Hainan. And now, only the final stage remains."
"The final stage?"
"Yes. Our plan will be completed with the death of the Sword Empress."
***
Sword Pavilion.
Two days after the young master of the Hainan Sect had visited.
The change came suddenly.
The Sword Empress's condition, fortunately, had neither worsened nor improved. Murong Seryeong, as soon as she woke up today, checked the Sword Empress's condition and went out to train as usual.
Just then, someone came to the training ground.
There was almost no one who would visit the Sword Pavilion now. On the contrary, as the date of the duel with the Hainan Sect approached, people had almost cut off all exchanges with the Sword Pavilion.
Murong Seryeong stopped her training for a moment and looked at the visitor.
He was one of the few people who were still friendly to the Sword Pavilion.
As she remembered, he was the one who supplied them with food.
Murong Seryeong, thinking that he had brought food this time as well, approached to help him move the luggage.
"I'll move it inside."
But even when she got close, she couldn't see the cart loaded with food. However, he couldn't make eye contact with her properly. He bowed his head deeply and opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry. From today, I won't be able to supply food to the Sword Pavilion. I'm really sorry."
Before Murong Seryeong could stop him, he had left. After that, several people visited the Sword Pavilion. They were all people who were friendly to the Sword Pavilion.
And today, all of those people had cut ties with the Sword Pavilion.
It was a situation that could be fully understood.
In a situation where defeat was almost certain, she had no intention of blaming them for protecting their own positions in advance.
However, Murong Seryeong felt that something was strange. They had maintained a friendly relationship until just a while ago. Hearing from the Sword Empress, they were people who had been with the Sword Pavilion since the previous generation.
Moreover, for them to come at the same time on the same day, was it really a coincidence?
Murong Seryeong secretly went to the small inn in Hainan run by Mr. Gu, who had been supplying them with food.
Mr. Gu's inn was in ruins, as if a typhoon had swept through it.
Anyone could see that it was suspicious, and she could feel traces of someone's artificial intervention everywhere.
Murong Seryeong then went to the shops of all the people who had visited during the day and could confirm similar scenes to Mr. Gu's inn.
A rough picture was drawn.
Clench.
Murong Seryeong, who had clenched her teeth, figured out how the situation had unfolded. She could easily guess that all of this was the work of the Hainan Sect. And she also knew that there was nothing she could do.
It was a helplessness she had felt for the first time in a long time.
She had thought that if she became strong, she could do anything. But the world was bigger than she had thought, and she was still weak in it.
Helping them now was an act of trampling on their decision from that day. Murong Seryeong, who knew better than anyone that there was no responsibility in a powerless action, thought that it was best to pretend not to know for now.
Murong Seryeong, who had returned like that, checked the Sword Empress's condition again and then went back to her room.
In a war between sects, things like today were commonplace.
Perhaps their harassment would not end with just today.
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow... they would harass them until the moment the Sword Pavilion surrendered to the Hainan Sect. Perhaps they would harass all those who had been friendly with the Sword Pavilion.
Murong Seryeong knew that although the Hainan Sect had not said it directly to her, they were clearly telling her by creating a situation like this.
-Admit defeat.
Today, they had just come to say they were cutting ties...
Tomorrow, she might receive the resentful gazes of countless people, including them.
Tomorrow came.
More people than expected were waiting in front of the Sword Pavilion. As soon as the gate of the Sword Pavilion opened, people rushed into the Sword Pavilion.
And they grabbed Murong Seryeong out of the blue and began to vent their resentment.
Most of it was why they had to suffer because of the Sword Pavilion.
All Murong Seryeong could do was apologize.
As a little more time passed, some people even got injured. Then, a sinister rumor spread in Hainan that if you got involved with the Sword Pavilion, you would die.
There were no more people in front of the Sword Pavilion. Instead, a pile of garbage thrown by people was piled up.
Murong Seryeong cleaned up the garbage every night.
Then, she found a phrase written on the wall.
-Sword Pavilion, leave Hainan!
-What is the Sword Empress doing!
-Why do we have to suffer because of you!
-Murderer!
Murong Seryeong stared at it blankly and then wiped it clean all night.
The day dawned.
It was now only three days before the duel.
Murong Seryeong decided to accept reality.
The Sword Pavilion in its current state could never defeat the Hainan Sect. Even she herself was not sure if she could defeat the young master.
Moreover, there were two masters in the Hainan Sect who were presumed to be at the Profound Realm. And there were three masters at the Transformation Realm.
This was a fight that couldn't be won in the first place. It was right to give up early. Above all, she could no longer harm the innocent people who were not related to the martial world.
Murong Seryeong planned to see the Sword Empress for the last time and then leave for the Hainan Sect.
Creak.
Murong Seryeong, who had opened the door and entered, opened her eyes wide in surprise.
The Sword Empress was sitting on the bed.
The Sword Empress smiled kindly when she found Murong Seryeong.
"You've worked hard, Seryeong. I'm sorry, for leaving such a thing to you. It must have been hard, right? It's all okay now."
Murong Seryeong slowly approached and gently held the Sword Empress's hand. She could feel a warm touch.
However, the Sword Empress's hand was still dry.
The Sword Empress asked.
"How much time is left until the duel?"
Murong Seryeong realized the Sword Empress's intention and refused in advance.
"A duel is impossible with this body."
The Sword Empress still didn't feel any vitality. Her cheeks were gaunt, her arms were thin, and her lips were blue.
It was amazing that she was conscious like this.
But her gaze was surprisingly clear.
The Sword Empress said again.
"There is something I must confirm in the duel."
Murong Seryeong felt a strong will in the Sword Empress's words that she would never bend.
She couldn't say anything.
Even that she might die if she went to the duel like this.
And so, the day of the duel arrived.
(End of Chapter)