Surprisingly, ships don't sink easily. There is space on each floor below the ship, so even if there are holes in the bottom causing it to tilt and twist, it usually takes a considerable amount of time for the entire ship to sink. That's common knowledge for ordinary people.
But now...
Kwurrrrlllck!
Right before their eyes, that common knowledge was shattering into pieces. It was unclear where or how the attack had happened, but the large ship was being sucked into the water within an instant.
The sight of the dark water engulfing the ship as if swallowing it whole was enough to strike fear into the onlookers.
"The ship, the ship..."
They would have been less bewildered if someone had attacked them. But for those not accustomed to naval warfare, the ship being attacked before the people was an unbelievable shock.
Someone snapped to their senses when the second ship abruptly tilted over with a loud crash.
"Stop it! Damn it! Stop it now!"
The voice was more like a scream than a command. Those who had barely regained their composure looked desperately at the ship.
Yes, they needed to stop it. If they left it like this, all the ships would sink.
But how? What could they do to prevent attacks that were coming from unseen sources, causing the ships to sink?
"Dive in! The enemy is attacking from the water!"
There are always people who can make quick judgments. They point the way for those whose thinking is slower. Those who received the clear solution didn't hesitate and leaped into the water.
They spread their wings and flew, crashing into the surface like shells, creating a massive water storm.
If there had been someone who could leisurely observe this scene, they might have called it a spectacle and applauded. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single person with such leisure.
Kwurrrrlllck!
At that moment, another ship tilted with a loud crash, creating a large wave and being pulled down below.
"These damn bastards!"
Yeop-sang, a member of the Changgung Sword Corps, screamed as he jumped into the water.
Splash!
A strong shock coursed through Yeop-sang's body as he leaped into the water. Because of his swift dive, the shock passing through the surface of the water was equally forceful.
What truly disoriented him was the fact that he couldn't see anything in front of his eyes.
Dark Heaven and Earth.
The waters of this dark night were much darker than he had imagined. The darkness was so intense that even with his well-trained inner strength, he couldn't discern a thing in front of him. The moment he encountered this profound darkness, a shiver ran down his spine. It was indeed a formidable fear that wasn't easily overcome.
However, luckily or unluckily, Yeop-sang wasn't given much time to deeply savor that fear.
Whoosh!
A sensation of something sinister digging into his chest and abdomen made any fear seem like a luxury.
Yeop-sang's mouth opened wide. Through his gaping mouth, the relentless water rushed in, filling his lungs and stomach.
"Gluuurggg."
Bubbles poured out from his open mouth. His eyes, which had grown somewhat accustomed to the darkness, confirmed that the long object embedded in his chest and abdomen was a harpoon wielded by the enemy.
"Gluuurggg."
But that was it.
His vision, which had been barely distinguishing shapes, suddenly plunged into darkness once more.
A darkness that was incredibly deep and profound, the darkness of death.
Yeop-sang's lifeless body floated slowly to the surface, as did the bodies of those who had rashly jumped into the water. If it weren't for the darkness, or if it weren't this late at night, such a result would never have occurred.
But the pitch-black river concealed its cruelty more than they had imagined. In a place where they couldn't see, feel, or even breathe, everything they had learned was rendered meaningless. In their desperation, they couldn't find the opportunity to choose a battlefield that favored them, and they paid a heavy price.
"Sora-ya! Namgungso!"
The inspectors of the Namgung Sect roared as they watched the bodies rising to the surface.
And right at that moment...
Kwaarrllllck!
It was as if hope had been snatched away, as another ship began to sink. The faces of Namgung Sect's inspectors drained of color.
'Again...'
Now, only one ship remained properly afloat amidst the undulating water.
If they lost that one too, they would lose all hope of escaping from this island.
The thought of stopping the sinking ship came to mind, but their feet didn't move. People who had jumped into the water had become lifeless bodies floating to the surface in a matter of seconds. Who would dare to jump in recklessly?
"Move aside! I'm going!"
Then, a determined voice came from behind, and a person leaped into the water without hesitation.
"Gasp!"
"So, Sogaju!" [another respectful address]
"It's dangerous!"
Watching Namgung Dowi's figure leaping into the river, Namgung Sect's inspectors shouted urgently. However, he had already leaped into the water like a fish hunting below.
Within a surging spray of water, Namgung Dowi disappeared in an instant. Sogaju, the successor of the noble family, had leaped into the water without hesitation, and the eyes of the inspectors who witnessed this burned with fiery intensity.
"Protect Sogaju!"
"We must protect both the ship and Sogaju!"
"In the name of Namgung, there's no room for fear! Let's go!"
The inspectors who had been guarding the riverbank and those from the Changgung Sword Sect, who arrived later, followed Namgung Dowi with courage renewed as if to make up for their momentary hesitation.
This was until the desperate cries from behind reached their ears.
"Not thereeee!"
As the ones who had leaped into the water turned around in surprise, they saw Namgung Myung, who had arrived in the meantime, shouting at the top of his blue-faced lungs.
"Not the ship! The dock! Protect the dock! We must protect the pier before the ship..."
Kaaaahhh!
At that moment, a massive explosion of water erupted, wrapping around the pier that stretched along the river. The wooden structure, unable to withstand the force, shattered into pieces and burst out onto the river like fireworks.
Kaaaahhh!
"Oh..."
Namgung Myung's face turned ashen as if he had seen a ghost. The towering water column clearly showed it swallowing the white thunder cannons, which had been positioned on the pier.
"No... no..."
He slumped to the ground as if his legs had given way.
Kaaaahhh!
At the same time, the last ship they had been trying to protect began to sink beneath the water with a tremendous explosion. Namgung Myung stared at the whole scene in a daze, his expression completely vacant.
The extraordinarily long pier and the white thunder guns placed there were the key to defending Plum Blossom Island. The pier provided them with a place to step on, wield their swords, and was a lifeline that narrowed the distance to the mainland, enabling survival. The white thunder guns was the sole defense that completely blocked any approaching ships from the lifeline, which was the pier.
But now, they had lost all their weapons to fight on land and block the approach of ships. Even the ships that could have been their lifelines.
'Wait a minute weapons?'
Namgung Myung urgently turned his head.
And sure enough, they saw Namgung Sect's martial artists rushing towards them after hearing the commotion.
"Don't come! Protect your positions, you damn idiots! We need to protect the white thunder gun positioned around the island! Go back! Go back right now!"
Namgung Myung shouted as if his life depended on it. His cries were desperate.
But it was too late. When the martial artists heard his voice and hurriedly turned around in panic, they were met with the white thunder gun that had been thoroughly destroyed, with the fortifications vanished as if they had never existed.
"This... this..."
The same was true in other places.
The enemies, taking advantage of the chaos, had been lying in wait, and as soon as they heard the commotion, they jumped out of the water, demolished the fortifications, and calmly escaped. Darkness and water were the elements in which they could effortlessly operate. Namgung Sect's martial arts were useless against opponents they couldn't face directly, so what could they do with those martial arts?
With heavy hearts and torn chests, the people who had turned back to Namgung Myung could only bow their heads in despair.
"Leader, the cannons have been destroyed."
"We couldn't protect the cannons."
"..."
Splish, splish.
Namgung Do-wi, who had come out of the water, also looked at the situation on the island and grimaced in disappointment.
"We failed."
In a series of reports, Namgung Myung looked around the island with a despondent gaze.
They had lost everything they should never have lost. The pier, the ships, and the white thunder cannons. This place could no longer be called Plum Blossom Island.
Plum Blossom Island, which had lost its weapons to resist the enemy and the pier that restricted the enemy's movements, was nothing more than a big rock floating in the middle of the river. And now, Namgung Sect had become a rat trapped inside that rock.
They had suffered a perfect defeat. Were they careless in their vigilance? No. Did they underestimate the enemy? Definitely not. The reason they had suffered so thoroughly was that they had failed to understand that being an island in the middle of the river meant that, no matter how fierce a lion they were, in the darkness of the river, they would end up being alligator food.
"We suffered terribly."
Namgung Myung cursed in response to the rumbling voice coming from behind.
"My Lord."
His eyes, as he turned to look behind him, trembled.
Namgung Hwang, who had walked purposefully towards them, threw something in his hand. Three severed heads rolled on the ground.
"Like a bunch of mayflies."
Namgung Myung knelt and lowered his head as if he were about to touch the ground.
"My Lord! My humble self has made a grievous error. Please punish me."
"You fool!"
Namgung Hwang, seeing this situation, shouted in frustration.
"Lift your head! A descendant of the Namgung Family never bows his head so easily!"
"My Lord..."
"What's the problem? The ships? The cannons? The pier? Losing those things is not a problem!"
"..."
"Even if we lost our foothold, they cannot set foot on this land defended by the Sword Emperor Namgung Hwang. Not a single enemy, whether they are the water dragons or the Black Dragon King, will dare to approach our land. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
With great enthusiasm, Namgung Sect's warriors responded.
Namgung Hwang drew his sword forcefully and shouted, "Whether it's the enemy or the Black Dragon King, it's all the same! We just need to make sure those fish who play tricks know that they can never withstand the sword of the Namgung Sect! Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
Inspired by his passionate speech, Namgung Sect's warriors answered.
Namgung Hwang, with a firm expression, glanced at the dark, flowing river.
"...This is not good."
Even though he tried to lift their fallen spirits, he knew that the situation was becoming dire. The situation was starting to turn in a direction he did not want, like a piece of driftwood being sucked into the strong current in the middle of a river.