Book 11: Chapter 20: Silent Cooperation

The armed warships that had anchored near the dock were continuously spewing fire from their gun ports.

Boom, boom, boom!

Looking at everything from their ships, which were clearly sailing vessels, to their naval cannons, they were vastly different from the vessels of the State of Zhongyuan.

They were undoubtedly refitted vessels captured from the armed merchant ships or warships of some European nation.

“My goodness…”

The Luoyang faction elder on the Second Young Master's side felt that what was currently unfolding before his eyes was extremely unrealistic.

'To think there is a bombardment in the middle of Luoyang…!'

He had vaguely known that his lord, the Second Young Master, and Grand Madame Ouyang had prepared an extreme last resort.

There were also things he had heard indirectly from Elder Hahou.

But.

At the spectacle actually unfolding before his eyes, "……." "……."

The Luoyang faction elders were simply lost for words.

In the meantime, the flagship of the armed fleet docked at the pier.

Behind it, the other armed warships continued their bombardment.

“Yee-haw!”

“It is land!”

On the deck, the Jiangnan dialect was heard in a noisy chatter.

“You f-cking idiots!”

Those with epaulets on their shoulders kicked the shins of the sailors who were talking nonsense and shouted at the top of their lungs, the elders saw the sailors leaping nimbly off the ships.

“cut the crap and get down and assemble right now!”

[They are sailors who have practiced martial arts.] firearms.

[…Since they are forces prepared by Evil Tyrant Heaven, I thought they would not be ordinary, but] they seemed to have no discipline, and fundamentally looked scatterbrained.

[this is beyond imagination.] every single combat member disembarking was a martial artist.

“Wow, f-ck! So this is Luoyang, which they call the Moon Palace?!”

“Seeing the city this bright like broad daylight even in the middle of the night, the rumor about it being the Moon Palace was not false!”

[Did you see?] at the Luoyang faction elder's question, the other elder nodded.

[…Every one of them is armed with firearms.] their armaments were varied, but if there was a commonality, it was precisely that.

They all, without exception, possessed firearms.

[…Flintlocks.] they were state-of-the-art firearms using a flintlock ignition system.

One with a pistol tucked in his waist and carrying dual swords.

Another with a rifle with a long stock slung over his shoulder and a Japanese sword at his waist.

There was even one wearing a Spanish officer's saber and carrying a bow from the Eastern Kingdom on his back.

Although they were the Luoyang faction elders who were not well-acquainted with the circumstances of Jiangnan even after seeing this much, it was impossible not to know their identity.

[Pirates.] the most characteristic type of organization in such a Evil Tyrant Heaven was none other than the pirate mercenary group they were looking at now.

[They are the famous pirate mercenaries of Evil Tyrant Heaven.] although Evil Tyrant Heaven fundamentally took the form of a coalition in fact, if one looked inside, it was a group like a pandemonium where dozens to hundreds of armed organizations continuously struggled against one another.

[They act as pirates in peacetime, and do mercenary work when an employer appears.] one of the elders broke into a cold sweat and turned to Elder Hahou.

“Elder Hahou…”

“Is this really okay? Even if they are mercenaries, is there anyone who does not know the relationship between them and Evil Tyrant Heaven?”

Pirate mercenaries of Evil Tyrant Heaven had set foot on the land of Luoyang. "……."

The warriors on the Second Young Master's side, who had formed a formation to guard the elders, could not hide their nervousness and were playing with their sword hilts.

“It does not matter.”

At Elder Hahou's brief reply, a fellow elder tried to add more words.

“But—” his trembling voice was completely buried under the loud shouting coming from the direction of the pirate mercenaries.

“Hey, you stupid idiot!”

The gazes of the elders turned toward that voice full of internal energy.

“The next ship needs to take turns and unload forces immediately, so why are you binding ropes to the pier?!”

Recognizing what kind of figure the owner of that shrill voice was was by no means difficult.

It was because he was wearing a captain's hat.

“I-I am sorry!”

Even among the pirate mercenaries boasting a variety of personalities, his appearance possessed an presence more overwhelming than anyone else's.

On his back was a single Hainan-style giant long saber.

With dry white hair whipping in all directions and eyes radiating madness, that appearance was…

'That distinctive appearance is surely—' the thought of the elder on the Second Young Master's side could not reach a conclusion.

Along with a loud bang the sailor who had made the mistake of binding the rope collapsed in the very posture he was apologizing.

Dark red blood poured out of the gaping hole in the middle of his face.

The pirate mercenary captain had drawn a pistol from his waist and shot him. "……." "……."

Unlike the Luoyang faction elders who froze at the absurd sight, the pirate mercenaries burst into uproarious laughter at the sight of their dead comrade.

“Stupid bastard! Serves you right!”

“Our share has increased!”

“Captain! Reduce the useless guys some more!”

Three pistols at his waist.

Handing the pistol, from which acrid gunpowder smoke was rising, to his subordinate, and receiving a new pistol to tuck into his waist, the pirate mercenary captain spat on the corpse and shouted, the pirate mercenaries moved quickly, beginning to drag the slaves onto the deck.

“what are you doing?! Unload the slaves to be sold!”

“He says unload the slaves!”

“P-please save us!”

“Please, just once—!”

The clanking sound of the iron chains binding the feet of the slaves in a row was loud.

“Drag them out, f-ck!”

At the sight of the place instantly turning into pandemonium, one of the elders hastily waved his hand and approached.

“Stop! Stop right now!”

Waving his white hair, the captain turned to him and asked, the elder shouted with an absurd expression, the captain wore a bewildered expression, and the pirate mercenaries also looked as though they did not understand what he meant.

“What?”

“this is not Jiangnan! There is no large-scale slave market in Luoyang!”

“Eh?”

While they stood in silence like that, the slaves spotted the elders dressed in clean silk clothes and began to clamor.

“P-please save us!”

“We are not slaves! We are commoners!”

At the skin-and-bones appearance, hollow eyes, and unpleasant smell as if smeared with filth, the Luoyang faction elder unconsciously took a step back.

“Ah, damn…”

Leaving those clamors behind, the captain shook his head.

“Why did I think the idea of hunting slaves on the way and selling them in Luoyang was a good idea?”

Toward him, the Luoyang faction elder said “hurry and put them back on the ship—” the captain gave an order, with the sound of bombardment echoing in the background, gunfire began to rain down on the deck.

“kill them all.”

Though the ear-splitting gunshots and the thick smoke unique to black powder covered the deck the screams of the kidnapped commoners were clear, and the splattering blood was so vivid.

“Well, well. We have kept you waiting long.”

Leaving behind the pirate mercenaries who were throwing corpses into the river with plops, the pirate mercenary captain approached the elders of the Second Young Master's side.

“They say it is an opportunity to burn down Luoyang, and there was no way we could miss out, so we rushed here in a single breath!”

Replying to the chuckling pirate mercenary captain was Elder Hahou, who stepped forward.

“It is not that you are allowed to burn Luoyang, but that you are allowed to burn the Valley of Sin.”

Elder Hahou called his moniker, at that name, the elders could not hide their agitation.

“Four Seas Carnage of the Fresh Blood Fleet.”

[These guys are that Fresh Blood Fleet?] four Seas Carnage chucked.

[If they are the Fresh Blood Fleet, are they not the most elite pirate mercenaries famous even within Evil Tyrant Heaven?] he added nonchalantly, while they were talking, the next sailing ship stopped its bombardment, smoothly took turns entering, and began to unload forces.

[You mean those who are said to even suppress the Spanish armed merchant fleet?!] at the mention of the Evil Tyrant Heaven Alliance Leader, Four Seas Carnage quickly raised his hands and backed off.

[No wonder their scale and armaments were extraordinary…!] four Seas Carnage, the owner of the pirate mercenary fleet called the Fresh Blood Fleet and a top expert within Evil Tyrant Heaven, shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, f-ck. While burning down some valley or gulf, other places will naturally burn and people will die. Why are you being so picky?”

“Surely there was an order given directly to you by the Alliance Leader of Evil Tyrant Heaven?”

“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about! Evil Tyrant Heaven is not related to this matter at all!”

“this is entirely for this great Four Seas Carnage to achieve the feat of being the first pirate to stir up Luoyang and slip away leisurely.”

“…The false pretext does not matter. Just execute the contract precisely.”

“Do not worry about that.”

“Except for that Eldest Young Master and Fourth Young Master or whatever, we will kill and burn everything.”

Winking one eye, he added, before they knew it, close to a hundred pirate mercenaries had finished disembarking at the dock and were waiting.

“since your lord, the Second Young Master, might become the master of both the Sword Family and Evil Tyrant Heaven in the future, I must show myself well in times like these.”

“Captain! The assembly of combat troops, excluding the ship operation personnel, is complete!”

“What the hell are you waiting for?! Start moving immediately!”

At the captain's shrill shout, the pirate mercenaries began to move their feet.

Singing strange sailors' songs and smoking tobacco they began to advance toward the Valley of Sin. "……."

Patting the shoulder of Elder Hahou, who was watching such a scene with his single remaining hollow eye, Four Seas Carnage left a greeting.

“A face that has given up on life, with calmly crazy eyes. I like people with those kinds of eyes.”

Waving his hand backward, he drifted away.

“If you survive and ask later, I might take you in as a sailor.”

Elder Hahou, suddenly staring at Four Seas Carnage who was walking away chuckling, sent a sound transmission:

[I will ask just one thing.] glancing back, Four Seas Carnage looked over.

[From when on earth did you, the Fresh Blood Fleet, wait nearby?] thinking for a moment whether it was okay to answer, Four Seas Carnage replied with a light heart: a hollow laugh flowed from his lips, but that laughter was futility buried under the bombardment sounds of the Fresh Blood Fleet echoing from the Yellow River.

[Since your face shows you will die soon anyway, I will tell you instead of travel money to the underworld.] four Seas Carnage glanced around to confirm there was no one nearby who could intercept his sound transmission, and continued: the Second Young Master and Grand Madame Ouyang had been preparing for a day like today from the start.

[Your Second Young Master and Grand Madame Ouyang had already sent a request for support to Evil Tyrant Heaven long ago.] the day the Second Young Master headed to the Imperial Capital was also the day the Second Young Master gouged out his eyeball and granted him a final opportunity.

[If you say long ago?] left behind, Elder Hahou raised his eyes and looked up at the pitch-black sky.

[From the moment your lord left Luoyang and headed to the Imperial Capital.] leaving only those words, Four Seas Carnage was about to leisurely leave when he asked Elder Hahou, four Seas Carnage left with a laugh.

“Ah, by the way. Is it certain that the Sword Family will not move?”

“If the Sword Family were likely to move, do you think pirate mercenaries like you could have even set foot on the dock?”

“That is true.”

“Even the great Sword Family has truly fallen into ruin.”

'As expected, was it so.'

'From the very beginning, I did not receive any trust from that mother and son.'

* * *

The Luoyang Sword Family.

The Supreme Executive Council.

“…It was indeed true.”

The new female supreme council member spoke, voicing her shuddering.

“No reports are coming up to us at all.”

“What on earth is this? A bombardment is taking place on Luoyang land, and yet the Institution does not even submit a report?”

Another supreme council member spoke in an disbelieving tone.

“Has the Institution truly degenerated to this extent?”

The Institution was an organization that performed the core role of assisting the Supreme Executive Council, the spine of the Luoyang Sword Family, at the closest quarters.

Such an Institution, currently was not conveying any report at all.

“Had the Chairman not told us, we would still be absorbed in the meeting now, knowing nothing!”

Since their conference room was hidden deep underground as a rule they could not notice the faint sound of bombardment echoing from afar.

“Has the upper echelon of the Institution joined hands with the Second Young Master's side? Or the Third Young Master? Or the corrupt Yeon blood relatives?”

“Perhaps…”

One supreme council member replied like a sigh, the new female supreme council member wore a dumbfounded expression behind the screen.

“they might have joined hands with all of them.”

“…Are you saying the Institution has abandoned its noble mission and is independently aiming for power?”

“Is what is currently unfolding not the proof of that?”

Even if it is said that it is darkest under the lamp, the degeneration of the Institution brought a bone-chilling shock to them.

“there were several pieces of information that there were suspicious circumstances in the movements of the Institution's high command, but each time the internal investigation results showed no problems…”

“perhaps even those who conducted the internal investigation had problems.”

“What?!”

In the midst of the record surpluses repeated every year the Sword Family just how far had it been falling.

“T-this is no time for this!”

The new male supreme council member jumped up from his seat.

“We must crack down on the Institution and grind those pirates to dust immediately!”

“Y-yes! Before it is too late—!”

An organization so close to the Supreme Executive Council causing such a serious problem was an unprecedented situation that most of them were experiencing for the first time.

“Everyone, do not act rashly.”

A voice carrying heavy internal energy echoed inside the secret cavern.

“As I have told you in advance,” it was the Chairman of the Supreme Executive Council, director of the Luoyang Sword Family's Martial Arts Academy, and the voice of the figure known as Sword Venerable in the past.

“this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that the Eldest Young Master has created for us.”

From his mouth Yeon So-hyeon's name was mentioned.