Chapter 52. Escape
It still wasn't visible to Dong Bong-su's eyes yet, but judging by how the width of the lake had rapidly narrowed to less than one kilometer, it was clear that they had truly entered the entrance of Chao Bay.
People erupted into cheers one after another.
Around that time, the lights that had been chasing the boats along the lakeshore also began to gradually slow their pace.
Dong Bong-su clearly knew the reason, but it seemed strange to Tang Hua, who looked at Tang Wu and voiced her doubt.
"Eh? Grandpa, the lights that were following us aren't chasing anymore."
"I see ..."
Tang Wu also furrowed his brows and frowned as he sensed the enemies' strange behavior. He felt an ominous unease in the fact that the lights were no longer pursuing them.
Even if the enemies had sealed off the entrance of Chao Bay, there were dozens of boats here. Moreover, several hundred people were spread across them, and there were no shortage of experts.
In addition, even if they were merely filling numbers, there were quite a few servants and hirelings of the Namgung Family, as well as their family members. To deal with all of this, support from the lakeshore was essential. Yet the enemies stopped their pursuit just before reaching Chao Bay.
'What does this mean?'
Did it mean that the forces waiting ahead alone were sufficient to block all the boats here? Did that even make sense? Could they have brought so many demonic soldiers that, even after using such a massive force to surround the Namgung Family, they could still completely seal off the entrance of Chao Bay?
Just as Tang Wu was questioning this—
A small number of boats at the very front suddenly picked up speed and surged forward. To them, the absence of the lakeshore lights meant that the enemies had abandoned the chase.
'No. This isn't right. Something's wrong.'
No matter how much he thought about it, Tang Wu couldn't understand the enemies' movements. In the end, he poured internal energy into his voice and shouted as loudly as possible to the entire fleet, ordering them to slow their speed to the absolute minimum. But the boats that had already surged ahead showed no sign of stopping and instead accelerated even faster.
As a result, the escape fleet quickly split into two groups.
The boats that rushed ahead first, and the boats that lagged behind following Tang Wu.
When the distance between the two groups widened to about a hundred zhang—
"Waaahhh!"
"Reinforcements!"
"Support troops have arrived!"
Cheers erupted from the leading boats.
At that sound, Dong Bong-su realized that what he had feared had finally come, while Tang Wu and Tang Hua couldn't hide their confusion. They couldn't understand why those people were shouting joyfully upon seeing the enemies.
However, it didn't take long for the two of them to grasp the reason.
"It's the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses!"
"They must have received word from the Namgung Family head!"
"The Yangtze Water Fortresses have come to save the Namgung Family!"
The cries pouring out from the vanguard boats declared that the appearing 'reinforcements' were the water bandits of the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses.
As if to prove it, boats soon began pouring out from the entrance of Chao Bay.
Each boat was a sleek, fast vessel, with a large ivory ram mounted at its prow. Such vessels were known as Yangtze river warships, the main force ships of the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses.
On every ship's bow, a flag was planted, embroidered with the image of eighteen large fish tangled together.
Kun.
That fish was a mythical creature bearing such a name. It was said to be thousands of meters long, capable of swimming ninety thousand li with a single flap of its fins, and causing tidal waves that overturned three thousand li of sea with a single sweep of its tail. The Kun was the very symbol of the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses.
The water bandits of the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses called it the divine fish, and their banner the Divine Fish Flag.
"Divine Fish Flag... is it really the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses?"
The ships that appeared were truly vessels of the Yangtze Water Fortresses, and naturally, those aboard them were water bandits of the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses.
"Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses? Grandpa, why have they appeared here? Uncle Namgung never mentioned anything like this. Did we send a messenger to the Yangtze Water Fortresses after leaving the Namgung Family?"
Judging by her excited voice, Tang Hua truly believed the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses to be reinforcements.
Tang Wu, of course, knew that wasn't the case. If Namgung Byeok could have secured their help, he wouldn't have forced the guests to escape so recklessly in the first place.
And more than that—
Hadn't they seen it clearly on the way here?
Every route leading to the Yangtze River had been sealed. With the sky routes blocked, how could any messenger possibly reach the Yangtze Water Fortresses faster than boats?
Even if news of the Namgung Family being surrounded had somehow reached them, it would have taken at least three or four days for them to prepare and arrive here.
Most importantly, there were far too many ships.
There were already more ships sealing the entrance of Chao Bay than the number that had escaped the Namgung Family, and they kept appearing endlessly, with no end in sight.
"... They're not reinforcements. They're not reinforcements! Turn the ships around!"
"What? What do you mean?"
"Don't you understand? Heavenly Demon Castle and the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses have joined hands! We must escape immediately!"
"...!"
At last, Tang Wu became completely convinced that the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses were not allies, but enemies.
But—
'Too late.'
In Dong Bong-su's eyes, the situation was already hopeless. The enemies' ships were fast vessels, capable of moving far faster than theirs, while their own boats had already slowed down and lost acceleration. The only saving grace was that most of the boats had remained in the rear, following Tang Wu—that alone.
Even so, Dong Bong-su's gaze did not waver in the slightest.
What was it?
What was Dong Bong-su looking at?
His darkened eyes glimmered ominously. His calm gaze was fixed on the Divine Fish Flag of the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses, meticulously embroidered with the Kun.
'Found it. Finally.'
By the time Dong Bong-su shouted that inwardly, the vanguard boats were already dangerously close to the fast ships of the Yangtze Water Fortresses.
The guests aboard those boats were still cheering loudly, as if Chao Bay itself would be torn apart—utterly unaware that they were thrusting their heads into a tiger's jaws.
Moments later—
The foremost boat drew close to the long line of Yangtze Water Fortress ships.
Suddenly, water bandits poured out of the fast ships' cabins. Every one of them held a bow in hand. The arrowheads gleamed sharply under the moonlight, revealing just how keenly honed they were.
"Fire!"
Someone atop a fast ship shouted.
Shhhhhk—shshshshsh!
A rain of arrows immediately poured down from the ships of the Yangtze Water Fortresses, like a storm cloud unleashing its deluge.
The rain became a torrential downpour, instantly turning the decks of the recklessly advancing boats into hedgehogs.
"Aaaargh!"
"Kyaaah!"
Cheers turned into screams in the blink of an eye.
Boom! Boom!
Next, the ships of the Yangtze Water Fortresses began their advance. Sliding in at full speed, they rammed directly into the boats of the Namgung Family.
Bang—crash!
The boats struck by the powerful rams churned up foam before sinking into the water. Many of the boats that had rushed ahead were small and fast, making them even more vulnerable to damage from the rams.
The echoing crashes quickly reached the boats lagging behind.
Had moonlight ever been so cruel to people?
The full moon illuminated everything as brightly as day, making the guests and boats being brutally crushed painfully vivid. It was more than enough to plunge the survivors into terror.
"U-uaaah!"
"Run! Run!"
The out-of-control boats began rowing toward the shore all at once. The boat carrying Tang Wu also slipped from his control and started heading toward the nearest shore.
Most of the rear boats turned toward the closer right-side lakeshore. Tang Wu, seeing no better option, didn't stop the boat from heading that way.
However, that choice wasn't hopeful either.
The torches of the Heavenly Demon Castle demonic soldiers—who had stopped pursuing earlier—began moving again. Before long, they seized the landing points where the boats could dock.
The land was quickly covered in waves of torches, while behind them, the fast ships' wake surged violently.
Behind them lay the Yangtze Water Fortresses. Ahead stood Heavenly Demon Castle.
They had fallen into the worst possible situation.
"Grandpa! What do we do!? We can't go toward the Yangtze, and we can't go ashore either!"
A flustered Tang Hua cried out anxiously.
Tang Wu hardened his expression as he answered.
"For now, we go ashore."
"But over there...!"
Tang Hua trailed off, pointing toward the land.
They were close enough now to see not only the torches, but also the black-clad pursuers themselves. The killing intent they radiated made her skin prickle. Having never experienced anything like this before, she was already slipping into panic.
Trying to soothe her, Tang Wu clenched his teeth.
"Even so, that's the only way. Hua."
Tang Wu chose the land. He had no other choice.
In his judgment, there was no hope on the water. No matter how capable he was, he couldn't contend with the Yangtze Eighteen Water Fortresses, masters of water combat.
Moreover, since his boat was positioned at the very rear of the escape fleet, retreating to land would allow them to arrive first.
After thinking it through, Tang Hua realized he was right. She merely frowned, adding nothing further.
Still, the screams echoing in all directions were unbearable—so horrific they made her feel that she herself would soon share the same fate.
Then, at one moment—
A thought flashed through her mind.
"Grandpa, shouldn't *that person* reveal himself by now? Why is he still hiding? No matter how strong he is, if things get worse than this, it'll be impossible to turn things around..."
Tang Wu immediately understood who Tang Hua meant by 'that person'.
The owner of the Three Sacred Lights, the one presumed to possess immeasurable internal energy—that very person.
Tang Wu also believed that if *that person* was aboard one of these ships, he would reveal himself by now. Yet *that person* still hadn't appeared before them.
Or rather, that's what they believed.
In truth, the real *that person* was standing right beside them, quietly waiting for the "moment".
Silently waiting for the precise timing to escape this encirclement—this desperate crisis closing in from all sides.
[Read more chapters on my website: https://revengernovel.com/ or https://ko-fi.com/reaper87 ]