Flutter.
Something that rose into the air spun around violently. Everyone's eyes on the island were glued to it.
The object, which had spun without pause and splashed blood in all directions, soon lost its strength and crashed.
Thud!
Everyone stared blankly at the sight.
An arm.
A warrior's arm, trained to the max, crashed into the sand mound. The blood flowing from the cut dyed the white sand red.
No one could even breathe deeply.
It was hard to understand what they were seeing, even with their own eyes. The silence was so thick that even the sound of someone gulping felt like thunder.
Put!
At that moment, the Black Dragon King staggered backward with an eerie sound.
"Ugh…."
The Black Dragon King, who had lost his arm, grabbed his shoulder with his left hand. Blood was spurting out from between his thick fingers.
"Kuak…."
Everyone stared blankly at the sight.
The Black Dragon King's right arm.
The arm that had commanded the Yangtze River while wielding that giant crescent blade was cut off just below the shoulder. When Chung Myung's sword moved toward his neck, he reflexively raised his arm to prevent his head from being cut off, but the arm was severed without a trace.
Disbelief, shock. And fear.
With eyes filled with uncontrollable emotions, he stepped back and back.
"T-this…"
Everyone lost their minds as they looked at the Black Dragon King's condition.
Who would have imagined it?
The sight of the arm of their leader, who reigned like a king on the Yangtze River and was now the leader of the Four Sects Alliance, being cut off by the sword of a third-class disciple of Mount Hua.
However, no matter how many times they closed their eyes and opened them, the sight didn't change. The moment they realized that all of this was reality, a terrible sense of discomfort began to creep up on everyone on Plum Blossom Island.
Except for one group.
"As expected!"
"Damn it!"
The suppressed exclamations of admiration flowed from the mouths of the Mount Hua disciples.
Their shoulders, which had been released from excessive tension, shook incessantly. They all clenched their fists, forcing themselves to suppress their desire to cheer at any moment.
Baek Cheon also clenched his fists and stared intently at the back of Chung Myung.
"There is no way I wouldn't believe it."
"Right."
"Hmm!"
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong nodded vigorously. Even Yu Yiseol's shoulders shook slightly.
For the disciples of Mount Hua, who had witnessed the kind of training Chung Myung had endured over the past three years, they couldn't imagine him losing. If what they had experienced was hell, then what Chung Myung had gone through was literally a hall of infinite suffering.
However, regardless of their beliefs, those wearing Mount Hua's robes were trembling with endless joy that was now bursting out of their heads.
It felt like they had been rewarded.
Chung Myung clearly proved it to them. The efforts they had made in the past were not in vain. The skills they had accumulated over time were now clearly with their swords.
But, for the swordsmen of the Namgung family who didn't know Chung Myung so well, this sight was shocking in itself. Their faces were filled with emotions that couldn't be expressed in words.
"T-that…"
"Oh my…"
They knew. How strong the Black Dragon King was.
The opponent that even Namgung Hwang, the lord of the family, had burned with the fighting spirit was none other than the Black Dragon King. The power of the terrifying blade qi he unleashed was proven by the deaths of those who bore the name of Namgung.
But now, that Black Dragon King was staggering. His arm was cut off by Mount Hua's Sword Saint.
The result of the fight was all too clear.
"Kuaak…"
The Black Dragon King staggered backward with red eyes. However, the pirates who saw that sight, instead of helping him, retreated in fear.
Wheik.
Chung Myung slightly turned his sword and lowered the tip of his blade.
Kuaak.
Then, he slowly approached the Black Dragon King, scraping the ground with the tip of his sword.
Everyone was in a furor. At the same time, they were shocked.
But Chung Myung's eyes were not a bit different from the start. He stared at the Black Dragon King with an eerie, sunken gaze and slowly approached him.
"Uh…"
The Black Dragon King's mouth trembled.
His brain, now emptied, could no longer think. He had no idea what to do from now on. He had never thought that he would be in such a situation.
And then.
Chung Myung did something no one expected.
Kaang!
He kicked the Black Dragon King's blade, which was on the ground. The blade, which had jumped into the air, landed at the feet of the Black Dragon King.
"…"
A cold voice reached the Black Dragon King's ears as he watched back and forth between his blade and Chung Myung.
"Grab it."
Chung Myung continued with a voice devoid of any emotion.
"We need to continue."
It was a tone that stated the obvious facts.
But the spines of those watching felt a chill run down their backs.
"Your arm is cut?"
"…"
"So what?"
Chung Myung's eyes were filled with killing intent.
Watching him tremble over the loss of one arm made his stomach turn.
"That moron."
They didn't know. Those who lived in peace could not know or understand.
Who protected Kangho? How desperately did they fight? What did it feel like to pull out a sword from the corpse of a comrade who was impaled and swing it?
What were the thoughts of those who fought while trampling on the severed arm with their own feet and biting down on their opponent's neck?
Those who knew nothing of the situation were acting like the kings of Kangho, behaving arrogantly. Watching such fools made Chung Myung sick.
No, there was no need to dwell on the past.
Chung Myung looked back.
"Namgung…"
At the mention of the Namgung family, the swordsmen of the Namgung family tensed, their muscles clenching.
"Fighting even after their arms were cut off. Until the moment their heads were severed."
The Namgung swordsmen, overwhelmed with emotion, bowed their heads and bit their lips.
Those words resonated deeply with them, far more than any words of comfort could.
The images of their comrades stabbing their enemies even when their stomachs were slashed open and grabbing their opponent's ankles even as their heads were being severed remained vivid in their minds. Because of them, those who were here today were alive.
"Catch it."
"Uh…"
"Catch it, you damn fool."
The Black Dragon King gritted his teeth and grabbed the crescent blade with his only hand.
And in that moment.
Kwaang!
Chung Myung's sword suddenly surged forward and struck the crescent blade. The Black Dragon King was helplessly thrown back and fell among the pirates.
As the terrified pirates retreated left and right, the Black Dragon King grabbed one of the pirates who was trying to flee.
"S-stop him."
"Black Dragon…"
"Stop him! Stop him, you fools! Stop him!"
The Black Dragon King roared in madness. But no one stood in front of Chung Myung for the Black Dragon King's sake.
It was obvious why.
The reason they followed the Black Dragon King's orders was out of fear. They were afraid of the retaliation that would come if they disobeyed him.
But wasn't the end of the Black Dragon King already decided? Why would they be loyal and risk their lives to save him?
The pirates, who had turned pale, were busy stepping back. Even after falling on their asses, they crawled backward. Soon, no one was around the Black Dragon King.
"You damned morons! Didn't I tell you to stop him? STOP HIMMMM!"
The Black Dragon King shouted as if he were going insane, but his voice was nothing more than empty words.
"Spit!"
Chung Myung, who had spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, approached him with indifferent eyes.
The Black Dragon King, who had been glaring at the pirates with a demon-like face, unconsciously stepped back when he saw Chung Myung. The tip of his one remaining finger trembled.
"Uh, uhhhh…."
A groan escaped from his mouth as he forcibly grabbed the crescent blade.
Why did it end up like this?
Before Mount Hua arrived, everything was going his way. Then how on earth did it all end up like this?
His thoughts didn't last long.
Before he could even get up, Chung Myung ran over and kicked his jaw.
Kwaang!
The Black Dragon King, with his jaw broken, bounced off the ground like a water sparrow and flew away.
Kwaang!
He struck the sand and clutched it in pain.
"Euk…"
He barely turned his head to see Chung Myung approaching him with slow and steady steps.
The Mount Hua swordsmen followed behind him as if they were guarding Chung Myung as he walked among the pirates. The sunlight reflected off their swords, dazzling the eyes.
But… now, there was no one behind the Black Dragon King.
"Uh… uuuhhh…."
No one was helping him.
The pirate troops he had built throughout his life were just watching his approaching death from afar. No one risked their lives for him.
"You ungrateful bastards! Ughhh!"
He let out a furious roar. At that moment, a messenger with a sword arrived in front of him.
"…"
The Black Dragon King blankly looked at Chung Myung.
"I see it."
"…"
"You aren't even worth being compared with the feet of Namgung Hwang."
"Uh…"
"Pirate?"
Chung Myung sneered.
"This is the sandcastle you built, you bastard. You're weak, and you're no better than a bug. No one will fight for you."
"ACKKKK!"
As the Black Dragon King reached out to grab the blade again, Chung Myung's sword swiftly severed his wrist.
Slash!
"ACKK!"
Before his desperate scream could even end, the sword moved again, slicing through his entire body.
Slash! Slash!
It was as if the Namgung family's swordsmen intended to leave as many scars on his body as there were on the Namgung swordsmen.
"Eukkk!"
The screams, which made even the listener frown, continued to burst out endlessly.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have screamed like this, even if his body was crushed. But, since his head had collapsed, he had no strength to resist.
"Shut up!"
However, Chung Myung did not care for the Black Dragon King's circumstances.
Puak!
The sword pierced the Black Dragon King's shoulder and twisted. His massive body trembled in pain as all his muscles were cut off.
Pfft!
And the moment his knee was cut, the giant fell forward as if he were collapsing.
Chung Myung stepped on the head and aimed the sword at the throat of the Black Dragon King.
"Insects should die as insects, crawling. Isn't that right?"
"Uh… uhhh…."
"Go to hell now."
Chung Myung brought down the sword without any regrets.
But at that moment.
Kwaaang!
With a loud metallic sound, Chung Myung's sword, which was about to fall on the Black Dragon King's throat, was pushed aside.
Chung Myung turned his gaze while still stepping on the Black Dragon King's head. At the end of his cold gaze was a small boat approaching the edge of the island.
To be exact, a man riding on a small boat.
"A bug…"
Jang Ilso, alone on the small ship, smiled as if he found it amusing and looked at Chung Myung.
"Of course, I do not disagree with that… Mount Hua's Sword Saint."
His long eyes, drawn with a curved line, stared at Chung Myung.
"Unlike you… there are people in the world who need that bug."
The small boat carrying Jang Ilso landed on the sand of Plum Blossom Island.