Fabre in Sacheon's Tang-Chapter 254: At the Princess’s Request (4)

The two pirate ships we were pursuing had initially begun to pull away.

Naturally, since they were powered by oars, they were faster than our ships and the government warships, which relied entirely on wind.

But then, the prow of one of the pirate ships, lagging slightly behind, began to rise little by little... and soon, the stern dipped down.

Eventually, the bow rose high enough to be visible from afar, and the ship came to a halt.

No doubt, Cho, who had gone ahead, had punctured the hull—causing the ship to flood and begin sinking.

A commotion erupted on deck, and we saw pirates scrambling out from below, rushing toward the tilted bow.

“After all these months of chasing them, we couldn’t catch a single ship, and now... just like that?!”

“One ship has stopped!”

“The one ahead just turned its bow!”

The princess and the nuns from Botanam were thrilled.

Just as someone had noted, the lead ship had turned around—likely trying to rescue the stricken one.

But just then, Yeondu came diving down from the sky like a missile.

With movements as smooth as a snake slithering across the ground, Yeondu plunged from the air—like a living Sidewinder missile.

No, this was the Yeondu-winder.

A six-meter-long, massive snake slammed down, striking the center of the deck of the turning ship.

–KRA-KOOOM!

Even from a distance, the thunderous crash was audible.

The bow and stern of the pirate ship rose into the air, forming a massive “V” shape.

“Waaah!”

“Whoaah!”

“A-amazing!”

Everyone watching gasped in awe.

The pirates on the deck scattered like popcorn exploding from a pot.

The princess stared at me in stunned silence, her jaw practically unhinged.

Seeing her expression, I couldn’t help but lift my shoulders smugly.

‘Huhu... Well, it was nothing, really.’

One ship had been sunk by a torpedo, and the other annihilated by an air-to-ship missile.

As the V-shaped wreck slowly sank and debris began to float to the surface, I spotted Cho and Yeondu spinning in midair.

Then Cho’s voice echoed sweetly in my mind.

‘Chorut! 「Dad, what do we do next?」’

Cho was asking for the next order—

Even though we were in open sea and probably safe, I couldn't leave anything to chance.

‘Watch closely in case anyone tries to escape.’

–Chorut! 「Got it!」

Then I issued an order to Do Sagong.

“As fast as you can!”

“Understood, Sir So-ryong! Unfurl all sails!”

“Yes, Do Sagong!”

–FLAP.

As the crew adjusted the sails at Do Sagong’s command, the wind billowed them out with a loud snap.

Our ship skimmed across the waves, reaching the site where Cho and Yeondu were hovering.

Wreckage floated all around us.

Between the splintered boards, pirates thrashed about, clinging to broken planks.

“Hiiiek!”

“P-please spare us!”

Whenever Cho or Yeondu swooped low, the pirates ducked underwater in terror, only to pop their heads back up again.

They might have trained in martial arts, but whether they had light footwork, strong internal energy, or iron-hard bodies—in the water, they were all the same.

Just a bunch of soaked rats.

I pointed to the flailing pirates and said,

“Yo-hwa, fish them out one by one.”

–Kiiit!

At my command, Yo-hwa climbed up to the front railing and planted her rear firmly on the prow—then fired.

–THWIP!

Her silk thread struck a pirate in the head, and she reeled him in like she was fishing.

Dragged by the hair, the pirate shrieked.

“Gyaaah! M-my hair! My hair?!”

But the princess quickly reminded them that hair was the least of their worries.

“You think now is the time to worry about your hair?! You scum deserve nothing less than to be beheaded on the spot!”

Soon, all the pirates were hauled aboard.

The arriving warships docked beside us, and the pirates were transferred over one by one—so they could be interrogated aboard the military vessels.

They’d be questioned about their base, other pirate groups, and any allies.

“You worthless filth! Move it! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused us?!

You’ll be sentenced to be quartered alive within Hangzhou’s city walls!”

The punishment was—quartering by tying the limbs to animals and tearing them apart.

“Eeeek! P-please spare us!”

“Spare you? After murdering civilians, raping women, and looting their homes?”

–THWACK!

One pirate who begged for his life was immediately kicked down.

The commander, who’d been holding back his anger until now, kicked the pirate over and over like he was a soccer ball.

The pirates fell silent—

Better not to die with their faces broken too.

As the pirates were being handed over, one caught the attention of Ji-ryong, who had been sitting on the railing.

Seeing a man with a broken shackled leg, Ji-ryong suddenly stood and shouted,

“W-wait! Sir, may I take a look at this one?”

“What is it?”

Ji-ryong, who had seen the pirate just as he was about to be transferred to the next ship, addressed the commander, then turned to the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) princess.

“Your Highness, may I confirm this man’s identity on the spot?”

“Him? Do you know who he is?”

“Ah, just a moment. Do-ryong, come here.”

Before answering, Ji-ryong called over his older brother, who’d been guarding the pirates.

“Hmm? What is it?”

Then Ji-ryong answered the princess.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“His appearance has changed a bit, but I’m sure of it. He’s the Strangling Lust Demon—Jin-gyu. I remember his facial features clearly.”

“Strangling Lust Demon Jin-gyu? Wait, you mean the monster who raped and killed a girl from the Shandong Ak Clan a few years back?”

“You know him too, Princess? Yes, it’s definitely him!”

Apparently, this guy had a notorious nickname.

Everyone froze at the mention of his title.

“Strangling Lust Demon Jin-gyu?!”

“Seriously, the Strangling Lust Demon?”

“Are you sure it’s him?”

Even the older brother who’d been calmly approaching halted at the name.

The princess and Ji-ryong’s conversation drew a crowd—The Five Dragons, Twin Phoenixes, and even Sister Seol gathered around the man called Jin-gyu.

“I-it’s a misunderstanding! I’m not that kind of person at all!”

Under everyone’s intense stares, the man tried to plead his innocence.

But then a hand shot out.

Gyu-seong bro—who had never shown such a terrifying expression before—grabbed the man’s shirt and ripped it apart.

–SHRRRIP.

Then the crow tattoo on his shoulder was revealed.

The elder pointed furiously at the tattoo on the man's shoulder.

“You thought I wouldn’t recognize the crow tattoo on your shoulder? Do you know how much my dear friend Sosso grieved over the death of her cousin? I will personally drag you to the Akga Clan!”

Gentle as he usually was, Elder Gyuseong was now seething with rage.

I whispered to Ji-ryong.

[What happened? Is this related to Elder?]

[Ah, there was a woman named Yak Sosso, a daughter of the Akga Clan located in the northeast of Shandong. She grew up close with Do-ryong from childhood. Since Hebei and Shandong are nearby, their families stayed in touch often.]

‘Oh! Childhood friend, huh?’

Elder always seemed indifferent to women, unlike Chang-ryong and Geom-pung or Ji-ryong and Eun-bong... but now it made sense.

If it was a childhood friend, that meant she was a heroine candidate, no?

Our sharp elder. Turns out he was taken.

As I was thinking that, Ji-ryong added,

[A few years ago, her cousin passed away, and since then, she and Do-ryong drifted apart.]

But something didn’t add up.

Why would they grow distant just because the cousin died?

So I asked for the reason.

[Why would they drift apart because the cousin died?]

[Ah, the cousin had secretly asked for help before her death. Apparently, she was on her way to meet someone for help when she died... If you want the details, you should ask Sosso directly...]

Even from that vague story, I was already getting a good sense of what happened

I whispered to Ji-ryong,

[Wait. So Elder liked this Sosso woman, but she gave him up for her cousin, right? And then her cousin died because of that... so now Sosso is wracked with guilt and pushing Elder away.]

Ji-ryong’s eyes went wide at my words, and after a moment of stunned silence, he muttered,

[Wow... you figured all that out from so little... You really are something, Sir.]

‘Hah. Childhood friend cliché strikes again.’

Ji-ryong was amazed at my insight, but honestly, this was just standard childhood-friend drama.

Just as our conversation ended, the princess's voice reached us.

“If that’s the case, then of course you should take him. Go ahead.”

Like she was doing a used goods trade, the princess handed over the man called Jin-gyu to Elder.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

The moment Elder roughly pulled on Yo-hwa’s silk thread that bound the man, a thought flashed through my head.

That bastard was dangerous. We couldn’t just keep him onboard without safeguards.

‘There’s no way we can keep a guy like that on the ship with so many women around.’

“Elder, are you planning to bring that guy onto our ship?”

“I am.”

“He’s dangerous, though...”

At my concern, Elder shook the thread and replied,

“With Yo-hwa’s silk thread, what’s there to worry about?”

Sure, it wasn’t something that could be easily broken, but still—nothing in the world is perfect.

“We still can’t be too sure.”

“Hmm... He’s no weakling. Let’s destroy his dantian, then.”

The moment he said that, Jin-gyu’s eyes flinched with panic.

I looked at Elder and smiled.

“Elder, that’s not the part of him that’s dangerous.”

“What do you mean...”

As Elder followed my gaze, he suddenly grinned in realization.

Then he clenched his fist and said,

“Ah, right. That’s not the dangerous part, is it?”

He then dragged the man to the stern of the ship and made proper safety arrangements.

“Gyaaah?!”

The man screamed. And at that moment, I made up my mind: at the end of this journey, we were definitely visiting the Akga Clan in Shandong.

After all, that look in Elder’s eyes just now...

It wasn’t just anger—it was the look of a male on the brink of a confession.

And if there was one thing this Fabre was good at, it was matchmaking.

‘I got you, Elder. Leave it to me.’

***

The pirate cleanup operation went incredibly smoothly.

Every ship we encountered ended up in one of two shapes: A or V.

The ones rammed from within by Cho would arch upward like the letter S, while the ones struck from above by Yeondu would fold like a V.

Jealous of all the praise Yeondu got at first for her flashy entry, Cho started competing with her, and from then on, each battle ended with increasingly extravagant destruction.

All that was left afterward was to scoop up the pirates.

If any tried to escape, Yeondu and Cho would track and crush them.

If they tried to flee with hostages, Cho would disable the ship underwater.

No matter how fast they rowed, if the ship wouldn’t move, they were stuck in the middle of the ocean.

Some tried to resist, holding hostages or using martial arts, but it was all pointless.

“They’re resisting!”

“Do we board them for combat?”

“Should we leap over with light footwork?”

–CRACK!

As we debated how to handle them, Cheongwol lowered her tail between the two ships.

She had been listening and took action on her own.

Once her massive tail was wedged in, it locked the two vessels in place.

“This is...”

“A bridge!”

It was already impressive how she could shift her weight and balance boarding a ship, but this?

Cheongwol’s combat intuition was practically veteran-tier.

“Let’s go! Sweep them all at once!”

Led by the princess, we jumped in and took them out.

After a few more similar battles, the number of pirates thinned significantly.

By the tenth day, they had all but vanished.

Only one ship showed up, and I began to think this might take longer than expected—

That’s when Ji-ryong suggested something.

“So-hyeon, the next time multiple ships appear, let’s intentionally let one go.”

“Let one go?”

“Yes. We’ll only show Cho or Yeondu, not you.”

“Just one of them?”

“Yes. This method has its limits.”

“To gather them all in one place?”

“To catch them all in one sweep.”

Until now, our tactic had been precision strikes:

Cho or Yeondu would scout the sea, identify pirate ships, take them out, then guide us to the wreckage.

But Ji-ryong proposed a change:

Let one escape and spread word of the monster that destroyed their fleet.

Then lure them into gathering in one place.

The next day, while scouting with Cho and Yeondu, we encountered three pirate ships.

We let one slip away, just as Ji-ryong suggested—

And soon enough, an interesting turn of events followed.

“Ji-ryong’s plan was brilliant!”

“Is he a Zhuge descendant or something?”

Even the princess looked impressed.

Just as he said, the pirates began gathering in one place in Iju.

“They’ll probably flee to the mountains if we storm in, but if we destroy their ships, they won’t be able to operate for a while. This is perfect.”

The princess seemed satisfied with just destroying their fleet.

But I had no intention of leaving things half-finished.

I smiled.

“Could you drop us off at a beach a little ways out during the night? We’re going to capture them all.”

I was planning to turn Cheongwol into a tank, deploy Yo-hwa for guerrilla tactics, and scatter Cheongyu’s snakes across the mountain slope.