Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 176: On the river

After reuniting with Nuada, Eurius soon contacted the Waterway Alliance, his original purpose.

The meeting point was a boat floating on the Yangtze River.

“Ha ha! Welcome to the Waterway Alliance! You must be the leader of the Demon Slayer Unit, I’ve heard so much about.”

With a hearty laugh, Jang Han greeted Eurius. 

He had a huge body over two meters tall, and his whole body was covered with black dragon tattoos.

‘That man is the leader of the Eighteen Tribes of the Yangtze River, the Black Dragon of the Water, Kyodang.’

Jegal Seongun, who accompanied Eurius for his mission, whispered a hint to him. Eurius smiled and greeted him back.

“I’ve heard of your fame as well. I hope we can work together.”

Kyodang sneered at his words.

“Khehehe… You’re just as short-spoken as the rumors say.”

“…!?”

‘How dare he be so rude to His Highness the Crown Prince?’

The knights who accompanied Eurius were inwardly furious, and their displeasure showed on their faces. 

It was as if he was picking a fight with a stranger on their first meeting.

“Well, whatever. Let’s get to the point quickly.”

“…!?”

But Eurius brushed it off with an indifferent look. 

This surprised Kyodang for a moment, but he soon opened his mouth.

“You’re quick to talk, I like that. Now, about the boat you’ll be riding on…”

He flashed a cunning smile that didn’t suit his large body, and looked at the people behind Eurius.

“The Righteous Alliance… or should I say, the Demon Slayer Unit now? The negotiation was already done, but if you want to take those mongrels with you, I’ll have to add another condition.”

“Hmm?”

“…”

The people he pointed at reacted to his words. 

They were the leaders of the Black Flag Bandit that he met this time! 

They already had a bad relationship with the water rats, and he was openly mocking them.

The leader of the Black Flag Bandit, Jin Yeohae, quietly expressed his anger.

“Kyodang… Are you picking a fight with my Black Flag Bandit? Do you not value your life?”

He was a master who reached the realm of superhumans! 

His heavy aura began to pressure Kyodang. But surprisingly, he had a lot of guts.

“Kheh! You might be something on land, but do you think you can act so high and mighty on this river?”

Crack!

Their eyes clashed, and the cabin where the negotiation took place became even more tense. 

It seemed like they would draw their weapons and attack each other at any moment.

“Stop!”

But Eurius calmly intervened between them.

“So what’s your condition?”

“Huh…”

Kyodang turned his gaze back to Eurius and looked surprised.

‘I tried to provoke him and make him lose his composure… but he’s not what he seems.’

In fact, Kyodang had the upper hand in this situation. 

He had almost all the boats and large ships that could transport people in large numbers on the Yangtze River under his control.

“I need more money from you. This is not like digging land for business.”

Then he named an outrageous amount of money. 

Jegal Seongun flatly refused.

“That’s different from the original condition. We can’t accept such a demand.”

“Then I can’t lend you a boat. Do whatever you want.”

He was trying to make a fortune out of this opportunity. But Eurius didn’t seem bothered by it either.

“Well, then I have no choice… Can I bring in warships here?”

“Warships?”

“If you don’t offer a reasonable condition, I’ll have to do that even if it takes some time.”

Eurius smiled faintly. In fact, the Demon Slayer Unit was receiving support from the royal family, so moving warships was possible. 

It was just that it took time and it was slower than using the waterway.

“If that doesn’t work, I can also use the warships of our empire!”

Of course, there was a way to connect the Yangtze River to the sea, so he could also use the warships of Scharnos Empire that came looking for him.

“Grr…”

Kyodang groaned for a moment. 

He didn’t expect him to have such a method. 

He also didn’t like warships entering his territory.

Finally, after a few rounds of bargaining,

“Hoo… Fine. Let’s end the negotiation like this.”

“That’s a good choice.”

In the end, Eurius was the winner of the negotiation.

It was inevitable since Kyodang’s demand was unreasonable and there were other alternatives.

“Then let’s start moving from tomorrow. Eh…”

He licked his lips and sent Eurius and the Demon Slayer Unit away with a regretful expression.

Meanwhile, the knights who got off the boat with Eurius and the people of the Black Flag Bandit were still bickering. 

Kyodang’s attitude was that rude.

“Your Highness! He’s too impudent. There must have been other ways, why did you have to accept his demand?”

“Leader! Do we really have to borrow a boat from those water rats?”

“Be quiet!”

Jin Yeohae, who shut the leaders’ mouths, spoke to Eurius first.

“As you’ve seen, Kyodang is a cunning and greedy man. He’s not trustworthy at all. Do you have to borrow a boat from him when you have other means?”

“I agree, he’s not reliable.”

Eurius answered, and Jegal Seongun explained further.

“We don’t have much time to prepare warships. The sooner we reduce the time, the more advantageous it is for us against the Demon Sect. It’s better for us to gather our forces early through the waterway.”

The key to a surprise attack was speed! It was not a good choice to waste time preparing a boat.

“Then I guess we have no choice… But you should be careful.”

Jin Yeohae still looked reluctant, but he was about to agree when Eurius opened his mouth again.

“You seem to know Kyodang well, don’t you?”

“Well, we’re in a similar business, so… I don’t trust him. He’s the kind of guy who would stab you in the back and blame someone else!”

“Ho…”

Eurius nodded and smiled.

“I thought so too. I’m glad we agree on that.”

“…!?”

Jin Yeohae had a question on his face. Then why did he negotiate with Kyodang?

Eurius’ answer was simple.

“If we might get stabbed in the back anyway, wouldn’t it be better to know and take it?”

***

Swoosh.

A boat was floating on the calm waves of the Yangtze River. 

The boat was majestic and imposing. It was over ten meters long from bow to stern, and had dozens of oars on its magnificent hull. 

At the end of it, there was a huge dragon head.

This was the Black Dragon Boat!

It was the flagship of the Eighteen Tribes of the Yangtze River. 

The Waterway Alliance had three such boats, and they all moved only by Kyodang’s command.

And now, in the cabin of the Black Dragon Boat, a secret conversation was taking place.

“He was tougher than I expected. I tried to rip him off as much as I could, but I failed.”

“Tsk… Someone did a useless thing as if they weren’t a water bandit.”

The first thing that came into view was an old man in blood-red clothes, who answered with a gloomy voice.

“…”

Kyodang scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“Hey, you guys are too harsh on each other as partners.”

The ones in red clothes didn’t like Kyodang’s light attitude and glared at him.

“Partners? What are you talking about… You just have to do as we instructed and trap them in the pitfall.”

“Ugh… I understand. I’ll follow the instructions.”

Kyodang had no choice but to obey their words without a peep. His fate was completely in their hands.

Needless to say, their identity was the Demon Sect! 

They were one step ahead of the Righteous Alliance this time too.

As Kyodang closed his mouth, the old man in red clothes spoke again with a satisfied expression.

“Your plan is foolproof, right?”

“Of course.”

Kyodang straightened his back and answered confidently. 

The Yangtze River was his territory and he didn’t know about other places, but there weren’t many who could match him in the water. 

Wasn’t his nickname Black Dragon of the Water for nothing?

“Was it Cheokma Danju? I heard he’s a great master, but he’s still human after all. He won’t be able to survive there!”

***

Time passed quickly after that.

Cheokma Melsadae, Eurius, and the experts of Nokrimmaeng were traveling on a boat provided by Suromaeng. 

There was no rough wind and the waves were calm.

Splash.

But even on such a peaceful boat ride, there was someone who was suffering.

“Ugh…”

“Are you still feeling sick?”

The man who came out to the bow of the boat with a blue face was none other than Nuada.

“I’m better than that damn sea.”

Nuada spat out his words with resentment and looked at the flowing water. 

It was amazing that he felt sick even on such a calm boat.

“Pfft! Even Nuada Daehyung, who looked so strong, had this weakness.”

“Grr…”

In the cabin, Jinyeohae followed behind Nuada. There was a smile on his blunt face. It wasn’t very common for martial arts masters to get seasick.

“If Kyodang is right, we’ll arrive on land in three days, so please bear with it.”

“…”

Nuada’s face became more gloomy at the words that there were still three days left. 

Seeing him, Eurius suddenly remembered something he hadn’t asked.

“By the way, how did you become sworn brothers with him at your stronghold?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I tell you?”

Jinyeohae answered casually.

“It’s obvious that Daehyung won in a duel with me.”

“A duel?”

Eurius tilted his head. 

He expected that he had subdued him by force, but he couldn’t understand why he would give up dozens of strongholds to Nuada for just that reason.

But Jinyeohae also looked puzzled.

“Isn’t that natural? The martial world is ruled by the strong.”

“Hmm?”

But that answer didn’t convince Eurius’s common sense.

‘Is it because they are bandits?’

Jinyeohae looked rough on the outside, but he was quite quick-witted and continued to speak.

“You’re different from Daehyung because you have a high status. But the orthodox sects are not much different either.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The reason why they follow you. The emperor’s order or something like that is actually very trivial.”

According to Jinyeohae, the martial world was ultimately based on strength no matter what reason.

“The decisive reason why they follow you is because your martial arts are high, right? If you had no martial arts or were mediocre, the treatment you received would have been worlds apart.”

“…!?”

He remembered when he first shipwrecked to the Eastern Continent at those words.

‘Come to think of it, I got all kinds of misunderstandings. But after showing some strength, there weren’t any big problems.’

Jinyeohae smiled as he saw Eurius thinking.

“You seem to have remembered something. I was actually a bit surprised by this negotiation. Daehyung told me that you are an unbelievable master.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Kyodang, that water bandit bastard.”

“Hmm?”

“We Nokrimmaeng are also like that, but water bandits are nothing special. I think it would have been better if you showed your strength rather than negotiating when he came out arrogantly.”

Splash!

As he said that, a black shadow suddenly sprang out of the water.

Thud!

The shadow landed on the deck in the blink of an eye. 

It was an amazing feat to jump out of the water without a foothold.

Jinyeohae frowned.

“You could have come by boat, why did you act like a fish…”

“Heh! Bandit leader or water bandit, they’re all the same, aren’t they?”

The one who jumped out of the water was Kyodang. He smiled unpleasantly and turned his head to Eurius.

“I came to talk to you.”

“Me?”