The Youngest Member Chapter 3

"Kill him!"

At soone's enraged shout, the pirates raised their broadswords and sward forward.

Not only the six pirates who had already boarded the boat, but from behind, a dozen or so more were crossing over on the chains.

However, Cheon Woojin felt a sense of doubt.

'Are they really trying to kill ?'

They said they would kill him, but he felt a completely different montum from when his Black Master killed people.

Naturally, he wasn't talking about the difference in martial skill.

When the Black Master revealed his killing intent towards soone, the feeling that he would kill the opponent no matter what was clearly felt even by Cheon Woojin who was standing next to him.

'Of course, the person receiving that killing intent would have been the most terrified...'

In any case, in that sense, the killing intent the pirates were showing was truly pathetic. It seed like a mindset of 'it would be nice if we killed him, but if not, oh well.'

Soon, when the pirates were right in front of him.

Cheon Woojin was about to take out the Crescent Moon Staff slung on his back when he paused. If he swung it wrong, it seed like not only the pirates' boats but also the boat he was on would be completely smashed.

Since he couldn't make the boatman who had shown him kindness a jobless man, Cheon Woojin took his hand off the staff and took out the Crane Feather Fan.

Snap-!

The three white cranes painted on the fan were revealed.

For a mont, a question flashed through the pirates' minds.

'A young punk like this with a fan?'

Usually, fans were weapons often favored by old masters of the martial world or Taoist priests.

Soon, as Cheon Woojin gently shook his Crane Feather Fan, a gentle breeze swirled around. He planned to cut off the wrists of the excited pirates first and then talk.

Of course, it was questionable whether he could have a conversation with pirates whose wrists had been cut off, unlike what Cheon Woojin thought.

Just as the Crane Feather Fan was about to be swung with its elegant grace.

"W-wait!"

At the boatman's sudden shout, the movents of everyone on the boat ca to a halt.

The boatman, whose back of the neck was still red from being grabbed by the pirate, hurriedly approached and continued.

"I-I'll give you more money. I'll give you plenty, more than enough for the dical expenses of the injured person, so let's stop. Please? We haven't known each other for just a day or two, so please, I beg you, stop."

The boatman bowed his head, almost begging.

The pirates exchanged glances among themselves.

The boatman, who was watching their reactions, hurriedly continued.

"Great heroes, I have a duty to protect the people on my boat. I've lived with that mindset for thirty years, so how can I watch this young man get stabbed to death on my boat?"

It was then.

"Ah, seriously, I can't take it anymore."

A man shot up from among the rising talents.

Everyone's attention focused on him. The handso man, as if drawn from a painting, drew the sword at his waist, approached Cheon Woojin, and said.

"The young hero is an apostle of justice, and the boatman here has a rare conviction..."

Song Yiyeon, who let out a deep sigh, aid his sword at the pirates.

"It makes

feel like trash for just sitting here."

Was that remark the catalyst?

"Ha, I really have to pass this exam..."

"Do you think I want to use up all my strength before I even arrive?"

Three more rising talents stood up, grumbling. In the midst of it, one man pointed at Cheon Woojin and grumbled.

"You're quite reckless, young hero. How many of them are there, for you to step forward so carelessly?"

Cheon Woojin just shrugged his shoulders. In fact, whether they were there or not, the result wouldn't change.

The pirates exchanged glances.

Their opponents were at most five white path brats who didn't know the ways of the world.

But if the other rising talents got swept up in the atmosphere and started to step forward, the story would change.

No matter how young they were, they had properly learned martial arts, and there seed to be at least thirty of them.

But to retreat now would make it seem like they were running away in fear of just five people.

Just as the pirates were sizing up the situation.

"Are you going to fight or not?"

At the ice-cold, slender voice, everyone's attention focused. Her already cold impression was further emphasized as she frowned.

She looked at the pirates with a face that seed to say 'how pathetic' and said.

"If you're not going to fight, then run away right now."

"..."

Song Yiyeon, who was watching this, pointed at her and said.

"Aren't you perhaps from the Zhuge family?"

"...No, I'm not."

The startled woman denied it a beat too late.

Song Yiyeon's eyes narrowed.

"I know soone from the Zhuge family who looks a lot like you. Are you really not?"

"I said I'm not, didn't I?"

Song Yiyeon didn't actually care whether she was from the Zhuge family or not. He just wanted to add a risk factor for the pirates.

"I think you're from the Zhuge family..."

"I said I'm not!"

"Hmph, if not, then fine."

Song Yiyeon shrugged his shoulders.

She glared at Song Yiyeon and said.

"Whether I'm from the Zhuge family or not, I have no intention of stepping forward. I don't want to mix hands with pirates, and I don't want any more delays. Is there anyone else besides those five who will step forward?"

The woman who said so scanned her surroundings.

But everyone just avoided her gaze.

If they were going to step forward, they would have done so long ago.

After confirming this, she said in a voice that seed to be mixed with a sigh.

"There's no one. Now, you choose. Are you going to fight, or are you going to run away?"

The pirates grinned, revealing their yellow teeth.

It was a smile that went very well with their characteristic disheveled hair.

"The pretty young lady has a refreshing personality too. Alright, we won't drag this out any longer. We'll kill the five brats here and the boatman, and we'll personally guide the boat to its destination."

Of course, they planned to plunder all the goods and the boat, except for the luggage of the rising talents.

Now that they had confird that the others would not step forward, there was no reason to hesitate.

The pirates' montum changed in an instant.

By now, all the pirates from the other boats had crossed over, and there were nearly twenty pirates on the boat.

The four rising talents, excluding Cheon Woojin, swallowed hard. The thought that they might unluckily die in this fight filled each of their minds.

In an instant, the pirates who had exchanged glances jumped in all at once. At the sa ti, Song Yiyeon shot forward like an arrow and swung his longsword, and the three rising talents followed behind him.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-!

In an instant, the swords of the rising talents and the pirates mixed chaotically in the air.

"..."

Surprisingly, Cheon Woojin was watching this.

"Y-young hero?"

Song Yiyeon called out to Cheon Woojin desperately while blocking a pirate's broadsword. The boatman and the rising talents watching from a distance thought that Cheon Woojin had gotten scared.

That was how real combat was. No matter how hard you trained, your body was bound to freeze when you first faced a fight where blades and blood were flying around.

But that wasn't the reason Cheon Woojin was standing still. He looked back and forth between Song Yiyeon, the cold-looking woman, and the boatman, and tilted his head.

They were all strange.

First of all, Song Yiyeon was not using his abilities properly. With his martial skill, he should have killed three or four pirates by now, but no pirates had died yet.

A pirate who discovered the still Cheon Woojin shouted.

"That son of a bitch started the fight and is hiding in the back! Get him first!"

A few pirates who belatedly discovered Cheon Woojin rushed at him with angry faces.

In an instant, Song Yiyeon's movents beca incomparably faster than before.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Song Yiyeon blocked the pirates rushing at Cheon Woojin.

It was absurd that he was taking a step back now that the fight had started, but he couldn't let him die.

However, the difference in numbers was too overwhelming.

Between the three pirates Song Yiyeon was blocking, two pirates managed to rush towards Cheon Woojin.

"Young hero Woojin! Get away!"

"Die!"

A broadsword, which felt even more chilling due to its partially chipped blade, fell towards Cheon Woojin's head.

"Young hero!!"

Despite Song Yiyeon's desperate shout, Cheon Woojin was unmoving.

At this mont, he resented the bastards who were just watching from the back.

Of course, a few rising talents fidgeted as if they couldn't bear to witness a death, but it was already too late.

Soon, blood spurted like a fountain above Cheon Woojin's head.

So rising talents even closed their eyes and turned their heads.

But the scream that followed was not Cheon Woojin's.

"U-uaaagh!"

"Keuk!"

Two wrists fell to the ground, still holding broadswords. The pirates sat down, clutching their wrists with their other hands.

He could have struck their necks at once, but cutting their wrists was a kindness Cheon Woojin was showing.

Cheon Woojin approached the pirates writhing on the ground in pain and said in a low voice.

"Now that your wrists are like that, you won't be able to hold a weapon anymore. How about you take this opportunity to live a good life?"

"..."

In that mont, everyone on the boat, including Song Yiyeon, the pirates, and the boatman, felt a chill run down their spines.

Cheon Woojin's tone was not sarcastic. He genuinely wanted the pirates to live that way.

There was a strange sense of dissonance in his way of thinking, which was different from that of a normal person.

'Is that sothing he should say after cutting them himself?'

Song Yiyeon thought to himself, unable to say it out loud.

Everyone on the boat stopped moving and just looked at Cheon Woojin.

Only then did Cheon Woojin, who had looked around, widen his eyes.

"Why is everyone like this?"

"T-this bastard...!"

Did that innocent face provoke the pirates' desire for revenge?

A few pirates rushed at Cheon Woojin.

Snap-!

At the sa ti, Cheon Woojin's Crane Feather Fan unfolded again.

The pirates instinctively stopped in their tracks.

Cheon Woojin looked at them and pondered for a mont.

'What would my masters have done?'

His Black Master would have killed them all, and his White Master would have tried to persuade them with words first.

"Hmm..."

No matter how much Cheon Woojin thought about it, he couldn't easily co to a conclusion, so he asked the cold-looking woman.

"What should I do?"

At that sudden question, everyone's eyes turned to her.

After a brief staring contest with Cheon Woojin, she let out a deep sigh and stood up from her seat.

"I am Zhuge Lin, the deputy commander of the Martial Alliance's Black Tortoise Unit."

"W-what is that..."

The pirates' bodies stiffened as they blinked their eyes.

In the midst of it, Song Yiyeon let out a sound of admiration.

"Wow, I was just saying."

"..."

Zhuge Lin, who glared at Song Yiyeon with a reluctant expression, walked towards the place where the fight was taking place and said.

"The pirates who have worked hard can get lost now, and the people who have passed the first exam are the five who stepped forward just now. I'm sorry to the rest, but the gates of the Martial Alliance are not open to those who turn a blind eye to injustice."

"..."

Not only the pirates, but even the rising talents were staring at Zhuge Lin with dazed expressions.

"You bastard, what are you spacing out for?"

In an instant, everyone's heads snapped around.

The boatman who was being oppressed by the pirates was swinging his fist. The problem was that his large fist was only barely visible as a shape, and its speed was difficult to follow with the eyes.

"I said get lost, didn't I?"

Boom-!

A fist the size of a cauldron lid hit a pirate's face.

The pirate who was sent flying backwards slamd into a rock on the opposite bank and then splashed into the water.

The boatman, who was watching this with a pleased expression, dusted off his hands and said.

"He's a pirate, so he probably won't drown."

Gurgle-

The story was a little different for the unconscious pirate.

"Or not."

The boatman burst into hearty laughter.

"..."

An awkward silence fell again.

Regardless, the boatman, who naturally stood next to Zhuge Lin, said as if declaring to everyone.

"I am Cheol Jiak, the commander of the Martial Alliance's Black Tortoise Unit. This damn boatman job ends today too. If the pirates don't get lost by the count of three, I will consider it a challenge to the Martial Alliance and take legitimate but sowhat drastic asures. One..."

Before he could even finish his words, the pirates were already fleeing back on the chains. The impatient ones even threw themselves into the water.

Cheol Jiak, who was watching this with a pleased expression, approached Cheon Woojin with a rather serious face and asked.

"You, when did you know we were from the Martial Alliance? You'd better answer straight."

The entrance exam is prepared in strict secrecy.

This was to prevent people from getting positions in the fairness-seeking Martial Alliance through connections or money.

Therefore, Cheon Woojin's answer was very important.

If the contents of this exam had been leaked to the outside beforehand...

"I just found out too."

"Huh?"

Cheon Woojin pointed at Zhuge Lin and said.

"She was talking to herself."

"..."

Zhuge Lin's jaw dropped slightly.

(End of Chapter)