Chapter 129 - End of the Collaboration

"Master Hei, are you sure it was a good thing to speak like that to the spirit soldier Sok Yeong-Gi?" Asked Old Tohyon in a worried voice.

More than worried about himself, the old navigator was worried about Hei. Even though they were connected through a blood and economic pact, during this period, he had become attached to that strange young man with such a curious behavior.

“It’s fine like that. It's not that I owe him or something. I just told the truth. Besides, there is no longer even a need to pretend giving him courtesy.”

“What do you mean?” Old Tohyon tilted his head, unable to understand what Hei meant.

"Don't worry about that at the moment. Just focus on steering the ship and always be on the lookout." Hei cut short, not wanting to explain further.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Old Tohyon, considering there was also a blood pact between the two of them. But he preferred not to mention his plans as it was not the time yet. Old Tohyon didn’t investigate further and resumed his concentration on governing the artifact ship.

Before long, they reached the war galleon on which Lian and Ho Yeon-Hong had been left. With the arrival of the two young women, the situation had reversed entirely, leading to the victory of Ho Ri-Na’s crew. However, there were still multiple conflicts going on in the other ships. Therefore they couldn’t indulge in the euphoria of victory.

“Lian, Ho Yeon-Hong. Get on board. Quick.” Hei loudly ordered, over any other noise in the war galleon. The two young women recognized his voice and quickly jumped down, landing on the deck of the artifact ship.

"How did it go? Were you able to kill another spirit soldier?” Ho Yeon-Hong asked anxiously. The success of Hei's task coincided with her older sister's chances of victory and survival.

"Yes. I killed a spirit soldier named Kim Seon, who was facing Sok Yeong-Gi. Sok Yeong-Gi is now going to support the others."

"Really? It's great! The big sister can soon be helped.” Ho Yeon-Hong let out a deep sigh, pleased with the news that Hei had brought.

“Sok Yeong-Gi, however, is seriously injured and has little energy. So I don't know how much he can actually help. For this reason, how about we go to your sister and tell her the news? Even if we can't face Hong Shin directly, just hearing that two of his spirit soldiers are dead can put him under pressure and lead him to defeat.”

Listening to Hei's proposal, Ho Yeon-Hong had her eyes wet. She didn't believe Hei would go so far for her. Her sister was the most important person for Ho Yeon-Hong, but the fact that she was only a sixth stage spirit apprentice prevented her from being able to help Ho Ri-Na as she wanted. Yet now, Hei was ready to take her to Ho Ri-Na so that she could help her sister for the first time, even at the cost of endangering himself, as two fifth-stage spirit soldiers were fighting there.

Quickly, the artifact ship arrived in the ocean section, where the two spirit soldiers were fighting mid-air. From where they were, Hei and the others could hear the clash between the two Pirate Generals’ spirit powers. They were relentlessly exchanging attacks, without sparing themselves in the least and trying to take out their enemy.

"PIRATE GENERAL HO RI-NA!"

From the deck of the artifact ship, Hei took a deep breath before screaming at the top of his lungs. The pirate woman was fighting in the sky at a distance beyond the reach of his spirit message. So, Hei had to resort to this method to get her attention.

Absorbed as she was in the fight, Ho Ri-Na didn't hear Hei's voice at first. However, as the screams continued, the woman noticed this detail as well as her enemy Hong Shin. Both stopped in surprise because they couldn’t understand what such a small number of people were doing there, considering that they weren’t even spirit soldiers.

"BIG SISTER!" Ho Yeon-Hong shouted, in turn, to get noticed by Ho Ri-Na.

"Yeon? What are you doing here? Why-” Ho Ri-Na wondered. But before she could finish asking herself, Hei's answer came.

“Spirit Soldiers Pang Ja-Kyung and Kim Seon are dead. Sok Yeong-Gi has gone to help the other spirit soldiers at your command, and they will soon be here.”

Thud!

As if a boulder had come up against them, the two Pirate Generals were shaken by the news. Both looked in disbelief as they moved their gaze to the other battlefields. Although they couldn’t see clearly or stretch their spirit sense, there were only a few spirit soldiers fighting, and they could verify the truthfulness of this news. And indeed, excluding the two of them, only five people were flying - the three spirit soldiers of Ho Ri-Na and the last two remaining spirit soldiers of Hong Shin.

"What?! How? How is that possible?” The Son of Wind, Hong Shin, clenched his fists while he was in complete chaos.

He had a distinct advantage over Ho Ri-Na, which is the presence of an additional spirit soldier. Furthermore, Pang Ja-Kyung wasn’t merely a spirit soldier, but a beast tamer. Although he had lost his second-level whale, he had managed to recover his losses by acquiring a second-level spirit beast gull alongside the whole flock of seagulls spirit beasts. Therefore, he wasn’t worried at all that someone from Ho Ri-Na's crew would interfere with their fight.

Yet now, things were different. Pang Ja-Kyung was dead and most likely that also applied to the spirit beasts he led. But, in addition to him, Kim Seon had also been killed, and a Ho Ri-Na’s spirit soldier was helping his companions. How could Hong Shin not panic in such a situation?

Quickly, the Pirate General, Son of Wind, looked around in all directions. His defeat was now absolute, and it was only a matter before the two spirit soldiers in his service were taken out. At that time, he would have to face four spirit soldiers, including Ho Ri-Na, who had the same cultivation stage and had a similar battle power.

'Shit! Fuck! There is no way I can get rid of that Ho Ri-Na bitch in a short time. Besides, if I had to run away, she wouldn't leave me alone, and I don't think I can outrun her even if I use all my strength.'

Hong Shin analyzed the situation he was in and thought about the only solution that could allow him to save his life. "Ho Ri-Na! Let's make a deal. I have a Fragment of the Pirate King Hae Seong's Treasure Map. I know for sure that you have at least one, and you know what I'm talking about. I am willing to give it to you, but in return, you must promise to let me go.”

Hong Shin's voice was powerful and resounded in that corner of the ocean. As a result, even those who were on the artifact ship's deck heard the sound of his words.

"Treasure Map? Am I wrong, or did he just mention the famous Pirate King, Hae Seong?” Ho Yeon-Hong asked Hei while she couldn't understand what Hong Shin meant.

Hei instead understood correctly and turned his full attention to the exchange between the two Pirate Generals. What they said would determine his future actions.

“What makes you think I can't take it from your corpse? I don't need you at all. And then, do you think I am stupid? I know all about your secret agreements with the Red Devil Jin-Sang. I feel sorry for you. You call yourself one of the Four Pirate Generals, but you lower yourself to lick that crazy murderer's ass and be one of his minions."

"How? No, I see — one of your whores for sure. Apparently, I haven't taught my men to hold their tongues. And what are you going to do? Jin-Sang's strength is superior to ours as well as his crew. Even if you, me, and Kan Ki-Nam had united against Jin-Sang and defeated him, what would have happened next? We would have torn ourselves apart to decide who the supreme winner is.

Rather than risk for such an uncertain eventuality, I prefer to put myself at the service of Jin-Sang, who is the one with the most chance of winning. That madman of Kan Ki-Nam. At this hour, he must be a corpse sinking into the abyss of the ocean. Think about it. You cannot fight Jin-Sang alone. You'd better join him as I did, or you'll end up murdered along with all your men.”

The dialogue between the two Pirate Generals revealed an unexpected background. Hong Shin had bowed his head to Jin-Sang, giving up his pride in order to survive. He didn't care if he ended up becoming one of the Red Devil's minions. And Ho Ri-Na was aware of this.

'The drug marketing isn’t the only cause of this conflict. To avoid finding herself in an impossible situation and creating a light of hope, she acted in advance to eliminate Jin-Sang's ally.' Hei thought to himself as he made his decision.

Meanwhile, Ho Ri-Na replied to Hong Shin's words, “It's true. It's probably a senseless act considering how things are now. Nonetheless, I am not going to give up my freedom. I am Ho Ri-Na, the Steam Goddess. For the dead and alive comrades who brought me this far, I cannot give in to such threats.”

With the pride of a woman with an inflexible spirit, Ho Ri-Na suddenly disappeared from the sight before appearing in front of Hong Shin, who was taken aback.

"Steam Kiss."

Ho Ri-Na's soft and delicate lips touched Hong Shin's rough lips. The Son of Wind was taken aback by that gesture, loosening his guard to such an unexpected pleasure. But those few seconds in which he loosened his guard were fatal to him. As Ho Ri-Na's tongue went to immobilize Hong Shin's, a wave of hot steam exploded from the woman's lungs, and through the kiss, she poured it into Hong Shin's body.

Fizz! Cough!

Suddenly, Hong Shin began gasping and twisting violently. He tried to free himself by pushing Ho Ri-Na away with all his strength, but the woman Pirate General didn’t let go and wrapped herself even more strongly toward Hong Shin, continuing that intense kiss.

The two Pirate Generals found themselves in such a vise while flying high speed through the sky. Eventually, Hong Shin's body moved less and less until it stopped moving altogether. No matter how hard he tried to hit Ho Ri-Na and chase her away, nothing he tried was effective.

Upon seeing that scene, Hei shivered with fear. In a sense, Ho Ri-Na was indeed a terrifying woman. With such a move, she had managed to get rid of her enemy, who was a spirit soldier with a similar battle power.

"Wow! The big sister won! Hooray!” By his side, Ho Yeon-Hong indulged in a series of exultations as she celebrated her sister's victory.

"Yes, she won. I'm sorry, Ho Yeon-Hong." Hei said as he turned to her.

"You are sorry? For what?” Ho Yeon-Hong gave a half-smile, not understanding why Hei was apologizing. However, she suddenly felt intense pain in the back of her head. The last thing she saw was a pair of blue eyes like sapphires.

"HO RI-NA!" Hei screamed again at the Pirate General.

The woman had consumed almost all her strength in this last attack. She turned while panting to look in the direction of the artifact ship, and what she saw shocked her. Suspended in the air, squeezed between two silver ribbons, was an unconscious Ho Yeon-Hong.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ho Ri-Na's voice sounded icy as her eyes narrowed to two slits from anger upon seeing her sister's body. Even though she knew Ho Yeon-Hong was alive, she couldn't accept her little sister was being hurt.

“What Hong Shin wanted to do. Let's make a deal. Give me the map fragment you own as well as Hong Shin’s, along with his space ring. If you do, I will let your sister go after we get enough distance from this place. I swore to you I won't harm a hair on her unless you force me.”

Hei's plan was finally revealed - taking Ho Yeon-Hong as a hostage to force Ho Ri-Na to hand over her map fragment as well as what she had just earned. It was a brazen action considering that the person he was blackmailing was none other than the Steam Goddess, one of the Four Pirate Generals.

“What makes you think I will let myself be blackmailed as if nothing had happened. Haven't you seen the end of that miserable Hong Shin?"

"You don't need to look at me with so much hostility. I know you can no longer make that move, and even if you were to kill me, it wouldn't change the fact that your sister would also go away with me. The choice is yours - the Pirate King's treasure or your younger sister's life.”

Hei's voice sounded cold while Lian commanded her two ribbons to put more pressure on Ho Yeon-Hong's neck. Seeing this, Ho Ri-Na's face frowned, becoming deformed by the anger and helplessness. Her sister was important to her, and yet accepting the blackmail meant giving up the chance to become the Pirate Queen. On one side was her much-coveted dream; on the other side, the most important person she had. In a sense, she had to choose between being a martial artist or being an older sister.

And in the end, she made her choice.

"Alright. I will give you my map fragment and Hong Shin’s one. But don't hurt my sister. Otherwise, I swore to you I will chase you to every corner of this ocean, even if it is the last thing I do."

"Don't worry. I have no hostility towards you or Ho Yeon-Hong. If it weren't for the treasure map fragments, I would never have attempted such a thing. As I said, as long as you and your men don't make false moves, everything will be fine. Now put the fragment you own inside Hong Shin’s space ring and throw it. Then you won't have to chase us, neither you nor your men. Don't try anything, because I have special skills that let me know if someone follows me.”

Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, Ho Ri-Na did what Hei commanded. In the meantime, the spirit soldiers at her service had finally arrived at her side after killing their enemies. However, instead of a scene of joy and celebration, what greeted him was that strange sight.

"Captain!"

"Captain Ho Ri-Na!"

"Ri-Na?"

"Don’t move. It is an order. No one has to follow them, let them pass.” Ho Ri-Na commanded as her voice broke from the negative emotions she was feeling.

The three spirit soldiers under her command looked towards Hei and Lian, with looks full of hostility. The one who transmitted the most hatred wasn’t Sok Yeong-Gi, but a tall man with fiery red hair and a robust build. He was also the one who had called Ho Ri-Na directly by her name and transmitted the biggest pressure of all present, second only to Ho Ri-Na.

'Won‌ ‌Byung-Chul‌, fourth-stage spirit soldier. Second in command, as well as Ho Ri-Na's right-hand man. From his reaction, their relationship certainly goes beyond a simple relationship between boss and subordinate.' Hei thought to himself as he took Hong Shin’s space ring.

Examining it quickly, he extracted the two fragments of the map contained inside. They were identical in all respects to the one he had, except that they depicted a different portion of the Forgotten Ocean.

"Old Tohyon, we can go."

"Yes, Master Hei."

Old Tohyon had a worried look. He didn't think Hei's aims were so big. He had even threatened one of the Four Pirate Generals, and from their speech, it seemed that it was for the mysterious treasure of the Pirate King Hae Seong that was said to be just a legend.

“Don't think it's over. As long as you have those fragments, Jin-Sang will come after you, and there will be no one to help you out.” Ho Ri-Na gave one last warning that appeared more like a threat.

"I know. But to complete the mission that has been left to me by the most important being of my life, I must necessarily enter inside the lion's mouth. Only in this way can I have a possibility for the future. Compared to the enemies that await me, you or Jin-Sang are nothing but insects. Insects that I have to hunt so that I can become an adult spider and kill those who threaten my family.”

Leaving those obscure words, the artifact ship set off at full speed, leaving Ho Ri-Na and her men behind, until they became impossible to see.