The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 529

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Youngest Son of the Eun Hae Trading Company Chapter 529

Chapter 529. The Second Departure (4)

The former pirates I had prepared were once members of a notorious pirate gang.
About three years ago, pirates had infiltrated a small village in Hebei Province, colluded with the county government, and attempted to kidnap the villagers.
I learned of this through an incident involving Man-suk Student of the Apricot Flower Academy.
These were some of the pirates who were suppressed at that time.
Most of the pirates captured back then had died in the Eun Hae Trading Company Prison, but these five who came here were among the survivors.
This meant their crimes were relatively lighter compared to the others.
I had requested them from the Emperor while they were serving labor sentences at a nearby construction site.
As the saying goes, a thief knows the ways of thieves best.
I intended to use these former pirates to learn how to deal with actual pirates.
It was not a bad arrangement for them either.
I had promised to reduce their labor sentences.
If they cooperated well, I would reduce it by about ten years.
But they still did not know.
That their labor sentence was actually one hundred years.
Since they were men I had requested from the Emperor and were labor sentence convicts, I decided to personally escort them to Nanking.
Before that, I had carved out this time to meet with our company members.
This way, I could hear more detailed and varied stories.
Others might call this cowardly, but I did not care.
Considering the hardship of managing these men, this was nothing.

A moment later.
I led them up to this floor.
“Who are those people?”
Most of those who saw them looked bewildered or tilted their heads in confusion.
“…!”
However, some of the sailors seemed to deduce or recognize their identities and gasped in shock.
“Those tattoos!”
“Kekeke! You recognize us!”
“We are the Red Bone Pirate Gang!”
But their momentum quickly subsided.
“Hah, that’s ancient history now.”
“Sigh.”
Clap clap!
I clapped my hands to draw their attention.
“Then let us begin the instruction.”

The education session for the former pirates proved to be quite enlightening.
“Really, to such an extent?”
“Huh….”
“Truly brutal!”
“I thought I knew well about water bandits, but these are even worse!”
They had come to understand just how harsh the treatment was when captured by pirates.
In truth, the sailors themselves did not know the details.
They had never been captured.
And those who were not sailors by origin only knew that pirates were terrifying creatures.
In such circumstances, I had instilled in them a very clear sense of dread.
“I had confidence about this voyage, but now I suddenly don’t want to go.”
Everyone nodded at Gold Manager’s words.
I rose from my seat and reassured them.
“I did not arrange this gathering merely to warn you all.”
Then I turned my head and smiled knowingly.
“There are also ways to deal with them. Is there not?”
The former pirates cleared their throats at my question.
“Ahem, well, that’s true.”
“If we had captured all the ships, we wouldn’t be in this situation… sigh.”
“Then, would you cooperate with us?”
That evening, the concentration of the senior members attending the banquet was at its peak.
.
.
.
The next day.
I led the former pirates toward the Eun Pung Palace Training Ground.
Of course, they were blindfolded and loaded into a carriage.
After all, this was a place that demanded strict security.
Upon arriving at the training ground, I spoke to the guards.
“Remove their blindfolds.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guards removed the blindfolds from the former pirates.
Their eyes closed momentarily as their vision suddenly brightened, then they lifted their heads again—their expressions immediately shifted to shock.
“W-where is this place?”
“This is where those who guard the ship we’re preparing for our voyage to the Dae-Wol Kingdom train. I brought you here to seek your expert opinions on whether there’s anything lacking in our preparations.”
As I subtly elevated their status, their expressions brightened considerably.
How simple.
If I could gain their cooperation with just this much flattery, that was all that mattered.
“Welcome, Small Guild Master.”
Manjung the Great Swordmaster rushed over immediately.
“Thank you for your efforts. I’d like to show these men our training. Please prepare as we discussed before.”
“Understood.”
Manjung the Great Swordmaster promptly struck a drum, signaling the archers.
The archers who had boarded the ship maintained their stable stance even as the vessel swayed beneath them.
“Take aim!”
“Fire!”
They unleashed their arrows toward targets that appeared impossibly distant.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Dozens of arrows flew through the air and embedded themselves in the targets in an instant.
And immediately after, dozens more arrows followed, their arrowheads blazing with flame.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Crackle crackle!
The targets ignited in an instant.
I smiled faintly and asked the former pirates.
“What do you think? Is there anything lacking?”
They stared with wide eyes and gaping mouths, completely dumbfounded.
Once they regained their senses, they let out hollow laughs and spoke.
“Ha! You call that lacking?”
“Are you mocking us?”
“Is there any ship that could withstand an attack like that?”
They spoke passionately toward me, their words burning with intensity.
“Is the destructive power truly that formidable?”
The pirates sighed and explained.
“As you know, pirates use grappling hooks to latch onto ships and engage in close combat.”
“But if the ship catches fire before we even get close, there’s no solution to that.”
“Ugh… If I had encountered an Archery Unit like that back when I was a pirate, just thinking about it makes me shudder.”
“Then there’s nothing to improve?”
“If I had to suggest something, it would be to devise a way to prevent the pirates from extinguishing the flames….”
I exchanged several points of discussion with them.
“I see. That’s been very helpful. Now, please prepare to depart for Nanking.”
“Yes.”
“By the way, you’re currently staying in the Eun Hae Trading Company Prison—are the conditions acceptable?”
They were currently being held in the Eun Hae Trading Company Prison.
They were serving their sentences as convicts.
Still, for a prison, it was quite clean, and they were being fed well.
Perhaps because of this, their response was quite positive.
“Of course!”
“It’s a hundred times better than where we were before!”
“The food is delicious too!”
“And we don’t even have to work, do we?”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied. Then.”
I gave a signal, and the Guard Warriors blindfolded them again.
Then the Guard Warriors led them out of the Training Ground.
Watching their retreating figures, I spoke to Manjung the Great Swordmaster.
“Their reaction was more positive than expected. I think we can be somewhat reassured.”
“Still, we cannot let our guard down.”
“That’s true.”
In truth, what I had shown the former pirates was only about one-tenth of what we had actually prepared.
I had reduced both the power and range of the arrows, and deployed far fewer archers.
Additionally, I had preparations in place to prevent them from extinguishing the flames they had mentioned.
I simply hadn’t shown them.
Vigilance was essential.
And from what I had heard in my previous life, pirates always dream of the sea.
They harbored a romantic notion of wanting to die at sea, even in death.
Being such men, they were currently obedient to my commands, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t attempt escape.
If they did escape, where would they go?
It was obvious as day.
Of course, even if they escaped, they would be recaptured quickly.
They had no idea that their bodies bore the tracking scent that Lee Pil Warrior had created.

* * *

The Eun Hae Trading Company Prison.
The former pirates who had returned there peered cautiously outside before gathering together.
“Sigh….”
They exhaled deeply, one after another.
“They’re just arrows, yet such devastating power!”
“What do you make of it, Elder Brother?”
“It’s the stuff of nightmares. Had I faced such warriors, I wouldn’t be alive now—I’d be fish food at the bottom of the sea.”
“Wait! What in the world did Eun Seo-ho do to those archers?”
“With weapons like that, why did he bother intimidating them yesterday?”
“Exactly!”
Just as their complaints continued, they suddenly fell silent.
“….”
“….”
Then the one among them with the highest rank, the one they called Elder Brother, stretched out flat on the ground and spoke.
“Damn it! I’m giving up on escaping!”
“Sir?”
“Elder Brother! How can you say such a thing?”
They expressed their disapproval at those words.
In truth, they had plotted to escape on the journey to Nanking, seizing any opportunity that arose.
So for now, they were pretending to obey and behave well.
That way, they could lower their captors’ guard.
Once they escaped, they planned to return to piracy.
“No! Elder Brother! Once a man of the sea, shouldn’t he die as a man of the sea?”
“Yes, dying as a man of the sea is fine. But think about it rationally. Do you really believe Eun Seo-ho showed us that training merely to seek our advice?”
At those words, the other four former pirates tilted their heads in confusion.
“Sir?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ugh… you thick-headed fools! You bastards still don’t know what kind of person Eun Seo-ho is?”
“….”
At that question, everyone fell silent as stone.
The tales of Eun Seo-ho’s exploits that reached even their labor camp made one wonder if he was even human.
Then one man’s face hardened as understanding dawned.
“Could it be… a warning?”
“Yes, you bastards. Did it take you this long to realize? If you escape and return to piracy, you’ll burn alive. That’s the warning!”
“….”
“No matter how romantic it is to die as a man of the sea, I’d rather not burn to death. Besides, he said if we cooperate well with this matter, he’ll even reduce our sentences.”
He continued.
“If you want to escape, go ahead. I won’t.”
At that, they exchanged glances before lying down one by one, grumbling.
“Damn it, if Elder Brother says so, why would I escape? I’m giving up too.”
“Me too.”
“I’d rather die from hard labor or fall to a blade or arrow than burn to death in flames.”

And so the former pirates abandoned any thought of escape.
It was a result that even Eun Seo-ho hadn’t anticipated.

* * *

I woke early in the morning as usual.
Today was finally the day our Eun Hae Trading Company fleet set sail.
Thanks to all the rushing about and preparations, we were able to depart on schedule.
I stretched lightly and stepped out into the courtyard.
Breathing in the fresh air, I performed my breathing exercises, and as I rose from my meditation, Master was entering the courtyard of my pavilion.
“Good morning.”
“Indeed. Good morning. Then, let us begin training.”
Master was truly Master.
Despite today being our departure day, he proceeded with training as if it were of no consequence whatsoever.
Sigh, for some reason the training has become quite intense lately.
After teaching him the Extreme Ice Sword that I learned from the Ancestor, I also conveyed that the Soulbound Sword Technique wasn’t actually a sword method bound to Elder Brother.
It seemed he had gained some enlightenment from that.
Perhaps that was why.
.
.
.
I stood at the dock, gazing blankly at the fleet.
“Why do you look so exhausted?”
The voice of Eun Jung-ho came from behind.
“Just… well…”
I couldn’t tell him that Master’s training today had been grueling, so I simply smiled.
“The preserved plums?”
“We’ve loaded the plums we stored from last year, along with fresh water and provisions.”
Eun Jung-ho had also decided to board the ship and travel to Nanking with us.
As the next Merchant Guild Leader, he couldn’t afford to miss something like this.
We reviewed the manifest of items to be loaded, checking once more to ensure nothing was missing.
“Did we load the cats?”
“Of course.”
For any voyage, cats—ship cats, as they were called—were essential. They were needed to catch rats.
If rats infested a ship, they would cause considerable trouble, so we relied on cats to eliminate them.
That’s why ship captains would go to great lengths to acquire cats known for being excellent rat hunters.
“Meow! Meow!”
Huh?
I heard Geum-ryeong’s voice coming from somewhere.
Following that voice, I found Geum-ryeong inside the food storage.
But in front of him was a ship’s cat crouched down, trembling with tension.
“Meow! Meow!”
“Mew.”
Ah… was he training the ship’s cat right now?
He was even threatening it, saying terrible things would happen if it didn’t catch rats properly.
It looked cute to me, though.
Judging by how the ship’s cat couldn’t even meet his eyes, Geum-ryeong’s training methods seemed quite effective.
Good.
Having rats on a ship was truly problematic.
But, Geum-ryeong, do you realize something?
Our Eun Hae Trading Company has four ships….
Once you finish training, I should give you some silver coins as a reward.

Shortly after, Father arrived.
Father came to perform a blessing ceremony.
Whenever such a large merchant fleet set sail, the Merchant Guild Leader would customarily perform a blessing to boost morale.
Father finished reading the blessing prayer and burned it in the fire.
Whoosh!
Everyone cheered as they watched it soar high into the sky.
“A good omen!”
“A good omen! A good omen!”
It was gratifying to see that my channeling of energy made the blessing prayer fly so high.
Soon, everyone who needed to board had arrived on the ship.
And the archers dressed in Eun Pung Corps uniforms also boarded. They were the ones I had been training diligently.
I hoped this voyage would prove their worth.
“Then, have a safe journey.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I and Seo-ho will ensure we return safely, so please don’t worry.”
Father nodded at Eun Jung-ho’s words.
“Travel carefully!”
Now it was truly time to depart.
“Brother.”
“Yes.”
Eun Jung-ho shouted.
“Set sail!”
Then a man with a loud voice echoed his command.
“Set sail!”
“Set sail!”
Whoooooosh!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
The blast of horns and the beat of drums echoed across the water. Gradually, the boat began to move.
Our destination was Nanking.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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