Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Inside the cabin, the princess pointed at the map and spoke.

“So if that child sinks all the ships in the middle of the night, I’m supposed to join forces with the Lord of Bukgeon and block off the port the pirates use, then launch the landing operation, right?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Then, just like before, the Bunran pirates will flee to the mountains, and the Dragon Fangs and the young master, who will be waiting in the forest between the beach and the mountains, will wipe them out all at once?”

“That’s correct.”

Our plan was for the Dragon Fangs and me to secretly land and set traps behind the pirates, lying in wait.

Up until now, whenever we tried to suppress the harbor, the ships would flee to the open sea, and the pirates would scatter into the mountains, leaving no results. This time, the plan was to wait behind them and sweep them all up as they ran.

“But will you be alright? If they have twenty ships, that means there must be at least five hundred pirates, right?”

The princess asked again with a worried expression after hearing the strategy I came up with.

She was asking if I and the kids could really handle five hundred pirates—but they were the same kids who had taken down two hundred Blood Cult elites. Five hundred pirates wouldn’t even be a warm-up.

Sure, the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings weren’t with us right now, but we had Cheongwol, and with the swarm on the island, we could compensate well enough. There was no need to worry too much.

Besides, among those five hundred pirates, only a handful actually practiced martial arts. According to Jin-gyu, the former Strangling Lust Demon who had now become a junior officer, there was only one with notably high-level martial skills.

And even that one was only slightly stronger than Jin-gyu, meaning two or three of the Dragon Fangs would be enough to handle him.

“You don’t need to worry. Our kids aren’t exactly weak when it comes to the water, either.”

“Given what you’ve done so far... alright. But please be careful. I really don’t want to see a friend like you get hurt or lost.”

“So we’re friends now?”

“Of course! We’ve always been good friends who understand each other well, haven’t we?”

“R-Right.”

The princess was declaring herself my close female friend.

I figured there was no harm in letting her believe that. If I said otherwise to her face, I might end up accused of disrespecting the imperial family or something.

I gave an awkward smile, and the princess gestured toward Hwa-eun.

“Hwa-eun, let’s go. Hwa-eun will be accompanying me for communications.”

The reason the princess was bringing Hwa-eun was to coordinate the timing of the operation.

Since we could communicate telepathically, it was easier to share updates on each other’s situations.

“Understood, Your Highness.”

With that, the princess told Hwa-eun to follow her and used lightfoot techniques to leap onto the next ship.

Her body flew between the vessels and landed firmly on the deck of the ship across.

The officer on the other side, who had been watching with a worried look, visibly relaxed as soon as she landed.

Soon, his disciples followed the princess, and finally, Hwa-eun remained. She tightly held my hand and said,

“Please be careful, So-ryong.”

“I will.”

“Hwa-eun, don’t worry. I’ll protect So-ryong well.”

“Okay, Unnie. I’m counting on you.”

And so, with Hwa-eun and the princess now aboard the warship, our own vessel set course to circle around the eastern side of Taiwan Island and anchor in the southern bay, just as planned.

The western bay was already set up with a trap by the local natives cooperating with the farmers, so we had no choice but to sail south around the east. Besides, the pirate ships were all gathered in the southwest bay of the island.

“After we circle the eastern coast, we’ll reach the southern river estuary in two days. During that time, I’ll scout the area with Yeondu and Cho.”

“Understood, young master.”

“Don’t worry. Master Do Sagong will definitely get us there in two days.”

As soon as we set sail, I headed straight into the reconnaissance mission.

We couldn’t afford to let the pirates make a move before we got into position.

I took up a post on a low hill overlooking the harbor and rotated shifts with Cho and Yeondu to observe the enemy.

The first day passed with no real changes. When I woke the next morning to the light of dawn, there was a bit of a stir in the harbor below.

‘Let’s see... Two more ships? That makes twenty.’

Indeed, the ships had increased to twenty.

The princess had estimated the pirates’ maximum number of ships at ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) that, so they were nearly all here.

They seemed to be loading goods onto the ships, so even if they weren’t leaving right away, it wouldn’t be long.

Tonight looked like the right time.

I immediately reached out to Hwa-eun.

“Hwa-eun, how’s it going on your end?”

“Bukgeon isn’t far, so we arrived quickly. It took a bit of time to prepare the ships, but we’re already setting sail.

Five warships, and four more are following—nine in total. They’ll anchor near a nearby island, and as soon as the sun sets, they’ll arrive at the front of the pirates’ harbor.”

“Got it.”

Things seemed to be progressing smoothly on Hwa-eun’s end, so I quickly sent out a telepathic message to Bini.

I wanted to know how far along she was.

『Bini, how far have you gotten?』

『A mountain? What mountain could it be?』

『Hmm... a big mountain...』

Yeah, conversations like this were tough with Bini.

I thought of trying with Hwayang, but all she’d probably say was “food,” so I asked Cheongwol instead.

“Cheongwol, did you hear the sailors say anything about how much longer we have?”

Since Cheongwol was on deck, I figured she might have picked something up—and sure enough, with her experience, she responded quickly.

“Got it. Thanks. I’ll come get you soon.”

It was time to gather the kids and the Dragon Fangs.

I gave Cho an order.

“Cho, wait here. When I give the signal, poke holes in the bottoms of all those ships down there. Got it?”

–Chororok!

“Oh, don’t smash them to pieces—make them sink slowly, like last time.”

–Chorurut?

A wave of emotion came from Cho, expressing his desire to split them in half in a clean ‘A’ shape.

But I couldn’t allow that.

If one ship shattered and others tried to escape, it would ruin everything.

“If you make too much noise, the others might flee.”

–Chororu.

I felt a bit of disappointment, but Cho had already accepted the order.

I patted him on the head and quietly slipped off with Yeondu toward the river estuary.

We flew through the sky and arrived over the estuary. Below, the sea stretched wide.

Searching from above, I soon spotted our ship, calmly anchored in the moonlit waters.

“There it is, Yeondu.”

–Shaaa.

We landed on deck, where the kids and the Dragon Fangs rushed to greet us.

–Chororok.

–Kiiit.

–Pii!

As I hugged the ones who ran up, I heard the voices of Hyung-nim and Ji-ryong.

“So-ryong, how did it go?”

“Young master, what’s the status?”

“Twenty-two pirate ships have arrived.”

“So they’re almost all here. The sun has set—let’s sail upstream.”

Under a moon veiled by clouds, Yeondu, with Yo-hwa’s thread tied around her waist, skimmed across the river’s surface upstream.

Led by Yeondu, the ship calmly sailed upstream through the river flowing into the sea.

After traveling for quite some time, the vessel arrived near a sandbar, and Do Sagong quietly spoke.

[So-ryong-nim, that place should do.]

The sandbar was thick with tropical brush, making it an ideal place to hide the ship.

I immediately asked Yeondu to guide us toward it.

“Yeondu, take the ship toward that sandbar.”

–Shaaa!

–Screeech. Thump.

Soon, the sound of the ship’s flat bottom scraping the sand came from below.

On any other hull, that sound would have been a problem, but ours was a flat-bottomed vessel, so it didn’t matter if it settled on top of the sand.

“We’ve arrived. Let’s get off. Everyone, disembark.”

–Thump!

At my words, Cheongwol leapt down first and landed on the sand.

Then Bini and the other kids jumped down one after another onto the sandy beach.

Hwayang jumped down as well, immediately dropping to her knees and slapping her thighs at me.

–Pii!

I waited a moment while Cheongwol stretched after landing on the beach, then gave the order.

“Alright, let’s move. If we’re going to get the traps set before sunrise, we’re cutting it close.”

“Yes, young master.”

A few disciples of Botaram, left behind by the princess, stayed to guard the ship just in case.

The Dragon Fangs, the kids, and I began moving immediately.

There was still time before sunrise, but the distance we had to travel was far.

For people who moved at dawn, time was already tight.

“Let’s go, Cheongwol!”

–Krrrrt!

We quietly crossed the dark rainforest of Taiwan Island under the cover of night, heading toward the pirates’ harbor.

***

Since sound travels farther at night, I was extra careful not to let Cheongwol snap any branches or trees.

We moved through a narrow path where trees and grass were sparse.

After some time, the pirate harbor, faintly lit in the distance, came into view.

It seemed they were only worried about attacks from the sea—guards were posted only at the harbor itself. No one was watching the rear, where we were approaching from.

Yeondu took to the sky again, and I followed. From above, we surveyed the terrain thoroughly before assigning positions.

“Cheongwol, you’ll stay here. When they come charging in, break as many trees as you can, throw rocks—anything to scare them off and keep them from coming this way. Make them think they’ll die if they do. Got it?”

–Krrrrt.

“If anyone slips past to the rear, Seol, Bing, and Dong will handle them. Knock them out as soon as they show up.”

–Kku kku!

–Kkuuuu!

–Kkoot!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Cheongwol was stationed on the left side, where the forest met the sea.

Seol, Bing, and Dong were placed behind her.

Cheongwol’s job was to terrify the pirates so they’d turn around and run in the other direction.

Then I took Bini, Yeondu, and the Dragon Fangs to the opposite side and gave them their instructions.

Same objective.

“Bini, Yeondu, you two will handle this side. Do whatever it takes to scare them into running toward the center.”

–Shaaa!

–Chorut!

“Hyung-nim and the Dragon Fangs, please cover behind these two. We have to funnel the pirates into the middle.”

“Understood, So-ryong.”

“Don’t worry, young master.”

With Yeondu and Bini scaring from the front, the Dragon Fangs would take care of any escapees.

Once both flanks were secured, I moved to the center.

From above, I double-checked everyone’s positions, then brought Yohwa and Cheongyu to the dead center—where our real trap would be sprung.

“Yohwa, you can make mist here, right?”

–Kiiit.

“Great. Then spread it out as wide as you can.”

I hadn’t called for Yohwa’s mist in a long time, so I asked if she could still do it. She answered that she could.

“And Cheongyu, can you summon some snakes and spread them through the mist and behind it?”

–Shiaa!

Mist summoned by Yohwa at the center.

And inside that mist—Cheongyu’s venomous snakes.

Any pirate unlucky enough to wander into the fog would either be snatched by Yohwa or bitten to death by the snakes.

Once everyone was in position, Tang Hwa-eun’s voice reached me.

『So-ryong, we’ve arrived.』

All the performers were ready—now it was time to play the orchestra.

To begin the performance, I gave the signal to Cho.

『Cho, let’s go!』

–Chorurut!

Cho’s excited voice rang out in response.

About twenty ships to go.

–Creak... Screeeeech.

Sounds of wood grinding together echoed in the harbor, and then noise erupted. I felt Cho’s elation.

『Chorurut! “Daddy, it’s all done!”』

The message: the holes had been made in the bottoms of the ships.

『Tang Hwa-eun! Now!』

–Buuuuung!

–Dum dum dum dum dum.

The blare of horns and beating of war drums thundered from the sea.

The harbor was thrown into chaos as the drums echoed through the midnight air.

Pirates ran toward their ships, only to find them sinking before they could even get moving.

In a panic, they dove into the water and began swimming toward the shore—right in our direction.

‘Alright, kids! We’ve got visitors!’

I sent the signal telepathically to each of the connected children.

–Krrrrt.

–Chorut!

–Chorurut!

–Piiik!

Their loud answers rang back at once—and then I heard Hwayang’s voice.

That’s when I thought:

‘Wait... where did I assign her again?’