What is that?
Meanwhile, the pirates who had been watching themselves get butchered burst onto the decks in panic.
"What is that?"
"What is that thing?"
"Cannons."
"Goryeo is using cannons."
Among them, the rumor of the demon shifted.
Now the talk was no longer about a man—it was about the thunder itself.
Men leapt from the decks, splashing into the water, sprinting toward the shore.
To live, they threw away their swords.
They cast off their armor.
They crawled, clawing at sand with bare hands.
A few ships rowed in desperately.
Before they could make contact, cannon fire split them apart.
The moment a single hole opened, the men scattered in all directions.
"Change heading."
The order passed.
Flags rose.
Drums sounded.
The ships turned.
Without moving the guns, the hulls rotated.
The opposite battery came into view.
They opened their flanks toward the approaching ships.
Then the guns on the far side spoke.
Kwaang. Kwang-kwang-kwang.
A Japanese ship took a direct hit at close range and broke apart.
A watchtower vanished in a single shot.
Four cannons fired at once.
Enemy ships tore open in succession.
On the shore, dozens of men could be seen scrambling onto land.
Park Seong-jin exhaled.
"They're running ashore."
"Break the docked ships first."
"Sink everything so they can't sail again."
"By your command."
Two cannon ships pushed in close to the coast.
Ships were tied along the shoreline in a row.
They became a line of graves.
"Fire."
KWAAAAANG—!!
Three ships in the front row flipped over at once.
The blast threw waves of sand into the air.
"Keep firing."
"Cut the roots."
Kwarrrrung—!! Kwaang—!! Kwang—Kwang—!!
Oil barrels caught fire and exploded in sequence.
The shoreline became a wall of flame.
Pirates screamed and stumbled backward.
"Run!"
"To the mountains!"
"To the mountains!"
Haechil fired its four broadside guns in unison.
"Fire."
GUGUGUGUUNG—!!!!!
It sounded like a chain of small thunderbolts striking the earth.
Ships along the shore exploded one by one.
Timber, anchors, and masts blasted skyward.
The survivors fled deeper into the bay.
There was no time to clutch torn clothing.
No time to fall into the water.
They ran until their breath failed.
"Out of range!"
"Further in!"
"Further in!"
The inner bay was calm.
They used that calm as a shield.
From the sea, their flight from the burning shore was visible, firelight shaking behind them.
The Battle of Seungju continued through the morning, smashing ship after ship.
The count passed fifty.
Park Seong-jin drew the fleet back.
As they lined up facing Seungju harbor, three ships approached from the rear, transferring supplies on deck.
Once, the problem had been enemies fleeing to the sea.
Now, the problem was enemies fleeing to land.
Preparing cavalry took time.
The distance was far.
The roads were poor.
The job could not be finished.
Song I-jeong cautioned him.
"We can't deal with those who escape inland."
"I see."
"It's regrettable."
"If they flee in there," Park said quietly, "won't they raid again?"
Weapons had advanced.
Doctrine had followed.
Victory was clear.
Their way of war ended when they ran.
Ours does not.
We kill.
We must kill—so they do not return.
So the thought of returning is broken.
Cut it off completely.
Break even the tongues of those who might go back.
That was when Jin Chong, staring toward the shore from the wet deck, spoke low.
"General."
"This isn't a problem of artillery."
Park turned his head.
Through the smoke he saw movement along the shore—people scattered like dots.
Men who had thrown away swords.
Men clutching only armor.
Men running while bleeding.
They were crawling into the mountains.
Jin Chong continued.
"If they start escaping inland, this isn't a victory."
"We've only cleared the surface."
Zhang Shiyi wiped his face with a wet sleeve and cut in.
"He's right."
"Whether we take prisoners or cut the roads on land, at the very least we must tear out the tongues that would go back."
"If anyone survives to talk—"
"They'll come again," Park said without looking away.
Song I-jeong added carefully.
"If they enter the mountains, they'll take the people's breath."
"Food."
"Women."
"Children."
"Fire."
"Everything."
Park fell silent.
A missing gear clicked into place in his mind.
"Recon ships."
"Yes?"
"Don't use them only to find ships."
"Watch land smoke, firelight, and human movement."
"From now on, they are the eyes of the coast."
Song I-jeong bowed at once.
"I obey."
"And landings," Park continued.
Jin Chong narrowed his eyes.
"With our current manpower—"
"We don't need many."
Park's words fell short and hard.
"This isn't a landing to swing swords and kill."
"It's a cutting landing."
"Hold the choke points."
"Cut the water paths."
"Those going into the mountains."
"Those coming down."
"Cut them all."
Zhang Shiyi hesitated, then laid out reality.
"But General."
"We have no cavalry."
"The mountain paths are narrow, the valleys deep."
"Land fighting—"
Park nodded.
"That's why we do it now."
He pointed to the shallowest part of the bay—the throat of the inlet.
"Block the bay entrance."
"Burn the remaining ships and turn them into buoys."
"Let them drift."
"They'll starve in the mountains."
"They won't reach the sea either."
Jin Chong drew a short breath.
"A blockade."
"Yes."
Park said it calmly.
The word spread across Seungju Bay like a net.
He added one more thing.
Song I-jeong asked,
"Prisoners. Can we take any?"
"We will," Park said.
"Killing isn't the end."
"We need to know where they came from."
"Where they return to."
"Where the root is."
Jin Chong's eyes changed—into a commander's.
"Good. Then we'll form landing parties."
Zhang Shiyi was already raising his voice, calling for people.
"Hey—interpreter! Get over here. We're taking prisoners. Bring someone who knows the mountain paths."
Hearing the bustle, Park closed his eyes for a moment.
The emptiness after victory became clear.
Cannons had taught how to destroy.
War needed a way to finish.
He spoke quietly.
"From now on, sinking ships is not the end."
"Yes, General," Song I-jeong answered.
Park looked out over the sea and added,
"We cut their feet."
"We cut their tongues."
"We cut their will."
The words were harsh and deliberate.