He Became the Genius Blacksmith of the Namgung Family - Chapter 94
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 94
Episode 94
It was the day before arriving at the Nanman Beast Palace.
That was when Namgung Cheon-gang heard his name from Suwang.
‘Well, I already knew hyung-nim’s name, but still, I couldn’t just call him by name carelessly.’
How could he explain that he learned it from Gongmyeong?
Of course, given their friendship, he wouldn’t beat him senseless with tiger paw-like hands claiming he’d gone mad.
‘He’d hit me moderately.’
Even in the Martial Arts World, they cure mental illness with beatings, so Namman wouldn’t be any different, right?
Maybe even worse?
‘Anyway, now I can call him Yahwel hyung-nim without worry.’
How much it had been bothering me all this time.
Now that the tiger paw treatment is off the table, I should call him freely.
After hearing his name, he also received an explanation about the Nanman Beast Palace.
I’d certainly only heard the name before, but didn’t know what kind of place it was in detail, so this was important information.
‘If Hwanggyeon hyung-nim had been here, he would have explained on the way.’
I parted ways with Hwanggyeon at Cheonjaeum.
Well, since this was a journey to the Nanman Beast Palace for Namgung Family business, there was no need for someone from the Beggar’s Sect to follow along.
Of course, he could have come along saying “following my younger brother for thirty thousand li.”
‘Ah, if only he wasn’t so busy, we could have gone together. What a shame.’
Well, Palgyelgae of the Beggar’s Sect, Huga hyung-nim.
That position isn’t one where you can leisurely enjoy yourself, is it?
Since he had things to do, we had no choice but to part ways.
‘I heard it took longer than originally planned…’
How much work must have piled up for Huga to handle.
Though we parted with smiles, seeing the shadows under his eyes reach down to his knees, it seemed no joke.
‘I pray for your martial fortune, hyung-nim.’
Still, with 100 Gaebangdo members who possess the Cloud Transformation Technique, they’ll be of great help.
‘Hwanggyeon hyung-nim wouldn’t just leave such human resources unused.’
Anyway, since we had a beautiful farewell, I couldn’t get information from the Beggar’s Sect.
Fortunately, being with a local of the Nanman Beast Palace, and moreover the next Palace Lord, I heard more than enough explanations.
‘Let’s see, the Nanman Beast Palace that Yahwel hyung-nim told me about is…’
A jungle city formed by the union of Tiger, Bear, Leopard, Rat, Cat, Dog, Poison and other tribes scattered throughout the jungles of Namman.
They’ve been living together as a unified city for over several hundred years, and the initial Palace Lord of the Nanman Beast Palace was the chief of the Tiger tribe.
Furthermore, even now the Tiger tribe holds the position of Palace Lord of Namman.
The tribe that ascends to the Palace Lord position takes the name of King.
Also, this Palace Lord position can be obtained once every five years.
Through the ‘Palace Lord Selection Competition.’
This is clearly a place that follows the principle of “the strong reign supreme.”
A place that’s quite straightforward yet has a beast king selection method befitting its name.
A place where countless tribes from the Namman jungles united and lived together for hundreds of years of history to form a city.
After a day passed, we finally arrived at
The ‘Nanman Beast Palace’ that Suwang Yahwel had described.
‘Wow.’
It was much more beautiful than I had thought.
* * *
A forest that was also a city.
Of course, it wasn’t a cutting-edge city.
It was crudely built with vague knowledge of Central Plains architecture.
However, the vast natural environment of Namman blended with that crudeness to enhance its completeness, naturally drawing exclamations of beauty.
The harmony of lush green with gray and brown.
The harmony of verdure and wilderness, yet also civilization.
‘Ah, so this is why they keep talking about being eco-friendly.’
No wonder eco-friendly apartments are expensive.
The forest view is amazing.
‘Living in a place like this would make all accumulated stress fly away!’
Buzzzz.
Smack!
‘Of course, it’s not a place to live long-term.’
Seeing a giant mosquito flying toward him, Namgung Cheon-gang kicked it away and decided to be satisfied with just looking.
There were so many of those bugs.
No, was it just bugs?
There were also many aggressive animals.
‘It was my first time seeing plants trying to eat people.’
Just the bugs, animals, and plants we caught on the way here amounted to about five cart-loads.
Buzzzz.
Even after those carts were completely full,
These damn jungle bugs kept swarming endlessly.
Buzzzzz!
Oh, really!
Thwack!
‘Wait, hold on?’
Only after kicking away about ten of them did he realize these mosquitos were the size of kittens and was startled.
“What the hell is that!?”
Even the mosquitos I’d encountered so far were smaller than that.
About the size of a giant hornet?
Yeah, that was the extent, but this one crossed the line!
Yahwel answered calmly.
“It’s a Namman Fruit-Fang Giant Mosquito. The entrance area to the Nanman Beast Palace is the territory of the Deer tribe that cultivates fruit, so there are many such mosquitos.”
“What kind of fruit makes mosquitos grow that big…”
Come to think of it, there’s an incredibly sweet fragrance, isn’t there?
‘This seems very familiar?’
Sniff sniff.
Namgung Cheon-gang flared his nostrils more.
Ah!
This fragrance is!
“Don’t tell me, are they cultivating bananas, no, Fang Sweet Grass in this area, hyung-nim?”
“That’s right. This is a Fang Sweet Grass cultivation zone.”
“Wow!”
Fang Sweet Grass!
To think there’s a Namman mountain Fang Sweet Grass field right nearby!
In the Martial Arts World, Fang Sweet Grass (banana) is quite an expensive fruit.
Because it only grows in Namman, the imported quantity is limited.
Of course, if it didn’t taste good, it wouldn’t be expensive at all – they wouldn’t even import it in the first place.
‘But the Namman-brand bananas in the Martial Arts World aren’t ordinary bananas!’
They’re Gros Michel bananas.
The ultimate banana that went extinct in my previous life and can never be tasted again!
‘Didn’t they say that those who ate Gros Michel bananas couldn’t eat modern bananas!’
Their taste and fragrance are richer, sweeter, and more delicious!
The artificial banana flavoring that humans created was based on this very Gros Michel banana’s flavor, so that says it all.
Namgung Cheon-gang realized that after encountering the Gros Michel banana, the bananas he had eaten before weren’t really bananas.
‘And in this era, you can eat that if you just have money!’
This means there are natural local specialties right in front of him.
“C-can I try some Gros Mi- I mean, Agamcho later, hyung-nim?”
“Of course. As my brother, you can eat as much as you want. But the fragrance is so strong even at the entrance…”
Yahwel fell into thought.
Meanwhile, the Namman Warriors chatted among themselves.
“This batch of Agamcho seems very well-ripened. Even Gyarong and I have never smelled such a rich fragrance. It must be very delicious.”
Gulp.
If the local hyung-nim says it’s his first time experiencing this, just how delicious could it be?
He was getting excited.
His mouth was watering.
Gulp.
(✧﹃✧):Squeak!
Baekseol was also excited.
‘That’s right, that’s right. Daddy will get you one too. Slurp.’
While he was drooling like that.
“But this is the first time I’ve seen a Namman Gwaa Daemun this big.”
“Did the Namman Gwaa Daemun eat well?”
“It looks fierce too. Like a pest.”
“Its aggressiveness is strong too, like an ex-girlfriend!”
The Namman Warriors each made a comment while looking at the Namman Gwaa Daemun.
As Namgung Cheon-gang listened, huh?
It seems this wasn’t originally like this.
“Um, hyung-nims? The Namman Gwaa Daemun isn’t originally this size?”
Gyarong answered.
“That’s right. Even at maximum size, it’s only half of this.”
So it was really about the size of a giant hornet.
“It’s not aggressive either.”
“It doesn’t suck human blood.”
“It feeds well on fruit juice.”
I think I heard that fruit mosquitoes don’t suck blood.
This one seems to be the same.
“Right. But it hurts if you get stung.”
“If you get stung by that thing, you’ll be swollen for two days.”
“Before, Myumyu’s friend Nyunyu got bitten, and I thought he had two faces.”
“…”
Two faces…
Wouldn’t that be a cursed mosquito at that point?
“Besides fruit juice, it also sucks insect blood.”
“Baekseol needs to be careful. If bitten by a Namman Gwaa Daemun that’s doubled in size, that cute body will shrivel up.”
(‵□′)و:Squeak!
“A mosquito of that size wouldn’t even be a one-punch deal, would it?”
Well, our Baekseol isn’t just any ordinary Baekseol.
This is Baekseol who fought against the giant monster rat called Nammantae Daehyeolseo.
How dare a kitten-sized mosquito challenge her!
The Namman Brothers seemed to remember this too, as they all nodded in unison.
“Come to think of it, didn’t she headbutt the Nammantae Daehyeolseo with her body?”
“It was very refreshing.”
“Then there’s no problem!”
“Still, don’t grow giant. The Agamcho field will disappear.”
“Hundreds of Namman Gwaa Daemun will rush over for a feast.”
Come to think of it, that would be the case, wouldn’t it?
A enlarged body would be exactly like a buffet spread for the giant mosquitoes.
Then our Baekseol would become a mummy in no time.
Suck, drained, slurp, shriveled up.
Ugh.
That won’t do, it can’t happen.
“Baekseol, let’s not grow your body unless absolutely necessary. Got it?”
(´□`):Squeak.
Our Baekseol who answers so well.
Of course, Baekseol might be fine even if bitten by hundreds of mosquitoes.
Even though her body is soft and marshmallow-like now, if push comes to shove, she can just wrap herself up in silk for protection.
‘Baekseol’s silk is like steel, so it’s practically armor.’
Would you treat A-grade crafted item durability like water?
‘Still, it’s better to be careful just in case.’
There are rats that use internal energy, so why couldn’t there be mosquitoes that use internal energy?
Safety first.
‘But why does Yahwel hyung-nim’s expression look so serious?’
The other Namman Brothers don’t seem particularly worried.
In contrast, his expression while looking at the Namman Gwaa Daemun corpse seems unusual.
Is there something?
Just as he was thinking that.
“Gyarong. I have something to discuss with you for a moment.”
Yahwel called Gyarong aside, and the two whispered to each other.
Soon, Gyarong nodded.
“Don’t worry, Suwang. I, Gyarong, will take brother Cheongang to that place here and come back.”
“I trust you, Gyarong.”
The two exchanged glances and nodded.
They reached out, grasped hands firmly, and shook slightly.
After that, Yahwel spoke to Namgung Cheon-gang.
“Brother. I, Yahwel, and the warriors will return to the Palace. I would like to guide you around this place, but I have things to deliver and discuss directly with the Palace Lord.”
Things Yahwel would deliver directly.
Namgung Cheon-gang understood intuitively.
The traitor’s belongings.
The broken Hyeolseo Jeokgak.
‘Well, he may be a traitor, but he’s still blood family.’
The task of delivering the last remains and belongings, or evidence, of blood family.
In a way, it’s a family matter, so there’s no need for a third party to interfere.
“Don’t worry about me, have a safe trip, hyung-nim. I’ll wait.”
“…Thank you. Gyarong will guide you well around this place in my stead. He’ll take you directly to where you want to go.”
“Understood, hyung-nim. Please take care of me, Gyarong hyung-nim.”
“Just trust me, Gyarong. And have a safe trip, Suwang.”
“Yes!”
After that, Yahwel beat his chest in a solemn greeting and quickly disappeared with the Namman Warriors.
Namgung Cheon-gang parted with them, turned back to Gyarong, and carefully asked.
“Gyarong hyung-nim.”
“Yes, brother. Speak.”
“Yahwel hyung-nim’s expression didn’t look good. Is something wrong?”
“It seems there might be a problem with the land.”
“If you mean the land… Ah!”
I think I immediately know what land he’s referring to.
The land of the Nanman Beast Palace that was wounded 30 years ago by the Nammantae Daehyeolseo, and furthermore by the Blood Cult.
“You’re talking about that place, right?”
“Correct. So, Suwang asked me to guide you there quickly. I’ll move a bit fast. Follow me, younger brother.”
“Understood, elder brother.”
Whoosh!
Gyarong’s figure shot out like a deer climbing mountains as he kicked off from his position.
Behind him, Namgung Cheon-gang also followed quickly.
The forests and houses built in villages disappeared like afterimages.
After running for half a day like that, they arrived at the entrance of a forest.
The giant trees forming the forest stood like the walls and gates of an iron fortress, blocking the intrusion of strangers.
At the single entrance where one could enter, warriors of the Nanman Beast Palace were guarding it like an iron wall.
When Gyarong approached, they quickly became alert, but soon recognized Gyarong and lowered their guard.
However, seeing Namgung Cheon-gang who followed behind, their eyes flashed like beasts eyeing prey, and they raised their energy.
When Gyarong said something, their wariness subsided.
Soon they nodded and stepped aside.
“Follow me, younger brother.”
“Yes.”
Another sprint.
After entering the giant forest like that and running for about ten minutes, a huge open field appeared.
At that entrance, Gyarong stood tall, and Namgung Cheon-gang who followed behind stood alongside him.
Namgung Cheon-gang’s eyes widened as he looked at the open field.
Land stained red.
A thick blood scent that pierced the nose.
A place that had turned half into a swamp, where the stickiness was visible even to the eye.
“Don’t tell me, this is…”
Namman’s wound.
“Correct. This is Namman’s wound carved 30 years ago by the Blood Cult, and furthermore by the traitor of that time.”
It was quite more serious than expected.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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