I Became the Namgung Clan’s Omnipotent Item-Powered Martial God - Chapter 81

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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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Episode 81
Episode 81 – A Thief’s Feet Itch
#1
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But it seems the other ship was a different one.”
The attack was resolved swiftly.
From the start, they had deployed a force the Demons could never hope to overcome.
Whatever they’d been after, it had yielded nothing but meaningless loss.
Normally, for an attack to succeed, there would be someone of overwhelming power lending support.
But this attack had brought only a rabble of small-time operatives.
What could they possibly have been trying to accomplish?
No—they had achieved something, after all.
They had made the ship stolen from the River Bandits inoperable.
“How could they strike down innocent laborers like that…?”
“Their purpose remains unclear, but it’s possible we were never the intended target from the beginning.”
“Hmm…”
Wol Young gazed out at the ship where corpses bobbed in the water.
The vessel lay shattered beyond any hope of salvage and recovery.
In the end, they retrieved no spoils of war and could only press on toward their destination.
Discontent surfaced elsewhere as well.
Among the junior members of the Namgung Family assigned to the mission.
Namgung Jinjin posed a question to his Group Leader, Namgung Yeon.
Cutting straight to the heart of something that felt off.
“Is this really a low-rank mission?”
“It is. But no matter how I think about it, it’s far more intense than exterminating Demons in Hapbi.”
“It can’t be. I’d wager this is at least middle-rank or higher.”
“…”
Namgung Yeon answered without hesitation.
That was it.
Now that he thought about it, something had always felt wrong.
The third-squad cadets let out a collective sigh.
Namgung Sewun in particular rubbed the back of his neck and released a long, heavy breath.
He should have stayed home hammering iron instead. He’d nearly lost his life more times than he could count.
“I really almost died too many times…”
“Yet I saved you, did I not?”
“If you hadn’t…”
He might well have lost an arm by now.
Real combat was far more vicious and brutal than imagination allowed.
A single moment of carelessness could erase everything—a lamp flame flickering before the wind.
Was this, then, what true Gangho meant?
“In any case, we’re fortunate everyone is safe. Keep your wits about you—troubles like this will keep coming.”
“…”
So this wasn’t even the end of it.
The cadets heaved deep sighs, yet they could not voice their grievances aloud.
An age where Demons proliferated.
To survive such an age, one needed an iron will stronger than anyone else’s.
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“Could we speak privately for a moment?”
Jin Mu-ik, who had been observing the situation, addressed Namgung Yeon.
He wanted to discuss something in a place where none could overhear.
Namgung Yeon nodded readily and moved to follow him.
Had it not been for the voice that suddenly called out.
“Young Master, that man is dangerous. Allow me to stand guard for you.”
“…”
Namgung Yeon knew a saying that went like this.
A thief’s feet itch.
Why did O Gwangseok’s words now remind him so keenly of watching a thief scratching restless feet?
Namgung Yeon let out a quiet chuckle and nodded smoothly.
Then he spoke words to Jin Mu-ik that no one else could hear.
Let’s keep important matters to Jeoneum Ipmil from now on.
“Will it be all right if Gwangseok stays with us as well?”
“……It makes no difference.”
Jin Mu-ik couldn’t hide his inner astonishment and opened his mouth.
Jeoneum Ipmil.
A high-level technique that allowed communication without moving one’s lips.
He hadn’t expected this boy to demonstrate such an art.
And so the three of them vanished quietly toward the rear of the boat.
#2
O Gwangseok, the Third Group Leader of Paekgemdae.
His martial prowess was formidable, but his selection for this mission stemmed from another reason entirely.
His nature as a hound that asked no questions and lodged no complaints.
O Gwangseok held his position because of a temperament that faithfully executed superior orders.
He harbored no doubts.
If it served the objective, he spared neither method nor means.
These two qualities of character had secured him a place among the Group Leaders for a considerable time.
‘This is somewhat dangerous.’
It was no different this time.
He had received special orders and moved to engineer the mission’s failure.
That’s why he’d laid various groundwork to orchestrate obstruction.
‘At this rate…… the information Baekryong Daejoo gave me has become useless.’
Baekryong Daejoo.
All the intelligence he’d conveyed through the Jeonseo Gu was shaping up to be worthless.
The variables that had proven most consequential were, as expected, the martial prowess of Namgung Yeon and Group Three.
That they would be warriors of such caliber—he’d never foreseen it.
Worse still, the deliberately drawn-in Jin Mu-ik had been won over.
Originally, he’d planned to withdraw after a suitable defeat…….
And then there were Demons besides.
However much he desired Namgung Yeon’s failure, he’d never anticipated Demons would involve themselves.
“So the attack seemed aimed at our plunder……?”
“Indeed. Without cause, there would be no reason for Demons to attack.”
“Then…… Surochai is in league with the Demons?”
“I cannot claim to know the full truth, but as the one who accepted the commission, I suspect that may well be the case.”
O Gwangseok eavesdropped on their conversation while feigning to stand guard.
There was less to it than he’d expected.
No—his own mind began to race all the faster.
If Surochai was in league with the Demons…….
‘This affair only grows more tangled.’
The random destruction of Pungyun Transport Bureau was one thing.
That Demons were inside that very Bureau was another…….
This mission seemed to unfold in no way he’d anticipated.
Moreover, the man he’d dispatched had vanished—he couldn’t even track his whereabouts.
Tsk.
He’d commanded everything; where was the wretch now, and what was he doing?
And so O Gwangseok listened to their entire conversation with mounting unease.
“Therefore, greater caution would be wise.”
“Understood. The Group Members are growing anxious, so I alone must keep this knowledge for now.”
“Then…….”
Jin Mu-ik’s emotionless gaze passed over O Gwangseok.
O Gwangseok felt the urge to cut him down on the spot, but he had no choice but to let him go.
He’d only invited trouble by drawing this man in, it seemed, and now he’d strengthened the boatman’s hand…….
Then again—might he not find use for this cunning wretch?
O Gwangseok’s mind sprang into sharp operation.
What was done was done; from the circumstances given, he needed to devise how to extract the best possible outcome.
This was scarcely an obstacle at all.
‘Ah, I’ve weathered far grimmer straits than this. So…….’
It could be turned around.
This mission could yet become a failure, and the Fourth Young Master and his faction could be dragged into ruin.
O Gwangseok thought this and made to turn away.
“Group Leader. I have a word for you as well.”
Had it not been for Namgung Yeon’s voice, O Gwangseok would have set about his next task immediately.
O Gwangseok turned to look back at the young boy behind him.
The Fourth Young Master had grown so much—tall now, nearly meeting his own eyes.
Watching the boy’s eyes gleam faintly through the darkness, unease stirred in his chest.
Looking into those eyes, he felt genuinely unsettled.
O Gwangseok’s brow twitched slightly as he listened, swaying a little.
“What matter is it, young master? Between you and myself, there’s nothing particularly—”
“How is it unrelated? The Master of Paekgemdae fails to sense an enemy’s presence—that makes no sense at all.”
……
Should he claim exhaustion?
Or say he was distracted by something else and simply hadn’t noticed?
His mind churned with excuses aplenty, yet his lips would not move.
Namgung Yeon’s words came more swiftly still.
“It would be better if the mission were completed without incident. One never knows—someone behind you might silence any awkward voices.”
……
Was this outright coercion?
O Gwangseok understood in that moment.
This man before him—whether or not he became the Family Head—was a noble born of the Namgung and Sacheon Dang bloodlines.
“Mind your conduct well.”
It was a final warning.
A warning that if he came to his senses now, his life would be spared.
Yet O Gwangseok could not know.
How far his future and his life had already been pushed to the brink.
#3
“We’re under attack—!”
“Again!?”
“Is this really a low-rank mission!?”
The water pirates’ assaults continued without letup.
It was truly strange.
Even Jin Mu-ik, who was repelling the attacks, showed bewilderment.
Water pirates ordinarily did not pursue a target twice after failure.
With defenses now so thoroughly raised, further attempts would only multiply their losses.
Unless driven to the brink of annihilation, sending forces in piecemeal only bled Surochai’s strength dry.
Yet to persist so relentlessly in pursuing a mere merchant vessel—?
It defied all reason.
‘Moreover, those Paekgemdae fellows… they’re oddly passive about it all.’
There was something deliberate in how they let the porters die.
The cargo guards too went utterly unprotected.
Had these been Demons rather than water pirates, further travel would have been impossible.
“I thought Paekgemdae would be fearsome, but they’re mere pups.”
“What did you just say?”
One of the Paekgemdae swordsmen who’d overheard Jin Mu-ik’s muttering snarled at him.
Dare a water pirate scum insult the proud Paekgemdae of Namgung?
Such a thing could never be tolerated.
Yet Jin Mu-ik was a man who had weathered every storm.
Moreover, he harbored distrust and grievance toward Namgung.
He would naturally yield to no one.
He knew a mere swordsman could not best him.
“The great Namgung—and proud Paekgemdae warriors at that—cannot even protect a few porters and a cargo master!”
“Mind your tongue, lest you wish for death.”
“I was wrong to hate Namgung. They weren’t even worth the hatred…….”
As if to make sure they heard every word, he drove his barbs deeper still.
A stark shift from his earlier silence, wielding sword while standing his ground.
He pressed on even as Paekgemdae’s warriors flushed with blood-lust, their killing intent laid bare.
All of it, by design of the young master whose path he had chosen to walk.
“Why. Do you now swarm together to silence me? Is the proud Paekgemdae nothing but a pack of cowards?”
“Look here, I don’t know what’s gotten into you all of a sudden with such talk…….”
Crrrunch—!
A tremor of vital force shook so violently the ship itself seemed to shudder.
O Gwangseok appeared, dragging a sword dripping with blood.
He spoke again without wiping the blood from his face.
“Say one more word, and you might find yourself dead—Patriarch or not.”
“Do you truly believe you could best me?”
“Does it seem impossible?”
Neither man gave an inch.
O Gwangseok felt a surge of satisfaction.
Opportunity had walked right to his feet.
Taking this wretch under his wing had been the Fourth Master’s mistake at the time.
‘Youth clouds the judgment of the young.’
Without the years of worldly experience, they could do nothing but this.
They thought a few flourishes with a sword—drunk on spectacle—would suffice.
But that was not how the world worked; every move required accumulated wisdom.
O Gwangseok smiled at the thought.
At least, he did—until something fell onto the deck.
Boom—!
In that razor’s edge of a moment,
a blood-soaked figure crashed down onto the boat.

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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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