Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 131

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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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Chapter 131
Gang Yonghyun was taken aback by Namgung Geom’s words.
“An external attack? Who would dare strike at the Hangzhou Gold Chamber?”
“The mastermind behind this affair is meticulous enough to employ Combined Poison. Such a person would surely have prepared contingencies should the Poison Assassination fail.”
Namgung Geom explained calmly.
“You mean they’d resort to force?”
“It could take another form. But if I were in their position, I’d consider armed assault as a last resort.”
Gang Yonghyun nodded at Namgung Geom’s answer.
“There’s no harm in taking precautions.”
He instructed the steward to enhance the chamber’s security and protection to the highest levels.
‘How could he possibly know?!’
Gang Baekcheon, listening to their exchange from the shadows, was seized with alarm.
Namgung Geom had read his plan with perfect clarity.
At the banquet itself, he’d checked for poison using the Poison Antidote Technique as though he’d known poison would be used.
Yet Gang Baekcheon had given no sign of his intent.
And now it was the same.
There had been no indication of an assault.
Yet Namgung Geom had identified it precisely.
‘Could he possibly know everything about my plan?’
The thought was inescapable.
But it made no sense.
There was no way Namgung Geom could know his plans.
‘What if the assault is ruined because of him too?’
A wave of unease washed over Gang Baekcheon.
He’d heard the rumors about Namgung Geom that circulated through the Martial World.
At first, he’d dismissed them as absurd.
A mere youth, barely of age, claimed to be a master of the Divine Martial Realm?
And that he’d slain the Heuk Sal Mun master himself?
He’d assumed it was mere gossip blown out of proportion by loose-tongued boasters.
But when he saw Namgung Geom extract the poison from Gang Yonghyun’s body with his Inner Power, he realized this was no ordinary man.
Even if he knew little of martial techniques, he understood how difficult it was to extract poison through Inner Power alone.
It was impossible without the cultivation of a true master.
If the rumors were true—if Namgung Geom had indeed reached the Divine Martial Realm and killed the Heuk Sal Mun master—then the assault could very well fail.
In truth, Gang Baekcheon had planned the attack on the Hangzhou Gold Chamber, but he himself didn’t know who would execute it.
The Dark Agents organization had said they would prepare those who’d strike.
Long ago, Gang Baekcheon had been selected by the sect’s Red Cloud Envoy and recruited into the Dark Agents.
With the Red Cloud Envoy’s support, he’d devised a plan to reclaim the Hangzhou Gold Chamber.
The Poison Assassination had been a scheme he’d planned and prepared entirely on his own.
But the assault on the chamber—he’d only conceived the strategy; the actual deployment of force had been entrusted to the sect.
The crucial question was whether the sect knew of Namgung Geom’s existence.
If they’d prepared their full strength in response to him, all might yet be well. If not, the assault would likely fail.
And if it did fail, he couldn’t guarantee his own life would be spared.
‘I should have escaped this place by any means necessary…’
Being detained here by Gang Taecheon had been a critical mistake.
But the situation had left him no choice.
Even if he’d tried to leave, Gang Taecheon would never have permitted it.
It would only have kindled suspicion.
For now, he had no choice but to trust in the sect.
* * *
Namgung Geom gathered Gang Taecheon and the entire Gang family in Manjin Hall.
Gang Moyeon was among them.
He’d assembled them in one place as a precaution against any unforeseen danger.
The guards from Pae Yong Pavilion who’d accompanied Gang Moyeon were stationed to defend Manjin Hall.
“Please spend the night here.”
“Very well. I understand.”
Gang Taecheon complied without resistance.
Namgung Geom had suspected a poison that no one else at the banquet could have foreseen.
And he’d saved both himself and Gang Yonghyun from poisoning.
In the present circumstances, Gang Taecheon believed it best to follow Namgung Geom’s lead.
His four uncles felt the same way.
They trusted Namgung Geom, and followed his decision without question.
“You’ll stay here with us, won’t you?”
Gang Moyeon asked.
“No. I’ll keep watch from outside.”
At Namgung Geom’s answer, anxiety crossed Gang Moyeon’s face.
“Don’t worry. There aren’t many in the Martial World who could harm this son of mine.”
Even with his reassurance, Gang Moyeon remained uneasy.
But she didn’t press him further.
“Be careful. If danger comes, flee—even if it means going alone.”
“If I did that, Father in Heaven wouldn’t forgive me.”
Namgung Geom laughed it off and patted Gang Moyeon’s shoulder reassuringly.
Then he stepped outside Manjin Hall.
“Don’t worry so much. There aren’t many in the Martial World who could harm my son.”
Gang Taecheon soothed Gang Moyeon, whose eyes remained fixed on the door through which Namgung Geom had departed.
Outside Manjin Hall, Namgung Geom moved toward the Main Hall at the center of the Hangzhou Gold Chamber.
Being at the heart of the Hangzhou Gold Chamber, he could move swiftly to any point.
And since the pavilion was the tallest structure, it offered an excellent vantage to survey the entire estate at a glance.
There was no better position from which to watch for enemy assault.
Namgung Geom sat upon the roof of the pavilion, surveying the Hangzhou Gold Chamber’s grounds.
Guards stood posted at various points throughout the compound—he could see them clearly.
The moment enemies breached the walls, they would be spotted.
Before the Main Hall where Namgung Geom sat, more than a hundred guards had assembled.
If intruders came, they would charge forward to engage them at once.
Mixed among the guards were guest retainers of the Hangzhou Gold Chamber.
These martial masters from the Martial World possessed skill far superior to ordinary guards.
Yet none of them had surpassed the Peak Realm.
Perhaps that was natural.
Those who reached the Peak Realm could claim a place of honor in any sect.
There would be no need to serve as a merchant’s retainer.
They received not only lodging and meals from the Hangzhou Gold Chamber, but also generous financial support.
In exchange, they provided their martial strength when the Hangzhou Gold Chamber faced danger.
Yet this arrangement was not bound by formal contract—merely tacit understanding.
Of course, not all honored such agreements.
Many enjoyed the support lavished upon them in peacetime, then turned a blind eye when true help was needed.
In this regard, the Hangzhou Gold Chamber’s retainers were remarkably conscientious.
They had stepped forward without hesitation to counter the assault.
Though it was possible they had come lightly, thinking the danger was not great.
Namgung Geom gauged the strength and numbers of the retainers and guards, then fell into thought.
With this level of force, they could withstand most ordinary attacks.
But if true masters of the Martial World came, these would struggle to hold them back.
Namgung Geom believed that if Gang Baekcheon had orchestrated this assault, it would be no minor operation.
Gang Baekcheon was not a man to approach such a matter carelessly.
He would have staked everything he had on this.
Then he would not assault the Hangzhou Gold Chamber with anything less than overwhelming force.
Yet Gang Baekcheon was a merchant.
There were limits to the martial strength he could command.
‘Could he have allied with the Sa Pae Ryun or the Dark Agents?’
If Gang Baekcheon had joined forces with either the Sa Pae Ryun or the Dark Agents, the situation would be entirely different.
Namgung Geom hoped it was not such a worst-case scenario.
Then—right then!
Hundreds of men flooded into the Hangzhou Gold Chamber’s compound.
Crash!
They smashed through gates and vaulted over walls, pouring into the estate.
“Enemies!”
“We’re under attack!”
The Hangzhou Gold Chamber’s guards cried out in alarm at the intrusion.
“Kill them all!”
The invaders rushed forward like a torrent, cutting down the guards.
Having dealt with the guards, the intruders pressed inward toward the inner chambers.
The retainers and guards took their positions before the entrance to the inner courtyard, expressions taut with readiness.
The Hangzhou Gold Chamber was divided into an outer and inner courtyard.
The passage connecting the outer courtyard to the inner was narrow and long, making it difficult for large numbers of people to pass through at once.
Both sides were blocked by high walls and buildings, leaving no way to circle around.
It was designed to withstand multiple coordinated assaults.
Yet it was not an absolute defense.
A master of martial arts could easily vault over walls and buildings.
Namgung Geom studied the invaders pouring into the inner courtyard.
From their clothing and martial aura, he discerned their identity.
“The Four Seas Faction!”
Their garb matched that of the Four Seas Faction pirates he had faced before.
More than anything, he sensed a familiar aura emanating from behind the invaders.
It was the same as the aura of Yeom Changseon, the second master of the Four Seas Faction.
Yet the magnitude of this aura was incomparable to Yeom Changseon’s.
Namgung Geom concentrated his Ocular Force toward where the aura came from.
Though it was midnight, for a master of the True Martial Realm such as himself, this posed no difficulty.
At the source of that aura stood a middle-aged man.
“The Four Seas Faction Master!”
Namgung Geom recognized him at once.
Given his age and aura, it could not be Yeom Taeseong, the heir apparent.
The middle-aged man appeared to be at least in the Divine Martial Realm Late Stage based on his aura.
Namgung Geom was confident he could defeat such an opponent.
The problem was that he was not alone.
Two elderly men stood on either side of the middle-aged man.
They too were masters of the True Martial Realm, though only at the initial stage.
They were likely the Four Seas Twin Elders, the faction’s senior leaders.
Former sworn brothers of the previous Four Seas Faction Master, they were known to have withdrawn from the front lines.
Yet here they appeared, alongside the current Faction Master.
That the Faction Master alone would arrive was surprising enough; for the Twin Elders to come as well was extraordinary.
It was far more force than necessary to assault the Hangzhou Gold Chamber.
This was no attack aimed at the Chamber itself.
“They’ve come for me.”
There was no other explanation.
The Four Seas Faction had ample reason to target him.
His actions had caused their plan to seize the Seomun Clan’s territory to fail.
Moreover, Yeom Changseon, the Four Seas Faction’s second master, had been captured by him and imprisoned in the Seomun Clan’s dungeon.
As the Faction Master, he had sufficient cause to seek his death.
Yet something told Namgung Geom this was not the only reason.
A thought suddenly struck him.
“Could the Four Seas Faction Master also be a spy of the Doctrine?”
It was not an absurd notion.
The Four Seas Faction had joined hands with Heuk Sal Mun and targeted the Seomun Clan.
If Heuk Cheonsal was a spy of the Doctrine, then the Four Seas Faction Master could easily be one as well.
If so, this explained why the Four Seas Faction Master and the Twin Elders had come together.
The Doctrine was determined to kill him by any means necessary.
But was that all there was to it?
Looking at how events unfolded, it seemed highly likely that Gang Baekcheon was also an agent of the Doctrine.
Otherwise, there was no way the Four Seas Faction could have coordinated their assault to coincide with Gang Baekcheon’s assassination attempt.
The Doctrine must be planning to use Gang Baekcheon to seize the Hangzhou Gold Chamber.
With the Chamber’s wealth, they would gain tremendous leverage in their grand design.
“I cannot allow that to happen.”
Namgung Geom
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Baek Wol-geom
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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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