Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 48

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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 48
The Four Directional Sword Squads of the Namgung Clan were stationed respectively in Huainan, Taihu, Qingyang, and Hexian.
These were also the locations where the Namgung Clan’s Four Branch Families were situated.
The Four Branch Families, being collateral lineages, possessed their own independent forces.
Fundamentally, however, they remained subordinate to the Main Family and moved according to its commands.
In exchange, the Four Branch Families received protection from the Main Family.
When the Main Family’s strength was dominant, the hierarchy between main and branch was strictly observed.
But if a branch family’s power grew too great, problems could arise.
The Four Directional Sword Squads served dual purposes: protecting the Four Branch Families while simultaneously monitoring them to ensure they harbored no seditious thoughts.
Namgung Geom set out toward the Four Directional Sword Squads’ stations together with the Changyong Sword Squad.
Their first destination was the Western Squad at Taihu.
“From now until we reach Xu City, we will not stop—we will maintain the Divine Movement Technique continuously.”
Namgung Geom, having departed from the Main Family, announced this to the members of the Changyong Sword Squad.
From Hefei to Xu City was a half-day’s journey if one maintained the Divine Movement Technique without rest.
“Maintain the Divine Movement Technique for a half-day without stopping?”
Namgung Chang asked, his expression one of disbelief.
The rest of the squad members shared his sentiment.
“This is training to build stamina and will. Yes, it will be grueling, but to grow stronger than you are now, you must break through your limits.”
Namgung Geom spoke as if there were no room for negotiation.
The members of the Changyong Sword Squad grimaced.
The thought of maintaining the Divine Movement Technique for a half-day made their heads spin.
Yet this was an order from Namgung Geom, their commander.
They had no choice but to obey, willing or not.
Beyond that, this was training meant to strengthen them.
Their peer, Namgung Geom, was already flying far ahead of them.
If they trained comfortably, they would never even touch his shadow.
To so much as stay at his heels, they would have to push themselves to the brink.
The members of the Changyong Sword Squad steeled themselves.
Namgung Geom smiled at their expressions.
The Changyong Sword Squad was still young.
Compared to the Three Great Sword Squads, their martial skill fell considerably short.
But they possessed talent and a hunger to grow stronger.
With proper training, their abilities would blossom quickly.
“Then let us depart.”
Namgung Geom deployed the Divine Movement Technique from the lead position.
Namgung Chang and the other three core members pursued him closely.
The rest of the squad followed in the wake of the four.
Namgung Geom began at a measured pace but gradually increased his speed.
The four core members and the others who had kept up easily at first now strained beneath the accelerating pace.
Namgung Geom monitored their breathing and rhythm, adjusting his speed accordingly.
When they approached their limits, he would slow slightly.
“Control your breathing. Harmonize your Internal Energy with your breath!”
Without pausing his Divine Movement Technique, Namgung Geom offered the four core members and the squad the guidance they needed.
Proper deployment of the Divine Movement Technique depended on breathing and Internal Energy management.
When breathing became ragged, the circulation of Internal Energy fell into disarray.
When Internal Energy circulation destabilized, far more energy and stamina were wasted.
Thus, breath control was paramount.
This held true not only when deploying the Divine Movement Technique.
Breath control mattered equally when executing any Martial Technique.
Through this sustained Divine Movement Technique training, Namgung Geom hoped the Changyong Sword Squad members would learn to regulate their breathing even under the most extreme conditions.
And to that end, he offered counsel freely throughout the journey.
“Huff! Huff!”
Namgung Chang heaved ragged breaths.
Watching Namgung Geom racing ahead of him, he ground his teeth.
Three Shichen had already passed since they began deploying the Divine Movement Technique.
Namgung Geom had not paused once—he continued forward without cessation.
But did he move slowly?
Not at all.
Namgung Geom maintained the maximum pace that the Changyong Sword Squad could endure.
It was a speed that felt like death, yet somehow stopped just short of collapse.
It was astonishing how ghostly he could modulate his speed.
After running for three shichen without rest, stamina and Internal Energy both ran perilously low.
Now he was running purely on willpower.
But willpower, too, has its limits.
“I can’t go any further!”
One of the squad members at the rear collapsed.
The moment that one fell, the others who had been holding on crumbled as well.
Scattered across the ground, they retched and groaned in agony.
“Would you collapse like that even if enemies were chasing from behind? Get up, now!”
Namgung Geom barked at the fallen squad members.
“Captain! My lungs feel like they’re bursting. I can’t go any further.”
“This is unbearable. My legs have no feeling—I don’t know if I’m touching ground or thrashing at empty air.”
“If we run any more, we’ll truly die.”
“Beat me if you must—I cannot run another step.”
The collapsed squad members whimpered and refused outright.
Namgung Geom’s brow furrowed.
“Just another half shichen and we’ll reach Xu City. If you give up here, those three shichen mean nothing. Is that what you want?”
At those words, the eyes of the fallen members flickered with uncertainty.
“Giving up is easy. But once a person surrenders, they will surrender again next time. So do not give up. Transcend your limits.”
Some of the squad members began pushing themselves upright at Namgung Geom’s words.
Yet far more remained motionless on the ground.
“What would you have us do? We cannot run.”
One of them cried out in a bitter voice.
“If you cannot run, then walk. If you cannot walk, then crawl to Xu City. Show me the will to reach it. That is what I demand of the Changyong Sword Squad.”
Namgung Geom showed them no mercy, driving them forward without compromise.
At his words, several squad members gritted their teeth and forced themselves up.
Seeing them rise, the others reluctantly got to their feet as well.
But still, some made no move to stand.
Namgung Chang spoke to them then.
“Everyone, get up! If your strength is lacking, at least show some will. If you can’t endure this much pain, you should quit the Changyong Sword Squad now.”
Namgung Chang looked as though he were dying from exhaustion.
Yet he did not fall. He held on to the very end.
How else could one grow stronger without facing such pain?
Namgung Chang was prepared to endure even greater suffering if it meant becoming stronger.
As members of the Changyong Sword Squad, which the Namgung Clan aimed to make the greatest sword squad, they had to possess at least that much resolve and will.
Without it, they had no right to be members of the Changyong Sword Squad.
At Namgung Chang’s words, a few more squad members pushed themselves upright.
“Who decides to quit the Changyong Sword Squad?”
“We will never abandon the Changyong Sword Squad, not even in death.”
The remaining squad members rose to their feet with fierce determination blazing in their eyes.
“Half a shichen. We run to the end without a single straggler.”
Namgung Geom began running again.
The Changyong Sword Squad followed behind him.
And half a shichen later.
The squad members of the Changyong Sword Squad arrived at Xu City and collapsed to the ground without exception.
Covered in dust and dirt from running without rest, they looked every inch the beggar.
Yet their eyes burned with brilliant light.
The eyes of those who had refused to surrender and transcended their own limits.
Namgung Geom gazed upon them with satisfaction.
“You’ve all done well. Rest as much as you can today.”
Namgung Geom intended to continue the Divine Movement Technique training tomorrow.
For that, physical recovery had to come first.
The squad members of the Changyong Sword Squad replenished their depleted Internal Energy and stamina through Energy Circulation Training.
Two days later.
Namgung Geom and the Changyong Sword Squad reached Tianzhu Mountain.
The moment they arrived at Tianzhu Mountain, the squad members of the Changyong Sword Squad collapsed to the ground without exception.
They had run without rest for four shichen straight, from Dong City to Tianzhu Mountain.
On the second and third days, Namgung Geom put them through identical Divine Movement Technique training.
The squad members of the Changyong Sword Squad were truly suffering the torments of death.
Divine Movement Technique training could not be mastered in merely a day or two.
The same punishing, excruciating pain continued without mercy.
Yet not a single member of the Changyong Sword Squad gave up.
After the first day’s ordeal—one that felt like dying—they had completed the entire course.
Precisely because they’d come this far, they refused to quit and ran all the way to the finish.
And with each step, their resolve only hardened.
There were no obvious gains to show for it yet.
But as time passed, that will would bear fruit.
“Everyone, recover your bodies.”
At Namgung Geom’s command, the members of the Changyong Sword Squad began their Energy Circulation Training.
Energy Circulation Training had an extraordinary effect on restoring depleted stamina and internal energy.
With each cycle of depletion and recovery, both stamina and internal energy gradually accumulated.
Moreover, the speed of recovery itself improved over time.
This was one of the things Namgung Geom hoped to achieve through Divine Movement Technique training.
After circulating energy for one shichen, their stamina and internal energy had recovered to a reasonable degree.
“We’ll camp here tonight and cross Tianzhu Mountain tomorrow to reach Taihu.”
At Namgung Geom’s command, the Changyong Sword Squad immediately began setting up camp.
Namgung Geom selected several members to stand watch.
Anhui Province was the domain of the Namgung Clan.
There should be no one foolish enough to attack Namgung Clan members in their own territory.
But the world is full of surprises.
There was no harm in being cautious.
* * *
Tianzhu Mountain Hyeolrang Fortress.
“The Changyong Sword Squad is preparing to camp at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain.”
“Have you confirmed their numbers?”
Hwang Dae-in, the master of Hyeolrang Fortress, asked his subordinate.
“Fewer than thirty, it seemed.”
Hwang Dae-in nodded at the report.
The numbers themselves posed no problem.
The problem was Namgung Geom.
According to confirmed intelligence, Namgung Geom was in the early stages of the Jinmu Realm.
He’d wondered if such a feat was possible at such a young age, but the information came from a reliable source, so it had to be true.
Even if that intelligence were wrong, it was certain he was at least in the late Peak Realm.
There was no way Hwang Dae-in could win against him.
But he wasn’t worried.
Heuk-un Saja had said there was someone else who would kill Namgung Geom.
If Heuk-un Saja said so, then it was so.
All he had to do was follow Heuk-un Saja’s command.
“What of the Hyeolrang Squad?”
The Hyeolrang Squad.
The elite members of Hyeolrang Fortress, carefully cultivated by Hwang Dae-in himself.
They weren’t masters of extraordinary skill, but their ability far exceeded that of common bandits.
“All preparations are complete and they await your command.”
“We move right after midnight.”
“Understood.”
The subordinate nodded and left the room.
Hwang Dae-in rested thoroughly until midnight arrived.
When the hour came, he departed Hyeolrang Fortress with the Hyeolrang Squad.
Fifty members of the Hyeolrang Squad moved swiftly across the darkened mountain.
Even in the gloom, they traversed the mountain paths without difficulty.
The trails of Tianzhu Mountain were so familiar to them they could run blindfolded.
The night’s darkness posed no obstacle at all.
But there was another shadow moving in secret, trailing behind the Hyeolrang Squad.
Heuk Il-sal.
The last surviving member of the Heuksalmun’s Three Swords of Death.
A cold light flickered in his eyes as he moved through the darkness in pursuit of the Hyeolrang Squad.
‘Namgung Geom! You will surely die tonight.’
—Namgung Bingryong
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Baekyeol 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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