Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 49

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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 49
Namgung Geom gazed up at the sky.
Sleep eluded him tonight.
He sighed and pushed himself up from his mat.
Rather than lie awake chasing sleep that wouldn’t come, he thought, he might as well cultivate his Ungong.
The night sentries on watch glanced at him curiously as he rose abruptly.
He waved them off as though it were nothing and prepared to begin his cultivation.
Tingle!
In that instant, his Yuksam sent a sudden warning coursing through him.
Those who reached the Jinmu Realm awakened their Yuksam.
The Yuksam—also called Chogamsak—could sense danger approaching.
And the higher one’s realm, the keener that sense became.
This was precisely why sneak attacks failed against masters of the Jeoldae Realm and beyond.
Yet the Yuksam was not infallible.
It could not detect every threat that existed.
Especially for one newly entered into the Jinmu Realm, many dangers would slip past unnoticed.
But Namgung Geom was different.
In his past life, he had been a master of the Jeoldae Realm, his Yuksam honed to its apex.
Through that experience, he understood intimately how to wield it.
Yet the limits of his current realm prevented him from elevating his Yuksam to the level of a Jeoldae master.
Still, it far surpassed what other Jinmu Realm masters could achieve.
And now that heightened sense caught the danger riding the cold night air toward him.
Upon detecting the threat, Namgung Geom expanded his Gigam to its maximum.
His aura sense unfolded to its fullest extent, reading the qi of everything nearby.
Moments later, his Gigam caught shadowy figures creeping across the mountainside toward them.
He concentrated his aura sense and counted them.
Fifty.
Nearly double the strength of Changyong Geomtae.
Though distance obscured their exact power, they seemed comparable to his own forces.
Among them, one aura blazed with the brilliance of absolute mastery.
‘Who could it be?’
For now, their identities remained a mystery.
Then a faint aura brushed the edge of his Gigam.
The aura was so subtle that only his familiarity allowed him to catch it—without that, he would have let it pass unnoticed.
Heuksalsamgeom.
That aura, trailing covertly behind the fifty, resembled the Heuksalsamgeom members he had faced before.
‘Is it the Heuksalmun?’
He wondered briefly if these approaching forces were the Heuksalmun, but he shook his head.
Their auras felt nothing like those of Heuksalmun warriors.
Their qi was far rougher and less refined than anything he’d sensed from that sect.
‘That matters less right now.’
Setting aside further speculation, Namgung Geom called out softly to the night sentries of Changyong Geomtae.
“Enemies approach! Wake everyone!”
The sentries on watch stared at him as though he’d spoken nonsense.
“There’s no time. Just wake them.”
Pressed by his urgency, the sentries roused their sleeping comrades.
The warriors stirred quickly at the word of enemies and scrambled to seize their blades.
Namgung Chang fixed Namgung Geom with a questioning look.
“Explanations later. The enemy will be here soon—everyone prepare for battle.”
At his word, Changyong Geomtae drew their swords as one and stood ready to strike.
In that moment, Namgung Geom hurled himself forward.
He had no intention of waiting passively for the enemy to arrive.
His plan was to move first and inflict as much damage as possible before they engaged Changyong Geomtae.
Seeing him surge ahead, the members of Changyong Geomtae moved to follow.
“Hold your positions!”
But at his sharp command, they stopped in their tracks.
In battle, the orders of their master Namgung Geom were absolute.
Even if those orders displeased them, they obeyed without question.
Namgung Geom flew straight toward the approaching enemies.
His figure became a single gust of wind, cutting through the darkness.
In his eyes, the approaching enemies came into focus.
The Nok Rim Maeng?
The moment he saw their garb, he could discern their identity.
Why would the Nok Rim Maeng be here?
The question flashed through his mind, but now attack took precedence.
Namgung Geom’s blade extended toward the bandits of the Hyeolrang Chae.
Crack!
The Binghanjuui Geompung erupting from his sword poured forth, freezing the air itself.
With the Bingyong Geom equipped, Namgung Geom’s strikes wielded a power altogether different from before.
The bandits of the Hyeolrang Chae stood no chance of withstanding it.
The Binghanjuui Geompung spread wide, sweeping across the bandits in front.
The Hyeolrang Chae bandits attempted their defense, but the moment the Binghanjuui Geompung collided with them, they froze solid and shattered.
Boom-crash!
The Binghanjuui Geompung did not cease, raking across the bandits’ bodies.
Rip-tear-tear!
The bandits’ bodies tore apart horribly as they fell.
Their wounds were frozen bone-white where the blade had cut.
The intensified Binghanjuui Geompung from the Bingyong Geom both severed the bandits’ flesh and sealed their wounds in ice.
Faced with that power, the Hyeolrang unit faltered and retreated.
Namgung Geom closed in on them and unleashed the Bingyong Geom once more.
The Binghanjuui Geompung pouring from the Bingyong Geom froze the night air as it bore down upon them.
The Hyeolrang unit made no attempt to stand against the Binghanjuui Geompung and tried to fall back.
But the cold that rode the Binghanjuui Geompung seized their bodies.
Their flesh froze solid, their feet locked to the ground.
“Argh! I can’t move!”
“My body’s frozen!”
Terror bloomed across the faces of the Hyeolrang unit.
The Binghanjuui Geompung swept through them without mercy.
The Hyeolrang unit’s bodies tore free and flew back.
Again, no blood was to be seen.
Hwang Daein, master of the Hyeolrang Chae, was astounded by Namgung Geom’s martial skill.
In just two strikes, nearly twenty of the Hyeolrang unit had fallen.
‘That’s what a twenty-year-old looks like?’
Namgung Geom’s age made his martial prowess almost impossible to believe.
At the Hyeolrang unit’s level, they could never block Namgung Geom.
The same held true for Hwang Daein.
Even exerting his full strength, he could not last ten seconds.
His instincts screamed that he must flee.
But he could not disobey the order of Heuk Un Saja.
Even if it meant his own death, he had to fight.
Hwang Daein hurled himself at Namgung Geom.
His blade became the sharp fangs of a blood-thirsty wolf, descending upon Namgung Geom.
The Hyeolrang Dohyeop.
Like the teeth of a starving beast, it seemed ready to tear Namgung Geom apart in an instant.
At the ferocious force radiating from the Hyeolrang Dohyeop’s blade energy, Namgung Geom’s eyes flashed with an unusual light.
Even a first-rate martial master would struggle to endure such a savage momentum.
But to Namgung Geom, it posed no threat whatsoever.
Namgung Geom extended the Bingyong Geom toward the blood-wolf’s fangs.
The Binghanjuui Geompung born from the Bingyong Geom spiraled forth, driving into the blood-wolf’s fangs.
Crack!
Boom-crash!
Every fang of the blood-wolf that collided with the Bingyong Geom froze solid and shattered.
The Binghanjuui Geompung that had shattered the blood-wolf’s fangs bore down on Hwang Daein.
A strangled gasp escaped him.
Hwang Daein retreated hastily, groaning as the cold that threatened to freeze his entire being swept over him.
The Binghanjuui Geompung pursued him as he fell back.
Hwang Daein continued his retreat, striking his blade repeatedly to meet the assault.
The blood-wolf’s fangs came on savagely, only to freeze and shatter in an instant.
Yet with each collision, the Binghanjuui Geompung itself lost momentum and scattered.
His expression hardened completely as Hwang Daein barely managed to disperse the Binghanjuui Geompung.
He’d thought he could hold for ten seconds, but that was a miscalculation.
Once they clashed directly, even five seconds seemed doubtful.
‘When exactly will this master Heuk Un Saja promised show up?’
Hwang Daein gritted his teeth.
Heuk Un Saja had said that when Hyeolrang Chae attacked Changyong Geomtae, a master capable of killing Namgung Geom would appear.
But that master showed no signs of arriving.
‘Surely he wouldn’t lie about this?’
Doubt crept into his thoughts about Heuk Un Saja.
But he quickly shook his head.
The organization wouldn’t abandon him like this.
After imparting the Hyeolrang Dohyeop to him, after all the years spent cultivating him as the leader of Nok Rim Maeng, they wouldn’t dispose of him so carelessly.
No fool would do such a thing.
Hwang Daein pushed aside his doubts.
He would trust the organization and face Namgung Geom.
“Hyeolrang Chae—attack those behind him!”
Hwang Daein barked the order to his subordinates.
It was obvious why Namgung Geom had left Changyong Geomtae behind and come out alone.
To protect Changyong Geomtae.
So if he attacked Changyong Geomtae, he could scatter Namgung Geom’s focus.
By dividing his attention, they might create even a slight advantage.
Yet Namgung Geom paid no heed to the Hyeolrang Chae moving behind him.
From the start, he’d never intended to crush all of Hyeolrang Chae.
He’d thought it sufficient to match their numbers roughly with Changyong Geomtae’s strength.
With the numbers that remained, Changyong Geomtae would be more than capable of holding their own.
Hwang Daein’s expression hardened at Namgung Geom’s composure.
Contrary to his expectations, Namgung Geom showed no concern for Hyeolrang Chae whatsoever.
This turned the situation in Namgung Geom’s favor instead.
He didn’t need to worry about their attacks at all.
Hwang Daein found himself thinking it might have been better to join forces with Hyeolrang Chae from the beginning.
But there was no use crying over spilled milk now.
‘I’ll endure however I must.’
He had to buy time—as much as possible.
Until the master Heuk Un Saja had promised arrived.
Hwang Daein lunged toward Namgung Geom.
The Hyeolrang Dohyeop excelled at offense rather than defense.
So rather than attempt clumsy blocking, attacking was far superior.
Hwang Daein’s blade, bared like sharp fangs, descended upon Namgung Geom.
Namgung Geom laughed as if amused and swung the Bingyong Geom.
The fangs of Hyeolrang froze as they collided with the Binghanjuui Geompung.
Then they shattered like a rotting old man’s teeth.
Hwang Daein pressed on, unleashing fresh fangs of Hyeolrang.
With each collision against the Bingyong Geom, a biting cold surged through his body.
The chill penetrated even into the Gyeongmaek within him.
Yet Hwang Daein did not retreat.
He sensed instinctively that the moment he yielded even a step, he would be unable to withstand Namgung Geom’s assault.
The best defense was offense.
Hwang Daein never ceased his attack, his blade cutting through the air.
Meanwhile, in the darkness, a shadow watched the duel between Namgung Geom and Hwang Daein intently.
Heuk Ilsal.
The last of Heuksalsamgeom.
He tracked Namgung Geom with a keen eye, waiting for an opening to strike.
Several opportunities had presented themselves, yet he had not moved.
He lacked the certainty that he could kill Namgung Geom.
Namgung Geom’s martial skill far exceeded his expectations.
A clumsy ambush that failed would leave him in the same state as the two comrades already captured.
So he had to wait for the perfect moment.
Crash!
Then Hwang Daein coughed blood and was driven back by Namgung Geom’s strike.
“It’s over!”
Namgung Geom pursued him, extending his blade.
Heuk Ilsal’s eyes flashed with sudden clarity.
‘Now is the moment!’
As he was about to deliver the final blow to kill Hwang Daein.
Space tore open behind Namgung Geom.
Heuk Ilsal hurled himself toward that opening.
His blade, tearing through the darkness, pierced silently toward Namgung Geom’s back.
‘Success!’
Heuk Ilsal was certain his sword would impale Namgung Geom’s heart.
But at that very instant!
Namgung Geom spun and swung his blade.
The icy aura that rose with his sword froze space itself, crystallizing into an ice wall.
Crash!
Heuk Ilsal’s blade struck the ice wall and ricocheted away.
The impact drove Heuk Ilsal backward.
The ice wall split in two as Namgung Geom burst through.
And from his blade, lightning of ice shot forth.
Thwack!
Before Heuk Ilsal could react, the Lightning Blade technique pierced his shoulder.
“Ugh!”
Heuk Ilsal screamed and crashed to the ground.
Before Heuk Ilsal could even regain his senses, Namgung Geom descended beside him and immediately suppressed his vital points and pressure vessels.
Namgung Geom smiled gently at the bewildered Heuk Ilsal.
“With this, I’ve captured all three of the Heuksalsamgeom.”
Namgung Byeong-yong
Author |
Baek Wol Geom
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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