Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 51

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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 51
Namgung Geom looked into Hwang Daein’s eyes and asked.
“Did the Nok-rim Alliance’s command truly order you to attack us?”
An interrogation didn’t always begin with torture from the start.
If Hwang Daein answered obediently, there would be no need for torture at all.
“If not, would I have gone mad and attacked the Namgung Clan’s martial artists?”
Hwang Daein spoke without flinching from Namgung Geom’s gaze.
“Why would the Nok-rim Alliance attack the main branch’s martial artists with whom they had no grievance?”
Namgung Geom asked, his eyes sharp.
“How would I know? I simply did as the command ordered.”
“You attack unconditionally at the command’s order? The martial artists of the Namgung Clan, no less?”
Namgung Geom asked, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“If you refuse the command’s order, you’re not only expelled from the Nok-rim Alliance but face retaliation from the command. How could I possibly refuse?”
Hwang Daein spoke as if greatly wronged.
Namgung Geom had also heard that Nok-rim King, the leader of the Nok-rim Alliance, dealt with those who refused his orders through force.
It seemed Hwang Daein wasn’t saying something entirely baseless.
“Even so, attacking an opponent you couldn’t defeat—I still don’t understand the logic.”
“I didn’t know you were such a master. I thought I had enough skill to win against you.”
That was entirely possible.
Even hearing rumors about him, it would be difficult to believe them outright.
“How did you plan to handle the main branch’s retaliation?”
“They promised that if this attack succeeded, I would be brought into the command.”
Once in the command, there would be no need to worry about the Namgung Clan’s retaliation.
“But did you truly not know about Heuk Ilsal’s existence?”
“Not at all.”
Namgung Geom didn’t doubt that part either.
When Heuk Ilsal appeared, Hwang Daein’s shock had been genuine.
If the Nok-rim Alliance’s command had prepared Heuk Ilsal without informing Hwang Daein,
then it was likely he also didn’t know about the alliance between the Nok-rim Alliance and the Sa-pae Alliance.
Namgung Geom studied Hwang Daein’s eyes.
His gaze and expression didn’t seem to betray any lies.
Yet something vague lingered in the corner of Namgung Geom’s mind.
Namgung Geom decided to test Hwang Daein.
“It seems there’s nothing more to hear, so let’s end this.”
Namgung Geom drew his sword and approached Hwang Daein.
Hwang Daein’s eyes wavered.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
Namgung Geom extended his sword toward Hwang Daein’s Dantian.
The tip of Namgung Geom’s sword touched Hwang Daein’s Dantian.
Hwang Daein’s pupils trembled faintly.
“Surely you’re not trying to destroy my Dantian?”
To a martial artist, the Dantian was like their very life.
A martial artist without a Dantian was as good as dead.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Tell me what you’re hiding.”
“Hiding? I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“If you won’t speak in the end, then there’s no help for it.”
Namgung Geom thrust the Binglong Sword into Hwang Daein’s Dantian.
Shlunk!
The blade of the Binglong Sword tore through Hwang Daein’s lower abdomen and drove inward.
Intense Cold Qi erupted from the Binglong Sword embedded in Hwang Daein’s belly.
“Gaaah!”
Hwang Daein gasped out a cry of agony.
As the Cold Qi of the Binglong Sword penetrated his Dantian, it felt as though his Dantian was freezing solid.
The Inner Power in his Dantian resisted and pushed back against the Binglong Sword’s Cold Qi, but it was powerless.
With his Dantian sealed, Hwang Daein couldn’t move his Inner Power.
The Inner Power in his Dantian was instinctively blocking the invasion of Cold Qi on its own.
It was like an army fighting without a commander.
At this rate, he couldn’t withstand the Binglong Sword’s Cold Qi.
If the Cold Qi scattered his Inner Power and froze his Dantian,
His Dantian would be destroyed, and he would never be able to cultivate martial arts again.
It was no different from death.
Hwang Daein did not want to lose his Dantian like this.
How much suffering had it taken to accumulate this Inner Power?
At first, he had thought Namgung Geom was simply threatening him.
But looking into his eyes, he felt the genuine intent to destroy his Dantian.
There was only one way to stop Namgung Geom.
To speak the truth he had been hiding.
But he could not betray the sect.
He clenched his teeth and cried out.
“No matter what, it’s useless. I cannot speak of something that doesn’t exist.”
“Then you lose your Dantian.”
Namgung Geom intensified the Cold Qi of the Binglong Sword.
Crack!
The Inner Power that had been holding out crumbled, and the Dantian froze solid.
As the Cold Qi froze his Dantian, Hwang Daein’s body trembled violently from the excruciating pain.
Shatter!
The frozen Dantian could not withstand the Cold Qi of the Binglong Sword and developed cracks as if it were about to shatter.
If even a little more Cold Qi were applied, his Dantian would break completely and he would never be able to cultivate martial arts again.
Hwang Daein had steeled himself, but as his Dantian was on the verge of destruction, his resolve wavered.
“Ugh! Stop! I’ll speak! I’ll tell you—just stop!”
Hwang Daein let out a scream mixed with desperation.
“I shall decide whether to stop based on what you say.”
If he stopped the Cold Qi here, Hwang Daein might entertain second thoughts.
“It wasn’t the Nok-rim Alliance leadership who gave the order!”
Hwang Daein cried out urgently.
“Then who commanded you to attack?”
Namgung Geom asked without ceasing the Cold Qi.
“That is…….”
“Just as I suspected.”
As Namgung Geom raised the Cold Qi without hesitation, Hwang Daein cried out desperately.
“The sect…… Cough!”
Hwang Daein’s eyes suddenly rolled back as he was about to answer.
Blood sprayed from seven orifices, and he collapsed.
“What on earth…….”
Namgung Geom’s face fell with bewilderment at the sudden turn of events.
After a moment to collect himself, Namgung Geom recalled what Hwang Daein had been about to say.
“He definitely said ‘sect’…….”
To his knowledge, there were three places in the martial world called “sects.”
The Cheonma Sect, the orthodox headquarters of the demonic path that worships Cheonma.
The Seonghyeol Sect, a zealous group that made blood the source of power.
The Youmyeong Sect, which disturbed the martial world with sorcery that commands the spirits of the dead.
Hwang Daein died, blood spraying from seven orifices, merely from uttering the word “sect.”
Such bizarre sorcery was not something anyone could wield.
At minimum, it had to be one of the Three Demonic Sects.
Namgung Geom believed that the sect Hwang Daein had mentioned was one of the three.
Honestly, it was unsettling.
He had been considering the movements of the Nok-rim Alliance and the Sa-pae Alliance, when suddenly the Three Demonic Sects emerged.
By all appearances, Hwang Daein was likely a spy sent by one of the Three Demonic Sects.
The fact that they had planted someone like Hwang Daein, one of the Nok-rim Alliance’s faction leaders, as a spy suggested that the sect’s grasp already ran deep into the martial world.
It was highly probable that the sect’s spies were lurking and scheming not only within the Nok-rim Alliance but throughout the other forces of the martial world.
‘What if there are sect spies hiding within the Sa-pae Alliance as well?’
Namgung Geom thought of the Black Massacre Gate.
Now that he thought about it, something had been odd.
From the time of the Four Seas Faction crisis until now, only the Black Massacre Gate had moved while the other forces of the Sa-pae Alliance stayed out of it.
What if that was not the Sa-pae Alliance’s intention, but the Black Massacre Gate’s unilateral action?
And what if the sect was involved in the Black Massacre Gate’s independent move?
“Could they be trying to provoke the Righteous-Demonic Great War to drain the martial world’s strength?”
If the Righteous-Demonic Great War broke out centered on the Jeongcheon Alliance and the Sa-pae Alliance, the sect would gain the Fisher’s Gain.
But this was merely Namgung Geom’s speculation.
To uncover the truth, he needed clearer evidence.
Hwang Daein was already dead, but Heuk Ilsal still lived.
If Namgung Geom’s suspicion was correct, the Black Massacre Gate must have some connection to the sect.
If he pressed Heuk Ilsal, something might come to light.
Namgung Geom wasted no time and began his interrogation.
“You won’t get any answer from me. So don’t bother wasting your effort—just kill me.”
Heuk Ilsal spoke as though death held no terror for him.
“Did the Black Massacre Gate move on orders from the sect?”
Namgung Geom threw out the question suddenly, watching for any reaction.
If Heuk Ilsal knew anything about the sect, there would be some sign of surprise.
But Heuk Ilsal merely stared at him with a puzzled expression.
“A sect? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
From the look in Heuk Ilsal’s eyes and the set of his face, he truly seemed ignorant of any sect.
“Then was the Black Massacre Gate’s movement on the orders of the Sa-pae Alliance?”
“You can figure that out for yourself.”
Heuk Ilsal made it clear he wouldn’t answer anything regarding the Sa-pae Alliance.
“So be it.”
It seemed gentle persuasion would not work.
Namgung Geom decided to use the same method he’d employed with Hwang Daein.
As he drew his blade and stepped closer, Heuk Ilsal laughed as though amused.
“Do you think threatening me with a sword will make me talk?”
“Let’s see if you can smile like that when your Dantian is shattered.”
Namgung Geom aimed his sword at Heuk Ilsal’s Dantian.
Heuk Ilsal’s expression stiffened in an instant.
The man who claimed death held no fear now wavered at the mention of destroying his Dantian.
It was a natural reaction for any martial artist.
For a martial artist, the Inner Power in one’s Dantian was more precious than life itself.
A martial artist would rather die than lose the Inner Power of their Dantian.
Even if death meant the end anyway.
But Heuk Ilsal was no easy prey.
He stared directly at Namgung Geom, unflinching, as if inviting him to try.
Namgung Geom thrust the Binglong Sword into Heuk Ilsal’s lower abdomen.
Thud!
The Binglong Sword pierced clean through Heuk Ilsal’s belly.
In the next moment, the Cold Qi radiating from the Binglong Sword burrowed into Heuk Ilsal’s Dantian.
Heuk Ilsal’s Inner Power tried to resist the blade’s Cold Qi but couldn’t hold for long.
As his Inner Power yielded, his Dantian began to freeze, and waves of excruciating pain flooded through him.
At this rate, his Dantian would freeze solid and shatter completely.
Terror at the prospect of a shattered Dantian flickered through Heuk Ilsal’s eyes.
Namgung Geom caught that flicker and didn’t miss it.
“Are you content to let your Dantian shatter and live as a crippled person?”
Namgung Geom spoke without letting the Cold Qi cease.
“The Black Massacre Gate’s movements had nothing to do with the Sa-pae Alliance.”
Heuk Ilsal cried out desperately.
He had surrendered to the fear of his Dantian being destroyed.
“Are you saying the Black Massacre Gate moved without authorization?”
“Yes. The three of us—myself and the other two—opposed it, but the Moonju forced it through.”
Heuk Ilsal cried out as though aggrieved.
He believed his current plight was entirely the Moonju of the Black Massacre Gate’s fault.
“Do you know anything about the sect?”
“I don’t know what sect you’re referring to, but I know nothing about it.”
Judging by Heuk Ilsal’s eyes and expression, it didn’t seem to be a lie.
Namgung Geom concluded it was likely that the Moonju of the Black Massacre Gate was a spy for the sect.
The three of the Black Massacre Gate had simply been forced to obey the Moonju’s orders.
Of course, this too was merely speculation.
The truth would only come clear if he captured the Moonju of the Black Massacre Gate.
Still, he had gained something.
He’d learned that it was not the Sa-pae Alliance that moved the Saehae Faction to attack Seomun House.
Of course, there was a possibility Heuk Ilsal was lying, but that could be verified through the testimony of Heuk Isal and Heuk Samsal.
“Ugh. I’ve answered you—now take your sword away.”
At Heuk Ilsal’s shout, Namgung Geom retrieved the Binglong Sword and spoke.
“You know, if you’d just said so from the start, we’d both have been better off.”
Namgung Binglong
Author |
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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