Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 58

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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 58
The warriors of the Chungyang Branch looked bewildered at Namgung Geom’s words.
For one thing, they couldn’t believe that Namgung Cho had tried to kill Namgung Geom.
What reason could he possibly have to kill Namgung Geom unless he’d lost his mind?
Yet Namgung Geom would have no reason to lie.
The situation itself seemed to paint Namgung Cho as the aggressor.
The fight had taken place in the Guebin-gak, hardly a location where Namgung Geom would ambush Namgung Cho.
It was far more reasonable to assume that Namgung Cho had attacked Namgung Geom in the Guebin-gak, along with his direct guards.
The Chungyang Branch warriors found themselves at a loss for how to respond.
If Namgung Cho truly had tried to kill Namgung Geom, then helping him would be treason, exactly as Namgung Geom said.
Yet they couldn’t simply stand by and watch their branch master come under attack.
“What are you doing? Help your father now!”
Namgung Myeong shouted at the Chungyang Branch warriors.
For him, rescuing his own father took priority over everything else.
Even if it meant having to strike down Namgung Geom, the firstborn son of the main clan.
But the Chungyang Branch warriors hesitated.
At any other time, they would stake their lives for their branch master.
But the opponent was Namgung Geom, the main clan’s firstborn heir.
If they attacked him and were branded traitors, there would be no turning back.
They hardly moved, even under Namgung Myeong’s command.
Namgung Myeong’s face twisted with frustration.
But anger alone would accomplish nothing.
To move them, he needed a justification to attack Namgung Geom.
“This is your branch master’s command! The Firstborn Son has mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts. Strike him down at once!”
It was Namgung Cho who cried out to the Chungyang Branch warriors.
The warriors turned to stare at Namgung Geom, their eyes wide with shock.
Seol Gunyak, the Northern Sea Ice Demon.
Three hundred years ago, a master of the Northern Sea who had reduced the Central Plains to ash.
Once the Young Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, he had been traveling through the Central Plains with his wife and daughter when his identity was discovered and he came under attack from Central Plains martial artists.
His wife and daughter were slain in that assault; only by the grace of heaven did he survive, making his way back to the Northern Sea.
Consumed by bitter resentment, he resolved upon revenge, mastered the forbidden demonic arts of the Northern Sea, and appeared in the Central Plains ten years later.
He hunted down those Central Plains warriors who had killed his wife and daughter, and slaughtered them with brutal precision.
The Central Plains martial world knew the source of his hatred.
But the methods he employed were far too savage, and his status as a Northern Sea Ice Palace master earned him the outrage of the entire Central Plains martial world.
They could not abide seeing Central Plains warriors fall so horrifically to a Northern Sea Ice Palace fighter, regardless of the reason.
The Central Plains martial world designated him a Martial World Enemy and issued an Execution Order.
Countless masters from the Central Plains threw themselves at him to bring him down.
No matter how formidable Seol Gunyak was, he could not stand alone against the masters of the Central Plains martial world.
In the end, Seol Gunyak met his death with his heart pierced, plummeting from the cliffs of Daebyeol Mountain.
Three hundred years had passed, yet the name of the Northern Sea Ice Demon remained taboo among the martial artists of the Central Plains.
The revelation that Namgung Geom had mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s arts was truly shocking.
“The Northern Sea Ice Demon? That’s absurd beyond measure.”
Namgung Geom replied as though the claim were ridiculous.
Inwardly, however, he was quite shaken.
Both he and Seol Gunyak had mastered the martial arts of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Saying that he had inherited the man’s techniques wasn’t entirely false.
Though surely Namgung Cho couldn’t have known that.
“Your Firstborn’s impossible realm of achievement is the very proof. How else could someone barely past his coming of age reach the True Martial Realm?”
At Namgung Cho’s retort, Namgung Geom’s brow furrowed.
Certainly, his realm was difficult to comprehend by conventional standards.
But it became explicable if one attributed it to mastering demonic arts.
Moreover, he had mastered the Bing-gong, an art unknown to the Namgung Clan.
Namgung Cho’s claim that he had inherited the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts was entirely credible.
“Did you not hear your father’s words? If the Firstborn Son has mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, he is a Martial World Enemy. Strike him down now!”
Namgung Myeong pressed the Chungyang Branch warriors harder.
Whether Namgung Geom had truly mastered the demonic arts was irrelevant.
Rescuing Namgung Cho was what mattered.
As the Chungyang Branch warriors, spurred on by Namgung Myeong, steeled their resolve and began to move.
New recruits from the Changyong Sword Brigade appeared behind them.
“Warriors of the Chungyang Branch, do not move. Should anyone attack the Firstborn Son, they shall be executed on the spot for treason.”
Namgung Woo, having assessed them, issued a sharp warning.
Namgung Chang and the other four Masters of the Sword likewise drew their blades and fixed their gaze on the Chungyang Branch’s warriors.
The moment the Chungyang Branch fighters moved, they would rush forward.
In truth, even they had felt a flicker of doubt when Namgung Cho uttered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s name.
But they trusted Namgung Geom.
While it was true that Namgung Geom had learned the Bing-gong, its foundation lay in the martial arts of the Namgung Clan.
The Namgung Clan’s martial arts could never be mingled with demonic arts.
Moreover, if Namgung Geom had truly learned the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, Namgung Pae would have discovered it first.
Since Namgung Pae had acknowledged Namgung Geom’s martial prowess, there was no reason to doubt it.
“First brigade—protect the Patriarch. Second brigade—attack the Crown Prince. Third brigade—hold back those men!”
Namgung Myeong issued his orders hastily, before Namgung Geom could say another word.
At his command, the Chungyang Branch’s warriors divided into three groups.
The second brigade surged toward Namgung Geom.
Having heard he had learned the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, they could not afford to remain idle.
At the same moment, the first brigade fell back, encircling Namgung Cho defensively.
The third brigade moved to intercept the Changyong Sword Brigade, which had appeared from behind.
“How foolish.”
Namgung Geom exhaled softly and extended his blade toward the warriors of the second brigade rushing at him.
Crash—
The Freezing Sword Wind erupting from his blade swept down upon the second brigade.
The warriors of the second brigade hastily raised their defenses, but they were outmatched by the strength of his attack.
Boom!
The warriors of the second brigade were hurled backward in all directions by the Freezing Sword Wind.
Their blades and hands, pressed into the ground, were locked in numbing cold.
But that was not all.
Though invisible, the essence of freezing cold had invaded their bodies.
The warriors of the second brigade exerted themselves desperately to suppress the freezing energy that had penetrated within.
Yet their Inner Power proved insufficient to expel it.
They had no capacity to concern themselves with Namgung Geom while locked in combat with the freezing force.
The remaining warriors of the second brigade launched attacks against him, but the outcome was no different.
Overwhelmed by Namgung Geom’s superior martial arts, they fell before they could even approach.
Yet among them, none suffered grave injury or death.
Namgung Geom had deliberately shown restraint.
He had threatened them with charges of treason if they attacked him, but that was merely a bluff.
From their position, defying the orders of their Branch Master would not have been simple.
And when Namgung Geom spoke of learning the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, they had no choice but to strike.
Branch or not, they were warriors of the Namgung Clan.
Unless they harbored genuine treachery, he could not casually take their lives.
The warriors of the second brigade were no fools; they could perceive that Namgung Geom had shown mercy.
True intent reveals itself not through words, but through action.
They began to suspect that perhaps he had not truly learned the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts.
But such thoughts came only after they had all fallen.
Having swiftly dispatched the second brigade, Namgung Geom surveyed the Changyong Sword Brigade.
The Changyong Sword Brigade held the advantage against the third brigade.
Particularly striking were the performances of Namgung Woo and the Four Masters of the Sword, his sworn siblings.
The five of them faced the third brigade at the vanguard.
The warriors of the third brigade faltered under their assault.
It was only because they exercised restraint that more had not already fallen—without it, several would surely be dead.
‘That side requires no concern.’
Namgung Geom withdrew his gaze and moved toward Namgung Cho.
The warriors of the first brigade blocking Namgung Cho’s path leveled their blades.
“Had I truly learned the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, I would not have spared these men.”
At Namgung Geom’s words, the eyes of the first brigade wavered.
The Northern Sea Ice Demon was notorious for her brutal methods.
Yet Namgung Geom was nothing of the sort.
Rather, he seemed intent on minimizing injury or death among the Chungyang Branch’s warriors.
He could simply attack, but instead he offered them the chance to withdraw through words alone.
“The Crown Prince is deceiving us now.”
As the warriors of the Chungyang Branch seemed ready to believe Namgung Geom’s words, Namgung Myeong cried out urgently.
Namgung Geom regarded Namgung Myeong with a look of contempt.
“The deceiver isn’t me—it’s you and your father. Whose orders were you following when you tried to kill me?”
“Orders? What are you talking about? I merely wished to ascertain the Crown Prince’s true identity. And when that identity was revealed, didn’t the Crown Prince attack me first?”
Namgung Cho lied without a flicker of emotion crossing his face.
“Your falsehoods are quite exquisite, Branch Master.”
“If my words are lies, then prove to me that the Crown Prince has not mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts.”
At Namgung Cho’s words, Namgung Geom stared at him as though astounded.
“Before that, I have a question for you, Branch Master. Do you possess concrete evidence that I have mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts?”
“I received a report that the Crown Prince had mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, and I merely sought to verify it.”
“And your method of verification was to assault someone in the dead of night?”
Namgung Geom’s question dripped with incredulity.
“Stop distorting the truth, Crown Prince. You attacked me first when I mentioned the Northern Sea Ice Demon.”
Namgung Cho lied again without so much as a twitch of his features.
Confronted with such shameless brazenness, Namgung Geom found himself almost speechless.
He drew a deep breath to steady himself, then asked, “From whom did you receive this report?”
“The source was unknown.”
Namgung Geom regarded Namgung Cho with disbelief.
“So you came to the main family’s Crown Prince based on an unverified report from an unknown source, claiming he had mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts?”
“I told you—I only sought to confirm it. The Crown Prince was the one who attacked first upon hearing the name of the Northern Sea Ice Demon.”
Namgung Cho persisted in his lies to the bitter end.
“Enough of these falsehoods. Do you truly expect anyone to believe that someone would come in the middle of the night, when all sleep, merely to verify whether another has learned a particular technique?”
Namgung Geom’s question was not directed at Namgung Cho alone.
It was a rhetorical challenge to all the warriors of the Chungyang Branch.
If they gave it even a moment’s thought, they would all understand how nonsensical Namgung Cho’s words were.
Indeed, the warriors of the Chungyang Branch were already harboring suspicions about what he had said.
“As for proving that I have not mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts—that is simple. The Clan Master himself has publicly affirmed my martial prowess. What more definitive proof could there be?”
At Namgung Geom’s words, the warriors of the Chungyang Branch nodded inwardly.
Namgung Pae was one of the Six Supremes, currently called the greatest masters in the Martial World.
If Namgung Geom had truly mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, there was no way Namgung Pae would have failed to recognize it.
No proof could be more certain than the fact that Namgung Pae himself had affirmed Namgung Geom’s martial arts.
“But…….”
Namgung Cho appeared flustered and tried to speak, but Namgung Geom’s words came faster.
“Surely you don’t believe the Clan Master is so blind as not to recognize the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts?”
Namgung Cho’s mouth went dry.
To insist here that Namgung Geom had mastered the Northern Sea Ice Demon’s Demonic Arts, he would need to produce decisive evidence.
But Namgung Cho had no such evidence.
“Now that I think of it, I too received a report about you, Branch Master.”
“What sort of report?”
Namgung Cho asked, his tone uncertain.
“Not long ago, I received word that you were a spy for the Sammo Cult.”
Namgung Bing-ryong
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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