Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 63

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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 63
A manor house in Wuhu.
A man wreathed in dark, cloud-like energy sat in the garden, sipping tea.
He was the Heukyun Saja, the one who had met with Hwang Daein and Namgung Cho before.
As he drained the last of his cup, the Black-Clothed Man hurried into the garden.
The Black-Clothed Man was a subordinate under Heukyun Saja’s command.
“Master Heukyun Saja.”
Heukyun Saja raised a hand, signaling the man to rise.
The Black-Clothed Man got to his feet.
“What became of the matter at the Chingyang Branch?”
“It appears to have failed, sir.”
“Useless—there’s not a competent man among them.”
Heukyun Saja spoke with unmistakable displeasure.
The organization had invested considerable effort in cultivating Hwang Daein’s martial skill and positioning Namgung Cho as a branch master.
Yet when the moment came, neither had delivered.
“Namgung Geom’s martial skill appears to exceed our initial assessment, sir.”
“True Martial Realm at his age—even our Leader has not achieved that. Yet it is hardly insurmountable. A proper duel is one thing, but a night raid is another.”
A frontal engagement was not the plan.
Even a master of True Martial Realm becomes vulnerable when asleep, less likely to detect an attack.
Moreover, at a branch of the Namgung Clan, they would hardly have prepared any defense.
Namgung Cho’s skill should have been sufficient to kill him.
That he failed meant either Namgung Cho had grown careless, or else Namgung Geom had learned of the plot beforehand and made ready.
But what did that matter now?
What mattered was that Namgung Cho had failed.
“And what has become of Namgung Cho?”
“He has been subdued by Namgung Geom and appears to be imprisoned.”
“Then he will be interrogated to reveal who sent him.”
“Namgung Cho will not reveal the organization’s existence, sir.”
The Black-Clothed Man spoke with certainty.
“Not if he wishes his son to remain human rather than become a jiangshi.”
Heukyun Saja harbored no fear that Namgung Cho might divulge the organization’s secrets.
The moment he did, his son would be transformed into a jiangshi.
For his son’s sake alone, he would guard his tongue absolutely.
“As you have planned it, sir, he will point the finger at Namgung Byuk.”
Heukyun Saja had prepared for the possibility that Namgung Cho would fail in his assassination attempt.
Should Namgung Cho be captured and interrogated, he had been instructed to name Namgung Byuk as his instigator.
“The forged letter—bearing Namgung Byuk’s handwriting and seal—it was delivered as planned?”
“Yes, sir. It should now be hidden in a secret compartment of his study.”
“But a letter alone will not suffice. We must kindle the spark into flame.”
Heukyun Saja spoke with a meaningful expression.
The Black-Clothed Man did not grasp his meaning.
“How do we kindle that spark, sir?”
“Rumor is the deadliest weapon in the martial world.”
At the mention of rumor, the Black-Clothed Man paused, then his eyes brightened as comprehension dawned.
“You wish us to spread word that Namgung Byuk attempted to kill Namgung Geom to win the Small Branch Master competition, sir?”
“And spread one more: that Namgung Geom seduced Namgung Cho with a false letter, a scheme to discredit Namgung Byuk in that same competition.”
The Black-Clothed Man instantly grasped Heukyun Saja’s intent.
“That rumor must reach Namgung Byuk’s ears, sir.”
Heukyun Saja smiled and spoke.
“Should word spread that an uncle attempted to kill his nephew, Namgung Byuk will be unable to escape censure. But if all of it was orchestrated by Namgung Geom—what then?”
A single letter would not be enough to turn Namgung Geom and Namgung Byuk against each other in open strife.
The Namgung Clan itself would suspect the letter’s authenticity.
If Namgung Byuk were not a fool, he would never use his own hand or seal on a letter commanding his nephew’s death.
And investigation would eventually reveal the letter as a forgery.
But before the truth emerged, Namgung Byuk would suffer investigation and bear the stigma of seeking a nephew’s death to seize the Small Branch Master post.
A situation that left him aggrieved and wronged.
But if all of it were Namgung Geom’s doing—
Then Namgung Byuk’s anger would naturally turn upon Namgung Geom.
“He will show Namgung Geom no mercy.”
“And in that way, familial strife may well erupt between uncle and nephew.”
If the conflict between the two of them escalated, it could spread to internal discord within the Namgung Clan.
Either way, it was an opportunity to sow chaos and weaken their position.
The original plan had been to kill Namgung Geom and frame it on Sapalyeon, then trigger a war between Sapalyeon and the Five Great Clans.
The previous assault by Hwang Daein, the master of the Blood Wolf Den, had been designed to provoke conflict between Nok-rim Maeng and the Five Great Clans.
Though both attempts had failed, if Namgung Geom and Namgung Byuk could be turned against each other, he would still achieve his objective.
Yet Heukyun Saja had not abandoned the original plan entirely.
He was still scheming to pit the Five Great Clans against the sects.
“What’s the status of leaking information to Nok-rim Maeng and the Changjiang Water Route Alliance?”
“Heuksoo Chaejoo has reported directly to the Changjiang Water Route Alliance. He claims that the Namgung Clan attacked the Blood Wolf Den’s outpost without warning, even though they were legitimately collecting tolls.”
Heuksoo Chaejoo was also one of the Secret Organization members within the sect.
Heukyun Saja had instructed Heuksoo Chaejoo to report falsely that the Namgung Clan had attacked first.
He hoped to provoke the Changjiang Water Route Alliance’s fury and drive them to assault the Namgung Clan.
“How has the Changjiang Water Route Alliance responded?”
“They say they’re conducting an investigation at the leadership level for now.”
But the Changjiang Water Route Alliance was cautious.
They couldn’t simply attack the Namgung Clan based solely on Heuksoo Chaejoo’s word.
“Then we’ll need to fan the flames ourselves. Tell Heuksoo Chaejoo to attack Namgung Geom’s party on their way to Huaxian.”
If the Blood Wolf Den attacked Namgung Geom’s group, the Namgung Clan wouldn’t let it pass unanswered.
And if the Namgung Clan struck back at the Blood Wolf Den, the Changjiang Water Route Alliance couldn’t simply stand idle.
Done right, it could escalate into a full conflict between the Namgung Clan and the Changjiang Water Route Alliance.
“Understood.”
“What about Nok-rim Maeng?”
“We’ve already spread word that Namgung Geom raided the Blood Wolf Den for live combat training with the Changyong Sword Brigade.”
Hwang Daein was one of the branch masters that Nok-rim Maeng valued highly.
If the Namgung Clan had attacked the Blood Wolf Den without cause and killed Hwang Daein, Nok-rim Maeng would never let it slide.
“What of the bandits at the Blood Wolf Den?”
“All of them have been killed and burned. There won’t be any conflicting stories.”
If any of the Blood Wolf Den’s bandits had survived, it would only be a matter of time before the false story of Namgung Geom’s raid was exposed.
That was precisely why they had wiped them all out—to seal their lips.
But that wasn’t the whole of it.
Heukyun Saja had two additional aims.
One was to ignite Nok-rim Maeng’s fury.
Witnessing the devastation of the Blood Wolf Den, their anger would burn hotter still.
The other was to leave an indelible stain on the reputations of Namgung Geom and the Namgung Clan.
If word spread that the Namgung Clan—long known for their emphasis on justice and righteousness—had launched a surprise attack and left not a single soul alive?
The martial world would condemn them without mercy.
If their reputation suffered such a blow, the other Four Great Clans would think twice before coming to their aid.
“I’m curious to see how Nok-rim Maeng responds.”
If Nok-rim Maeng attacked the Namgung Clan to avenge the Blood Wolf Den, that would be the ideal outcome.
But Nok-rim Maeng was no ordinary force—they wouldn’t rush into combat so easily.
Still, if he could simply drive a wedge between Nok-rim Maeng and the Namgung Clan with this incident, that alone would be worthwhile.
“What are Sapalyeon doing?”
“The master of Heuksalmon is pushing hard for retaliation against the Namgung Clan, but there’s no immediate action.”
“No objections to Heuksalmon’s unilateral conduct?”
“It seems they’re not making a major issue of Heuksalmon targeting the Seomun Clan.”
Sapalyeon was a coalition, but its member forces exercised their own operational authority.
United as one alliance, yet each faction moved for its own gain.
That was the nature of Sapalyeon.
They did not interfere in each other’s actions unless it threatened the coalition’s very existence.
Heuksalmon’s invasion of the Seomun Clan, led by Sahaebang and Taeho Sect, fell well within permissible bounds by that logic.
In truth, had the Namgung Clan not intervened, Heuksalmon would have won a complete victory.
With Heuksalmon growing stronger by consuming the Seomun Clan’s territory, the entire coalition’s power would expand—so the plan itself was sound.
The problem was that they had crossed a line in the process.
“However, it seems they’re facing criticism for directly attacking Namgung Geom.”
Heuksalmon had directly targeted Namgung Geom, the eldest grandson of the Namgung Clan.
That was not a matter that could be contained between the Namgung Clan and Heuksalmon alone.
It had the potential to ignite a clash between the Five Great Clans and Sapalyeon.
The other factions within Sapalyeon were right to censure Heuksalmon.
“So what is Sapalyeon doing about it?”
“For now, they seem intent on observing the Namgung Clan’s movements before settling on a course of action.”
“Then we need to scratch Sapalyeon’s pride a bit.”
Heukyun Saja spoke with a meaningful expression.
“How do you scratch their pride?” the Black-Clothed Man asked.
“If rumors spread that Sapalyeon is afraid of the Namgung Clan and is turning a blind eye to Heuksalmon’s losses, won’t Sapalyeon bristle at that?”
The Black-Clothed Man’s eyes gleamed at Heukyun Saja’s words.
“I’ll spread rumors as widely as possible to provoke Sapalyeon.”
“We’ve already lost two key secret organization members in this operation. If we don’t produce tangible results, the sect will hold us accountable, so there can be no more failures.”
“Understood.”
The Black-Clothed Man answered with grim determination.
* * *
Namgung Geom and the Changyong Sword Brigade departed the Chingyang Branch and moved toward Tongling.
Tongling lay adjacent to the Changjiang River, and Namgung Geom’s party planned to board a vessel there and travel to Huaxian.
Meanwhile, Namgung Geom divided the personnel selected from the Western Region Sword Brigade and Southern Region Sword Brigade into three sword brigades.
The First Brigade, commanded by Namgung Chang as captain, was anchored around the Cheonpung Squad of the Changyong Sword Brigade, with new recruits of aptitude in the Cheonpung Sword Technique filling the ranks.
The Second Brigade under Namgung Cheolung and the Third Brigade under Namgung Cheonsan were also composed of existing squads and new recruits.
However, the Fourth Brigade, designated as a reserve unit, had not yet received personnel assignments.
Only after the first three brigades were completed would they receive their personnel.
Namgung Geom instructed the captains of the three brigades and the existing members of the Changyong Sword Brigade to teach the new recruits in martial skill.
Namgung Geom could not oversee everyone’s martial training personally.
For now, he assigned the three captains and the Changyong Sword Brigade members to establish the fundamentals.
While the Changyong Sword Brigade members had their limits, the three captains possessed sufficient skill to solidify the foundations.
If they laid the groundwork and Namgung Geom identified and corrected any deficiencies, much more time would be saved.
Namgung Geom and the Changyong Sword Brigade cultivated the Divine Technique while traveling, and trained in martial skill at night.
The new recruits of the Changyong Sword Brigade looked as though they might die from exhaustion.
Yet no one complained.
Rather, they trained with even greater ferocity.
For martial artists of the outer regions, entry into the main clan’s sword brigade was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
Yet they had been selected for the Changyong Sword Brigade and granted the opportunity to learn the clan’s martial arts.
Even if their bodies shattered, they harbored no thought of surrender.
Namgung Geom watched them and smiled privately to himself.
“Their determination is admirable.”
No matter how talented one was, those without resolve could never grow strong.
The new recruits of the Changyong Sword Brigade burned with the hunger to become stronger.
It could have been mere initial brilliance, but the will burning in their eyes suggested otherwise.
After observing the recruits’ training for some time, Namgung Geom withdrew his gaze.
Then his thoughts turned to his conversation with Namgung Bing.
Namgung Bing had expressed concern that another threat might come for Namgung Geom.
In Namgung Geom’s own estimation, the sect did not seem likely to stop here.
There was a strong possibility that something would occur during the journey to Huaxian.
And if it did, it would be more dangerous than the previous two attempts.
Having already failed twice, they would certainly prepare more thoroughly this time.
“I look forward to seeing how the sect moves.”
Namgung Geom hoped the sect would make its move.
That way, he could finally seize its tail.
Namgung Byung-yong
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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