Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 96

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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 96
“I’ll tear that mouth of yours to shreds!”
At Namgung Geom’s words, Wi Tae-gang could no longer contain his fury and rushed forward.
Boom!
Axe Qi erupted from his Dual Axes, splitting the space as it carved toward Namgung Geom’s left and right.
Wi Tae-gang’s axe technique was simple.
But the power contained within it was anything but simple.
It wasn’t merely brute force.
The speed was extraordinary as well.
His movements were elementary, but they overwhelmed his opponent through sheer velocity and strength—a martial art designed to crush through superior power rather than technique.
When combined with the monstrous strength that poured from Wi Tae-gang’s massive frame, fighting him at the same realm was no trivial matter.
But his opponent was Namgung Geom.
Namgung Geom retreated, escaping the range of the Dual Axes’ strike in a single fluid motion.
Wi Tae-gang launched himself from the ground, pursuing Namgung Geom relentlessly.
His Dual Axes descended toward both of Namgung Geom’s shoulders in succession.
This time, Namgung Geom did not evade. Instead, he extended his blade.
Spear Sky Ice Heaven!
From the Ice Dragon Sword, a sky of ice unfurled, swallowing Wi Tae-gang’s Dual Axes whole.
Crack!
The Dual Axes, trapped within the frozen space, froze solid in an instant.
Wi Tae-gang’s eyes widened.
It felt as though the entire world had been buried beneath ice.
What manner of unreasonable martial art was this?
Then, frigid Qi penetrated through the Dual Axes, seeping inward.
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped him as pain—as if his very insides were freezing solid—wracked his body.
Wi Tae-gang clenched his teeth and poured Inner Power into his weapons.
The frigid Qi that had been creeping inward was forced back by his Inner Power.
He swung his Dual Axes with all his might, attempting to shatter the frozen space that confined him.
Boom-crack!
The frozen space attached to his Dual Axes shattered outward.
But it froze anew faster than it broke apart, pressing in on Wi Tae-gang with relentless force.
Wi Tae-gang’s gaze flickered with alarm.
Namgung Geom’s blade was controlling space itself.
And to escape that space, he would have to break through the frozen barrier.
If he failed to shatter the frozen space, he himself would become ice.
He had not endured twenty years of bitter hatred and resentment only to perish so pathetically, frozen solid.
Wi Tae-gang unleashed every ounce of his Inner Power into his axes at once.
Boom-boom-boom—
Axe Qi exploded upward from his weapons as the Crescent Moon manifested.
The Crescent Moon Axe Technique.
A martial art left to Wi Tae-gang by his father—the Ultimate Technique of the legendary Yama Dual Axes that once shook the Martial World.
For the past twenty years, Wi Tae-gang had trained the Crescent Moon Axe Technique without fail, driven by his thirst for revenge.
When the Crescent Moon Axe Technique reached its peak, one could manifest a Crescent Moon condensed from Axe Qi.
The power of that Crescent Moon was strong enough to shatter even a ten-thousand-pound boulder in a single strike.
The Axe Qi of the Crescent Moon that erupted from Wi Tae-gang’s weapons crashed against the frozen space.
Boom-crack-crack!
The frozen space shattered under the Crescent Moon’s Axe Qi, and thunder roared.
Namgung Geom, startled by that power, fell back.
Boom-crack!
Wi Tae-gang burst free, shattering the frozen space around him.
And then, Sword Qi infused with Ice Lightning came streaking toward him.
As Wi Tae-gang turned to locate Namgung Geom for a counterattack, he was caught off guard by the sudden Ice Lightning and swung his Dual Axes in defense.
Clash!
He barely managed to deflect the Ice Lightning strike.
But that was only the beginning.
Nine bolts of Ice Lightning poured forth, forming a sword net.
Wi Tae-gang spread his Dual Axes wide and spun his body like a spinning top.
Axe Qi erupted from his weapons, sweeping across all directions.
Boom-crack-crack!
Nine bolts of Ice Lightning caught in the Axe Qi and detonated outward in a cascade.
‘I cannot deny the sheer force behind those strikes.’
Namgung Geom clicked his tongue.
The power unleashed by the heavy axe was truly formidable.
Yet a vast gulf separated the two combatants.
Namgung Geom had not yet expended his full strength.
Wi Tae-gang, by contrast, was pouring everything into the fight.
Even so, he barely held his ground.
To all intents and purposes, the battle’s outcome was already decided.
The duel continued only because Namgung Geom refused to fight at full capacity—he meant to take Wi Tae-gang alive.
Had Namgung Geom sought his death, the matter would have been settled long ago.
Still, he could not allow this to drag on indefinitely.
Namgung Geom resolved to end the bout quickly, even if it meant Wi Tae-gang suffered wounds.
As long as he lived, that was enough.
“Let’s finish this.”
Namgung Geom extended the Ice Dragon Sword toward Wi Tae-gang.
Whee-crack—
From the Ice Dragon Sword erupted a spiraling Sword Wind, laced with biting cold and surging with terrible force.
Boom-crack!
The spiraling Sword Winds linked in sequence, birthing a vortex of icy desolation.
Heaven Wind Dragon Fist.
The ultimate move of the Heaven Wind Infinite Sword Method was unleashed.
The frigid vortex coiled around everything, expelling waves of suffocating cold.
The intense Cold Qi froze the very air itself.
Namgung Geom swept the Ice Dragon Sword toward Wi Tae-gang.
Boom-crack—
The icy vortex advanced, freezing space in its path, pressing relentlessly toward Wi Tae-gang.
Wi Tae-gang felt his breath catch in his throat.
His strength was not equal to resisting it.
He knew this in his bones.
Neither could he evade.
Even if he fled, the frigid vortex would overtake him in an instant.
Yet he could not simply accept death.
Wi Tae-gang dredged up every last shred of Inner Power he possessed.
“Then let’s see this through to the end!”
He swung the Dual Axes toward the icy vortex.
From his axes poured forth a cascade of Crescent Moon Axe Qi in rapid succession.
Boom-boom-boom-crack!
The Crescent Moon Axe Qi struck again and again into the advancing frigid vortex, detonating in thunderous impact.
The Crescent Moon Axe Qi could not pierce the icy vortex; instead, it froze solid and shattered.
Wi Tae-gang did not relent and unleashed more Crescent Moon Axe Qi.
Boom-boom-boom-crack!
Boom-crack!
Deafening blasts erupted in succession as the Crescent Moon Axe Qi froze and fractured repeatedly.
Yet the icy vortex pressed forward relentlessly, closing the distance between them.
The extreme cold radiating from the vortex made Wi Tae-gang’s body convulse.
At any moment, he felt his flesh might crystallize entirely.
Even so, Wi Tae-gang did not surrender.
He crossed the Dual Axes, layering the Crescent Moon Axe Qi into a composite formation.
The layered Crescent Moon Axe Qi drove deep into the heart of the icy vortex, detonating in a massive explosion.
Boom-boom-boom!
In the violent blast, Wi Tae-gang was hurled through the air.
He flew backward a full three zhang before crashing into the ground.
“Kghhh!”
Wi Tae-gang groaned, every bone in his body screaming with pain.
Namgung Geom approached him.
Wi Tae-gang, trembling violently, struggled with all his remaining strength to rise.
But his body would not obey.
“It’s over.”
Namgung Geom, drawing near, subdued him with effortless ease.
Wi Tae-gang glared at Namgung Geom with thinly veiled fury.
“What is your true identity? How could you possess such power at your age?”
Wi Tae-gang’s expression betrayed his bewilderment.
“For the eldest son of the Namgung Clan, this much is merely standard.”
“What? Standard, you say?”
As Wi Tae-gang stared at him in disbelief, Namgung Geom gave a casual shrug.
“So abandon your foolish dreams of avenging yourself against the main branch.”
“Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, death is inevitable—what use is clinging to vengeance?”
Wi Tae-gang’s face darkened with despair.
He had lived his entire life for revenge.
Yet here he stood, having accomplished nothing, facing his own end.
“I have no intention of killing you.”
“Then you mean to let me live?”
Wi Tae-gang asked, his tone edged with disbelief.
“If you give me the answer I seek, I may grant you your life.”
“The answer you seek? Do you speak of the Society?”
“Do you truly know nothing of the Society?”
After posing his question, Namgung Geom studied Wi Tae-gang’s eyes and expression with careful attention.
“I have already told you—I know nothing of it. Let me say once more: I have no connection whatsoever to the Society.”
“Then you came purely for revenge?”
“Yes. For Hwang Cheon-bang’s revenge, nothing else.”
“Is there perhaps someone who has aided or supported Hwang Cheon-bang’s revenge?”
At that question, Wi Tae-gang’s eyes flickered for an instant.
“No. There is no one.”
“No—I think there is.”
“I said there is no one.”
Wi Tae-gang spoke with harsh conviction.
But Namgung Geom did not believe him.
“Was it not he who ordered you to kill the sorcerers that Bi Ryong Il-jo brings?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Wi Tae-gang continued to feign ignorance.
“Reveal who this man is, and I will spare your life.”
At Namgung Geom’s proposal, Wi Tae-gang faltered for a moment.
But he did not yield.
“How can I reveal someone who does not exist?”
“Even if I said your life depended on it?”
Namgung Geom pressed him with the threat of death.
“I cannot fabricate a man out of thin air.”
Wi Tae-gang refused to break his resolve.
Namgung Geom’s brow furrowed.
It seemed persuasion would not work.
“We shall speak of this again later.”
Namgung Geom decided to first order the situation at hand before resuming his interrogation.
Namgung Geom surveyed the surroundings.
The Hwang Cheon Four Swords had already been subdued by the Black Shadow Three Swords.
The battle between Bi Ryong Il-jo’s forces and the Hwang Cheon-bang fighters was drawing to a close.
With Wi Tae-gang’s collapse, the remaining fighters had all fled.
When Bi Ryong Il-jo moved to pursue them, Namgung Geom held up a hand to stop him.
“See first to the wounded.”
The remnants of Hwang Cheon-bang posed no real threat in any case.
Tending to the injured was far more pressing than giving chase.
Bi Ryong Il-jo abandoned the pursuit and attended to the wounded.
“Well done.”
Namgung Geom commended the Black Shadow Three Swords for subduing the Hwang Cheon Four Swords.
“It was nothing of note.”
Heuk Il-yeong replied with an air of indifference.
Yet it was far from nothing.
The Hwang Cheon Four Swords were all Peak Masters.
Subduing them was no simple feat.
It was only because the Black Shadow Three Swords possessed supreme Concealment Technique that they had managed such swift suppression.
Namgung Geom thought once again that recruiting the Black Shadow Three Swords had been the right decision.
Though they had come from the ranks of the Black Killing Gate’s assassins, what mattered now was the future, not the past.
If they proved themselves by helping to stop the cult intent on overthrowing the Martial World, their past transgressions would be atoned for.
Of course, the most crucial thing was their frame of mind.
If they genuinely repented their past deeds and pursued virtue, the world’s judgment of them would transform as well.
But that was not something Namgung Geom could accomplish for them.
He could only offer the opportunity; whether they changed depended entirely on the will of the Black Shadow Three Swords themselves.
“But where is the sorcerer we brought down from Cheonju Mountain?”
Namgung Geom asked Namgung Hwan.
“After we spotted the enemy, I had him conceal himself for safety. Someone has gone to retrieve him, so he should arrive soon.”
Namgung Geom was nodding when he noticed one of Bi Ryong Il-jo’s members sprinting toward them with urgency.
His expression made it clear that something had gone wrong.
Indeed it had.
The member reported with a grim face.
“The sorcerer is dead.”
Namgung Ice Dragon
Author |
Baek Wol-geom
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without written permission from 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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