The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 25

After returning to the family estate and unpacking, Namgung Hwan called for the person who had been trembling with fear earlier to hear the full story of what had happened.

His face reddened after hearing the tale.

According to this late-stage expert named Jin Tae, he had essentially been humiliated.

‘I heard that Namgung Hyeok had capable subordinates around him, but…’

He never expected to be caught off guard like this from their very first encounter.

Namgung Hwan struggled to manage his expression.

‘This incompetent bastard. Getting pushed back by mere momentum suppression?’

He wanted to curse at Jin Tae, but refrained since doing so might earn him resentment from those who had come with him.

Instead, he spoke to Jin Tae in a warm voice.

“What a terrible fellow. To send out killing intent just for making eye contact.”

“Exactly! Shouldn’t we formally protest this? To think there’s such a vicious person in the Namgung Family!”

“It was probably Third Young Master’s order. He must have intended to keep Hwan in check.”

Fortunately, the late-stage experts focused on condemning their opponent rather than Jin Tae’s incompetence.

Namgung Hwan sighed while hiding his complex emotions.

“It seems they don’t welcome us. And I treated them so well when I was at the family estate… How sad.”

“It’s shocking that Flame Dragon has such character. Shouldn’t we make this public so the martial artists of Jianghu know about it?”

“Please calm down for now. Acting rashly based on this one incident might backfire on us. It’s better to endure for now.”

“Hmm.”

When Namgung Hwan, their leader, spoke this way, all the late-stage experts fell silent.

In truth, they had no real intention of doing anything to Namgung Hyeok either.

They were simply going along with the mood since he was Namgung Hwan’s enemy.

Namgung Hwan clapped his hands once and continued speaking.

“They say the righteous path always defeats the evil path. If they’re going to act this way, we must respond with more proper methods. Everyone, please help me. Fortunately, I’ll soon become a unit commander of a second-class squad and begin my activities. If I can achieve merit there, I’ll be able to humble Namgung Hyeok’s arrogance.”

“We’ll follow Young Master Hwan.”

“I’ll help as much as I can too!”

“We can’t ignore a friend’s crisis.”

The late-stage experts who had followed Namgung Hwan responded to his words with such declarations.

Namgung Hwan smiled coldly as he thought to himself.

‘Hmph. These guys who came here wanting to ride on my coattails and secure positions for themselves, yet they pretend to care about loyalty…’

But right now, he desperately needed the help of even these parasites.

So he smiled. He would have to stay with them until he became powerful enough not to need their help.

‘Wait for me, Namgung Hyeok.’

His eyes sharpened.

‘I’ll soon humble that proud nose of yours.’

* * *

A few days after Namgung Hwan’s return, a family council was held at the Namgung Family Estate.

The topic was whether or not to make Namgung Cheon the young family head.

Heated debate continued in the meeting hall.

“First Young Master has only just risen from his sickbed, and nothing has been proven yet, has it? To make him young family head, he should naturally build up appropriate achievements…”

“What nonsense! First Young Master is the legitimate eldest son of the previous family head. That alone is sufficient qualification, so what other proof is needed!”

“Moreover, even if First Young Master is inexperienced right now, wouldn’t it be enough for us to assist him well from the side? I think that would be sufficient.”

“But, but still, the young family head position is important, so we should deliberate as much as possible…”

The situation was turning unfavorably for the Namgung Jangcheon faction.

Though their numbers exceeded half, the justification of those supporting Namgung Cheon was too solid.

Moreover, the rising star Namgung Hyeok and the politically influential Elder Council Head were backing him from behind.

As a result, the Namgung Jangcheon faction couldn’t openly oppose either.

They could only repeat like parrots that it would be better to take some time to decide.

“We’re not saying to make him family head immediately. It would be good to first make him young family head and then observe slowly.”

“I have no objections.”

“Neither do I.”

“What are the Acting Family Head’s thoughts?”

The arrow turned toward Namgung Jangcheon.

Namgung Jangcheon closed his eyes and briefly avoided answering. His anguished expression was clearly visible to everyone in the meeting hall.

After a moment.

“I too will agree to making Cheon the young family head.”

“…!”

The atmosphere in the meeting hall stirred at those words.

No one expected the leader of the Namgung Jangcheon faction, who had been opposing all along, to say such a thing.

‘Damn it.’

But Namgung Jangcheon had no choice.

The current situation was completely tilted, and forcibly pushing opposition here would only result in attacks on himself.

“Hehe. Then it’s decided.”

The Elder Council Head didn’t miss this opportunity and quickly drove in the wedge.

“Those who agree to making First Young Master Namgung Cheon the young family head, raise your hands.”

“…”

Clearly more than half the people raised their hands. Many of them raised their hands reluctantly, but the decision was made nonetheless.

“Then it’s settled. From today, the young family head of the Main House is Young Master Namgung Cheon. Please be mindful of your forms of address when calling him from now on.”

“Waaaaah!”

Some remaining members of the Namgung Cheon faction let out cheers.

They received looks from the Namgung Jangcheon forces but didn’t care.

Even they hadn’t expected to make Namgung Cheon young family head so easily. It would have been impossible without Namgung Hyeok, who had publicly supported him.

“Ahem. Then let’s move on to the next agenda item.”

Namgung Jangcheon cleared his throat as if to organize the atmosphere and turned the page of his documents.

His eyes brightened momentarily. It contained content about his son.

“There has been a proposal to make Namgung Hwan, who recently completed his journey through Jianghu and returned to the family, the unit commander of the Death Extermination Unit, a second-class squad. What are your thoughts on this?”

“I agree. There was already much talk about Young Master Namgung Hwan taking charge of a military force even before he went on his Jianghu journey, wasn’t there?”

“A unit commander position seems like a good start.”

The Namgung Jangcheon faction quickly chimed in agreement. Conversely, the expressions of the neutral faction and Elder Council faction became subtle.

“What are we basing this trust on to give Young Master Namgung Hwan such an important responsibility?”

“Second-class squads are large units with over a hundred members. We can’t hand over the unit commander position of such a place to someone who hasn’t been verified at all.”

“Not verified at all? Everyone acknowledged Young Master Namgung Hwan’s skill and talent, didn’t they?”

“That may be so, but…”

Though not as intense as when deciding the young family head, heated discussion continued. But this time it developed favorably for the Namgung Jangcheon faction.

Not only were their numbers quite large, but Namgung Hwan was certainly famous for his outstanding abilities.

“Then it’s decided. We’ll make Namgung Hwan the unit commander of the Death Extermination Unit.”

Having made his son the unit commander of a second-class squad, Namgung Jangcheon’s expression became much lighter.

Then the next agenda item was presented.

All the senior members who heard it frowned as if troubled.

It was quite troublesome news.

“A request for cooperation has come from the government. They’re asking to borrow martial artists to help subdue the bandits near Palgongsan Mountain. What shall we do?”

“Palgongsan Mountain. That place is certainly ruled by forest bandits called Jeokyeomchae.”

Namgung Cheon, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.

When he opened his mouth, Namgung Jangcheon’s eyes flashed as he replied.

“That’s right, First Young Master.”

“Acting Family Head. It’s not First Young Master, but Young Family Head. Please be mindful of your forms of address.”

The Elder Council Head pointed out his form of address. Namgung Jangcheon frowned and corrected his words.

“Right. Young Family Head. But bringing this up means you’re interested in them, I suppose?”

“I’ve heard they’re evil bandits who brutally exploit innocent civilians passing through the area. Even without the government’s request, subjugating them would elevate the Namgung Family’s reputation.”

“But their known numbers exceed five hundred. Moreover, each one of them is quite skilled in martial arts. With our current standoff against the Evil Path Alliance, it’s difficult to spare that many troops.”

“Even so, wouldn’t one Second-Class Squad and three Third-Class Battle Units be possible? The government will cooperate with us as well.”

“Hmm….”

Namgung Jangcheon pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Then we’ll send the Death Extermination Unit as the Second-Class Squad. They should be able to accomplish the mission excellently in cooperation with the government.”

“For the Third-Class Battle Units, we’ll send the Pungwoon Unit along with Suhodae and Cheongkeomdae. Does anyone have objections?”

“….”

For a moment, the two men’s eyes clashed.

It was because each had put forward the military force they supported as representatives.

However, neither denied the other’s personnel selection.

If they did, their own recommended units wouldn’t be able to participate either.

“Good. Since no one seems to have objections, let’s proceed that way.”

“Then when shall we set the deployment date?”

“According to the government’s request, about two weeks from now would be good. We can rendezvous with the Government Forces and move out then.”

“That sounds fine. Unit commanders, is that acceptable to you?”

“Of course.”

“Yes.”

The Myeolsadae Commander and Namgung Hyeok answered first. The other two commanders also nodded while reading the atmosphere.

Thus, the subjugation of Jeokyeomchae was decided.

* * *

After the meeting ended, Namgung Hyeok called together the Suhodae Commander and Cheongkeomdae Commander who would be working with him.

Both men responded to Namgung Hyeok’s summons with slightly anxious looks in their eyes.

They were worried that Namgung Hyeok might use his authority to seize their command rights and absorb them under his control.

However, what Namgung Hyeok said was different.

“Would you like to conduct joint training with our Pungwoon Unit?”

“Third Young Master, joint training?”

The Suhodae Commander asked in surprise. He hadn’t expected such words to come out.

Namgung Hyeok answered calmly.

“Exactly as I said – let’s have the three military forces coordinate together. That way, we can move as one body without confusion in actual combat, don’t you think?”

“Hmm….”

“Moreover, I heard that you two have shown great interest in our Pungwoon Unit’s strategies and tactics. I’ll share them with you during this opportunity, so won’t you join us?”

“…!”

The statement about their interest was true.

As the Pungwoon Unit, composed mostly of second-rate and below martial artists, continued achieving merits without many casualties, more people became curious about their secret.

These two men were among that group.

So Namgung Hyeok’s proposal couldn’t help but be appealing.

“Just learning basic formations will dramatically reduce friendly casualties. I guarantee that point. What do you say?”

“Hmm….”

“We’ll accept. If we can reduce our members’ casualties, we’ll gladly follow.”

The Cheongkeomdae Commander seemed to hesitate a bit, but the Suhodae Commander made the first move.

So the Cheongkeomdae Commander had no choice but to follow suit.

“We’ll also participate. When would be a good training date?”

“It would be best to start immediately from today. We don’t have much time left. Please have your subordinates assemble at the training ground.”

“Understood.”

The two men nodded and withdrew. Left alone, Namgung Hyeok smiled as he watched their retreating figures.

‘Three Third-Class Battle Units combined would be about a hundred men. That’s equivalent to a Second-Class Squad.’

Then the variety of tactics he could employ would increase tremendously.

On the battlefield, the tactics a squad leader of ten could use were completely different from those a centurion of a hundred could use.

‘It’s over.’

Uncle probably accepted this personnel arrangement thinking the Second-Class Death Extermination Unit would achieve more merits….

That thinking was a mistake.

He would soon be clutching his stomach in frustration and pounding the ground as he watched the three Third-Class Battle Units, including the Pungwoon Unit, steal all the glory.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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