Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Butts Skyward
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In front of the annex courtyard, thirty asses were pointing straight to the sky.
The heads of the Thunder Dragon Squad, buried in the ground, were flushed red as if they might burst at any moment.
No, some really were bursting—blood trickled from their nostrils and scalps.
“Guhh!”
“Ughhh!”
“Kraaah!”
Frustrated groans filled the courtyard in front of the annex.
Veins bulged on Geon Cheon-hwi’s forehead.
The upside-down world made his head spin.
‘Fuck, fuck!’
Curses were all that filled his mind.
He should’ve just endured it a little.
He should’ve just swung his sword in the training grounds.
Why the hell did he swing his sword there and then down drinks, you idiot!
Through this mess, Geon Cheon-hwi truly realized something.
Even if you do well ten times, one screw-up gets you beaten.
As his self-loathing ended, his rage poured toward the culprit behind it all.
Grit! Grit!
Geon Cheon-hwi ground his teeth and strained to roll his bloodshot eyes toward Tak Hyeok-dong wriggling beside him.
“You fucking bastard. I told you not to drink.”
Tak Hyeok-dong twisted his face and glared at Geon Cheon-hwi.
“Fuck, you drank with me.”
“If someone’s grilling meat right next to you and stuffing it in your mouth, you gonna not eat? Not drink?”
“Damn it, did I eat? You did.”
“You? You little shit? Wanna die, for real?”
Geon Cheon-hwi and Tak Hyeok-dong shoved their asses sideways at each other, bumping with thuds.
“Stay still, damn it! The young master’s coming!”
At Jang Woong’s shout, Geon Cheon-hwi and Tak Hyeok-dong clamped their mouths shut.
Namgung Hyuk dragged his weary body over, feet shuffling, and plopped down on the ground.
“Huuuuh.”
His deep sigh made the Thunder Dragon Squad tremble.
Namgung Hyuk downed a shot of liquor from the side, and Jin Cheom-sang fed him a piece of meat.
“What do we do with these bastards?”
His low, rumbling voice made the Thunder Dragon Squad shudder.
Even the call of the grim reaper wouldn’t be this scary.
“These punks haven’t been beaten enough lately, huh? Yeah? You’ve flipped the guest and host around.”
No one knew what he meant by guest and host being flipped, but everyone shut up.
Even Tak Hyeok-dong bit his lower lip hard, desperately sealing his mouth.
“That’s why you don’t treat people—or beasts—too well. They gotta get beaten just right to come to their senses.”
As the Thunder Dragon Squad swallowed hard.
Slurp!
Namgung Hyuk neatly tossed back another shot.
“Kuh, fuck.”
The liquor tasted bitter, like sorrow sliding down his throat.
“Haa, what the hell is this. We’ve got perfectly good limbs right here.”
They hadn’t even dug the ground yet, and his body was already aching.
There were just so damn many rocks and trees!
This was a whole different level of hardship from plowing a field.
Even adding Namgung Ryong’s labor power didn’t make a dent. No dent at all.
‘If luck’s shit, we might have to carve out an entire cliff.’
Normally, they’d move 108 paces from the marked spot.
But without knowing the exact mark location, if luck was really bad, they might have to smash the cliff itself.
With just him and Namgung Ryong, even working day and night for six months, they might barely find the Giantwood Secret.
Namgung Hyuk let out a heavy sigh and stared blankly at the Thunder Dragon Squad with their heads buried.
“……Just use ’em?”
Geon Cheon-hwi twisted his neck to look up at Namgung Hyuk from below.
“……Pardon?”
Namgung Hyuk rubbed his chin.
‘Ah, but this is too many.’
If word got out with this many people moving around?
‘Fuck, but these guys are all labor power.’
Thirty men—how much labor is that?
Way better than two guys digging with shovels. A hundred times better.
Tension creased Namgung Hyuk’s brow.
“No time to be picky.”
If you’ve got no teeth, chew with your gums.
But these weren’t just gums.
They were iron-strong gums.
“When else would we use ’em if not now?”
Geon Cheon-hwi flinched at the ominous words.
The rest of the Thunder Dragon Squad shuddered, eyes on Namgung Hyuk.
Slurp!
After downing his third shot, Namgung Hyuk set the glass down with a clack.
He commanded the head-buried Thunder Dragon Squad.
“Rise.”
“Yessiiiir!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad chorused and sprang up.
Namgung Hyuk looked at them and said,
“You’re slacking because you’re comfy.”
“……”
“You’re coming out with me.”
Geon Cheon-hwi twitched.
Why did “let’s go out” sound like “fall off a cliff and die”?
Even clueless Tak Hyeok-dong kept his mouth shut for once.
Despair showed on his face—same as everyone else.
Namgung Hyuk smiled faintly.
“It’s a good place, so don’t worry.”
Good place my ass. It’s hell.
As everyone’s faces darkened, Namgung Hyuk’s smile deepened.
Just then, as everyone but Namgung Hyuk grew uneasy.
Boom!
A heavy thud came from the wall, along with a puff of pale dust.
A bigger sound than when Namgung Hyuk had fallen.
The Thunder Dragon Squad’s eyes snapped toward it in unison.
Namgung Ryong, sprawled on the ground, staggered to his feet with grunts.
“……”
“……”
Seeing Namgung Ryong with shadows under his eyes down to his chin, the Thunder Dragon Squad warriors’ faces paled further.
Their own faces were bruised, but Namgung Ryong’s had no blood in it—like a corpse.
Everyone was shocked by Namgung Ryong, too exhausted to stand properly.
What the hell does a person have to do to end up like that in one day!
As mouths gaped.
Namgung Hyuk approached and helped Namgung Ryong up.
“T…hanks.”
It was a voice squeezed out with effort. He was truly spent.
Getting back to the Hebei Pang Clan was a miracle.
Namgung Hyuk scratched his cheek.
“Gotta go back up.”
“……Huh?”
“Secured labor. Strike while the iron’s hot.”
Namgung Ryong’s pupils shook.
“Then me…?”
“Brother’s labor too.”
“……”
“Let’s go.”
Plop.
Namgung Ryong collapsed to the ground in despair.
“Aaah……”
A choked groan leaked from his throat.
Shadows fell over the watching Thunder Dragon Squad’s faces.
Despair on that expressionless Namgung Ryong’s face—what the hell happened?
Fear filled the Thunder Dragon Squad’s faces.
* * *
The Thunder Dragon Squad leaped over the Hebei Pang Clan’s walls like night hawks in the darkness.
Geon Cheon-hwi, landing below, widened his eyes.
‘How the hell does he sneak in and out without getting caught…’
He’d wondered how Namgung Hyuk pierced the ironclad defenses—he’d mapped the guards like a ghost and set the path.
A true habitual wall-climber.
Led by Namgung Hyuk, the thirty Thunder Dragon Squad members raced toward Skysplitting Mountain.
Bringing up the rear, Namgung Ryong chased Namgung Hyuk like a sick chicken.
Tak Hyeok-dong panted as he followed and asked,
“But where we headed?”
Geon Cheon-hwi shot him a resentful glare.
“Don’t know, punk.”
“Why so pissy? Shit happens in life.”
“You’re the fucking punk.”
Geon Cheon-hwi caught his breath before yelling and just glared at Tak Hyeok-dong.
“This mess is your fault.”
“We don’t know if it’s a mess yet! Could be a surprise gift from the young master.”
Wow, can a person be like this?
After that beating, he says that?
“Gift my ass. Your tongue’s got no brain?”
“Hmph, then why’d a smart guy like you drink?”
Tak Hyeok-dong snickered, and Geon Cheon-hwi ground his teeth.
If he didn’t shut that loose-lipped bastard’s mouth right now, something would burst.
“Fucking hell. Maknae! Shut that punk up!”
“What? Fu—Guh?”
Jang Woong sneaked up and sealed Tak Hyeok-dong’s mute acupoint.
Tak Hyeok-dong rolled his eyes and mmph-mmphed.
Geon Cheon-hwi and Jang Woong sighed and shook their heads.
How’d a guy like that end up in the Thunder Dragon Squad…
For a moment, their minds synced.
Namgung Hyuk and the Thunder Dragon Squad arrived at Skysplitting Mountain, where the Giantwood Secret lay hidden.
Geon Cheon-hwi blinked at the rock- and tree-filled space.
‘Where’s this? What’re we doing here?’
Looking closer, one side showed signs of dug earth.
No way… burying us here?
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Quick-witted Jang Woong felt the same.
He was already shifting his ass back, ready to bolt.
“Mmph mmph? Mmph mmph mmph?”
‘Where’s this? What’re we doing?’
Tak Hyeok-dong craned his neck and mmph-mmphed.
The tense Thunder Dragon Squad’s eyes fixed on Namgung Hyuk.
Namgung Hyuk exhaled and said,
“From here to there.”
Their eyes followed his pointing finger.
“Dig the ground.”
“……Pardon?”
“Dig the ground. From here to there.”
“From here to there… you mean?”
“Shovels!”
At Namgung Hyuk’s command, the Thunder Dragon Squad reflexively drew the portable shovels from their belts.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“Hmm?”
Holding their portable shovel handles, the Thunder Dragon Squad stared wide-eyed at each other.
He hadn’t even told them to bring extras…
“Dig.”
Their eyes turned to the hundreds-of-paces-wide space before them.
A space packed with house-sized boulders and sturdy trees.
Dig?
Here?
With these tiny portable shovels?
Everyone eyed Namgung Hyuk with that question.
Namgung Hyuk nodded toward it.
Get over there and dig.
“……”
“……”
Orders were orders.
Geon Cheon-hwi exhaled and charged forward before the nod even finished.
“Hraaaah!”
Starting with Geon Cheon-hwi, the Thunder Dragon Squad surged into the hundreds-of-paces space with shovels raised.
Like miners hacking ore, they swung handles at rocks and stabbed the earth.
Boom-boom-boom! Crack-crack!
“Hraaaah!”
“Heeyaaah!”
“Hraaaah!”
Amid the raucous shouts, the Thunder Dragon Squad moved frantically.
“Mmph-mmph! Mmph mmph mmph?!”
‘Moonlit night, what the fuck is this?!’
Tak Hyeok-dong roughly tore up the earth and glanced toward Namgung Hyuk.
Seeing the fierce blue glint in Namgung Hyuk’s eyes, Tak Hyeok-dong freaked.
‘F-fuck. One bad drink and this shit?’
Digging in an unfamiliar corner of Skysplitting Mountain on a sudden moonlit night—it was absurd.
And how vast was it.
Jang Woong chipped away at a rock with two shovel handles and muttered,
“But why dig here all sudden? Who’re we burying?”
“Don’t know, punk. Just dig!”
“Captain, I’m not vice captain. I’m maknae, maknae.”
“Want me to shut your mouth too?”
“Gasp!”
As Geon Cheon-hwi raised his shovel handle, Jang Woong sucked in a breath and dove back into digging.
Jang Woong grumbled but suddenly looked back.
“Huh?”
In the darkness, Namgung Hyuk’s glowing blue eyes emanated an eerie aura.
“W-what’re you…?”
Before he finished, Namgung Hyuk charged out with a pickaxe.
Zzzzap! KABOOM!
“Outta the way! How long you gonna take like that!”
C-crazy!
What’d he do to that pickaxe?
That’s sword aura, ain’t it?!
Watching Namgung Hyuk shatter boulders, the Thunder Dragon Squad gaped.
Sword aura from a pickaxe?
Each swing of Namgung Hyuk’s pickaxe sliced house-sized rocks to chunks.
The squad lost their minds at the superhuman rock-breaking.
Boom! KABOOM! KABOOM!
“Slower than me? You’re getting buried! Move!”
“Eek!”
“Hiii!”
At Namgung Hyuk’s threat, the Thunder Dragon Squad yelped and poured qi into their shovel handles.
KABOOM! KABOOOM!
Explosions rang out everywhere as rock and wood fragments flew.
Into that chaotic mess staggered Namgung Ryong.
In his fading eyes, he saw Namgung Hyuk at the front, swinging his shovel faster and fiercer than the Thunder Dragon Squad, clearing boulders.
Namgung Ryong spoke in a parched voice.
“Hyuk… ah.”
Namgung Hyuk’s blue-glowing eyes turned to him.
“What!”
“……Let’s rest a bit.”
“What?”
“Rest.”
Hyuk-ah. Please.
Namgung Ryong’s pleading gaze met Namgung Hyuk’s.
Namgung Hyuk grinned back.
“Bro. I can bury you too. Let’s work, yeah?”
Not the time!
Dig as much as we can while we can!
Namgung Ryong despaired at Namgung Hyuk’s firm tone.
He quietly gripped a shovel handle and shuffled forward.
No exceptions.