Chapter 315
Chapter 315
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 320
Chapter Title: The Sword Emperor Division Leader Gazes Blankly at the Sky
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The Sword Emperor Division Leader looked up at the sky with blank eyes.
Blink, blink.
"Ah...."
A low sigh escaped his lips.
The vast sky and fluffy clouds drifted lazily by.
Clear blue winds, cool ground....
Ground...?
Did I pass out again?
And why are the clouds so red?
Rub, rub.
He rubbed his eyes, but the red clouds didn't turn back to white.
As his senses returned, memories from before he blacked out flashed by like a panorama.
Shudder.
The Sword Emperor Division Leader convulsed.
"Wh-where is this...."
Who am I?
"Wh-why am I here...."
Why did I come here?
A horrific pain pierced through the crown of his head, forcing him to swallow a groan as his limbs trembled violently.
Without even thinking to wipe the nosebleed streaming from his nostrils, he rolled over.
'I-I have to survive....'
His head turned to the side of its own accord.
"Kuaaaaaagh!"
"S-s-spare me, spare me...."
"W-we're comrades in arms, comrades!"
"H-hey, listen...."
Even the demons of hell wouldn't make this much racket. No, even if you dunked them in the pits of fiery hell and pulled them out, it wouldn't be this noisy.
Voices even more cruel than those screams echoed from all around.
"Graaahaha! Hold still! I'm telling you your skull's gonna crack!"
"Hey, that arm's still got some give—split it more. Yeah, really split it. Hit the shoulder, the shoulder."
"Hehe, should I bend that leg a bit?"
The Thunder Dragon Squad's trio laughed more wickedly than anyone in the world.
Wielding iron clubs, they discussed how best to mangle human limbs—it wasn't the act of humans.
'This is hell.'
Why did I come here?
To get stronger?
To become a better man than before...?
'Fuck... no one walks into hell for that.'
Foolish.
Insane.
Why did I do it?
Layer upon layer of regret ignited a desperate urge to escape.
This wasn't the mortal world—it was hell itself.
All they did all day was toss out a single incantation formula, tell you to memorize it, and then beat the shit out of you.
'Iron Soul Thirteen Paths?'
Fuck, you think people are made of iron?
Made of iron?!
If you hammer a person like iron, their flesh shatters!
You crazy barbaric bastards!
Faced with the Thunder Dragon Squad's training methods that defied all common sense, the Sword Emperor Division Leader could only wallow in regret.
His gaze shifted sideways.
Munch, munch.
There sat Nangong Hyeok on the raised seat, chewing on jerky.
Nangong Hyeok grinned.
"You think Iron Soul gets forged like that? You can hit 'em harder, y'know?"
"S-Second Young Master...."
"These guys are the basics, the basics. Their muscles are way tougher than when you lot started. Beat 'em! Beat 'em till you think they're gonna break. That's when it works, got it?"
"Yes, Second Young Master!"
Fwoooosh!
Boom! Baaaam!
"Grkkuuugh!"
"Grrrrrrlk!"
"S-spare...!"
The Thunder Dragon Squad rampaged even more ferociously.
The Thunder Dragon Squad moved like sharpened blades at a single word, while Nangong Hyeok spouted that madness—they didn't seem like the same species.
The Sword Emperor Division Leader's jaw dropped.
They were clearly trying to kill him.
How could they beat a person day in and day out like tenderizing jerky?
'B-but this is training....'
Quitting now would bruise his pride.
Inner conflict raged.
See this hell through to the end, or give up now.
"Grahahaha! Good! That's it!"
"Hit 'em more! Hit 'em real good! We took beatings from these fuckers back in the day too!"
"Beat 'em till you vent all that frustration!"
"Wreck 'em-!"
...No way. Time to bolt.
Seeing the Thunder Dragon Squad lost in madness, the Sword Emperor Division Leader changed his mind.
'T-the Second Young Master, that dog... no, no. He's still the second son. I-I trust the Second Young Master, but this method just doesn't suit me.'
Comforting himself like that, he crept along stealthily, suppressing his presence and crawling low toward the entrance.
Run.
Escape.
Just a bit further, just a bit more and I'm...
Grip.
"Huh?"
The Sword Emperor Division Leader whipped his head around at the iron grip on his ankle.
Nangong Hyeok was smiling.
"You can come in whenever you want, but leaving? Nah."
"....S-spare me, please."
"No, we're teaching you with such sincerity—why run? It hurts my feelings, y'know?"
Drag, drag, drag.
"S-spare me, spa...."
"It's quick, real quick. So you gotta think before you sign the contract."
"Y-you dog of a Second Young Master yaaaaaa!"
"This fucker?"
Slaaap!
"Grrrrrrlk!"
Nangong Hyeok knocked the Sword Emperor Division Leader out cold in one go and flung him toward Geon Cheon-hwi.
Thud!
"Hey, submersion drill."
The Thunder Dragon Squad's eyes lit up.
"Submersion drill!"
"Let's submerge him!"
"Go go go!"
The madness-drenched Thunder Dragon Squad chanted for submersion as they grabbed the Sword Emperor Division Leader's legs and dragged him.
Drag, drag, drag....
Subdued like a hog to the slaughter, the Sword Emperor Division Leader was hauled to a well in the corner of the training ground.
Soon, a thousand-catty stone was tied to his ankle, and he was shoved headfirst into the well.
...Splash.
The delayed splash made everyone's shoulders twitch.
'W-what? Why's there a well in the training ground!'
'Those bastards were digging for days—they were making a well!'
'C-crazy fuckers!'
The Sky Bow Division Leader and Heavenly Wind Division Leader, who were getting beaten, had their pupils shake wildly.
"Nice one. Took a while for the splash."
Nangong Hyeok clapped delightedly.
The division leaders were horrified.
'....That crazy Mad Dragon bastard.'
'The Mad Dragon's out for blood.'
'Crazy, they didn't dig that well to fetch water—they made it to drown people!'
What the hell was wrong with that guy's brain?
Any respect or awe they once held for Nangong Hyeok, who shone on the battlefield and raised the Thunder Dragon Squad, had long since vanished without a trace.
Just three days.
In three days, Nangong Hyeok became 'that Mad Dragon bastard,' and the Thunder Dragon Squad became 'those dog-dragon fucks.'
The division leaders ground their teeth.
" Young Master, this one's trying to go."
"Let him. Looks like he's begging to die."
"We'll beat him dead."
"Cultivating murderous intent is the most important thing."
Nangong Hyeok's cackling laugh nearly made the division leaders faint.
"Hit 'em good!"
The Thunder Dragon Squad raised their clubs and thrashed the division leaders thoroughly.
Nangong Hyeok crossed his legs casually and said,
"Memorize the formula. Memorize it or die. Can't memorize? You're dead."
"Grk, kuaaaaaagh! Uwaaaaaagh! St-stop!"
"Still got energy in that yap? Hit 'em more!"
"Y-you dog Second Young Master bastaaaaaaard!"
"It's all turning into blood and muscle. You wanna be like the Thunder Dragon Squad, right? I'm making you that way—why fight it? Hehe."
Nangong Hyeok's innocent laughter drowned in the division leaders' screams.
The unearthly screams in the dead of night chilled the blood of passersby.
* * *
"Puhahaha."
"Uhehehe."
"Uheuhahaha."
Skins mottled red and blue, faces swollen like bee stings—they laughed together amiably.
The grotesque sight of their heads poking out of the dirt like abandoned lumps stirred an eerie dread.
But no one was around to see it.
"This is training...?!"
"Is this training or torture...?!"
"Heh, hehehe... I walked into hell on my own two feet."
"The Thunder Dragon Squad endured this and got strong? Their bones would've shattered first!"
The bone-deep regret matched the excruciating pain.
Endure this insane training?
No, forget enduring—they'd just die.
"Can't die. Dying like this would be a dog's death."
Not dying honorably for the clan, but getting buried alive during 'training'?
That could never happen....
Heh....
The Sword Emperor Division Leader lolled with his tongue half out, dazed.
"....S-spare me...."
"Snap out of it! Hey!"
"U, urk!"
"R-run... run...."
The Sky Bow Sword Division Leader and the others swallowed groans at the Sword Emperor Division Leader's seizure-like mutterings.
"Hey!"
At the Sky Bow Sword Division Leader's shout, the Sword Emperor Division Leader's eyes snapped open.
"I-I messed up. I won't run again, no... grk! D-did I pass out?"
The Sword Emperor Division Leader's eyes shook.
The others couldn't meet that gaze straight on.
When had they ever shown such a pathetic sight?
The Sword Emperor Division Leader rolled his eyes.
He muttered something between a sigh and admiration.
"....The entire Thunder Dragon Squad endured this dogshit training? For nearly a year?"
That's what shocked them.
The Thunder Dragon Squad had endured training—no, torture—that defied all common sense, for nearly a full year.
Repeating this hellish ordeal every single day!
Subconsciously, they'd thought if the Thunder Dragon Squad could do it, so could they.
No, they'd looked down on it.
How could they not handle what those Thunder Dragon Squad bastards did?
'That Mad Dragon bastard... n-no, the Second Young Master... what the hell was he thinking creating this training....'
Crunch.
"Urk! My teeth...."
Grinding his teeth brought fresh pain, making the Sword Emperor Division Leader shudder.
But soon, venom filled his eyes.
'The Thunder Dragon Squad endured it. You think I can't?'
His blood felt drained, muscles torn, but the Sword Emperor Division Leader steeled his resolve.
"If the Thunder Dragon Squad did it, so can I."
Iron Soul Thirteen Paths or whatever—he'd master it.
The Sky Bow Sword Division Leader clenched his teeth too.
"We have to outlast those bastards. That's the only way to save face! We're not weaker than the Thunder Dragon Squad."
"We'll show the Jeonggisin elites are a cut above!"
"You bet!"
They'd prove the elite status of the Nangong family's Jeonggisin wasn't for show.
And they would...
Crunch crunch!
'Mad Dragon bastard... no, Second Young Master bastard... earn that bastard's recognition.'
The Sword Emperor Division Leader, Sky Bow Sword Division Leader, and the others gritted their jaws and endured.
From atop the training ground's roof, Nangong Hyeok smirked at the bulging heads poking up.
"Elites are definitely different."
This was almost the first time he'd faced them properly.
But their resolve and venom were clearly a cut above the Thunder Dragon Squad's.
He could see why they were the famed elites.
"Still too weak compared to the old days."
Back then, the Sword Emperor Division Leader who followed the Sword King was never this level.
How could the Nangong family's prestige stand if those who served the Family Head were this weak?
'The era changes, but standards can't drop.'
A warrior's caliber is the sect's caliber.
Gulp gulp gulp!
Nangong Hyeok downed a shot of potent liquor, eyes gleaming.
"Don't worry. I'll mold you beyond the old standards."
You've hit the jackpot.
If I hadn't changed my mind about building up the family, you never would've gotten this chance.
"Might as well do it right."
But what level was the old Sword Emperor Division Leader?
"....Top Ten Swordsmen of the World, right?"
Nangong Hyeok blinked.
Whoa....
"Damn, he was badass?"
Top ten swordsmen in the world with the blade?
Back then, it seemed no big deal, but it really was.
'I was too exceptional to notice.'
Looking at the Sword Emperor Division Leader now, that wall felt impossibly high.
Nangong Hyeok scratched his head.
"Ah, whatever. Rolling 'em hard should do it."
The world's invincible thrasher.
The only thing I ever failed at when I set my mind to was ascending to immortality... fuck. Anyway, just that!
'I'll set up a proper system and grind 'em!'
He hopped down.
"H-heek!"
The division leaders jumped in terror at Nangong Hyeok's sudden appearance.
"S-Second Young Master?"
No matter their wretched state, none had sensed his presence?
Nangong Hyeok grinned wickedly at their shock.
"Let's start with this."
"Pardon?"
"Convenient timing."
Nangong Hyeok smiled slyly as he pulled a packet of powder from his bosom.
Rustle rustle...
White powder sprinkled from the packet in his hand like salt over the division leaders' heads.
The division leaders blinked, then gaped.
The instant the powder-like salt touched their skin, agony erupted like armies of ants devouring their flesh.
"Grk, grk, uuueeeek!"
"P-poison!"
"Y-you dog! Sp-sprinkling poison on clan members?!"
"Uwaaaaaagh!"
Nangong Hyeok dusted his hands.
"Speed it up. Can't chase you crawling like maggots—run, run."
His voice wormed into their ears, nearly felling the division leaders.
Thus began Nangong Hyeok's express special training(?).