Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Tamed Thunder Dragons
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Nangong Jangcheon halted in his tracks at the voice calling out to him and turned his head.
“Hm?”
He paused briefly upon turning toward the source of the sound.
He blinked.
Sometimes people mistook unfamiliar sights for something familiar.
Nangong Jangcheon looked at Kim Gwang-mo and asked.
“......Were you growing watermelons or something?”
“Not watermelons—Thunder Dragon Squad.”
“So the Thunder Dragon Squad was growing watermelons? Those guys?”
“......Family Head, no, it’s the Thunder Dragon Squad.”
Kim Gwang-mo let out a hollow laugh, repeatedly glancing toward the training grounds in disbelief.
Nangong Jangcheon blinked once more.
His eyes narrowed, then widened in shock.
What on earth had happened for them to be buried in the courtyard like this?
They were covered in dirt, their faces sunburned red and pallid—it was clear they hadn’t been stuck in the ground for just a day or two.
Some were already convulsing, foaming at the mouth.
No matter how much of a pack of wastrels and misfits the Thunder Dragon Squad were, they were still members of the Nangong family.
It was only natural that his mood soured seeing his clansmen in such a state.
Whoever was responsible, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to such outrageous behavior.
“F-Family Head!”
At Geon Cheon-hwi’s desperate cry, Nangong Jangcheon strode forward.
Up close, Geon Cheon-hwi’s face was even more shocking.
Nangong Jangcheon’s eyebrow twitched.
He scanned the unconscious Thunder Dragon Squad members and asked in a low voice.
“Who the hell did this? No one has the right to treat our clansmen like this without my permission as Family Head. I won’t stand for it.”
Gratitude lit up Geon Cheon-hwi’s face.
As expected of the Family Head.
In this grueling situation, his past mistakes flooded back, filling him with shame.
At the same time, a spark of loyalty ignited deep in his chest.
He coughed harshly and struggled to continue.
His voice broke, drained of strength.
“Cough! Cough! Family Head...... it’s all...... that young master’s...... doing. Ugh, pull us...... out......”
Nangong Jangcheon, who had been glaring, paused.
“Hyeok?”
“He captured us...... cough, cough! Tortured us with water, kept us in the ground for over five days...... ugh, urgh!”
“Ahem!”
Nangong Jangcheon cleared his throat loudly and subtly turned his head away.
“Chief Manager.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
“What’s for lunch today?”
“We prepared something simple.”
“Didn’t we invite the head chef from Heavenly Pavilion?”
“Er...... the pay didn’t match, so we failed. Shall I raise it and try again?”
“Ahem! We must be frugal. Let’s just eat at the residence.”
Nangong Jangcheon nodded and cleared his throat again.
“Then carry on. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Nangong Jangcheon and Kim Gwang-mo quietly slipped away from the training grounds.
Geon Cheon-hwi cried out desperately after their retreating backs with a frantic expression.
“W-Wait!”
Just leaving like that?
After seeing them in this state?!
He’d just said there was no such thing allowed in the family!
Hey!
“......Family Head?”
Nangong Jangcheon paused briefly and cleared his throat.
“Ahem! I’m craving dumplings today—those should be fine, right? Let’s hurry.”
Watching his last hope disappear through the gate, Geon Cheon-hwi could only stare in blank despair.
* * *
Bzzzzzz.
Golden flies buzzed in circles above the Thunder Dragon Squad’s heads.
Their faces had withered beyond pallor, dry and flaky, as flies landed on them.
But their whites-only eyes and gaping mouths didn’t twitch in the slightest.
Drool and blood mixed at the corners of their mouths, their complexions turning ashen black with death.
Step, step.
For the first time in ages, footsteps echoed in the Thunder Dragon Squad’s front courtyard.
“......A-Are they dead, sir?”
Geum Cheom-sang swallowed hard and glanced at Nangong Hyeok.
Nangong Hyeok smirked at the head-shaped lumps that looked dead in the ground.
“They’ve dried out nicely.”
“......”
“Wake them.”
Geum Cheom-sang crept forward and picked up a nearby stick.
Poke! Poke poke poke! Poke poke!
The stick prodded the Thunder Dragon Squad.
At the external stimulus, they groaned, their eyelids fluttering.
“Groooan.”
“Ughhh!”
“Gasp!”
With dying gasps, the Thunder Dragon Squad regained consciousness.
Geon Cheon-hwi panted for breath.
“Hic! Ughhh!”
His blurry vision focused, forming the image of Nangong Hyeok.
......Tremble!
After a brief pause, Geon Cheon-hwi shuddered.
He couldn’t even string his thoughts together.
He couldn’t begin to imagine what horrors Nangong Hyeok would unleash next.
At the very least, he wouldn’t let them out nicely.
Nangong Hyeok leisurely scanned the Thunder Dragon Squad and quietly spoke.
“Do you want to live?”
It was a soft voice, but it struck like lightning.
The moment they heard it, strength returned to the Thunder Dragon Squad’s fading eyes.
“P-Please...... spare......”
“......Spare us, please.”
“Ughhh...... let us...... live...... please......!”
“......We’ll serve...... loyally......”
“Guh! Guh! Grooo!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad clamored.
Bloodshot eyes fixed on Nangong Hyeok.
They writhed, squeezing out every bit of voice they had left.
Watching their bobbing heads, Nangong Hyeok said calmly.
“You can swear absolute obedience if you come out, got it.”
“......Y-Young master......”
“Unwavering loyalty, got it.”
“H-Hand......”
“Shut your mouths? Lift your tongues then.”
The Thunder Dragon Squad twitched and opened their mouths.
Flutter!
Wriggle, wriggle.
Like maggots, their tongues crawled out weakly and squirmed.
Geon Cheon-hwi instinctively opened his mouth.
He couldn’t care less about humiliation or pride.
He finally realized what kind of monster Nangong Hyeok was.
‘......He’s a different breed of madman.’
Not bravado— the real deal.
Nangong Hyeok’s temperament was far more vicious than he’d imagined.
Even if it was all a bluff, he had no desire to test it further.
“Loyalty...... I swear it, please...... ughhh, spare me.”
Geon Cheon-hwi dropped his head and groaned.
Geum Cheom-sang jumped in alarm at the sight of Geon Cheon-hwi nearly fainting.
Starting with him, the Thunder Dragon Squad members who had barely held on began passing out one by one.
“Y-Young master!”
Nangong Hyeok shrugged.
“Dig those guys out.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Oh, not that one.”
“Pardon?”
Geum Cheom-sang looked in surprise—one guy hadn’t budged.
It was Tak Hyeok-dong.
He was still glaring at Nangong Hyeok with fierce eyes.
It was inhuman stubbornness.
Exhausted and unable to shout, his heaving breaths made it clear he was cursing up a storm.
Nangong Hyeok chuckled.
“Guess he doesn’t wanna live, huh.”
“......”
“Snack time soon. Dig them out quick. Skip that one.”
Nangong Hyeok sat on the platform and gestured with his chin. Geum Cheom-sang swallowed and hurriedly grabbed a shovel to extract the Thunder Dragon Squad.
Tak Hyeok-dong’s eyes churned with turmoil as he watched his comrades being pulled out one by one.
“I’ll go fetch some liquor and snacks!”
Tak Hyeok-dong’s ears perked up.
Liquor?
Food?
“W-Wait!”
“......”
“H-Help!”
“......”
“......I pledge my full loyalty, Young Master! It’s an honor!”
Tak Hyeok-dong shook his head wildly, wriggling his tongue.
“Spare meeeee!”
* * *
“Elder!”
Nangong Baek turned from his book.
One of his subordinates burst into the office, panting.
Nangong Baek furrowed his brow.
“What’s with all the fuss?”
The subordinate caught his breath and spoke urgently.
“Big trouble!”
“What big trouble? Calm down and speak.”
“The Th-Thunder Dragon Squad!”
At the mention, Nangong Baek’s lips curled up.
What else could trouble with the Thunder Dragon Squad mean?
“Heh heh. Oh dear, oh dear.”
He could guess without hearing more.
The Thunder Dragon Squad consisted of those with personalities no other Nangong family group could handle.
This wasn’t about strength.
Threaten to behead them, and they’d offer their necks; lock them in the dungeon, and they’d sleep like babies, thrilled.
How do you handle guys like that?
It was too much burden for Nangong Hyeok, who had no experience managing people.
“Did you beat them?”
“N-No, not that. They looked a total mess. Their appearances were......”
“He held out longer than I expected with that temper.”
“......You foresaw this?”
Nangong Baek just chuckled.
It was the obvious outcome.
“So, how badly was Nangong Hyeok hurt?”
“Pardon?”
“Hm?”
Realizing the elder had misunderstood, the subordinate spoke up.
“......N-No, sir.”
“What do you mean no?”
“It wasn’t Nangong Hyeok, Elder!”
Nangong Baek scowled in frustration.
“Not Nangong Hyeok? What nonsense is that?”
The subordinate hurriedly clarified.
“The Thunder Dragon Squad are groveling to Young Master Nangong Hyeok right now!”
Nangong Baek’s face crumpled further.
Grovelling?
Who?
Those lunatics to a mere youth?
“They’re grovelling to Nangong Hyeok......?”
Nangong Baek doubted his own ears.
His eyes filled with bewilderment.
“What are you saying? Those lunatics wouldn’t submit so easily!”
“E-Elder!”
“They must not be fully behaving yet. Can you take responsibility for your words?”
“I-I saw it with my own eyes. They’re all captured by Nangong Hyeok, being tortured...... no, subjected to something bizarre. Elder!”
“I-I need to see it myself.”
Was that even possible?
Nangong Baek tossed aside his book and rushed to Nangong Hyeok’s residence.
He ignored those greeting him along the way—now wasn’t the time.
‘Impossible. How could that kid handle the vultures who’ve rolled in the main house for a decade?’
They were vicious, stubborn, and wild.
Even the Changgung Squad Leader, with over twenty years in the life of blades, had washed his hands of them.
Yet this kid had?
Nangong Baek’s gaze turned to Nangong Hyeok’s residence.
The moment he glimpsed the scene through the door crack, confusion engulfed him.
“......What the hell is that?”
Thud thud thud thud thud—!
A boulder the size of an ox barreled across the courtyard.
Thunder Dragon Squad members, ropes tied around their waists and foam at their mouths, dragged it along.
“Hraaaaaah!”
“Kiyaaaaah!”
“Hueeeerp!”
As if chased by something, they ran desperately, and ran some more.
Whoosh! Boom!
Whoosh! Boom!
He turned to see some hurling rocks at each other in one corner of the courtyard.
His jaw dropped at the bizarre, impossible spectacle.
“Hup!”
“Haaap!”
“H-Have they all eaten drugs or something, these fools?!”
Nangong Baek shouted unwittingly at the Thunder Dragon Squad locked in what looked like demonic possession, fighting for their lives.
What in the world was going on?
Why were these layabouts suddenly inflicting pain on themselves?!
Bruises be damned, they rolled their eyes halfway back and hurled rocks.
Nangong Baek’s gaze urgently shifted.
On the spacious platform, Nangong Hyeok lay with cushions, tapping his fingers idly.
“Achoo, it’s cold. Closer.”
Rrrumble.
Geon Cheon-hwi dragged over a large brazier toward Nangong Hyeok.
Tap tap.
Nangong Hyeok tapped again, and Tak Hyeok-dong behind him began vigorously massaging his feet.
“C-Comfortable, Young Master? Heh heh.”
Tak Hyeok-dong beamed as he asked.
Nangong Hyeok ignored him and extended a hand. Jang Ung beside him dove swiftly into the pond, snatching a silk carp.
Splash!
Lightning-fast, he cleaned the silk carp and sliced it into sashimi, plating it neatly.
“Fresh, Young Master!”
Nangong Baek’s eyelids trembled at the sight.
These men, said to be the fiercest in the Nangong family—even the Changgung Squad Leader had given up—were serving Nangong Hyeok like meek lambs, no, like servants. It was shocking.
Nangong Hyeok received the service with utter calm boredom, as if it were the most natural thing.
Nangong Baek’s hand shook.
“Y-You, you, you!”
Nangong Hyeok spotted him and tilted his head.
Hm?
Nangong...... Baek?
What’s he doing here?
I didn’t even beat his son.
“W-Why point like that? Just lower your finger.”
Nangong Hyeok cleared his throat and asked.
“What brings you here?”
Nangong Baek stammered.
“Y-You brat! What the hell have you done!”
“......Hm?”
“H-How did you turn these guys into this?!”
Nangong Baek demanded, voice rising in agitation.
Nangong Hyeok blinked in genuine confusion.
“What about these guys?”
“I’m asking how you tamed them!”
“Tamed?”
Them?
“......”
Is he insane?
Nangong Hyeok said, looking displeased.
“What’s there to coax with slaves? I needed them, so I put them to use.”
“P-Put them to use?”
As if these guys were tools to be used at whim.
The Thunder Dragon Squad acting like they’d rip out their livers for him was even more absurd.
Slaves? Calling them slave scum?
But what was truly astonishing was the Thunder Dragon Squad not bristling at Nangong Hyeok’s words—instead, they stood listening attentively.
Perfect submission, to the letter.
‘......This can’t happen.’
He’d bet on their command failing utterly, but now......
“No way. No way this happened. No way......”
Nangong Baek stared at the Thunder Dragon Squad with vacant eyes, then turned with a dazed expression.
And quietly left.
Nangong Hyeok scowled.
“Huh? He just yaps and leaves?”
Unbelievable.