Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: This is Fun
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The Black Serpent Gang was the Shadows' first mission, their first stage. It was also a chance to show Namgung Urin their abilities.
Each Shadow, with its unique characteristics, possessed an inherent, common trait: the desire for the attention and affection of their lord, Namgung Urin.
Like a child craving a mother's love and attention.
That was why the Shadows moved with even more vigor and haste.
It was clear they were trying to prove who was better, who was faster, who was stronger.
They didn't even breathe.
Ah.
Right, they weren't beings that breathed.
In any case, they were a truly diverse bunch.
"Beautiful."
That was the sight reflected in Namgung Urin's eyes.
The lightning-fast movements of the Shadows, the faint groans and screams erupting from the members of the Black Serpent Gang, their futile, frantic slashes that made no impact, and the blazing fires consuming the wood—all came together in a kind of symphony.
But for the Black Serpent Gang, it was utter chaos.
"Shit. D-don't come any closer!"
"Go! Get away!"
It was maddening. No, they felt like they were genuinely going insane. It was impossible to comprehend this situation with a sane mind.
The dark figures were so fast it was hard to follow them with the naked eye, and on top of that, these ghostly things—not quite ghosts, but ghost-like nonetheless—were completely unfazed even when clearly struck.
This beautiful feast continued for a full half-hour.
"Please! Please, stop!"
It was the desperate voice of In-geol, the leader of the Black Serpent Gang. But the Shadows didn't stop. They would only stop when the command came from Namgung Urin's lips.
Having discovered the taste of alcohol, Namgung Urin just kept sipping his drink.
"Kuh."
"I get it! I'll do whatever you say, just please make them stop!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Stop."
Only then did the Shadows halt. The members of the Black Serpent Gang looked utterly broken.
The pain wracking their bodies was nothing. For third-rate martial artists like them, such pain was a constant companion in the chaotic world of martial arts, something they could endure.
But.
This period of helplessness, where they could swing their swords with all their might and struggle as if their lives depended on it, yet achieve nothing, was a living nightmare for the members of the Black Serpent Gang.
It was a moment where they would have rather taken their own lives.
Unlike them, the Shadows couldn't hide their excitement over their first mission.
"A shame."
"I wanted to taste blood."
"I didn't know it would feel this good."
The Third Shadow's reaction was a bit different. It went up to each person it had struck and apologized. Seeing this, a few of the dazed gang members were thrown into another panic.
Slightly tipsy, Namgung Urin spoke to In-geol.
"If even one person here today runs or disappears, then everyone will die because of that one person."
"Y-yes, I understand."
It was humiliating, but he had no choice.
They were men who had only ever bowed to money, but they had no way of enduring this ghostly game.
"For the time being, I will come here every day. And you will report to me every order that comes down from the Mysterious Heaven Sect."
"Understood."
"And from this moment on, if you defy my orders, you die. Understand?"
"Understood."
Namgung Urin took out some of the promissory notes he had received from Geolgae and threw them in front of In-geol.
"...What is this?"
In-geol knew what had been thrown before him. He was just asking what the intention was.
"Two thousand silver taels."
"...I know."
'First the beating, now the balm?'
If that were truly the case, he would be endlessly grateful, but if that was the plan, why would the entire Black Serpent Gang, including himself, have been put through this ordeal?
If... if this really was his way of doing things, then the masked man before him was a complete and utter lunatic.
"Find a manor of this size nearby. Then, gather about fifty more men like yourselves. Can you do it?"
Thankfully, he wasn't a complete lunatic.
"How long do I have?"
"Is a month enough?"
"It is."
"Then I'll be back tomorrow."
After Namgung Urin left, the storm that had swept through the Black Serpent Gang subsided.
But they couldn't easily escape the pain and shock from a disaster that was no different from a natural calamity.
Meanwhile, Geolgae, who was watching from a distance, suddenly received a telepathic message.
'Beggar. Keep a close eye on them. Don't let them escape.'
'...!'
"...That bastard!"
But is telepathy even possible from that far away?
"Crazy!"
* * *
"This is fun."
He hadn't intended to kill them. Still, he had thought about killing a few as an example, since they were trash.
"Who am I to say."
It was amusing.
Wasn't it? At the mere age of eighteen, what did he know of the martial world to decide who was trash and who wasn't, to determine life and death on his own?
Yes, it would have been more justifiable to kill them as revenge, for the crime of turning Hefei into this state.
And thanks to them, he'd even learned about alcohol.
Honestly, when he first stepped into the Black Serpent Gang's den, the atmosphere was such that he almost wanted to blend in with them. That's why he had so naturally accepted the drink.
Was it because it was his first time?
He didn't know.
He didn't dislike them. No, he wasn't sure if this feeling was right, but they were people he wanted to look after.
But they were the ones who had turned Hefei into a city of darkness, weren't they?
Of course, the true culprits were elsewhere, but it was still by their hands that it had become so.
And yet?
He must have found something to like about them.
Living in submission to reality was nothing to be proud of. Yet, hadn't they spoken with confidence, as if they weren't ashamed?
They seemed a hundred times better than those who schemed in the shadows.
Was that why?
He didn't know. He himself didn't understand why he had made that choice.
Yes.
Ever since the Shadows came into being, more and more emotions had been popping up unexpectedly, acting on their own.
*Pfft.*
A dry laugh escaped him.
"This is fun."
These things called emotions.
On the long journey of revenge, wasn't a little fun like salt?
Accompanied by these amusing emotions, Namgung Urin once again slipped over the walls of the Namgung Family estate and headed for his residence.
Though it was well past midnight, the five members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade were still standing guard firmly in front of the Young Lord's residence.
Just then, Namgung Seol spotted the Young Lord, Namgung Urin, approaching from a distance.
"Look. The Young Lord is coming."
Everyone's head whipped around.
"...Why is he coming from over there?"
"Wasn't he in his residence?"
Didn't Suyeon say the Young Lord was inside?
"That's what I thought."
"No way... it can't be, right?"
"You mean, 'no way' as in he went out?"
"Nah. No way."
"They say 'no way' is what gets you."
For their crazy Young Lord, something like that would be nothing.
"Right. It gets you, alright."
A moment later, Namgung Urin stood before the members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade.
"What are you all doing here at this hour?"
"We were waiting for you, Young Lord."
Of course, they were.
No one else lived here besides Namgung Urin.
"Didn't get beaten enough?"
How could that be?
It still felt like their muscles were twisted out of place.
"N-no, sir."
"Then?"
"We want to become stronger."
That was a desire any martial artist in this world should have. Did they really need to say it out loud?
"Oh, right. Work hard and get much stronger. I'm going in to get some sleep."
"..."
'This isn't how it's supposed to go...'
"Um, Young Lord?"
"What now?"
When Namgung Urin's tone turned annoyed, the brigade members hesitated, unable to speak.
"If you're going to stop me, then speak. You want another beating under the bright moonlight?"
Namgung Seol bravely stepped forward.
"We wish to serve you, Young Lord."
"Me?"
All the members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade shouted in unison.
"Yes! We want to become strong like you, Young Lord!"
"Like me?"
"Yes!"
"You can't."
"..."
"I was born this way. You weren't."
And he had also mastered the Primordial Chaos Art.
'...What?'
'Isn't he being a bit too shameless?'
"So go back. If you want to get stronger, use this time to swing your sword one more time. You won't be like me, but you might become peerless masters."
"..."
A peerless master... that meant having enough martial prowess to be counted among the ten greatest masters under heaven.
Then, just how great a master did the Young Lord think he was?
The statement was so absurd that the brigade members were left dumbfounded and speechless.
'Is his face plated in gold or something?'
There was a limit to how much one could praise oneself. This wasn't just plating his face in gold; it was like he was trying to forge a whole new face out of solid gold.
Having finished speaking, Namgung Urin turned to leave, but then stopped and spoke to the brigade members again.
"There is a way to get stronger quickly. How about it? Want to try?"
It was Namgung Urin himself, trying to scoop up the water he had just spilled.
"Yes! We'll do it!"
"Good. Then gather here again tomorrow after the sun sets. Avoid wearing clothes with the Azure Sky insignia. And you will not be able to return to the family for the foreseeable future. So pack extra clothes."
"...What?"
'Is he planning some kind of hellish training?'
"Don't ask any questions."
"Yes, sir!"
What was a little hellish training when it came to getting stronger? With their current passion, they felt confident they could endure the fires of hell itself.
But the five members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade didn't know.
That when you scoop up spilled water, it becomes muddy water, unfit to drink.
"Dismissed."
* * *
The next day, Namgung Urin met with his uncle and informed him that the five members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade would be away from the Namgung Family for a while. He had expected some resistance, but strangely, the Family Head, Namgung Yul, readily gave his permission.
It seemed the old chief of the Beggars' Sect had paid a visit. He must have heard a thing or two.
And Namgung Yul, the Family Head, also seemed to think it was time to move forward.
The sun set.
The five members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade and Namgung Urin crossed the threshold of the Namgung Family estate and stepped out into the martial world.
Arriving near the Black Serpent Gang's territory, Namgung Urin stopped the brigade members, took out masks he had prepared in advance, and handed one to each of them.
"Young Lord... what is this?"
"A mask."
"..."
'Do you think I'm asking because I don't know what it is!'
Masks were for assassins.
"Listen carefully to what I say from now on. Do not call me Young Lord anymore. Your title for me will be Commander. Hyeon-u is First Shadow, Jun is Second Shadow, Seol is Third Shadow, Chi-hyeok is Fourth Shadow, and U is Fifth Shadow. From this moment on, you are no longer members of the Namgung Family. You will not utter the name Namgung until I give the order. And you will never take off your masks. Understood?"
The dumbfounded members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade.
And how could they not be?
He had suddenly thrown masks at them and ordered them to deny their identities as members of the Namgung Family.
And.
'First Shadow, Second Shadow...'
Weren't those titles just like the ones assassins used?
"...Young Lord?"
"Do you want to go back to the family? I believe I told you to call me Commander."
Suddenly, the desire to go back became overwhelming.
It was.
But having already left the family estate, they couldn't.
"...Yes, Commander."
With grimaces, the members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade reluctantly pulled the masks over their faces. But it felt less like wearing masks and more like they wanted to pull blankets over their heads and cry.
The brilliant blue of the Azure Sky.
It felt as if it were being covered by pitch-black clouds.