Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Fledgling
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“It’s fun, isn’t it? If it’s boring, it’s no fun at all.”
Revenge for that day five years ago was beginning right here, right now.
If the beginning of revenge is weak, what will its end be?
There is an old saying, ‘Though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.’
Whoever said it, it sounds like a tiger grazing on grass. Utter nonsense.
Isn’t that the kind of thing only the weak would say?
The grander and more brilliant the beginning, the more one anticipates the end.
If the start is shabby and weak, wouldn't one lose steam and give up halfway through, rather than looking forward to the end?
‘Boring? Fun? In this situation?’
Is this man in his right mind?
Or is he truly insane?
The Deputy Commander couldn’t figure out how to play along, but amidst the confusion, he saw a glimmer of hope.
‘A guy like this might actually be easier to handle.’
That’s how madmen were.
Make them believe things are going their way, and they’ll be gleefully ecstatic—it’s a characteristic of the insane. And when they’re in such a good mood, if you subtly humor them and play along?
He thought he could use that opening to escape.
Hiding a smile of joy at the prospect of escaping the crisis, the Deputy Commander spoke.
“You call this fun?”
At the words “new to the martial world,” the nineteen warriors of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade raised their auras. Because of this, the overwhelming presence of the Five Shadows was pushed back, and the auras became evenly matched.
Being new to the martial world meant they had no experience killing people, and a master with no real-world experience couldn’t display their full potential.
In other words, they were no different from a warrior who had lost an arm.
“It gets less interesting if they’re just steamrolled from the start by a superior presence.”
This was the Five Shadows’ first real battle since stepping into the martial world. If a life-or-death fight was too boring, they might start looking down on the world and grow arrogant.
“I see. So, if my men defeat yours, does this all end quietly?”
Of course, the Deputy Commander had no intention of letting it end. He would return to the Black Heaven Sect, prepare thoroughly, and come back.
“Fine. If that happens, I’ll let you go without any conditions.”
The problem was, there was no way that would happen.
“Can I trust you?”
“I despise lies.”
The Deputy Commander’s hidden smile broke through.
“Excellent.”
Namgung Urin tossed a remark toward the Five Shadows.
“You heard him. If even one of them escapes or leaves here alive, you’ll be sparring with me.”
‘Crazy bastard!’
‘After creating this mess, what’s he saying now!’
‘I’d rather die by that sword!’
‘I never want to do that again!’
‘I’d rather face the grim reaper!’
With that one sentence from Namgung Urin, the aura of the Five Shadows once again gained the upper hand.
“Impressive.”
He had raised their spirits with just a few words.
The Deputy Commander couldn’t just stand by either.
“You heard him too. If you want to return to your families, you must all survive!”
To avoid provoking the masked man, he didn’t say, “Kill them!” He didn’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble.
And so, the will to rather die and the will to survive clashed fiercely.
A life-or-death struggle between five men and nineteen.
Their auras were evenly matched.
No, the aura of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade was beginning to pull ahead.
“Kill them!”
“Let’s go!”
“For our families!”
The Five Shadows instinctively took a step back.
As expected of greenhorns, the Five Shadows, new to the bloody reality of a sword fight, were being pushed back. In contrast, the members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade had spent a long time together in the martial world, their teamwork finely honed.
Their joint attacks were seamless, and their movements never overlapped.
With swords lunging at them from all directions, the Five Shadows were busy just trying to defend themselves.
“Ugh, damn it!”
“At this rate, we’re really going to meet the grim reaper.”
“Damn it!”
“Hey, hey!”
As they managed to corner the masked men and press their attack, the morale of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade surged even higher.
“They’re nothing special!”
“Kill them!”
“They said they’re new to this!”
“Let’s finish this quickly!”
But they couldn't kill the masked men as easily as they wished. Instead, as time passed, the masked men’s swords grew faster, their movements becoming as fluid as flowing water.
And they didn't know. No, they couldn't see.
The wide smiles forming beneath the masks of the Five Shadows.
‘This is it!’
‘So this is what it was!’
‘Wow!’
‘As expected of the Young Lord!’
‘He’s so handsome!’
Seriously!
In any case, the Five Shadows finally seemed to understand why the Young Lord, Namgung Urin, had allowed the Black Heaven Sword Brigade to build up their morale.
It wasn't so they could taste hot blood.
It was for them to face the cold, gleaming blades and the specter of death head-on, to feel the sharp, harsh nature hidden within the martial world, and to proudly unleash the sword of Namgung before it.
And so, the tensed muscles of the Five Shadows began to move freely, as if taking flight, and with them, the sword of Namgung began to blossom.
“Keuk.”
“Ugh.”
“Aargh.”
Blood splattered. It was the blood of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade.
As the sword of Namgung reawakened, the members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade were slowly being dyed in blood. Furthermore, the Five Shadows’ confidence, the passion engraved in Namgung, and the blood-soaked resentment began to not just spring forth, but overflow.
‘Damn it!’
The Deputy Commander’s expression twisted. The very thing he had feared was happening. He had felt that the aura of the five masked men was on par with his own, and he should have finished them before they could fully unleash it.
‘Too late.’
No.
It was over.
It was clear that if this continued, the members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade would all be dead soon, and he would be left standing here alone. And finally, wouldn't he suffer the same fate as his subordinates?
This couldn't go on.
‘What should I do?’
There was only one way to survive.
Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing was the best.
He could avenge today’s humiliation later. For now, he had to save his own skin.
But not right now. Once the tide had completely turned in the masked men’s favor, they would let their guard down. People tend to relax when they think it's all over.
He had to aim for that moment.
In the meantime, the Deputy Commander began to slowly, very gradually, gather his internal energy in his legs, so he could release it all at once.
One could never be too careful.
Assuming the masked man watching beside him was a greater master, he might notice him gathering his energy.
While the Deputy Commander of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade was plotting his own escape, the pained groans and screams of his men continued.
“Keuk.”
“Aargh.”
The Black Snake Sect was being stained a deep crimson.
It was getting faster.
The sword of Namgung.
They were getting used to it.
The smell of blood.
Thus, the Five Shadows were slowly learning about the martial world and growing. And they knew. Just because they had been confined within the family walls didn't mean they were completely ignorant of the affairs of the world.
‘Did you think Namgung would die if Hefei fell?!’
The aura of the Five Shadows grew even stronger.
‘Hefei is Namgung’s home. And you did this to Hefei!’
The pain of that day five years ago, etched into their very bones, was finally breaking through.
‘Do you see?! We, Namgung, are not dead!’
But sadly, they couldn't show themselves. They couldn't even shout it out loud. They couldn't remove their masks. But they could show the sword of Namgung.
Even if these men didn't recognize the sword of Namgung.
‘Just wait! The day the gates of Namgung swing wide open is not far off!’
They believed it without a doubt.
They couldn't be sure when that day would come, but Namgung would rise again and soar through the azure sky.
That was why they could endure the stifling masks.
That’s right!
This was why!
“This is Namgung! And we are Namgung!”
“……!”
In that moment.
A lie-like silence fell over the Black Snake Sect’s grounds. Even the blood flowing from the Black Heaven Sword Brigade seemed to stop.
The First Shadow, Namgung Hyeon-u, had unknowingly blurted out the thoughts in his head.
Loud enough to make the Black Snake Sect ring.
The moon and stars, which had been brightly illuminating the dark night sky, were so startled that they hid behind the clouds as if to say, ‘What are we going to do about that?’
The beggar, Geolgae, who had been watching from a distance, shot to his feet.
“You crazy bastard!”
All the members of the Black Snake Sect who had been watching from behind collapsed to the ground.
*Thud.*
“……Namgung……you say?”
“Na-na-na-na, Namgung……”
……Why Namgung?
Why did they save them?
After they had let Hefei fall into such a state.
Were they planning to boil them alive later?
Or perhaps roast them?
In the end, once they were no longer useful, wouldn't they be discarded just like the Black Heaven Sect today?
Then what was that training today?
Were they just being salted for later?
*Step.*
*Step.*
The members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade were taking one, then two steps back.
Namgung?
How… how could Namgung be out in the martial world now, or rather, this soon?
It didn't matter.
What mattered was that Namgung was right in front of them.
Anhui had been practically Namgung's domain. The martial world couldn't stand tall before Namgung.
If that was true for the martial world, how much more so for the Black Heaven Sect?
And now, that very Namgung had appeared before them. It was only natural that the members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade were scared out of their wits.
“N-no. That’s not it. It was a mistake. A real mistake. C’mon, Namgung? Does that make sense? No way. I’m telling you, it’s not true.”
He waved his hands frantically, denying it over and over, but the Black Heaven Sword Brigade members didn’t believe him.
“……No wonder……”
They were so strong.
No matter how much they prodded and stabbed, they couldn't find an opening. The sword of Namgung was known to be both swift and heavy.
The shock from clashing with the masked men’s swords had been transmitted directly to their wrists.
“I said it’s not true!”
Namgung Hyeon-u screamed, begging for his life. He felt like he was about to be beaten to death by the Young Lord. But the members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade just shook their heads.
As if to say, what do you mean it’s not true?
With wildly trembling eyes, Namgung Hyeon-u looked at Namgung Urin.
*Thump.*
Namgung Urin’s head dropped as if it had fallen off a cliff.
“Haa.”
Suddenly, the words of the Beggar Chief, Jang Gae, came to mind. That in the martial world, the unexpected always happens.
He had heard it so many times that it had gone in one ear and out the other.
But now, something truly unexpected and impossible to prepare for had happened right before Namgung Urin’s eyes.
“Guess there’s a reason they talk about the wisdom of age. Haha.”
Suddenly, Namgung Urin tore off the mask he was wearing. And he threw a command to the Five Shadows… no, to the five members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade.
“You too, take them off.”
“……Young Lord……”
The voices of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade members were deflated.
Afraid they were about to be beaten to death.
Not by the members of the Black Heaven Sword Brigade, but by the Young Lord they served, Namgung Urin.
“It’s fine. Take them off. What’s the big deal? Don’t worry about it.”
They could just pay for it with their bodies.
They would get stronger through it and learn about the martial world. It was nothing to be so flustered about.
Wasn’t Namgung Urin himself learning about the martial world at this very moment?
The members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade followed Namgung Urin’s command and removed their masks. They then shot daggers at Namgung Hyeon-u, a glare that suggested stabbing him a hundred times wouldn't be enough.
“……Sorry.”
Was this a situation that could be resolved with a simple ‘sorry’?
The four members, excluding Namgung Hyeon-u, wanted to scream at him to go and die, but the atmosphere wasn't right, so they couldn't bring themselves to say it, merely glaring at him with sharp eyes.
“……Namgung?”
Could the Deputy Commander not have been surprised?
‘Right.’
No wonder the swords wielded by the five masked men looked familiar.
Moreover, the Deputy Commander was standing right next to Namgung Urin. So he saw it. The face of a young brat who didn't even look like he had come of age.
The Deputy Commander’s mind raced fiercely. He recalled information about the Namgung Family from five years ago.
‘Right. The Namgung Family Head had a son.’
Five years had passed, so he would be about eighteen now?
The Deputy Commander drew the internal energy he had been gathering in his legs back to his dantian.
It was because he believed the situation had been reversed once again.
The corners of the Deputy Commander’s mouth curled up, reaching for the sky.
*Smirk.*
So that was it. It wasn't that he couldn't feel the aura of some supreme master, but that this brat's internal energy was at the level of a newly hatched fledgling.