Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: A Step Towards True Revenge
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The Murong Family's Sura Sword Brigade held the same standing as the Namgung Family's Azure Sky Sword Brigade. In other words, it was the finest sword brigade in the Murong Family.
“Tsk. You know everything, don’t you? What a truly infuriating nephew.”
The Family Head… speaking to the Young Lord like that…
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
And he takes it as a compliment…
“A nephew who hears that as a compliment is a scary one indeed.”
Indeed.
“My congratulations.”
Congratulations…
He’s lost his mind. Completely insane.
Listening to the conversation between Namgung Yul and Namgung Urin, Namgung Hwa felt like she was going crazy.
“In that case, I assume you already have a plan.”
“It’s not much of a plan.”
“He is not a man to be taken lightly. Besides, they say he has fifty members of the Flying Shadow Brigade with him.”
“This is a perfect opportunity for the men to get some real combat experience.”
“Not a single one of them can die…”
“I didn’t raise them to be so weak.”
Namgung Yul wanted to shout, ‘Did you give birth to them and raise them yourself?!’ but he held his tongue, knowing exactly what kind of reply he would get.
Meanwhile, Namgung Hwa, who was listening to the dizzying exchange, was utterly dumbfounded.
She wanted to stop them, to ask why they were pushing things forward so recklessly without even asking for her opinion.
But she didn’t dare interrupt the conversation between the Family Head and the Young Lord.
It wasn’t that she disliked it. No, she was happy. A path had opened for her comrades to live.
She was happy, but…
A question arose in her mind: was this a matter to be taken so lightly? And then she remembered what she herself had been told.
Weren’t these the Murong Family members who deserved nothing less than death?
Moreover, the former commander of the Sura Sword Brigade was now the leader of the Flying Shadow Brigade…
From the current atmosphere, it seemed the Young Lord intended to step forward personally…
She knew he was powerful…
But she didn't think he could compare to Moyong Hu, who had served as the Sura Sword Brigade's commander. After all, in the martial world, while strength was important, experience could not be ignored.
Namgung Hwa was so worried she couldn’t stay still.
“Um, Family Head…”
Namgung Yul spoke.
“Do not worry, Hwa. Who are we? Are we not the Namgung? We will not let you bear such a heavy burden alone.”
The fact that this wasn't the Namgung of old made her even more worried. And he was telling her not to worry.
“Um, that’s not it…”
“It’s all right, Hwa. Your Young Lord will handle everything, so don’t you worry.”
If she could, she would have let her temper fly and said what was on her mind, but this was the Family Head. And the Young Lord was here, too.
*Sigh.*
What had become of the Namgung Family…
Namgung Yul spoke to his nephew again.
“How many men will you need?”
“We’ll need a hundred. That is, if we want to ensure not a single one escapes.”
“Right. The Martial Alliance must not find out that we made a move.”
“They won’t. That’s why I’m thinking of taking those damn beggars with us.”
“Those… Tsk. Fine. You handle that sort of thing. Hwa.”
Namgung Yul called to Namgung Hwa again.
Still dazed by the conversation between the Family Head and the Young Lord, who were discussing the annihilation of fifty members of the Flying Shadow Brigade as casually as if they were planning a neighborhood stroll, Namgung Hwa answered.
“…Yes, Family Head.”
Namgung Yul took something out of his drawer.
“Eat this.”
“…What is it?”
After all that talk, he wasn’t planning to kill her for her past as an assassin, was he?
No.
The Namgung Family wouldn’t do that.
But…
Seeing how they were acting now, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.
“It’s an elixir.”
“…An elixir, you say?”
“Yes. An elixir that grants twenty-five years of internal energy. Be sure to take it before you depart.”
…An elixir that grants twenty-five years of internal energy…?
If she took that elixir… she might even be able to step into the realm of a Supreme Master…
No. A person has to have some shame.
Shouldn’t it go to those who had endured such desperate times to painstakingly rebuild the Namgung Family?
She had merely lived her life as an assassin; she couldn’t possibly accept such a precious elixir so readily.
Namgung Hwa abandoned her desire for the elixir.
“I cannot accept, Family Head. The Young Lord beside you should have it.”
“He’s had one.”
“…Then… the members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade should…”
“They’ve had them.”
“…Well, the members who haven’t…”
“They’ve all had them. Even the young members of the Grand Sword Brigade have had them.”
“…”
…Does that even make sense?
Even when the Namgung Family was at the height of its fame in the martial world, they couldn’t have provided such elixirs to everyone. No, it was an unthinkable feat.
An elixir that grants twenty-five years of internal energy wasn’t something you could find just because you wanted to.
And he said they all took one?
Was this a dream or reality?
“Um, Family Head…”
“Just take it. You’ll have to take one every year.”
“What?”
At this point, she felt it was safe to conclude that the Namgung Family had truly gone mad.
An elixir wasn’t some common cold medicine! Taking it every year!
No, how did the Namgung Family Head, *our* Family Head, *our* Namgung Family, end up like this…
Finally, Namgung Hwa’s personality couldn’t take it anymore, and she exploded.
“Family Head! Please, stop it. What is all this…”
Just then, Namgung Urin, who was standing beside her, pressed her muting and paralyzing acupoints. She could neither move nor speak.
With a bright smile, Namgung Yul spoke to Namgung Hwa, who was frozen with her eyes rolling back in her head.
“Hwa’s personality hasn’t changed a bit. That’s a relief. Uncle, give me that.”
Namgung Yul clicked his tongue, muttering that another crazy woman had been added to the Namgung Family, and shook his head as he casually tossed the elixir to his nephew.
Namgung Urin threw the elixir into Namgung Hwa’s mouth.
Namgung Hwa wanted to thrash about wildly, but with her acupoints sealed, she couldn’t, which drove her to the brink of madness.
To help the elixir’s ingredients fully dissolve, Namgung Urin infused his primordial chaos energy into Namgung Hwa’s body while explaining how they had come to possess the elixirs.
As the story flowed from Namgung Urin’s lips, Namgung Hwa’s eyes returned to their normal position, and she gradually calmed down.
And by the time Namgung Urin finished speaking, Namgung Hwa thought to herself.
‘Damn it, what is this!’
This is a total jackpot!
***
In the dead of night, when all were asleep, one hundred members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade gathered in the grand training grounds.
Namgung Urin and Namgung Hwa were also there. And Namgung Hwa was shocked. It was because of the aura of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade members, something she hadn’t felt during the banquet.
“…Wow!”
With astonished eyes, Namgung Hwa looked at the Young Lord, Namgung Urin.
As if asking if what she was seeing was real.
At this level, it seemed they wouldn't even need all one hundred members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade.
Namgung Urin spoke to her.
“It’s still not enough. You need to train harder, too.”
It wasn’t just not enough; it was overflowing. Yet, the Young Lord, Namgung Urin, said it was insufficient.
“…What? Are you joking right now?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
No, he didn’t look like he was joking at all. And that felt like an even bigger problem.
A person should know how to live with a moderate amount of satisfaction. Isn’t that right?
Countless people had met their downfall due to excessive greed.
“…No, sir. Still…”
“Looks like you’ll have to shed the old ways of the Namgung Family, too. Let’s have a talk after this is over.”
At his words, all one hundred members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade snickered.
‘You’re screwed, sis,’ ‘Good luck, sister,’ ‘Though you probably won’t have time for luck,’ they seemed to say.
Namgung Hwa glared daggers at the brigade members.
‘How dare you, while the Young Lord is speaking!’ she conveyed with her eyes.
But the members paid no heed to Namgung Hwa’s fierce gaze and continued to laugh.
“…Hey, those brats… Young Lord, may I have your permission to discipline them?”
“Are you planning on not rescuing your comrades?”
“Ah, right.”
“It won’t be too late to do it after we return.”
Though whether she could actually discipline them was another matter. It probably wouldn’t work. They would surely swarm her all at once.
“Understood, Young Lord.”
Namgung Urin addressed the still-snickering hundred members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade.
“You’ve all been briefed on the situation. I will now assign your individual roles.”
For the next half an hour, Namgung Urin instructed the brigade members, having them form teams of five and precisely pointing out where and how they were to position themselves.
“Exactly fifteen days from now, at this same time, you must be at your designated positions. If even one of them escapes… I don’t need to tell you what will happen. Understood?”
Namgung Hyeon-u asked with wide eyes.
“In fifteen days? That’s too soon…”
It was barely enough time, leaving no room for sleep or meals.
“Fifteen days. Don’t even think about taking it easy.”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Don’t I hear a proper answer from all of you!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Oh, and the Family Head had a message. If… and this should not happen, but if any of you were to die, I have strict orders to follow you all the way to the afterlife and give you a proper re-education. So you’d all be wise to take care of yourselves.”
In short, it meant: do not die.
Fire ignited in everyone’s eyes.
They would rather die on the spot than let a single member of the Flying Shadow Brigade escape.
No.
They couldn’t even die. Didn’t the crazy Young Lord say he would follow them to the afterlife to educate them!
Damn it all!
The members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade clenched their teeth, sparks flying from their eyes.
Seeing the Young Lord and the brigade members like this, Namgung Hwa was so dumbfounded and flabbergasted she felt like she was losing her mind.
Our Namgung Family was never like this, she thought.
***
In a mountain valley in Hunan, where the Martial Alliance was located, all the members of the Azure Sky Sword Brigade had arrived at the Black Moon Sect, surrounding it while remaining hidden.
It was an hour when everyone should have been asleep, so the inside of the Black Moon Sect was quiet, but to the raucous sound of crickets, the moon and stars seemed to be tossing and turning, muttering, “Dammit, dammit,” unable to sleep.
Namgung Urin and Namgung Hwa moved first.
They had to rescue the hostages before they could face the Flying Shadow Brigade.
Namgung Hwa led the way to where her comrades from the Black Moon Sect were being held. Despite the late hour, five members of the Flying Shadow Brigade stood guard at the Black Moon Sect’s prison.
Although only ten hostages were held, it was no different from holding the entire Black Moon Sect captive.
Namgung Urin and Namgung Hwa descended before the five guards protecting the prison.
The five members of the Flying Shadow Brigade showed no signs of panic, drawing their swords to strike them down, but Namgung Hwa raised a hand to stop them.
“What’s with you guys! It’s me. Don’t you recognize me?”
A member of the Flying Shadow Brigade studied Namgung Hwa carefully. Then, his eyes fell upon Namgung Urin standing beside her.
The guard’s brow furrowed.
“The order was to kill him, not drag him all the way here…”
Even as he spoke, the guard sensed something was wrong.
Namgung Hwa and Namgung Urin didn’t look like someone who had been dragged here and the one who did the dragging.
They looked like old friends who had known each other for a long time.
“…You bitch, what are you doing…”
*Swish.*
*Swish.*
In an instant, Namgung Urin and Namgung Hwa cut down four of the guards, not even giving them time to scream.
“…”
The last remaining guard could only stand there, trembling, unable to even swing the sword in his hand.
Namgung Hwa spoke to the trembling guard.
“What are you doing, you bastard? Go and tell your boss. That the Young Lord of the Namgung Family has come here on his own two feet.”
Only then did the guard turn and run for his life toward the Flying Shadow Brigade’s leader.
A corner of Namgung Hwa’s mouth curled up as she bowed her head to Namgung Urin and headed for the prison.
Namgung Urin began to walk in the direction the guard had fled.
It was a step toward true revenge.