Chapter 42
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Evils of the Mountains
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In all the great families and clans, good treatment for the branch members, not the direct line
was something only earned by constantly proving one's worth.
It was a position from which one could only fall into ruin if they failed, or were unable, to display their abilities.
This was especially true among the Six Great Families.
And within the current Namgung Family, Namgung Mubaek, in particular
had thoroughly aimed to suppress the branch families. Not avoided the issue, but actively pursued it.
Thanks to him, the branch members' discomfort grew by the day, and they openly voiced their complaints, but the result
was that the many masters and warriors produced by the branch families
"If you wish to speak such words, come back after you've honed your skills."
all fell beneath the sword of the Azure Sky Divine Sword, Namgung Mubaek. And the branch family was wounded so deeply in their hearts that they could never rise again.
For that reason, Namgung Han had fiercely resented Namgung Mubaek and the direct line. The discrimination shown by the main family and the starkly different treatment of those not in the direct line naturally made him turn away.
So, when he heard that a person of the supreme status of Great Young Lord was coming here, Namgung Han had vehemently opposed it.
Why is he coming? What does he intend to do here? Is this place so insignificant that a mere fifteen-year-old fledgling is all they'll send?!
Many tried to placate the enraged Namgung Han, but his anger did not easily subside.
Just fifteen years old.
He was already filled with complaints, as the main family expected reports of success without ever providing proper support.
Sending just four or five people, what do they think they're doing? It's utterly ridiculous.
Worried that the morale they had painstakingly built and the relationships with other Namgung members would fray, Namgung Han had been on edge even before their arrival.
And then.
The moment he arrived, he set out without so much as a word, saying he needed to see how the front line against the bandits was deployed.
Namgung Han simply scoffed. He seemed to be putting on a brave face as the Great Young Lord, but that bravado would soon crumble and shatter. He was certain the boy would never be able to maintain the dignity of a Great Young Lord.
Namgung Han was a veteran who had seen it all, a man who had been through battles on land, sea, and even in the air. Even he, when he first threw himself into this front, had to crawl away on all fours from the pandemonium he faced.
And yet.
This was a boy of fifteen.
What could he possibly know how to do?
He'd heard the boy had won the Sword Family Assembly, but Namgung Han paid it no mind.
He had no interest in stories the direct line members happily shared among themselves.
But then.
The moment they reached the front line, the boy drew his sword and charged.
The image of him rushing forward without a care for his own safety was seared into his eyes.
Seeing the boy charge with such unstoppable force made it difficult to think straight. Was he dreaming?
He thought so, but seeing the adult warriors beside him freeze at the sight of the Green Forest bandits, he knew it was no dream.
The divine prowess displayed by the boy called the Great Young Lord was a sight he couldn't look away from.
He had shown this for five long years. Now.
Aigoo! Great Young Lord! Please, stop for today!
Namgung Seok, who had commanded the front line alongside Namgung Han, was now standing before the Great Young Lord, trying to stop him.
You'll wear yourself out. I'm telling you, you'll collapse.
Hey, Brother Seok! Why are you being like this again!
Brother Seok, he calls him. They were cousins, so the age difference made the terms 'brother' and 'younger brother' appropriate, but to Namgung Han, it was an absurd level of familiarity.
Ha. You only call me brother at times like this. Why are you doing this, Great Young Lord!
But Namgung Seok's expression as he heard this didn't seem displeased.
Namgung Seok's heart, once as firm as a rock, like his name suggested, had at some point
"Han. We have spent our entire lives on the battlefield. And have we not spent a long time under the name of Namgung? This is a Great Young Lord who throws himself into harm's way to save us. Will you still not change?"
Namgung Seok, who shared Namgung Han's strong attachment to this front line, now placed his absolute trust in the Great Young Lord, Namgung Ban.
Moved by the Great Young Lord's actions over five years, Namgung Seok had confronted Namgung Han for the first time.
Namgung Han did not understand. No, he could not understand.
No matter what.
Even if it was just a deep-seated emotion.
The resentment hidden deep in Namgung Han's heart was not something that could easily disappear.
Even so.
The trust the Great Young Lord had built over a long time, as Namgung Seok had said.
The two feelings clashed and intertwined.
Leaving his complex emotions behind, the Great Young Lord was heading out to the battlefield again today.
Bring out someone other than this riffraff!
What do you mean, 'bring out'?
The Evils of the Mountains are nowhere to be seen.
He was demanding people, not liquor. What a character.
You've been beating them down so casually, of course they're all going to run away. That's why I told you to go easy!
You fool. What can I do? I have to catch at least that many to maintain my reputation.
My, my. Aren't you something.
A deep, dignified voice.
Yet, at the same time, a way of speaking that resembled a young man's.
Despite that, an explosive movement incomparably greater than what the three other men had shown.
Kwagagagagang!
With a burst of energy from a sword drawn and unleashed in mid-air, dozens of bandits were instantly swept away, torn to shreds beyond recognition.
Each strike was deemed so powerful that first- and second-rate bandits could not hope to block them.
A feast of sword energy slammed into the ground, riding the wind to strike the bandits' vital points and inflict fatal wounds. The majority died instantly, and even those who survived did not seem like they would live for long.
Honestly, everyone.
A boyno, a young manclicked his tongue as he watched his companions' exploits.
Having arrived at the threshold of these mountains five years ago.
He was now more familiar with the mountains than anyone.
At dawn, he roamed the foothills.
At dusk, he returned exhausted after fighting against the formidable energies that filled the mountains.
The problem is everyone's too excited. Let's finish our work before we play.
The young man's eyes were full of life, and his lips were curled into a smile.
The young man's gaze was fixed on one spot, where a particularly large bandit was swinging a menacing axe with ferocious momentum.
This time, it's my turn.
The dignified man looked at the young man with a deep frown.
Are you sure?
Didn't you just take care of one a moment ago?
It wasn't just one or two. You expect me to count them all?
Let's be fair. Fair and square.
The young man chided the middle-aged man and slowly stepped forward. He who had shed his boyish looks but still appeared to be a young man who had just come of age.
As such a person stepped forward.
The young men and the man standing behind him simply smiled, showing their trust.
And behind them, a group of men bearing the Namgung insignia watched with a deep sigh.
Go easy on them!
Or all the bandits will run away!
We need to earn our keep too, you know!
Not a single one was anxious. Instead, they joked around.
Hearing such jokes.
Leaving the jests filled with endless trust behind him.
Haha. I'll be back.
As if this battlefield belonged to him.
The young man, the Great Young Lord of the Azure Sky Namgung Family, slowly drew the blue-tinged tip of his sword horizontally.
The bandits watching the sword tip gritted their teeth.
Among them.
One who commanded the mountains in the martial world.
One of only seventy-two.
An Evil of the Mountains.
Of course, even among them, there were different classes. He had heard that nearly twenty of the lower-ranked Evils of the Mountains had been taken down by the two men before him.
Hmph. Pathetic worms. To be defeated by nobodies like them, tarnishing the name of the Evils of the Mountains?
The Blood Great Axe, Wang Ryang.
Wang Ryang raised the axe he had wielded his entire life.
The axe, steeped and tempered in blood, was lifted into the air.
Streaks of red energy rose and enveloped the axe. The sheer ferocity of the energy was worthy of the name, Evil of the Mountains.
Dozens of bandits looked at Wang Ryang, their expectations blooming. Finally, someone had appeared who could stand against those monsters.
The counterattack begins now!
How dare you!
Fueled by their expectations, Wang Ryang swung his axe through the air in a single motion.
How many lives from the Namgung Family had he snuffed out with this axe?
He scoffed at the young men and the Iron-Blood Sword Saint, An Baek, standing before him. Wang Ryang had only been dispatched to this front two days ago.
No matter how outstanding their divine prowess, as long as they were human, they had to get tired.
Even if they could fight one against a hundred, their limits were clear.
And he believed the time had come.
The sluggish battle had dragged on for quite some time, and no reinforcements were coming for them.
Now.
It was time for him to make his move in earnest.
He certainly thought so, but...
Swish.
A single thin line was drawn before his eyes.
It was a line drawn by the most youthful-looking of the young men.
Huh?
For some reason, Wang Ryang's consciousness began to fade. He felt his breath and movements slowing down endlessly. The surrounding cheers and fervent cries gradually faded, and he felt as if time and space were distorting.
That can't... be...
Thud, roll, roll, roll.
With the sound of something rolling, Wang Ryang's massive body collapsed to the ground with a thud. Seeing the bandits turn pale behind the cloud of dust
the one leading the Namgung warriors standing behind called out.
...The Great Young Lord has taken down an Evil of the Mountains! There's nothing to stop us! Let's have some fun!
Uoooooooh!
Namgung Ban! Namgung Ban!
Great Young Lord! Great Young Lord!
Behind the Great Young Lord, who flicked off the last drop of blood from his blade's edge, Namgung Seok led the Namgung warriors to pursue the fleeing bandits.
Like wolves in a sheep pasture, the swords of the Namgung Family showed no mercy, ruthlessly cutting down the bandits. This was the current state of affairs, the reality between the Namgung Family and the Green Forest.
Let's see.
Great Warrior An has a total of eleven. The Great Young Lord has eleven. Oh, you two are tied.
At the number Kang U-mun counted, the expressions of the middle-aged man and the young man crumpled.
Really!
For real?
No, at this rate, my reputation will!
Agh, to be tied with this old geezer.
Watching the two of them growl at each other.
Sigh.
Same as always.
One young man, who served him as a master, sighed, while the other, the winner of the Sword Family Assembly who had followed the Great Young Lord out of fascination, clicked his tongue.
And finally, the man who called himself the Great Young Lord's shadow shook his head.
Someone once said.
Like uncle, like nephew.
It was, he thought, a truly fitting phrase.