Chapter 219
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Those Bastards
"A bet?"
Byuk I-gyeom echoed the word.
Dang Jin-san nodded with an amused expression.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Byuk I-gyeom tried to brush it off.
"Don't think you can handle it?"
Dang Jin-san's taunt.
Byuk I-gyeom's face twisted once more.
"You know about the Summer Combat Festival?"
Dang Jin-san continued without waiting for Byuk I-gyeom's response.
Byuk I-gyeom nodded.
It was a tournament only for first-years, so he probably knew.
"You'll compete against Squad Twenty there."
Just then, the Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty cadets were emerging from the lecture hall.
Byuk I-gyeom's gaze shifted toward them.
"Against that trash? I could smash them in one go."
At those words, Dang Jin-san wagged his finger.
"We have to follow the Summer Combat Festival rules."
"Rules?"
"Whoever survives longer. The last squad standing wins the festival."
Byuk I-gyeom furrowed his brow slightly.
"What if we crush them right at the start?"
"Then your squad wins."
Dang Jin-san nodded as if it were obvious.
Byuk I-gyeom smirked.
"Who the hell are you to suggest betting on fighting that trash? Why should I play along?"
"You might change your mind once you hear the stakes."
Dang Jin-san said it casually.
Only then did the corners of Byuk I-gyeom's mouth curl up slyly.
"What're you putting up?"
He was finally showing interest.
"How about the Dragon Training Pavilion's second semester?"
Dang Jin-san smiled as he made the proposal.
By now, everyone's attention was focused on the two of them.
They weren't staring openly, but they were all eavesdropping.
The Squad Twenty cadets, the very subjects of the bet, were walking toward them with bewildered looks.
After all, their job was to attend to Squad One cadets.
"What does that mean?"
"The first semester ends with the Summer Combat Festival. The losers follow the winners' orders for the entire second semester."
Byuk I-gyeom asked with a deflated expression. Didn't they already have attendants anyway?
Even if it was a bet they were sure to win.
"You and me?"
Byuk I-gyeom confirmed the participants.
"No. Wa Dragon Corps first-year Squad One versus Fierce Dragon Corps second-year Squad Seven."
Byuk I-gyeom's gaze turned to the Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven cadets standing apart.
His eyes caught sight of someone.
A huge grin spread across Byuk I-gyeom's face.
Soon, he burst out laughing.
"Ha, ha. Haha! Kuhahaha!"
An incredulous expression.
"Why not just say you want to serve us starting next semester? Skip this annoying bet."
Byuk I-gyeom was utterly convinced of his victory.
Dang Jin-san looked at him with a steady smile and asked,
"So. You in? Or out?"
"I'm in. Only a fool would turn this down. Heh heh. A man's word?"
"Is gold."
Dang Jin-san completed Byuk I-gyeom's phrase.
"Fine. Even if you bring a mountain of gold, I won't back down."
"Same here."
All the Fierce Dragon Corps, Wa Dragon Corps, and Hidden Dragon Corps cadets in the courtyard had seen and heard everything.
Cadets from various years were gathered there.
It was a bet agreed upon in front of all these witnesses.
Denying the outcome would tarnish their own honor.
"Oh, what if we lose the bet and just leave the pavilion?"
Dang Jin-san added as he turned to go, as if it had just occurred to him.
"That's exactly what I was going to say."
"On the honor of the Tang Clan, that won't happen."
Dang Jin-san declared loudly enough for all to hear.
In front of this crowd, he was staking not just personal honor, but his family's as well.
"Me too. On the honor of the Dorim Sect, it won't happen."
Byuk I-gyeom shot back without hesitation.
"Alright, then. I'll take these guys with me?"
"What?"
As Dang Jin-san spoke while leading Squad Twenty cadets, Byuk I-gyeom's face twisted in anger.
"What do you mean, what? We need to prepare for the bet. What if you rough them up or hurt them before then and they can't even join the Summer Combat Festival?"
Byuk I-gyeom's face twisted even further.
"We wouldn't stoop to petty tricks like that..."
"Exactly. So we're taking them to prepare properly for the bet. Don't touch these guys until the festival."
With that, Dang Jin-san led Squad Twenty away.
The Wa Dragon Corps Squad One cadets were left standing alone.
"I-gyeom. You sure about this?"
The other squad members, suddenly roped into the bet by Byuk I-gyeom's decision.
"Don't think you can win?"
At Byuk I-gyeom's question, the others shook their heads with annoyed expressions.
No matter what, how could they compare themselves to that trash?
Byuk I-gyeom's gaze followed the retreating backs of Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
"You heard. It's the entire Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven."
"So?"
"Yeon Ha-min. She's in Squad Seven too. Win this bet, and we get to have that girl wait on us."
A lecherous glint entered Byuk I-gyeom's eyes as he spoke.
Smiles spread across the others' faces too.
With the exact same look in their eyes.
'Ha Seol-ran, was it? Too bad she's not in Squad Seven.'
Someone glanced toward where Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven was gathered, thinking that.
Dang Jin-san had moved to a quiet spot with Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty cadets and his group.
No other prying eyes around.
"What's this all of a sudden? Dragging us into it too?"
Baek Ri-pyeong asked, a bit flustered.
"Had to make the bait juicy enough for them to bite."
"Trash."
Yeon Ha-min muttered coldly.
"Uh, yeah?"
Dang Jin-san flinched with a startled look.
"Those bastards."
Harsh words spilled from Yeon Ha-min's mouth.
She had clearly felt that sticky, disgusting gaze on her back at the very end.
She knew it instantly—it was the same gaze she'd received countless times in the Yeon Clan.
That chilling disgust she'd forgotten about for a while since it hadn't happened.
How dare they look at her with such filthy lust.
Having left the lecture hall late, Squad Twenty cadets still didn't know the full story.
Dang Jin-san explained it to them.
"Huh?"
"No way..."
The five of them visibly shrank back.
"B-because of us, the seniors..."
Eun Hwa-ryang was on the verge of tears.
"Why?"
At Dang Jin-san's question.
"What are you going to do for the second semester?"
Eun Hwa-ryang replied in a voice like she wanted to hide.
"What else? Use those guys and live easy."
His brazen words left Squad Twenty's five staring blankly for a moment.
"We win. We just win."
"But..."
The five looked uncertain at Dang Jin-san's words.
It was natural.
It seemed utterly impossible, no matter how they thought about it.
"I'll make you win, even if I have to grab you by the collar."
A cold, chilling voice cut in.
It was Yeon Ha-min.
"But it might hurt like hell."
The five Squad Twenty cadets fell silent.
"Don't we get a say?"
Then.
One cadet who'd been quiet spoke up.
The biggest one.
Na Jung-cheon from the Iron Flag Guild.
Dang Jin-san's gaze turned to him.
"Hm. You're right. I should've asked your opinions first. I figured I got a rough read yesterday."
Dang Jin-san nodded and muttered.
Then he looked straight at him.
"You want out? Say it now. It's just a bet—we can change the terms."
Na Jung-cheon's eyelids twitched.
He seemed conflicted too.
"It's a bet with no downside for you. Even if you lose, we pay the price."
True enough.
They were the ones making the bet, but Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven would bear the consequences.
"Our squad has a girl too. Now do you get how big a stake we're putting up?"
Only then did all of Squad Twenty's gazes turn to Yeon Ha-min.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman, even behind her veil.
"...That was a mistake on your part."
Na Jung-cheon muttered gravely.
He was thinking of a Wa Dragon Corps Squad One cadet from the Iron Flag Guild.
Cheol Ryeong.
The Iron Flag Guild master's nephew.
Talented, but too lustful—always causing trouble.
That's why he'd been sent to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
"And there's that guy in your squad who's a total womanizer."
Na Jung-cheon's follow-up made Dang Jin-san's face harden slightly.
He glanced at Yeon Ha-min.
"If you win, no problem. You in? Or out?"
Yeon Ha-min asked coldly.
"Hoo."
One of them sighed.
Yeong Hu-in from the Great Sea Gate.
"Why go this far for us?"
The same question from yesterday.
"I told you yesterday."
Dang Jin-san chuckled.
"You really mean that?"
Yeong Hu-in asked again, face full of disbelief.
"We've got our reasons."
Dang Jin-san said with a grin.
A smile laced with complex emotions.
"Got it. I'm in."
Yeong Hu-in decided first.
"Me too."
Surprisingly, Na Jung-cheon followed.
"Me as well."
Eun Hwa-ryang made her choice.
The remaining two nodded firmly too.
"Break time's almost over. Pay attention in class. Don't half-ass it with rotten fish eyes. It's all stuff you need to learn."
With that, Dang Jin-san turned away with his group.
The Wa Dragon Corps cadets followed.
Every class mattered now.
Ha Mu-baek had been watching the bet from afar.
'That busybody...'
He frowned slightly.
Ha Seol-ran had told him about it last night, so he'd come to observe.
Their conversation proceeded without hesitation.
Ha Seol-ran wasn't part of the bet.
Yet her eyes burned with motivation.
'Lucky for them. Not bad kids.'
It was remarkable.
They were supposed to be servants, yet each had talent.
It made sense, really.
Among the orphans begging on the streets, they'd selected ones who'd learned basic arts from various sects.
Basic arts were tough studies even for them.
Mastering them in such conditions proved their innate talent.
He recalled Wa Dragon Corps Squad One's members again.
Definitely exceptional.
No matter how hard he trained his squad in the remaining time, they'd lose head-on.
But.
'Smart move. Experience from last year's festival?'
Changing it to survival made it winnable.
Just like Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven last year.
Guerrilla warfare wasn't the same as straight duels.
In the training hall, Namgung Ji-hu was swinging his sword, sweat pouring down.
Namgung Ji-yu watched from the side.
"You really skipping class today?"
"Just the bare minimum. This is more important."
Namgung Ji-yu stared silently at his response.
Her brother's swordsmanship had changed.
Three Talents Sword Method and Great Chain Sword Method.
Following Ha Mu-baek's advice from yesterday, he'd shifted his training direction immediately.
"You think that'll work?"
"You heard yesterday."
She had been there.
Behind that large tree at the edge of the training hall.
Ha Mu-baek had probably noticed her.
Yet he'd pretended not to.
The more she learned, the more inscrutable the instructor became.
"But is it worth going this far?"
Namgung Ji-yu asked for confirmation.
Handing over the Emperor's Sword Form manual to Ha Mu-baek.
It had been Namgung Ji-hu's unilateral decision, without consulting her.
"I'll become young master of the house. Then house lord. No matter what."
Namgung Ji-hu declared, eyes gleaming.
"And I'll find it."
He stopped there and focused on his sword again.
Namgung Ji-yu watched her brother quietly.
They were siblings, but with different mothers.
She was the legitimate wife’s daughter; he was the concubine’s.
Their father had told her that.
Neither had ever seen their mothers.
Yet the two were closer than any siblings in other clans.
Uncommon for children of different mothers.
The cold treatment from their father since childhood.
That had bound them inseparably.
They'd learned early that they had only each other in the world.
The Namgung Clan young master position was vacant, and their father had opened it to competition.
One reason the elders accepted: Ji-hu's mother.
A concubine's son, illegitimate.
Some elders disapproved.
Though his overwhelming talent garnered more support.
Namgung Ji-yu looked at her brother again.
Her eyes full of trust and affection.
Meanwhile, Namgung Ji-hu's eyes grew increasingly venomous as he swung his sword.
A fierce energy was building in his movements.
Namgung Ji-yu double-checked, wondering if she was seeing wrong.
He was clearly practicing the Three Talents Sword Method, yet something beyond it seemed visible.