Chapter 230
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: A Laborer
"Hmm. So everything's settled now?"
Wi Ji-gun muttered softly as he brought his cup to his lips.
Namgung Hwi turned his head to look at him, but the man said nothing more.
What had been settled, exactly?
He was curious but didn't ask.
Instead, he turned his gaze back to the towering palace far in the distance.
Just moments ago.
He had felt an immense surge of energy from that direction.
It had happened so quickly, and it was so far away, that Namgung Hwi could only tilt his head in confusion.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
'That kid. Did he go easy on them this time?'
In contrast, Wi Ji-gun, whose senses could extend all the way to the Pavilion Lord's quarters, had felt everything that happened.
Those people who had hurriedly galloped over and rushed inside earlier.
He had guessed they were here because of the commotion a few days ago.
And sure enough, there had been a clash with his disciple—and naturally, they had all been defeated.
It seemed like it was time to wrap up this pleasant afternoon drinking session.
"You said you wanted to work there?"
Wi Ji-gun asked Namgung Hwi.
"Yes."
"I don't know the details of your story... but we're always hiring laborers. Have a good time, then."
With that, Wi Ji-gun rose from his seat.
Namgung Hwi watched him intently until his slowly departing figure vanished from sight.
"A laborer..."
Namgung Hwi murmured softly to himself.
The thought suddenly struck him that there was nothing he couldn't do.
And then he glanced down at his empty right sleeve.
'Even so, can I really manage it?'
One-armed.
He'd probably be rejected on sight.
The thought brought a wry smile to his face unbidden.
Namgung Hwi's gaze returned to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
As the western sky turned red.
Five people moved in perfect harmony.
If one fell back, two swords flew in to fill the gap.
Those fiercely incoming blades met three swords in response.
Namgung Ji-hu was wielding his sword with great vigor amid the five-man sword formation.
"Impressive."
Baek Ri-pyeong marveled at the sight. Dan Mok Un-roe nodded beside him.
"If it were Ji-hu now against us from last year... we'd have lost for sure."
Dan Mok Un-roe's words drew a smirk from Namgung Ji-yu.
"You now aren't the you from last year either. You've already beaten them one-on-one."
Dan Mok Un-roe just smiled at Namgung Ji-yu's pointed remark.
Namgung Ji-hu's swordplay had advanced so rapidly that it was hard to predict the outcome right now.
"Is that the Emperor's Sword Form?"
Baek Ri-pyeong's question earned a cryptic smile from Namgung Ji-yu.
"In a way, yes... and in a way, no."
Her enigmatic reply followed.
"Amazing."
Dan Mok Un-roe admired it purely and simply.
And how could he not?
The five executing the Flowing Dragon Sword Formation were barely managing to block Namgung Ji-hu's blade.
Less than half a ke had passed, and they were already completely on the defensive.
And after a few more exchanges?
Eun Hwa-ryong dropped his sword, and Na Jung-cheon flew backward.
In an instant, two were out.
And it took only a single breath for the remaining three to fall as well.
The five stared at Namgung Ji-hu in a daze.
"This is the Namgung Clan..."
Sim Cheol-san muttered blankly.
"Not the Namgung Clan—this is Namgung Ji-hu."
Baek Ri-pyeong corrected him.
"Hoo."
As Namgung Ji-hu regulated his breathing, Dan Mok Un-roe twitched visibly.
He looked eager to spar right then and there.
"Hold it. It's their turn first."
Nak Woo-jin read his intent and patted Dan Mok Un-roe's shoulder to calm him.
"No time to lie around like that. Now it's five against two."
Baek Ri-pyeong sorted out the chaos.
At his words, Nak Woo-jin and Ha Seol-ran picked up their swords and stepped forward.
The Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty's training continued without pause.
They honed their martial arts and formations at the Dragon Training Pavilion, and on rest days, they did live combat drills.
This was the schedule for Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty leading up to the Summer Combat Festival.
They trained diligently, oblivious to what had transpired at the Pavilion Lord's quarters earlier that day.
How much time passed?
Dusk had now settled around them.
The cadets, who had been swinging their swords with full effort, were taking breaks in whatever way suited them.
"So, when do we eat dinner?"
Leave it to Nak Woo-jin.
They had skipped dinner time after afternoon training and jumped straight into formation practice.
Now it was that hour when hunger truly set in.
But dinner service at the Devouring Dragon Pavilion had already ended.
There might be some snacks left, but as a proper meal? Doubtful...
"Let's head out. Just go to the Golden Dragon Tower right nearby. Eat first, then keep going."
As everyone pondered what to do about food, Baek Ri-pyeong made the call.
It was a role Dang Jin-san would have taken.
Even after just a few days' absence, Baek Ri-pyeong keenly felt the void left by Dang Jin-san.
And so the twelve cadets headed for the Dragon Training Pavilion's main gate.
Toward the Golden Dragon Tower nearby.
Namgung Hwi refilled his cup.
He was drinking slowly, ever so slowly.
Even after the old man who had joined him left, Namgung Hwi remained at his seat.
Darkness had fallen outside the window.
Yet his gaze stayed fixed on the Dragon Training Pavilion.
On the table sat roast duck and bamboo leaf liquor.
Newly ordered dishes.
Ordered just to have an excuse to stay seated, they sat mostly untouched.
The old man's bill was still pending too.
"Hm?"
A glint entered his eyes.
Twelve of them.
A group of young people was emerging from the Dragon Training Pavilion.
They seemed lively and boisterous, enjoying themselves.
In the darkness, their faces weren't clear.
He could enhance his vision with internal energy, but saw no need.
'Around that age, maybe?'
That was the only thought that crossed his mind.
He hadn't even seen their faces.
The dark night.
Gu Tan-gil finally opened his eyes.
He lay on the bed, his entire body wrapped tightly in bandages.
Having been slashed all over by swords, it was only natural to treat even the skin wounds thoroughly.
"Ugh."
As consciousness returned, agony wracked his whole body.
It was a pain entirely different from sword cuts.
He recalled the end.
The countless fist shadows that had overwhelmed him.
What if those had been swords?
He would be dead.
The thought sent chills down his spine.
That madman, Ha Mu-baek.
He had heard the rumors, but the man was far stronger than expected.
Of all people, the one Ryeong had picked a fight with had to be in charge of those cadets.
"Hoo."
A sigh escaped him unbidden.
"Oppa?"
Gu So-so, who had dozed off slumped by the bed, opened her eyes at the sound of his sigh.
"Are you okay?"
Gu Tan-gil asked his sister.
"Who the hell is that guy?"
Her question came instead of an answer.
She knew nothing about Ha Mu-baek.
How could she?
She had been at the Iron Equipment Hall the whole time during the recent war.
"He's around. A lunatic. A monster too. I knew he was strong, but not like this."
Gu Tan-gil said with a bitter smile.
How could he not?
Gu Tan-gil was the master of the Iron Equipment Hall.
He prided himself on being no less than the hall leaders of the other eight equipment halls.
Even in his rage, he had fought with full power.
And that final stance of the Iron Equipment Heaven-Piercing Eight Spear Formation? Perfect, even in retrospect.
Yet he had been utterly defeated.
The bastard had stood there unscathed, lofty as ever.
It meant he surpassed even the hall leaders of the eight equipment halls.
Was that even possible?
"I messed up. I should have brought the corps commander."
The Iron Armor Iron Equipment Corps commander.
Geun Mu-han.
The Iron Equipment Hall's top expert.
Gu So-so regretted not bringing him.
But Gu Tan-gil shook his head.
Even with him, the result would have been the same.
He knew now, having faced Ha Mu-baek directly.
"Forget it. I asked if you're okay?"
Gu Tan-gil checked on his sister again.
At his question, Gu So-so placed a hand below her navel, then her face darkened.
"Is something wrong?"
He asked with worry.
Gu So-so had taken only two punches from Ha Mu-baek.
Face and solar plexus.
Solar plexus...
No way.
"Don't tell me your dantian?"
Gu Tan-gil asked urgently.
Gu So-so nodded faintly.
"If I try to circulate more than fifty percent internal energy... it feels like my dantian will shatter. The physician said there's overall damage to the dantian. Hmph. Quack."
It was absurd.
The dantian was typically the lower one, below the navel.
But she had been hit in the solar plexus.
Much higher than the lower dantian.
Yet damage to the dantian?
What kind of monstrous fist power was that?
"Come to think of it, where are we?"
His mind was jumbled; assessing the situation came after regaining consciousness.
"Oh, the infirmary at the Dragon Training Pavilion. Your wounds were severe, and I seemed injured too, so Pavilion Lord Pang brought us here."
Gu Tan-gil nodded.
"Hmm. He's no quack. That's probably right."
"And you, oppa? The physician said your condition is worse than mine."
At her words, Gu Tan-gil forced himself into a cross-legged position and began circulating his energy.
He immediately grimaced.
The physician was right.
Gu Tan-gil's dantian seemed fine.
But his meridians were wrecked.
His entire body's meridians bore large and small wounds.
Ha Mu-baek's fists pounding his whole body.
That was the cause.
Trying to move more than fifty percent internal energy caused blockages and excruciating pain everywhere.
With internal injuries this bad.
"At least half a year of rest, I'd say. Hoo."
Another sigh slipped out.
How had it come to this...
"Ha Mu-baek. I won't forgive that bastard. Ever."
Killing intent poured from Gu So-so's eyes.
Gu Tan-gil felt the same, but he thought coldly.
Could they defeat that monster?
If they brought the entire Iron Armor Iron Equipment Corps and pressured him with formations?
He recalled the swordsmanship the man had displayed.
Maybe they could block it once.
With the corps' formation.
But twice?
Three times?
Tough.
An individual who could overcome a group.
Absurd.
He had thought only someone like Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong could do that.
Yet here was another.
Come to think of it, the Pang Clan had fallen to a single expert...
His thoughts halted there.
Maybe, just maybe.
That mysterious expert was...
"Na-jin. You there?"
Sensing a presence, he assumed his trusted subordinate was nearby and called.
One of the three who had stayed behind to handle the fallen horses.
"Yes, Hall Master."
[Go find out if anything happened between the Pang Clan and Ha Mu-baek at the Dragon Training Pavilion.]
He issued the order via transmission.
"Yes."
Na-jin bowed and left the room.
"What's going on, oppa?"
"Ryeong's facing the wall. Let's see her face before you go, once her confinement ends."
Gu So-so's eyes widened at his words.
"What are you talking about? We need to get her out tomorrow!"
"Fight that monster again? In our injured state?"
"Not him. Pavilion Lord Pang..."
Gu Tan-gil shook his head.
Before facing Ha Mu-baek, maybe.
He could have pressured the lord.
But not now.
Unable to raise more than fifty percent internal energy, he had no leverage.
"In this injured state?"
At Gu Tan-gil's question, Gu So-so hung her head.
And tears fell in drops.
"Ryeong. That poor girl..."
Her clenched fist tightened.
"A man grows through such trials."
Gu So-so snapped her head up.
"Oppa..."
Her murmur brimmed with resentment.
"Ha Mu-baek. Best not to tangle with that monster. Forget this incident. Rest now."
With that, Gu Tan-gil turned over on the bed.
Frustrated, Gu So-so stepped out of the infirmary.
She couldn't contain the fury boiling deep in her chest.
"He still hasn't come to his senses."
Ha Mu-baek was there.
"Y-You bastard..."
"Your brother at least seems to have a brain. You still can't tell heads from tails."
Killing intent surged from Ha Mu-baek's entire body, constricting Gu So-so.
Suddenly enveloped in overwhelming malice, her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Th-This is..."
"I went easy because it was kids' squabbling. Take the mercy and back off. Cross the line, and I won't be responsible for what happens."
With those words, the killing intent vanished like it had never been.
As if nothing had happened.
Once Ha Mu-baek left and Gu So-so was alone.
She collapsed to the ground.
A little longer under that pressure, and she might have wet herself.
The fear was that intense.
Her legs still wouldn't support her.
Now she understood why her brother called him a monster.
It was the first terror like this in her life.
'St-Still, I'll have revenge... A gentleman's vengeance is not late, even after ten years...'
Terrified yet vowing never to forget her grudge against Ha Mu-baek, Gu So-so consoled herself that she had only yielded because she was weak now.
'Maybe I should have taken the wall-facing punishment myself...'
Dan Mok Un-roe's quiet murmur from a few days ago.
Ha Mu-baek had overheard it as he left.
He had given Infinite Restoration Pills to those two to get stronger during their confinement but hadn't given any to the other three.
'Hm. Should probably take care of the others too.'
As he walked after leaving a heavy killing intent warning for Gu So-so, Ha Mu-baek suddenly recalled Dan Mok Un-roe's murmur and thought so.
And so.
He went looking for the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets, but they weren't at the Dragon Training Pavilion.
"Trying to give them something good, and they're making it a hassle."
Extending his senses widely, he pinpointed their location.
The tavern in front of the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Golden Dragon Tower.
It sold food too, so they had probably gone for a late dinner.
Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten dinner yet either.
Those annoying Iron Equipment Hall bastards had made him skip it.
He headed to his lodging first to grab the Infinite Restoration Pills.
Packed some appropriately, then set off again.
Toward the Golden Dragon Tower where the cadets were gathered.