Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 195 - Loyalty (1)
Chapter 195 – Loyalty (1)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Inside a room lit by only a single candle in a lamp, a small-framed man who looked to be in his early thirties sat cross-legged before a bed.
On that bed lay a handsome man with bandages wrapped around the right side of his head and over his right eye.
It was none other than Na Yul-ryang, the Heaven and Earth Society Leader’s eldest disciple.
Na Yul-ryang, who had lain with his eyes closed as if dead, slowly opened his left eye.
-Swish.
He turned his head and looked at the man sitting with his legs crossed.
Noticing this, the man shook his head and said,
“You really don’t look very dignified right now.”
“……”
Though he deliberately thickened his voice, it still carried the oddly youthful tone of a boy whose voice had not fully broken.
Na Yul-ryang stared at him for a moment before asking,
“How long have I been like this?”
“Three days.”
“Three days?”
Na Yul-ryang gave a disbelieving snort.
Since coming of age, he had never suffered a serious wound, nor had he ever remained unconscious this long.
-Creak.
The entire fight with that bastard flashed through his mind.
Even the moment when he had turned into a poison body and embraced him.
-Throb.
But why did his right eye hurt so much?
And it was not only there.
His right wrist and right ankle ached as well.
As Na Yul-ryang frowned in confusion, the man clicked his tongue and said,
“Your right eyeball is gone. The bones in your right wrist and right ankle were crushed.”
“……”
Na Yul-ryang’s expression twisted.
Of all the injuries, hearing that his right eye was gone made every nerve in his body stand on end.
‘This is not a feeling I particularly enjoy.’
It was an emotion he had never truly felt before.
Even when he had been angry in the past, it had usually ended at irritation.
This was different.
It lingered.
Was this what people called rage?
While he sat there radiating fury, the man continued,
“It is fortunate that you woke up. I was just drenched in sweat trying to stop that person from causing a scene and demanding a fight with the Annihilation Poison King.”
“The Annihilation Poison King?”
“Yes. Why in the world did you fight that dangerous old monster? Did you suddenly decide you wanted to subdue not just the Five Kings, but everyone, by force?”
One of Na Yul-ryang’s brows rose.
Even so, the man did not show the slightest fear.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“……”
No one else would have dared speak so bluntly to Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
And yet, while Na Yul-ryang made no effort to hide his displeasure, he did not grow openly angry.
Perhaps it was because he trusted this man that much.
After staring at him a while longer, Na Yul-ryang asked,
“Does everyone know I ended up like this?”
“No. Of course not. These aren’t minor wounds. If it became known that you had suffered this level of injury, the inside would have been shaken badly too.”
He had cut off the information and concealed the matter from everyone.
At that answer, Na Yul-ryang let out a faint sigh.
“Then only you and that old man know?”
“Yes. That person barged in so forcefully there was nothing I could do about it.”
The man shrugged with a tired look.
Na Yul-ryang asked,
“Did you tell him not to do anything pointless?”
“I told him that if he really cared about you, he should endure it until you woke up.”
“…Well done.”
If word of his severe injuries had spread, several troublesome situations would have arisen.
The man’s judgment had been correct.
This man, Mo-yak, was the closest of Na Yul-ryang’s confidants.
In fact, he was the only one with whom Na Yul-ryang dealt informally without regard to status.
“What will you do now?”
“Hm?”
“The eye cannot be helped, but even if you use regeneration arts, the broken bones will take at least a month to recover.”
“……”
“Can you really endure waiting until you’re fully healed?”
“Endure? No.”
He could not.
Separate from his own injuries, if that bastard was not dealt with now, there was a high chance he would become an enormous nuisance.
Na Yul-ryang had seen him cross the wall and gain enlightenment right before his eyes.
His martial talent was monstrous, on a level not inferior to his own.
At the moment Na Yul-ryang still held the upper hand, but if he left such a man alone, he would continue to grow.
‘I would like to kill him myself.’
But for the moment that was inefficient.
There was no need to act emotionally.
After all, that bastard too had received help from Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King. If Na Yul-ryang moved others in response, no one could complain.
“Send word to the old man.”
“So you’re going through with it after all.”
“There isn’t time to wait until I heal.”
Mo-yak shook his head as though he had expected nothing less.
“Naturally. But before that, you should hear this first.”
“Hear this first? Unless it is urgent…”
“I think you’ll find it urgent.”
“What do you mean?”
“The movements on Second Young Master Jang Neung-ak’s side and Young Miss Wi So-yeon’s side don’t look ordinary.”
Na Yul-ryang let out a cold snort.
“Leave them. Those two are unimportant. More importantly…”
“It looks like they’re trying to join hands.”
“…What?”
Na Yul-ryang frowned.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Jang Neung-ak and Wi So-yeon were practically oil and water.
Both of them were desperate to become the successor.
Why would such people suddenly cooperate?
But the shock did not end there.
“I thought the same thing at first. But while you were unconscious, the situation became even more complicated.”
“More complicated?”
“Yes. Last night, all the executives supporting those two fellow disciples gathered and held a meeting. But it wasn’t just them.”
“Not just them? So there were others there as well?”
“The Annihilation Poison King was there. So was the Shadow Sect Master.”
‘!?’
Na Yul-ryang’s expression hardened.
Not only had all the executives supporting Jang Neung-ak and Wi So-yeon gathered together, but even the Annihilation Poison King and the Shadow Sect Master had joined them?
“…These bastards.”
Taken individually, the factions supporting the younger disciples had never been worth treating as true threats.
But if the King of the Fate Blade, the Axe-Laying King, the Annihilation Poison King, the Shadow Sect Master, the Guardian Sect Master, and even the two valley masters of Choeum Valley and Yangam Valley combined their strength, the story changed.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that, together, they represented just over half the society’s real power.
‘How did they manage that?’
It made no sense.
The sides they pursued were different. They were not the sort who would join hands the way those two younger disciples might.
And yet now they had suddenly formed an alliance?
This meant…
“It seems they’ve truly decided to face you properly, Young Master.”
“…Face me properly?”
“Yes. Otherwise, they could never have used your current condition this cleverly. That damned old Annihilation Poison King would not have set something like this up in advance on his own just to prepare for what might happen after you woke.”
‘!?’
The moment Mo-yak said those words, something flashed through Na Yul-ryang’s mind.
It was Mok Gyeong-un’s face.
‘What?’
Come to think of it, Mok Gyeong-un had also become a disciple of Baek Sa-ha, the Annihilation Poison King.
If the bastard was the joint disciple of both the Shadow Sect Master and the Annihilation Poison King, then he was capable of moving both men at once.
Only now did the pieces start to fit together.
He did not know how that bastard had persuaded those two incompatible disciples, but he was suddenly certain that they had not created this board themselves.
“Mok Gyeong-un.”
“Yes?”
“That bastard Mok Gyeong-un is the one who made this happen.”
“…What are you talking about? Mok Gyeong-un is just that hostage-born disciple the Shadow Sect Master recently took in.”
“Yes. He did this.”
Na Yul-ryang sounded utterly certain.
Mo-yak looked at him as if he could not understand.
“Young Master… no matter what, that feels like too much of a stretch. That brat only became the Shadow Sect Master’s disciple a little over half a month ago. What could someone like him possibly…”
“That brat is the one who did this to me.”
“A brat like that did this to you…? W-wait. What did you just say?”
“I said he is the one who reduced me to this state.”
‘!!!!!!!!’
Mo-yak’s eyes went wide.
What was he hearing?
The one who inflicted these grave injuries was not the Annihilation Poison King?
“…That’s impossible. Even if he graduated top of the class from Corpse Blood Valley, he should only be around unit-leader level. How could a brat like that possibly…”
“He crossed the wall during the fight.”
“The wall?”
Mo-yak was dumbfounded.
For a moment, he thought he had misheard.
Was that hostage-born brat not only seventeen at most?
“What do you mean, crossed the wall? If he crossed the wall, then that means…”
“He reached Flower Realm.”
Mo-yak stared at Na Yul-ryang.
He was not joking.
No, Na Yul-ryang did not joke to begin with.
That meant the words coming from his mouth could not be false.
Shaking his head as though sick of the entire world, Mo-yak muttered,
“If that’s true, then his rate of growth makes no sense. Crossing the wall in the middle of a fight? This is really…”
He could not finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious.
Monster.
Someone who had exceeded the limits of ordinary humanity.
Until now, in Mo-yak’s eyes, there had only been two such beings. His lord, Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang, and that one man said to be the strongest among the Five Tigers.
And now a new monster had appeared as well.
It was enough to make one feel numb.
After a long pause, Mo-yak finally spoke.
“Are you truly certain that this Mok Gyeong-un is the one who set this board in motion?”
“……”
Na Yul-ryang did not answer aloud, but inwardly he was certain.
That bastard was the same kind as himself.
This was not the sort of move that could have come from the minds of those two younger disciples, or even from a stubborn old man like the Annihilation Poison King.
It was a move meant to restrain him.
No, a move meant to face him directly.
‘You, who aren’t even one of the younger disciples, mean to wage a proper contest against me?’
What nerve.
“Hah…”
“Young Master?”
“Ha. Hahahahahahahaha!”
Na Yul-ryang, who had been scowling moments earlier, suddenly burst into wild laughter.
Mo-yak could not hide his confusion.
If what Na Yul-ryang had said was true, this was an extremely grave development.
Then why was he laughing like this?
He had barely ever shown his teeth in laughter before.
Once the laughter finally stopped, Na Yul-ryang said,
“Not bad.”
“…What isn’t?”
-Shaaaaaa!
At that instant, an enormous presence and killing intent exploded from Na Yul-ryang’s body.
“He’ll be worth killing.”
At last, prey worthy of the hunt had appeared.
For the first time in a long while, Na Yul-ryang felt genuine competitive desire.
An enemy worthy of staking everything on and crushing had arisen from inside the society itself.
He had not felt this sort of exhilaration in a very long time.
Looking at Mo-yak, he said,
“From this moment on, I will enter the Nine Palaces Closed Chamber to recover and sharpen my senses again.”
“What? The Nine Palaces Closed Chamber?”
Mo-yak could not hide his surprise.
Recovery alone was expected, but entering the Nine Palaces Closed Chamber meant Na Yul-ryang intended to train in some fashion as well.
“It will not take long. While I am inside, you are to win over every remaining executive who still insists on neutrality.”
At those words, Mo-yak’s eyes lit up.
His lord’s injuries were severe enough that Mo-yak had secretly worried he might lose heart.
But there was no need for such worry.
If anything, Mok Gyeong-un had made a fatal mistake.
Until now, Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang had regarded the other disciples as no longer worthy opponents, so he had stopped expanding his own faction or keeping them in check.
Now, however, his lord had acknowledged Mok Gyeong-un as both prey and enemy.
For that bastard, it was the worst possible omen.
* * *
Meanwhile, at around the same time.
In a deep forest near Sangnyeong in Hunan Province.
Mok Gyeong-un, Seop Chun, Third Guard Captain of the main hall and one of the Five Tigers, and Mong Mu-yak, son of the Vice Society Leader, had been hurrying north by movement art for three straight days to arrive at the gathering point on time.
Since they had barely rested at all, they decided to camp here for the first time and save their strength.
After dividing up the tasks, they separated for a short while.
Because it had rained recently, the area was damp. Mong Mu-yak headed deeper into the forest to gather dry firewood. Mok Gyeong-un went hunting for food. Seop Chun stayed to tidy the campsite and prepare traps nearby in case something happened.
-Crack.
Mok Gyeong-un twisted the neck of the rabbit he had found.
For someone who had lived in the mountains for years, hunting at night was not difficult.
He already had two rabbits in his left hand.
-This should be enough, right?
-Yes. Rabbit meat… it’s been a while. I would not mind eating some again.
At Cheong-ryeong’s words, Mok Gyeong-un said,
-Really? Then should I knock one of them out for a while so you can possess them and eat?
-Oh? Shall I?
She had been stuck inside the wooden doll for too long and had been feeling cramped.
As in the days at Yeonmok Sword Manor, possessing someone for a short while and enjoying a meal did sound appealing.
With that settled, Mok Gyeong-un returned to the campsite they had chosen.
Seop Chun seemed used to such work, because the surrounding area had already been cleaned up well.
-Mong Mu-yak isn’t back yet.
He was probably still looking for dry wood.
With the trees soaked, it would not be easy to find proper branches.
Then,
-…Why is that bastard staring at you so burdeningly?
At Cheong-ryeong’s remark, Mok Gyeong-un tilted his head.
The reason was simple.
The moment Mok Gyeong-un appeared, Seop Chun had fixed him with a look and worn a suspiciously restless expression.
-Hm.
It did not look like hunger.
If he were simply hungry, he would have been staring at the rabbits Mok Gyeong-un had brought back.
-That fellow has been stealing glances at you for three straight days. Did you notice?
-Roughly, yes.
It would have been stranger not to notice with the way he kept looking.
Because of it, Mok Gyeong-un had been maintaining some level of caution in case Seop Chun had received a secret order from the Society Leader or the Vice Society Leader.
Then it happened.
Seop Chun glanced around, abruptly stood up, and started walking toward Mok Gyeong-un.
Whatever his intention was,
-Swish.
Mok Gyeong-un brought his index and middle fingers together into a sword-finger stance.
If Seop Chun tried anything unnecessary, it would be better to deal with him first.
But instead,
“Mok Gyeong-un.”
“What is it?”
Seop Chun came to within five paces, scratched his head awkwardly, and said,
“I’m not very good at saying things like this, especially to someone younger than me.”
“Saying what?”
“Yes. Going first and saying this to someone younger than me is a bit… well.”
“…What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Come on, don’t rush me like that. I said I’m embarrassed.”
“……”
What in the world was wrong with him?
While Mok Gyeong-un looked on in puzzlement, Seop Chun finally cleared his throat and said,
“Ahem. If you become the Society Leader’s disciple, won’t you need a loyal confidant worthy of being your right-hand man?”
‘!?’
End
© Hanjung Wolya