novelraw Chapter 73 : It's an Order (3)
Chapter 73 : It's an Order (3)
The name Namgung Mu-gwang was given to him by his father, the head of the Namgung family, with the meaning of becoming the light of martial arts.
Although he hated this name now, he had not hated it since he was young.
Namgung Mu-gwang was also born into a martial family, and he was the bloodline of the Sword King.
For Namgung Mu-gwang, who had grown up watching the best martial artists since he was young, becoming a master of the martial world was like a natural destiny.
Namgung Mu-gwang held a sword as soon as he could walk.
Since his bloodline was not going anywhere, the beginning was not bad.
However, the limit came quickly.
It had only been a little over a year since he had learned martial arts.
The gap between him and the people around him widened, and later, an insurmountable gap was created between him and the one who was ahead.
It was probably from then.
That Namgung Mu-gwang had let go of martial arts.
When he was young, he played outside the family, and when he grew up, he considered the brothel his home.
No one said anything about Namgung Mu-gwang's attitude.
Aside from the fact that he was the noble son of the Sword King, the Sword King himself did not pay much attention to Namgung Mu-gwang.
And so, in complete neglect, Namgung Mu-gwang let himself go even more.
As if in rebellion.
He drank all day, and when he woke up, he drank again.
He had slept with a woman yesterday, and as soon as he woke up, he was rolling around with a woman again.
In fact, Namgung Mu-gwang also hated himself for being like this.
Although he had become like this after being broken in learning martial arts, in his heart, he wanted to learn martial arts more than anyone else.
But no one suggested to Namgung Mu-gwang that he should try learning martial arts again.
It wasn't that he hadn't struggled to try learning martial arts again on his own. But his already broken body would not listen.
Moreover, his inferior talent compared to his brothers was not going anywhere.
And yet, in a corner of Namgung Mu-gwang's heart, it always existed.
I want to try again too.
I don't want to live like this.
I... want to learn martial arts too.
Namgung Mu-gwang was on his way back to the family at dawn after drinking all night today as well.
He was staggering, and his legs gave out, and he fell to the floor.
Just then, a shadow covered him. Namgung Mu-gwang forcibly shook off his drunkenness and raised his head to look at the owner of the shadow.
A familiar look of contempt was there.
It was his second older brother.
"You foolish fool!"
Unlike him, his second older brother was out for training from dawn.
A memory of training together, wanting to become like his older brother, came to mind, but soon, the memory sank deep into his memory due to his base and vile thoughts.
"Hehehe. So, older brother, can you surpass our first older brother by putting in that much effort?"
He didn't want to say it like this. No one in the Namgung family said anything harsh to him.
Everyone treated him as if he didn't exist, but only his second older brother still scolded him.
He didn't know if it was because he cared for him as a younger brother, or if it was for the sake of the family. What was certain was that he had already come too far to learn martial arts.
He couldn't go back to the old days now.
He could see his second older brother's face turning red at his words just now.
It seemed he had hit a nerve.
Although his heart ached, the tone and actions that came out were the exact opposite.
Cough! Spit!
Namgung Mu-gwang got up, performing a base action that only ruffians would do.
"Mind your own business. And worry about your own future."
Namgung Mu-gwang walked away with a swagger.
And after entering his room and confirming that no one was there, he sat down and covered his face.
"Fuck."
He was so disgusted with himself.
* * *
Namgung Mu-gwang, after letting go of martial arts, had wandered outside and had met many people, so his eye for people was not bad.
He didn't know if this could be called a talent, but when he saw someone, if he thought, 'Huh? This person, I feel like his personality will be strict,' ninety-nine out of a hundred times, their personality matched what he had thought.
Namgung Mu-gwang considered this ability of his to be truly insignificant.
Among the many abilities, to give him such a useless ability, he thought that the world had various ways of looking down on him, and he got up from the bed, holding his throbbing head.
When he woke up in his room at dawn, the sun was already setting outside.
Namgung Mu-gwang, as he usually did, came out to drink again.
And he met his second older brother again.
His second older brother was drenched in sweat.
It was obvious at a glance that he had been training from dawn until now.
Namgung Mu-gwang, seeing his brother's appearance and his own, bowed his head and walked, looking only at his own path.
Since he had said something harsh in the morning, his second older brother would leave him alone today.
"Are you going to hang out with the ruffians again?"
That was arrogance.
Namgung Mu-gwang scratched his matted hair, which he hadn't washed for two days, and to rinse his stuffy mouth, he gathered saliva from deep in his dantian and spat it at his brother's feet.
His older brother takes a step closer.
The saliva he had spat is stepped on by his brother's foot and disappears.
His older brother lightly pats his shoulder and passes by.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Namgung Mu-gwang, even after his second older brother's figure had disappeared, remained in that posture for a long time.
The people of the family pass by, gossiping about Namgung Mu-gwang. On the other hand, they send all sorts of praise to his second older brother.
Namgung Mu-gwang, after bowing his head for a long time, raised his head only after the people around him had disappeared.
Namgung Mu-gwang had a special talent that he had not told others about. It was that his intuition was better than others.
His outward appearance was the same.
His tone, actions, and habits were also unchanged.
But his intuition was telling him.
His second older brother... had changed.
Namgung Mu-gwang shook his head and walked to drink again.
"I must still be drunk."
To think such a thing.
After that, Namgung Mu-gwang would feel an unknown sense of displeasure whenever he met the people of the family.
At first, as in the case of his second older brother, he had thought that he was feeling it wrong because he was still drunk. But now that he had felt this sensation from various people and as the days passed, he could tell that something was going wrong.
Something was happening in the family.
No matter how much he had let go of martial arts and had lived his life throwing it away, Namgung Mu-gwang could not ignore this change. He had to let someone know.
Yes! Let's go to the head of the family.
Since he is the head of the family, called the Sword King, he might already be aware that something strange is happening in the family, but it wouldn't be bad for him to point it out once.
But he also knew that there was no way he would listen to him.
There was a higher possibility that he would not even meet him.
And yet, Namgung Mu-gwang headed to the head of the family's hall where the head of the family was.
It had been over 10 years since Namgung Mu-gwang had come to the head of the family's hall.
Everyone who saw Namgung Mu-gwang at the head of the family's hall looked surprised.
Some were whispering that Namgung Mu-gwang had finally caused a big trouble and had been summoned by the head of the family.
Namgung Mu-gwang just ignored such whispers. Even from his own point of view, his past actions could never be forgiven.
He had nothing to say even if he were to be punished.
Namgung Mu-gwang made a sound at the head of the family's hall and announced himself.
"It is Namgung Mu-gwang. I have come to see the head of the family."
"Come in."
It was the first time in 10 years that Namgung Mu-gwang had seen the Sword King... his father.
He felt a sense of tension and his body tensed up.
Creak.
As Namgung Mu-gwang opened the door and entered, the appearance of the head of the family's hall in his memory and the current appearance overlapped.
At the appearance that had not changed at all from that time, Namgung Mu-gwang for a moment had the illusion that he had returned to the past.
But upon discovering the head of the family, who did not even make eye contact with him and was just silently looking down at the documents, Namgung Mu-gwang returned to reality.
"I have something to say."
"Have you run out of money?"
"No."
"Then, have you caused some trouble outside?"
"No."
The Sword King continued to speak, his eyes still fixed on the documents.
"I'm busy, so just say what you have to say and leave."
Namgung Mu-gwang felt his heart grow cold at the cold reaction from his father.
His father had always been like that.
He was infinitely gentle to those with talent, and infinitely cold to those without talent.
Come to think of it, it was an incomprehensible action that he had been left alone despite having caused so much trouble.
Namgung Mu-gwang was about to talk about the sense of incongruity he had felt in the family for the past few days.
"Well, there..."
Just then, his father put down the documents he was looking at and raised his head to make eye contact with him.
It was the same cold gaze that had looked at him 10 years ago.
It was a face that had not changed at all compared to 10 years ago.
"...I've run out of money."
"I'll tell the chief steward, so go and get it."
"Yes. I understand."
Namgung Mu-gwang bowed his head and left the head of the family's hall. He also did not forget to receive a bundle of money from the chief steward on his way.
Namgung Mu-gwang's intuition was better than others.
That was the only special thing about Namgung Mu-gwang, who had nothing better than others.
The moment their eyes met, Namgung Mu-gwang felt the same sense of incongruity from his father that he had felt from his second older brother.
Something was happening in the family.
No! It had already happened.
He had to let someone know about this.
But considering Namgung Mu-gwang's past actions, there was no one in the family who would listen to him carefully.
It was obvious that if he talked about this, they would ignore him, saying he was talking nonsense.
The only person who would listen to him was his second older brother, but his second older brother was not an option.
Although his second older brother was his second older brother, his intuition was telling him that he was not his second older brother. The same went for his father.
Although his head could not understand that the two people had changed, his intuition was telling him so.
He had to let someone know about this somehow.
Then should he talk to the ruffians he usually hangs out with?
He had known for a long time that the reason they met and hung out with him was not out of true loyalty. It was purely because of the background that existed behind him, the fact that he was the third son of the Namgung family.
Even if they were to listen to him, he didn't think they would be of any help at this point.
In the end, what came to mind after going around in circles was his first older brother, who had recently returned.
Unlike his second older brother, his first older brother was a person who was somewhat difficult to approach.
His first older brother and he were complete opposites.
His first older brother had everything from birth.
The people around him called his first older brother a genius.
Even his father, the Sword King, was surprised when he saw his first older brother.
His first older brother had been chosen for the Suicide Squad and had left the family. And he had returned a while ago.
It was the first time he had met his first older brother since he was young.
Since he was a person who had been away from the family for a long time, he had a hope that he might listen to him.
Namgung Mu-gwang headed to the annex where his first older brother was.
His first older brother was not in the annex.
He could hear someone swinging a sword in the training ground behind the annex.
Namgung Mu-gwang headed to the training ground, and there, his first older brother was swinging a sword.
As he got closer, his skin tingled.
Crackle.
In the center of the training ground, although the weather was clear, something like a flash of lightning appeared and disappeared repeatedly.
He could tell the moment he saw it.
That each and every one of those was a sword strike.
To think that a light flashes from a sword, is he even human? It was just amazing.
I knew a martial art like that.
Perhaps that martial art is...
The Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.
His first older brother had been able to handle lightning qi since he was young.
That was the special thing his first older brother was born with.
It was a real thing, on a different level from his own shitty intuition.
The scattered flashes of light gather.
The flash disappears, and his older brother reveals himself from within.
He looks at me and says the first words.
"You're still alive?"
Fortunately, his older brother was the same as in the old days.
Therefore, the moment he met him, he frowned.
"To think you've survived until now with your meager skills. You should have just died, youngest."
My intuition had never been wrong.
My older brother was a fucking asshole.
(End of Chapter)