The Beggar Young Master of the Namgung Clan

Gurgle—

Namgung Hae was walking through the forest, holding his pants and leaking a little.

'Ugh... Did I really eat something bad? Why is my stomach acting up like this...!'

His stomach had been in an uproar for a while now.

It felt as if a loan shark had come to collect a debt and was knocking on the door mercilessly from the inside.

If he let his guard down even a little, it felt as if the forbidden door would swing wide open, regardless of his will.

Tremble— Tremble—.

If he could, he wanted to stretch his legs wide and run.

But contrary to his wishes, his legs did not move as he wanted.

If he suddenly spread his legs, strength would go into the other side at that moment, so Namgung Hae had no choice but to move forward little by little with a narrow stride like a crawling grub.

Rumble—!

A thunderous sound was heard.

Although it wasn't actually thunder, to Namgung Hae, it felt as if a sound comparable to it had been heard from his stomach.

'N-no more, this is the limit...!'

Even in this urgent moment, Namgung Hae checked his surroundings.

Although it was little by little, he had walked quite a long way, so the figures of the other students were no longer visible.

Swoosh—.

At this point, it seemed that the sound and smell would not reach the students.

How urgent was he? Namgung Hae carelessly threw his sword, which was like his alter ego, to the side, pulled down his pants, and squatted down.

"Hup—!"

Now, there was no need to hold it in anymore.

The moment he released the strength that had been holding him back, the brats who had been knocking on the door mercilessly from the inside finally showed themselves to the world.

"Haaah..."

At that moment, Namgung Hae's expression became slack, as if he had gone to paradise.

A sense of liberation that he had never experienced in his life.

To think that he would feel happiness from something like this... Namgung Hae felt as if he had opened his eyes to something new.

"Hoo— that was good."

Heaven and hell that had come and gone in a short time.

Namgung Hae muttered to himself as if he were proud of himself for enduring until the end.

'Let's see.'

Now, only the cleanup was left.

Namgung Hae looked around while squatting to find something suitable to wipe with.

'This should do for wiping.'

Just then, leaves a little smaller than his palm were growing nearby.

Namgung Hae picked the leaves with his hand, folded them into several layers, and reached his hand towards his buttocks.

'I need to wipe some more.'

Thinking that, the moment he reached his hand again towards the side where the leaves had grown, Namgung Hae discovered something and tilted his head.

"...?"

Now that he looked, there was something between the bushes.

Was a wild animal perhaps hiding inside?

Namgung Hae unconsciously reached out his hand and pushed aside the bushes that were covering the inside.

"..."

"..."

What... on earth is this?

He had pushed aside the bushes, thinking it was a wild animal, but what was inside the bushes was none other than a person.

And a brat who was covering his face below the nose with a mask and whose skin around his eyes was blue as if he were wearing makeup... a very suspicious-looking brat at a glance.

"Kuh..."

"..."

"Aaaack—!"

As soon as he pushed aside the bushes, a strange brat was staring at him.

Namgung Hae looked at the person for a moment with a blank face, but soon let out a scream, startled.

Stagger—.

Startled while squatting, Namgung Hae's body also lost its balance and swayed violently.

His figure, which was heading back as if he were about to sit down.

As they say, humans exert superhuman strength in a moment of crisis. Namgung Hae realized what was behind him and put strength in his legs the moment he was about to fall.

Phat—!

Thanks to the strength in his legs, he was fortunately able to avoid falling on it.

But the strange man who was still hiding between the bushes and looking this way.

Namgung Hae hurriedly pulled up his pants and got up from his seat.

"Wh-what on earth are you!"

"..."

"What are you doing, watching someone poop in a place like that!"

Namgung Hae shouted towards the bushes.

At that moment, the bushes shook, and the strange man finally showed himself completely.

Although his face was covered so he could not confirm it properly, Namgung Hae could tell that the strange man was a man by looking at his body shape.

'D-don't tell me... it's not a remnant of the Blood Dragon Cult, is it?'

Such a thought flashed through Namgung Hae's mind.

Because most of the brats who wore something on their faces or covered them like that were of that kind of people.

Although he could not understand why a remnant of the Blood Dragon Cult was in a place like this, he did not have the leisure to think about the reason now.

Swish—.

Namgung Hae first tried to draw his sword and be wary of his opponent.

But Namgung Hae's right hand, which was fumbling in vain, having lost its target.

Only then did Namgung Hae realize that there was no sword at his waist now.

'Wh-why is there no sword!'

At that moment, Namgung Hae's gaze turned to the spot where he had been sitting earlier.

To be precise, a little to the side of that.

Realizing that his sword was lying there, Namgung Hae's face turned pale.

'Wh-when I pulled down my pants...'

He had put his sword there so that it would not be in the way.

Normally, he would have always carried it with him... but who would have expected an enemy to appear while he was pooping?

Although it was a rather unfair part, he could not ask the enemy to take his situation into consideration for that.

'Wh-what should I do?'

The sword was placed closer to the strange man than to him.

Because of that, even if he were to try to pick up the sword now, the possibility that the strange man would strike first was high.

'No... let's be calm. I'm Namgung Hae of the Namgung Clan!'

Even without a sword, he could perform basic fist techniques.

With that much, wouldn't he be able to easily deal with a remnant of the Blood Dragon Cult?

It seemed better to face the enemy with his bare hands rather than rashly trying to grab the sword.

Squeeze—.

As soon as he made up his mind, Namgung Hae clenched his fists.

The strange man, who had come out of the bushes and was not showing any movement in his spot until then.

The first to strike wins. Namgung Hae moved his legs first before the strange man could move.

Phat—.

Namgung Hae's figure quickly narrowed the distance with the strange man.

As the distance got closer to some extent, Namgung Hae threw a punch with all his might towards his face.

He was planning to first take off that mask that was covering his face with this one blow.

'Be prepared! Remnant of the Blood Dragon Cult!'

If he defeated a remnant of the Blood Dragon Cult, the other students would surely be surprised.

Not only that, but wouldn't his family also praise him to the fullest?

Even at the moment he was throwing a punch, Namgung Hae was having such a happy imagination in his heart.

However.

Swish—.

Unlike what he had expected, Namgung Hae's fist swung through the air.

At the same time, his feet left the ground, and Namgung Hae's figure floated in the air.

The strange man was grabbing Namgung Hae's outstretched arm with both hands and was throwing him back.

Splat—.

"Uh...?"

A very unpleasant sound was heard in his ears.

The strange man also seemed to have belatedly realized what was in the place where he had thrown Namgung Hae.

"Kuh..."

Although his pants and back were covered in a lot of stuff, Namgung Hae still did not seem to have noticed that.

Rather than that, the impact of being thrown to the ground seemed to be quite considerable, and he was tossing and turning as if in pain.

"..."

The strange man was looking down at him.

If he struggled there, it seemed he would be in a state where he could no longer turn back...

Since this situation itself was not what the strange man had intended, even though he was hidden by a mask, a rather troubled expression was visible.

Crackle—.

It was then.

As a countless presence was felt from the front, the strange man turned his head that way.

"...!"

With Jegal Myeong at the front, the other students were running this way.

The movement that had stopped as if they had also discovered the strange man from that side.

Although Jegal Myeong already knew of the strange man's existence, the other students could not hide their surprise at the strange man who had suddenly appeared.

'Is that brat that strange man?'

Just by looking, he was a brat who felt very suspicious.

A similar appearance to what he had heard from the woman earlier.

Jegal Myeong was now convinced that the opponent in front of him was the strange man who had attacked the other students.

"...!"

Just then, Jegal Myeong belatedly discovered Namgung Hae, who was lying on the floor.

A situation where he had no choice but to think that that strange man had attacked Namgung Hae.

Although he had not easily believed the story that the students had been taken down by the strange man when he had heard it earlier, seeing this sight now, it seemed he had no choice but to believe those words.

"...What on earth is your identity?"

"..."

"No, rather than that, release the hostage first."

Although the strange man's identity was his identity, for now, saving Namgung Hae, who was in front of him, was the top priority.

While the other students were flustered and could not say anything, only Jegal Myeong maintained his composure and said so.

"What will you do if I don't want to?"

"...What?"

"If you want to save him, save him with your own hands."

The strange man opened his mouth for the first time and said so.

At that moment, a question appeared in Jegal Myeong's eyes.

This voice... he felt he had heard it somewhere, but he could not immediately think of where he had heard it.

'No... rather than that, saving Namgung Hae is the priority first!'

Jegal Myeong thought so inwardly and was about to draw his sword.

However.

Screech—.

The strange man had already drawn his sword and was aiming it at Namgung Hae.

Seeing that, Jegal Myeong, who was about to draw his sword, had no choice but to stop his movement in the middle.

"You should remember that there is a hostage here. It would be better not to act rashly."

"...You cowardly brat, fight me fair and square!"

"I don't want to. Why should I?"

"If you lay a hand on the hostage, you won't be safe either."

As Jegal Myeong said that, the strange man smiled wickedly as if it were ridiculous.

"I am a body that has already been branded as a public enemy of the martial world! It's nothing for me to kill one of you brats here!"

"...!"

Hearing those words, not only Jegal Myeong, but the other students' eyes could not help but widen.

To think that a public enemy of the martial world would really appear in a situation like this.

If those words were true, the strange man was a brat who would not hesitate to kill Namgung Hae.

"You brat... don't tell me you killed all the other students?"

"Hehe."

"Answer me!"

"Don't worry. They're all alive."

"..."

"Of course, I'm also holding the other students captive. So if you don't follow my words, I don't know what will happen to their lives either."

The strange man said, letting out a creepy laugh.

Although there was a possibility that those words were not true, hearing that the students were alive, Jegal Myeong let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

'No... it's too early to be relieved.'

Not only Namgung Hae, who was captured now, but also the safety of the other students could not be said to be safe.

If he attacked first, Namgung Hae's safety would be in danger, and if he just let him go, the lives of the other students would be in danger.

Since it was a real battle, not a training, Jegal Myeong could not move rashly.

"...?"

At that moment, Jegal Myeong discovered someone behind the strange man.

A person who was hiding his body on a tree and looking this way.

Shh—

There, Tang Il-yeong was sending a signal to Jegal Myeong as if to be quiet.

(End of Chapter)