Read Novel Full Chapter 1233: That’s What They Say? (3)
Chapter 1233: That’s What They Say? (3)
“C-Captain!”
“Why the fuss?”
“T-The Commander has arrived!”
“What? Already?”
The Captain of the Ten Thousand People Clan’s Singular Troops, Gwak Bo, went pale.
“Weren’t they supposed to arrive after two more days?”
“That’s what I thought too...”
Gwak Bo hurriedly looked outside. They hadn’t finished preparing the ships bound for Southern Island, yet Ho Ga-Myung had already arrived, two days earlier than scheduled.
“H-How did this happen...”
Gwak Bo, staring blankly at the ships still under construction, suddenly jolted and shouted.
“This is no time for that! Where is the Commander now?”
“He just entered the outskirts!”
“Fall in! Everyone stop what you’re doing and fall in! The Commander is coming! What are you doing, you damned lot! Fall in at once!”
Hearing the word ‘Commander’, people panicked and rushed toward Gwak Bo. The commotion made the workers look up, confused, turning toward him.
“You keep working as you are! Do not stop!”
“Yes.”
The warriors of the Ten Thousand People Clan who gathered quickly lined up with tense faces, their gazes fixed on the forest path leading here.
Clack.
Thick beads of sweat ran down some faces, not just from the hot sun.
Singular Troops was originally responsible for the Ten Thousand People Clan’s operations. Together with the troops that served as Ho Ga-Myung’s hands, it could be considered a direct subordinate organization of Ho Ga-Myung.
It was only natural they were nervous; a direct superior had suddenly shown up earlier than planned.
“S-Stand properly!”
“Yes!”
The sound of someone swallowing dryly rang clearly.
Moments later, a group of armed men emerged along the path through the bushes ahead.
Step. Step. Step.
Ho Ga-Myung, leading the force, walked toward the shore at an unhurried pace.
In the deathly silence, Ho Ga-Myung’s gaze swept left to right. His face was icy beyond words, yet his eyes scrutinized every single thing happening on the shore without missing a thing.
“We greet the Commander!”
“We greet the Commander!”
The lined-up Singular Troops members fell to their knees and bowed in unison.
The Ten Thousand People Clan, now a formidable power ruling not just this Guangdong but the entire Southern Lands.
Even within it, only two could be paid such homage: the clan lord Jang Ilso and the Commander Ho Ga-Myung.
From that scene alone, it wasn’t hard to guess how firm Ho Ga-Myung’s position was within the Ten Thousand People Clan.
Gwak Bo lay flat and furtively tried to gauge Ho Ga-Myung. But his cold, unchanging expression made it difficult to read his thoughts.
“Captain.”
Then Ho Ga-Myung’s voice struck Gwak Bo like a blow to the ribs. Startled, Gwak Bo bowed his head even lower; white sand clung to his forehead, soaked with cold sweat.
“Report.”
“Yes, Commander! We’ve finished requisitioning the ships to Southern Island, and are currently building additional vessels as ordered. However... the recent weather hasn’t been good, so construction isn’t complete yet.”
Having said that, Gwak Bo kept his head low and only raised his eyes to check Ho Ga-Myung’s expression once more, then hurriedly lowered them.
“T-Two days! In two days the construction will be complete!”
Step.
At that moment, a small sound reached his ear. Realizing it was footsteps on the white sand, Gwak Bo curled his back and buried his head deeper.
Step.
Ho Ga-Myung’s foot stopped right in front of his head.
Sweat drenched Gwak Bo’s back and face.
“You said two days?”
Gwak Bo trembled and raised his head with a chalk-white face. Facing Ho Ga-Myung’s cold gaze felt like being pierced through.
“You have a talent for saying amusing words.”
“C-Commander...”
“I’ll ask again, Captain. What did I order?”
“You said... you would lead the forces to the clan in two days, so have all preparations for the Southern Island departure finished by then.”
“Yes. I said that clearly to everyone.”
As Gwak Bo swallowed, that cold voice reached his ear again.
“Didn’t that mean you were to finish the ships to match my arrival?”
“...”
“It seems the clan loosened up while the Alliance Lord was away. Seeing that the Captain’s head was filled with the complacent thought that finishing just his own work on time was enough...”
“P-Please kill me, Commander!”
Gwak Bo beat his head and kowtowed.
When people hear ‘Ten Thousand People Clan’, they usually think of Jang Ilso and his cruelty.
But the one most feared within the clan wasn’t actually Jang Ilso. To the typical clan members, Jang Ilso was a figure on a pedestal, admired but not someone who touched their daily lives.
Moreover, Jang Ilso didn’t concern himself with the minutiae, so most affairs weren’t reported to him. It was Ho Ga-Myung who managed the clan members in his stead.
In other words, it was Ho Ga-Myung, not Jang Ilso, who forged the Ten Thousand People Clan’s unusually meticulous system, ironically unlike the Evil Sect stereotype.
The clan’s enemies might fear Jang Ilso, but the clan members feared Ho Ga-Myung because it was Ho Ga-Myung, not Jang Ilso, who punished them.
“Tell me.”
Ho Ga-Myung’s voice sank into Gwak Bo’s ear again.
“What punishment is fitting for a Captain who failed to properly carry out orders from above?”
Gwak Bo bit his lip hard.
If it had been anyone else, he might have tried to excuse himself. But the Ho Ga-Myung he knew wasn’t one for excuses. Every order Ho Ga-Myung gave was issued after considering the executor’s ability, circumstances, and all possible variables, so no reason could be an excuse.
“A-According to the clan’s rules... for those lacking ability and failing to carry out even minor orders, demotion of position and...”
“Ability?”
At that moment Ho Ga-Myung’s voice sank further and squeezed Gwak Bo’s heart.
“Why is someone lacking ability sitting in the Captain’s seat?”
“C-Commander...”
“And was this truly caused by a lack of ability?”
Gwak Bo couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“While other clan members went to distant lands to face enemies for the clan, the one who stayed in the rear behaved as if he were a king, frolicking. If he had tried, he could have finished it days ago, yet he still clung to it.”
“...”
“Bring him.”
“Yes!”
No sooner had Ho Ga-Myung spoken than a scribe from the troops behind him drew a scroll from his bosom and offered it.
Ho Ga-Myung took it with a casual hand, unfurled it, and after silently checking the contents, tossed the scroll in front of Gwak Bo.
“Check it.”
“Th-This...”
With no further explanation, Gwak Bo picked up the scroll and read the trembling lines within.
Gwak Bo’s face immediately drained of color.
The scroll detailed, day by day, what Gwak Bo had done while Jang Ilso and Ho Ga-Myung were absent.
‘W-What on earth...’
These weren’t things discovered overnight. Conversely, it meant Ho Ga-Myung had placed surveillance on Gwak Bo in the rear even as he hurried to the Yangtze river.
“Anything you want to say?”
“C-Commander...”
“Did you have your fun?”
Ho Ga-Myung’s mouth twitched. To others it might look like a grimace, but to him it was a smile.
“While clan members bleed at the front, the one left behind didn’t even devote himself to support; he came and went to taverns and reveled with others.”
“S-Spare me, Commander.”
Gwak Bo slammed his forehead onto the ground. Excuses wouldn’t work. If he wanted to preserve his life, he had to admit everything and beg for mercy.
Ho Ga-Myung looked down at Gwak Bo with an impassive face.
“I don’t particularly hate someone like you. It’s too much to expect more from someone who was made that way.”
“...”
“But I am also the clan’s Commander. As you know, the lord hates the pig smeared with oil on a ship more than anything, especially the kind that sucks his comrades’ blood to fatten itself.”
“C-Comman...”
“Jang-Gan.”
“Yes! Commander.”
“Prohibit this one’s martial arts and whip him, then sentence him to six months’ hard labor.”
“Yes!”
“Seize all his accumulated wealth.”
“Yes!”
Gwak Bo, flattened on the ground, beat ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) his head and cried out.
“Thank you for your mercy! Commander!”
From one perspective it was harsh punishment for failing to finish the work on time.
Yet Gwak Bo was simply relieved. He knew this was an extremely merciful decree coming from Ho Ga-Myung.
But his relief was shattered by Ho Ga-Myung’s continuing words.
“And when his hard labor ends and you return him, cut the tendons in that useless leg of his.”
“C-Commander!”
At those thunderous words, Gwak Bo stared wide-eyed at Ho Ga-Myung in stunned disbelief. Ho Ga-Myung spoke coldly.
“He has energy to spare, so he indulges in foolishness. If he cannot walk on his own feet, he will focus on his work.”
“C-Commander! Commander! I was wrong! P-Please! Not that...! Commander!”
“Carry it out.”
“Yes.”
Those standing behind Ho Ga-Myung dragged the wailing Gwak Bo away.
The harrowing screams echoed along the shore, but Ho Ga-Myung did not so much as glance that way.
“Who is the deputy Captain?”
“I-I am, Commander.”
“Complete the shipbuilding without fail.”
“Yes! By, by two days...”
“You don’t seem to understand me. I said build them properly. No doubt you would have roughly finished them just to meet the deadline. Inspect from the start to ensure there are no problems with them and bring me a proper plan. If the ships have issues, you’ll be in a state where you want to die but cannot.”
“I-I will remember.”
Ho Ga-Myung’s gaze flicked to the workers. Tension sharpened in their hammering movements.
“We’re heading to the room.”
“Yes!”
As Ho Ga-Myung turned, Jang-Gan hurriedly followed.
“Commander. If you want to make an example, wouldn’t killing him be...”
“No need.”
Ho Ga-Myung cut him off as if there was no need to hear more.
“If a man has any use, there’s no need to kill him. Killing brings only fleeting satisfaction. What’s important is to make even such a man useful to the clan.”
“Please blame my ignorance for not understanding your counsel.”
Ho Ga-Myung moved on without answering.
“So that’s why the lord pays attention to the rear.”
Even the clan’s Captain, who knew better than anyone what Jang Ilso and Ho Ga-Myung were like, committed misdeeds the moment they were out of those two men’s sight. Imagine how the subordinates behaved.
If that Southern Island stirred up trouble even a little, many would either join in or use the chance to profit themselves.
“So they must be firmly put in order.”
Ho Ga-Myung glanced over and looked toward the distant Southern Island.
“Hmm?”
“...What is it?”
After a long moment of squinting at the sea in silence, Ho Ga-Myung shook his head slightly.
“No. Probably fish. Seems my nerves were on edge.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Relieve the workers.”
“...Yes?”
“A storm will hit soon.”
Surprised, Jang-Gan looked out to the distant sea. Indeed, the waves had grown quite high and dark clouds were rolling in far off.
The South Sea’s weather was notoriously fickle.
“The schedule may be delayed a bit.”
“A foreseen variable.”
Ho Ga-Myung said as if it were no big deal.
“Manage the ships under construction properly. This doesn’t seem like an ordinary storm.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind!”
Rumble!
Distant thunder faintly rolled. Ho Ga-Myung snorted a laugh.
“From Southern Island’s perspective, they’d wish that storm never ends.”
The smile at his lips was chillingly cold.