Chapter 141
Chapter 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Even 13 Regressions is Total Bullshit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I grabbed the shoulder of the mid-rank knight making that bizarre noise.
The guy's name was Chilgeukseong, the seventh knight among the Cross Stars, and his specialty was wielding those twin swords with complete freedom.
Gonghyeok slammed Chilgeukseong straight into the ground with all his might.
Chilgeukseong's armor crumpled pathetically like a tin can.
Samgeukseong's massive scythe plunged into Gonghyeok's gut while Sageukseong's mace targeted his back.
Stab—
The scythe just barely nicked the edge of his abdomen.
These were transcendent-grade monsters, after all.
Each of their weapons was comparable to SS-rank, and with a solid skill set, they could've gone toe-to-toe with Christina or Imir one-on-one.
"Oh."
Thud! Thud!
Sageukseong, coming up from behind, hammered away at Ju Gonghyeok's head with his mace.
Ju Gonghyeok wiped a bit of blood trickling from his forehead and muttered.
"Ow, ow, that hurts, you punk."
Divine Horse Law: Return Kick. Storm City-Shattering Leg.
Boom—
Their bodies caved in from the light-speed roundhouse, embedding into the cliff face.
Next, he seized Samgeukseong, who had shoved that scythe deeper into his gut.
"You get flattened too."
Crunch, crackle.
He crushed the guy with pure physical strength.
First, its torso and legs flattened until they were indistinguishable.
Then he gathered the crumpled Chilgeukseong from the ground and mashed it together with the flattened one.
The clay-like mush of Samgeukseong and Chilgeukseong rolled silently across the floor in voiceless screams.
M swallowed hard as he watched the already shattered transcendent-grade monsters.
"As expected of Ju Gonghyeok. Two of us aren't even enough to be a warm-up."
"Well, nothing new there."
Ju Gonghyeok glanced at him lightly and asked.
"Got anything else?"
M shook his head.
"Then I'll gladly take these. Nice vessels."
The ten suits of armor vanished into the subspace of the holy knight-summoning holy summoner.
Each one was top-tier humanity-level strength; raise their ranks, and they'd make fine holy knights down the line.
'Oh no, this is bad.'
M subtly signaled E.
The signal to abandon him and escape alone.
As an assassin by trade, E left no traces for Ju Gonghyeok to follow.
But carrying M along for a two-person spatial leap had left a trail.
Without baggage like him, E could escape via the Dimensional Clown's spatial jumps, or so he thought.
E nodded after their silent exchange.
As he prepared to flee solo, Ju Gonghyeok chuckled.
"No need to chicken out. I'm just gonna let you go."
E's face twisted in surprise at the unexpected response.
"Why?"
"Why the shock? Truth is, if I'd put my mind to it, I could've torn this whole city apart and killed every last one of you."
"......"
It was the truth.
Even if it took months or years, methodically searching via the GM would've let him track down and kill at least some of them, if not all the future folk.
Back then, he'd held back to avoid souring relations with other cities or offending their top hunters on first meetings.
But now, transcendentally stronger, he had no such reservations.
Still, he hadn't.
"But that'd be no fun. You guys have your charms, after all."
Ju Gonghyeok turned toward Deserto and asked.
"You lot could've killed Christina but let her live, right?"
With Marcus's help infiltrating the relief team, they could've assassinated any hunter they wanted.
Starting with his allies like Soma or Ha Yeonsi, up to Christina herself.
E, who had stayed silent, finally spoke softly.
"She is......"
"That's why I'm letting you off."
Gonghyeok crouched down to meet their eyes.
"You keep saying it's for humanity, for the world. So go on, contribute to humanity like you claim. I'll keep a close eye on how hard you work."
Ju Gonghyeok's eyes sparkled with excitement, like an audience awaiting a blockbuster or a kid watching a stag beetle in a jar.
M let out a bitter sigh.
"Heh, fine. We'll gratefully accept your mercy."
"Oh, right."
Ju Gonghyeok picked up a rock from the ground.
Crush!
M's head exploded.
"That guy's smile was too damn sleazy."
Pure prank.
Just hoping to rile E up, get him angry.
But E felt something different.
"You're stronger than anyone I've ever seen."
His body vanished in a spatial leap, leaving only an afterimage of his voice.
"That chilling strength is beautiful in its own way. I wonder what it'll feel like to kill you."
E was already gone, but Gonghyeok waved anyway.
"New assassination attempts are always welcome."
His knees bent again, launching him skyward in a leap.
[The future folk 'M' has died.]
[Reward: 1 White Coin granted.]
[Remaining: 8/13.]
Ju Gonghyeok casually messaged the GM.
"Avatar slots to two digits, simultaneous summons to 4."
[Confirmed.]
[Expanding privileges with 1 Black Coin and 2 White Coins.]
[Avatar slots expanded, remaining 6/8.]
[Simultaneous 3-avatar summons expanded to 3/4.]
As he wrapped things up, Ju Gonghyeok eyed Marcus.
The man who'd tried to kill Sigmund was visibly pissed.
"Ju Gonghyeok, weren't we collaborators? Interfering like this isn't cool."
They each had dirt on the other.
The fact that he'd killed Rosario member Liang Xian.
Marcus was picking off his own Rosario comrades one by one.
All to mold his mother Christina into his ideal form.
"Sir Marcus—or just Marcus. Wrong guy to threaten."
"It's not a threat......"
"Then I'll threaten you. Go ahead, tell Christina you killed Liang Xian. Who do you think gets screwed? You or me?"
Marcus faltered at the attitude, so different from their last meeting.
Back when they'd teamed up to corner Liang Xian, Gonghyeok had been brash but hadn't treated him like a joke.
Yet after killing Liang Xian and returning from the 20th floor, everything had changed.
"What, you mad 'cause I'm like this? Tough luck. I could make the whole world my enemy and still thrive. You, Teacher Christina—doesn't matter."
And indeed, things were different now compared to then.
He'd planned a quick in-and-out to off Liang Xian, but suddenly the archduke demon had meddled weirdly.
Thanks to that, in the demon's worst-mission setup, an assassin and humanity's top hunter Imir were both gunning for Gonghyeok's head.
Ju Gonghyeok had panicked at the unprecedented mission and situation...
But he'd talked them down and sent them packing.
'Well, sweet-talked the archduke into leaving, killed and looted the heavenly knight he brought as a bonus, sweet-talked Imir into an ally, sweet-talked Lilianne into...'
End of story.
He'd scored rewards, boosted his stats by 300-400 in one go—now he could crush most special skills or avatars barehanded.
So yeah, with that context, he wanted to tell Marcus to piss off if he was gonna whine.
'But I need him till the 40th floor. Guess I'll play nice.'
Ju Gonghyeok smiled faintly to soothe Marcus.
"Why the long face? Sorry, sorry. Got a bit harsh there. You were threatening 'interfere and you're done,' so I got offended. My bad."
"An apology's not the point......"
"Don't be like that. I respect your plan, after all."
Ju Gonghyeok whispered softly into his ear.
"It's just a matter of timing."
After a few words with Marcus, Gonghyeok dragged Sigmund toward Deserto's center.
"Why did you help me?"
Ju Gonghyeok exhaled smoke from his mouth as usual and replied.
"Because you're gonna be the worst villain."
Sigmund stayed calm despite the cryptic answer.
"Is that because I'll become your ally?"
"Why think that?"
"The future folk saw me as less of a threat than you."
Gonghyeok's face lit up with interest.
"Huh. So you knew they were future folk."
"I met the fake Liang Xian in Deus. Marcus and I suspected. Later, another future folk joined my side."
"Oh, that's surprising."
Ju Gonghyeok laughed genuinely, delighted.
"Why make me an ally?"
"Because you've got real power hidden. The kind that could unravel this doomed world with ease."
"I see. Glad tidings."
"Damn right. And Sigmund, you..."
Ju Gonghyeok smiled at the crowd gathering in the plaza to welcome him and continued.
"...have to die on the 30th floor."
Refugees poured from buildings, tears streaming as they grasped his hands.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you for saving us."
Ju Gonghyeok kindly clasped their hands.
And thought:
'No need for thanks.'
A hunter approached with his pregnant wife.
"Thanks to you, I could protect my wife and child."
"Could you tell us your name? We'd like to name our baby after you."
Ju Gonghyeok smiled warmly and thought:
'No need to name it. You, your wife, and the daughter you're having—all gonna die.'
The surviving knights of the knight order knelt before him.
"We'll never forget Lord Ju Gonghyeok's grace."
"No, if you'll allow it, we wish to serve you as our lord."
"Our entire knight order lives and dies for you alone."
Ju Gonghyeok accepted their oaths and thought:
'Perfect. No guilty conscience when I kill you.'
System messages rang out.
['Rescued 40,000 Refugees' quest completed.]
[S-rank Merit 'Trust of Ten Thousand' created.]
[From Christina on down, many now look at you differently.]
[Special Merit 'Trust of Ten Thousand' upgraded to 'Praised Hero (SS)'.]
[True hero, your fame echoes throughout Babel.]
Amid the gratitude, tears, praises, and awe, he thought:
'You're all gonna die.'
It was true in the past, and it would be now.
He could use the U.SSS-grade city-sacrifice item Clear Walls and Wild Fields, or toss them into the beastkin or machine god realms as bait.
'No human in Babel survives.'
That was Ju Gonghyeok's absolute decree.
[-S-rank Flaw 'Human-Killing Demon' created.]
[-S-rank Flaw 'Murderous Omen Dreaming of Slaughter' created.]
Unheard messages rang as Ju Gonghyeok became lord of two grand cities.
And one year passed.