Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: No Choice! Protagonist Drop!
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No choice!
Protagonist drop!
“Heok!
Keheok!
Eueueok!”
His heart and lungs felt like they were about to burst, and a fishy taste of blood welled up in his throat.
He desperately wanted to collapse right there and catch his breath, but Viscount Konean couldn’t stop.
If he stopped, he’d die.
“Damn it!
Damn it aaaall!
What the hell is that bastard?!”
It had been one hell of a tangled day.
The young lord of Klauzen, just passing through, gets suddenly ambushed and wounded.
Afraid he might get suspected as the culprit behind it, he brings the guy into his territory to check on his condition—only for the young lord to barge straight into the castle and start pressuring him with, “I know everything, so spit it out already.”
When he floated the idea of a deal, figuring the guy just wanted to buy some slaves!
He even gave him a tour of the slave market, and then the bastard pulls this absurd line: “Yeah, got a good look. Now cough up the cash.”
“Up to that point, it was fine.
Up to that point!”
Sure, he’d shelled out a massive sum, but he didn’t see it as a total disaster.
He’d forged a connection with Klauzen, after all. If they really took an interest in his market and offered protection, it’d be like handing him a massive shield.
But just ten minutes ago.
One man had burst in out of nowhere, and the world had turned upside down.
“Uaak!”
“Keoheok!”
It was only a viscountcy, but Viscount Konean had always poured everything into building up his forces—just in case the slaves ever rose up en masse.
Thanks to that, he’d assembled three mid-tier knights, fourteen low-tier knights, and over a hundred soldiers who could reliably wield mana.
They weren’t bound by loyalty, just coin, but for keeping the slave market stable, that armed might was essential. So he’d equipped them thoroughly and drilled them relentlessly.
It was a substantial force with real skill to back it up—one that’d get him hauled off for treason the second the royal castle caught wind of it.
They could’ve subdued the entire slave population without killing a soul.
“But what the hell is this!
God!
Please!”
Viscount Konean was still utterly dumbfounded.
Mid-tier knights rarely lost to anyone short of a high-tier one.
They were the real deal—experts who didn’t just dump all their mana into attacks but used it smartly for defense, breathing, and everything else.
And yet those three mid-tier knights had gone down to a single swing of that man’s blade.
They’d thrown knightly honor out the window and rushed him three-on-one just to kill him—and still couldn’t take him.
What’s more, the man had deliberately spared their lives.
Like foes of that caliber weren’t even worth killing.
“Kekeke… Ahaha!
Trash acts like trash, no matter where you go!
Ahahaha!”
The blood-drenched man let out a mad cackle.
One look at those eyes, and Viscount Konean bolted without a backward glance.
Madness. Zeal for slaughter. A chill that pierced to the bone.
“Block him!
Block him, I said!”
Deep down, the viscount knew it was impossible.
This was a monster who’d dropped three mid-tier knights in one blow.
Telling regular humans to fight that thing? Might as well toss them straight into its jaws.
“Keok!”
“Kkeak!”
The man wasn’t even swinging his sword anymore.
He switched it to his left hand, cocked his right fist, and started turning the charging low-tier knights and soldiers into pulp.
Crack!
Crunch!
Snap!
Bones shattering. Flesh tearing. Blood spraying.
They weren’t rushing in naked—thick leather armor, chain mail, even plate for the knights.
A perfect armed force, bristling with spears and swords.
They could’ve held a full wall line in a territorial skirmish.
But against that fist, leather-clad grunts and plate-armored knights alike crumpled equally.
Swords came flying—he batted them aside with his fist. Spears thrust in—he blocked them with his fist.
And somehow, that man hadn’t taken so much as a scratch. Not a single drop of blood.
“Keok!”
Even the last man standing had his jaw smashed and dropped unconscious.
The man stared at his gore-soaked fist for a moment, then turned and strode after Viscount Konean’s fleeing direction.
Tap, tap, tap—.
Three steps, and the gap closed in an instant.
No matter how hard the viscount ran, the distance never widened. He kept up the desperate game of tag for his life.
“Keoheok!
Keoheuk!”
In the end, the viscount hit his limit first.
Gasping raggedly, instinct screamed to hide somewhere the monster couldn’t see. He ducked into a building.
Fake jewels and garish clothes everywhere—a warehouse stacked with outfits and accessories for dolling up异族 slaves.
“Heook!
Heook!”
He prayed the guy would miss him and chase some other lead, clamping a hand over his mouth as he shook uncontrollably.
Most of the异族 women dragged here had trembled just like this.
He’d never realize that the ones he’d sold had cowered in this exact terror.
“Please go, please go!
Please!”
He prayed and prayed and prayed some more.
If he could escape this nightmare—if he could just flee from here with all his limbs intact—he’d do anything. Anything at all.
He begged God for it.
But God didn’t exist.
Kwaaang!
“Heok!”
A hole exploded right through the wooden door.
That thick slab of solid oak, tough enough to shrug off most spears and blades, lay in splinters.
And punching through it was the monster’s right hand, drenched in the blood of the viscount’s private guards.
Swipe—.
The monster withdrew his hand and peeked inside.
“…”
Eyes that flickered with killing intent one moment, went dead as a corpse the next, then exploded with emotions too vile to name.
Eye contact hit, and Viscount Konean couldn’t even scream—just “Kueeuh…” as his body quaked.
“Got you, bastard.”
The words were flat, almost playful. The voice was anything but.
It grated like a blade scraping over steel—pure chills.
“Eueueu!
Eueueu!”
The viscount collapsed and scrambled back, but there was nowhere left to run.
The monster smashed the doorknob to bits too, shoved the door open, and stepped inside slow and steady.
That was when Viscount Konean knew it in his gut.
If he didn’t do something—anything—he was dead for sure.
That monster would kill him, no question.
“…”
Cornered with no escape.
The monster finally spoke, slow and deliberate.
“You lot had a blast playing with other people’s lives. But put your own on the chopping block, and it’s all panic and screams.
I loved that.
Shoving guys thrashing to survive straight into hell.”
“Sp-spare me!
Don’t know who you are, but please, don’t do this!”
“Yeah.
Always the same line.
Ever spared one of them? Let one go?”
Pook!
“Eok?
Kk, kaaaaak!”
A searing burn shot through his leg, followed by wave after wave of agony.
Viscount Konean stared at the sword tip buried in his thigh, eyes wide with terror, fixed on the monster before him—Kim Yuhyun.
“Pl-please!
M-money! Any amount!
Just my life! Spare my life!
Please!”
“To the bitter end, you’re weighing lives in coin.”
Kuuuk!
The blade ground deeper through skin and fat. Lightning cracked through the viscount’s skull.
Vision flashed white. Breath caught. Words died.
Who’d ever dream of sticking a blade in a noble officially ennobled by the royal family?
“I half-killed every bastard outside.
Scum just like you. But wiping them all out would make me no better.
Can’t have that.”
“Kueuk!
Keuheuk!”
“So I left half dead.
Their lives are theirs now. They cling on with sheer grit and survive—or lack even that and turn to corpses.”
Ssuuk!
Spurt!
Kim Yuhyun yanked the sword free rough. Blood sprayed from the wound.
The viscount wailed, “Kaaaaak! I’m dying!” But it stirred no guilt in Kim Yuhyun.
If anything, the smile curling his lips deepened—like he was enjoying it more.
“Now, let’s see what kind of trash you are.”
Kim Yuhyun’s sword rose slow.
No instant kill, but a crippling wound all the same. No light tap.
Sensing it, Viscount Konean screamed whatever came to mind in blind fury.
“Kaaak!
You bastard!
Think you’ll walk away from this!
The royals will hunt you down!
Whatever I did, only the crown can punish an official noble!
You’re spitting on every noble’s pride and the royal authority!”
“…”
“The second you harm me, you’d better run from this kingdom.
Unless you wanna be chased to your grave…”
“Fuck off.”
He knew his body wasn’t normal.
He could feel it in his bones: this world’s swordsmen outclassed most warriors from his old one, thanks to their mana.
Turn the whole kingdom against him, and even he’d face a lonely, grueling fight.
“But.”
It didn’t matter.
He’d always been alone.
Fought alone. Wept alone for the dead.
Came this far alone.
So whatever he did alone now? Didn’t faze him.
The light drained from Kim Yuhyun’s eyes.
The blaze of rage and murder intent snuffed out in a heartbeat.
All that remained: hollow, dead-fish eyes.
At the same instant, his sword arced upward.
“A, no!”
Viscount Konean cried out in vain. The blade flew merciless toward him.
Chaeng!
Kakakakak!—
“…Kuwk.”
Sparks flew. Metal screamed on metal.
The strike meant for Viscount Konean hung blocked mid-air—by another blade.
Kim Yuhyun stared at the scene a beat, then slowly turned his head.
“Move.”
“Step back, Sir Yuhyun.”
“Won’t say it twice.
Move.”
“…”
Rishika doubled down on her grip like she couldn’t.
She had both hands on her sword; he only one. Yet she was giving ground inch by inch. Shocked, she played it cool.
Flames reignited in Kim Yuhyun’s eyes.
Warned and still not budging? Enemy. He was about to unleash murder intent on her too—
“Enough.”
A handsome young man appeared, entourage in tow.
Kim Yuhyun eyed them a moment, then spoke slow.
“You, who shot down every reason to get involved—why show up here, Young Lord Sion?”
“Figured you’d pull something like this. Came to check.
What other reason?”
“You knew. And didn’t stop it.
Almost like you were hoping I would.”
Sion shrugged at Kim Yuhyun’s words—like, think what you want.
“Send this woman away.
Or I cut her down with him.”
“Cut the crap and step back.
Unless you wanna see her bleed.”
“No regrets with those words?”
“You got none?
The instant that sword moves, you’re hit with noble assault. Royal hunt order.
Everyone tied to you gets eyes on them too.
You really dragging your master Raido into danger?
Lucia?”
“...!”
Raido’s name twisted Kim Yuhyun’s face.
One thing he wouldn’t budge on: devotion to his master. Same as any disciple. Especially after his time in the martial world—master-disciple bonds hit different.
“Up to now, you can slide. But push further? No.
Viscount Konean’s an official royal noble—fief and title granted.
Go beyond personal beef and harm him more, it gets real messy.
For you. Your master. Lucia. Everyone connected.”
And me too, you fuck!
So drop the sword already and glare with those dead-fish eyes!
Sion prayed Kim Yuhyun would back off.
He loathed killing—figured it’d be a light smackdown at worst. But the path here was littered with mashed knights and soldiers.
Not outright kills, but heavy wounds. Some already cold.
“That pissed shows how mad Yuhyun is.
Please just stop here and back off already.”
He’d lobbed a standard tactic nuke. Turned out to be “Surprise! Tsar Bomba!”
Calm down and back off, back off, back off! Sion chanted it like a mantra.
“…”
Mercifully, Kim Yuhyun clearly hated the idea of Raido or Lucia paying for his actions. He lowered his sword and stepped back.
With the powerhouse yielding, Rishika let out a relieved breath and cleared a path for Sion.
Meanwhile, the trembling Viscount Konean perked up at the monster retreating and Sion arriving. He tried to stand, flopped back from the wound—but grinned ear to ear anyway and opened his mouth.
“Si-Sion, Young Lord!
Th-thank you!
Truly grateful!
You saved me.
You…”
“Money.”
“…Pardon?”
“You said you’d pay to keep your life.
I saved you instead. Time to settle the bill.”
“Wh-what do you…”
“Wanna die?”
He’d just shoved Yuhyun away to prevent harm—now this?
Viscount Konean blinked like he couldn’t compute.
Sion flashed a smile more devilish than the monster’s.
“Harming you’d be trouble, sure.
But what if you repented your sins… and suicided?
No issue there, right?”
“E-eh?”
“Exactly.
Don’t wanna get ‘suicided,’ pay up quick, customer.”
In that moment, Viscount Konean knew it crystal clear.
The man who’d saved him from the monster’s clutches was a devil far worse.