Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Daidai
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The culprit was Klaus.
When the Judgment Window pinpointed Romania as the mastermind behind the nuclear incident, everyone froze in shock.
"Whoa, he denied it so vehemently, and it turned out to be Romania after all?"
"The one who farted was the one getting mad?"
"A secret illegal experiment? What the hell was that about..."
"No, whatever it was. How do you even think to fire a nuke at a neighboring country..."
The presidents of the bordering nations whispered in disbelief.
Some wanted to shout their condemnation loudly.
But...
Whooooosh...
The conference room was dominated by the rankers' overwhelming, murderous auras, forcing them to mutter in barely audible voices.
"Hmm."
The Judgment Window shifted its gaze from Klaus.
This time, it turned to the other bordering nations' presidents.
"The rest of you are clean. Some of you could use a bit of repentance... but nothing worth judging."
Whoosh!
Zhang Wei swung the spear again, pointing at Klaus.
"The only one to judge is that trash."
"Are you sure?"
Kim Jin-ah asked in a cold voice.
He replied immediately.
"Absolutely. He's the ringleader who fired the nuke at my comrade."
"Understood."
Kim Jin-ah accepted his words.
"Got it."
She nodded.
Step by step.
She walked toward the center of the hall where the presidents sat.
Behind her, the Star Heaven Earth rankers lined up in a row.
They stood tall.
And soon.
Kim Jin-ah stopped about five meters away and bowed her head gracefully.
"First of all, I sincerely apologize for suspecting the innocent."
Though not a ranker herself, her voice carried immense dignity.
Even before the many rankers.
As the representative voice of Star Heaven Earth, there was not a single flaw.
"Hahaha, no worries. We understand completely."
"Of course! If your guild master was in danger, any group would react the same."
"Plus, the real culprit turned out to be among us. It's good for us too. I never would have guessed."
The bordering presidents chuckled nervously, flattering Kim Jin-ah.
She was apologizing, but with that terrifying expression, who wouldn't try to appease her?
Especially with the rankers glaring menacingly behind her.
And then.
Klaus, whose face had turned ashen, quickly pulled out his phone to make an emergency call.
He considered bluffing about evidence.
But the atmosphere made it impossible.
The other presidents and Star Heaven Earth rankers alike.
They seemed more likely to believe that damned Judgment Window's single word over anything he said.
Riiiing. Riiiing.
After a few rings.
"Damn it! Emergency situation decla—"
Just as he tried to shout urgently.
Pffft!
"...?"
Klaus's face twisted as he felt something foreign in his wrist.
"A dagger?"
He stared blankly at the weapon embedded in his wrist, muttering.
Klaus never dreamed.
That anyone would attack a national president like this, without warning.
And moreover.
A horrific severing pain began to radiate from his embedded wrist.
Slowly, then rapidly.
"Arrrghhh!"
Klaus clutched his wrist with his other hand, screaming.
It hurt.
It hurt so bad tears welled up.
Crash!
Terrified, Klaus tumbled backward over his chair.
Pffft!
Pffft! Pffft!
He heard the cold sound of blades piercing flesh near his ear.
'What? I don't feel anything on me...'
Thud! Thump!
Corpses with daggers in their throats began dropping one by one beside him as he lay sprawled.
From Romania's bodyguard hunters to the defense minister.
"M-Minister...?"
Klaus met the eyes of the defense minister, staring at him unblinkingly in death.
"Argh, arrrgh! How dare you do this without a declaration of war!"
"Declaration of war?"
Kim Jin-ah smirked, arms crossed.
"You're the one who fired a nuke recklessly, and you want a declaration of war?"
Click clack.
She approached the fallen Klaus, squatting in front of him and gripping the dagger handle in his wrist.
Then.
Schlop!
She yanked it out with all her strength.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
"Arrrghhh!"
"Try saying one more word."
Kim Jin-ah wiped the blood that had splattered on her face with a handkerchief.
Though not a ranker, dealing with a small nation's president was child's play.
Especially with rankers backing her up.
"Ugh, s-spare me! No, stay back! Stay back, please!"
Overwhelmed by the immense killing intent, Klaus panicked and crawled across the floor, screaming.
Kim Jin-ah slowly rose, looking down at him.
She wanted to kill him right then.
But killing this trash who dared fire a nuke at the Guild Master now would be far too merciful.
'Never.'
He couldn't die this easily.
He had to fully atone for his heinous choice first.
And so.
"From this moment, Star Heaven Earth will secure the identity of the Romanian president—no, this heinous criminal."
Kim Jin-ah simply had Klaus restrained.
* * *
Bone Arm.
Here, his name was Mugak.
[Ding!]
[A mission has arrived.]
[Stage: We've met, so let's fight!]
[You have encountered 'Bone8's' true form, Mugak (Martial Foot). Defeat him.]
"Master!"
Whoooosh!
A ferocious fist flew at me right before my eyes.
"Get your head in the game! Kahaha! You don't actually plan to fight properly, do you?"
This.
Was it okay to call me master while attacking so enthusiastically?
'And moreover.'
His name was 'Mu' (Martial) and 'Gak' (Foot).
Anyone would expect him to use his feet.
Yet.
Whish, whoosh!
He was only using fists against me.
"Master, do you know? I love the culture here. The strongest is always right. So, to rule me, you naturally have to beat me first, right?"
"Urgh!"
I barely dodged his thunderous fist.
By stepping on the shadow.
'Alright.'
You want to go?
I took five steps back with Back Step, lowering my stance and glaring at him.
Mugak (Martial Foot).
Are you the absolute of this world?
Truth be told, I'd been curious.
With my current skill, what would happen if I faced my subordinates at their peak?
Would I win? Or lose?
[Ding!]
[This is a mission with a penalty.]
[If you lose to Mugak (Martial Foot), the master-servant relationship will reverse.]
[In other words, Mugak (Martial Foot) becomes the Skeleton Emperor, and you become 'Bone8.']
Crazy.
The answer was [I win].
No, it [had] to be [I win].
Because this was a fight I couldn't lose.
'Me becoming a skeleton?'
Oh, fuck.
Just imagining it made my hairs stand on end.
Why turn a perfectly alive person into an undead?
Boom! Booooom!
Mugak was definitely a different breed of madman from the previous ones.
He was fast, precise, and strong.
Whenever Mugak's left muscles twitched.
Booooom!
A crater formed in the ground beside me.
He grinned.
"Master, you just gonna keep dodging?"
"Shut up."
It would've been nice if I could use weapons too.
Unfortunately, I was limited to fists and feet.
'Still.'
One small comfort.
His punches seemed a bit sloppy compared to his intimidating presence?
"You."
The watching old man chimed in.
"If you two fought properly, you'd lose nine times out of ten."
'Is that so?'
At least that was reassuring.
A one-in-ten chance.
"But if he only uses fists, you might have a shot. Know why?"
'Why?'
Boom!
His fist grazed my left side.
I rolled sideways, dispersing the force as much as possible.
"You can tell from his muscles alone. Leg techniques originate from the pectoralis major and gluteus maximus, but look at his lower body. Solid, right? He's wearing the wrong clothes for his style. He should be using feet, but he's using fists."
...
Honestly, too hectic to notice.
But the old man could judge from bones alone whether someone was martial-born.
"Plus, his footwork and spacing give it away. He's habitually punching from kicking range. That's why it looks a bit off to you."
'...I see.'
So.
For some reason, he was only using fists instead of feet.
Why?
Was he going easy because I'm the master?
Like how my weapon use—spears, swords—is restricted?
Either way.
"Ptoo."
I spat blood-mixed saliva from the impact.
Dust from rolling clouded my vision.
"Alright, let's do this!"
Your sloppy fists against my sloppy fists.
As I charged, he didn't back down either.
"Good, Master!"
We rushed without slowing, thrusting fists at each other's faces.
I widened my eyes.
I had to track that fist's path to the end.
As the saying goes in dogfights.
The one who closes their eyes first loses.
Swoosh!
His fist grazed the edge of my cheek first.
'Lucky.'
A little less head tilt, and it'd be at least an orbital fracture.
But my fist.
"Eat this!"
Boom!
Slammed right into his face.
Mugak staggered, clearly shocked.
But even so, his mouth was smiling.
"Kahahahaha, good one, Master!"
As if he wanted me to win.
"Harder, harder, hit me harder!"
He howled maniacally.
"I've been waiting here for Master to call me! Anticipating it!"
"Oh yeah? You wanted to fight me that bad?"
I charged again, throwing a punch.
He didn't dodge.
He planted his feet and stood firm.
Thud, thump! Thud thud! Thump!
Thus began the slugfest.
I instinctively sensed his intent.
'This is a man's contest.'
Exchanging blows without dodging even if you could.
Daidai.
The moment your heart breaks, you lose.
The moment you retreat from pain, you lose.
Thwack! Thwack!
His fist sank into my gut.
His fist sank into my face.
It hurt like getting hit with a rock.
Thump! Thwack!
Of course, my fists didn't hold back.
The vital points I'd learned from the old man through my body.
I hammered the most painful spots relentlessly.
When I staggered, he laughed.
When he staggered, I smiled.
We collapsed in a tangle.
Still swinging at each other.
Crack!
Bones shattered, and our bodies were painted red with blood.
"...Insane!"
The onlookers shouted.
"This... is the War God's blessing! I've seen this fight—no regrets even in death!"
"Warriors! Both true warriors! The winner could really be the War God's apostle!"
"Wooooah! Win, anyone! All glory to the victor...!"
The madmen went wild.
They formed a circle, screaming.
For about thirty minutes, they savored us beating each other like the world's greatest movie.
Of course, as the star, I felt like I was dying.
"Huff, huff!"
Hot breaths escaped my mouth nonstop, my whole body screaming to stop.
And at that moment.
"You."
The old man murmured.
"You know this is the last chance."
Mugak and I were both exhausted.
"Don't try to force strength. Relax instead. Your muscles are already torn—you couldn't muster power even if you wanted."
It was grueling.
I felt like death.
In that moment, I only kept my ears open.
To my eternal ally.
Listening to the elder.
"Hit both Middle Mansion acupoints. Two centimeters below the clavicle ends. Since he uses fists, it'll briefly disable his arms."
'Got it.'
The old man's final blow.
I prepared that one shot.
Mugak sensed it instinctively too, gathering his power.
Come on, bring it.
Whoooosh!
I thrust my fist at the vital point he mentioned, and he thrust at my face.
Thwack!
A simultaneous cross counter!
Our fists struck each other at the same time.
And the result.
"Hah, hah!"
"Hoo, hoo."
We sprawled out in a big X.
Our muscles screamed, eyes wouldn't open.
Faces swollen, bodies covered in blood.
Dizzy.
Stars in the sky.
Of course.
He was in worse shape.
The hit to the Middle Mansion points landed perfectly—his whole body paralyzed, unable to move.
"Hua, hua!"
Mugak just lay there, breathing raggedly.
"Urgh."
I came to, forcing strength into my thighs.
I rose on shaking legs and looked down at him.
Head spinning, but I endured.
Mugak's eyes burned with fight, but his body twitched uselessly.
Fight over.
"We won!"
"Our boss won!"
"Wooooah!"
The madmen cheered.
Some tore their clothes in frenzy.
Others tumbled dozens of times in place.
'Crazy bastards...'
Why are they like this?
Then, looking at him again.
Bone Arm lifted the corner of his mouth with a weary face.
As if.
Relieved that I'd won.
Finally.
"My name is Mugak, Master."
[You have heard Mugak (Martial Foot)'s name.]
[Congratulations!]
[You have cleared 'Stage: We've met, so let's fight!']
I could finally place him under me officially.