Chapter 73
Chapter 73
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Best Policy Against a Madman is to Avoid Him (2) Berserker's Declaration of War.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In truth, it wasn't a declaration of war.
It was just the feeling of an adult about to flick a bratty kid on the forehead.
That was why so many people had gathered in front of Oseong Group headquarters.
"Over there! Jang Dae-woong said he's gonna smash that place!"
"Get a shot! Launch the chopper and start broadcasting!"
All the major broadcasters and reporters were a given.
"Mom! I wanna watch that!"
"Shall we? But you have to stay far back, okay?"
"Yesss."
Even powerless civilians were swarming in out of curiosity.
It was a strange occurrence.
Normally, when rankers fought, the wise choice was to get as far away as possible.
Their clashes that shattered mountains and triggered earthquakes were nothing short of disasters for civilians.
Yet the reason people could gather like this was...
"Pfft, with the Berserker stepping up, what fight is there? It'll just be the building crumbling for real and that's it."
"I heard from Kadhera comms that all the Oseong Group's rankers already bailed?"
"I'd bail too. Why risk your life for Oseong out of some sense of loyalty?"
"Tsk tsk, why'd they have to mess with the workshop that psycho commissioned?"
Berserker Jang Dae-woong.
The wall of world rank 20 was that high.
And among the crowd there.
Was me.
"Joo Dong-hoon! Or should I call you Demir Workshop Master?"
As time passed, familiar faces appeared.
"Or Skeleton Lord? That's your new moniker, right?"
They were the ones who had sided with me against Oseong Group's backlash.
One of them, Black Sword Lee Seon-ah, approached with a bright smile.
"Anyway, long time no see! The Dungeon Maker event's just around the corner. You are preparing well, right?"
"......"
"Come on, after we've pushed this hard for you, you didn't forget or anything..."
"Ahem."
I definitely hadn't forgotten.
I planned to make this weapon and then challenge A-rank.
I was confident.
The old man had said I was more than ready for A-grade now.
"Anyway, thank you. Lee Seon-ah. Your words this time really gave me a huge boost."
"No problem at all. What're friends for?"
Lee Seon-ah winked.
Then another figure approached from behind her.
"Hey, Joo Dong-hoon! I'm hurt, you know? If I knew you could make S-grade weapons, you should've told me sooner."
Rank 828, Baek Don.
He'd been 830 when we first met, but he'd already climbed two spots.
"Haha, still, that was awesome! Thinking of going up against Oseong Group solo! Just imagining that old geezer shaking in rage makes me feel so refreshed!"
"You think so?"
"That's why I dragged my busy self all the way here. Man, that Jang Dae-woong guy's straightforward as ever, huh? Declaring he'll smash it all, knowing he'll catch flak. Gotta respect that boldness at least."
It was true.
Even in a world ruled by power.
There were spectators watching, and forces keeping checks and balances.
Jang Dae-woong's reckless move was ripe for backlash later.
"Hmm, now I feel kinda sorry. Because of me."
"Hey, no need for that. That guy's not the type to think that far ahead anyway. And get this—it's hilarious."
"......?"
"No one thinks the Berserker's going too far with this. They just go, 'Yup, madman's a madman.' Ugh, that guy's got his concept nailed perfectly, no matter how you slice it."
"......"
It did seem that way.
Looking around, there were no jeers for the Berserker.
Just spectators with intrigued eyes.
Ahh, yeah.
Was watching a fight—or a fire—the most fun thing in the world after all?
"Let's just spectate."
It was then that Yoo Sang-don pointed at the building with his finger.
Jang Dae-woong's silhouette was faintly visible far up in the sky.
"The show's about to start."
* * *
"Hahahaha! Don't hate me too much! No grudges or lingering resentment! I'm just returning the 30 billion won worth of harm you tried to inflict on me!"
Rooooar...
Floating in the air, Jang Dae-woong pulled his right hand out of his pocket, left hand still tucked in.
Just that made the energy surge, whipping up winds around him.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
Laughing heartily.
Why did that figure, about to smash a building with a single fist, look so damn cool?
The bulging muscles.
The aura.
He was the Berserker incarnate.
"Hold on a moment, Berserker!"
Then, from below the building, someone grabbed a megaphone and shouted.
It was none other than Oseong Group Chairman Shin Joo-yong.
"What you're about to do is baseless violence! An abuse of power! No matter that you're rank 20, there are hunters above you—aren't you afraid of the world?!"
"Hahaha, baseless? Why baseless? Wasn't it Oseong that sicced a ranker on me first with violence?"
"We have no proof we did it!"
"Proof? My judgment is proof enough!"
"Wh-what kind of...!"
"Shut it, and if you're pissed, hire a ranker and come at me!"
Jang Dae-woong then stared at the camera on the hovering helicopter nearby.
"And if anyone else has beef with my actions, come at me too! Hunter, nation—I don't care!"
In that instant.
Jang Dae-woong's right arm swung lightly.
Shwooo!
But the aftermath was anything but light.
KABOOOM!
The 'ki' launched from his right fist slammed straight into the center of the building.
Rumble rumble!
The ground shook, and a massive hole gaped in the building like it'd been hit by a missile.
"Th-this mad bastard...!"
Jang Dae-woong ignored Shin Joo-yong's cry.
Shwooo! Shwooo! Shwooo! KABOOOM!
Three more times.
He punched toward the support columns.
No mere building could withstand a ranker's power.
Ruuuumble.
Dust billowed as the building collapsed.
No one stopped the Berserker's spectacle.
Just as the crowd judged, every ranker hired by Oseong Group had fled.
"Hey, Chairman Shin Joo-yong."
Thud!
Jang Dae-woong, left hand still in pocket, descended to the ground.
"If you want to fool others, you have to fool yourself first."
"What?"
"You know the truth better than anyone. Even if you're old, if you screwed up, you take the hit."
"......"
"Or did you think Jang Dae-woong was some pushover?"
Clench.
Under the Berserker's pressure, Shin Joo-yong clenched his fists and bit his lip.
'He's not just a mindless psycho after all?'
As head of a massive corporation, he was Korea's number two powerhouse.
A position where he could see through internal affairs without even looking.
"......You knew?"
"I'm ending it at this because Oseong Workshop's misdeeds targeted Demir Workshop Master, not me."
"......"
The meaning was simple.
If it had been him, it wouldn't have ended with one building.
So don't complain—just accept it.
'This is...'
Chairman Shin Joo-yong bowed his head.
Defeated in power and presence.
Completely.
* * *
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
To Shin Joo-yong, who had evacuated to the Oseong Group Gangnam branch.
His grandson, Shin Jong-oh, came running.
"This is outrageous! Rankers colluding to commit violence like this?!"
Slam!
Bursting through the door, he ranted furiously in front of Shin Joo-yong.
"And there's no proof I did it! We need to pool every penny and fight back!"
"......"
Shin Joo-yong silently stared at his grandson.
How.
Just how did it come to this?
'I thought he was good at running the business, but his parenting skills are total trash.'
Because of that grandson.
The group's image, built over his lifetime, had plummeted.
A grandson was just 20-odd years.
Compared to the group, his true child forged over 80 years of life.
That was why his gut boiled.
Rage surged.
"Grandpa! Why aren't you answering?! Right, Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! How about recruiting the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?"
"......You bastard."
Grrrrrind!
Shin Joo-yong ground his teeth.
Yes, this wouldn't do.
Like the Iron Blood he was once called, he needed to know when to cut loose.
Trash wasn't kept around—you threw it in the trash bin.
"Grandpa?"
"Shut your mouth!"
"Wh-what, Grandpa?"
"Do you know how much damage the group took because of you? And you come here without even a sorry, throwing a tantrum?"
"......N-no! That's not...!"
"No more. You're getting a beating today."
"Grandpa?"
Shin Joo-yong roughly grabbed the receiver and called security.
An A-rank hunter temporarily hired by the group.
"Sorry, but grab him for me. Time for some long-overdue discipline."
"Got it."
The burly A-rank hunter seized Shin Jong-oh and slammed him down.
Not a force a C-rank hunter like Shin Jong-oh could resist.
"Gr-Grandpa! Wait a sec!"
"Quiet."
Shin Joo-yong hauled his aged body to the corner and picked up a golf club.
His favorite gold-shafted 7-iron for practice.
"Today, if I don't fix my swing on your body, I'll drop dead from a fit of anger."
"Gr-Grandpa?"
Thwack! Thwack!
The club traced a perfect swing, landing on Shin Jong-oh's butt and thighs.
"Arghhhh! Ack!"
"From today, you're out of the workshop business."
Thwack! Thwack!
"Plus, I'm disowning you from the family register. I never had a dumb grandson like you—so go be a hunter or whatever in some shady group."
Thwack! Thwack!
That day.
The Gangnam branch president's office echoed with drumming sounds all day long.
* * *
[Breaking News! Oseong Group Admits to Soliciting Assassination. "We Crossed the Line." Bows Head in Public Apology!]
[Shock Confession from Oseong Group Leads to Berserker Reappraisal! Hero of the Era!]
[Oseong Group to Withdraw from Workshop Business as Gesture of Apology!]
"Demir Workshop Master. I was wrong. I'll prepare compensation as generously as you desire."
Apgujeong-dong.
Shin Joo-yong, who had come to the building front, knelt before me.
"......"
He truly was as formidable as the rumors said.
A chaebol head.
Admitting his fault and coming to a mere street vendor owner, even kneeling.
He may have misjudged in the moment.
But he knew how to correct it.
However.
That was just with Chairman Shin Joo-yong.
Shin Jong-oh meant something else to me.
"You disowned him from the family register, right?"
"Yes, that punk will never set foot in Oseong Group for the rest of his life."
Hmm.
Would that "rest of his life" even exist?
"Does that mean whatever happens to Shin Jong-oh from now on, you won't care?"
"......"
Shin Joo-yong pressed his lips tight at my question.
He couldn't miss the implication.
Shin Jong-oh had tried to take my life.
And my creed was to repay in kind what I received.
My life wasn't cheap, so this wasn't enough.
I wasn't the type to leave loose ends either.
"Do as you will... He's no relation of mine now."
"Good. Then I'll accept your apology."
That was it.
Oseong Group ties ended clean, no loose ends.
The only grudge left for me was with Shin Jong-oh.
By my standards.
A neat wrap-up.