Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Liu Bei and Cao Cao (11)
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Was that a bit too much?
Instead of going full Yellowy, something on Roselin's level would've been plenty.
Anyway, putting it to the test in a real fight confirmed it.
Hector's Courage.
This was a true cheat skill, depending on how well you could control yourself.
Limited to 1v1, it boosted your potential to match the opponent's specs.
So I hypnotized myself, treating the duke's son not as a person, but like some NPC, dust, or a flea.
I even asked Yellowy to threaten me with a roar.
......Wiped the smile right off my face. Nearly pissed myself.
Dragon intimidation is Conqueror's Haki. Note to self.
The result?
For that instant, with specs rivaling Yellowy's, I literally sent the duke's son flying.
Of course, no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Savoring the thrill of victory and basking in those awed stares to fill my ego was a nice perk, sure.
"Uwgh... ugh."
"Anyone seeing you would think you'd been beaten black and blue, Kim Yul."
The moment I stepped into the house.
Activating Gear Second and firing off that bat bazooka unleashed a brutal backlash—muscle pain like a storm.
It felt just like the agony when pneumonia and flu hit me at once pre-isekai, spiking a 104-degree fever.
Ended up in the ER, suffering for about two weeks back then.
Maybe I was the one who shouldn't have picked a fight...
.
.
.
"So, can you even write your manuscript like this? You fool, Kim Yul."
Grumbling all the while,
Historie nursed me with surprising dedication.
She picked me up off the floor where I lay limp, unable to twitch a finger, laid me on the recliner, stripped off my filthy clothes.
And slathered menthol cream on her palm, massaging my throbbing forearms.
Occasionally dragging me back from wicked thoughts—like, what if I'd shaped a "Demon of Domination" concept with Pygmalion's skill?—onto the path of repentance—
"Agh!"
"Whining won't help, Kim Yul."
"It really, really hurts—!"
The only issue?
Being a tin can, she couldn't quite control her strength...
"So, why go that far? No upside in crossing the duke."
Not wrong.
But my life had been defined by conflict from the start.
Not like I'd been born the youngest son of a chaebol, living happily ever after.
Sometimes I'd slap red tags on the house for fun events, and the neighborhood vibe was closer to a gritty street fight tale than academy life.
Growing up in that demonic world taught me one thing.
"Sometimes, if someone's hating on you for no reason, it's easier to just give them one."
History's full of folks who tried that.
Take the Imperial General Staff who firebombed Pearl Harbor thinking, "Hah! Punch first hard enough, and they'll sell us oil and obey!" Classic example.
And from what I'd seen,
Berthus Duke wasn't some vengeance-blinded ghost like Gucheolyeongmi—he'd only get his head more scrambled by this show of force.
No matter how I sliced it,
he seemed to see me as the Saintess's pillar hubby or something.
And.
"Payback feels good."
Sure, they fed me and paid me,
but I hadn't done jack besides writing.
Then they send an assassin out of nowhere to loot my neck?
"So, expect more ahead?"
"Probably not."
I'd brought the Saintess to the duel arena for a show, and already sent a polite protest letter via Kanfr.
"We've secured witness testimony from the affair's observer and parties involved, so quit the bullshit before we run the story—that polite?"
"Polite enough, right?"
I'd jammed a bat in his gut instead of a knife,
just drilling in that anyone messing with little Kim Yul gets fucked.
Kim Yul is free.
He wants to write what he wants, no pressure.
Smack!
"Why do something I didn't order?!"
Berthus Duke's massive rage crashed over Regios.
Under that pressure,
Regios couldn't even muster a defense, just biting his lip.
That only fueled the duke's anger more, and soon fresh slaps echoed from his cheeks a couple more times.
Still not sated, he kicked over a chair.
"Sometimes you have to endure. Do you not know why I ignored that trash article circulating, or why your brothers stayed quiet?"
Of course he knew.
That's why Regios planned to apply subtle pressure, framing it as personal deviance rather than official escalation.
Though he ended up as the pancake instead.
As the duke seemed to calm a bit,
"That guy... what the hell is he?"
Regios asked cautiously.
No ordinary man could crumple him and his sword in one strike.
"No idea. That's the problem. Damn it, no wonder that Killing Field retard came back half-crippled."
"Killing Field... Klappen?"
"Yeah."
He's the one leading the family hounds.
For that guy to end up half-crippled?
"Not the Saintess. He got done in by that guy. Must've ignored my orders to serve her politely. Arrogant mutt."
"......"
"So, was he that strong?"
At that question,
Regios recalled the morning's events.
Those arrogant eyes that didn't even see him as an opponent.
The massive killing intent surging from behind.
Power unbelievable from that slender frame.
And
the impeccably clean swordless arc that made his own blade look shabby by comparison.
No mana at all, which from another angle...
"......Probably no match for him in the Empire."
No need to draw mana against weaklings, right?
Plus, his final words still echoed in his mind.
- Don't... defy me... anymore...
Recalling that low, heavy whisper made Regios shudder unwittingly.
"Aigoo..."
Berthus Duke clutched his head.
How to interpret the Holy Kingdom dumping not one, but two continental-tier powerhouses into the Empire?
And with that kind of strength, why the hell did that bastard crawl to the Empire to write books?
Worse, unluckily,
he wrote damn well!
Strip out the scratches, and the story's fun!
Night of the Daggers failing miserably was irrelevant.
Ideally, full assassinations, but they succeeded in stirring unrest in the capital.
He wasn't dumb enough to topple his tower on one failure—second, third, fourth plans were prepped.
So somehow,
he had to block this uncontrollable variable baring teeth and growling at him.
"Stay put for a while. No wandering. Once healed, grab some of your hidden assets and go apologize properly."
"......"
As undisguised resentment flickered in Regios's eyes,
the duke hurled a wine cup at his worthless son's face.
- No way! This has to run as an op-ed!
- His Majesty worries this won't blow up bigger, so bury it quietly?
- Gah...! If it's His Majesty's command...
Some shady deal between the Estriyas and Whispearoud families.
Tragic for Asterik, but his 'B Duke's Women' special never saw print.
Plus, the third son of Estriyas tumbling over a fence from a mere writer's bat swing became fact known only to witnesses.
- Hey, can't you give this to me?
- No. My treasure.
- Eek!
Besides the tragedy of the greedy dragon spotting the value in that signed bat, a peaceful wrap-up.
Despite those external storms,
Kim Yul's main gig.
The 'Two Heroes' series kept racking up praise with its devastating yet eerily realistic plot twists and perfect pacing—like force-feeding gourds and sodas down your throat.
After yanking the married woman, vanguard, son, and nephew from the deck to the graveyard,
playing 0-cost 3-draw to snag Rage, Imperial Chancellor, and Qingzhou Jar,
Cao Cao began sweeping indiscriminately.
Destructive momentum!
But like dousing it with cold water,
"Are provisions that scarce?"
At Cao Cao's words, the supply officer prostrated.
"Forgive us, but at this rate... we may need to retreat."
Couldn't waste this once-in-a-lifetime chance to seize Shouchun while fake emperor Yuan Shu was away.
A sigh escaped Cao Cao's lips.
The officer, reading the mood, hesitated before speaking.
"There... is one idea."
"Speak."
"If we shrink the grain measures, we can fool the soldiers' eyes and cut rations."
"Hah."
A clever ploy.
....
.
.
- Lord Cao deceived us!
- How are we to fight on this?!
Hearing the faint cries from camp,
"Clever, but just a stopgap."
"St-still, it saved a month's worth. If we can just quell the unrest—"
Cao Cao cut him off with a sigh.
"Pity, but I'll have to behead you to calm the troops. Otherwise, this tangled mess stays knotted."
"P-pardon?"
The stunned officer lifted his head,
but Cao Cao's drawn blade soon severed it.
.
.
.
"Hear this! The supply officer dared use small measures to steal grain, so I execute him for his grave crime! Cao Mengde promises you: all will be normalized now!"
"Whoa..."
"No, this guy's straight-up a villain..."
"Is this character's personality for real?"
"Shifts blame to a subordinate after orchestrating it himself!"
Infamous hack Ulysses strikes again, turning the protagonist into trash.
Beyond that minor episode,
steady wins.
Seized Shouchun, even smashed the scheming general-Liu Biao trio lurking behind.
Protagonist's personality issues aside, classic refreshment plot.
The real gripe was,
"Wait, Lü Bu ends up taking everything?"
"Lady Mi hurts my heart...! Even stripped bare, her pure love for her husband! Love it!"
"There's a limit to being a good person! How does she laugh it off in that spot?!"
The big-eared guy had been dishing out heavy romance doses till now.