Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: One-Man Division (2)
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“As soon as you’re back! Good work!”
“Did things go well with the Emperor?”
As Kang Hyun-soo returned, Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor greeted him.
“Yeah, it wrapped up fine. More importantly, I’ve got something for you two.”
“What is it?”
“Did you pick up a souvenir or something?”
At Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor’s questions, Kang Hyun-soo activated his Commander Appointment skill, naming them both battalion commanders.
“Whoa!”
“Oooooh!”
Song Ha-na and the Fist Emperor’s faces lit up instantly.
There was only a hair’s breadth between company commander and battalion commander.
The buff efficiency differed by just 5%.
‘But 5% is still pretty significant.’
Especially with high base stats?
The gap widened even more.
On top of that, as Kang Hyun-soo’s job rank rose, his Commander’s Blessing skill—which had been stuck at A-Rank—could now grow up to S-Rank.
Once Commander’s Blessing reached S-Rank too?
‘The buff efficiency jumps another 5%.’
That would make a total increase of 10%.
“Hey, Hyun-soo, but we don’t have anyone to use these skills on?”
Just then, Song Ha-na asked with a puzzled look.
Becoming battalion commanders had granted them skills like Commander Appointment and Commander’s Blessing.
But neither she nor the Fist Emperor had targets to cast them on.
“Use them on summons.”
The number of summons was fixed anyway.
If a battalion commander player appointed another player as company commander?
It would consume one of the slots Kang Hyun-soo had for his summons.
‘Appointing players as summons.’
Dark King Cecilia, Righteous Army King Shin Chang-hu, Sword King Jang Seok-won, and Crimson Flame Lord Dorchov were enough.
‘Come to think of it, I should appoint that guy Jin Gu-pyeong as battalion commander too.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s job had evolved from One-Man Brigade to One-Man Division, greatly expanding the battalion commander slots.
And with his six summons promoted from battalion to regiment commanders.
‘Plenty of battalion slots left over.’
Enough to give one to Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong, in fact.
‘He’s only felt the stick so far. Time to toss him a carrot.’
Plus, Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong was the head of the Zhonghua Guild.
‘Appointing him battalion commander would let me seize firmer control of the Zhonghua Guild.’
If I appointed their key executives and rising stars as company, platoon, and squad leaders?
‘It would eliminate any chance of opposition factions forming within the Zhonghua Guild or promising newcomers rising to steal Jin Gu-pyeong’s guild master seat.’
Especially.
‘I have to make sure he puts Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon and Holy Fire Saintess Jang So-hwa under him.’
Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong was Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon’s benefactor.
After former Guild Master Do-wang died and their ties were severed, it was current Guild Master Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong who had backed Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon on behalf of the guild.
Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon had likely received far more help from Jin Gu-pyeong than from the deceased Do-wang.
If Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon was the type to remember favors?
‘He’d never bare his teeth at Jin Gu-pyeong.’
But.
Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon was far too ambitious and selfish a bastard.
‘He’d stab his benefactor in the back without hesitation.’
That was why Kang Hyun-soo needed to keep a tighter leash.
‘Until now, I didn’t have spare battalion slots to appoint him.’
But the situation had changed.
-Busy?
-No, sir.
-Mind if I summon you then?
-Another demon noble?
-No, I’m promoting you to battalion commander.
-Is that for real? Please hold on a moment.
A short while later.
-You can summon me now.
Once Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong was ready.
Kang Hyun-soo summoned him immediately.
And appointed him battalion commander on the spot.
“Oooooh!”
Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong’s stats rose, his face beaming with joy.
“Master, what’s all this?”
He questioned the new skills that had appeared.
“Well...”
Kang Hyun-soo explained the newly acquired skills, then ordered him to bring Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon and Holy Fire Saintess Jang So-hwa under his command.
“Now go.”
He issued the order to depart.
“Do I have to ride the wyvern again?”
Extinction Demon Spear King Jin Gu-pyeong whined.
“Want to walk instead?”
“No, sir.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s reply, he climbed onto the wyvern’s back without recovering his investment and headed off to the Mightor Kingdom.
‘Now, time to consume that.’
Kang Hyun-soo pulled out the Poison Dragon’s Essence he’d taken from the Rokuto Empire’s imperial report.
‘Special stat: Toxicity.’
A bonus that came attached to the Poison Dragon’s Essence, chosen for its poison resistance.
‘Wonder what it does.’
He had a rough idea.
‘Better check it myself.’
Kang Hyun-soo swallowed the Poison Dragon’s Essence.
[You have consumed Poison Dragon’s Essence – EX-Rank.]
[Your poison resistance increases by 500%.]
[You have acquired the special stat: Toxicity.]
Kang Hyun-soo checked the details on the special stat Toxicity.
‘Straightforward.’
Just two effects.
The first allowed him to infuse his body, weapons, and skills with toxicity.
‘Means the Toxicity stat is as versatile as mana or divinity stats.’
Highly practical.
The second boosted resistance to poison.
Also good.
Naturally, the effect scaled.
‘Depending on the Toxicity stat level.’
His current Toxicity stat?
Special Stat: [Toxicity 1]
Just 1.
Kang Hyun-soo tested the Toxicity stat.
A faint green glow bloomed at his fingertip.
He touched it to the back of his hand.
No sensation at all.
‘It’s got some toxicity, right?’
Just then, a mosquito entered Kang Hyun-soo’s view.
Whoosh!
He flung the poison created with the Toxicity stat at the mosquito.
Eeeeeek!
The mosquito staggered after being hit, fell to the floor.
It twitched for a moment, then died.
‘Insecticide level.’
It didn’t melt or drop dead instantly—just convulsed to death.
Even at Toxicity stat 1.
Pitifully weak lethality.
The silver lining?
‘There’s a way to raise the Toxicity stat.’
The problem was how dangerous that method was.
‘Eat poison.’
Ingest pure poison or substances containing toxins.
‘Mess up, and you die on the spot.’
Gorge on potent venom to raise it a lot at once?
Instant death.
Even low-toxicity poison.
‘Poison’s poison.’
Could cause stomach upset or hives.
Worst case, agony unto death.
‘Can’t just give up though.’
Weak now.
But as the stat grew, it’d prove a huge boon in battle.
For starters.
‘Begin with low-toxicity poisons.’
Kang Hyun-soo instructed Golden Lord Saemaal to procure low-toxicity poisons.
* * *
‘Fast.’
The day after Kang Hyun-soo arrived in the Terra Kingdom from the Rokuto Empire.
He’d met Emperor Rodius I, and barely a day had passed.
‘Cecilia’s officially registered in the imperial registry.’
Emperor Rodius I had acted on “strike while the iron is hot” without hesitation.
The sudden emergence of the bastard imperial threw the Rokuto Empire’s social circles into chaos.
Especially Crown Prince Rodius II, Dark King Cecilia’s biological father, who suffered great humiliation.
‘Smooth sailing so far.’
The Rokuto Empire’s high society was a bit noisy.
But no one doubted Dark King Cecilia’s bloodline.
With Crown Prince Rodius II being such a wastrel?
The prevailing opinion was plenty enough “He could have a bastard.”
But not everything went smoothly.
To advance succession smoothly, Emperor Rodius I disguised Dark King Cecilia’s birth mother as the long-dead daughter of a fallen noble house.
No one bought it.
‘Rumors spread in a day that Cecilia’s mother was a slave instead.’
Perfectly natural.
If Cecilia’s mother had been a fallen noble’s daughter?
‘No reason for her to hide as a bastard all this time.’
She’d have been granted status as the crown prince’s illegitimate daughter from birth.
The real trouble started now.
Nobles began speculating and gossiping about why Emperor Rodius I had formally registered Crown Prince Rodius II’s bastard in the imperial registry.
Even low-tier noble houses don’t acknowledge bastards as blood.
Especially not one mixed with commoner blood—no, slave blood.
It shames the house, so they live in shadows forever, or get killed in extreme cases.
Yet the imperial family acknowledged a lowborn slave-blooded bastard.
Not even as collateral branch, but direct imperial line.
‘Not even a day passed, and some have already figured out Rodius I’s true intent.’
Rumors swept the capital that Rodius I meant to bequeath the throne to his slave-blooded granddaughter.
‘Cecilia holding the info has kept it to this level.’
Otherwise?
It’d have spread across the entire Rokuto Empire.
But.
‘Can’t suppress it forever.’
Why?
Because it wasn’t mere rumor—it was true.
‘Better to steer the narrative.’
Frame it as “Only an exceptional talent would get the throne despite slave blood.”
Once the mood was set and officially announced?
‘Nobles will oppose fiercely.’
But the emperor’s faction nobles would follow Rodius I’s will in the end.
Cecilia’s neutral faction would back her too, so no major issues.
The urgent matters were done.
Thus.
‘No need to delay further.’
Kang Hyun-soo decided to execute the punishments he’d prepared for Hwang So-wook and Shin So-hee.
* * *
Hwang So-wook struggled to keep up with the rapidly shifting dynamics in Balhae Guild lately.
But one conclusion stood clear.
‘I need to join Dark Knight.’
That was the path to higher positions.
‘The alliance formed.’
Hwang So-wook’s original goal had been Balhae Guild’s guild master seat.
Impossible while Sword King Jang Seok-won remained.
But with tensions rising toward a clash with Goryeo Guild, hope appeared.
Then Dark Knight emerged, shattering that hope in an instant.
But it was fine.
A new goal had arisen.
‘Seize the alliance Dark Knight created.’
Impossible right now.
But with his unique skill, Skill Enhancement?
‘A dream I can achieve someday.’
Plus, the forces he’d cultivated within Balhae Guild were no small thing.
‘If only I get a chance to build ties with the Demon-Repelling Blood God.’
As Hwang So-wook reviewed his plans.
Bang!
His office door burst open violently.
“Who enters without knocking...”
He started to rage.
But his expression hardened like stone.
The intruder was none other than Guild Master Sword King Jang Seok-won.
“Guild Master, what sudden business brings you...”
Thwack!
Before Hwang So-wook could finish, Sword King Jang Seok-won’s fist smashed into his face.
“You trash! Drag him away now!”
“Yes, sir!”
Sword King Jang Seok-won’s direct subordinates hauled Hwang So-wook off.
‘What the hell?’
Hwang So-wook was dumbfounded.
What was this all about?
“Guild Master, why are you doing this? At least tell me the reason!”
Hwang So-wook protested vehemently.
“Ha! You hid it well all this time, huh? Human trafficker!”
At Sword King Jang Seok-won’s words, Hwang So-wook’s face turned to stone.
‘How did they know?’
As the training camp instructor, Hwang So-wook had dealt steadily with slave traders.
But.
‘No evidence, though?’
He’d kept secrecy airtight—even the traders didn’t know who he was.
After the massive crackdown on human trafficking began?
He’d cut all ties completely.
“False accusation!”
At Hwang So-wook’s protest.
Thwack!
Another fist flew.
“Denying it with witnesses right there? And you think that’s all? Guild fund embezzlement, and...”
Sword King Jang Seok-won rattled off a nonstop list of Hwang So-wook’s crimes.
‘What’s going on?’
Hwang So-wook was flabbergasted.
Rising from lowly guild member to executive in a massive guild was never easy.
Unless one’s skill was overwhelmingly superior.
With his unique skill Skill Enhancement hobbled by the level drop drawback, Hwang So-wook was a chronic late bloomer.
So he’d resorted to all sorts of illegal schemes to build his faction and gather funds.
But.
‘I didn’t do that one for real.’
Truly unjust.
And it didn’t end there.
Even his actual crimes were wildly exaggerated.
“I’m innocent, really!”
Hwang So-wook protested.
“Drag him away now!”
It fell on deaf ears.
‘He must feel wronged.’
Kang Hyun-soo watched Hwang So-wook being dragged off with a faint smile.
Over time, he’d mobilized Dark King Cecilia and the summons to unearth evidence of Hwang So-wook’s crimes.
Couldn’t find any?
They fabricated it.
Even added crimes he might commit in the future.
Some evidence was thus a bit flimsy.
‘But Doppelganger King Talisman’s acting was top-notch.’
Doppelganger King Talisman, disguised as Hwang So-wook, mass-produced witnesses.
The result.
No one believed Hwang So-wook’s claims of innocence, no matter how much he pleaded.
‘No escape for him.’
In a few days, Hwang So-wook would be the object of universal finger-pointing, a human scum.
And that.
‘Applies to Shin So-hee too.’
Just one oddity.
In terms of the crimes.
‘I assumed Hwang So-wook was the ringleader, Shin So-hee the accomplice or principal.’
But the investigation revealed.
‘The opposite, actually.’
Shin So-hee seemed like Hwang So-wook’s superior.
‘Something I don’t know.’
Especially regarding Shin So-hee.