Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Test
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A moment later, Sword King Jang Seok-won appeared, carrying two thick bundles of documents.
These would contain the information on Sword God Lee Kwang-ho and Guardian God Lee Cheol-min.
Kang Hyun-soo took the two bundles of documents.
He picked up one of them and quickly flipped through page by page, reading it.
‘Unexpected.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s expression changed by the moment.
Sword of Gluttony.
Sword God Lee Kwang-ho’s prized weapon, and the reason he had earned the title of god.
However, one couldn’t obtain a god’s title simply by acquiring a single item.
That was why Kang Hyun-soo was convinced that even without the Sword of Gluttony, Sword God Lee Kwang-ho would have become a solid top-tier Named Player.
And that prediction was half correct.
‘Sword Ghost.’
He had claimed the seat of a Named Player.
The Sword Ghost of the Zhonghua Guild, who had died by Kang Hyun-soo’s hand and become a summoned beast.
The title that had vanished afterward had ended up in Lee Kwang-ho’s hands.
‘Impressive in his own way, but...’
It fell short of Kang Hyun-soo’s expectations.
What about the pre-regression Sword God Lee Kwang-ho?
‘He’d have the title of top-tier Named Player by now.’
His growth speed was markedly slower.
And moreover.
‘This guy’s personality hasn’t changed.’
Four lines in the report.
Suspected of colluding with slave traders.
Reported and arrested during the slave trader subjugation.
Imprisoned in the Verocuerto territory jail.
Currently on trial.
‘Seems the trial is stalled due to lack of concrete evidence.’
Additionally, there was mention that Verocuerto’s lord was attempting to recruit Sword God Lee Kwang-ho.
‘Keeping him alive because he’s a Named Player.’
Otherwise?
His head would already be gone.
With only circumstantial evidence and no solid proof, he could survive depending on the lord’s will.
‘Still as thorough as ever.’
Sword God Lee Kwang-ho was exactly the type to collude with slave traders.
Even after obtaining the title of Sword God, he’d engaged in all sorts of dirty deeds behind the scenes.
‘Same even after regression.’
If it benefited him?
He wouldn’t hesitate, even if it was a crime.
That was Sword God Lee Kwang-ho.
‘Better to handle him after the test.’
Kang Hyun-soo decided Sword God Lee Kwang-ho’s fate.
He picked up the other bundle of documents.
‘This guy’s really nothing special.’
Guardian God Lee Cheol-min.
He had some fame as a top-tier player.
But compared to pre-regression?
His position was utterly insignificant.
‘Well, he never had a single self-made EX-Rank skill.’
Sword God Lee Kwang-ho had at least poured in his own effort and talent.
Guardian God Lee Cheol-min had truly earned his god title purely through the Ring of Protection.
‘People really don’t change.’
Guardian God Lee Cheol-min was also in prison.
The charge: murderer player.
He had wiped out his party members while trying to steal their items.
But his crime was discovered by monitoring Balhae Guild members, ending in an attempted crime.
‘If Balhae Guild hadn’t been watching, he’d be a habitual offender, not just an attempt.’
Currently, Guardian God Lee Cheol-min was imprisoned in Verocuerto territory’s jail, just like Sword God Lee Kwang-ho, awaiting trial.
‘A guy full of greed and a need to show off.’
Even pre-regression, he had committed covert illegal acts to satisfy that greed and vanity.
‘Plenty suspected how the Ring of Protection reached EX-Rank so quickly.’
The Ring of Protection was a money pit.
How had penniless Guardian God Lee Cheol-min upgraded it so fast?
‘By being a murderer player.’
Rumors had circulated pre-regression that Guardian God Lee Cheol-min had operated as a murderer player before gaining fame.
But the prevailing opinion was that it was baseless gossip spread by those jealous of Lee Cheol-min’s fame as Guardian God.
This time was different.
He had been caught in the act as a murderer player.
‘A fool with nothing but greed.’
The reason Kang Hyun-soo had only monitored Sword God Lee Kwang-ho and Guardian God Lee Cheol-min?
Their crimes were limited to the pre-regression timeline.
Also, as holders of god titles pre-regression, he was curious how much they’d grow without their main items: the Sword of Gluttony and Ring of Protection.
If they grew decently?
He’d planned to put them at the vanguard in the war against the demon king’s army.
But.
‘Both fall short of expectations.’
Sword God Lee Kwang-ho had become a Named Player.
That was it.
And he hadn’t kicked his habit of dirty dealings.
If Kang Hyun-soo hadn’t ordered Balhae Guild to monitor them?
‘They’d still be committing all sorts of crimes.’
The conclusion was set.
‘Death for both.’
However, he didn’t plan to kill them right away.
There was an experiment left that required two death row inmates.
* * *
Kang Hyun-soo headed to the lord’s castle in the great city of Verocuerto.
While Balhae Guild was the de facto ruler of great city Verocuerto.
‘The official ruler is the lord.’
The lord of great city Verocuerto, a high noble with the rank of count.
He currently held the power of life and death over Sword God Lee Kwang-ho and Guardian God Lee Cheol-min.
‘Teaming up with the imperial family has its influences.’
As the Rokto Empire allied with the inter-dimensional player alliance, Balhae Guild gained much.
But with gains come losses.
By recognizing the lord’s authority, public power had greatly increased.
‘If we’d been implicitly hostile to the imperial family, Sword God Lee Kwang-ho and Guardian God Lee Cheol-min would be in Balhae Guild’s prison.’
But by acknowledging the lord’s authority.
Balhae Guild had handed Sword God Lee Kwang-ho and Guardian God Lee Cheol-min over to the lord instead of punishing them internally.
It made things a bit more troublesome.
‘Not a big issue.’
Verocuerto’s lord wasn’t particularly memorable to Kang Hyun-soo.
He had practically lost all territorial influence to Balhae Guild anyway.
‘Must be an ambitious one.’
That explained such schemes.
Trying to make the criminal Sword God Lee Kwang-ho his subordinate?
‘A fool.’
Sword God Lee Kwang-ho wasn’t the type to serve under anyone.
If the lord tried to subordinate him?
‘He’d get devoured instead.’
The current situation was amusing.
Sword God Lee Kwang-ho was a criminal whose life hung on the lord’s whim.
‘Yet time keeps passing.’
The info that the lord was recruiting Lee Kwang-ho had even reached Balhae Guild’s ears.
It meant the lord, in the superior position, was being drawn in by Sword God Lee Kwang-ho, the inferior.
‘Not important anyway.’
Kang Hyun-soo would decide Sword God Lee Kwang-ho’s fate, not the lord.
“Halt!”
As Kang Hyun-soo approached the lord’s castle, guards blocked him.
Shing.
Without a word, Kang Hyun-soo raised his hand and activated his seal.
Flash!
A bright glow accompanied the manifestation of the Rokto Empire duke’s seal.
“D-Duke, we greet you!”
The guards flinched and bowed their heads.
“Inform the lord of my arrival.”
“Yes!”
The guards hurriedly relayed the message.
Soon after, the lord appeared in haste with his escort knights.
“We greet the duke!”
Verocuerto’s lord, Count Wider, bowed politely to Kang Hyun-soo.
A count was a high noble.
Especially Verocuerto’s lord?
He could strut among fellow counts.
But a duke.
Not even Terra Kingdom’s duke, but a Rokto Empire duke rendered that meaningless.
A Rokto Empire duke was a top noble even Terra Kingdom’s king couldn’t treat lightly.
“But who might you be?”
He could tell from the seal it was a Rokto Empire duke.
But not exactly who.
“No need to know. I hear players named Lee Kwang-ho and Lee Cheol-min are imprisoned here. Bring them.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, Count Wider’s face twitched slightly.
Lee Kwang-ho was someone he’d been working hard to recruit.
“Forgive me, but may I know the reason?”
“Those two are wanted criminals in the Rokto Empire.”
“What?”
Count Wider was dumbfounded.
Both had operated solely in Terra Kingdom. How could they be Rokto Empire criminals?
“Show me the arrest warrant, and I’ll hand them over.”
Count Wider stood firm.
He couldn’t let prized prey be snatched so absurdly.
“Don’t have one.”
“Then I can’t hand them over. Follow proper procedures.”
Count Wider decided to stand his ground.
The opponent’s status was high, but.
This was Terra Kingdom’s great city Verocuerto.
And he was its lord.
“Are you harboring Rokto Empire criminals?”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, Count Wider paled.
“Those two are Verocuerto territory residents and Terra Kingdom subjects. And as Verocuerto’s lord, I have a duty to protect my people.”
In short, not even a Rokto Empire duke could take them on a mere word.
The reason Count Wider could be so bold: one.
‘He’s alone.’
A great noble like a duke never traveled solo.
Especially in foreign lands.
‘Might be fake.’
Forging a high noble’s seal was nearly impossible.
But.
Nearly impossible wasn’t impossible.
Even if the seal was real.
‘It’s not a powerful duke.’
Perhaps a fallen noble with just the title.
Powerful great nobles didn’t travel alone.
No big worry then.
‘What can he do?’
He hadn’t been impolite.
Nor demanded nonexistent procedures.
If he pushed hard?
The duke would withdraw or follow procedures and return.
‘Just sneak Sword Ghost out in the meantime.’
Execute them, then claim they were smuggled out.
“Good intentions wasted.”
Kang Hyun-soo frowned and raised his hand.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a hundred knights in full plate armor appeared, emanating mana.
“Harboring criminals? Looks like you’re in cahoots.”
Count Wider looked slightly surprised at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
But not fearful.
He trusted his all high-level player escort knights.
However.
“My lord, they all seem to be Rankers.”
His trusted escort knight said something absurd.
“What? Rankers?”
“Yes.”
“All of them?”
“Appears so.”
At the knight’s words, Count Wider’s face drained of color.
Rankers weren’t common dogs.
How could anyone have a hundred?
Even giant guilds had barely ten.
To command a hundred Rankers?
You’d need to be a king of a nation.
‘Damn it!’
Not fake, not powerless.
‘Real.’
The opponent was a proper Rokto Empire duke even Terra Kingdom’s king couldn’t touch.
“We’re absolutely not in league with those criminals! I’ll hand them over immediately! Go drag those two out now!”
“Yes!”
At Count Wider’s shout, the escort knight sprinted into the lord’s castle at full speed.
Witnessing this, Kang Hyun-soo gestured.
The hundred knights vanished in an instant.
‘Have to show strength to be heard.’
If he’d revealed his identity properly, this mess wouldn’t have happened.
Count Wider wouldn’t dare defy a player with a god title backed fully by the Rokto Emperor.
However.
This was a courtesy.
‘Revealing my identity would’ve caused a bigger uproar.’
Kang Hyun-soo had smashed demon king’s minions under the name Cheonma Blood God.
If such a figure took two Verocuerto criminals?
Rumors of demon king minions lurking in great city Verocuerto could spark massive panic.
It would harm great city Verocuerto’s rulers.
Count Wider’s reputation dropping didn’t matter.
But Balhae Guild’s prestige did.
‘No need to cause unnecessary trouble.’
Better to resolve this quietly.