Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: 31. Turning Point (5)
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Whoosh!
As a golden wave erupted from Yeongwoo's body—his pupils shifting to gold—Kim Sun-gu, the Kaesong First Sword, widened his eyes.
"This...!"
He knew it all too well, at the very least.
The golden wave approaching him now was none other than the aura of the First Sword.
Thus, the identity of the man before him: South Korea's First Sword.
"Hup!"
Kim Sun-gu belatedly unleashed his own aura of the First Sword to counter it, but the wave from him crumbled without lasting even a second.
...!
This meant the aura of the outsider who had crossed the border was far stronger.
'What...? This bastard's tougher than me?'
Having fought countless battles around Kaesong since Reset Day One, Kim Sun-gu understood relatively well how this "aura of the First Sword" worked.
Its power was closely tied to the First Sword's own martial prowess, but even more so to inner strength.
The raw grit they called "guts"—boldness, tenacity, mental fortitude, and the like.
The same applied to resisting the aura.
Those raised like flowers in a greenhouse, shielded from hardship, were heavily affected despite high gear or stats. Conversely, those with unyielding spirits could stand firm even if their skills weren't top-tier.
In other words, when two First Swords clashed auras like this and one buckled so pathetically...
'...Fuck. No way.'
It meant the loser was relatively more like a flower in a greenhouse.
Grit.
His pride wounded, Kim Sun-gu glared and thrust out his spear.
But.
Splash!
Yeongwoo's golden wave, having shattered his aura, began exerting its dominance, preventing the move.
"Urk...?"
His heart suddenly clenched like a vise, leaving him unable to move properly.
This wasn't just Kim Sun-gu—the dozen airborne youths filling the area felt it too.
"Th-this!"
"S-spare us...!"
"Mister!"
Seeing even their "big bro" Kim Sun-gu gripped by the aura, the boys begged mercy from the South Korean man.
But Yeongwoo had already begun reciting "it."
"This battle is brought to you by intergalactic weapons brand Dogo..."
The sponsorship notice came in a unusually somber tone.
Which only amplified the listeners' fear.
"...Mister?"
"W-what are you suddenly saying?!"
"I am a human of Earth, the strongest in Gyeongbuk and Gangnam: Jeong Yeongwoo07."
The reason for this man's exceptionally potent aura, finally revealed.
Of course, even after he disclosed the sponsorship, Kim Sun-gu and the boys couldn't know.
What horrors the man before them had endured.
If Kaesong First Sword Kim Sun-gu was a flower blooming in Earth's greenhouse, then Gyeongbuk First Sword Jeong Yeongwoo was a weed that had toured the cosmos beyond the atmosphere.
No wonder Kim Sun-gu's aura stood no chance.
"This crazy psycho bastard."
Finally shaking off the aura's grip, Kim Sun-gu lunged straight at Yeongwoo with his spear.
Screeech!
As expected from a battle-hardened veteran, it was a venomous thrust.
But since Kim Sun-gu wielded Earth's martial art, the "Kaesong Swordsmanship," Yeongwoo's eyes saw the stab as merely straightforward.
'Sharp, but the intent's plain as day.'
In contrast, Yeongwoo's martial art—with one foot in space—came from another world.
【Rohm's Floor】
And the irregular art used by Rhom's inmates proposed this counter.
Clang!
Ramming the opponent's spear tip with his forehead—the Vanguard helm.
Boosted by the overwhelming defense of "Golden Oath" and superior senses, Kim Sun-gu's attack looked agonizingly slow to Yeongwoo now.
Screech!
Failing to pierce the Vanguard, the spear tip slid aside, and Yeongwoo grabbed the shaft's end with his left hand.
Thud!
Kim Sun-gu's eyes bulged instantly.
"Wha...!"
Next, Yeongwoo yanked the shaft toward himself.
Whoosh!
Naturally, Kim Sun-gu—who gripped the shaft—was pulled toward Yeongwoo.
...!
Kim Sun-gu tried to close the gap further instead.
From his battle experience, the foe would swing a sword in such situations.
His own balance wasn't fully broken yet.
And the Kaesong Swordsmanship urged closing in near the enemy's sword-arm.
But Yeongwoo's actual follow-up was.
Bam!
A knee strike using the recoil from pulling him in.
"Urk!"
His face twisted at the unforeseen blow, yet even then, he kept eyes on the enemy's glowing red sword.
Expecting it to move next, after all.
But.
Whoosh!
What followed was a lightning left body hook.
Bam!
"Gah!"
Vomit surged up Kim Sun-gu's throat.
'Why the fuck is this madman using fists with a sword?'
Is this how South Koreans fight...?
As Kim Sun-gu reeled from Yeongwoo's unpredictable strikes—beyond even Kaesong Swordsmanship—"Dragon's Legacy" finally stirred.
Swoosh.
From Yeongwoo's view, he had to behead him as Dogo ordered, after all.
'Ah...!'
Spotting the enemy finally using his weapon, Kim Sun-gu ironically felt relief.
Weapon-vs-weapon favored his vast combat data, and spears outdid swords in range combat.
'You're done now.'
Thud!
So as Kim Sun-gu hastily leaped back.
Whoosh!
Another ominous whoosh, and Yeongwoo's right foot snapped out.
A front kick.
Bam!
Yeongwoo's thrusting front kick slammed into Kim Sun-gu's gut, and the reflexive hunch from agony left him...
"Huh...?"
Sensing something gravely wrong.
This posture—upper body bent, neck extended—no matter how he sliced it...
'No, don't!'
Perfect for decapitation.
And indeed, Yeongwoo was swinging Dragon's Legacy two-handed at Kim Sun-gu's nape.
Slash!
It traced a flawless arc without incident.
...!
"Eh!"
"Gasp?"
Everyone in the area—including Yeongwoo—saw Dogo's wedge pattern pass through Kim Sun-gu's neck to the ground.
Then.
Plop, thud!
Kaesong First Sword Kim Sun-gu's head hit the floor.
* * *
10:02 AM.
The sun had climbed fairly high, but still, not a single soul appeared.
True to first impressions, Kaesong was a genuine ghost city.
An abandoned city held only by Kaesong First Sword Kim Sun-gu and his bandit gang.
'Guess it'll stay in mutant-overrun limbo now.'
Amid the scattered boy corpses, Yeongwoo calculated the round trip from Seoul's Gangnam to Kaesong.
'1 PM: Handle Gangnam mutant as fast as possible... then to Gwangjin District. If I process Gwangjin's mutant on time, around 1:30.'
Then high-speed traversal across Seoul to Kaesong.
If he wrapped Seoul duties quicker, he might reach Kaesong by 2 PM.
Of course, only Iron Horse Neuggi's owner, Yeongwoo, could devise such a plan.
'Insane idea, but not impossible. And it'd nearly complete the daily achievement in one day.'
[Golden Journey]
|Summon golden rain in the following regions.
|Domestic (2/3) |Foreign (0/2)
North Korea's anomalous climate meant, at least, the World System classified it as foreign.
Thus, hitting golden rain in its two regions had a high chance of fulfilling the foreign bonus condition.
'Alright, that's the plan. Now that I know Kim Jong-un's coming back as a mutant, North Korea needs watching too.'
So, how would Seoul Alliance's First Swords react to this news?
Yeongwoo reached for ring "Wave" to inform them but paused at the system prompt.
-Acquire and merge Kaesong First Sword?
...Merge rights expire in 5 seconds.
...4.
...3.
"What?"
He'd momentarily forgotten amid the rare First Sword kill.
That he could absorb titles from other regions.
'Ha, approve merge.'
Decision made, the regional status in his vision updated instantly.
Flash!
|Current region: 'Kaesong.'
|No First Sword in this region.
Then came the familiar—but slightly different—merge notice.
「Acquired and merged Kaesong First Sword!」
...North Korean regional titles owned: 1.
'...North Korean region.'
But the truly crucial part followed.
[Kaesong First Sword] => Merge 2+ major regions.
= [Chosun First Sword (True)]
'Huh...?'
The format was familiar from before, but the content was utterly different.
Previous examples Yeongwoo saw were for ascending to major-region First Sword, not merging them.
[Gumi First Sword] => Merge 2+ times.
= [Gyeongbuk First Sword (True)]
This new one, though...
'Wait... Chosun First Sword is the major-region upgrade, right?'
Achieved by unifying Hwanghae-namdo, Hwanghae-bukdo, Pyongyang, Hamgyong-namdo, etc.—likely North Korea's top title.
'But why show me this after just getting one North Korean title...'
Was it because he brought a major-region title from South Korea?
'Wouldn't that mess up the North Korean title hierarchy? Doesn't seem likely.'
After mulling hypotheses, Yeongwoo finally reached a plausible conclusion.
Namely.
'Ah... don't tell me Kaesong's a special city.'
Kaesong Special City.
Size-wise, a plain city of 370,000, but due to location and administrative uniqueness, classified as a special city in North Korea.
Unlike others, independent—not under any "do" province.
So if the regional system took it at face value, it might rank Kaesong First Sword equal to Hamhung or Pyongyang First Swords.
'If that's it, not a bug exactly, but a loophole.'
And most importantly, Yeongwoo himself benefited from this loophole.
Of course, needing two more North Korean major titles made Chosun First Sword unlikely for a South Korea-based Yeongwoo.
Or so he'd thought until just now.
Before the title system's warning.
「Acquired title from region outside your nation, generating stigma 'Territoriality.'」
"What?"
As Yeongwoo blurted in shock, a crimson sword-slash mark and new tooltip appeared in his vision.
『Territoriality: North Korea』
|Seized North Korean assets. To punish this crime, all North Korean First Swords learn your location.