Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: 33. One Man Army (7)
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‘Fuck, what the hell is this situation?’
The greatest crisis of his life.
Goyang First Sword Park Jung-jin02 scanned his surroundings with massively dilated pupils.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Kill that bastard first!”
“Grab the rear, you useless fuckers!”
It was because no fewer than three First Swords who had come down from the North were charging at him.
Thanks to that, sweat was pouring down, and his back had long since been soaked.
“......”
He usually called himself the guardian of the northern part of the Republic of Korea, but when the moment actually came to play the ‘guardian’ role, he felt pathetically weak.
And that was because.
“Damn it.”
Right now, he was trying to hide behind a mutated being to escape the North’s First Swords.
Of course, this was purely a tactical maneuver.
Who in this world could take on three First Swords at once?
A 1 versus 3 battle that was overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
In a situation like this, you had to use whatever you could get your hands on.
Even if it was a mutated being.
‘Still, can’t help but feel embarrassed.’
Taat!
As Jung-jin swiftly took shelter under the mutated being’s massive shadow.
「What the hell are you doing?」
Paju’s Day 4 mutated being, Soldier-Kim Young-heum, growled with his silver-white whiskers twitching.
[Soldier-Kim Young-heum]
As a mutated being, the body he had gained was a white tiger about 6 meters long and 2.5 meters tall at the shoulder.
Jung-jin looked up at him and felt his legs trembling uncontrollably.
It was just scary to look at.
Perhaps the fear of tigers was imprinted in the genes passed down from his ancestors.
They said people actually got eaten by tigers back in the old days.
But.
‘I’m not dying this ridiculously.’
There was a saying that even if you got bitten by a tiger, you could survive if you kept your wits.
In the face of death’s terror, Park Jung-jin remembered the opponent’s identity.
“General! P-please help me just once. We’re from the same country, aren’t we? Those are the North Korean bastards!”
「......!」
At the word ‘General,’ Soldier-Kim Young-heum, who had returned as a white tiger, twitched his white eyebrows.
Army Major General Kim Young-heum.
Former Army Headquarters Policy Director.
He was probably the most famous living soldier right now.
While serving as Policy Director, he’d made headlines with the statement, ‘If North Korea fires one missile, we fire two,’ but later it was revealed he was involved in military supply corruption.
However, not missile corruption as the public mocked at the time—it was allegations of indirectly exerting influence in selecting a contractor for field uniforms.
Since it wasn’t a role directly tied to contractor selection, there was no definitive proof, just circumstantial evidence.
Above all, it was confirmed he’d received 1.3 billion won from the problematic company, so his name blanketed TV and the internet for a while.
And this scandal broke just two months before the Reset.
So public judgment came down before the trial even concluded.
They put Kim Young-heum on the erasure vote ballot.
「Do I look like an idiot? You came to kill me too, anyway.」
At Goyang First Sword’s plea for help, Kim Young-heum twitched his silver-white whiskers.
“Th-that’s true, but... eh! General!”
Park Jung-jin, who had been frantically making excuses, suddenly widened his eyes.
“Now!”
“Kiiiill!”
While the two exchanged brief words, the southern infiltration trio targeted Kim Young-heum.
They’d decided to take out the mutated being with the biggest presence first, as expected.
However, Paju’s mutated being belonged to the South.
“How dare you!”
Enraged, Park Jung-jin barely managed to exchange one clash each with the trio.
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeeng!
But miracles weren’t going to keep happening.
“You sneaky bastard.”
“You’re done!”
No sooner had the second clash begun than Park Jung-jin fell into a defensive position.
And that was only natural, like simple arithmetic.
When First Swords were of similar skill, the numbers made it three times harder.
Shweeeek!
“Keak!”
In the end, Park Jung-jin couldn’t survive the second clash and took a slash to his forearm. Up until then, Kim Young-heum had merely watched the fight, but now flames sparked in his eyes.
「You pathetic bastard.」
He knew both sides were after him as a mutated being, but seeing his country’s First Sword get beaten by North Korean bastards soured his mood.
「That’s why I always said—if they fire one shot, we fire two!」
Kwaak!
Then Kim Young-heum slammed his front paw into the ground and rose, instantly whipping up a massive gust that blew back all four nearby First Swords.
「To think I’d live to see armed communist spies again.」
The mutated being and former Army general, Kim Young-heum, lifted his head—covered in pure white fur—and gazed at the sky.
He had no sense of how much time had passed since the Reset.
Seeing these First Sword bastards running around with swords, it wouldn’t be strange if centuries had gone by...
“Geneeeeral!”
But just looking at that fool down there pathetically calling ‘General’ told him the world still remembered him.
Clearly, not much time had passed.
“Yaaah!”
“Hup!”
While Kim Young-heum looked up at the sky, Pyeonggang and Anak First Swords seized the moment and swung their blades.
「......」
Just as Kim Young-heum was about to demonstrate his true power.
Pewoooot!
From somewhere came a tiny sound that only he barely registered.
「What.」
And then.
Shweeeek—Boom!
A sharp presence and purple explosion erupted almost simultaneously.
Right in front of Kim Young-heum.
“Uwak!”
“Keheok!”
Thanks to that, the North’s First Swords were sent sprawling, but from the perspective of a mutated being who was everyone’s enemy, another powerhouse’s arrival was bad news.
「Who’s there!」
Unable to pinpoint the sound’s origin, Kim Young-heum whipped his head around. Wonsan First Sword, not caught in the blast, pointed somewhere.
“Th-there! That bastard!”
Wonsan First Sword’s finger trembled.
Because he could clearly see it.
The ‘brand’ stamped on the one who stole North Korea’s assets.
-Kweeeee!
And right on cue, a bizarre wail echoed long from the south.
「Huh?」
Kim Young-heum turned to see a man atop an iron horse, bow in hand, visible in the distance.
「What the hell is that...?」
It was so unreal that even a mutated being blurted out ‘that.’
Kwang!
As the iron horse accelerated, the ‘mounted archer’s’ black cloak billowed, revealing golden armor beneath.
「What is that? Another First Sword like you?」
The distance to ‘that’ was closing fast, so Kim Young-heum snapped at Park Jung-jin, who pitifully replied.
Swish.
He glanced toward the dark mounted archer.
“N-no idea! I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Useless words.
Because there was no title floating above its head, as there should be for a First Sword.
And in that meantime.
Kwaaang!
-Kweeek!
With the iron horse’s piercing screech, the mounted archer burst onto the scene.
「Urgh...!」
Feeling threatened, Kim Young-heum crouched low into attack position.
But.
Kwang! Kwang!
The opponent casually passed him by and stopped amid the North’s First Swords.
Then.
“Ah, really sorry about this. These guys came looking for me.”
He bowed his head to Young-heum and Jung-jin with utterly calm composure.
But what could the two, who hadn’t even grasped the situation, say?
「......」
“Uh, um......”
They just stood there blinking blankly until Kim Young-heum finally broke the silence with a question.
「Wh-who are you...?」
“Ah, right.”
As if he’d forgotten, the opponent looked up at his own head, then thumped his chest.
Hwaaak!
『Gyeongbuk First Sword』
The mounted archer’s true identity was revealed.
「Gyeongbuk First Sword...?」
Kim Young-heum slowly read the bizarre title aloud. The opponent drew his sword from his waist and formally introduced himself.
“Yes. I am Jeong Yeong-woo07, the strongest human on Earth in Gyeongbuk, Gangnam, Kaesong, and Hwanghae.”
「Huh?」
“And this battle is brought to you by intergalactic weapons brand Dogo.”
「Wh-what the hell are you talking about.」
Feeling uncanny, Kim Young-heum instinctively flattened his ears. Goyang First Sword Park Jung-jin spoke up with a pale face.
“G-General! This is really weird. First Swords don’t talk like that. Probably......”
But Park Jung-jin’s words didn’t continue.
While he spoke, Gyeongbuk First Sword Jeong Yeong-woo swung at Pyeonggang First Sword sprawled on the ground.
Hweeeek!
And along the sword’s path, a flashy wedge pattern traced in the air, making everyone in the area realize a beat late.
Plop.
That the blow had just severed Pyeonggang First Sword’s head.
「Th-this...!」
“Eh!”
Stunned by the overwhelming display, Young-heum and Jung-jin were shocked, but the remaining two from the North were even more rattled.
“You fucking bastard!”
“Sp-spare me!”
Anak and Wonsan.
They reacted differently but both unconsciously looked north.
As if waiting for someone.
So Yeong-woo intuited.
Click.
“There’s more, right? People who were supposed to come catch me.”
Probably.
Time-wise, it was too soon for the main force to arrive.
Given how they hadn’t reacted to the arrow earlier, these three who arrived first were mediocre scrubs.
In other words, this was likely an unsanctioned raid, not agreed upon with whatever alliance North Korea had.
They’d already lost two major regional titles—no way they’d send more small fry.
“You know nothing? Then I’ll kill you right now.”
When the opponent gave no answer, Yeong-woo raised his sword again. As Anak First Sword under the blade tried to beg.
“St-stop right there!”
A voice boomed from atop a low hill in the distance.
“......?”
Yeong-woo turned toward the voice and saw people lined up on the hill.
Eight of them.
‘...A lot this time.’
That was probably the North’s main force.
The narrative compass ‘Terrified Cat’ trembled faintly, signaling a threat over there.
At that moment, Kim Young-heum spoke up again.
「Even you find that tough, right? Isn’t that eight more now?」
“Ah.”
As Yeong-woo thought he should explain a bit to Young-heum.
Tat!
This time, a swift presence stirred from the south.
‘No way.’
Yeong-woo turned to see people indeed approaching from the south.
Seoul Federation’s First Swords.