Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: 33. One Man Army (9)
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"Hurry up already!"
At Seongbuk First Sword Lee Yu-bin's urging, Jang Jeong-ho let out a deep sigh and grumbled.
"What's the rush? Gangnam First Sword will handle it just fine anyway."
Seongbuk's Lee Yu-bin and Dongdaemun's Jang Jeong-ho.
Right now, these two First Swords were heading to Paju to join the "North-South War," which had been the main agenda at yesterday's meeting.
In reality, though, it was more like Lee Yu-bin was forcibly dragging Jang Jeong-ho along.
He had just finished a battle with mutants not long ago, and he had no desire to help Jeong Yeong-woo in the first place.
But.
"That's exactly it! Like you said, Jeong-ho, Gangnam First Sword will take care of everything, so why not go? You'll regret it for sure if you don't. At least show your face. Yeong-woo will be doing a one-man show anyway, so we can just watch."
Lee Yu-bin had an uncanny grasp of the battlefield situation without even being there.
Meanwhile, Jang Jeong-ho followed her toward Paju, his face showing clear displeasure.
'Does North Korea only have people like us? They might have a lunatic like Jeong Yeong-woo too. If that guy's always stirring things up, he's bound to get his comeuppance someday.'
Of course, this was nothing more than Jang Jeong-ho's wishful thinking.
Thud thud!
As the two continued bickering while racing toward Paju, they soon spotted a mutant marker.
"Huh?"
"Uh...?"
A crimson pillar of light piercing the sky over Paju.
It meant a mutant in Paju was still alive.
"What the hell? How is that possible?"
Lee Yu-bin gaped and picked up her pace even more.
Wasn't Paju right now a chaotic clash between the North and South First Swords?
So how could a mutant still be alive amid all that?
"What the heck is going on?"
Even Jang Jeong-ho couldn't hold back now and accelerated. Moments later, the battlefield in question appeared before their eyes.
Clang, clang, screeech!
The ear-piercing friction of countless weapons slicing through the air.
And at the center was the massive white tiger from before, bathed in that red pillar of light, battling North Korea's First Swords.
"......?"
For Yu-bin and Jeong-ho, who had just arrived, it was an unbelievable sight. But what truly overwhelmed their gaze was.
"H-How many are there?"
The number of First Swords from both sides gathered here.
The North had nine still standing, and including the corpses on the ground, that made eleven. The South had four.
Fifteen First Swords in total, locked in combat right here.
"No way, we're totally outnumbered?"
As Dongdaemun First Sword Jang Jeong-ho hesitated at the far larger scale of battle than expected, a head suddenly flew into the air from the center of the field.
Splash!
The two newcomers didn't know it, but the owner of that head was.
『Pyeongnam First Sword』
The leader of the North Korean main force, Pyeongnam First Sword Go Jeon-hun01.
* * *
"You fucking idiot...!"
Hamheung First Sword Kim Jeong-tae spat curses upon seeing Go Jeon-hun's head fly off.
And for good reason.
「National title, Pyeongnam First Sword, has been stolen!」
Even the First Sword position of the greater Pyeongnam region had gone to the South.
And that meant.
「A new Joseon First Sword (True) has been selected.」
That thief was now the sole candidate for North Korea's top spot.
「A new Joseon First Sword has been selected.」
Sure enough, with no other contender for Joseon First Sword (True), the lone candidate naturally claimed the title.
"Crazy."
"No way."
"P-Pyeongnam's dead...?"
The North side fell into instant chaos.
Meanwhile, the South had anticipated much upon seeing Go Jeon-hun's head roll.
「It's over! They're just a rabble now!」
General Kim Young-heum roared toward the North, growling low.
And in truth.
「National title, Joseon First Sword, has been stolen!」
The worst notification message yet crushed the North Korean First Swords' morale to rock bottom.
Unless Kim Jong-un himself returned, nothing could be worse.
"You son of a...!"
As Hamheung's Kim Jeong-tae wore a look of utter defeat, Songpa First Sword Oh Yeon-hui—who had been facing him—gripped her crescent blade tightly and spoke.
"What were you even thinking, coming all this way? That guy's a monster even we can't control. Sorry it turned out like this, but anyway...!"
Whoosh!
Instead of finishing her words, Oh Yeon-hui swung her crescent blade.
Kim Jeong-tae, who had been dazed for a moment, hastily blocked with his sword and gnashed his teeth.
Clang!
"You crazy bitch, what the hell are you talking about? We're not done yet. You think only you guys have monsters?"
"...What?"
As Oh Yeon-hui glared at him over their crossed blades, a thunderous voice boomed from the North once more.
"You bastards! Which one of you is the Joseon First Sword? Get your asses out here!"
The identity of the man standing proudly atop the hill, his long sword plunged into the ground, was none other than.
『Sinuiju First Sword』
The reinforcements that the now-deceased Go Jeon-hun had so desperately awaited had arrived.
Jo Seong-hu01 from Sinuiju.
He could rightly be called the guardian of northern Korea.
He had guarded the border city of Sinuiju against China, slaughtering bandits big and small.
Now, unable to contain his rage as his nation's titles kept slipping away, he had come all the way down to Paju.
'Good thing I came down. This would've been a disaster otherwise.'
Jo Seong-hu looked down at the chaotic battlefield and clicked his tongue.
The North still had far more First Swords, but the loss of the Joseon First Sword title made it clear.
The actual state of the battle was nothing like it appeared.
"......"
Meanwhile, the war had reached a temporary lull.
Thanks to Jo Seong-hu's sudden command.
The North turned toward their long-awaited savior, while the South shifted attention to this new enemy.
Of course, the South's tension was far less.
If Sinuiju First Sword was a big deal for the North, the South had Gangnam... no, now Joseon First Sword Jeong Yeong-woo.
The man closest to being a demon on the peninsula right now.
"...You can tell just by looking—they're the reasonable ones. Strength or whatever."
As Oh Yeon-hui muttered to Kim Jeong-tae across from her, 'Joseon First Sword' Jeong Yeong-woo took a couple steps toward the hill.
Click, click.
He then swapped his overhead title to Joseon First Sword.
Flash!
Unlike Gyeongbuk First Sword, a somewhat different tooltip appeared.
「Joseon First Sword」 - Legendary Title
【Prestige of the First Sword】
【Voting Right Holder】
【Joseon Swordsmanship】
'...Joseon Swordsmanship.'
It was only natural, but the Joseon First Sword title came with Joseon Swordsmanship.
It was a refreshing change for Yeong-woo, who had been using the Floor of Lom for a while.
'Still, the Floor of Lom is a higher grade?'
When Yeong-woo pulled up his martial arts list, he saw that his current Joseon Swordsmanship and the otherworldly Floor of Lom were both Legendary grade.
||Joseon Swordsmanship – Legendary Grade
|Floor of Lom – Legendary Grade
|Gyeongbuk Swordsmanship – Unique Grade
'Oh... So the pinnacle martial art of a nation gets Legendary grade.'
Then there was no need to use the Floor of Lom this time.
And he could swap between Joseon Swordsmanship and Floor of Lom anytime if he wanted.
'Let's try Joseon Swordsmanship this time.'
Slash!
As Yeong-woo sheathed Dragon's Legacy and drew his black sword again, Sinuiju First Sword Jo Seong-hu twisted his lips.
"Arrogant prick."
It stung his pride that the opponent had boldly displayed 'Joseon First Sword' overhead and drawn his sword first, ignoring the bow slung across his body.
Anyone could see it as looking down on them.
But Yeong-woo, in fact.
Whoosh!
Was already drawing his bow and nocking an arrow.
Creak!
While holding his sword in one hand.
The distance was so close it was possible.
"Given the situation, shouldn't you have rushed in? Your allies' lives are hanging by a thread."
As Yeong-woo spoke and released the bowstring, immense pressure built up ahead of the arrow.
Fweeeee!
Doggo's stealth arrow shot toward Jo Seong-hu, hiding its presence.
Swoosh!
But the truly surprising thing came next.
"......!"
The arrow didn't explode.
Jo Seong-hu had simply twisted aside to dodge it.
'Experts are experts. No wonder North Korea was holding out.'
As Yeong-woo showed surprise, Jo Seong-hu charged forward with booming momentum and a deep voice.
"I left the border empty because of you. But if I can become Joseon First Sword and go back, it'll more than cover the trip."
Swoosh.
Jo Seong-hu reached into his robes for something.
Having faced all sorts of hidden weapons before, Yeong-woo twisted his upper body even before the Joseon Swordsmanship hologram activated.
Whish.
Sure enough, two small daggers flew at him in succession, and Yeong-woo's vision suddenly tinted army blue.
'Oh, this is.'
The Joseon Swordsmanship hologram was army blue.
Splash!
As Yeong-woo gripped his sword following the army blue hologram, Jo Seong-hu—who had been charging—flinched.
He had realized from the opponent's completely transformed battle stance.
The refined, relaxed way he held the sword felt like...
'Joseon Swordsmanship...!'
To think he'd face the Joseon Swordsmanship, which should have been North Korea's secret art.
"Fuck."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Jo Seong-hu's face twisted viciously.
"I'll repay this humiliation with your blood."
Yeong-woo felt awkward too, but followed Joseon Swordsmanship's instruction and raised his sword tip toward the opponent.
"Come at me."
The other First Swords, who had been blankly watching the two's encounter, reignited their killing intent.
It was time to end this war.
"Raaah!"
"Die!"
With Sinuiju First Sword's arrival boiling the North's morale, General Kim Young-heum—who had been holding off four First Swords—opened his massive maw and shouted.
「You already killed one—what's with the posing? Got no other magic?」
His huge body made him an easy target, so it was a plea to save himself.
Even as an enhanced mutant, facing four First Swords hell-bent on killing him wasn't easy.
"...Ah, hold on!"
Yeong-woo, bracing for his first clash with the death-defying Sinuiju, pulled back and reached for the whistle at his neck.
Jo Seong-hu widened his eyes and screamed.
"Stop! Whatever it is, don't! Let's fight fair and square!"
He had seen through that the South's freak had another trick.
But for Yeong-woo, he needed to protect South Korea's precious assets—the white tiger and the remaining First Swords.
"Sorry. Just need to even the numbers a bit."
"Nooooo!"
In the end, over Jo Seong-hu's scream, Yeong-woo's whistle blast stretched out long.
Tweetreeee!
「...Huh?」
A whistle performance in the middle of the battlefield.
Most in the field, including Kim Young-heum, widened their eyes in shock at the unexpected feat from Joseon First Sword.
And when the saturation around them shifted and the sky began to crack.
Crack!
"Ah."
"Wh-What."
"The sky...?"
Aside from a very few, no one could have predicted it.
「Raaah!」
「Uwoooo!」
That two more mutants were about to appear from the sky.
Screeeee!
Two massive silhouettes rapidly approaching the battlefield.
But even Yeong-woo, who called them, hadn't anticipated one variable:
「Those punks, boss!」
「What? Who...?」
Both were blinded by the chance to rack up merits for a TV.
「That mutant over there! Kim Young-heum, you bastard!」