Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: 33. One Man Army (10)
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“Youngtae, what did you say?”
“Huh?”
The moment Yeongwoo and Kim Young-heum let out simultaneous cries of surprise, Yeongwoo’s “friends” finally landed, kicking up clouds of dirt.
Ruuuumble!
And before the dust could even settle.
Whoooosh!
Youngtae burst out from within the dust cloud.
[Jeong Yeongwoo07’s friend—Hong Youngtae]
Fwoooosh!
The sheer weight of his presence forced even the greatest swordsmen of the era to instinctively step back, and Youngtae charged straight through the gap toward Kim Young-heum.
“Yaaaaah!”
Youngtae’s movements were so lightning-quick that even Yeongwoo couldn’t stop him this time.
Shiiiing!
The hand blade struck toward the guest who made up a significant portion of the Daebuk Alliance’s current forces.
“You bastard.”
Half flustered, half enraged.
Kim Young-heum unleashed his signature gale winds with a complicated expression.
“Die!”
But Youngtae shrugged off the blast without a care and swung his claws.
“That crazy bastard.”
Yeongwoo immediately tried to rush toward Youngtae but froze at the sight of what happened next.
Kraaack!
Kim Young-heum reared up his upper body against the claw swipe and clamped down on the opponent’s hand with his forepaw.
“Uh, ugh...!”
“This guy, why’s his strength so insane?”
Surprisingly, a full-on power struggle had broken out.
No, more precisely, it was shocking that Youngtae—a second-day mutant—wasn’t being overwhelmed by Kim Young-heum, an enhanced fourth-day variant.
“No way.”
Yeongwoo realized something upon seeing it.
He’d only vaguely sensed it until now, but it was certain.
“My friends are getting stronger too.”
It was obvious the friends inside the whistle were powering up as the days passed.
Otherwise, how could a second-day variant like Youngtae hold his own against Kim Young-heum?
“Grrgh...!”
But as expected, he couldn’t fully overpower a proper fourth-day, and soon a strained groan escaped Youngtae’s lips.
Then.
“Oh man, we’re really sorry.”
A massive gray-white lump appeared behind Youngtae like a mountain and swung a fist at Kim Young-heum’s face.
Boooom!
It was none other than the former VC Soft CEO, Kim Tae-jun.
[Jeong Yeongwoo07’s friend—Kim Tae-jun]
“Crazy, that fist is way too strong?”
Sensing just how dangerous CEO Kim Tae-jun’s attack was, Yeongwoo yanked out “Dragon’s Legacy” and hurled it as he shouted.
“Stop...! That man’s our guest!”
Kim Tae-jun, fist extended right up to the white tiger’s snout, went wide-eyed and froze.
“A guest?”
Dazed for a moment, Kim Tae-jun soon paled in realization and turned to Youngtae.
Flick.
Youngtae, who had insolently gripped both of the white tiger’s paws, gave his long snout a slight quiver.
“Huh...? This is our guest?”
The phrasing clearly irked him, and as the strength drained from Youngtae’s body, Kim Young-heum slammed him down.
-Grrrrr!
A thunderous rumble poured from the furious Kim Young-heum’s throat.
But since he hadn’t actually taken much damage, he didn’t strike back at Youngtae.
“You bastards. What the hell are you?”
As he twitched his whiskers and growled, Kim Tae-jun flattened himself to the ground in apology.
“We’re sorry, we didn’t realize.”
Yeongwoo explained to Young-heum in their place.
“We met them as fellow mutants, just like you, General-nim. We shook hands, and they became my friends. Looks like they jumped the gun with a misunderstanding today.”
“Friends...?”
The word was utterly absurd in this world, and Kim Young-heum tilted his head. Then he belatedly spotted the two ruffians’ nameplates and gaped.
[Jeong Yeongwoo07’s friend—Hong Youngtae]
[Jeong Yeongwoo07’s friend—Kim Tae-jun]
And though no one voiced it, the First Swords from both North and South were beyond shocked by the whole ordeal.
Allying with Paju mutants was already beyond comprehension, but summoning mutants directly with a whistle...?
“Fuck, we’re done for.”
Sinuiju First Sword Jo Sung-hu squeezed his eyes shut.
The gear they wielded wasn’t just better—it was on another level entirely.
They’d come to war with swords, while the enemy rolled up with guns and cannons.
So the “we” Jo Sung-hu declared finished wasn’t just the First Swords here—it meant North Korea itself.
“Of course, Pyongyang First Sword’s still powering up even now.”
But would that be enough?
They might block Kim Jong-un like everyone wanted, but beating that freak? No easy confidence there.
And what about the ominous vibes from China?
“Damn it.”
The war was still on, regardless.
And Yeongwoo hadn’t forgotten that.
Nor that his “friends’” time was almost up.
“Let’s wrap up this battle first.”
At Yeongwoo’s words, the two summoned mutants glared murderously at the North Korean First Swords encircling the area.
They’d figured out these were the guys who’d deliver a TV to the returnee’s room.
* * *
A sense of inevitable defeat.
The two “friends’” intrusion alone had flipped the tide completely.
Even without Yeongwoo lifting a finger, the North Korean First Swords—nearly double in number—were on the defensive.
“Haaaah!”
Especially CEO Kim Tae-jun’s granite-armored combat prowess—it was monstrous.
“Wha—what?!”
“Dodge! He’s coming again!”
Every brutish fist swing shattered the northern lines completely, and there was no stopping Kim Tae-jun.
Just like when Yeongwoo had struggled against that granite shell, the other First Swords fared no better on first encounter.
They had no idea how to beat an enemy blades couldn’t pierce.
Ruuuumble!
So whenever he charged, the North Korean First Swords could only scramble out of the way helplessly.
Then, right on cue.
“Yaaaah!”
The spotted beastman Hong Youngtae and White Tiger General Kim Young-heum flanked in, snatching one or two foes in their jaws.
“My God.”
“We’ve got nothing to do...?”
The South Korean First Swords had long since sheathed their blades and become spectators.
They hadn’t even needed to come to Paju to back Yeongwoo—he could’ve soloed this.
“I told you. We just needed to show up.”
Lee Yu-bin shot an awkward smile at Dongdaemun’s Jang Jeong-ho.
Cold sweat beaded on her temple, though—she hadn’t expected Yeongwoo to wield mutants like personal limbs.
The North Korean First Swords, biggest victims of this mess, wore the same defeated-soldier faces. All had realized the South Korean thief was unbeatable by any normal human.
“If only Comrade Kim Jong-un were here instead.”
Some were even thinking that. In an already lopsided fight, defeat loomed thicker.
“......”
Even Sinuiju First Sword Jo Sung-hu, still facing Yeongwoo, had gone serene.
“Once we fall, Pyongyang First Sword will have no choice but to descend.”
Yeongwoo nodded at Jo Sung-hu’s words.
“Probably.”
“Even then, with those guys?”
“......?”
Yeongwoo first thought “those guys” meant the South Korean First Swords, then realized otherwise.
Youngtae. Tae-jun. Young-heum.
The mutants on this battlefield.
“Yeah, most likely.”
Jo Sung-hu closed his eyes briefly as Yeongwoo nodded again.
Picturing Pyongyang First Sword facing three mutants and Chosun’s Greatest Sword at once.
“......”
He opened them again.
“Pyongyang First Sword’s purpose right now is assassinating the General Secretary. The people are waiting for it.”
Assassinating the General Secretary.
North Korea’s plan: kill Kim Jong-un the second he returned.
“But if you kill Pyongyang First Sword before the deed is done.”
“......”
“If that happens, unfortunately... at least you’d carry on his will, right? Even if not as a fellow countryman—I see it as a request you could honor.”
Kim Jong-un was evil incarnate before he was North Korea’s dictator.
If Pyongyang First Sword fell, Jo Sung-hu was asking Yeongwoo to finish the job in his place.
“Already dictating your will?”
Jo Sung-hu wrinkled his nose bridge at Yeongwoo’s noncommittal retort.
“You know damn well I’m dead.”
“......”
Just as Jo Sung-hu said, Yeongwoo’s vision overflowed with kill marks from Chosun Swordsmanship scattered across the man’s body.
Vital points everywhere.
One Chosun Swordsmanship-based strike, and Jo Sung-hu wouldn’t survive a single clash.
“Come on—before I go, let’s see it. Our nation’s finest swordsmanship.”
As Jo Sung-hu readjusted his grip, Yeongwoo tilted his blade upward into an attack stance.
Swish.
Unlike the South Korean styles including Gyeongbuk that he’d tried before, Chosun Swordsmanship’s basic guard had the body sideways, blade extended forward.
Like fencing.
“Insanely aggressive swordsmanship.”
The side profile minimized frontal exposure, but really, it suppressed attack presence and obscured tells.
The smaller hitbox was just a bonus.
In essence, Chosun Swordsmanship operated on one principle.
“Attack is the ultimate defense.”
Jo Sung-hu smirked bitterly as Yeongwoo fixated on one visible mark.
“That’s a kill spot, huh?”
He wielded peninsula swordsmanship too—knew the marks well.
—Kill
Yeongwoo knew the man had tracked his gaze, but launched anyway.
Shiiiing!
A deep forward thrust from the oblique blade tip.
Oddly, the flat faced sideways with a twist for rotation.
And so.
Tsssh!
Jo Sung-hu parried the obvious path, but Yeongwoo’s blade coiled around his like it’d been waiting, redirecting flawlessly.
Screeech!
It was an attack designed to hijack the counter and retarget.
“......!”
Yeongwoo’s tip slipped the guard and speared Jo Sung-hu’s chest bone dead-on.
“Guh!”
Sinuiju First Sword gulped hard from the shock.
Laboriously parting bloodied lips to bare stained teeth.
“Truly Chosun’s Greatest... Swordsmanship.”
Yeongwoo ripped the blade free, spun once, and slashed diagonally.
Whiiiiiish!
Quill patterns etched the air as Sinuiju First Sword Jo Sung-hu’s head detached, casting a tiny shadow.
[Doggo] “Headhunter”
<Quest> Sever 6/7 First Sword heads.
<Reward> 7 million karma
<Special> Must disclose Doggo’s support for this quest.
“Now just the last one.”
As Yeongwoo eyed the ruthlessly updated “Headhunter” status, a new quest popped below.
[Doggo] “Will of the Dead”
<Quest> Assassinate Kim Jong-un.
<Reward> Doggo custom gear
<Special> Must disclose Doggo’s support for this quest.