Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: 39. Sleeping with the Enemy (4)
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「1」: Transmits all enemies in Brazier 1 to Brazier 3.
「3」: Transmits all enemies in Brazier 3 to Brazier 1.
Herding enemies into one brazier.
In simple terms, it was a mechanism allowing the first to complete the mission to sacrifice one of the remaining two braziers, enabling at least one other to light theirs.
‘Pick the lesser evil over the worst, huh.’
Of course, this was a function unnecessary if all ignition teams reached their braziers safely.
Everyone could just hit the return button and head back to the arena.
However.
Paat, pat!
Things didn’t go so smoothly.
Soon, screens showing the situations in Braziers 1 and 3 appeared above the two buttons, and as in the worst-case scenario, both sides were struggling.
‘What? They haven’t even made it halfway yet……?’
Brazier 1, where Jeong-gu and the Taiwanese had entered together, and Brazier 3, teamed up by the Chinese and Japanese—both were stuck around the midway point, unable to advance further.
Their monster-clearing speed wasn’t as fast as Yeong-woo’s, so they’d ended up surrounded.
“Father! Hey, Kim Jeong-gu……!”
Frustrated, Yeong-woo shouted at his father on the screen, then something occurred to him, and he looked down at his hand.
A ring on his finger popped up a tooltip in his vision.
「Wave」 - Unique Ring
【Transmits voice to the First Sword of the acquisition region.】
|Region: Seoul
Wave. A ring that broadcasts voice to all First Swords belonging to Seoul.
And inside there, getting pummeled by monsters, was Kim Jeong-gu.
‘…He’s Dobong First Sword, so he should hear the voice broadcast via Wave.’
Assuming the ring worked normally even in this dungeon created in alien territory, of course.
Either way, there was no time to deliberate further.
Yeong-woo immediately brought his mouth to the ring and spoke urgently.
《Father, can you hear me?》
On the screen, Jeong-gu suddenly snapped his head up.
He’d heard Jeong Yeong-woo’s voice.
‘It… it works, at least for now.’
Sure, the other Seoul First Swords would hear it too, but there was no helping that.
Yeong-woo had just revealed to all of Seoul’s First Swords that something ominous was unfolding in today’s night dungeon.
《From now on, I’ll send every monster there to Brazier 3.》
As he said this, Yeong-woo glanced apologetically at Tomiko and Zhang Zai-ham in Brazier 3, who were dancing on the edge of death.
《That’ll obviously mean Japan and China in Brazier 3 are as good as dead. But in exchange, Father, you’ll reach your brazier without interference.》
Jeong-gu looked up at the air again, his face full of dread.
Whatever it was, his son was plotting something outrageous again.
And he was right.
《So now it’s all up to you, Father. When all the monsters suddenly vanish, run like hell to the brazier.》
《Then light the brazier and dash to the opposite stone slab to send every monster in Brazier 3 to Brazier 2.》
Brazier 2.
Where Yeong-woo was right now.
In other words, do another herding before Tomiko and Zhang Zai-ham bit the dust.
《You’ll understand what all this means the moment you get there.》
With that, Yeong-woo slammed the herding button in front of him.
Kwang!
Sure enough, every monster in Jeong-gu’s Brazier 1 vanished without a trace.
And then, soon.
‘…Insane.’
The screen showing Brazier 3 filled entirely with ashen gray.
The number of monsters guarding it had doubled.
‘S-Sorry, China, Japan……!’
If it was chilling just watching from here, what must those two trapped inside be feeling?
Yeong-woo squeezed his eyes shut then open, then scolded Jeong-gu, who was bewildered by the suddenly empty landscape.
《Father, what are you doing? I said grit your teeth and run!》
* * *
At the same time, in Brazier 1, Jeong-gu was tearing through the space like a madman, following Yeong-woo’s one-sided orders.
Taat!
Leaping over scattered stone fragments in the air by the skin of his teeth each time.
Tssuk!
If he’d put just a bit less power into his front leg just now, he’d have slid into the abyss below.
“…….”
Daring not even imagine what lay down there, Jeong-gu glanced briefly before hurling his body toward the next stone structure ahead.
Taat!
Goh Woong Sword Dragon Ryu Man-ho, who’d been following cluelessly, spat out an irritated comment.
“Hey, old timer! What the hell’s going on all of a sudden? The monsters are gone—why keep running?”
Jeong-gu, barely clinging to the next stone structure, replied without even turning back.
“That bastard… no, my son’s got some plan.”
“Son? You mean that guy who went to 2? Thought he was dead by now.”
Jeong-gu chuckled dryly.
“Even if someone dies, it won’t be folks like us. No way that guy croaks in a place like this.”
Of course, earlier when surrounded by at least a few hundred monsters, he’d honestly doubted.
Could even Jeong Yeong-woo punch through a spot like that?
Wasn’t that punk flat on the floor, lifeless by now?
But the punk in question.
―You’ll understand what all this means the moment you get there.
Had survived just to show off as usual.
Said everything would click once he reached the brazier.
‘Doesn’t that mean he’s already lit his brazier? Crazy bastard…….’
Taat!
Jeong-gu launched toward the next stone structure.
Ryu Man-ho grumbled from behind again.
“Ugh, slow down a bit. You old folks might be spry, but I’m bleeding like crazy from that wound that Chinese prick gave me earlier.”
“No time to rest. You know where all those monsters from here went?”
“Huh? Where?”
As Ryu Man-ho tilted his head, Jeong-gu raised his right hand and vaguely pointed at some spot on the wall.
“Brazier 3.”
“……!”
“They haven’t lit it yet. So my son sent all the monsters from here over there.”
“Wait, then…….”
While Ryu Man-ho’s eyes grew complicated, Jeong-gu gauged the distance to the next stone structure.
“If we’re late, those two in 3 are dead nine times out of ten.”
Ttat!
With that, Jeong-gu’s body cleaved the air.
Thanks to gritting his teeth and running nonstop as Yeong-woo ordered, only two stone structures remained to the brazier.
“If it’s too much, rest up. Seems like just one person can handle the transfers.”
“…….”
Finally grasping the situation from the Korean ‘old timer,’ Ryu Man-ho flared up in an instant.
‘So that old geezer’s rushing off to save that Chinese guy?’
Fury boiling over, Ryu Man-ho shot him a murderous glare, which Jeong-gu somehow caught, stopping to turn back.
“What? Don’t wanna save that Chinese?”
They were in the middle of a time-critical mission, but if this Taiwanese kid lunged to block him, what then?
‘Forget lighting Brazier 3—I might not even keep my own head.’
Sure, it wasn’t a world where youth meant superior strength anymore.
Plus, that Goh Woong Sword Dragon had a gash from fighting the Chinese earlier.
Even so.
‘Saw him fight alongside against those monsters earlier—he’s no pushover. Not saying I’d definitely lose, but…….’
Jeong-gu’s conclusion: not an opponent decided in a few exchanges.
So he decided to placate the Taiwanese kid, even if it took time.
“There’s just Chinese in that brazier? Japanese too. We’re not exactly thrilled to help ’em either. But we gotta survive this first, right?”
Jeong-gu said this, noting Ryu Man-ho’s right hand near his sword hilt.
The kid was agonizing too.
Whether to ambush if this Korean old man bolted for the brazier again.
“But if that Japanese started yapping about Joseon being Japan’s vassal state, you wouldn’t wanna let him live either.”
“…Heh, fuck. Fair point.”
Amusingly, one line had logically—no, emotionally—convinced him. Jeong-gu scratched his chin.
“That Chinese guy… talked about Taiwan like that?”
“Yes.”
“I see……?”
No wonder the two nations’ elites had sword-danced before the dungeon even started.
“Tsk.”
Now Jeong-gu glared toward the brazier as furiously as Ryu Man-ho.
What would madman Jeong Yeong-woo do about this?
“Alright, here’s the play.”
After deep thought, Jeong-gu spoke up.
“Let’s get a fire lit in Brazier 3 too. That way, we’ve got the edge when we fight that Gwamegi or whatever.”
“So you’re saving the Chinese after all.”
“No, no.”
“……?”
“Monsters all flooded over there a while ago—think those two are still in one piece?”
“What’re you getting at?”
“If that Chinese lights the brazier and crawls out, ambush and kill him then. If he’s really your blood enemy, you can stomach that level of dirty, right?”
* * *
“…….”
How much time had passed?
After talking it over with the Taiwanese, Jeong-gu finally lit the brazier—that much was visible.
‘Ah, way later than expected… but at least worst case avoided.’
Seeing Brazier 1 ignite via the screen, Yeong-woo whipped his head toward Brazier 3.
Suk.
There were Miyagi Sword Emperor and Shandong Twin Evils, literally being trampled under ashen monsters.
Then.
Paat!
In the blink of an eye, every monster on screen vanished.
Jeong-gu had sent all of Brazier 3’s enemies here to Brazier 2, as instructed.
Suddenly, the once-silent space around Yeong-woo filled with clamor and swift presences.
-Move… moving again?
-Kraaaah……!
-Over there!
-Die!
Thousands of ashen monsters poured in like rain through ceiling and walls.
Yeong-woo’s vision was flooded with sense-theft alerts, as every monster in the chamber fixated on him—only natural.
“Whew, this batch is seriously huge.”
Yeong-woo shuddered in dismay but nocked an arrow, aiming into empty air while drawing the bowstring.
Kkudeuk.
「White Barrage」 - Saga Bow
【Sense stats apply to arrow power.】
【Power increases with arrow range.】
◇ Togo: Stealth Arrow
◇ Togo: Ability Damage
A saga-grade bow with Togo’s special options applied.
Thus, triggering ability explosions while advertising Togo would make for a pretty spectacle.
A thousands-to-one battle in another world, no less.
The issue, though.
“Free advertising’s a bit much, even for me.”
Yeong-woo held the draw, merely glancing upward—likely toward the sky.
By now, ashen monsters swarmed, filling the surroundings, but Yeong-woo didn’t care much.
A portal lay open elsewhere for escape anytime, and he was confident he’d win even without explosive arrows.
“No ad budget? Guess I’ll just swing the sword a bit then bail? At least the logo’d print on the sword trails—not total loss.”
As Yeong-woo went on like this, something actually happened.
Peeing!
Togo tossed down a quest, as if helpless.
[Togo] “Togo, Supreme Archer”
<Mission> Use bow to dispose of ogres, 0/2,743.
<Reward> 2 million karma
<Special1> Must disclose Togo’s support in this mission.
<Special2> 1 million karma extra if you remove upper clothing.