Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: 42. The Powerful Man Blowing a Flute in Seoul (1)
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Laser cannon test fire.
As expected of the man who had crushed the North's First Swords, his ruthlessness and shamelessness pierced the heavens.
"So... you're going to test-fire a laser cannon right in the middle of Seoul?"
Oh Yeon-hee spoke in disbelief, and Yeong-woo's gaze shifted to the sky.
"Better than firing it randomly into a crowded downtown area. There's no one here, and no buildings left standing."
"......"
Random downtown area.
To the rest of the First Swords, that phrase from Yeong-woo sounded plenty intimidating.
Whether he meant it or not, it came across like a threat.
"Anyway, we need to test it first. Gotta know how the laser barrage works if we're going to use it properly in combat."
Yeong-woo spoke matter-of-factly, and Oh Yeon-hee finally backed down with a helpless shrug.
"Well, a laser that hits from Gwangjin won't reach Songpa."
Truth be told, what could she do even if she hated it?
They'd all seen it with their own eyes—the Joseon First Sword was strong even without legs.
Sure, if everyone here stabbed him at the exact same moment, maybe... but even then, victory wasn't guaranteed.
"Oh, and one more thing I need to mention."
"......?"
Yeong-woo brought it up as if he'd forgotten about it until now, and the First Swords' faces darkened ominously.
"What is it?"
"What now...?"
At that, Yeong-woo's gaze turned north.
"You all remember Paju last time, right? The big brawl with those guys from the North."
"That... wasn't that you provoking them and luring them down first, Yeong-woo? It was a massive fight, sure, but putting it that simply is a bit..."
True to form, Oh Yeon-hee spoke up on behalf of the others, but instead of excuses, Yeong-woo dropped an even bigger bombshell.
"Yeah. So we decided to kill Kim Jong-un too. A few of you already know."
"......!"
"W-what did you say?"
By blurting it out without any preamble, even the First Swords who'd fought in the North-South War felt a chill in their chests.
"Of course, if the Pyongyang First Sword manages to defend him, we'll never even meet Kim Jong-un."
Yeong-woo shrugged and pointed at the sky again.
"But if the Pyongyang First Sword fails to protect him, there's a high chance that bastard will come all the way down here to Seoul."
If he showed up in Seoul, would his goal be to finish the red unification he couldn't achieve as a human?
Who knows.
"......"
Curiously, every First Sword's gaze had landed on the title hovering above Yeong-woo's head.
『Joseon First Sword』
The secret technique he'd brought back from the North—or more precisely, stolen from them.
Wasn't the whole North-South War just because Jeong Yeong-woo had gone sightseeing in North Korea alone and committed murder?
'So basically, Kim Jong-un might come looking for you because of it?'
'You steal North Korean martial arts and think there won't be payback?'
'Crazy bastard for real.'
They all thought something like that while staring at the offending title, but no one said it out loud.
And Yeong-woo as well.
"The mess with the North is my karma in the end, so I have no intention of sharing responsibility with you all. However."
He pointed at the sky again.
"In the unlikely event that I lose to Kim Jong-un, you'll all be in danger too, right? So please put your full effort into gathering ten million karma and procuring supplies."
"......"
In conclusion, it was a request—or rather, another threat.
"Alright, which district do we start with? Time to spread the golden rain!"
* * *
Yeong-woo currently had a total of eight orbs.
And their origins were.
'Yongsan, Mapo, Dongdaemun, Seongbuk, Dobong, Eunpyeong, Gwangjin. The last one dropped when Im Gwang-ho died.'
Reclusive tycoon Im Gwang-ho.
No one knew which district the man-turned-Dragon had flown in from.
So perhaps mutants of a special type like dragons could appear regardless of district affiliation.
'Still just a hypothesis for now... but it's the only one we've got.'
That left Yeong-woo with two orbs he could use freely at the moment.
The other six had to be used to spread golden rain while touring each district.
'But I used the one from Gangnam fighting Im Gwang-ho today... so I should use the one I got from him in Gangnam.'
That left him with just one.
'The best scenario would be using it when Kim Jong-un dies to break my achievement record, then using the orb he drops to enter the nighttime dungeon...'
But that was actually a pretty bad idea.
There were only two ways for Yeong-woo to meet Kim Jong-un.
One: raid Pyongyang every day until he shows up.
Two: the Pyongyang First Sword loses to him.
Either way, not exactly morally ideal scenarios.
'Anyway, I've got plenty to do right now, so I need to shore up my foundations first.'
Thinking that, Yeong-woo extended his hand toward the goblin opening the subspace pouch at Negig's feet.
Whoosh.
The goblin pulled out a single golden orb from the pouch and handed it to Yeong-woo.
-Keeek!
Current time: 2:13 PM.
The district Yeong-woo was overlooking from atop Negig was Dongdaemun, under Jang Jeong-ho's jurisdiction.
Since it bordered Gwangjin, they'd decided to start the golden rain here.
The order: Dongdaemun, Yongsan, Mapo, Eunpyeong, Seongbuk, Dobong.
Then, if time allowed, check out Yangju—former territory of Choi Jeon-seon—and Uijeongbu, the ownerless city.
And after that.
'Back to Gangnam to spread the golden rain.'
As Yeong-woo reviewed his ambitious plan and touched the orb the goblin held up, it shot into the sky just like always.
Fwoooosh!
Then.
Boom...!
It burst like fireworks at the edge of the heavens, sending waves of golden light in every direction.
"Never gets old no matter how many times I see it."
"Ah......"
The First Swords lined up behind Yeong-woo had their eyes dyed gold as they marveled.
Looking like tourists, they were the First Swords of the districts Yeong-woo had promised to hit with golden rain in sequence.
The six from Dongdaemun to Eunpyeong.
"Alright, that's done. Next up, Yongsan."
As Yeong-woo spoke amid the falling golden raindrops, Dongdaemun First Sword Jang Jeong-ho parted the golden shower with his palm and asked.
"When and where do we deliver the money?"
It was dialogue that wounded his pride as a First Sword, so Jang Jeong-ho's face was thoroughly crumpled.
Yeong-woo checked the time before replying mildly.
"Bring it to my lodging by 10 PM. No need to come personally."
But with ten million on the line, the First Swords would likely deliver it themselves.
That's why Yeong-woo had given them plenty of time.
"...Got it. I'll send someone to Gwanak later to request manpower."
"Yes. Sounds good."
Yeong-woo nodded, and Jang Jeong-ho slunk away through the golden rain.
From now on, he'd essentially be begging his own district's residents for coins.
And watching him go, the other five First Swords felt no peace of mind.
It would be their turn soon enough.
"What did I say was next again?"
After watching Jang Jeong-ho's retreating figure for a while, Yeong-woo scanned the group and asked. Yongsan First Sword Kim Do-ha timidly raised his hand from among them.
"...Y-Yongsan."
"Ah, Yongsan has government employees, so it'll probably be a lot smoother."
"Y-yeah... probably."
"Let's head out then."
* * *
Jeong Yeong-woo and the five First Swords' bizarre journey.
The procedure was the same in every district.
Yeong-woo would ride Negig with his two slaves to the next district, and the First Swords would hurry after him.
Sometimes monster cleanup crews or regular citizens would cleverly tag along too.
Upon arrival, he'd fire the orb skyward to generate golden rain.
By then, the part of Jeong Yeong-woo that had melted away from the knees down would have regrown a bit, and the First Sword whose turn was done would stare at his legs with a sour expression before going his own way.
After repeating the golden rain ritual three more times, only one remained behind Yeong-woo: Kim Jeong-gu, the very promising father figure and Dobong First Sword.
"Hey, your legs have grown back a lot in the meantime?"
Jeong-gu called out from behind, so Yeong-woo lowered his head to check his own legs.
The two legs dangling from Negig's flanks had indeed grown quite a bit, as Jeong-gu said.
The shins were starting to take shape.
But the feet—crucial for walking—hadn't even formed bones yet, so full recovery was still a ways off.
'Attaching a clean cut takes no time, but regrowing melted parts takes forever.'
As Yeong-woo contemplated that obvious fact while eyeing his legs, Jeong-gu spoke up again.
"By the way."
"......?"
"Actually, I've got some tattling to do."
"Pardon?"
At the sudden remark, Yeong-woo twisted his upper body to look back.
Jeong-gu was visible, pulling a handful of coins from his pocket.
"What's that?"
"Monsters. The ones in Gwangjin."
"Ah."
"You looked busy, so I grabbed some myself."
The "myself" here implied all the other First Swords present had done the same.
That's why he'd called it "tattling."
"...This really is tattling."
"All together, it's no small sum... Figured you might not notice. So I'm confessing."
Yeong-woo let out a hollow chuckle at Jeong-gu's words.
Of course, he'd known coins would drop from the monsters too, just like his father said.
And when everything settled, seeing no coins littering the ground, he'd easily guessed someone had scooped them up.
"Did everyone grab some? The coins on the ground."
"Yeah, that woman from Songpa might be the only one who didn't?"
He meant Songpa First Sword Oh Yeon-hee.
In other words, everyone except her had frantically scooped up the scattered coins while Yeong-woo fought the Dragon.
"The protection fee must've really gotten to them."
"Wasn't it not a protection fee yesterday?"
"Whatever. As long as they split it evenly, I don't care."
Yeong-woo's unexpectedly merciful attitude made Jeong-gu cock his head instead.
"Whoa, what's up with you all of a sudden? Weren't you gonna scrape together every penny from now on, no holds barred?"
Yeong-woo formed a gun shape with his index finger and thumb, grinning.
"Giving 'em some breathing room before I really start squeezing."
"...What?"
"Once the laser cannon's ready, I'm planning to collect defense fees. After today, I think it'll fly."