Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: 44. The Kims (1)
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“Aah…….”
It was already the umpteenth time they’d seen this sight thanks to Jeong Young-woo, but the First Swords couldn’t help zoning out once again.
Hwaaa……!
As golden waves began spreading from the heart of the pitch-black thunderclouds, the gloomy area around Cheongna Bridge lit up once more.
Just like dawn breaking.
“…I-it’s unbelievable.”
As Jeong Gu gaped in awe, the black rain surging toward the First Swords’ feet across Cheongna Bridge vanished without a trace.
Pat!
And then.
Shwaaaaa……!
Golden droplets took its place, cascading down.
A golden rain had begun falling across all of Gangnam District.
《Joseon First Sword ‘Jeong Young-woo07’ has given up his 3 million karma monopoly and gifted 30,000 karma to all Gangnam residents.》
Soon enough, Young-woo’s usual golden rain notification appeared.
《30,000 karma will soon be distributed in commemorative coin form. Please prepare.》
Even the notice to receive the money popped up.
“Uh…….”
“……?”
“What the hell?”
But the First Swords couldn’t tear their eyes away from a spot in the sky.
The reason was simple.
Gooooo……!
Another presence hidden in the darkness above Cheongna Bridge had revealed itself.
A massive iron brazier the size of a standalone house had been hovering over the bridge the whole time.
“W-what the hell is that?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“A mutant… right? That thing too?”
As the First Swords blinked in confusion, the ‘brazier’—which had been pelted by the golden rain like everyone else—finally let out a voice.
—Where… is this?
Unlike the sinister might that had brought the black rain, the ‘brazier’ seemed just as awestruck by the golden rain as the First Swords.
With golden light pouring down over Gangnam’s well-preserved high-rises, it must have been a shocking sight through the brazier—no, Kim Jong-un’s—eyes.
Papap, pat!
Then, a flash lit up before everyone’s eyes, and the promised commemorative coins materialized—three each.
The First Swords belatedly reached out to grab them, and at the sight, the brazier spoke again.
—Rations……?
It trailed off, seemingly hoping a coin might drop for it too.
“No money for you, you bastard.”
Young-woo shattered its hopes with a single slash of provocation.
Kridddruk!
He nocked an arrow aimed at the airborne brazier.
Of course, this was Cheongna Bridge, which they needed to preserve as much as possible.
But with the brazier showing no signs of moving, Young-woo judged he had to provoke it first.
And above all.
‘It’s a Day 5 mutant. North Korea’s strongest, no less. It won’t just plummet from this.’
Having already clashed with one of Seoul’s high-risk mutants, he was confident the bridge wouldn’t collapse from this attack.
And indeed.
Pyuuut!
The moment Doggo’s stealth arrow shot out from the white barrage’s front line.
Hwaaak!
A massive presence erupted right in front of Young-woo, followed immediately by a purple explosion.
Puuuung!
“Ugh……!”
Incredibly, one of the two yakshas facing him had intercepted the arrow with its body.
-Kkiiik!
Startled by the sudden blast, Neggug hurriedly leaped off the bridge.
To evacuate the Young-woo it carried.
But Young-woo himself was too busy glaring at the yakshas emerging through the purple smoke.
‘Reacted in that split second? How……?’
He’d expected the arrow to bounce off the brazier, not be blocked by mere grunts.
Those yakshas weren’t using regional swordsmanship or unique martial arts, after all.
Which meant they’d reacted purely on basic stats.
“Huh?”
“It’s coming over!”
As the yakshas finally stepped off Cheongna Bridge onto the park grounds, the First Swords—who’d been spectators until now—drew their weapons in unison.
Chwaaat!
Young-woo might struggle against them, so they’d gang up.
A mutant like this could turn all of Seoul to rubble in no time.
But Young-woo hurriedly waved them off.
“Everyone, fall back……! These aren’t foes you can handle!”
What did it mean that they’d come all the way down to Gwangjin District?
‘Just as Shin Ui-ju said, Pyongyang First Sword couldn’t beat Kim Jong-un. No—couldn’t even take down his subordinates.’
These were monsters that had detected and blocked a stealth arrow. There was no way Seoul’s First Swords, who’d built their power through conventional means, could handle them.
“Spear……!”
As Young-woo urged Neggug to accelerate, the golden goblin running alongside pulled a long spear from its subspace pouch and tossed it over.
-Kit!
「Ironclad Shredder」 - Mutated Spear
【Ignores 50% physical damage reduction.】
He’d chosen it after seeing the yaksha shrug off the arrow earlier.
The purple explosion was a superpower effect, but the arrow’s damage itself was physical.
Taat!
Gripping the Ironclad Shredder, Young-woo held it horizontally like a lance and charged forward.
Kwaang, kwaang!
Sensing the threat, the yakshas fired at him while grabbing their flails from the ground with both hands.
Thud.
And simultaneously.
「Sense stat temporarily increased from 3,300 to 5,426.」
「Sense stat temporarily increased from 5,426 to 7,570.」
Young-woo’s sense stat skyrocketed.
Each yaksha’s base sense stat exceeded a whopping 4,000.
“Insane.”
He’d anticipated it fully, so he gripped the spear shaft even tighter.
Kwaang, kwaang!
And right after.
-Kruk.
-Kraa……!
Seeing it, they grabbed their flails from the ground with both hands.
Thud.
And simultaneously.
「Sense stat temporarily increased from 3,300 to 5,426.」
「Sense stat temporarily increased from 5,426 to 7,570.」
Young-woo’s sense stat skyrocketed.
Each yaksha’s base sense stat exceeded a whopping 4,000.
“Insane.”
He’d anticipated it fully, so he gripped the spear shaft even tighter.
Kwaang, kwaang!
And right after.
-Kruk.
-Kraa……!
The yakshas snarled in fury as they swung their flails with both hands, and Young-woo shot into their arcs like a bullet alongside Neggug.
“A……!”
“My God.”
It was like a clash of lances.
The First Swords, who’d belatedly rushed toward the yakshas, halted at the sight of the massive flails swinging.
The moment those hulking arms moved, an unnatural wind pressure blasted from the grotesque flails.
“What…….”
“…Ugh.”
It revealed why Yongsan First Sword Kim Do-ha had submitted to Jeong Hyun-sik in a single exchange.
That absurd wind pressure hitting their skin made advancing impossible.
And in that meantime.
-Paaaaak!
Young-woo collided with the yakshas amid Popu Tenta’s war horn blare.
But the scene was far from what anyone expected.
Kwanggit!
The Ironclad Shredder he’d thrust forward failed to pierce the first yaksha’s flail and bounced skyward, while the second yaksha kicked Neggug’s chest, sending it tumbling.
Puuuk!
-Kkiiik!
Neggug, struck for the first time since arriving on Earth, yelped in panic and crashed to the ground, flattening Young-woo beneath it.
The second yaksha then raised its flail to smash Neggug’s head.
Bwoooouk!
A horrific whoosh tearing through the air.
“……!”
As the black arc plunged vertically toward Neggug’s head, a golden arc flew in to barely block the flail.
Kaaang!
-Weeeeng!
The auto-combat greatsword loaded with Prisoner Swordsmanship knew well how vital a resource Neggug was.
—Joseon First Sword, yet you can’t even stand properly……! Is all you have cheap tricks?
Finally deeming it had sized up the foe, the voice from the brazier chuckled lowly.
Young-woo crawled out from under Neggug without retort, so Jeong Gu, unable to stand it, bellowed at the brazier.
“Hey, you punk! What bullshit from some bastard hiding in there yapping? So confident? Get down here right now! Dobong First Sword Kim Jeong-gu will take you on!”
He then reached toward the golden goblin with clumsy orders.
“W-weapon……!”
Hand over anything usable from that bag… no, it was more a plea.
-Kit.
But the golden goblin sealed the bag’s mouth, clearly refusing.
“That little shit?”
From the goblin’s view, Kim Jeong-gu wasn’t its master.
-Ki… ii!
At least in its eyes, Young-woo wasn’t on the back foot.
“Huh?”
While everyone watched the golden goblin and Jeong Gu, Oh Yeon-hee—who’d been fixated on Young-woo—suddenly widened her eyes.
Young-woo had slipped out from under Neggug and swiftly swung Orphan at the first yaksha.
Hweeeat!
And with both feet firmly planted, no less.
Kwaat!
-Ruk……!
The startled first yaksha swung its flail to block, but.
【Contempt for the Weak】
|This sword’s attacks can only be blocked by Mythic+ equipment.
Orphan’s blade sliced through the yaksha’s metal lump like tofu.
Straight toward its lower abdomen.
Puuuk!
The yaksha’s thick-looking hide parted smoothly before Orphan, and soon rust-colored organs spilled out, soiling the ground.
Chwaat!
Absurd asymmetric warfare.
-U, uuuh……!
Its gut split by a single slash, the first yaksha frantically clutched its belly with its hands.
Its grotesque head naturally drooped, and before the second could intervene, its head came off.
Swiiiat!
Orphan had swung once more.
Puk!
So heavy was the head, it didn’t even roll after hitting the ground.
And at the sight, the second yaksha—incredibly—
-Ua.
Pursed its thick lips and chose to flee.
Kung!
It bolted sideways onto the road, avoiding Young-woo head-on.
Who could fight an attack that couldn’t be blocked?
Kung, kung!
Of course, the most rattled by the yaksha fleeing while shaking the earth was the brazier overhead.
—Halt! Death awaits those who flee the battlefield……!
Ssss…….
The enraged ‘brazier’ bellowed and advanced, finally moving past Cheongna Bridge.
Now he could freely shoot arrows or laser barrages at it.
‘Though the latter’s when the cannon’s complete.’
Kung, kukung!
Meanwhile, the second yaksha raced toward downtown, and Young-woo whispered so only he could hear.
“G-General? Can you hear me? Did you get the generator?”
No reply came, naturally.
Even if they’d bought one and were watching this on TV, there was no way to send messages back.
The only communication method left was……
“Hmm.”
Young-woo silently activated ‘Clairvoyance,’ zooming 5x on the second yaksha’s fleeing rear, already quite distant.
Then he eyed the projected spot it’d reach in about 5 seconds.
Having practiced mounted archery, predicting a steadily running target’s position was child’s play.
He’d even shot down wyverns in flight yesterday.
Running, and Young-woo whispered so only he could hear.
“G-General? Can you hear me? Did you get the generator?”
No reply came, naturally.
Even if they’d bought one and were watching this on TV, there was no way to send messages back.
The only communication method left was……
“Hmm.”
Young-woo silently activated ‘Clairvoyance,’ zooming 5x on the second yaksha’s fleeing rear, already quite distant.
Then he eyed the projected spot it’d reach in about 5 seconds.
Having practiced mounted archery, predicting a steadily running target’s position was child’s play.
He’d even shot down wyverns in flight yesterday.
〔|l||I-Earth-482-182-4051-72〕
The coordinates of its projected arrival point.
Young-woo recited them aloud while viewing.
“Earth, 482, 182, 4051, 72. Got that?”
A quiet, cautious coordinate handoff.
But no laser fired, so Young-woo shouted louder.
“Earth! 482! 182! 4051! 72!”
Yet after 3 seconds, 4 seconds, then 5—still no laser.
‘No generator yet? Or the laser cannon’s incomplete?’
Both plausible.
So Young-woo grabbed his whistle in a pinch.
He could chase the yaksha on foot, but Kim Jong-un inside that brazier was another story.
And it was already.
Drdrdrdr…….
Emitting an ominous aura.
So in the end.
Shuk.
The moment Young-woo raised the whistle to his lips.
Piwit!
An alien whoosh came from beyond the sky.
“Huh?”
As Young-woo looked up, doubting his ears.
Pyuaaaaaaaaak!
An absurdly thick laser beam pierced the clouds and lanced down.
“Wak, shit!”
“No……!”
“Argh!”
The First Swords yelped and instinctively ducked, and Oh Yeon-hee even saw the airborne brazier wobble.
And Young-woo watched as.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
The yaksha, already past the target point, merely grazed the laser beam’s edge—and disintegrated.
“……!”
His friends had fired such high-output that it didn’t just hit the spot but scorched the surroundings.
So Young-woo.
Thud.
Spun around to eye the spot between the brazier and First Swords.
Then bellowed.
“Earth! 482! 182! 3265! 08!”
At that, every First Sword around him bolted.