Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: 47. Defense Expert (2)
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‘Defense fee…….’
‘Y-You really plan to walk……?’
‘It’s finally here.’
The First Swords wore varied expressions.
But their reactions were markedly different from when Yeong-woo had demanded ‘protection money’ before.
“How much were you thinking of charging for this defense fee, sir?”
“What exactly do you mean by defense? Are you saying you’ll handle every mutant in Seoul?”
This time, most of the First Swords were already assuming they’d pay the defense fee as they asked their questions.
“…The response is better than I expected?”
Jeong Gu whispered with a sullen look, and Yeong-woo quietly nodded.
Of course it was. Everyone here had personally witnessed the combat prowess of the Kim trio from the North.
Thanks to that, they’d realized it.
Now, when a threatening mutant appeared, it wouldn’t just endanger a single region’s First Sword—it could shatter the entire country.
And fortunately, they’d weathered this threat unscathed.
Since a mutant beyond specs had come down from the North, South Korea had a First Sword beyond specs ready as well.
‘Jeong Yeong-woo… Thank goodness a monster like that is on our side.’
‘If we’d fought Kim Il-sung ourselves, could we have won even if we’d pooled all our strength?’
‘Today might have been Seoul’s last day otherwise.’
The First Swords each let out sighs of relief.
As they did, their eyes turned to his right arm—the very proof that Jeong Yeong-woo was a ‘monster.’
Sssrrk.
The arm he’d torn off during the fight with Kim Il-sung was already nearly fully regenerated.
Unlike the ankle loss, this one hadn’t melted away, so once the torn surfaces were pressed together, it had started healing right away.
“Ah, as for the defense fee I’m proposing.”
As Yeong-woo finally brought up the amount, the buzzing venue fell silent at once.
“The amount is……?”
“H-How much?”
Seeing everyone’s anxious faces, Yeong-woo raised his left hand and spread his fingers wide.
Pop.
“Five hundred. Five million karma per day.”
“Five hundred?”
“F……?”
“Is that for real?”
This time, the room stirred for an entirely different reason.
The amount Yeong-woo quoted was far lower than everyone had expected.
“Five hundred for real?”
“I figured you’d ask for at least a thousand or more.”
“Five hundred? You won’t change your mind later, right?”
In truth, five million was a massive sum, well exceeding the three million gained from monopolizing mutant rewards.
But since they’d just paid ten million karma in ‘protection money,’ everyone mistakenly thought this defense fee was cheap.
“…….”
In any case, with Seoul’s First Swords still looking skeptical, Yeong-woo turned his head to gaze at the spot where Kim Il-sung had died.
“Of course, I’d love to charge more for defense. As you saw today, my actual value far exceeds five million karma per region.”
“W-Well…….”
The First Swords couldn’t rebut that.
It was the truth, after all.
Ssk.
Soon, Gwanak First Sword Jo Sang-ik subtly raised his hand and spoke.
“As you said, even if you’d demanded more, we wouldn’t have had any other choice.”
“Right. That’s basically it.”
“Then why call such a low price when you know that……?”
As Jo Sang-ik voiced the question on everyone’s mind, Yeong-woo scanned the room as if he’d been waiting.
“Strictly speaking, the defense fee is for Seoul’s survival. If I take more money, the regions’ self-sufficiency drops that much, doesn’t it?”
After saying that, Yeong-woo added,
“But the five million karma defense fee comes with one condition.”
“What is it?”
“…Condition?”
The First Swords immediately looked uneasy again.
Given what Jeong Yeong-woo had shown so far, they figured this weirdo wouldn’t just cut his price without a catch.
But the condition Yeong-woo proposed was different from what they expected.
“Golden Rain.”
“……?”
“From tomorrow on, every First Sword in the Seoul Federation must spread Golden Rain. If Seoul wants to keep surviving, it needs a systemic overhaul first.”
“Does that include mutants you personally defeat?”
As expected, one of the First Swords slyly asked, and Yeong-woo nodded.
“Yes. Without exception, every region must spread it. You won’t even be able to pay the daily defense fee if you don’t.”
In other words, from now on, he’d charge defense fees even to regions that handled their own mutants.
“Heh…….”
Some First Swords who’d been confident in their self-defense looked taken aback.
And the prime example among them was Songpa’s Oh Yeon-hui.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just pay you proxy fees only when a mutant we can’t handle appears, like before? Ten million karma per case instead.”
Proxy fee.
From her word choice, she was clearly drawing a line.
As shown today, she could protect her own district herself.
But Yeong-woo thought differently.
“That works for normal times, but what if something like Kim Il-sung drops into Songpa?”
“Th-Then of course we’d pay ten million karma…….”
“No.”
“…What?”
“Why do you think I used the term ‘defense fee’? It means I handle national-level threats in exchange for a standing military stipend.”
Essentially, the price for deploying asymmetric forces like laser barrages and Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman: five million daily.
With no alternatives, it wasn’t a bad deal.
“Precisely, it’s you all in the Seoul Federation splitting my tens-of-millions labor cost. Like taxes. It’s not just giving me money—it’s a show of sincerity and trust.”
“…….”
As Yeong-woo brought up sincerity and trust, Oh Yeon-hui had nothing to say.
She knew he was spinning some clever sophistry, but the mood made it impossible to argue.
Most here had already paid Jeong Yeong-woo ‘protection money’ once.
The majority actually needed his help, and he’d even halved his price.
‘Pushing back here would just make me the villain.’
In the end, Oh Yeon-hui let out a small sigh.
“Fine. So how does this Golden Rain work? Do all regions have to mandatorily stock three million karma now?”
At her question, Yeong-woo’s eyes lit up.
“Exactly. From now on, I’ll return the cores left by each mutant to their respective regions.”
And with those returned cores, they should spread Golden Rain themselves to generate commemorative coins, then use them to win over the locals—that was Yeong-woo’s advice.
“There’ll be variance by region, but Golden Rain generates at least three hundred million karma locally. So take five million as the defense contribution and send it to me; divide the rest with your residents.”
Even if only ten thousand residents survived per region, that’d generate at least three hundred million karma.
Pre-reset populations ranged from a minimum of 120,000 to as many as 650,000 per district.
In short, tomorrow’s Golden Rains would generate far more karma than that.
“We’ll keep the Seoul rotation as is, so for residents, it’s like getting three million karma extra. No big issue handing some back.”
As he spoke, Yeong-woo added,
“It’s the residents paying you First Swords the defense fee.”
“……!”
The First Swords looked like they’d been struck on the back of the head.
Hearing it laid out like that, wasn’t it true?
The method of exchange was a bit different, but the essence was the same.
Residents pay ‘protection money’ to their guardian First Swords, who in turn pay ‘defense fees’ to Jeong Yeong-woo for threats they can’t handle.
Simply put, from now on, Yeong-woo would be the First Sword of the First Swords.
“If every region can reliably drop Golden Rain daily, it’ll create a far more stable system than now. Karma will be overflowing, after all.”
Gwanak First Sword Jo Sang-ik stepped up to support Yeong-woo’s proposal.
“Like today, we’ll provide manpower until the fundraising system stabilizes.”
With him going that far, even Oh Yeon-hui nodded in agreement.
“Let’s try it. If it works as you say, we don’t really lose anything.”
“Good. You won’t regret it. And with mutants getting stronger, it’s essential anyway.”
Yeong-woo believed monopolizing three million per First Sword alone couldn’t sustain the regions.
Mutants were growing stronger over time, but so were the beasts.
‘Golden Rain must fall daily across all of Seoul’s regions. Otherwise, the whole city ends up in ruins.’
Of course, Yeong-woo wasn’t proposing this purely for everyone’s survival.
The reason he cut his price to encourage other regions’ growth was money.
Specifically, he needed stable cash flow.
‘Golden Rain coin generation is proportional to population. Short- and mid-term, keeping more people alive longer benefits me too.’
Currently, collectible regions in the Seoul Federation totaled twelve.
‘Excluding my Gangnam, that’s eleven.’
So at five million per region, his daily fixed income would be a whopping fifty-five million karma.
With this defense fee system solid, he wouldn’t die from tax delinquency anytime soon.
“So, is that explanation clear? Any other questions or complaints, speak now.”
As Yeong-woo said that, an unexpected person subtly raised their hand.
Ssk.
It was Yongsan First Sword Kim Do-ha.
“Yes, Do-ha. Go ahead.”
“I-It’s not anything major…….”
Kim Do-ha gave an awkward smile, glancing at Yeong-woo and everyone else.
Then, with effort, she parted her lips.
“How long do we have to pay this defense fee?”
“Mutants aren’t infinite, right? The North already had Kim Jong-un show up early, so the rest are probably small fry.”
Kim Do-ha’s intent was clear.
Mutants would vanish soon enough, so wouldn’t the defense fee become meaningless then?
And her point was fairly persuasive.
As she said, the North had produced its likely strongest mutants—the dictator trio—early on.
What about Seoul?
A dragon had already appeared here, so wouldn’t similar big shots line up soon?
“Makes sense.”
“She’s got a point. Even with tons of chaebols and celebs, there’s a limit.”
The other First Swords began nodding one by one, and Yeong-woo didn’t deny it.
“You’re right. If threats vanish completely, no reason to keep collecting defense fees.”
But would that day really come?
Yeong-woo couldn’t be sure.
If slaying all mutants ended the reset, achievements like ‘Ending Maker’ wouldn’t exist.
[Ending Maker]
|Discover the protagonist after the reset.
Plus.
‘The landmasses haven’t even merged yet. With related achievements, Pangea’s era is definitely coming.’
Something, something more was out there.
But for now, it was just a hunch, so Yeong-woo could only say,
“As you say, I hope all threats end soon. But since the reset, our planet’s already linked to the universe. So probably…….’
He couldn’t finish.
Goooooo……!
Gangnam District’s sky suddenly turned pitch black.
“Huh?”
“W-What?”
“N-No way!”
The bizarre phenomenon, reminiscent of the first ‘Fire Furnace,’ made everyone freak out, but Yeong-woo and Yangju First Sword Choi Jong-seon thought of something entirely different.
Because that was……
Shuwaaaaak!
A heavy whoosh echoed from within the black sky, and the space around rippled.
Something with immense mass was approaching.
“I-It’s coming!”
“Run……!”
Thinking another North-trio-level entity was inbound, Seoul’s First Swords hastily retreated and looked to Yeong-woo.
He was now their on-call defense expert, getting paid starting tomorrow.
But Jeong Yeong-woo, who should’ve been readying for battle…
Pop!
Raised both arms high instead, grinning wide as he bellowed a strange sound—no, a signal.
“「Doggooooo」……!”
As if in response, a massive anchor shot down from the empty air.