Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: 53. Invulnerable to Sword and Blade (2)
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Shouting "Invulnerable to Sword and Blade" from the heartland of the martial world.
It was an utterly absurd act, but its effect was truly tremendous.
"My, my God."
"What the...?"
"I clearly saw his chest get pierced."
It might have been less shocking if the blade simply hadn't pierced his skin.
The idea that skin could be tough enough to repel a sword was something anyone could imagine.
But...
"That sound earlier... didn't it come from inside his chest?"
"No way, is his heart made of steel?"
"That's not the point! The blade definitely pierced all the way to his heart. So why is he still alive?"
Could this truly be called inaction?
In any case, at least a few hundred people had witnessed the abilities of the Joseon First Sword, leaving them no choice but to acknowledge it.
If they didn't want their heads to roll, they had no option but to welcome this demon's entry.
And the one who knew this fact better than anyone was no longer Zhang Zaiham.
It was none other than...
"S-Sword... and Blade..."
Wu Qingjin, the Second Evil of the Shandong Twin Evils.
As he muttered something with trembling lips, Yeong-woo asked back.
"What was that?"
Wu Qingjin suddenly clasped his fists in respect and dropped to his knees on the ground.
Thud!
"The Second Evil of the Shandong Twin Evils, Wu Qingjin, pays respects to the great hero Jeong Yeong-woo, Invulnerable to Sword and Blade...!"
"...Ugh!"
Yeong-woo had to bite his lip hard enough to draw blood just to stifle the laughter bubbling up.
Of course, blood did seep out, but thanks to his insane regenerative ability, the wound healed almost immediately.
The gash across his chest from Wu Qingjin's sword healed along with it.
"Please stand. You seem much my senior, yet calling me a great hero is absurd."
As Yeong-woo helped Wu Qingjin to his feet and returned his sword, this time Zhang Zaiham knelt and clasped his fists.
"I have committed a grave offense! Forgive me! Please show mercy!"
Then, the hundreds of Chinese people on the shore, who had been standing rigidly with their flag, knelt in unison and shouted.
"Please show mercy!"
Where on earth did they learn this stuff?
'They're taking turns causing a scene.'
Yeong-woo glanced around before gesturing for everyone to stand.
"There's no need for mercy. Shandong folk trying to defend Shandong— who could blame them?"
"...R-Really?"
Wu Qingjin wore an expression of disbelief.
In contrast, Zhang Zaiham, who had spent even a few hours with Yeong-woo in the dungeon, sensed something off.
But Yeong-woo continued speaking, so he didn't dare interject.
"However, your efforts end here. You no longer need to defend Shandong yourselves."
"......?"
Wu Qingjin's expression finally shifted oddly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"From now on, I'll protect Shandong for you."
As Yeong-woo placed his hand on the sword sheath at his waist while saying this, Wu Qingjin's mouth fell open again.
He belatedly realized the Korean before him wasn't a great hero, but a demon lord.
"For the sake of our continued friendly relations, what you need to do is..."
Whoosh!
This time, Yeong-woo held up two fingers.
"Twenty million."
"......!"
As the words "twenty million" left Yeong-woo's mouth, some Chinese whispered among themselves. Was he talking about twenty million karma?
The quick-witted ones quietly knelt again.
They instinctively knew they were still under threat.
"G-Great Hero Jeong... if you're still harboring grudges, we could..."
Wu Qingjin tried to negotiate, but Yeong-woo spread his chest wide and cut him off.
"Grudges? Look here. See? All the grudges are gone—my wounds have healed too."
Whoosh!
Yeong-woo thrust his chest out for all to see, and the surrounding Chinese hesitated as they examined the spot where the gash had been.
"It's... really gone?"
"How did it heal that fast?"
"He's immortal...?"
A heart impervious to blades, and regenerative abilities beyond human comprehension.
This confirmed it for everyone once more.
At least in terms of martial prowess, this man couldn't be driven out.
"Mr. Zaiham."
"Y-Yes, speak."
"Pre-Reset, what was Shandong Province's population?"
As Yeong-woo asked, Zhang Zaiham sweated profusely, rolling his eyes.
"Uh... a bit over 100 million."
"Then daily peace maintenance fees of 20 million karma aren't excessive at all."
"Daily...? Is that so?"
"Of course. Seoul's districts have populations of only 400-500k at most, yet they pay 5 million karma daily in defense fees."
"Ahh... I see."
Zhang Zaiham nodded, muttering inwardly.
'Fuck. I brought in a bandit.'
Strictly speaking, though, he'd avoided the worst outcome.
If they hadn't known this bandit's true power beforehand, Shandong Province would be a bloodbath today.
It bruised his pride, but tribute was better than death.
"Choosing the 30k karma supply in the ultimatum makes gathering funds easy enough. Send the money to Incheon—you see it there—by 6 PM daily."
Yeong-woo relayed this to the Shandong side, then added to the Incheon leader behind him.
"At 6 PM, someone from Seoul will come get the money. You keep 5 million out of the 20 for yourselves and hand the rest to my people."
"F-Five million for us?"
Incheon leader Kim Yong-gwan's eyes widened at the unexpected bonus.
The other First Swords of Incheon were equally stunned.
Yeong-woo said matter-of-factly.
"You have to deal directly with the Chinese to collect it, right? Consider it labor fees. Plus, being on the border, it makes sense to bolster you more than other regions."
"Th-Thank you, boss!"
Handling massive sums from China felt like a movie smuggling deal, exciting Incheon's First Swords.
'Five million is 25% of the total, so no funny business there. And prepping border First Swords hedges against any Chinese betrayal.'
Meanwhile, Yeong-woo now viewed things on a grand scale.
Whether from handling ever-larger sums or the dragon heart making him bold, he couldn't say.
'Now, the remaining issue.'
Yeong-woo's gaze shifted back to Shandong's two powerhouses.
No matter how you spun "peace maintenance fees," unilateral tribute wouldn't last.
In a few days, discontent would erupt within Shandong, and once the "Invulnerable to Sword and Blade" shock faded, a coup would follow.
'Well... if it happens, I could crush it with force, but that'd be like losing a buffer zone.'
He must never forget.
Pre-Reset, China's population was 1.42 billion, and only Shandong's 100 million were friendly.
Fail to maintain ties with Shandong, and China's selected elites would head straight here.
'With North Korea nearly wiped out, the northern border's wide open. Gotta hold this line at least.'
With that in mind, after some deliberation, Yeong-woo asked the two Twin Evils of Shandong.
"Sudden peace fees must feel like a huge loss. Is there anything I can do to help?"
The "Twin Evils" exchanged glances, then cautiously spoke.
"Th-Then... may we ask one favor?"
"Of course. Anything."
Yeong-woo nodded readily, and the Twin Evils of Shandong truly asked for "anything."
"Turn Beijing... into a sea of blood."
"Pardon? What sea?"
* * *
Beijing. Pronounced Beiping.
China's capital and a famous affluent area, once so exclusive only elites could live there.
Like Pyongyang in North Korea.
Above all, home to the Great Hall of the People, it symbolized power itself.
And they wanted that city turned into a sea of blood...
'What? Resentment toward elites or the Party?'
It made sense for the North Korean Kim Jong-un hit, but this felt odd.
"What's in Beijing?"
Yeong-woo asked as if needing details, and Wu Qingjin lowered his voice.
"That man is in Beijing."
"That man...?"
Yeong-woo still looked puzzled.
Then Zhang Zaiham approached with a resolute face.
"It's Lim Du-pyeong."
"Uh...?"
Lim Du-pyeong.
The man who held China's presidency until just before the Reset— a dictator, simply put.
He'd repealed constitutional term limits and clung to supreme power for over a decade.
"Lim Du-pyeong is in Beijing? Exactly how?"
A dictator of 1.42 billion surely didn't survive the annihilation vote.
'So he's a mutant lingering in Beijing? Possible...?'
Like Kim Jong-un, it wasn't impossible.
But a dictator mutant holding a city would require crushing all local martial experts.
Yet Shandong stood firm, and he'd met Dandong Three Swords from North Korea over the border.
'China's experts aren't wiped out... so is Lim Du-pyeong just too strong to touch?'
As Yeong-woo hypothesized to make sense of it, Zhang Zaiham provided the answer.
"Hard to grasp, right?"
"Yes. If Lim Du-pyeong truly holds Beijing, how are you all alive? A mutant would naturally..."
"Not a mutant."
"Pardon?"
"Lim Du-pyeong isn't a mutant. He's human."
"Wh-What does that mean?"
It was rare for Yeong-woo to look flustered.
But something even rarer was unfolding in China's capital.
"President Lim Du-pyeong survived the annihilation vote."
"How? He was nominated but got fewer votes? Impossible."
"Who knows. We've never been candidates. But it happened, so it's possible."
"My God."
Yeong-woo covered his mouth.
Unimaginable.
Fine, suppose he passed the vote somehow. What about individual filtration next?
At least tens of millions of arrows, no?
'Maybe billions.'
And Lim Du-pyeong survived them all.
How many karma points had he accumulated?
'The world's vast, indeed.'
As Yeong-woo marveled inwardly, Zhang Zaiham cleared his throat and continued.
"And there's a critical reason you must raze Beijing, Great Hero."
"...What is it?"
"We've already been paying tribute to Beijing."
"What? You've been taking my money to Beijing?"