Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 256
Chapter Title: 57. Beijing's Great Evil (3)
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Shandong First Evil, Jang Ja-ham.
Shandong Second Evil, Woo Cheong-jin.
The so-called Shandong Twin Evils.
The two were men who lived up to their title of "Twin Evils," possessing incredibly domineering and belligerent temperaments.
They never shied away from a fight no matter who challenged them, and conversely, they didn't hesitate to challenge even the strong if there were interests at stake.
However, even these fiends had their exceptions.
Opponents who didn't even stir the will to fight, making it impossible to dare approach them.
That was Beijing's enigmatic Lim Du-pyeong, whose very existence was inscrutable.
And the other one.
"Where is it? Where did my tribute money go!"
Charging fiercely from afar atop a pitch-black iron horse was the Korean Peninsula's Great Evil, Jeong Yeong-woo07.
『Supreme Sword』
"……!"
"What the hell, that title."
Jang Ja-ham and Woo Cheong-jin, who had come out to greet Yeong-woo following the local registration stamp, widened their eyes at the new title beneath the stamp.
It was common knowledge that all titles, regardless of affiliation, included a regional name.
But no matter how they looked, that monster's title had none...
"G-Great hero!"
Jang Ja-ham shook off his stray thoughts first and rushed toward Yeong-woo.
What had that monster said at first?
—My money! Where is my money going right now?
In other words, this bastard had come looking for his money.
Moreover, he seemed to know that the money had already left Shandong Province.
So he must be extremely pissed off right now.
"What brings you here in person, great hero?"
Jang Ja-ham entertained Yeong-woo, sweating bullets.
Then Woo Cheong-jin chimed in to soothe the Joseon Great Evil.
"We were planning to prepare the money for you somehow anyway."
It was a measure to prevent the enraged Supreme Sword from drawing his blade in Shandong Province.
They had learned that sufficient money could divert this monster's attention.
However, Yeong-woo was busy scanning somewhere beyond Yantai with urgent eyes.
"I'll ask three times. Which direction did my money go?"
This time, Yeong-woo's voice carried considerable irritation and murderous intent.
The Twin Evils holding him up was a massive hindrance.
At this, Jang Ja-ham quickly grasped the situation and pointed successively northwest and due north.
"It would normally go to Tianjin, but today it might have veered toward Dalian."
Tianjin served as Beijing's outer port, while Dalian was Liaoning Province's port city.
Dalian was originally reachable only by crossing the northern sea from Yantai, but due to the Pangea Incident, the land had connected, making it the closest city to Yantai in a straight line.
In other words, with the terrain changed, the collection team's route might have altered too.
"Hmm."
Hearing Jang Ja-ham's explanation, Yeong-woo pondered quickly.
'Normally, it would head to Tianjin for the commute home. But thanks to Pangea, they can now walk to Dalian, which was once across the sea.'
According to the Shandong Twin Evils, the Standing Committee members of the Central Political Bureau—each assigned to at least one collection team—possessed extraordinary prowess.
They said even the Twin Evils couldn't last beyond three exchanges.
'Then they have the power to handle problems... Would they skip a suddenly appearing collection point? If it were me, I'd definitely check it out.'
Only another villain truly understands a villain's mind.
He hated to admit it, but Yeong-woo shared the commonality of being a collector with those Standing Committee members.
The only difference was the collection amounts: 30 million versus 20 million.
"I think they went to Dalian. I'll go meet them, get my money back, and bring their heads too."
"……!"
As Yeong-woo truly turned his mount north, Jang Ja-ham and Woo Cheong-jin hurriedly stood beside him and asked.
"Is there no way we can assist?"
Yeong-woo thought for a moment, then surveyed the vast continent sprawling in all directions.
"Please compile a list of cities paying tribute to Beijing and make a simple map."
It was a request for a sales route map.
What Yeong-woo had to do from now on was visit cities tributing to Beijing and persuade them to tribute to him instead.
To plan an efficient route, he needed to know exactly where Beijing's collection areas were.
"A... alright. We'll make the most detailed map possible."
"Yes. Thanks. See you later."
As Yeong-woo swung his left arm to signal his departure, the two evils of Shandong clasped their fists in salute.
Ta-at!
"Your glory...!"
* * *
Leaving behind the Shandong Twin Evils slathered in excessive courtesy, Yeong-woo raced toward Dalian City, which was no longer a port city.
Kwa-kwit, kwa-kwit!
'Wait, aren't Political Bureau Standing Committee members all pretty old?'
Yeong-woo didn't know much about Chinese politics, but he knew there were no young people in China's top leadership.
If those Standing Committee members acting as Lim Du-pyeong's limbs were the same ones from before, that in itself was bizarre.
'Of course, there are middle-aged and elderly masters, but considering the chaos on Reset Day one... they're definitely at a disadvantage.'
The more Yeong-woo learned about Beijing, the more inscrutable it seemed.
And in the meantime.
Kwa-kwit, kwaa-kwit!
As Neugig raced forward swiftly, broad greenbelts and low hills appeared to its left, followed by houses and low-rise buildings coming into view one by one.
"Is this around Dalian's outskirts?"
Though he held a few Chinese titles, Yeong-woo still seemed treated as an outsider.
Unlike the Korean Peninsula, the regional status interface wasn't supported on the Chinese mainland.
'Looks like affiliation is fixed based on the initial profile.'
Of course, the current local registration stamp from China might be treating him as an intruder.
'Still so much I don't know about this world.'
Nothing new there.
But now that world languages were unified, hadn't the true 'global village' era begun?
"Hey!"
Yeong-woo called out to a man who had poked his head out near a house only to flee like a squirrel.
Ta-tat!
But the man had no intention of stopping, so Yeong-woo ended up.
"Let me ask for directions!"
Chasing him down atop Neugig like a Mongol cavalry pursuing a fugitive.
-Kkwi-ii-iik!
And in less than a few seconds.
Kwaak!
He succeeded in grabbing the fleeing man who had tried to hide between buildings.
With one hand, he snatched the back of the man's neck and lifted him up.
"U, uwaaak!"
The Chinese man, caught outside by some monster cavalier, turned pale and screamed as if he were about to die.
"……."
At this, Yeong-woo oddly recalled insects he had caught and played with as a child.
Like grasshoppers foaming at the mouth or laying eggs when held.
The man's flailing legs dangling in midair somehow overlapped with those memories of bugs.
'What... what is this feeling.'
An indescribable eerie emotion swirled somewhere inside the back of his head.
Yeong-woo blankly watched the desperately, futilely struggling man before snapping back to reality.
"Ah...! Just answer this, and I'll let you go right away. Is this Dalian? Which way to the city center?"
The man, face smeared with tears and snot while writhing in midair, pointed northeast with a finger.
"Dalian! Da, Dalian...!"
True to his word, Yeong-woo gently set the man down on the ground.
Then.
"Hiek!"
The man let out a bizarre gasp and bolted madly between the buildings.
No doubt, for him, today would be the most terrifying day of his life.
'Guess my evil karma went up a bit.'
The man had completely vanished from Yeong-woo's sight by then.
So Yeong-woo, unable to give directions as a 'navigator,' headed northeast as indicated.
Kwa-kwit, kwa-kwit!
'The cat hasn't reacted yet... Quite a distance? Or maybe.'
He might have gotten the destination wrong from the start.
Contrary to Yeong-woo's assumption, the collection team could have stopped by Tianjin first and chosen a quick return.
'If that's really the case, it'd be disappointing.'
It might become the second fruitless trip of the day, following the Busan run.
As Yeong-woo continued northeast, finally.
-Graaang.
The 'Frightened Cat' in his pocket trembled and let out a low growl.
"Oh...!"
He still didn't know the opponent's identity, but at any rate, there was a fairly strong presence nearby.
And that direction was.
Swipe.
'Northeast. Dalian city proper.'
-Graaang!
The Frightened Cat Yeong-woo pulled out was indeed facing northeast.
Very high chance that Beijing's collection team was in Dalian City.
'Killing that so-called Standing Committee bastard would be a perfect show of force. Seeing a collector die right in front of them, Dalian's representative would have no choice but to side with me.'
Yeong-woo knew from experience that in this world, the surest persuasion was a display of power.
Especially in a foreign land with utterly different history and culture.
'First impressions: talk later, fists first.'
As Yeong-woo harbored vicious thoughts, the Frightened Cat's ears flattened more than before, and its head slowly tilted further east.
Meaning the target was quite close now.
'Wait for me, Dalian! I'm coming...!'
Gripping the reins tightly, Yeong-woo signaled, and Neugig, understanding, accelerated further.
Kwaa-kwit!
And almost simultaneously.
"……!"
Dalian citizens moving hurriedly in the opposite direction appeared ahead.
Fleeing from something deeper inside.
'Oh... Is Dalian's named resisting?'
After all, hadn't Shandong only started tributing after clashing once with a Standing Committee member?
So Dalian City, which had survived independently so far, wouldn't hand over 30 million daily without a fight.
No matter if the opponent was Beijing.
'Today, right here, I cut off one of Lim Du-pyeong's limbs!'
The battlefield seemed to be drawing near, so Yeong-woo shifted the 'White Fortress' from his upper body to his hand.
Just then, people gathered in the city square ahead came into view.
Even more than expected.
Dozens of what looked like high-level masters surrounded the square, and in its center.
"Ha, Political Bureau? The Party doesn't even exist anymore—how dare you use that name?"
"You bitch! How insolent! Denying the Party's existence!"
A sharply edged conversation was unfolding.
'Dalian...? Is that Dalian's overlord?'
Yeong-woo gazed at the middle-aged woman boldly standing before a middle-aged man who appeared to be from Beijing's collection team.
『Dalian Sword Hero』
Dalian Sword Hero.
It seemed Dalian City had only one named.
Did that mean her prowess surpassed regions with multiple nameds?
'I'll have to watch and see.'
As Yeong-woo thought this and headed straight for the square, the Dalian Sword Hero shifted her gaze to him first.
Precisely, she noticed the local registration stamp approaching.
"Huh...?"
The uninvited guest's bizarrely ominous form made the Sword Hero's eyes widen, and the middle-aged man opposite her belatedly turned toward Yeong-woo.
And only then did Yeong-woo realize.
'What the hell, no title?'
The middle-aged man, clearly one of the Central Political Bureau's Standing Committee members, had no title.
It could be hidden like Yeong-woo's, but...
'He can't even see my stamp? That means he's not a named.'
Only each region's overlords—nameds—could view local registration stamps.
In other words, no matter how strong, an unnamed master couldn't check Yeong-woo's position.
'No, without a title, how did he suppress the Shandong uncles in three exchanges?'
As Yeong-woo narrowed the distance to the square to about 100 meters with a puzzled expression, the problematic collector grimaced.
"Supreme Sword...?"
Mulling over the unfamiliar title form.
Meanwhile, at that moment, Yeong-woo.
"...Ah!"
His eyes flashed at the sight of sacks of money piled high behind the middle-aged man.
"My money! Hand over my money and your head, you bastard!"
"What?"
The middle-aged man's face turned utterly ferocious at "my money."
"Who the hell is this rootless punk..."
About to reflexively spew curses, the man widened his eyes seeing the 'Supreme Sword' suddenly drawing his bowstring.
"You die—!"
Jewelry wouldn't be destroyed even by laser bombardment anyway.
So Yeong-woo freely loosed an arrow at the middle-aged man.
Pew-shooo-oo-oot!
At under 50 meters, dodging Yeong-woo's covert arrow was practically impossible.
'At this range, even I couldn't dodge. Let's see how tough a Standing Committee member's durability is!'
Yeong-woo tracked the multiple covert arrows slicing through the air after leaving the bowstring.
Then soon.
Puuu-ung!
A purple explosion unique to ability attributes erupted right in front of the middle-aged man.
He had taken the arrow without time to evade.
'Got him!'
Certain all arrows had hit directly, Yeong-woo leaped from Neugig to sever the man's neck.
Ta-at!
However.
Ssss...
Contrary to Yeong-woo's expectation, a powerful presence lingered at the ability explosion site.
"……!"
The middle-aged man was unscathed.
'D-Danger!'
Instinctively sensing a counterattack, Yeong-woo hurriedly tried to draw his sword.
But having just jumped from the mount, both feet hadn't touched ground yet, and the opponent's strike exploited that split-second gap.
"Kiyaaaap!"
This time, an ability attack from over there.
Shwaaaaak!
What shot out with a wave-like roar was the middle-aged man's right arm, wrapped in purple radiance.
'...This is?'
An enormous amount of ability attribute could be felt.
So Yeong-woo realized immediately upon seeing the attack.
"You, you bastard, Beijing's lackey...!"
And as that line was uttered.
Kwaak!
The middle-aged man's demonic claw pierced Yeong-woo's chest.