Chapter 261
Chapter 261
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 261
Chapter Title: 58. The Biggest Worry (3)
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“What… what did you say?”
Jeong Tae-ryong, the eldest of the Ansan Five Heroes.
He could sense it instinctively.
That everyone in Ansan, including himself, had been caught up in something enormous.
“Twenty million? What the hell does that mean?”
At the sudden mention of such a massive sum, Jeong Tae-ryong’s face filled with fear.
The mad top swordsman who’d brought up money out of nowhere, and the purple demon racing in from the distance—everything terrified him.
And in the midst of this, Seong Hwi-gwang, the bald swordmaster and third of the Five Heroes, boldly drew his blade.
“Big brother! We need to kill that thing first!”
The ‘thing’ Hwi-gwang pointed at with his sword tip was unmistakably the old monster approaching from the west.
Unlike the top swordsman, with whom a conversation was at least underway, this approaching fiend was already in full battle stance.
Then, one of the Ansan Five Heroes recognized the old monster’s face.
“Huh? Baek Kang-ryang?”
It was such a famous figure.
Baek Kang-ryang. Age 68.
A man who had once served as mayor of Beijing and Communist Party representative, holding a seat on the Politburo Standing Committee right up until the Reset.
In other words, one of the top ten in China’s vast political hierarchy.
In Korean terms, it was like the current prime minister or ruling party leader returning as a demon.
And soon.
“Huh?”
“It’s Baek Kang-ryang!”
The citizens of Ansan crowding nearby began buzzing as they recognized him too.
Because.
Boom, thud!
There was something off about Baek Kang-ryang’s physical condition.
Before the Reset, he’d been severely obese with an enormously bloated body—and as a demon now, it was the same.
Crash!
His body, strong enough in strength and durability to churn up the earth as he moved, resembled a massive jar.
The bizarre part was that this jar-shaped body was mostly composed of muscle.
‘What the hell is that? How is that even possible?’
Even Young-woo, who’d seen all sorts of monsters, couldn’t help but feel bewildered by this physique.
It was a form impossible without overinvesting karma into external modifications.
This Standing Committee member also wasn’t clad in much, but unlike the already-slain Jang Jin-sam, he carried a weapon.
‘Whoa!’
To Young-woo, it looked purely like loot.
Whoosh!
It was an incredibly hefty crescent blade.
The blade part was about twice the size of a standard one, making it closer to a butcher’s knife with an extended handle.
“I am Baek Kang-ryang, Fourth Standing Committee Member of the Politburo!”
The Standing Committee member introduced himself without fail.
And then.
“Chairman Im Du-pyeong demands military tribute! The city of Ansan, obey the order……!”
As he demanded they hand over the money, he hurled the crescent blade in his hand.
Fwoosh!
Right into the center of the standoff between the Ansan Five Heroes and Young-woo.
Boom!
‘…Why throw your weapon right here? Is he insane?’
Young-woo found Baek Kang-ryang’s action baffling, but the Ansan Five Heroes seemed to feel differently.
“What kind of sword is that big?”
“It’s really Baek Kang-ryang……?”
“Is Chairman Im still alive?”
The appearance of someone who truly bore Baek Kang-ryang’s face, even as a demon, naturally made them believe Chairman Im was alive too.
And at this point, the cities’ tendencies diverged.
Hadn’t Cheon Ju-rin of Dalian, whom they’d met earlier, argued with Standing Committee Member Jang Jin-sam?
—Hah, the Politburo? The Party no longer exists—how dare you use that name?
—You bitch! How dare you deny the Party’s existence!
With all systems and laws shattered by the Reset, Cheon Ju-rin of Dalian Sword Alliance refused to acknowledge the old Party.
The Ansan Five Heroes, however…
“Ch-Chairman Im……!”
“My God.”
Already, two of the five ‘heroes’ had dropped to their knees before the blade Baek Kang-ryang had thrown.
‘What morons.’
Young-woo couldn’t comprehend it, but for these people long under state control, the name Im Du-pyeong carried immense pressure.
It didn’t just mean one national chairman—it symbolized the entire rigid Party-centered regime.
On top of that, Baek Kang-ryang, appearing here as Chairman Im’s proxy, knew how to seize the crowd.
Swoosh.
“Only those who can pick up that blade will have the right to speak.”
He pointed with a thick finger at the crescent blade he’d thrown.
At this, everyone in the area, including the Ansan Five Heroes, turned to stare at the weapon in question.
“…Ugh.”
“Can anyone even grip that thing properly?”
“It looks insanely heavy…….”
The crescent blade Baek Kang-ryang had brought looked too massive to even wrap one hand around the handle.
And everyone could guess its weight was no joke from the shockwave and thunderous crash when it embedded in the ground.
So how strong must Baek Kang-ryang be to wield it like an extension of his body?
“…B-Big brother. It seems…….”
Seong Hwi-gwang, who hadn’t flinched even at the top swordsman firing lasers at the city, was trembling at the mere name Im Du-pyeong.
He was urging the eldest brother, still at the forefront, to surrender.
But Jeong Tae-ryong was consistent.
Just as he hadn’t honored Jung Young-woo, the great demon of the peninsula, with the ‘hero’ title, he didn’t bend before Baek Kang-ryang, who rode on Im Du-pyeong’s name.
“We’re honored you’ve come to Ansan. It’s a pleasure to meet so many esteemed guests today.”
As Jeong Tae-ryong spoke without even a fist salute, Baek Kang-ryang closed in until his shadow fell over the man’s feet.
Thud, thump!
Baring grayish, parched teeth, he pointed again at the crescent blade.
“Cut the crap and pick it up. Open your mouth again without it, and I’ll crush your skull next time.”
Anyone could see this was no mere threat.
He needed someone to make an example of to seize the city—and Jeong Tae-ryong, who’d positioned himself as the area’s top dog, fit perfectly.
“Mm.”
“…Big brother.”
Everyone anticipated disaster the moment someone grabbed that crescent blade.
Purple demonic energy was steadily leaking from it, after all.
So, inevitably.
Thud.
While all eyes were on Jeong Tae-ryong, Young-woo placed his hand on the crescent blade.
“If I pick this up, can I speak?”
In an instant, everyone in the area turned to stare at Young-woo.
“Huh!”
“What…….”
By now, Young-woo had already gripped the crescent blade Baek Kang-ryang had brought—one-handed.
Of course, the handle was custom-made for Baek Kang-ryang’s oversized hands compared to a normal human, so even Young-woo couldn’t fully wrap around it.
But.
Grrrrind!
He could lift it with raw strength alone.
Because just moments ago, Young-woo had…
『Character: Jung Young-woo07』
[Strength] 7,500 (19+7,481)
[Stamina] 6,248 (21+6,227)
[Durability] 7,398 (13+7,385)
[Sense] 3,400 (24+3,376)
|Fire Resistance: 15% 【Osmotic Pressure 50%】
|Cold Resistance: 15% 【Osmotic Pressure 50%】
|Lightning Resistance: 15% 【Osmotic Pressure 50%】
|Poison Resistance: 15% 【Osmotic Pressure 50%】
|Supernatural Resistance: 50%
|Dragon Resistance: 10%
…poured a whopping 40 million karma from his cash stack into his stats.
Two thousand each into strength, and ten million each into stamina and durability.
Since the opponent was the Fourth Standing Committee Member, Young-woo had figured he’d be stronger than the Sixth, Jang Jin-sam, and boosted accordingly.
And that judgment seemed spot-on.
‘Whoa, it really is heavy. This guy’s a total strength build.’
As Young-woo awkwardly held the crescent blade in his left hand, the Ansan Five Heroes all turned to Baek Kang-ryang in unison.
They needed to see his reaction to decide which side to back.
Baek Kang-ryang’s expression, as all eyes shifted back to him, was…
“Huh……?”
Pure bewilderment.
But he wasn’t just shocked that his opponent had lifted the massive blade.
“H-How the hell.”
It was a weapon infused with demonic power, bestowed directly by Chairman Im.
One no one walking the path of demons could possibly hold.
Because.
“Huh, what’s this? A self-damage weapon.”
As Young-woo could see right now, it had the trait of accumulating supernatural damage on the wielder.
「Dark Chunk」 - Mutated Crescent Blade
【While using this weapon, you continuously take supernatural damage.】
【Add 25% of supernatural damage taken in the last 2 seconds to attack power】
【Supernatural attribute damage +10%】
But Young-woo had 50% supernatural resistance, plus recovery far beyond human limits, so his body wasn’t crumbling.
‘What’s with these weird options.’
Clearly a villain’s weapon at a glance.
And the potential of the second option was something only Young-woo could grasp.
【Add 25% of supernatural damage taken in the last 2 seconds to attack power】
‘Isn’t this an anti-extradimensional weapon?’
From his experience so far, the source of supernatural attributes lay out there in the cosmos.
So in future fights against otherworldly beings, most damage from opponents would likely be supernatural.
“You’ve been using an amazing weapon, huh?”
As Young-woo swung ‘Dark Chunk’ through the air a couple times, Baek Kang-ryang—who’d maintained a stern demeanor until now—involuntarily reached out a hand before pulling it back.
Swoosh.
As if to say, hand over the weapon already.
But far from returning it, Young-woo grinned wickedly and opened his weapon codex.
Flash!
In a way, this might be another piece of Young-woo’s asymmetrical warfare advantage.
Only he could make weapons vanish with magic right here.
‘Register in codex.’
As Young-woo registered Dark Chunk, the massive crescent blade in his hand suddenly vanished without a trace.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
And naturally, the most shocked was…
“You fucking bastard?”
Baek Kang-ryang himself, who’d just lost the weapon bestowed by Im Du-pyeong before his very eyes.
Grind.
So furious were his gray teeth, grinding together with a horrific sound.
Yet he didn’t smash Young-woo’s head.
Because.
“Where did you send my weapon? What sorcery is this!”
Killing this mysterious intruder meant he’d never recover it.
It hadn’t gone into a pocket—it had vanished into thin air in an instant.
“Want to know? Where Dark Chunk went?”
With Young-woo staring and asking like this, Baek Kang-ryang had no choice.
“…….”
He meekly nodded.
At that, Young-woo turned to the Ansan citizens now filling the area and said,
“Alright then, Committee Member! Announce it publicly before the citizens! How much tribute you planned to extract from Ansan every day!”
“What?”
The toyed-with Baek Kang-ryang instantly swelled his muscles, but Young-woo’s follow-up held him in place.
“It was money you were taking anyway, right? Tell the truth, and I’ll return the weapon immediately. I want a fair duel.”
Young-woo said this while still not having drawn his own sword.
At least for now, his words matched his actions.
But Baek Kang-ryang didn’t trust him.
And he sensed he’d already sunk deep into a trap.
What could he do?
No one but that bastard knew where the weapon had gone.
‘Worst case, I’ll just kill him and rip open his guts to find it.’
Steel-ing himself inwardly, Baek Kang-ryang finally announced the tribute amount Chairman Im had ordered for Ansan, before the crowd.
“Forty million. Starting today, forty million karma collected daily.”
“What?”
“Forty million?”
“That make any sense?”
The staggering sum left Ansan’s citizens gaping in shock—and Young-woo was no different.
‘No way, these bastards are straight-up highway robbers? Forty million every day? Other places are thirty.’
For some reason, Im Du-pyeong had decided to bleed Ansan dry.
‘They’re totally insane.’
This wouldn’t do.
Feigning outrage, Young-woo stepped forward before the crowd.
“Hah, forty million a day? Isn’t that too harsh? Has the righteousness of the martial world truly fallen to the dirt!”
Then, he held up three fingers toward the Ansan Five Heroes, who were swallowing hard.
“I’ll do thirty! Give me thirty million karma a day, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to pay that brutal tribute.”