Chapter 268
Chapter 268
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 268
Chapter Title: 60. Highway (3)
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“No, what the.”
Jeju First Sword Choi Moon-soon couldn’t continue, his mouth hanging wide open.
It was just too absurd.
The orcs had conquered Australia, which was ridiculous enough, but now they were threatening to protect their right to survival.
“W-what’s going on here? No, how the hell did those things...”
He wanted to smash their skulls himself, but as he’d seen earlier, the orc legion’s prowess was no joke.
So Moon-soon had no choice but to plead with the Korean Peninsula’s strongest fixer, ‘First Sword’ Jeong Young-woo.
To do something about those bastards.
“Say something, First Sword!”
At that, Young-woo, who had been blinking and lost in thought for a moment, stepped forward.
“…Shall I?”
Snap!
But the movement of the elected ‘First Sword,’ chosen directly by the people of the Korean Peninsula, far exceeded Moon-soon’s expectations.
The first words he uttered before the legion of ‘Red Feet’ that had declared their autonomous territory.
“Ooh, Bangtu Bangtung!”
He called out the orc lord’s name in a tone of deep emotion.
“What…?”
Moon-soon’s eyes went wide as he stared at the First Sword, but Korea’s strongest paid it no mind and took another step toward the coast.
“Originally, the principle of this planet, Earth, is survival of the fittest! The survivor is the strong one, and the one left standing until the end is the owner of that land!”
“First Sword…? What are you even saying right now!”
These were lines that hadn’t been discussed with Moon-soon or anyone else present.
But Young-woo had never intended to consult with the others here in the first place.
Hadn’t they elected Jeong Young-woo as ‘First Sword’ precisely so the Peninsula could make bold decisions immediately without complicated deliberations?
Moreover, through the recent background disclosure, the voters had confirmed plenty of information.
That Jeong Young-woo was no one who acted according to common sense.
‘But they voted for me expecting that unconventional behavior would ultimately benefit the national interest.’
Therefore, the sole duty Young-woo had to uphold as First Sword was one thing.
To ensure all his actions ultimately led to the national interest.
As long as he did that, he believed he could make any decision and keep his position as First Sword.
It was an era where survival was brutally harsh.
An era that desperately needed strong leaders and strong representatives.
As proof, a whopping 76.8% of Peninsula residents had bet on Jeong Young-woo’s ‘audacity.’
So Young-woo did.
“The orcs’ right to survival? I, Jeong Young-woo07, representative of the Peninsula and future owner of Earth, guarantee it!”
He decided to guarantee the orcs’ right to survival.
And that was tantamount to arbitrarily granting Earth’s land rights to the Red Feet orcs.
“Are you seriously insane? What do you plan to do!”
Sure enough, Moon-soon flipped out and shook Young-woo’s shoulders wildly.
Haenam First Sword Kim Hyung-beom, who had been holding his breath until now, cautiously voiced his concerns.
“Orc survival rights… I did vote for you in the approval poll, Young-woo, but this feels like a different issue.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Uh… they’re not human?”
“If they’re not human, do we have to go to war no matter what?”
“W-well… of course not, but…….”
“They’re monsters by nature, so negotiations are different. But if their claim is true, Australia’s already been conquered by orcs, and…….”
Then Young-woo pointed at the sky with his finger.
“That means the orc legion handled Australia’s mutants for at least two days. It means they have real power.”
“Ah.”
Hyung-beom’s face took on a subtle expression, as if he hadn’t considered that far.
“How much relentless effort must non-mutant monsters have put in to take down Australia’s named humans and seize the continent? I think we need to at least hear them out.”
“……?”
Sensing something off about the angle, Hyung-beom opened his mouth again, but Young-woo continued first.
“They’ve already proven their self-sufficiency, and above all, they’re the de facto rulers of Australia. If we fight the orcs, we might take the land, but… how do we manage that vast, barren continent?”
“So you’re just going to leave the ones who killed people and took Australia?”
“Who were those people? Your family, Hyung-beom? They have nothing to do with us, and resetting the Australian continent again for people who are already dead is pointless.”
“No, even so……!”
Hyung-beom seemed unable to agree emotionally.
Of course, Young-woo, who had once been human before becoming a demon, wasn’t incapable of understanding the sentiment.
“They’re the ones who killed people and stole humanity’s foothold. But conversely, they were also strangers who came to an alien planet and became human prey. Was Australia purely the victim?”
“…….”
From a human perspective, it was pure sophistry, but the claim wasn’t entirely without merit.
Monsters were generally prey, after all.
But due to Australia’s geography, humans couldn’t gain the upper hand, so they were overwhelmed by tactically skilled orcs.
“This planet is changing far more extensively and rapidly than you all think. Compared to what’s coming, one of the smallest continents falling to another race isn’t that shocking.”
Young-woo even thought it might be a good thing.
At this point, as humanity moved beyond globalization to cosmic expansion, a bit more diversity in the ‘Earthling’ makeup didn’t seem so bad.
Of course, it was such a radical idea that he didn’t voice it, lest it be recorded somewhere.
“They said if humans don’t guarantee their survival rights, it’s war. That means if we do guarantee it, options other than war become available. Right?”
At Young-woo’s words, both the Haenam and Jeju First Swords nodded blankly.
Jeong Young-woo’s thinking was so unrealistic and extreme that it overloaded their thought processes.
“Uh… what other option? What the hell do they want?”
Finally, Jeju First Sword Choi Moon-soon posed the key question, and Young-woo answered as if he’d been waiting.
“Taxes. Before they become Earth residents, I want the orcs to become vassals of the Peninsula.”
“……?”
“To do that, they need to fulfill citizens’ duties, starting with taxes.”
“You’re going to collect taxes from orcs?”
“We’ve been collecting from humans all this time. Why not from orcs?”
“Good lord.”
“What we guarantee in exchange for harsh taxes isn’t just the orcs’ lives.”
Harsh taxes… The phrase made Moon-soon’s throat go dry.
But he was more curious about Young-woo’s next line, so he let it slide.
“…Then? What do we guarantee the orcs?”
“What we guarantee is the future of their race.”
“……!”
“As long as the orcs pay their taxes faithfully, they’ll thrive in Australia.”
* * *
Kwaaaaa!
As Jeju Island finally touched Meganesia at last, a vibration like an earthquake swept the area along with a massive shockwave.
Whoooosh!
“Ugh, urk!”
“My god.”
Even the brave swordsmen of Jeju who had held their ground until this point faltered now, while Haenam First Sword and Jeju First Sword brushed their whipping hair aside and stared ahead.
Because.
-Roaaar!
-Kuwoooo!
From over there, enraged orcs bellowed fiercely, asserting their survival rights.
Thanks to Young-woo’s display of power, though, they didn’t cross the continental boundary in one go.
“Are you coming along?”
When Young-woo turned to the two First Swords and asked, Hyung-beom replied with a reluctant expression.
“Wh-where to, sir?”
“Where do you think.”
Swish.
The place Young-woo pointed to was none other than the Australian continent.
The land where thousands of heavily armed orcs stood ready for battle.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. But when else will you sit at the negotiation table with orcs?”
As Young-woo said this, one side of the orc ranks truly parted, and from within, massive orcs emerged carrying a huge iron table and chairs like a coffin.
A literal ‘negotiation table’ appeared.
Boom!
Soon, the iron table was placed on Australia’s desolate earth.
Then the orc lord Bangtu Bangtung extended his palm, pointing at the table.
-If you have the courage, sit across from me.
“Hmm.”
Young-woo didn’t hesitate and stepped from Jeju soil onto Australian ground.
Thud.
After a moment’s hesitation, Choi Moon-soon shouldered his greatsword and followed Young-woo.
Kim Hyung-beom, on the other hand.
“I-I’ll stay here just in case.”
Unlike the other two First Swords, he chose psychological safety.
No matter how strong Jeong Young-woo was, venturing into thousands of orcs alongside him was beyond him.
Even if this scene was recorded and used as footage in some future election he might not even run in, it didn’t matter.
Hyung-beom had no intention of running for ‘First Sword.’
“Yes. It’s good to have one guarding the rear.”
Young-woo encouraged Hyung-beom as best he could, then walked up to the iron table nearly surrounded by orcs.
Then, a massive shadow of the ‘Golden Trajectory’ fell over his back.
-Hummm….
The orcs, seeing this, naturally raised their blades toward Young-woo with tense expressions.
-…What’s that?
When Bangtu Bangtung asked on behalf of all, Young-woo glanced back and answered.
“As you see, it’s a sword. It won’t attack without my command, so don’t worry.”
Then he looked at the chair in front of him and spoke again.
“On Earth, the superior sits first—it’s etiquette. So I’ll sit first.”
-What?
While Bangtu Bangtung furrowed his brow, Young-woo was already pulling out the chair and planting his butt.
He gestured for Moon-soon to sit quickly too.
“Ah.”
As Moon-soon looked at the orc lord and tried to pull out his chair.
-Ik…!
Bangtu Bangtung hurriedly sat first.
‘Just as simple as he looks.’
Young-woo had a gut feeling the negotiations would go smoothly.
“As I said earlier, I’ll guarantee your survival rights.”
Bangtu Bangtung placed his arms on the table and steepled his fingers.
-How?
“The fact that I haven’t attacked you yet counts as keeping my promise.”
-Hahak!
Bangtu Bangtung threw his head back and laughed, mouth wide enough to show his uvula.
-Hey, human. Your size is bigger than the Australia guys. You shoot arrows pretty well too.
As he spoke, the massive orcs deployed in company units all turned toward the table.
The especially huge ones who had thrown spears from across the sea earlier.
-But you can’t threaten us alone. If you had no army, we might be the ones demanding survival rights.
“…….”
Hearing this, Young-woo finally understood why the orcs excelled in tactics.
They lacked concepts like overwhelmingly powerful demons or nuclear missiles—asymmetric forces—so they had no choice but to develop legion tactics that amassed small powers for big effects.
So Young-woo thought for a moment, then slowly spoke.
“You don’t know Earth well yet, Bangtu Bangtung.”
-What?
“The Australia you invaded is the weakest of Earth’s four continents.”
-……!
“If you truly knew Earth, you’d be the one tensing up seeing me show up alone.”
-What…? You mean you can take on a legion by yourself?
Bangtu Bangtung’s face was one of disbelief. His steepled fingers had come undone.
Then Young-woo suddenly shot to his feet and drew Sasenga.
Shing!
“Is it just legions? I’m someone who’ll fight planets in the future!”
With those words, Young-woo swung Sasenga, slicing the negotiation table—thick as an orc’s forearm—like tofu.
-Y-you crazy bastard?
As the flustered Bangtu Bangtung rose and drew his sword, thousands of orcs around aimed weapons at Young-woo and Moon-soon.
“F-First Sword! You mad bastard! Why’d you tell me to follow if this is what you meant! Is this negotiation?”
Moon-soon screamed in pallor, but Young-woo stood tall, still staring at the orc lord.
“From now on, I’ll kill about a hundred roughly, then drain the rest of your high blood.”
-You dumb fuck, before you swing that sword a hundred times, you’ll…!
As Bangtu Bangtung retorted with outdated thinking, Young-woo looked up at the sky and shouted.
“Earth, 006! 491! 8832! 017!”
Shockingly, the surrounding orcs all looked up at the sky in unison.
Because of one of their favorite tactics: javelin rain.
They didn’t know the exact meaning of the coordinates, but they recognized it as calling in support positions.
-N-no way……?
As Bangtu Bangtung gazed at the sky in denial.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
A massive laser beam—the Korean Peninsula’s pride, its asymmetric force—shot down from the heavens.