Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: 26. Long Live the King (1)
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『The Gangnam First Sword's head has fallen!』
At this unbelievable event, everyone in Yongsan Park momentarily held their breath.
“…….”
But in their minds, thoughts were racing more noisily than ever.
—Did Jeong Hyeon-sik really just die?
—Does that mean this outsider is the new Gangnam First Sword now?
—No, wait—can we even call that a formal duel? It wasn't approved by the league members.
—If it wasn't a formal duel, what happens next?
—What if we all gang up on this outsider right here?
—Then all those spoils of war would be...
While everyone was furiously calculating in their heads, Songpa First Sword Oh Yeon-hui gently rubbed her still-throbbing wrist.
With the Gangnam First Sword's head severed, she was now the most influential First Sword in this gathering—and the provisional strongest.
Of course, that wasn't how she saw it.
‘What was that just now...? That attack.'
Just seconds ago, she had reflexively deflected a sword this outsider had suddenly thrown at her while she was blocking the path of the funeral carriage.
But the sword carried nearly twice the power she had anticipated, and as a result...
“…….”
Her wrist was injured to the point where she could barely swing her guandao properly.
And that was just from blocking a sword casually tossed from afar—not even clashing blades directly.
Unless the opponent possessed an absurdly high strength stat, this was impossible.
And that wasn't the only strange thing.
'The sword wasn't even aimed at the funeral carriage to begin with.'
Anyone with that much strength would surely have monstrous stats in other areas too.
So there was no way it was a misaimed shot at the carriage.
In other words, the outsider had used a feint to provoke a specific reaction from the dying Jeong Hyeon-sik.
“...Ugh.”
Meanwhile, Yeong-woo sat down hesitantly beside Jeong Hyeon-sik's corpse, feeling the pain of his broken wrist slowly healing.
「Acquired and merged Gangnam First Sword!」
...Number of held Seoul-region titles has reached 1.
A flurry of title acquisition messages filled his vision, but Yeong-woo's attention was focused beyond them.
He could sense all the First Swords in the gathering murmuring silently.
'Yeah, if you're gonna fight, just do it quick. The potion effect's still active.'
He was down to one arm right now, but his strength stat was still at 4,550.
So he couldn't take on every First Sword here, but he could drag a few down with him to the afterlife.
“Ugh.”
Wincing at another wave of wrist pain, Yeong-woo steeled himself, ready to summon his weapons at any moment.
Then.
Thwack!
One of the First Swords in the gathering finally shot to his feet.
It was none other than Dongdaemun First Sword Jang Jeong-ho.
“You guys really gonna let this slide? Our executive vice president is dead...!”
As he subtly revealed his intentions and started advancing toward the scene, the remaining First Swords all turned to look at Songpa First Sword Oh Yeon-hui in unison.
They were probing the will of Oh Yeon-hui, who was the closest to a 'pureblood' after Jeong Hyeon-sik and physically nearest to the outsider.
But.
“Yes... As you all saw, the vice president lost the duel and died.”
Refusal to join in.
Shifting her guandao to her left hand, Oh Yeon-hui took a couple steps back, clearly signaling her stance.
She had no desire to escalate things further.
“Argh, shit.”
Left standing alone as a result, Jang Jeong-ho glared at Yeong-woo murderously.
“How the hell does one crippled arm screw everything up and debut like this...?”
But even Jang Jeong-ho, saying this, didn't dare charge at Yeong-woo.
If Oh Yeon-hui wouldn't move, the other First Swords would just stand by, and he'd end up dying alone like a dog.
And on top of that.
“Isn't the duel over? Why hasn't the cleanup started?”
A new figure appeared from the edge of Yongsan Park, driving the final nail into the situation.
Step, step.
A man in a navy suit and black leather shoes.
“V-Vice Minister...”
Jang Jeong-ho's eyes, brimming with killing intent moments ago, softened unbelievably.
It was because former Ministry of Economy and Finance Vice Minister—and current Gwanak First Sword—Jo Sang-ik had arrived.
Of course, if Jeong Hyeon-sik were still alive, Jo Sang-ik would have been branded an outsider's accomplice and executed the moment he showed up.
However.
“…….”
As Jo Sang-ik could see, Jeong Hyeon-sik's head was no longer attached to his neck.
Which meant no one here had the authority to press him now.
Not even Songpa First Sword Oh Yeon-hui, whose influence in the gathering fell short of Jo Sang-ik's.
“You're here, Vice Minister.”
Oh Yeon-hui eyed Jo Sang-ik and the Seoul University swordmasters lined up behind him with a strange look.
This was a blatant rules violation.
No First Sword was allowed to bring private soldiers into Yongsan Park.
Except for a minimal escort for basic protocol.
“An outsider might think you're here to stage a coup.”
Jo Sang-ik gave a wry smile at Oh Yeon-hui's words.
“Looks like things already got messy early on. I pulled some people to help tidy up, just in case.”
Pausing there, Jo Sang-ik glanced around.
The decapitated Jeong Hyeon-sik, the funeral carriage probably holding his son, the excessive crowd of Taewon Group employees, and so on.
Then, with a slightly less bitter grin, he continued.
“But seems my worries were unfounded. No need for cleanup after all.”
With that, Jo Sang-ik took a bold step forward, making Jang Jeong-ho flinch and retreat.
He knew instinctively.
That Jo Sang-ik was already in league with the outsider.
“Jeong Yeong-woo, you alright?”
Jo Sang-ik thus openly declared his support by inquiring after the outsider's well-being.
It was also the first time the outsider's name—Jeong Yeong-woo—had been revealed.
At this, another First Sword who had been blankly watching stood up abruptly.
Whoosh!
It was Yongsan First Sword Kim Do-ha.
Tap-tap!
Positioning himself in front of Yeong-woo and Jo Sang-ik with somewhat hasty steps, he hesitated a moment before bowing his head and speaking.
“Congratulations on ascending to Gangnam First Sword! Jeong Yeong-woo...!”
He had swiftly switched sides upon realizing the momentum had fully shifted to the outsider.
Oh Yeon-hui, who had been standing there stunned, added in a very dry tone.
“You'll need to manage the Taewon Group traffic properly.”
This meant Songpa acknowledged the outsider's takeover of Gangnam too.
With the situation like this, the other First Swords had no choice but to accept it.
“...Congratulations.”
“Didn't think I'd live to see a new Gangnam First Sword.”
“Congratulations.”
As the First Swords offered half-hearted felicitations, Jo Sang-ik asked Yeong-woo again.
“How long until your wound fully heals?”
“...Pardon? Is there another fight?”
Jo Sang-ik let out a hollow laugh at Yeong-woo's innocent reply.
“Not necessarily... but you need to attend the gathering. Not all the First Swords have arrived yet.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Yeong-woo recall something he'd completely forgotten.
That his duel with the Gangnam First Sword had been little more than the opening event for this gathering.
“…….”
Yeong-woo belatedly checked his wristwatch.
Current time: 2:54 PM.
About six minutes until the gathering started.
“It's almost 3, and not everyone's here yet?”
At Yeong-woo's question, Jo Sang-ik gave an awkward smile.
“There are some real free spirits out there.”
“...I see.”
Even Dongdaemun First Sword Jang Jeong-ho had arrived on time—were there worse scofflaws than him?
“…….”
Which meant he might get dragged into another confrontation today.
Of course, with Songpa First Sword Oh Yeon-hui's acknowledgment and Jo Sang-ik's backing, it probably wouldn't escalate to a deathmatch like with Jeong Hyeon-sik.
'So what should I do first?'
As Yeong-woo pondered this, he snapped back to reality upon spotting Neugigeug and the golden goblin standing off to the side.
'Ah, spoils of war.'
In all the chaos, he'd forgotten the most important part.
But.
'Search Jeong Hyeon-sik's corpse right in front of all these First Swords...?'
Realistically, though, there was no other option.
Dragging the body off to some secluded spot would look even weirder.
Besides, more people would arrive for the gathering soon—those who missed the Gangnam showdown.
If he collected the spoils then, it'd cause even more uproar, so now was actually the best time.
“Vice Minister.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Haven't collected the spoils yet.”
“......?”
Jo Sang-ik tilted his head for a second before his eyes widened.
He grasped what the other meant a beat late.
“Ah.”
Jo Sang-ik's gaze landed on Jeong Hyeon-sik's severed head next.
“We should pull the gear first and move the body somewhere. If more First Swords are coming here.”
Yeong-woo nodded repeatedly at this.
“Y-Yeah, exactly. Can't hold the gathering with this mess.”
Without delay, Yeong-woo reached for the silver-white straight sword that had given him the most trouble.
Tap.
The sword, caught in the grip of the headless corpse, didn't glow red when he touched it—instead, it displayed a tooltip.
Announcing that it recognized its ownerless state.
「Legacy of the Dragon」 - Epic One-Handed Sword
【Elitism.】
|Increased power against Rank 2 or lower targets.
*'Blood of the Royal Family' perk.
A weapon made to suppress lesser humans had ironically fallen into the hands of one.
*'Blood of the Royal Family'...
Yeong-woo shifted his gaze to the bottom of the tooltip, where a hazy description appeared.
[Blood of the Royal Family]
|Achievement Rank: Legendary
「Acquired First Sword title while two or more blood relatives are mutants.」
'My god.'
This was an achievement no one short of someone like Jeong Hyeon-sik could even uncover.
'This has to be fate. To have even this prepared...'
Of course, that fate had ended miserably for him.
But seeing this seemed to confirm that the reset had erased his original destiny too.
Clack.
As Yeong-woo finally picked up 'Legacy of the Dragon,' the First Swords in the gathering—somehow noticing—began murmuring and crowding in again.
“Huh?”
“W-Wait, is he...”
But contrary to Yeong-woo and Jo Sang-ik's expectations, their interest in his spoils wasn't some romantic concern over desecrating the dead.
What piqued their curiosity was purely...
“Isn't that the sword...?”
“What's that bracelet? Pick it up, let's see.”
Jeong Hyeon-sik's equipment list itself—items no one had dared touch until now.
The Gangnam First Sword unboxing had finally begun.