Chapter 50

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 50: The Judge with the Longsword (3)

If humans and cars were to compete in a race, who would win?

Yeongwoo could run as fast as a car, but the citizens of Chungju crossing the field didn’t seem to be that fast.

Vroom…!

Yeongwoo’s SUV, which had started late, quickly overtook them within a dozen seconds.

“Uh, ugh!”

The Chungju citizens, seeing the SUV passing them, screamed in fear.

Even people running on the road quickly moved aside when Myeongho’s horn echoed loudly.

So, to anyone unfamiliar, this scene seemed like…

“It seems like we’re really going to attack Chungju.”

Myeongho, sitting in the passenger seat, looked out the window and smiled as if enjoying the situation.

He was enjoying the sight of people feeling threatened and fleeing.

On the other hand, Yeongwoo lightly tapped the headrest on the driver’s seat and told Myeongho,

“Please slow down a bit. If by any chance we hit someone, it could be troublesome.”

Unlike Myeongho, who was in high spirits, Yeongwoo had no intention of causing trouble in this city.

So, even if Chungju’s Strongest Sword came out in a somewhat angry state, he planned to try resolving it through dialogue as much as possible.

‘Of course, if they swing a sword at us out of the blue, there’s nothing I can do…’

While Yeongwoo was casually playing with the black sword and early bird tucked into his belt, Myeongho in the driver’s seat sighed.

“Oh, there’s something ahead again. People…”

“People?”

Yeongwoo listened to Myeongho’s words and leaned forward to look ahead through the windshield.

Then, indeed, people were visible, just as Myeongho had said.

Three people fully armed with swords and shields, wearing police uniforms.

These three were blocking the road in a line, and behind them, a tollgate painted in blue stood like a fortress.

‘They’re using the tollgate as a checkpoint.’

As the SUV approached slowly, the three people in police uniforms near the tollgate looked at each other in confusion.

The tollgate was originally a facility to collect vehicle tolls, but since the Reset Incident, they hadn’t seen any actual cars passing through.

“Uh… How did you come to Chungju?”

Finally, one of the three approached with his arm resting on the handle of the sword still in its sheath, looking puzzled.

At this moment, Myeongho was about to answer with the window rolled down when…

“Emergency! Emergency!”

A desperate voice echoed from afar.

It was none other than the front of the citizens’ group that had been racing at full speed since earlier.

“What…?”

The police, who belatedly realized that the SUV in front of them was the cause of the “emergency,” shouted at Myeongho with a harsh tone.

“You, what’s going on? Turn off the engine and get out of the car right now!”

Clang!

The police drew their swords one by one, but Myeongho didn’t flinch in the driver’s seat.

Because…

Suddenly, Yeongwoo in the back seat was getting out of the car instead of him.

“We didn’t come to fight. Is Chungju’s Strongest Sword Mr. Shin Youngju here? We just came to see him.”

Yeongwoo spread his empty hands, showing he had nothing, and expressed that he had no intention of fighting.

However, the excitement of the police did not subside.

What the police were looking at right now was still the running car with the engine running, the outsider with the early bird, and the dozens of citizens shouting “emergency” instead of screaming.

Currently, on Yeongwoo’s side, the police were still facing the running vehicle with the engine on, the outsider with the early bird, and dozens of citizens shouting “emergency” instead of screaming.

Unconsciously, they reacted,

“This guy! Turn off the engine and get out!”

“You… Lie down. This is your last warning!”

The police, harboring hostility towards Yeongwoo’s group, resorted to excessive defense.

It was the result of a clash between instinctual fear and the obligation as checkpoint officers.

In the midst of this, one overly excited police officer even showed an intention to strike the front of the SUV with his sword.

Swish!

Subsequently, Yeongwoo had no choice but to move and pushed the problematic police officer away like lightning.

Thunk!

“Oof!”

Because the incident happened so quickly, the other two policemen only realized what had happened after their colleague fell to the ground.

“What’s going on?”

“Ouch!”

Then, almost simultaneously, their gazes turned towards Yeongwoo.

「The sensory values have temporarily increased from the original 100 to 122.」

「The sensory values have temporarily increased from the original 122 to 141.」

It was the counterattack from the Chungju police.

However, the combat capabilities of the two, confirmed through the theft effect, were pathetic.

At best, they had experience dealing with a few monsters.

As a result, the hologram of the Gyeongbuk Sword Law that appeared shortly after indicated that both of them could be killed within a single move, displaying a “kill” mark.

However, instead of following the guide, Yeongwoo acted solely based on his judgment.

Without using a sword, he emitted the ‘Strongest Sword’s Prestige.’

Whoosh!

When Yeongwoo unleashed a golden wave while glaring from his eyes, the two police officers trying to confront him froze in place momentarily.

“Huh?”

“Ouch…!”

It was due to the pain resembling their hearts being squeezed, caused by the impact of the Prestige. Soon, Yeongwoo’s low voice penetrated their ears.

“Where can I meet Chungju’s Strongest Sword?”

As Yeongwoo withdrew the Prestige with these words, one police officer hesitated and sat down in place, letting go of his weapon.

The other one…

“Ugh!”

Fell to the ground and vomited while if lying down.

He turned out to be someone with a very weak mental strength.

Yeongwoo, avoiding the puke that began to spread on the ground, took a step back and told the police officer he had pushed shoulder-to-shoulder earlier.

“As I mentioned earlier, we didn’t come to fight. Where can I find the Strongest Sword?”

“Um…”

With an embarrassed look, the opponent raised his hand and pointed northeast.

“Probably at the Konkuk Campus…”

“Konkuk? Are you referring to Konkuk University?”

Yeongwoo knew that Konkuk University was a school located in Seoul.

He looked puzzled as he gazed northeast, and the police officer nodded.

“There’s a branch here. If nothing unusual happened, he should still be on campus.”

“I see.”

In the phrase ‘he should still be on campus,’ Yeongwoo caught a glimpse that Chungju’s Strongest Sword had earned the trust of the citizens.

Yeongwoo sensed that Chungju Strongest Sword was trusted by the citizens from the phrase ‘he should still be on campus.’

“Would you mind coming with us?”

“What?”

“Since the navigation system isn’t working… we need someone to guide us to the school.”

The police around looked uneasy.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo shrugged his shoulders and casually added,

“If we can’t find the way easily, there might be more incidents like this on our way to the school. It’s better not to create unnecessary variables.”

Yeongwoo’s mention of ‘incidents like this’ referred to the series of events involving confronting another police officer or Chungju citizens by force and asking for directions.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

And in this process, if unintentionally a bloody incident occurred, it wouldn’t be a tragedy, but rather a threat.

The opponent seemed to understand Yeongwoo’s intention, and with a stiff expression, he reluctantly nodded.

—

Clank.

When Yeongwoo picked up one of the police officers who had blocked the car at the tollgate and got into the back seat, everyone in the left side of the car opened their eyes wide and asked,

“W-what’s going on?”

“Who is this person?”

“Well, sir…”

However, the most surprised person was the police officer himself who succumbed to Yeongwoo’s threat and volunteered to be the guide.

“Hey… what’s this?”

Pointing with his finger, the police officer couldn’t get on the back seat and indicated beneath the seat.

-Keet?

There, a golden goblin, a high-class slave with golden skin, was crouching.

“He’s my slave. We don’t have time, so get on quickly.”

As Yeongwoo, who had already gotten into the car, gestured somewhat forcefully, the helpless police officer had no choice.

Swoosh.

As he stepped on the back seat, the goblin, frowning, moved to the opposite side, and Myeongae also avoided the goblin and stuck to the car window, coughing slightly.

—

An uncomfortable and eerie situation in many ways.

Nevertheless, once everyone, humans, and monsters were seated, Yeongwoo gave the signal by tapping the headrest on the driver’s seat.

“Uh… should I just follow the road straight ahead for now?”

Myeongho asked while checking the rearview mirror.

Then, the police officer, rubbing his neck, looked at Yeongwoo.

“It would be more convenient to go back a bit and enter through Munkang-ri. No checkpoints, and it’ll be easier.”

“What if I just go straight ahead?”

“Well…”

The police officer looked uneasy at Yeongwoo’s question.

“Taking the highway might be more comfortable, but there’s almost no time difference between going through Munkang-ri. In fact, going through Munkang-ri might be faster due to possible delays at checkpoints.”

“Is there another tollgate? Why is there another checkpoint if we go up?”

As Yeongwoo asked this question, the true intentions of the police officer finally surfaced.

“There’s a densely populated area. There’s also a national university nearby, so there are a lot of people. Therefore, there is a significant police presence. So, it’s better to avoid people as much as possible…”

“Police presence…?”

Where everything had turned to stone, it was unclear why there were so many people near the national university.

Even disregarding that, the fact that it was a densely populated area with a significant police presence was a cultural shock for Yeongwoo.

In the cities he had seen before, there was not even a basic system of law, let alone law enforcement.

“In the current situation, how can law and order be maintained? Most of the police should be much stronger than ordinary citizens, isn’t that nearly impossible?”

And even if that were possible, who would control the police, who are powerful enough to maintain security?

If any of the police were to deviate, the order would collapse in an instant.

“Uh, well….”

In response to Yeongwoo’s questioning gaze, the police officer wiped sweat off his forehead and avoided eye contact, looking towards the driver’s side window.

Then suddenly.

“Oh!”

The eyes and mouth of the police officer widened as he let out a surprised exclamation.

However, it seemed more like a reaction of joy than surprise.

Upon seeing the police officer’s reaction, Yeongwoo subtly realized who was approaching from a distance.

“No way.”

As Yeongwoo turned his upper body and shifted his gaze to the driver’s side window, he saw a silhouette rapidly approaching at a considerable speed.

Pabababat!

The distinct sound of friction echoed, indicating that the person was barefoot, pushing the asphalt consecutively with each step.

Just like the figure on the other side, Yeongwoo, who was also used to running barefoot on the road, could be sure of it.

“Chungju’s Strongest Sword came to find me in person. But how…?”

Even though no one should have been able to leave the area yet, how did someone inform her?

Papat!

In the midst of the confusion, the silhouette was already close enough for Yeongwoo to recognize the facial features.

At this moment, Yeongwoo was surprised once again.

“…!”

Contrary to expectations, Chungju’s Strongest Sword, Shin Youngju22, was a middle-aged woman.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]