Chapter 71

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 71: Life and Death in Front of the Motel (3)

Full-on attack.

It was a simple command without further elaboration, yet everyone rushed towards a single target as if it had been planned.

Shiiiit!

Directly towards Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword (Advanced)..

“This…!”

The man with thorns clenched in his hands grimaced as he saw female alliance members disregarding even the mutant and rushing towards him.

“You crazy bitches.”

But this wasn’t anger towards the alliance; it was fear of the situation.

He had collected titles from the Gyeongbuk region and been through all sorts of battles, but facing dozens of furious female swordsmen, a mutant falling from the sky, and fighting against the current Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword simultaneously was beyond anything he had ever imagined.

“Damn it.”

Finally, the man threw himself out of the lobby to escape to the open ground.

Thud!

Instantly, the mutant Yeongtae cast a huge shadow and chased after him.

「Wait!」

‘Friend’ was a presence that had to set up a ball and return within a limited time to receive a reward.

So Yeongtae’s “wait” wasn’t a threat; it was genuine.

「Waaaaiiitttt!」

Of course, this time it was a threat infused with emotions.

In an instant, Yeongtae’s eyes seemed to glow red, and he leaped at tremendous speed.

Shiiiing!

A sound like an airplane passing overhead.

“Wow.”

As the man looked up, he saw the bulky mutant landing on the other side, blocking his escape route.

“Crazy.”

But there was no time even for astonishment.

Whaaack!

This time, a heavy sound came from the direction of the motel room.

It was Yeongwoo, who had been chasing from behind, thrusting his elongated black sword up to five meters.

“This bastard.”

The man gritted his teeth and decided to block the black sword first with his thorns.

Due to the dozens of female alliance members rushing towards him, it was difficult to recognize the hologram in front of him, so it was entirely his own judgement.

Kaang!

The two Strongest Swords clashed after a while.

“…?”

For the first time, the man faced Yeongwoo in a proper duel, his eyes flashing with surprise.

‘What’s this guy? He’s nothing.’

The opponent’s strength transmitted through the thorns was pathetic.

But as dozens of combined attacks poured down despite this pathetic strength, the situation changed.

“Yaaah!”

“He’s dead!”

“Don’t hesitate!”

Swoosh!

The flashing blades flew like arrows, and the man was overwhelmed trying to dodge Yeongwoo’s attacks mixed among the dozens of blades.

Even so.

‘Well, something’s odd.’

The man didn’t know it, but during Yeongwoo’s attacks, 30% of them didn’t affect the hologram.

「Illusion」 – Unique Shoes

【30% chance of detection evasion.】

This effect called “illusion” included the hologram of regional swordsmanship, just as Yeongwoo had hoped.

So, in the end.

“Isn’t that too cowardly? Let’s have a one-on-one duel!”

Unlike inside the motel, where he had become increasingly defensive, the man now proposed a 1:1 duel.

Of course, Yeongwoo had no reason to accept such a proposal, and the mutant rapidly approaching from the other side wouldn’t allow it either.

「Merit…!」

Thud, thud, thud!

Yeongtae fiercely charged towards the man, showing his back to Yeongwoo.

There was nothing in his mind now except the thought of killing that guy before his return time, so he could receive recognition and put something more in his “room.”

「If I go back empty-handed, I’ll really go crazy.」

Commonly known as the returnee’s room.

It was a small, white room that filled Yeongtae’s daily life, with no entrance or windows, just waiting until Yeongwoo blew the horn to call him back.

Of course, he had received his first reward for his previous stay.

It was nothing more than a forearm-sized hourglass.

It didn’t have any special functions; it just allowed him to watch the sand falling, which was better than staring at the white walls endlessly.

Yet, it didn’t make the waiting time enjoyable in any way.

On the contrary, waiting became even more agonizing.

Once he confirmed that the environment improved when contribution was made, the urgency for the call became even stronger.

One might call it a form of psychological torture.

「Hiyah!」

Finally, Yeongtae arrived behind the man and swung his large hand.

Whoom!

Then, a tearing sound echoed, and the man’s field of vision was filled with shattered holograms.

‘Fuck! When did…?’

The man, foreseeing a dog-like future, gritted his teeth.

It was because he could already see blurry fingertips in the corner of his vision.

“Isn’t this cheating?!”

Thud!

As the man shouted in frustration and swung his thorns, Yeongtae’s fingertips broke miserably.

Crack!

「What…?」

“Oops?”

The man’s strength was much stronger than Yeongtae’s endurance.

And just as the man realized this, at the moment he was about to smile with satisfaction.

“Die!”

“Get in!”

Dozens of female alliance members relentlessly attacked without giving him a chance to rest.

‘I need to figure out how to deal with these guys first.’

Once again, seeing the holograms entangled, the man realized he needed to reduce the number of opponents first.

Although the holographic guide of regional swordsmanship showed unreasonable performance in one-on-one duels, it became more of a hindrance when there were multiple enemies, giving too many warnings.

“Back off!”

After adjusting his strategy, the man began swinging his thorns towards the female alliance members, prompting Yeongwoo to instruct immediately.

“Find a way to restrain him! He is trying to reduce our numbers…..!”

There was urgency in Yeongwoo’s voice because a miracle was indeed necessary.

He knew from past experience that the summoning time of ‘Friend’ wasn’t long.

And if Yeongtae fell now…

‘Then we have no chance. We’ll all die here.’

As Yeongwoo rushed towards the man with clenched teeth, Yeongtae also attempted a tackle, deliberately aiming to force evasive maneuvers rather than clawing with his thorns now that the opponent knew he could break through them.

However, the opponent’s response exceeded Yeongtae’s imagination.

“You idiot. Did you think I’d dodge you if you came straight at me?”

Instead of dodging, the man firmly planted his feet and thrust deeply towards Yeongtae’s chest.

He chose a direct breakthrough.

It meant he was confident in the power of his thrust.

And indeed.

Squish!

With a dreadful sound, Yeongtae’s body was torn apart.

「Grrggh!」

Thunk!

Yeongtae let out a desperate scream and collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, the man was advancing towards Yeongwoo with momentum.

Thud!

The opponent’s movement was so fast that only an afterimage remained visible.

Yeongwoo thought the guy was going to stab him again, and sure enough, the hologram of the Gyeongbuk’s Sword Law warned him of a stab ahead.

“…!”

A needle thrust rapidly toward Yeongwoo’s neck.

Swoosh!

At that moment, Yeongwoo made the biggest gamble since the reset.

Swish-

Instead of clumsily dodging or retaliating, he boldly stepped forward, leaning his head forward.

“Huh…?”

It was only for a moment, but the man realized that Yeongwoo was acting out of the ordinary.

So he could have switched to a defensive stance if he wanted.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

But…

“You fool.”

He was convinced that his thrust would pierce through Yeongwoo’s head, along with the shabby helmet surrounding the Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword.

Swish!

The needle continued its trajectory without changing course.

Sensing this, Yeongwoo thought there might be a miracle.

Because the helmet Yeongwoo has just begun to have thorns prickling its surface….

Crack!

「Vanguard」 – Relic Helmet

【This helmet does not get damaged.】

Tee-it!

Finally, the thorn that failed to pierce through the “Vanguard” slid sideways along the gentle surface of the helmet.

Then…

“He’s down!”

Yeongwoo slammed his forehead straight into the man’s face.

So, this was…

“A… a headbutt?”

The female alliance members were astonished by the brute attack, and the man, who was hit in the face with a bronze helmet, groaned and staggered backward.

“This fucking…!”

However, despite the impressive attack, the damage the man suffered was minimal.

His endurance was too high to have his face shattered by a headbutt, and Yeongwoo’s strength was low.

However, it was enough of an attack to trigger the pain infliction effect of “Golden Punishment.”

As the man tried to laugh but suddenly grimaced in pain, Yeongwoo, sensing this, swung his sword.

Swoosh!

It was a terrifyingly fast attack, but the man, even now, managed to see through it and raised his thorns to block.

Clang!

But that was as far as it went.

As the crossed blades met, the man begged for mercy as the sword hovered around his neck.

“W-wait…! Let’s stop here!”

It was a sign that he couldn’t guarantee the next bout.

“…”

Without even bothering to respond, Yeongwoo swung his sword immediately.

Swoosh!

Oddly enough, even at the moment the attack pierced through, the man’s thorns didn’t move along the smooth trajectory of the helmet.

Shing!

Finally, the man’s head soared into the air along with the sharp blade, leaving behind a trail of iridescent light following the spiral trajectory of the sword.

[2nd Grade Advertisement Space Utilization]

– The company’s logo will be printed on the weapon’s trajectory.

Absurd as it was, it was just as stated in the contract.

They really utilized Yeongwoo’s weapon trajectory for advertisement.

;Wait, who would… really see this?’

As Yeongwoo looked around after beheading his opponent, he seemed like a madman to anyone who saw him, even from a distance.

“H-Hey?”

Even Seong Yerin couldn’t get close and stood at a distance.

Only after Jongsu appeared late and notified that Yeongtae’s return was imminent did Yeongwoo regain his senses.

“Hyung! It seems like our friend…”

“…?”

As Yeongwoo was initially puzzled, he immediately realized that Yeongtae’s body, which had been helping in the battle nearby, was fading.

It meant that the creature’s summoning time had come to an end, just like last time.

“Yeongtae!”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened as he noticed that Yeongtae’s body was completely torn apart.

This was a clear indication that he had contributed to this battle.

In response, Yeongtae barely raised his hand, waved at his partner partner, and opened his long snout and laughed.

「Call me again. please.」

Seeming joyous enough to forget even the pain, Yeongtae dissolved into thin air with a bright smile.

And in the place where he had disappeared…

“…”

Only the decapitated body of a young man remained.

* * *

「You have merged with Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword!」

「The effect of the Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword title becomes stronger.」

As the title interface appeared in Yeongwoo’s vision, the title attached to the headless body disappeared.

The titles the man had been holding were now passed on to Yeongwoo.

…Have reached one title from Gyeonggi Province.

…Own one title from Chungbuk Province.

…Possess seven titles from Gyeongbuk Province.

「The current Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword is ‘Jeong Yeongwoo 07.’ Rank 1, 3 Defences.」

Despite the lengthy statements that seemed to celebrate an achievement, Yeongwoo could not bring himself to relax his stern expression.

…Have reached one title from Gyeonggi Province.

‘…Icheon.’

This time, the loot included the life of Kim Byungcheol 139, the Strongest Sword of Icheon.

He was a rare virtuous person in the reset world, but he died without even setting foot in Seoul.

If it weren’t for Yeongwoo, Byungcheol would never have encountered Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword.

So, Yeongwoo felt a considerable responsibility for Byungcheol’s death.

“What about the other inspector?”

When Yeongwoo asked about Taeyoung’s whereabouts, Jongsu turned his head towards the motel direction.

“Fortunately, he’s alive. I confirmed it on the way here.”

But Jongsu’s expression was not bright.

Yeongwoo could easily guess the reason.

But before comforting his colleague who lost someone, there was something else he had to do first.

That was…

Swoosh.

Searching the corpse.

As Yeongwoo sat down with one leg bent in front of the corpse of the young man who had once been his challenger, a golden goblin that had been hiding far away suddenly rushed over.

-Keet!

And at the same time, the female alliance members scattered around surreptitiously gathered.

They were all curious about what would happen after the battle between the Strongest Swords.

But would there be much difference just because they were Strongest Swords?

The only slightly better thing was that Yeongwoo had a Relic-level slave, so he didn’t have to search the body himself.

-Keek!

The goblin, for some reason sounding excited, rummaged through the corpse, and soon laid out the loot in front of Yeongwoo.

Shrurur.

The first was twelve crimson coins.

So, it was 12,000 karma.

‘He wasn’t the type to carry a lot of cash with him.’

As Yeongwoo nodded his head, the goblin threw the coins into the pocket of the non-dimensional bag.

-Keet!

The second item was…

Clang!

It was the problematic weapon that pierced through Icheon’s Strongest Sword and numerous female alliance members.

「Ashen Thorn」 – Mutation Spear

【Significantly increases stabbing power.】

‘It’s really thorny.’

[PR/N: No shit bruh.]

It was practically a weapon dedicated to stabbing.

As Yeongwoo, who committed his first murder with a stab, couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation.

‘My weapons are increasing.’

The mutation one-handed sword, Underdog, obtained as loot in Chungju, and Dullahan’s sword, also a mutation one-handed sword… commonly known as the Black Sword.

And now, the Ashen Thorn had been added to them.

Even excluding the Early Bird, he now had three main weapons to use.

‘I wish there was a way to combine or sell equipment.’

As Yeongwoo looked at the Goblin while holding the “Ashen Thorn,” the creature showed the next loot with one hand.

-Keet.

The identity of the small item that even a goblin with not a large build could hold in one hand was…

‘Huh…? Is this also equipment?’

It was a very ordinary-looking fountain pen.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]