Chapter 99

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 99: Strongest Sword Assembly (1)

“Ah…!”

“Phew.”

As Yeongwoo finally swallowed his self-generation, all the Strongest Swords watching him were not only shocked by his expression but also twisted their bodies in amazement.

‘What… What’s with this guy?’

‘Isn’t he afraid…? How is this possible?’

Anything that crosses a certain line tends to instill fear in the observer.

Everyone present here felt fear towards Yeongwoo, who easily crossed the invisible boundary.

Dongdaemun, Mapo, Seongbuk, Songpa, Yongsan, Dongjak, Gwanak.

At least seven regions’ Strongest Sword members had directly witnessed reasons why Yeongwoo should not be considered an enemy.

“Ugh!”

Of course, even Yeongwoo wasn’t accustomed to inserting foreign objects into his body.

‘This is insane, it’s on a whole different level than inserting contact lenses.’

Because the volume of self-generation was much larger than the esophagus, Yeongwoo’s throat to his stomach seemed to be in turmoil.

Then, at some point, the tumultuous body quieted down.

Perhaps it was when the mutation stomach had finished its formation.

“….”

Finally regaining composure, Yeongwoo looked down at his abdomen, and the Strongest Swords, who had been scattered, gradually gathered around.

Then, each one of them stared intently at Yeongwoo’s abdomen.

Upon this, Yeongwoo gathered the lingering unpleasant taste in his mouth and spat it out with saliva before saying.

“Looks like it’s all over. I’m sorry for surprising you.”

Blame.

「Self-Generation」 – Mutant

【You can live without eating.】

【Energy is self-generated】

【–Empty slot–】

Now, only Yeongwoo could see the tooltip of self-generation whenever he placed his hand on his abdomen.

‘Damn it.’

As expected, he wasn’t feeling good.

While the mutation cornea concept was originally about wearing equipment on the body, this was closer to replacing the body with extraterrestrial material.

“Well then.”

Eventually, Jo Sangik tried to lighten the mood.

“We should tidy up… and prepare for the assembly.”

He had to, as the meeting time had already passed.

Current time, 3:02 PM.

By now, the latecomers would have entered Yongsan Park.

In this chaotic situation, if the rear guard arrives and sees the body of Jeong Hyeonsik, whose neck is cut and abdomen is split…

“….”

“….”

Unknowingly, Jo Sangik shook his head, then ordered the Seoul National University people to move Jeong Hyeonsik’s body with a transport cart.

Then, near the transport cart, he gave instructions to the Taewon Group employees, who were still unable to move.

“Return to headquarters. And inform CEO Baek Dohwan to prepare for the takeover. Let him know that the Strongest Sword of Gyeongbuk will be staying in Gangnam.”

Upon Jo Sangik’s words, the Taewon Group employees hesitated for a moment, then promptly drove the transport cart out of the park.

This prompted Yeongwoo to ask.

“…Who is Baek Dohwan?”

“He’s the leader of the Taewon Group.”

“Ah…?”

“That doesn’t mean he’s related to Jeong Hyeonsik. From our perspective, he’s just administrative personnel. You’ll understand when you meet him.”

Baek Dohwan, 47 years old.

Former CEO of Taewon Life and current CEO of the conglomerate ‘Taewon.’

However, the reason Jo Sangik referred to Baek Dohwan as “just administrative personnel” was due to the abnormal structure of the current world.

Just like the government, without the protection of Strongest Sword, no business could thrive, especially Taewon.

Currently, Taewon had even absorbed Gangnam Police Station, becoming the only monster operator in Gangnam.

And the key to Taewon gaining such dominance was solely ‘Jeong Hyeonsik.’

What more needed to be said when Jeong Hyeonsik, Gangnam’s Strongest Sword, was the sole survivor of the Taewon family?

‘But he’s no longer alive.’

Jo Sangik watched the Taewon Group’s transport cart disappearing from his sight for a while.

Other companies in Gangnam had been unable to operate due to the overwhelming dominance of Gangnam’s Strongest Sword’s direct company, Taewon.

Unable to deal with the monsters appearing in Gangnam, most of them left for the Gyeonggi Province to make money, and some with good skills worked as mercenaries in adjacent areas.

Amidst this, if news spread suddenly that Jeong Hyeonsik had died, what would happen?

There would be a coup in the private sector.

The fact that the new Strongest Sword killed Jeong Hyeonsik meant that he had no relation to Taewon, and that meant that when the new Strongest Sword arrived in Gangnam, surviving companies would take over Gangnam’s business rights.

That’s why Jo Sangik indirectly informed Taewon of the situation.

A move to raise the hands of the privileged class to prevent major disruptions.

“Now, let’s go.”

Jo Sangik guided Yeongwoo to the assembly hall and sent a signal to the Seoul National University side to disband now.

He feared that the remaining Strongest Swords, upon seeing them, would rebel.

‘Today’s meeting has undergone enough changes. It’s enough.’

Jo Sangik’s eyes shone sharply.

At least he was quickly adapting to the rapidly changing situation in Seoul.

* * *

“I… I’m Park Sangdo.”

Park Sangdo162.

Former Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and the current Prime Minister of the ‘New Seoul Government.’

In the absence of the president, he was the most powerful figure in the government.

“….”

He bowed 90 degrees to a person nearly thirty years younger than him.

That person was none other than the newly appointed Gangnam’s Strongest Sword, Jeong Yeongwoo.

Of course, the intimidating title of ‘Gyeongbuk Strongest Sword’ wriggling above his head played a significant role.

“Ah, yes. I’m Jeong Yeongwoo. I think you’ve bowed enough now…”

When Yeongwoo extended his hands as a sign to stop bowing, Park Sangdo, who saw the iron gloves enveloping his hands, startled and stepped back.

“I-It’s okay! Thank you for your concern.”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Park Sangdo had seen, albeit from a distance, Yeongwoo killing Jeong Hyeonsik and splitting his abdomen.

So, even though Yeongwoo seemed harmless and smiled innocently, it was more chilling than any other Strongest Sword with murderous intent.

‘Indeed, these Strongest Swords are all monsters….’

As Park Sangdo silently sweated coldly, the first latecomer finally appeared.

Shuffle, shuffle.

Current time, 3:06 PM.

Despite being six minutes late, the person approaching with a slow pace was none other than…

“Seocho’s Strongest Sword, Choi Namhee. Former detective.”

Jo Sangik sat next to Yeongwoo and explained that Choi Namhee was a former detective from the Seocho Police Station, who was still leading the crackdown on crime in Seocho.

The only difference now was that instead of just capturing criminals, she was now directly taking their lives.

“…I see. I’ve met former police officers before.”

As Yeongwoo said this, he glanced silently at Choi Namhee, who had approached quite close by now.

Choi Namhee, who appeared to be in her early forties, looked more like a gangster than a police officer.

However, perhaps due to the difficulty of acting rashly in Strongest Sword society, she quickly suppressed the wildness in her eyes upon seeing Yeongwoo, a newcomer.

“Who is this…?”

Choi Namhee’s gaze briefly touched the chair where Yeongwoo was sitting and then moved away.

It was because the leather chair where Yeongwoo was sitting was the seat of Gangnam’s Strongest Sword Jeong Hyeonsik.

However, since no one in this seat was telling the outsider to get up, there was only one conclusion.

“Could it be that Gangnam Strongest Sword has changed?”

Jo Sangik quietly nodded in response to Choi Namhee’s question.

At this, Choi Namhee glanced discreetly at the scorched grass that had been bothering her eyes since earlier.

Apparently, it seemed to be traces of a duel between Jeong Hyeonsik and this young man.

Seoul never had a quiet day.

Anyway, if someone had taken over the seat through a duel, the opponent was a legitimate Strongest Sword.

“I am Choi Namhee from Seocho.”

Swiftly, as Choi Namhee extended her hand first, Dongdaemun’s Strongest Sword Jang Jeongho cleared his throat for no reason.

“Yes. I’m Jeong Yeongwoo.”

Eventually, Yeongwoo’s right hand met the outstretched hand of Choi Namhee.

But unlike with Jang Jeongho, there was no show of strength between them.

Instead…

Ping!

An alarm rang in Yeongwoo’s ear.

[Dogo] “Headhunter”

[Mission] Behead 7 Strongest Swords.

[Reward] 7 million karma

[Special] You must disclose the fact of Dogo’s support in this mission.

The dormant Dogo quest had been reactivated.

‘What…?’

The reward for this quest was a whopping 7 million karma.

But the condition was absurd.

‘Behead 7 Strongest Swords… That means… killing everyone present here.’

Thanks to Choi Namhee’s arrival, Jo Sangik, the closest ally at the moment, could be spared.

In other words, the quest content was clearly intentional.

Moreover, it was evident that someone was monitoring this scene in real-time.

‘These crazy bastards.’

As Yeongwoo unknowingly glanced into the air, Choi Namhee, who was still shaking hands with him, cast a strange look in the same direction.

But there was nothing to see there.

“Are you okay?”

Concluding that the new Strongest Sword’s mind was quite distracted, Choi Namhee decided that it was best to ask.

Even in a reset world, it was unimaginable that someone would receive a murder order from aliens.

“Anyway, everyone is so late.”

“Yeah, except for Seocho, everyone else was on time yesterday.”

Meanwhile, other Strongest Swords were discussing the reasons for the delayed attendance of the remaining members.

It was one of the rules of the meeting to consider regions where Strongest Swords didn’t attend the meeting by 3 p.m. as defeated in battle against mutants.

And in regions where Strongest Swords were presumed dead, the Strongest Sword meeting, or in other words, the Seoul Federation, could intervene.

The Strongest Swords gathered here could participate in hunting mutants in the absentee regions.

“I think it’s time to start moving.”

“Haven’t they all arrived yet?”

Mutants meant a considerable amount of karma.

Just as the Strongest Swords at the meeting began to stir according to their instincts, a silhouette started approaching rapidly from the other side of Yongsan Park, where there had been no activity for a while.

“Whoa!”

This was most likely the mobility of a top-notch Strongest Sword.

Was it a latecomer sprinting barefoot?

Some initially thought so, but soon changed their minds.

Because…

“No, damn it.”

Behind the silhouette in question, a crimson pillar of light was trailing.

That light pillar signified the mark of a mutant.

“At 3 p.m., a mutant mark…?”

As someone muttered this, all the Strongest Swords in attendance drew their swords.

Swish!

The bounty hunt had begun.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]