Chapter 124

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 124: Territorialism (2)

“Good heavens.”

Yeongwoo, after confirming the opponent’s identity, was greatly surprised by two facts.

The first was the mobility of Hwanghae’s Strongest Sword.

Even though the Kaesong area was adjacent to the Hwanghae Province, known for its individuality, didn’t they just move straight here riding a steel horse, Negwig?

‘Of course, it wasn’t a full-speed rush. Still, the fact that someone who departed from Hwanghae Province has already found me…’

That meant the opponent’s mobility was nearly double that of Negwig’s normal speed.

And the second one was…

Sweeeeesh!

“Insane…!”

A long-range sniper who had been steadily targeting Negwig since earlier.

It seemed like they were planning to completely block the mobility first and then deal with it slowly.

In stark contrast to shouting to expose oneself immediately, the actual combat was being conducted very rationally.

‘They’re not an ordinary opponent. It’s evident they’ve subdued many people with a bow.’

Seeing another arrow narrowly skim past Negwig’s ear, Yeongwoo glanced again at the Hwanghae Strongest Sword, which was pulling the bowstring again.

‘I need to narrow the distance for now. This won’t do.’

Because the opponent was persistently targeting Negwig instead of Yeongwoo, the sensory deprivation of the golden flash didn’t trigger.

Therefore, allowing the sniper to continue shooting like this would eventually lead to being hit.

“Let’s use full power. I need to make you attack me, not Negwig, to have a chance of winning.”

Pointing towards the Hwanghae Strongest Sword on the hill, Yeongwoo spoke to Negwig, and it seemed to understand as it snorted heavily.

Hyyyyyyah!

Then, it immediately started a full-speed rush towards the Hwanghae Strongest Sword.

“Wha…?”

The approach speed of the black horse was much faster than expected.

Swoosh!

As Negwig covered over two hundred meters in the blink of an eye, the contours of the opponent’s face finally came into focus for Yeongwoo.

The Hwanghae Strongest Sword was a small-built woman in her late twenties, but oddly enough…

‘What’s that?’

There was a holographic interface floating near her right eye.

It looked like a sniper scope.

‘Could it be a real scope?’

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but think so.

Given how she managed to make accurate shots from such a long distance, he had been curious.

No matter how high her sensory capabilities were, weren’t there limits?

However, if she had equipment that corrected her vision or sight like that, the situation would change.

Swoosh!

Hyyyyyyah!

As Negwig, who had been the target until now, brought the opponent within visibility, emitting an angry sound, Yeongwoo also menacingly extended the “Iron Cutter,” a variant spear.

「Armor Cutter」 – Mutant Spear

【Ignores 50% of physical damage reduction.】

Using its longer reach compared to conventional weapons, he intended to pressure the opponent.

‘If they handle things much better than expected, I’ll have to create some variables with the Black Sword at that time.’

As the distance between him and the Hwanghae Strongest Sword rapidly closed, Yeongwoo noticed that the red glow emanated from the Dragon’s Legacy, which he had stored in his belt.

This meant that the opponent was also a Grade 2 or lower human.

On the other hand, the Hwanghae’s Strongest Sword let out a venomous shout as she saw South Korea’s Strongest Sword rushing towards her like cavalrymen.

“How dare you…! Die, you bastard!”

Clang!

Now that the distance had significantly shortened, Yeongwoo also heard the sound of a bowstring being pulled in his ears.

And for the first time, this happened:

「Sensory values have temporarily increased from the previous 1400 to 3000.」

The golden flash had seized the opponent’s senses.

And it was a staggering value of 1600.

“Huh…?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

Among all the Strongest Swords he had encountered, this one had the highest sensory perception.

Was it because she primarily used a bow as her weapon?

‘No matter what, could she have heightened her senses to this extent?’

Of course, it was a favorable situation for Yeongwoo.

Considering his ability to halve the opponent’s senses unconditionally, this was a fight he couldn’t lose.

Shwaaaah…!

As Yeongwoo’s senses soared to 3000, the Hwanghae Strongest Sword also seemed to sense something amiss.

“Huh…?”

Being someone whose original sensory value was not just 1 or 2 thousand but a staggering 3200, and being someone who used a bow where precision was crucial, she immediately realized that there was a problem with her own senses.

“What kind of trickery is this now?”

While aiming at Yeongwoo’s chest, she released her hand from the bowstring.

Thud!

Then, from the seemingly empty front part of the bow, an arrow suddenly flashed out.

Kwiiiiing!

The silver-white arrow shot out towards Yeongwoo with a speed comparable to a fired bullet.

“…!”

With the distance between both sides being only tens of meters, the arrow inevitably struck Yeongwoo’s chest.

Ka-aang!

“Ugh!”

Yeongwoo, startled, screamed.

This was the first time he had been hit by an arrow in his life, and above all, the area around his chest hurt terribly.

‘Even with all the equipment I’ve covered myself with, I couldn’t dodge an arrow flying straight at me from up close.’

「Golden Oath」- Legendary Breastplate

【Reduces enemy attack power by 50%.】

【Accumulated Golden Ratio: 5】

「Rock Guardian」 – Mutation Gem

【Slot: Reduces all physical damage】

「Agility」 – Mutation Ring

【When sense is the highest attribute, gain 10% damage reduction.】

However, it was also thanks to having such equipment “covered” that he survived.

The situation he had just gone through, which he passed over with regret, was a miracle that could not happen to the Hwanghae Strongest Sword.

‘That arrow… he was definitely hit, right?’

Hwanghae Strongest Sword, Park Seolhwa09.

She cast a fearful glance at the unexpected turn of events.

She had just witnessed her arrow not only failing to pierce the opponent’s chest but also being deflected by the golden armor.

Then, she should at least tidy up her fall.

Clang, clang!

Despite being hit by arrows, the strange South Korean Strongest Sword continued to approach on horseback.

It was as if he was brushing off his chest as if it tickled where the arrow had struck.

‘No, even after being hit by an arrow?’

The reason Seolhwa primarily used a bow as her weapon was because she used to be an archer before the reset.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

It was an Olympic sport called “archery” in South Korea.

The advantage of the bow was undoubtedly one-sided killing.

Even if the first shot was blocked or missed, she could shoot more while the opponent approached.

Thanks to this, Seolhwa had never been exposed to the opponent’s range until now.

But now, for the first time, she encountered an opponent who didn’t even bleed after being hit by her arrow.

‘Maybe he… dodged it?’

Clang!

With a frightened expression, Seolhwa hastily drew her bowstring.

However, seeing the iron horse charging towards her, she gave up her follow-up attack.

This was because the South Korean Strongest Sword, riding the horse, was swinging a club-like weapon ignorantly.

Whaaaack!

A tremendously powerful attack.

Just brushing against it would tear one’s body apart, so Seolhwa rolled back to avoid it and leaped high backward.

Thud!

Was it just the distance from the ground?

She could create enough sniping distance even in the sky.

‘This time, it’s your head!’

As Seolhwa, who leaped about ten meters into the air, aimed her bow at her opponent again, Yeongwoo, who was watching her, suddenly soared into the sky.

Paaaah!

He even reached a much higher place than Seolhwa.

「Climber」 – Mutant Pants

【Leap distance tripled.】

Yeongwoo had reached a level where he received equipment buffs for every action.

“Ugh.”

Seolhwa, who was trying to re-aim at the opponent who had climbed above her head, frowned as the sunlight pierced her eyes.

And in the meantime…

Whaaaack!

A black streak erupted from Yeongwoo in the sky.

It was a black sword, its blade extended up to six meters.

“Ah!”

Seolhwa, who had only been thinking about the range of the spear so far, tried to block the unexpected attack with her bow.

There was no other way to block the opponent’s sword in this empty space.

So, in the end…

Ka-aang!

As Yeongwoo’s Black Sword clashed with Seolhwa’s silver-white bowstring, tremendous pressure was transmitted to Seolhwa.

“Ugh!”

Most of the money she had saved had been spent on sensory perception and equipment purchases, so she couldn’t exert strength in such a direct strength fight.

In the end, Seolhwa barely escaped with her life, crashing to the ground, and soon after, Yeongwoo settled down with his black cloak fluttering down.

Clang!

As Yeongwoo landed with a metallic sound, Seolhwa, in a last-ditch effort, drew an early bird from her waist and swung it in a counterattack.

Swish!

However, even this was easily seen through by Yeongwoo.

This time, instead of swinging his sword, he simply stepped on her Early Bird with his foot, blocking it.

“Give up.”

Yeongwoo’s close combat abilities were unparalleled.

As Yeongwoo stared down at her, Seolhwa, who was also staring at him, spat out unexpectedly.

“Pfft!”

But even this was blocked by Yeongwoo raising his Black Sword.

“Hah.”

Finally, Seolhwa collapsed with a bitter laugh.

Yeongwoo scanned the surroundings to see if there were any other North Korean Strongest Swords around and asked her.

“Did you come alone? Did you come right away in anger after hearing about the theft of your title?”

Upon hearing this, Seolhwa looked incredulous and replied sharply.

“Then, did you expect me to stay, have a meeting, and come with others? You should return it soon.”

Given that the location of the thief was being transmitted in real-time along with the notification that assets had been leaked, it was ridiculous to just stand by and watch.

‘Then maybe another Strongest Sword is coming.’

Especially since there had been no change in location due to fighting with the Hwanghae Strongest Sword for a while…

It was possible that they were quietly pursuing him at this moment.

“Anyway… I didn’t mean to provoke you on purpose, I’m sorry. Thanks for coming with all this equipment. In a way, I’m grateful too.”

As Yeongwoo said this and looked around again, Seolhwa, realizing that the South Korean was waiting for the next assassin, widened her eyes.

“You, you bastard. You’re saying that, but you’re also waiting, aren’t you?”

Yeongwoo had no intention of lying, so he nodded.

“Yes. Since you brought all this equipment to find me. I’m also grateful in a way.”

As Yeongwoo reached out to touch the silver-white bow still in Seolhwa’s hand, a tooltip appeared in his eyes.

Pah!

「White Fire」 – Epic Bow

【Sensory perception applies to arrow power.】

【Power increases with arrow distance.】

“This is my first time getting a bow, but seeing how you used it earlier made me think it would be useful.”

Especially for Yeongwoo, who leaps in both strength and perception.

Since arrow distance was based on strength.

And just as he struggled with sniping earlier, this bow would be able to subdue the upcoming North Korean powerhouses.

“Do you have any last words? Or is there anyone in Hwanghae that you must protect?”

As Yeongwoo asked for final words, Seolhwa retorted.

“You’re all puffed up just because you won one round! You’re going to regret it today too, you bastard! Soon…!”

“….”

Since there seemed to be no significant last words, Yeongwoo was about to swing his sword when he hesitated for a moment.

He almost forgot something very important.

“Alright, then please listen to me for a moment.”

“…?”

“It’s about the previous battle—it was sponsored by the Universal Weapon Brand Dogo!”

“…What?”

“I am the strongest in Gyeongbuk, Gangnam, and Kaesong on Earth, Jeong Yeongwoo07!”

With that, Yeongwoo’s blade swiftly severed the neck of the Hwanghae Strongest Sword in the blink of an eye.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]