Chapter 137

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 137: Diary of a Wanderer (10)

“Yeongtae, what’s going on?”

「Hmm?」

The moment Yeongwoo and Kim Younghyeom were both startled, Yeongwoo’s ‘friends’ landed, scattering dust in the air.

Koo-oo-oo-oo-ong!

And even before the dust settled.

Hwae-aeak!

Yeongtae jumped out from the dust cloud.

[Yeongwoo07’s Friend – Hong Yeongtae]

Hoo-woooook!

A heavy presence, enough to make the Strongest Swords in the region involuntarily step back, emanated, and Yeongtae rushed straight to Kim Younghyeom through the open path.

「Yaaaaah!」

Yeongtae’s movement was so lightning-fast that even Yeongwoo couldn’t stop him this time.

Ssweaaaat!

It was the moment when a hand dagger penetrated into the body of a significant portion of the current North-South Allied Forces.

「This brat.」

Half surprise, half rage.

Kim Younghyeom emitted his specialty, a strong gust, with a complex expression, but.

「You’re dead!」

Yeongtae casually countered his restraint with his body and swung his fingernails.

“That lunatic.”

Upon seeing this, Yeongwoo immediately tried to rush towards Yeongtae but hesitated upon witnessing the following scene.

Kwaaaak!

Kim Younghyeom, facing Yeongtae’s nail attack, raised his upper body and grabbed the opponent’s hand with his forepaws.

「E, eek…!」

「This kid, why is he so strong?」

Surprisingly, a power struggle was established.

No, it was astonishing that even after 4 days of reinforcement, Kim Younghyeom, a fourth-day mutant, was not able to overwhelm Yeongtae.

‘No way.’

Yeongwoo realized something as he watched.

He had just been vaguely aware of it until now, but now it was certain.

‘Even the friends are getting stronger.’

As the days passed, it was clear that the friends in the whistle were also being reinforced.

Otherwise, how could Yeongtae, who was a second-day mutant, confront Kim Younghyeom like that?

「Kkuung…!」

However, it seemed that they couldn’t completely dominate the current fourth-day mutant, as a grunt escaped from Yeongtae’s mouth shortly after.

Then.

「Oh, I’m really sorry.」

A white lump appeared behind Yeongtae and attempted to punch Kim Younghyeom’s face like a mountain.

Boo-woooook!

It was none other than the former VCsoft chairman, Kim Taejoon.

[Yeongwoo07’s Friend – Kim Taejoon]

‘Damn, that punch is too strong!’

Yeongwoo, sensing that Kim Taejoon’s attack was unusual, immediately shouted while pulling out the ‘Legacy of the Dragon’.

“Stop…! He’s our guest!”

At that moment, Kim Taejoon, who had been about to extend his fist right in front of the White Tiger’s crown, widened his eyes and stopped moving.

「He’s a guest?」

Kim Taejoon, who had a momentarily dazed expression, quickly turned to Yeongtae with a shocked face.

Huh.

To everyone’s surprise, Yeongtae, who had been holding both of the White Tiger’s hind legs, trembled slightly with his long muzzle.

「Huh…? This is our guest?」

As if the expression ‘this’ was bothering him, Kim Younghyeom pressed down on Yeongtae when he felt his strength draining away.

*Creak!*

Thunderous sounds burst from Kim Younghyeom’s throat in anger.

However, since he hadn’t actually been hit, Kim Younghyeom refrained from attacking Yeongtae.

「You, these kids. What’s your identity?」

As he growled, his beard trembling, Kim Taejoon prostrated himself on the ground in apology.

「I’m sorry, we didn’t recognize you.」

Upon this, Yeongwoo explained to Younghyeom instead of the two.

“They met as mutants like generals, shook hands with me, and became friends. Today, it seems we misunderstood them a bit hastily.”

「Friends…?」

Kim Younghyeom, who was chuckling at the expression that could only be considered unconventional in this world, suddenly widened his eyes as he belatedly noticed the name tags of the two strangers.

[Yeongwoo07’s Friend – Hong Yeongtae]

[Yeongwoo07’s Friend – Kim Taejoon]

And although no one was saying anything, even the Strongest Swords on both sides of North and South were in a state of shock beyond their limits by all this.

In the first place, it was beyond common sense that they were in alliance with the mutants of Paju, let alone that a whistle could summon mutants directly…

‘We’re screwed.’

Shinuiju’s Strongest Sword Jo Sunghoo closed his eyes tightly.

Isn’t the level, or rather the dimension, of the equipment being used in the first place different?

While they came to war with swords, it was no different on the other side than coming out with guns and cannons.

So, the ‘we’ that Jo Sunghoo thought was over, meant not only the Strongest Swords in this place but also the entire North Korea itself.

‘Of course, even at this time, the Pyongyang Strongest Swords will continue to strengthen.’

Is that enough?

It may be possible to stop Kim Jong-un as everyone wants, but it is not easy to be sure whether it is possible to defeat that monster.

What about the unsettling atmosphere in China?

‘Damn it.’

Anyway, the war is still ongoing.

And Yeongwoo didn’t forget this fact.

Also, the fact that the ‘friends’ didn’t have much time left.

“Let’s finish this battle first.”

As Yeongwoo said this, the two mutants summoned as ‘friends’ glared fiercely at the North’s Strongest Swords surrounding the battlefield.

They had realized that they were the ones who would bring a television to the room of the returnee.

* * *

A premonition of defeat.

Just with the sudden entrance of the two ‘friends’, the situation had completely turned around.

Without Yeongwoo’s direct intervention, the number of North’s Strongest Swords, numbering close to a battalion, were overwhelmed.

“Ugh!”

Kim Taejoon’s real combat power, clad in granite armor, was truly tremendous.

“What, what’s happening!”

“Watch out! They’re coming again!”

Every time he swung his ferocious fist, the North’s lines completely collapsed, but there was no way to stop Kim Taejoon.

Just as Yeongwoo had struggled with Kim Taejoon’s granite armor, so did other Strongest Swords, who were meeting him for the first time.

They didn’t know how to defeat an opponent who blades couldn’t pierce.

Kugugugung!

So, every time he charged in, the Strongest Swords from North Korea could only helplessly retreat.

And then, as if waiting.

「Yaaahhhh!」

The spotted humanoid Hong Yeongtae and General White Tiger Kim Younghyeom attacked from the sides, taking down people one by one.

“Oh my goodness.”

“Do we have anything to do…?”

Given the situation, the Strongest Swords from the South had been watching without intervening for some time.

In the first place, even if they hadn’t come to help Yeongwoo, this was something that the man alone could have handled.

“I told you, didn’t I? We just had to show up.”

Lee Yoobin glanced awkwardly at Jang Jeongho from Dongdaemun.

However, the reason Lee Yoobin’s throat felt a bit dry was that she hadn’t expected Yeongwoo to control the mutants like puppets.

And this was the case for the North’s Strongest Swords, who were the biggest victims of this incident; they all wore expressions as if they had already become defeated soldiers.

The fact that the South Korean thief was an opponent that ordinary humans could never defeat was realized.

‘If only Comrade Kim Jong-un had been here instead.’

Someone was even thinking this far, so it was natural that the signs of an unfavorable battle were becoming more apparent.

“…”

Strongest Sword Jo Sunghoo, who was still facing off against Yeongwoo, also had a faint expression now.

“After we’re defeated, Pyongyang’s Strongest Sword will inevitably come down to see.”

At Jo Sunghoo’s words, Yeongwoo nodded his head for now.

“That’s right.”

“Then will you be with those people then too?”

“…?”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

At first, Yeongwoo thought the ‘people’ the opponent mentioned were the Strongest Swords from the South, but soon realized that wasn’t the case.

Yeongtae, Taejun, Younghyeom.

They referred to the mutants currently on the battlefield.

“Yes, I will.”

As Yeongwoo nodded again, Jo Sunghoo closed his eyes for a moment.

He was envisioning what it would be like to face the Pyongyang’s Strongest Sword while also dealing with three mutants and the Joseon’s Strongest Sword.

“…”

Then Jo Sunghoo opened his eyes again.

“The current significance of Pyongyang’s Strongest Sword’s existence is the assassination of the General Secretary. Most people are waiting for that.”

The assassination of the General Secretary.

It was said that once Comrade Kim Jong-un returned, they would kill him.

“But if you end up killing the Pyongyang Strongest Swords before the showdown…”

“…”

“But if you end up killing the Pyongyang’s Strongest Sword before the showdown…”

“…”

“Unfortunately, if that really happens… wouldn’t it be your responsibility to support his legacy, even if not necessarily as compatriots? I consider it a request you could fulfill even if you’re not a comrade.”

Kim Jong-un, before being a dictator of North Korea, is a figure whose very existence is close to evil.

So if the Pyongyang’s Strongest Sword were to be broken, it would be a request to Yeongwoo to fulfill the great task in his place.

“Are you already leaving your will?”

Yeongwoo asked without giving a clear answer, and Jo Sunghoo wrinkled his nose.

“You know full well that I’m going to die.”

“…”

As Jo Sunghoo said, right now, Yeongwoo’s eyes revealed countless marks of death that the Joseon Swordsmanship had raised.

Various vital points scattered throughout the opponent’s body.

If Yeongwoo were to initiate an attack based on Joseon Swordsmanship right now, Jo Sunghoo wouldn’t be able to withstand a single strike.

“Well, before I die, let me see it once. Let’s see what our country’s greatest swordsmanship is like.”

Jo Sunghoo said this while adjusting his grip on the sword, and Yeongwoo also raised the tip of his sword diagonally, assuming an attacking stance.

Swoo.

Unlike various swordsmanship techniques from the South, including Gyeongbuk, which Yeongwoo had directly experienced before, Joseon Swordsmanship’s basic posture was to turn the body to the side and extend the blade forward.

It was similar to fencing.

‘It’s an incredibly aggressive swordsmanship.’

Turning the body to the side reduced the exposed body area to the opponent in front, but in fact, this was to minimize the cues for the attack and make it difficult to recognize the preliminary movements.

Reducing the area vulnerable to being hit was just an added bonus.

In other words, Joseon Swordsmanship was a swordsmanship that considered attack as the best defense.

As Yeongwoo focused on one of the many marks visible to him, Jo Sunghoo, who recognized it, smiled.

“Is that where the ‘kill’ mark is?”

He, like Yeongwoo, was using a swordsmanship developed on the Korean Peninsula, so he was well aware of the significance of the marks.

―Kill

Yeongwoo also knew that the opponent was tracking his gaze, but even so, he continued the attack as it was.

Swhiit!

He pushed the tip of the sword, which had been extended diagonally towards the opponent, deeply forward in a frontal thrust.

Swhiit!

As the opponent thrusts forward with the sword extended diagonally towards him, there’s something peculiar about the attack.

Instead of the flat side of the blade facing upwards, it’s oriented sideways, giving it a slight rotational force.

Tsuaat!

Clearly anticipating the attack, Jo Sunghoo extended his sword to block the trajectory, but Yeongwoo’s blade seems to have been waiting for this, as it wrapped around the opponent’s sword, redirecting its direction.

Kwikigik!

It was an attack originally intended to change the point of impact using the opponent’s counterattack.

“…!”

Yeongwoo’s blade, penetrating through the gap between Jo Sunghoo’s sword, unmistakably pierced through the opponent’s sternum.

“Crack!”

Shinuiju’s Strongest Sword Jo Sunghoo, suddenly hit with a strong impact, caused his collarbone to shake violently.

Then, he opened his mouth laboriously, revealing teeth stained with blood.

“Indeed, Joseon… it’s the best swordsmanship.”

Upon hearing this, Yeongwoo swiftly withdrew his blade from the opponent’s chest and immediately whirled around, swinging the sword diagonally.

Ssuaeaack!

As if sketching a wedge pattern in the air, Jo Sunghoo’s head, Shinuiju’s Strongest Sword, created a small shadow as it fell away from his body.

[Quest] “Headhunter”

[Mission] Sever 6/7 of the Strongest Sword’s necks.

[Reward] 7 million karma

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

‘Now, just one more.’

As Yeongwoo observed the updated and ruthlessly renewed status of “Headhunter,” a new quest appears beneath it.

[Quest] “Will of the Dead”

[Mission] Assassinate Kim Jong-un.

[Reward] Dogo special equipment

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

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]