Chapter 169

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 169: Sharing the Bed with Enemies (4)

「1」: Transfer all enemies from furnace 1 to furnace 3.

「3」: Transfer all enemies from furnace 3 to furnace 1.

Forcing enemies into one furnace.

Simply put, it was a device that allowed the first person to complete the mission to sacrifice one of the remaining two furnaces so that the other side could ignite the fire.

‘Choose the lesser evil if not the worst.’

Of course, if all ignition rods safely reached the front of the furnace, there would be no need to use this function.

Everyone could simply press the return button and return to the stadium.

However.

Crack, pop!

The situation did not resolve so easily.

Soon, screens showing the situations of furnace 1 and furnace 3 appeared above the two buttons, because both sides were in dire straits as per the worst-case scenario.

‘What? They haven’t even gone halfway yet…?’

In furnace 1, where Jeonggu and the Taiwanese entered together, and furnace 3, formed by China and Japan, both were stuck in the middle of the passageway, unable to proceed any further.

They eventually got surrounded because their monster handling speed was not as fast as Yeongwoo’s.

“Father! Hey, Kim Jeonggu…!”

Yeongwoo, feeling frustrated, called out loudly to his father on the screen, then suddenly something came to his mind, and he looked at his own hand.

Then, a ring worn on his finger popped up in his view with a tooltip.

「Wave」 – Unique Ring

【Voice transmission to all Strongest Swords in the acquisition area.】

| Area: Seoul

Wave.

A ring that transmits voice to all Strongest Swords in Seoul.

And, Kim Jeonggu, who was being beaten by the monsters.

‘…If he’s Dobong Strongest Sword, he should be able to hear the voice transmitted by the wave.’

Of course, if the ring operated normally even within this dungeon created in the extraterrestrial area.

Anyway, there was no time to think anymore.

Yeongwoo immediately put the ring to his mouth and hurriedly spoke.

《Father, can you hear me?》

Then, Kim Jeonggu on the screen suddenly lifted his head.

He had heard Yeongwoo’s voice.

‘It’s… alright, for now.’

Although it was inevitable that all other Strongest Swords in Seoul would also hear this sound, there was nothing to be done about it.

Yeongwoo publicly revealed to all Strongest Swords in Seoul that something unusual was happening in today’s night dungeon.

《From now on, I’m going to send all the monsters in that place to furnace 3.》

Yeongwoo said this, then looked apologetically at Tomiko and Jang Jaham of furnace 3, who were still moving diagonally.

《Then, it’s only a matter of time before Japan and China, who are in charge of furnace 3, die, right? Instead, Father should be able to go to the furnace without any hindrance.》

At this, Jeonggu once again looked at the empty space with a fearful expression.

He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like his son was planning something strange again.

And that was the truth.

《So now it’s up to Father. When all the monsters suddenly disappear, run to the front of the furnace with all your might.》

《Then, ignite the furnace, and then run to the opposite stone plate and send all the monsters from furnace 3 to furnace 2.》

Furnace 2.

It meant where Yeongwoo was.

In other words, it meant doing another round of monster forcing before Tomiko and Jang Jaham died.

《You’ll know what all this means as soon as you arrive.》

Yeongwoo said this, then pressed the forcing button in front of him with force.

Bang!

Then, all the monsters in furnace 1 where Jeonggu was really disappeared without a trace.

Then soon.

‘…Insane.’

The screen projecting furnace 3 was filled entirely with ash-colored light.

The number of monsters guarding there had doubled.

‘I’m sorry. China, Japan…!’

Even here, it was enough to send chills down one’s spine, but what were the two people inside really feeling?

Yeongwoo closed his eyes tightly and then scolded Jeonggu, who was bewildered by the sudden desolate landscape.

《Father, what are you doing? Run!》

* * *

At the same time, Jeonggu of furnace 1 was madly traversing this space according to Yeongwoo’s unilateral instructions.

Thud!

He was leaping over the scattered fragments of stone sculptures in the air each time.

Swish!

If he had put a little less force on his front legs just now, he would have slipped down into that abyss.

“….”

Jeonggu glanced briefly at what might be below, which he dared not even imagine, then flew his body towards the stone sculpture visible in front of him with all his might.

Thud!

Then, Ryu Manho, who had been following him without knowing what was going on, spat out an annoyed remark.

“Hey, old man! What’s all this sudden running about? All the monsters are gone, why are you still running?”

Then, without even turning back, Jeonggu, who had barely hung on to the next stone sculpture, replied.

“That bastard… No, my son seems to have a plan.”

“Your son? Are you talking about that guy who went to furnace 2? I thought he would have died by now.”

Upon this, Jeonggu smirked.

“If people die, it will be people like us who will die. There’s no way he could die in a place like this.”

Of course, when he was surrounded by at least hundreds of monsters earlier, he honestly had doubts.

Could this really be overcome by someone like Jeong Yeongwoo?

He would probably be lying on the ground by now, breathless.

But that guy…

―You’ll know what all this means as soon as you arrive.

He survived as if to show off and boast as usual.

He said that once he arrived in front of the furnace, everything would make sense.

‘If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean he already lit the fire in his furnace? Crazy bastard….’

Thud!

Jeonggu flew towards the next stone sculpture.

Then, Ryu Manho, who was following him, complained again.

“Hey, old man! Let’s slow down a bit. Even though you’re still lively, I’m bleeding from the wound that the Chinese guy inflicted on me earlier.”

“I don’t have time to rest. Do you know where all the monsters that were here went?”

“Huh? Where did they go?”

As Ryu Manho tilted his head, Jeonggu raised his right hand and vaguely pointed somewhere on the wall.

“Furnace 3.”

“….!”

“They haven’t even lit the fire there yet. So my son sent all the monsters here to furnace 3.”

“No, then….”

While Ryu Manho had a complicated look, Jeonggu was measuring the distance to jump to the next stone sculpture.

“If we’re late, the two people who went to furnace 3 will most likely die.”

Thud!

With these words, Jeonggu’s body cut through the air.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Thanks to Yeongwoo’s orders to keep running, there were only two stone sculptures left to the furnace.

“If it’s too difficult for you, take a break and come. It seems that moving the monsters can be done by one person.”

“….”

Upon hearing the words of the ‘elder’ who came from Korea, Ryu Manho, who finally grasped the situation, momentarily became angry.

“Does that mean that old man is now going to save that Chinese guy?”

“Well, Why? Because you don’t want to save that Chinese person?”

The urgency of the mission was pressing, but what if that young man from Taiwan intervened to stop it?

‘Not only lighting the third furnace, but even guaranteeing my own life would be difficult.’

Of course, it was no longer a world where young people were stronger than old people.

Moreover, that Gowung’s Sword Dragon fellow even had the stad wound he obtained while fighting with the Chinese earlier.

Yet…

‘When I fought those monsters earlier, it was clear that he’s not just an ordinary fighter. But that doesn’t mean I’ll necessarily lose…’

However, Jeonggu’s conclusion is that this is not an opponent that can be defeated by just competing with a few moves.

So, even if it took some time, he decided to appease the young man from Taiwan.

“Are there only Chinese on the other side of the furnace? There are also Japanese. We’re not going to help them willingly. But for now, we need to survive here.”

As he said this, Jeonggu noticed that Ryu Manho’s right hand was near the hilt of his sword.

He was also pondering his options.

‘If this old man starts running towards the furnace again, should I ambush him or not?’

“But if you guys had heard that Japanese person say that Korea is Japan’s vassal state, you wouldn’t have wanted to save and send him.”

“…Ah, damn. That’s a valid point.”

Ridiculously, Jeonggu, who was convinced logically or emotionally in just one shot, scratched his chin.

“That Chinese guy… Did he really talk like that about Taiwan?”

“Yes.”

“Is that so…?”

After all, would masters from both countries have fought even before the dungeon started?

“Uh-huh.”

Now Jeonggu was looking at the furnace with a face as angry as Ryu Manho’s.

What would this problem-solving Korean old man, Jeong Yeongwoo, have done?

“So, let’s do this.”

Finally deciding after much deliberation.

“Let’s make sure to light the fire in furnace 3 too. It’ll give us an advantage when we fight against that arrogant bastard.”

“Then ultimately, you’re going to save the Chinese guy.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“….?”

“It’s been quite a while since all the monsters went over there. Are those two really in good shape right now?”

“What do you mean?”

“When that Chinese guy lights the fire in the furnace and comes out, ambush him then. If that Chinese guy is really your enemy, you can endure that level of treachery, right?”

* * *

“….”

How much time had passed?

Jeonggu, who had been talking with the Taiwanese for a while, finally seemed to be lighting the fire in the furnace.

‘Ah, it’s much later than I thought… but still, at least we avoided the worst.’

Upon seeing the fire lit in furnace 1 through the screen, Yeongwoo immediately turned his head towards furnace 3.

Swish-

Then, he noticed Miyagi’s Sword Master and Sandong’s Twin Evil being trampled by the ash-colored monsters, exactly as described.

And then…

Crack!

In the blink of an eye, all the monsters on the screen disappeared.

It was because Jeonggu had ordered all the enemies from furnace 3 to be sent here, to furnace 2.

As a result, Yeongwoo’s previously quiet space was now filled with bustling noises and the sound of monsters.

-Another… another movement?

-Kuaaaah…!

-Over there!

-They’re dead!

Thousands of ash-colored monsters began to rain down like a storm through the ceiling and walls.

Yeongwoo’s field of vision was now filled with alert messages appearing one after another due to sensory overload.

It was only natural, as all the monsters inside the furnace were now focused on him.

“Phew, this time it’s pretty intense.”

Yeongwoo, while trembling as if tired of it all, aimed at the empty space and pulled the bowstring.

Sizzle.

「White Fire」 – Epic Bow

【Sensory values apply to arrow power.】

【Power increases according to the distance of the arrow.】

◇ Dogo: Stealth Arrows

◇ Dogo: Special Ability Damage

An epic bow equipped with Dogo’s special options.

Therefore, promoting Dogo with a supernatural explosion would produce quite a convincing image.

Wasn’t this a battle of thousands against one in another realm?

The only problem was…

“No matter what, free advertising is a bit awkward.”

Yeongwoo, while just pulling the bowstring, looked up at the sky above his head.

Thanks to this, even though the ash-colored monsters filled the space around him, Yeongwoo didn’t care much.

He could already leave anytime through the portal on the other side, and he was confident enough to win even without the help of explosive arrows.

“Is there no ad fee? Then I’ll just use the sword and leave? Still, logo printing on the sword trajectory wouldn’t be too bad.”

When Yeongwoo went so far as to say this, something really happened.

Ping!

Dogo issued a quest as if to say it couldn’t be helped.

[Dogo] “Dogo, Supreme Archery”

[Mission] Defeat monsters using a bow, 0/2,743 times.

[Reward] 2 million Karma

[Special 1] You must disclose the fact that Dogo supports you in this mission.

[Special 2] If you show the logo, an additional 1 million Karma will be paid.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]