Chapter 196

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 196: Black Rain (2)

Shyatt!

Yeongwoo brushed off the blood from the Dragon’s Legacy on the floor and looked around.

‘Fortunately, there are no witnesses.’

It felt awkward, as it had been a while since he had killed someone.

‘But still haven’t properly used the Bastard.’

Yeongwoo had chosen to confront the Gyeonggi Strongest Sword with the Dragon’s Legacy not for his own sake, but purely to withstand the opponent’s attacks.

Nevertheless, he wanted to have a brief conversation after exchanging blows.

Since Bastard’s blade could only be blocked by mythical-grade equipment, if Yeongwoo had extended Bastard, the Gyeonggi Strongest Sword would not have been able to withstand the sword and would have died.

‘Of course, I made an effort to exchange blows, but there was no profit.’

He didn’t hear who would inherit the jurisdiction of the deceased Gyeonggi Strongest Sword.

However, Yeongwoo was someone who had long opened the list of martial arts.

「You have acquired the Gyeonggi Strongest Sword!」

By inheriting the title, along with it came the martial arts the opponent possessed, giving a clue to the jurisdiction of the deceased.

‘I should be able to figure out the newly added regional techniques.’

As Yeongwoo unfolded his martial arts list, the techniques stolen by the Gyeonggi Strongest Sword from other Strongest Swords appeared one after another.

| Gyeonggi Technique – Unique Grade

| Pocheon Technique – Relic Grade

| Gapyeong Technique – Relic Grade

| Hwacheon Technique – Relic Grade

A total of four.

Moreover, among these, Hwacheon was from Gangwon Province.

‘Was he from Hwacheon? If he traveled from Hwacheon to Gapyeong and Pocheon, the route seems consistent.’

In the case of Yeongwoo himself, if he listed the regional titles he currently possessed, he could clearly see the route he had taken from Gumi.

‘It’s quite a distance to manage Hwacheon… I’ll have to hope someone is in Gangwon Province.’

Day 5 of the reset.

He used to be someone who seemed temporarily hostile to all the Strongest Swords, but ironically, now he found himself hoping there were still many powerful Strongest Swords left.

If it wasn’t to wish for Seoul to become the only surviving city on the peninsula, it was necessary.

“Ah, you’ve certainly collected your equipment meticulously.”

Despite Yeongwoo’s apologetic gaze, he rummaged through the corpse with rather business like hands.

-Kiiit!

It was with the golden goblin who was curious about the identity of the former Gyeonggi Strongest Sword.

‘It seems there are no hidden equipment.’

After confirming that the Serpent of Greed didn’t respond, Yeongwoo registered the equipment he had removed from the corpse in the encyclopaedia.

A total of three items could be put into the encyclopaedia immediately.

‘Two pieces of armor, one accessory.’

And the rest were two weapons.

「Contingency」 – Mutant One-handed Sword

【Increases durability by 15% when defending】

‘Not bad. Perfect for the encyclopaedia.’

On the other hand, the second weapon was a bit unusual.

「Preemptive Strike」 – Mutant One-handed Sword

【Increases the power of the first attack by 20%. Reactivates on successful hit】

‘Oh-ho.’

This was probably the weapon the Gyeonggi Strongest Sword had been holding.

The power of the first attack increased after the sword was drawn from the scabbard.

‘And it reactivates on successful hit, so repeating draw and sheath attacks should do.’

While this effect alone didn’t seem superior to other weapons, once it was registered in the weapon encyclopaedia, the story would change.

‘Anyway, just enhancing the first strike is quite significant, and if it’s not during a melee, it’s not that difficult to sheathe the sword during battle…’

And surely, there must be equipment that gives reinforcement effects when sheathing somewhere.

‘The chairman should hurry up and get the encyclopaedia.’

After glancing at the sky briefly, Yeongwoo turned his gaze back to Kubu.

“Are you both still there?”

He referred to Kubu, the intermediary, and the merchant.

Then Kubu, who had left only a thin thread in the air, blinked his eyes.

Sshrrrrt.

―Yes. We’re waiting.

“Then let’s conclude the transaction. Let’s learn archery.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, Kubu blinked.

―We will process the purchase of the Epic Archery, ‘Call of God.’

With that, 3,940,000 karma was withdrawn from Yeongwoo’s balance, and the Sagye-grade bow became Yeongwoo’s property.

「Call of God」 – Epic Archery

【If you have enough faith, you can even reach the gods with your arrows.】

And at the same time.

* Available karma: 1,274,500

The balance decreased to 1.27 million karma.

‘I hope the coordinate locator isn’t more expensive than 1.2 million.’

Anxiety grew as the balance decreased.

Anyway, since all the business here today was finished, Yeongwoo bid farewell to Kubu.

“Thank you for your hard work. See you in Yangju shortly.”

―Until next time. Thank you for the transaction!

Poof!

Kubu, the intermediary, vanished somewhere beyond the empty space.

“….”

Yeongwoo glanced briefly at the spot where he disappeared before turning his head to his next destination, Yangju.

‘I’ll buy a locator or resistance equipment if they have any, and if not, I’ll head straight back to Gangnam.’

Time was gradually becoming pressing.

He needed to return to his original jurisdiction before sunset, scatter the Golden Rain, and wait for the Strongest Swords to visit with bundles of money from all directions.

‘And if conditions allow, it would be good to equip the Heart quickly.’

As Yeongwoo rose to his feet, Negwig approached him first and wrapped Yeongwoo’s body with its reins.

Swoosh!

“Huh…?”

Although Yeongwoo was momentarily surprised by the sudden move, he decided to quietly observe what the creature was doing.

He didn’t think the means of transportation given by Dogo would harm him.

And indeed.

Phew!

All Negwig did was lift Yeongwoo onto its back.

“Oh dear!”

Still seated, Yeongwoo expressed his gratitude to Negwig while stroking the steel mane of the alien’s iron horse.

In the meantime, the two slaves climbed onto Negwig’s back following their master.

-Keet!

-Babat!

Moreover, since the golden goblin had indicated the direction northward to Yangju, Yeongwoo immediately took the reins and urged Negwig forward.

* * *

4:16 PM.

Yangju, once a refuge for the Final Line, yielded little income.

Although there was a merchant present, the available trading partner seemed fixed, possibly due to the former Gyeonggi Strongest Sword’s prior visit.

Moreover, all the goods sold by the merchant in Yangju were combat weapons.

‘Of course, if I had plenty of cash left, I might have bought one or two…’

He needed to save money to purchase a locator whose price he didn’t know yet, and even if not, he needed to save for the acquisition tax that would be imposed tomorrow.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Also, if the chairman were to obtain the weapon encyclopaedia, wouldn’t there be an acquisition tax for that?

‘This crazy world. How did taxes become more threatening than dragons?’

Of course, this was a limited view for Yeongwoo.

Most people were not even paying acquisition tax, just the basic tax as simple taxpayers.

Clatter, clatter!

Anyway, after a rare adventure, Yeongwoo hurriedly turned Negwig’s head toward Gangnam, and now he was passing through Seongbuk-gu via Dobong-gu.

There stood Seongbuk Strongest Sword Lee Yoobin with a bright title.

“Oh.”

Yeongwoo, who recognized his opponent first, made a surprised sound, prompting Lee Yoobin, who sensed Negwig’s approach in time, to turn around.

『Seongbuk’s Strongest Sword』

She had a gloomy expression, and her shoulders and back were filled with bags that were obviously full of coins.

She crossed paths with Yeongwoo just as she were about to depart for the so-called ‘protection fee.’

“What, were you up there all this time?”

Yoobin looked north, the direction Yeongwoo had come from.

Then she unceremoniously dropped the backpacks hanging all over her body onto the ground.

Thud!

“It was supposed to be on my way to meet you anyway, so it worked out. Take this. It’s the promised ten million karma.”

“Thank you.”

Yeongwoo glanced briefly at the money bags on Negwig while pondering for a moment.

“…There’s no need to count, right?”

“Wow, are you really insane.”

For a moment, annoyance surged, and then Yoobin burst into laughter.

“No, how did we end up giving money to such a person?”

“But still, it’s better than dying.”

As Yeongwoo pointed to the money bags with his finger, the golden goblin swept the bags into a pocket of the void.

-Kiki!

For some reason, the creature laughed greedily.

At this, Yoobin, with a disgusted expression, looked at the golden slave and then asked Yeongwoo with a tone that something suddenly came to mind.

“Are you going back to Gangnam now?”

“Yes, do you have other business?”

“Not really, but I’d like you to give me a ride.”

“To Gangnam…?”

Of course, he had no intention of refusing a customer who had paid ten million karma, but Yeongwoo was curious about the reason.

“Are you going for something specific in Gangnam?”

“I just want to take a look around.”

“…?”

“People carrying money bags are going to come to find you, I want to see that.”

* * *

The first paying customer, Seongbuk Strongest Sword Lee Yoobin.

Yeongwoo continued south with her on board.

Soon, they reached Dongdaemun, under the jurisdiction of Jang Jeongho, but unfortunately, Jang Jeongho was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t see Jeongho. Did he take a different route?”

As Yeongwoo murmured while looking around, Yoobin in the backseat chuckled and said.

“That guy might not appear normally because he’s not an ordinary bastard.”

“…Really?”

It wasn’t what Yeongwoo expected when the opponent actually showed up like that.

“Yeongwoo knows roughly, right? What kind of person Jang Jeongho is.”

“No matter what, would he exchange his life for just ten million?”

“…?”

This time, Yoobin was surprised by Yeongwoo’s indifferent remark.

“What did you say? Was it to die if you didn’t pay ten million?”

Lee Yoobin spoke as if she hadn’t even dreamed of it.

When paying the golden rain in each area, Jeong Yeongwoo gave the mutant equipment he received as payment to the Strongest Swords of each area.

Although he received ten million under the pretext of protection fee, the golden orbs were essentially owned by the regional managers, so he wouldn’t take away fixed compensation unless necessary.

So Yoobin was quite grateful for that sentiment, and more than anything, she didn’t want to get involved with Jeong Yeongwoo, so she provided the protection fee without any fuss.

But.

‘No, did he really intend to kill me if I didn’t pay ten million? He’s totally crazy, isn’t he?’

Of course, this proved that her judgment was correct.

If she hadn’t prepared the protection fee in Seongbuk, wouldn’t that lunatic have come to her and swung his sword himself?

“….”

As Yoobin was having horrifying thoughts in her mind, Yeongwoo glanced back and said reassuringly.

“Hey, I’m not suddenly going to approach him like some loan shark.”

“T-That’s right?”

“Doesn’t Yoobin know better? How conflicts are resolved at the Strongest Sword meeting.”

“Well….”

Yoobin’s pupils looked up to the sky.

One of the basic rules of the Strongest Sword meeting.

If there is no consensus on a matter, the representatives engage in a duel to follow the winner’s opinion.

“A duel…? So that means officially saying you’ll kill each other.”

“If you don’t pay the money you owe, that’s how it goes.”

“No, but that’s….”

Yoobin’s mutterings about it being worse than loan sharks didn’t come out.

Because Negwig had already passed through Gwangjin-gu and was jumping over the edge of the Cheongdam Bridge.

Thud!

The hole was a trace of yesterday, when Yeongwoo killed Kim Seokshin, a mutant and a Seoul Metropolitan Council member, with an arrow as he returned as a Wyvern.

“We’re already in Gangnam.”

Yeongwoo’s voice sounded excited for some reason.

Yoobin also had some expectations for different reasons, so she leaned her head out next to Yeongwoo’s and looked ahead.

But what she needed to see was approaching from behind.

Thud thud!

The sound of someone running at an incredibly fast speed.

Both Yoobin and Jeong Yeongwoo turned their heads back and saw it immediately.

“Huh?”

“Huh.”

“What, have you two become friends? Anyway, let’s meet in front of the hotel!”

Dongdaemun’s Strongest Sword Jang Jeongho passed by them at a speed close to a full sprint.

Jang Jeongho seemed to be heading to Gangnam just like the two of them.

He was probably coming to deliver the ‘protection fee’ Yeongwoo had ordered.

But the problem was.

Thud thud…

In the meantime, Jang Jeongho, who had run far away, seemed incredibly light.

Not only was he fast, but there was actually nothing hanging on his body.

Ten million karma.

Shouldn’t he be hanging backpacks all over his body like Yoobin did in Seongbuk-gu if he was going to bring it all in coin form?

Yeongwoo instinctively pointed to Jang Jeongho as if he were a bastard.

Shoo.

“Why does that bastard look like he has no money?”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]