Chapter 256

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 256: Beijing’s Great Evil (3)

Shandong’s First Evil: Zhang Jaham.

Shandong’s Second Evil: Wu Qingjin.

Together, they were known as the Shandong Twin Evils.

These two individuals were exceptionally tyrannical and combative, living up to their notorious title.

They never avoided a fight, regardless of the challenger, and if there were stakes involved, they wouldn’t hesitate to challenge even the strongest opponents.

However, there were exceptions for these notorious figures.

There were opponents they wouldn’t even dare to challenge because the mere thought of fighting them didn’t arise.

One such person was the enigmatic Im Dupyeong of Beijing.

And the other was:

“Where is it? Where did the tribute money go!”

Charging fiercely from afar on a black iron horse was the great evil of the Korean Peninsula, Jeong Yeongwoo07.

『Strongest Sword』

“…!”

“What’s this? A new title already?”

Zhang Jaham and Wu Qingjin, who had come out to greet Yeongwoo following the territorial rule, widened their eyes in surprise at the new title beneath the mark.

Common sense dictates that all titles, regardless of the affiliated country, should include a regional name.

Yet, no matter how they looked at it, this strange being’s title had none of that…

“Great warrior!”

Zhang Jaham quickly dismissed his random thoughts and ran towards Yeongwoo.

What had that monster said first?

―My money! Where is my money going now?

In other words, this guy was here to find his money.

Moreover, he seemed to know that the money had already left Shandong province.

Thus, he must be quite furious right now.

“What brings you all the way here?”

Zhang Jaham asked, sweating nervously as he tried to host Yeongwoo.

Wu Qingjin added, trying to soothe the Korean evil.

“We were just about to prepare the money to send to you, great warrior.”

This was an attempt to prevent the dreadful Strongest Sword from drawing his sword in Shandong province.

They had quickly learned that if they had enough money, they could divert this monster’s attention.

However, Yeongwoo was too busy scanning somewhere beyond Yantai with anxious eyes.

“I won’t ask three times. Which direction did my money go?”

This time, Yeongwoo’s voice was filled with considerable irritation and killing intent.

It meant that the Twin Evils holding him back right now was a huge nuisance.

Understanding the situation quickly, Zhang Jaham pointed northwest and then due north.

“Normally, it would have gone to Tianjin, but today it might have headed towards Dalian.”

Tianjin acted as the port city of Beijing, and Dalian was a port city in Liaoning province.

Originally, Dalian could only be reached by crossing the sea from Yantai, but with the Pangaea incident, the land had connected, making Dalian the closest city to Yantai.

In other words, the changing geography could have altered the money collection routes.

“Hmm.”

After hearing Zhang Jaham’s explanation, Yeongwoo quickly deliberated.

‘Normally, Tianjin would be the returning route. But thanks to Pangaea, we can walk to Dalian, which was previously across the sea.’

According to the Twin Evils, the Politburo Standing Committee members assigned to each collection team were immensely skilled.

[PR/N: The Politburo Standing Committee members are the center of political power in China. Organizationally below them are the Politburo, and then the Central Committee.]

So much so that the Twin Evils couldn’t withstand even three moves from them.

‘Then they would have enough strength to handle the situation… There’s no reason not to visit a suddenly appeared collection point, right? If it were me, I would definitely check it out.’

The heart of a villain is best understood by another villain.

Though he hated to admit it, Yeongwoo had a common ground with those Standing Committee members: they were all collectors.

The only difference was the amount they collected: 30 million, 20 million respectively.

“I think they went to Dalian. I’ll go meet them, get my money, and also cut off some heads.”

“…!”

As Yeongwoo really turned his horse towards the north, Zhang Jaham and Wu Qingjin quickly moved to his side and asked.

“Is there anything we can help you with?”

Yeongwoo thought for a moment and then looked around the vast land.

“Make a simple map of the cities that pay tribute to Beijing.”

It was a request to create a kind of business map.

What Yeongwoo needed to do from now on was visit the cities paying tribute to Beijing and convince them to pay tribute to him instead.

So he needed to know the exact collection areas of Beijing to plan his route efficiently.

“Ah… understood. We will make the map as detailed as possible.”

“Yes. Please take care of it. See you later.”

As Yeongwoo waved his left arm to indicate he was leaving, the two Shandong evils clasped their fists and saluted.

* * *

Leaving behind the excessively polite Shandong Twin Evils, Yeongwoo sped towards Dalian, which was no longer a port city.

Swoosh, swoosh!

‘Wait, but aren’t all Politburo Standing Committee members quite old?’

Although Yeongwoo wasn’t well-versed in Chinese politics, he at least knew that there were no young people among China’s top leaders.

In other words, if the Politburo Standing Committee members serving Im Dupyeong were the same old members, that would also be a strange thing.

‘Of course, it’s not that there are no middle-aged masters, but considering the chaos on the first day of the reset… it’s definitely disadvantageous.’

The more Yeongwoo learned about Beijing, the more mysterious it seemed.

And while he was thinking this,

swoosh, swoosh!

Wide green fields and low mountains appeared to the left of the galloping Negwig, followed by houses and low-rise buildings gradually coming into view.

“Is this the outskirts of Dalian?”

Though Yeongwoo had a few Chinese titles, he still seemed to be judged as an outsider.

Unlike in the Korean Peninsula, the regional status interface wasn’t supported here in mainland China.

‘It seems that the affiliation is fixed according to the initial profile.’

Of course, it could also be because he was considered an intruder due to the territorial mark of China.

‘I still don’t know much about this world.’

It was a familiar situation.

But now, with the world’s languages unified, the true ‘global village’ era had dawned.

“Hey!”

Yeongwoo called out to a man who had poked his head out from a house nearby and then started running away like a squirrel.

Tatat!

However, the man did not respond to the call to stop, so Yeongwoo ultimately…

“Just want to ask for directions!”

Chasing the man on Negwig like a Mongolian cavalryman pursuing a fugitive.

Screech!

And within seconds,

Thump!

He succeeded in catching the fleeing man trying to hide between buildings.

Yeongwoo grabbed the man’s nape with one hand and lifted him.

“Aaah!”

The Chinese man, who had come outside and then got caught by a monstrous cavalryman, turned pale and screamed as if he were about to die.

“…….”

This scene strangely reminded Yeongwoo of the insects he used to catch and play with as a child.

Like a grasshopper caught in his hand, foaming white or laying eggs.

The sight of the man writhing in midair with his legs hanging reminded him of those insects he had caught long ago.

‘What… what is this feeling?’

An indescribable strange emotion lingered somewhere inside the back of his mind.

Yeongwoo stared blankly at the man who was desperately but powerlessly struggling, then regained his senses.

“Ah…! If you answer this one question, I’ll let you go immediately. Is this Dalian? Which direction should I go to get to the center of Dalian?”

The man, whose face was smeared with tears and snot, pointed northeast while struggling in the air.

“Dalian! Da-Dalian…!”

As promised, Yeongwoo gently placed the man back on the ground.

Then,

“Eek!”

The man made a strange noise and ran madly between the buildings.

Today would probably be the most terrifying day of the man’s life.

‘Looks like I gained some bad karma.’

The man soon disappeared from Yeongwoo’s sight completely.

So, without any more guidance, Yeongwoo resumed his journey in the direction the man had pointed—northeast.

Swoosh, swoosh!

‘The cat isn’t reacting yet… Is it still quite far? Or.’

He might have chosen the wrong destination from the start.

Contrary to his expectations, the collection team might have chosen to quickly return to Tianjin after their stop.

‘If that’s really the case, it’s a bit disappointing.’

It could be his second fruitless trip of the day, following his journey to Busan.

As Yeongwoo continued northeast, finally,

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

-growl.

The “fearful cat” in his pocket started to shiver and let out a low growl.

“Oh…!”

He still didn’t know what the target was, but at least it meant that there was a fairly strong presence nearby.

And the direction was,

Swoosh.

‘Northeast. Dalian city center.’

-growl!

The fearful cat Yeongwoo pulled out was indeed looking northeast.

This indicated that there was a high probability that Beijing’s collection team was in Dalian.

‘Perfect. Showing strength by taking down this so-called Standing Committee member will be ideal. Seeing a collector killed right in front of them, the representatives in Dalian would have no choice but to align with me.’

Yeongwoo knew from experience that the most effective persuasion in this world was a display of power.

Especially when persuading in a foreign country with completely different history and culture.

‘In the first meeting, fists speak louder than words.’

While Yeongwoo was having such fearsome thoughts, the fearful cat’s ears folded even flatter, and its head slowly tilted more to the east.

This meant that the target was quite close now.

‘Wait for me, Dalian! I’m coming…!’

As Yeongwoo gripped the reins tightly, Negwig, understanding his intent, increased its speed even more.

Swoosh!

And at almost the same moment,

“……!”

He saw Dalian citizens moving busily in the opposite direction.

They were relocating to avoid something inside the city.

‘Oh… is the named one in Dalian rebelling?’

After all, hadn’t Shandong Province also started paying tribute only after a skirmish with a Politburo Standing Committee member?

It made sense that Dalian, which had been surviving independently until now, wouldn’t easily pay the 30 million karma tribute every day, even if it was to Beijing.

‘Today, right here, I’ll cut off one of Im Dupyeong’s limbs!’

As the battlefield seemed to be getting closer, Yeongwoo moved the “White Fire” he was wearing to his hand.

And at that moment, he saw people gathering in the city square ahead.

There were far more people than he had expected.

Dozens of highly skilled warriors surrounded the square, and in the center of the square,

“Ha, the Politburo? How can you still use the name Politburo when the Party no longer exists?”

“You insolent wench! How dare you deny the existence of the Party!”

Sharp, biting words were exchanged.

‘Dalian…? Is that the pronunciation of Dalian?’

Yeongwoo looked at the middle-aged woman standing defiantly in front of a middle-aged man who appeared to be part of Beijing’s collection team.

『Dalian Sword Guild』

Dalian Sword Guild.

It seemed Dalian had only one named one.

Would this mean their martial prowess was greater than regions with multiple named ones?

‘I’ll have to see about that.’

As Yeongwoo thought this and moved straight toward the square, the Dalian Sword Guild leader shifted her gaze to him.

She had sensed the territorial mark he was carrying.

“Huh…?”

As the Sword Guild leader squinted at the strange shape of the intruder, the middle-aged man facing her belatedly turned to look at Yeongwoo.

It was then that Yeongwoo realized,

‘What’s this? He doesn’t have a title?’

The middle-aged man, who was surely one of the Politburo Standing Committee members, had no title.

It was possible he was hiding his title like Yeongwoo, but…

‘He doesn’t seem to see my mark at all? That means he’s not a named one.’

Territorial marks could only be seen by regional powerhouses, the named ones.

In other words, no matter how strong he was, an unnamed master wouldn’t be able to see Yeongwoo’s position.

‘How did someone without a title overpower the Shandong guys in three moves?’

As Yeongwoo, puzzled, closed the distance to the square to about 100 meters, the collector’s face twisted.

“Strongest Sword…?”

He was mulling over the unfamiliar title.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo’s eyes caught sight of the bags of money piled up behind the middle-aged man.

“My money! You bastard, leave my money and your head behind!”

“What?”

The middle-aged man’s expression turned vicious at the phrase “my money.”

“How dare some nobody….”

As he reflexively started to curse, he saw the “Strongest Sword” suddenly drawing his bow, and his eyes widened.

“Die…!”

The coins wouldn’t be destroyed even by a laser bombardment.

So Yeongwoo shot his arrows at the middle-aged man without hesitation.

Whiz!

At a distance of less than 50 meters, it was virtually impossible to dodge Yeongwoo’s stealth arrows.

‘Even I couldn’t dodge at this range. Let’s see how tough a Standing Committee member is!’

Yeongwoo watched the multiple arrows cutting through the air.

Then, soon enough,

Boom!

A violet explosion of supernatural energy occurred right in front of the middle-aged man.

He was hit without any chance to evade.

‘Got him!’

Certain that all his arrows had hit, Yeongwoo leapt off Negwig to decapitate his opponent.

Leap!

However,

Hiss…

Contrary to his expectations, a powerful presence remained where the supernatural explosion had occurred.

“……!”

The middle-aged man was still standing there, unharmed.

‘Danger!’

Instinctively sensing an impending counterattack, Yeongwoo tried to draw his sword quickly.

But having just leapt off his horse, his feet hadn’t yet touched the ground, and his opponent’s attack exploited this brief moment of vulnerability.

“Kiyaaaah!”

The middle-aged man’s right arm, wrapped in a violet glow, extended with a sound like crashing waves.

‘…What?’

An overwhelming amount of supernatural energy emanated from it.

Yeongwoo recognized it instantly upon seeing the attack.

“You, you bastard, you’re an alien lackey…!”

And as he spoke these words,

Thud!

The middle-aged man’s monstrous arm pierced through Yeongwoo’s chest.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]