Chapter 258

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 258: Beijing’s Great Evil (5)

“Who the hell are you? Demanding money out of nowhere?”

This was Tian Zhulin, a renowned swordswoman and the guardian of Dalian.

She looked at Yeongwoo with genuine confusion.

She wasn’t asking about his title, of course.

She had already heard it before and could see it written on him.

『Strongest Sword』

The infamous figure who killed Kim Jong-un and unified the Korean Peninsula, the monster Strongest Sword Jeong Yeongwoo.

Judging by his martial prowess just now, it didn’t seem like an exaggeration.

‘But why is he here committing robbery instead of stabilizing his power?’

She had heard rumors a few days ago.

The thugs of Dandong City had crossed into Sinuiju, North Korea, intending to loot but were all killed except for one.

‘Could it be because of that incident?’

They say a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even if it takes ten years, but this Korean monster seemed to be back for revenge within days.

However, Yeongwoo was saying something entirely different from what Tian Zhulin had expected.

“To strengthen the country.”

“……!”

“And to bring peace to the world!”

“What……?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a time of chaos.”

As Yeongwoo stepped forward, the swordsmen surrounding him backed away in fear.

“The Reset has destroyed the law and the borders of our continent. In this chaos, extraterrestrial forces are invading our world.”

As he said this, Yeongwoo approached Zhang Jinshan, who was groaning with his arms cut off.

He placed his hand on Zhang Jinshan’s head.

Thud.

Immediately.

“You bastard, how dare you!”

Zhang Jinshan’s body glowed purple with rage.

Whoosh!

His body was instantly enveloped in a strange power, and his right leg twisted at an impossible angle, kicking upwards.

Bang!

Attempting to strike Yeongwoo’s chin.

“Hmph……!”

Yeongwoo, seemingly prepared, dodged the attack by tilting his body and then swung his giant sword at Zhang Jinshan’s leg.

Whoosh!

The Golden Trail was a massive sword, 2 meters long.

However, Zhang Jinshan’s leg, instead of being cut, deflected the golden sword.

Though not unscathed, it was evident that Zhang Jinshan had reached a state where swords couldn’t harm him.

“What?”

“That’s impossible.”

As Tian Zhulin and the dozens of swordsmen watched in shock, Yeongwoo finally drew his Bastard.

“Eeek!”

As expected, Zhang Jinshan flinched and drooled in fear at the sight of the Bastard.

He had learned firsthand that this weapon was not something he could withstand.

Thanks to that, he had lost both of his arms.

Zhang Jinshan then decided to.

Dash!

Flee.

He decided to return to Beijing while his legs were still intact.

Yeongwoo pointed at the fleeing Zhang Jinshan.

“Look at that! That purple energy is the power of the extraterrestrials!”

Thud!

As Yeongwoo pointed out the power wrapping around Zhang Jinshan’s legs, everyone watched in a daze as he fled.

“That, that’s the power of aliens?”

“Is that so……?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it, though.”

But hadn’t the arrow shot by the Strongest Sword caused a purple explosion as well?

Some who remembered this fact had their doubts, but they kept them to themselves.

They instinctively knew that speaking up would mean ending up like Zhang Jinshan.

“Traitor to humanity, Zhang Jinshan! Take my blade!”

With a determined shout, Yeongwoo threw his Bastard at Zhang Jinshan.

Whoosh!

As the Bastard traced its path, it drew the seal of the peach blossom and soon pierced Zhang Jinshan’s back.

Thud!

“Aargh!”

As the giant Zhang Jinshan, a two-meter-tall behemoth with white hair, crashed to the ground, Yeongwoo extended his hand again to remotely retrieve his weapon, the ‘Bastard.’

Shhh!

For the first time, appreciative murmurs arose from the experts.

“Oh?”

“Wow!”

“Is that…?”

It seemed like a technique that every Chinese person aspired to, resembling the art of wielding a sword with the mind.

However, Zhang Jinshan, the person who had been attacked, was gnashing his teeth and raging furiously.

“You crazy bastard! If you kill me, you’ll be making an enemy of the entire regime. Do you think you can escape unscathed after meddling with state funds?”

At this, Yeongwoo tilted his head.

“Who decided it was state funds? Until the people support it, it’s just plunder.”

But in a world where strength dictated everything, there wasn’t much to argue if Im Dupyeong called the tribute taxes.

Just as Yeongwoo had collected ‘defense fees’ from the Strongest Swords in Seoul.

Of course, Yeongwoo had progressed beyond that now.

“The reason I came here today is to bring down Im Dupyeong. He not only collects tributes but also colludes with alien forces? That makes my blood boil.”

“What? What does that have to do with you? You’re not even… Chinese…”

As Zhang Jinshan protested with a look of incomprehension, Yeongwoo’s figure rapidly closed the distance and overwhelmed him.

Wham!

“Ugh!”

Zhang Jinshan’s body slammed into the ground again.

Then, Yeongwoo whispered softly into his ear.

“Having two guys lining their pockets with tributes while serving aliens is a bit much, don’t you think? If you truly care about China, you should sacrifice yourself.”

“What? What do you mean by th-…”

Just as the terrified Zhang Jinshan tried to say more.

Wham!

The ‘Bastard’ in Yeongwoo’s hand pierced through Zhang Jinshan’s head.

Finally, one of Im Dupyeong’s minions was dealt with.

‘Now the wealth of Shandong Province is mine.’

As Yeongwoo straightened up with a sense of satisfaction, something unexpected happened.

Wham!

A pillar of light suddenly erupted from Zhang Jinshan’s lifeless body.

“What?”

Yeongwoo, startled, took a step back and watched along with everyone else.

Wham!

The purple light beam that burst from Zhang Jinshan’s corpse shot towards Beijing.

“Was it true?”

“What was that?”

It was a scene reminiscent of a demon lord’s minion retrieving their power, and everyone in Dalian City stared at Yeongwoo with their mouths agape.

The words of the Strongest Sword from the Korean Peninsula, which had seemed like nonsense, now appeared to have a high probability of being true.

“Ah… what did you say again? That Chairman Im and his subordinates are alien collaborators?”

Dalian Sword Guild’s Tian Zhulin, now speaking much more respectfully, asked Yeongwoo.

Yeongwoo quickly erased his puzzled expression and looked in the direction the light beam had flown.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

“Yes. There is a very high probability.”

The special abilities one could gain from equipment usually converted physical or elemental damage into special powers.

It was rare to see someone like Zhang Jinshan, whose power itself was a special ability.

Except for an arrow made by the Dogo, that is.

‘But Zhang Jinshan was almost saturated with special abilities. It looked like his power was being reclaimed upon his death… Im Dupyeong’s identity is becoming increasingly suspicious.’

Moreover, Zhang Jinshan referred to himself as the 6th member of the Standing Committee.

If that ‘6th’ was related to combat power ranking…

‘Then there are at least five more above him?’

Imagine at least five monsters of Zhang Jinshan’s level spread across China, collecting money.

“….”

An uncontrollable anger welled up within him.

However, if the process did not result in casualties, it might actually benefit Yeongwoo.

While it would take considerable effort to persuade regions that hadn’t yet started paying tribute, regions that had already been visited by the collection teams would be different.

‘I only collect about 60% of what Im Dupyeong does. It’s like a debt refinancing, so persuading them would be easier.’

If they could bear paying tribute to the Korean Peninsula instead of within China, Yeongwoo could gain a million karma daily.

He saw a good chance of success.

By sheer luck, the ‘alien collaborator theory’ had gained traction in Dalian City, inadvertently clearing a path for him.

“As you just saw, Im Dupyeong in Beijing is oppressing all of China with power he brought from aliens. If no one stops him, everyone will eventually have to pay daily tributes to aliens.”

As Yeongwoo added that Im Dupyeong would grow stronger with the money they paid, Tian Zhulin naturally voiced a doubt.

“But why does it have to be you? Isn’t this a matter for China to handle…?”

“Because there’s no one else.”

“What did you say?”

“You people can’t even handle a minion sent to collect tribute; how are you going to capture Im Dupyeong?”

“You…!”

Tian Zhulin instinctively tried to retort with “Then why you,” but she quickly shut her mouth.

The man before her had already sufficiently proven his skills.

“To be honest, I could extort money from you all without using Im Dupyeong as an excuse. But I genuinely have a just cause, so I’m mentioning it as well.”

Then, Yeongwoo thrust the ‘Bastard’ into the ground and spoke in a grave tone.

“If I hadn’t killed Zhang Jinshan, you would have been extorted for at least 30 million.”

“…!”

“But I’ll only take 20 million. Just 20 million karma. If everyone here can pool together and raise it, that would be ideal.”

Yeongwoo then put on a sorrowful expression.

“If you do your best but still can’t raise enough money, I’ll have no choice but to squeeze it from the citizens’ blood.”

“That… that crazy…”

“You’re telling us to raise 20 million right here and now?”

The reactions were fiery, but Tian Zhulin, who had practically been defending this city, responded with a cool head.

“It’s impossible to produce 20 million in cash right here. Your demand is unreasonable. Even if we ransacked the entire city, it would still take quite some time to gather the money.”

At this, Yeongwoo asked as if he’d been waiting for this response.

“How much time would you need?”

“What?”

“How much time would you need to gather the missing money?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

Tian Zhulin looked around and then cautiously offered an opinion.

“At least two hours…?”

Yeongwoo checked his wristwatch and then informed Tian Zhulin.

“Then I’ll go extort money from another city and return in two hours. Make sure you have the money ready by then.”

“You’re going to another city?”

“My goal is to prevent Im Dupyeong from receiving any tribute. That means every city should already be paying their tribute.”

“To you…?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Tian Zhulin no longer had the energy to be surprised.

Only one thought kept swirling in her mind.

‘This guy is pure evil.’

Im Dupyeong, the alleged alien collaborator, couldn’t possibly be this bad.

But Yeongwoo’s next words caught her attention.

“Of course, I could meet with an unexpected accident in another city. The commissioner I encounter there might be too strong.”

“So?”

“If something like that happens, I won’t be able to return here in two hours, and you won’t need to prepare the money.”

“Oh.”

It was a logical statement, but to the cornered Tian Zhulin, it sounded strangely plausible.

After all, it wasn’t an entirely hopeless option.

She could at least hope that this crazy Korean would die somewhere.

“Is that good? Do we have a deal?”

“…We don’t really have any other choice, do we? Let’s do it.”

“Good. Then from now on…”

“There’s more?”

Seeing Tian Zhulin furrow her brow in apprehension, Yeongwoo pulled out the ‘Bastard’ and said.

“I’ll take recommendations for the next city I should visit.”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]