Chapter 355

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Chapter 355: Supreme Armament (6)

Resolved.

There was no need to ask what the chairman meant by "resolved."

It was obvious.

‘In the middle of being arrested? That means the police or someone else must have been trying to apprehend him. And yet, here he is?’

What on earth was the chairman’s daily routine like?

Yeongwoo was at a loss for words.

‘Does he commit crimes during the day and kill public officials who come for him at night?’

While Yeongwoo was muttering to himself, the gravestone-like bottom of the ship opened up, and the problematic businessman, Chairman Dogo, appeared.

―Lemu...!

As always, Dogo appeared clad in full-body Vesedel armor, wielding a massive sword.

From over 200 meters in the air, he dropped straight down.

Screeeeeeech!

He landed noisily right next to the iron anchor hooked onto Lemu's ship.

Boom!

The four pillars supporting the shield shook even more violently than before, prompting Lemu, seated on his throne, to speak in an annoyed tone.

□ Chairman, this is still a commercial zone.

In response, Dogo tapped the tip of his sword against Lemu’s ship beneath his feet.

Thunk, thunk.

―I’m here for business, too.

□ …!

Having dealt with Dogo many times before, Lemu’s face stiffened instantly.

And just as expected—

CRASH!

With a deafening tearing sound, the ship Lemu had brought began splitting apart on both sides.

"What the hell...?"

Yeongwoo stared blankly into the air in disbelief.

The chairman was tearing apart a spaceship with nothing but a sword.

‘Is that even possible?’

It was the sheer majesty of a Level 3 being under space law.

Or perhaps it was simply because he was Dogo.

Zap!

The shield that had surrounded the area instantly disappeared, and the suppressor that had paralyzed Yeongwoo also deactivated immediately.

Swish!

However, this wasn’t because Lemu’s ship was destroyed—it was simply because Lemu, who controlled the suppressor, could no longer pay attention to Yeongwoo.

Crash!

Having split the enormous ship from the ceiling to the bottom, Dogo was now charging toward Lemu.

―Your corpse won’t even make good fertilizer!

Dogo, making a somewhat mechaphobic remark, swung his sword as Lemu sprang up from his throne, snapping his fingers.

Ping!

A massive mechanical hand emerged from the circuit-covered floor, attempting to grab Dogo.

□ Let’s calm down, shall we?

Using the mechanical hand as a shield, Lemu quickly retreated.

However, Dogo sliced the hand apart with a single blow, and before its wreckage could even hit the ground, he had closed the distance to Lemu.

□ …!

―Do you not see the royal insignia? Truly a lowly creature.

The Vesedel armor that Yeongwoo wore bore the royal insignia itself, so how dare Lemu issue threats?

But Lemu had a response.

□ Isn’t it said that Vesedel acts faster with a sword than with words? I simply prevented you from using the sword to facilitate conversation.

In some ways, this wasn’t entirely wrong.

Dogo proved Lemu's point by thrusting his sword forward instead of replying.

Screeeech!

As the chairman thrust the massive sword in his right hand forward, a large barrier rose from the floor to intercept the sword’s trajectory.

Boom!

Of course, this barrier, too, was instantly shattered, but it seemed to be part of a premeditated plan.

Clang!

Only after raising the barrier did Lemu finally manage to block Dogo’s sword, which he did while trembling violently, clutching a mechanical sword with both hands.

In contrast, the chairman still held his massive sword with one hand.

Watching this unfold, Yeongwoo realized something.

‘Lemu can’t withstand even a single direct strike from the chairman.’

Without the preemptive defense of the barriers, Lemu’s body would have been torn to shreds.

In other words, without the circuits Lemu had prepared in advance, the battle wouldn’t have even been possible.

‘This… this is insane. Is this the difference between Level 3 and Level 4? Or is the chairman just that exceptional?’

Yeongwoo blinked in astonishment.

Meanwhile, Dogo glanced at Lemu’s cape, which was visible beyond the trembling mechanical sword, and let out a laugh.

―Have you developed a new material? That cape looks impressive.

The silver-white cape made of cables caught his attention.

Seeing this, Lemu looked troubled.

Then Dogo swung his idle left hand, launching a hook punch.

Swish!

The chairman’s body hook flew straight for Lemu’s right flank.

□ …!

Sensing the impending fatal blow, Lemu hurriedly summoned an iron barrier from the ground to defend himself, but it was insufficient to block the chairman’s punch.

Crunch!

The thick barrier crumpled like tin foil, pushing into Lemu’s right side.

Thud!

In the end, the chairman’s body hook struck Lemu’s right flank squarely.

As Lemu bent forward in pain, the chairman’s sword swung in a sharp, violent arc.

"…Ah!"

Before Yeongwoo could finish his exclamation, Lemu’s head was severed.

Slice!

"What the...?"

Yeongwoo gaped in disbelief at the spectacle before him, while the chairman casually kicked Lemu’s decapitated head aside.

Then, without a word, Dogo pulled the cape from Lemu’s limp body.

Swish!

―You’ve made something interesting in the meantime.

“C-Chairman?”

—Speak.

“Is this really okay? No matter what, Lemu is...”

The president of an interstellar mega-corporation.

The fact that such a man could be beaten to a pulp and killed was simply incomprehensible.

—Are you worried about the machine?

“Excuse me?”

—Lemu is a machine. That’s why it doesn’t wager its life in even a sacred duel. From the start, it has no life to lose.

“What do you mean?”

—Its consciousness is scattered within the Machine Tower, and its lowly body can be reproduced there as many times as necessary.

“Ah.”

Yeongwoo finally understood.

This visit to Earth was, in short, merely Lemu’s shell.

No matter what happened to it here, Lemu’s existence itself wouldn’t disappear.

‘So it was a safe outing from the start.’

[Translator - Night]

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However, the body itself must be quite costly, so there would still be some losses.

Sure enough, Chairman Dogo kicked Lemu’s corpse around, inspecting it with admiration.

—Impressive. To think it dared withstand my blade.

That meant it had been impossible during their previous encounter.

—Military Chief.

At Dogo’s call to the air, Desirak, the Military Affairs Chief, suddenly appeared from the halved remnants of Lemu’s ship, sweeping aside his cloak.

He had been lying in wait nearby, concealed.

—Yes, Chairman.

When Desirak descended from above, Dogo handed him Lemu’s cloak.

—Deliver this to Development, and confiscate all the junk.

The ‘junk’ the Chairman referred to included everything in the vicinity, from Lemu’s body to the cubic ship and the electronic circuits scattered on the ground.

—Understood.

Upon receiving the order, Desirak scattered small metallic spheres onto the ground.

Flash!

The spheres emitted a blue light, scanning the surroundings and beginning to hologram Lemu’s body.

Sssshhh...

Everything in the area was being transferred somewhere.

‘So when he said he was here for business, he wasn’t lying.’

The ship alone and Lemu’s body must hold tremendous value.

Yeongwoo finally began to understand how Dogo generated his revenue.

‘...Honestly, this is just extortion.’

The fortunate part was that Lemu’s bounty wasn’t included in the company’s seized goods.

‘No way he’d take my meal ticket, right?’

While Yeongwoo mulled this over, Chairman Dogo approached him, his shadow towering ominously in the dark.

Thud, thud!

Yeongwoo made the first move.

“Chairman, are you all right? Of course, he’s no match for you, but Lemu wasn’t an ordinary opponent.”

—The essence of all duels is facing death. But that machine doesn’t confront death. That’s why it belongs beneath my blade.

The Chairman then looked at the sword in his right hand.

—Cutting something filthy has left a stench.

Whoosh!

He flung his sword to the ground behind him.

Desirak glanced at the discarded blade and sent one of the spheres rolling toward it.

The sphere scanned the sword, beginning to hologram it.

“...!”

At that moment, Yeongwoo clearly saw it.

The blade of the Chairman’s sword was partially damaged.

‘Huh?’

Although it had seemed like he overwhelmed Lemu, something had clearly caused damage to his weapon during the process.

‘So he was bluffing?’

Yeongwoo finally understood why the Chairman’s card had the special effect “Saving Face.”

Style over substance.

The Chairman was someone who would rather die than have his dignity compromised.

‘Is this what it takes to sit at the pinnacle of the violence business?’

As Yeongwoo marveled at the Chairman’s bravado, Jiseon, who had been standing imposingly, lowered her head as much as possible to bow.

—Chairman, I’m Yeongwoo’s mother, Song Jiseon. It’s an honor to meet someone of your stature.

Creak.

She pressed her ice scales tightly to her skin to reduce her bulk as much as possible. Dogo looked up at her and remained silent for a moment.

—...

Yeongwoo tilted his head before realizing.

‘Is he deciding whether to use honorifics?’

While Desirak had addressed Jiseon as “Madam” earlier, Chairman Dogo was different.

Given the vast gap in status between him and Yeongwoo, using honorifics for Jiseon just because she was Yeongwoo’s mother might seem ridiculous.

‘But the Chairman is an illegitimate child. So maybe he has particular feelings about parents?’

Of course, those particular feelings could be an overwhelming rage.

At any rate, it was clear that the Chairman was unusually hesitant, and the result of his deliberation was...

—...It’s a pleasure. Yeongwoo is doing well.

A ridiculously awkward piece of feedback.

Nodding his helmet once, the Chairman turned to Yeongwoo and hastily bid farewell.

—Lemu has lost its body on this planet today, and it will be reflected in the evaluation.

“Excuse me? Planet evaluation?”

Yeongwoo asked, but instead of answering, Dogo soared toward the Iron Anchor, leaving only a final piece of advice.

—Make sure you attend the dungeon tonight.

“The dungeon, sir?”

While Yeongwoo repeated the Chairman’s words, his wrist suddenly emitted a brief alarm.

Beep!

Checking the time on his wrist, Yeongwoo saw it was already 9 p.m.

「The lodging service has begun.」

「From now on, all buildings classified as ‘residences’ are under the influence of the lodging system and are rendered inviolable.」

In two hours, the night dungeon would open.

The dungeon the Chairman mentioned must undoubtedly refer to this night dungeon.

“Chairman! What’s going to happen in the dungeon tonight?”

Yeongwoo shouted, chasing after the Chairman, who was already atop the Iron Anchor. Finally, he received an answer.

—You’ll meet your evaluation peers.

“…What?”

—Act in a way that doesn’t disgrace the Vesedel insignia. If there’s a problem, resolve it immediately.

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