Chapter 419

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 419: Sole Candidate (1)

“Wha—?!”

“Guh?!”

“What the hell?!”

The three powerful figures from Earth appeared with startled cries.

Yeongwoo immediately scanned the titles floating above their heads.

『Guardian Sword of Italy』

『Conqueror of the Great Lakes』

『Shadow of the Tundra』

‘What the hell? These bastards…’

It was no surprise, but the magnitude of their titles was far from ordinary.

The Guardian Sword of Italy was quite literally a national-level title, and the Conqueror of the Great Lakes…

‘The Great Lakes… Could it be the ones in the US?’

The Great Lakes—a group of five massive lakes located between the United States and Canada.

The problem was the number of states that bordered the lakes.

On the US side, eight states, from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, were adjacent to the Great Lakes, while in Canada, Ontario shared the border.

In other words, the Conqueror of the Great Lakes was highly likely to be an American.

‘Then what about the Shadow of the Tundra?’

As Yeongwoo pondered, the three stone chairs on the outskirts of the round table slid backward.

Drrrrk!

The three visitors, who had been floating midair, were hurled into the chairs without ceremony.

Thud!

“Argh!”

“Ugh…!”

“W-what the hell…?!”

At that moment, special markers appeared below their titles—visible only to Yeongwoo.

「For the convenience of the Master of the Arena, the aliases of the conference attendees will be displayed.」

‘Master of the Arena?’

It seemed to be a system message indicating that Yeongwoo was the host of the conference.

And then, shortly after—

Pa-pa-pat!

The visitors' titles were updated with secondary designations.

『Guardian Sword of Italy』

| Protector of Milan

『Conqueror of the Great Lakes』

| Butcher of Chicago

『Shadow of the Tundra』

| Strongest Sword of Moscow

‘Huh?’

Yeongwoo recognized two familiar titles.

He had once seen them on TV back when he was still just Gangnam’s Strongest Sword.

The Protector of Milan and the Butcher of Chicago.

Back then, they were just rising stars of the world's elite fighters.

But now, they had survived and ascended to rulers of vast territories.

Even the Strongest Sword of Moscow, previously unknown to him, was clearly no ordinary foe.

‘Whoa… so they’re all still alive!’

Yeongwoo felt an odd sense of camaraderie as he gazed at the three Earth heavyweights.

However, the three visitors, suddenly transported to an unfamiliar place, were far from calm.

“W-where the hell is this?”

“Is this… a dungeon?”

“A dungeon? But how…?”

Seeing the impossibly high ceiling, the three instinctively assumed they were in a dungeon.

After all, they couldn’t imagine such a structure existing on Earth.

Then, finally noticing each other's presence, they hastily drew their weapons.

Shing!

“W-who the hell are you?”

“That’s my line.”

“Why the hell is that guy naked?”

Mistaking the place for a dungeon, they raised their weapons at one another, filled with suspicion.

The Conqueror of the Great Lakes, for some reason, was completely naked, without so much as a weapon or armor.

“Damn it…”

Clearly flustered, the Conqueror looked around, searching for something to defend himself with.

That was when he spotted Yeongwoo, standing by the round table with Jiseon and Jeonggu behind him.

“…Huh?”

Upon seeing Jiseon—a white-haired knight towering at three meters tall—the Conqueror’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Seeing such a colossal figure left him utterly dumbfounded.

At that moment, Yeongwoo slammed his palm onto the round table.

BANG!

“Drop your weapons.”

The three Earth heavyweights turned their gazes toward Yeongwoo simultaneously.

“…What?”

“Who the hell are you to tell us what to do?”

“Mara?”

The mention of Mara made Yeongwoo's eyes flash gold.

“If any of you bastards took money from Mara, raise your hand.”

“……?”

“W-what the hell are you talking about?”

The three, unable to follow Yeongwoo’s cryptic words, exchanged bewildered glances.

Seeing that none of them reacted, Yeongwoo relaxed his expression slightly.

“Looks like there’s no Mara lackey here.”

He then turned to the Conqueror of the Great Lakes, still awkwardly covering his lower half with a chair.

“And you… You’re a pawn of Lemu, right? That’s the only explanation…”

The moment Yeongwoo uttered Lemu in a low, irritated voice, white lightning sparked from within him, projecting a rectangular Lemu logo into the air.

Crackle!

At the same time, a jolt of electric shock coursed through Yeongwoo’s entire body.

“Ahh…!”

With a sharp gasp, his pained groan echoed through the hall.

The ambient lighting flickered violently.

Zzt!

“W-what…?”

“……?”

Sensing that something had gone terribly wrong, the three backed away instinctively.

Drip.

Yeongwoo, breathing heavily, extended his left hand.

Flash!

“Wait. We’re not done talking yet.”

“What…?”

“What more is there to say?”

Despite the ominous aura Yeongwoo was giving off, the three remained composed.

After all, they were planetary-level powerhouses—they weren’t easily shaken.

If the situation turned dire, they were prepared to fight their way out, just as they always had.

However—

Fwip!

The moment Yeongwoo clenched his extended left hand, their composure shattered.

Whoooosh!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

At the Master’s command, the massive ceiling suddenly became transparent.

“……!”

“Huh?!”

“The ceiling…?”

The sight above made the three Earth powerhouses instinctively look up.

What they saw left them utterly speechless.

And then, a sight all too familiar filled their vision.

“Huh?”

“No way.”

A bluish sky, clouds identical to those of Earth, and most notably—

“T-The sun… isn’t that sunlight?”

The Guardian Sword of Italy pointed toward the shimmering light peeking through the clouds and spoke.

At this, Yeongwoo nodded first.

“That’s right.”

“……!”

“That is the sun. You are still on Earth.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, silence briefly settled over the room.

No one could comprehend the situation.

Then, the Conqueror of the Great Lakes pointed at the interior of the grand conference hall with his bare hand and asked,

“Still on Earth? Then where the hell is this place?”

“…….”

Yeongwoo, who normally had little tolerance for informal speech, let it slide this time.

Soon, these people would be the ones paying for this conference hall.

“This is Seoul.”

“Seoul?”

The Conqueror of the Great Lakes tilted his head in confusion.

Then, the Guardian Sword of Italy blinked and cautiously asked,

“This is… Korea?”

Of course.

It had to be Ottavio’s country.

The Guardian Sword of Italy knew that Seoul was the capital of South Korea.

Though it didn’t seem like he knew it for any pleasant reason.

“Are you talking about the guys who sent someone over demanding a wedding gift?”

“Ah.”

He was most likely referring to Yechan.

‘Come to think of it, those bastards… didn’t even show up to the wedding.’

In fact, Yeongwoo was more surprised to learn that Yechan had gone as far as delivering invitations all the way to Italy.

Meanwhile, the Conqueror of the Great Lakes, seemingly hearing this for the first time, furrowed his brow and glared at Yeongwoo.

“So… you’re saying you’re Korean, and you summoned us here without permission?”

Step.

Momentarily forgetting that he was stark naked, the Conqueror of the Great Lakes took a step forward.

At that moment, Yeongwoo resumed the question he had left unfinished earlier.

“First, answer this. Are you by any chance working for Le—”

Before he could finish, Jiseon cut him off.

—Hey, you bastard, did you take money from Lemu or what?

“Lemu? What the hell is Lemu?”

The line was far too dignified to be spoken by a naked man, but the Conqueror of the Great Lakes seemed utterly serious.

And Yeongwoo, who had been puzzled by the moisture all over the man’s body from the beginning, asked,

“Then why the hell were you naked?”

“Why do you think?”

The Conqueror of the Great Lakes was about to answer confidently but hesitated briefly.

“Why? What is it?”

“I was… taking a bath.”

“…What.”

Yeongwoo’s jaw dropped at the unexpected answer, while the Shadow of the Tundra commented with a touch of irritation,

“I was in the middle of a meal.”

“And I… was just resting.”

The last one to speak was the Guardian Sword of Italy.

In any case, all three powerhouses had been forcibly summoned, leaving them not only highly displeased but also rather bewildered.

After all, they had just learned that such a massive, alien-like structure existed on the other side of the planet.

On top of that, the man before them had summoned them without warning.

These were battle-hardened individuals, each having faced countless perils within their own domains.

But never before had they been forcibly summoned in this manner.

“…So this really isn’t a dungeon? Then why did you call us here?”

Finally, the Guardian Sword of Italy addressed the real issue, gazing at Yeongwoo.

In response, Yeongwoo wore a grim expression and stared at the center of the round table.

“I received a report from the system. It told me there are three other big shots on this planet besides myself.”

Thud!

Yeongwoo slammed his fist onto the table in frustration.

Jiseon and Jeonggu, noticing that he was about to make his move, quietly retreated.

“…Hey, why are they backing away?”

As expected, the Guardian Sword of Italy was the most perceptive.

Seeing the couple moving away from the scene, he narrowed his eyes with a sense of foreboding.

Meanwhile, the Shadow of the Tundra still exuded a sharp, intimidating presence, going so far as to commit the audacity of pointing his blade at Yeongwoo.

Whoosh!

“Well-known, huh? That’s a funny way to put it. Did your system also tell you why I’m so famous?”

As expected of Russia’s strongest warrior.

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but be impressed by his audacity.

Because—

「A weak creature has been detected nearby. Use of Prestige requires caution.」

To his eyes, everyone here looked like mere insects.

Yeongwoo’s Prestige level was at 38—a level the three powerhouses had yet to even partially unlock.

He knew he could kill them just by glancing at them while releasing his Prestige.

However—

“Someone once told me… that the balance of the universe must be preserved.”

“…What?”

“So, instead of just killing you, I’ll do a good deed by robbing you of 3 billion and sparing your lives.”

“……!”

Sparing their lives.

To the three regional powerhouses, those words were the equivalent of a trigger.

That line was usually theirs to speak—not something they were meant to hear.

“You bastard… you’ve crossed the line.”

“I could wipe you out with my bare hands.”

The Shadow of the Tundra and the Conqueror of the Great Lakes both bared their teeth in fury.

Meanwhile, the Guardian Sword of Italy, having noticed Yeongwoo’s body subtly shimmering, rubbed his eyes, unsure if he was imagining it.

But the strange phenomenon didn’t stop.

‘What is that?’

In truth, he was witnessing the faint leakage of Yeongwoo’s suppressed Prestige Explosion, but his inferior perception prevented him from recognizing it.

Still, an unexplainable sense of danger constricted his entire body, prompting him to hesitantly raise his hand and ask in a polite tone,

“Th-Three billion. Why are you extorting that from us?”

Yeongwoo turned slightly and gazed at the Italian warrior.

“Because if I turn you into paupers, I can devour this planet.”

“…Devour the planet…?”

“Of course, I know that mere words won’t persuade people like you.”

Clank.

With that, Yeongwoo placed Bastard on the round table.

To him, it was a signal that he was willing to fight them barehanded.

However, seeing him place a sword on the table, the Conqueror of the Great Lakes immediately overstepped.

Gasp!

Seeing the crimson demon sword on the table, he reached for it without hesitation.

“Ah, no!”

Jeonggu, horrified, screamed almost instinctively.

And at the same time, Yeongwoo’s eyes flared with rage.

《You bastard!》

The tone of his voice was entirely different.

Jiseon also sensed her son’s genuine fury and threw the three powerhouses a lifeline.

—Take all the gear too! Money alone won’t be enough to get out of this alive!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]