Chapter 420

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Chapter 420: Sole Candidate (2)

“What… what?”

Among those present, only the Guardian of Italy properly registered Jiseon’s words.

The other two were simply too close to Yeongwoo to hear her clearly.

《How dare you!》

Yeongwoo’s voice thundered with rage, laced with overwhelming force.

Without hesitation, he swung his hand like a blade, severing the wrist of Conqueror as he reached for the Bastard.

Kwaak!

To the onlookers, all they saw was a sudden flash of light.

Thus—

“……!”

“Huh?”

For a brief moment, they stared blankly.

It wasn’t until Conqueror raised his wrist and screamed in agony that they fully grasped the situation.

“Guaaahhh!”

“W-what, my hand…?”

A combat situation had erupted.

The Shadow of Tundra stared at Conqueror’ severed hand lying on the round table, feeling heat rise along his neck.

Deep in his subconscious, a red warning light flickered on, but his body moved before he could fully process the fear.

Whoosh!

Instinctively, he braced himself and lunged at his opponent.

Tat-tat!

His movements, honed through countless life-or-death situations, were swift and precise.

“Be grateful it’s just your hand! Get behind him!”

Even as he bellowed the order to the handless Conqueror, the Shadow of Tundra charged ahead.

Truly, a display befitting a planet's most powerful figures.

However, it was futile.

This opponent was far beyond their reach—no amount of courage or defiance could bridge the gap.

Jeong Yeongwoo07 had already transcended the limits of mere mortals.

《…….》

Yeongwoo, calm and composed, merely observed his opponent’s reckless charge.

Ta-at!

The moment Tundra’s sword lunged forward—

Sssk.

Yeongwoo raised a single index finger and effortlessly blocked the sword’s tip.

Tit!

A faint, almost laughable clink echoed.

Only then did both Tundra and Conqueror’s jaws drop in disbelief.

“…Huh?”

“Th-this is impossible…”

The undeniable reality played out before their eyes—a strength they couldn’t overcome, no matter how much they struggled.

《Still, your courage is commendable.》

Yeongwoo smirked wickedly as he flicked Tundra’s blade aside with a mere finger.

Finally realizing the absurd gap in power, the two stumbled backward in horror.

“W-who… what the hell are you?”

Tundra, still unable to believe what he had witnessed, stared at his trembling sword.

Yeongwoo tilted his head slightly.

《Hmm. Who am I?》

Then, casually, he turned his gaze toward the empty space behind him.

《Administrator, what is my identity?》

Srrrt.

At his call, Kubu sliced through the void and reappeared.

—Jeong Yeongwoo07. Master of myth and founder of Earth’s first great family—the Renaissance.

《Yes, I am the head of the Renaissance, Jeong Yeongwoo!》

With that declaration, Yeongwoo slammed his palm down onto the round table.

A surge of force exploded outward, creating a gale that swept through the chamber.

—Th-that lunatic…!

Jiseon, feeling her hair whip violently in the wind, instinctively took several steps back.

Meanwhile, Conqueror and Tundra, caught directly in the blast, were forcibly driven to their knees by the sheer weight of his presence.

《While I was building a family from nothing as an orphan, what were you lot doing?》

“W-well…”

“……”

Learning for the first time that Yeongwoo had been an orphan, the two were at a loss for words.

As they stammered in silence, Yeongwoo continued.

《It seems I’m the only one with a proper sense of vision, so I’ll claim full ownership of this planet.》

“N-no, that’s—”

Tundra, attempting to protest, lifted his head slightly—only to be instantly subdued by the oppressive wave of Yeongwoo’s presence.

The three planetary powers present were all accustomed to paying hefty taxes.

Thus, they were fully aware that maintaining the status of a high-tax contributor would eventually grant them planetary equity shares.

But now, they were hearing the unthinkable.

A monstrous being had suddenly appeared, claiming all of the planetary shares for himself.

“W-what are you planning to do with the entire share of the planet?”

Italy’s Guardian, who had quietly distanced himself from Yeongwoo, asked cautiously.

Yeongwoo’s voice softened significantly.

“That’s an important question.”

He even spoke in a distinctly human tone this time.

“We are already in space.”

“S-space…?”

Confused, Italy looked up at the sky.

All he saw was the familiar blue sky of Earth.

But Yeongwoo, as always, saw beyond it.

“Space is a brutal realm of survival of the fittest. If we want to endure out there, someone needs to hold this planet’s reins.”

“B-but why you…?”

The question escaped Italy’s lips naturally, and Yeongwoo’s tone instantly hardened.

《Because I’m the only one with real space experience, you fools!》

“…Ugh!”

At his bellowing rebuke, all three planetary powers collapsed to their knees, trembling.

《Have you ever lobbied the planetary inspectors? Survived the wrath of an enraged Mara?》

Yeongwoo stabbed his finger toward the sky as he spoke.

《Compared to the cosmic titans, you are less than specks of dust. But I… I’ve at least become a mongrel pup.》

A Prestige Level 38 individual with sponsorship from the intergalactic mega-corporation Dogo—

That was more than enough to justify his candidacy as the representative of this backwater planet.

《Soon, I have an audience with this planet’s Council. I intend to appear as the sole candidate for planetary equity rights.》

In simpler terms, he wanted the three powers before him—his competitors—to vanish.

《The easiest option would be to kill you all, but I’ve grown weary of being too cruel.》

Thanks to the Apple of Virtue that Aldo had planted in his chest, he was now reluctant to commit atrocities.

[Burning Ice]

| Ensure that your total points of evil karma do not exceed twice your points of good karma.

“What… what do you plan to do with us, then?”

The trembling voice belonged to Conqueror, still kneeling with his severed wrist.

《…….》

Yeongwoo glanced down at Conqueror’ severed hand, then casually picked it up from the table.

Without a word, he tossed it back to Conqueror, along with a Slime Core.

Whoosh.

「Slime Core」 - Mutation Bracelet

【Regenerative power increases dramatically.】

“This thing reattaches even split skulls. Just stick your hand back on and return it to me.”

“W-what?”

Dumbfounded, Conqueror caught both his severed hand and the bracelet.

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As soon as he made contact, he felt an intense warmth surge through his entire body.

When he looked at his wrist, he saw the wound rapidly closing.

“Ah!”

Startled, Conqueror quickly pressed the severed hand against his wrist.

Squish!

To his astonishment, the severed hand began fusing with the wrist, the flesh knitting together at an alarming speed.

“Th… thank you.”

He stammered, still dazed by the situation.

In the midst of his gratitude, Yeongwoo felt his earlier urge to crush the man’s skull with his bare hands gradually dissipating.

“It's too early to be grateful.”

“…What?”

“Three billion.”

“……?”

“You three need to split three billion. That’s the construction cost of this conference hall.”

For the first time, the three powerful figures simultaneously screamed in disbelief.

“Three billion?”

“Why the hell should we pay that?”

“Isn’t this thing built in your country?”

Dividing the cost among the three meant each of them would owe a staggering one billion.

But without sponsors or businesses backing them, how could they possibly come up with that kind of money?

Of course, that was precisely Yeongwoo's intention.

“Why should you pay? Because I need to turn you into paupers to claim dominion over this planet.”

With that, Yeongwoo once again threw Bastard onto the round table.

“If you refuse to become beggars, I’ll have no choice but to resort to murder. The other candidates must be erased.”

“……!”

Yeongwoo's voice was human, but his words were not.

The sight of the sword on the round table—the same one that had severed Conqueror’s hand—only deepened the terror in the three powerhouses' eyes.

“…Shit, why are you doing this to us?”

“Forget the ownership rights—we don’t even have a billion.”

“Yeah! We’re flat broke, damn it!”

As the three pleaded their case, Yeongwoo calmly unveiled the next step in his plan.

“Take out a loan. I’ll lend it to you. The daily interest rate, as a racial privilege, is only 1%.”

One billion at 1% interest meant they would owe ten million Karma in interest every single day.

“…Huh?”

“If you have to repay the principal and interest daily just to avoid dying, you’ll be forced to classify it as essential expenses. That will automatically drop you into the low-income bracket…”

Which would lead to the disqualification of their planetary ownership candidacy, leaving Jeong Yeongwoo07 as the sole candidate.

“Just thinking about it makes me feel good. If you have any objections, settle it with your swords.”

Yeongwoo gestured toward the Bastard on the round table, his eyes cold.

The three powerhouses exchanged glances.

They knew—even if they attacked simultaneously—they wouldn’t stand a chance against the monster before them.

But taking out a loan for such an absurd amount?

That was equally unthinkable.

“Hmph.”

Of course, Yeongwoo, a seasoned villain, had anticipated this dilemma.

“You seem conflicted. Let me reduce your suffering a little.”

“……!”

“From now on, the loans will be issued in order of arrival.”

“W-what?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The three immediately jumped to their feet in alarm, but Yeongwoo paid them no mind and delivered the next blow.

“Total sum: three billion. The first to take out a loan gets the lowest share: eight, ten, and twelve.”

The Shadow of Tundra grimaced and asked, his face twisted,

“W-why is the last one twelve?”

“Because it looks like you’ll be the one stuck paying 1.2 billion all by yourself.”

“You… Bastard…!”

As Yeongwoo conjured a loan contract into his left hand, the Conqueror of the Great Lakes lunged forward.

Swish!

However, unlike before, he didn’t aim for Yeongwoo’s body.

Snap!

Instead, he snatched the loan contract from Yeongwoo’s hand.

“I’m first!”

Having witnessed Yeongwoo's combat prowess firsthand, he was the quickest to make the ruthless decision.

“Y-you’re serious?”

The Shadow of Tundra gawked at his companion’s lightning-fast betrayal.

But the true catastrophe was only just beginning.

“Ugh!”

The Guardian of Italy was now sprinting with all his might toward the contract.

Even paying 1 billion was better than being stuck with 1.2 billion.

“Shit! You goddamn morons!”

The Shadow of Tundra clenched his teeth and spat curses, but he, too, reached out for the contract.

Better to pay 1 billion than 1.2 billion, after all.

Swish!

However, just before his fingers could touch the contract, the Italian Guardian hurled his sword, sending the handle slamming into the Shadow’s hand.

Thwack!

“Wha…?”

“Sorry!”

As the Shadow of Tundra staggered, his hand throbbing, the Guardian of Italy finally pressed his hand onto the loan contract.

Thud!

“Ha.”

It was far from an ideal outcome, but at least he had managed to avoid the worst-case scenario.

Thus, the remaining 1.2 billion fell to the Russian powerhouse, just as Yeongwoo had predicted.

“Debt is cheaper than death. Don’t make a regretful choice.”

Yeongwoo coldly held out the contract to the final candidate.

Truthfully, he didn’t want to create unnecessary hostilities on Earth, so he silently hoped the man wouldn’t be foolish enough to resist.

And the Shadow of Tundra, after hesitating for a moment,

“…This is bullshit. You bastard, and you’re going to own our planet?”

Grumbling through clenched teeth, he nevertheless reluctantly signed the contract.

Flash!

With that, Yeongwoo became the creditor of three billion in principal debt, allowing him to collect thirty million Karma in daily interest.

“I won’t specify a repayment date. Just pay it back before you die. But to ensure your compliance, if you miss a payment, I’ll personally come and kill you.”

“…….”

Since they were all from the same planet, there was nowhere to run.

“How do we even pay the interest…?”

“Until I get remote collection privileges, I’ll send someone daily to collect.”

Since his family was still in its infancy, he didn’t yet have the right to automate collections.

‘Now all that’s left is to crush the Council and the rest of Earth.’

Feeling at ease, Yeongwoo glanced up at the sky.

Then, the Guardian of Italy cautiously asked,

“Th-then… are you letting us go now?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes turned toward the man, his expression calm.

“Take off your clothes.”

“…What?”

“You need to leave behind your gear as promised.”

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