Chapter 464

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Chapter 464: Friend (1)

“Uh.”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Kang Hongtae swing his foreleg.

Because—

SSSSKREEEEECH!

‘Wait, that guy isn’t affected by deference?’

No matter how draconic he was, Kang Hongtae was just a mutant—there was no way his Prestige outmatched Emel’s.

Yeongwoo, whose current Prestige Level was 38, was required to show deference to Emel. That meant Emel’s Prestige Level had to be at least 41.

「He’s screwed…!」

And yet, the former conglomerate boss didn’t even flinch.

To Yeongwoo, it was baffling.

‘Is he just so ignorant about this universe that he’s immune to deference? That can’t be it, right?’

Just as that thought crossed Yeongwoo’s mind, Kang Hongtae’s foreleg finally reached Emel’s head.

‘No way…’

As Yeongwoo gripped Bastard in preparation for a follow-up attack, Emel’s body twisted swiftly in place.

SSSHHHK!

To be precise, he spun.

He raised his dual swords high into the air, then spun rapidly like a drill, three or four full turns.

Naturally, Kang Hongtae’s descending foot—

CRACKCRACKCRUNCH!

「Aaaarrgh!」

—was torn apart, as if pierced by a massive bullet.

Scales and flesh began to shred and fly.

SKKRRRREK!

With a grotesque tearing sound, Kang Hongtae’s flesh was sliced open, and Emel’s dual swords shot up through the top of his foot.

‘So it doesn’t work after all.’

Yeongwoo had somewhat expected this outcome, but seeing Kang Hongtae get struck down made him feel no better.

After all, as Hongtae said, that one was an alien—and this side?

Human.

An Earthling.

‘Of course, blood is thicker than water.’

On top of that, Hongtae clearly had a weak stomach.

The moment he saw his own foot being shredded, he vomited yellow bile.

「BLEEEUGH!」

‘What the hell? Is this a side effect of resisting deference?’

As Yeongwoo questioned it internally, Earth made its Prestige felt within his consciousness once again.

○ He’s just not brave enough.

‘What? So it really is just that he’s got a weak stomach?’

Then again, unless someone had nerves of steel, it was only natural to panic upon seeing one’s own limb being impaled.

And Kang Hongtae had returned thinking he, as the “first mutant,” would be able to overpower the adversaries.

Instead, he was met with an alien whose dual blades were tearing through his scales.

Being rattled was only natural.

‘Damn it. Totally useless.’

○ Still, Kang Hongtae’s deference suspension is still active.

‘Huh? Deference suspension?’

○ I’m talking about the original calamity surrounding him.

‘Ah.’

Yeongwoo’s gaze shifted back to Hongtae, who was still vomiting into the air.

「GAARRGHH!」

The unsightly mutant had a special buff equipped—a buff that not only enhanced his abilities but also temporarily suspended the effects of deference against higher beings.

‘Wait, but if it’s a suspension… doesn’t that mean the effect eventually kicks in? How long does the suspension last?’

○ It depends on the individual. As short as a minute, as long as ten.

‘Ten minutes? You could pull off three coups in that time.’

○ …What?

Before Earth could finish its ominous reply, Yeongwoo hurled Bastard at Emel.

SSSSKREEEEECH!

Since it was a throw imbued with killing intent, Emel naturally turned his attention toward Yeongwoo.

—You’ve crossed even your own boundaries, I see.

THWAAAAANG!

It wasn’t even a block.

Emel casually swung one of his dual blades, and Bastard bounced back.

In that brief moment, Yeongwoo shouted toward Kang Hongtae.

“Fall back! I’ll handle this one!”

Hongtae, still dripping yellow bile from his lips, flared his red scales and snapped back.

「What? You’re gonna handle it?」

“Yeah, damn it. What do you expect from someone too busy puking over a broken foot?”

「You…!」

Despite his weak stomach, Kang Hongtae had a nasty temper.

Just as he was about to shout back, a crushing weight pressed down on his chest.

「Huk…!」

Deference, which had been temporarily suspended, returned.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Yeongwoo reached out, preparing for Emel’s counterattack.

He extended his arm to retrieve Bastard.

But—

FWIP!

Just as he reached out, Emel’s foot came down on Bastard.

CRACK!

“Huh?”

What startled Yeongwoo wasn’t Emel’s absurd agility—but the fact that Bastard wasn’t being retrieved.

‘No way.’

The recall force of Bastard was tremendous.

It could tear through armor to return to Yeongwoo’s hand.

Yet Emel was suppressing it with just one foot.

And that wasn’t all.

—You’re quite skilled for one who only purchased a fleeting moment.

Emel had instantly deduced that Yeongwoo was attempting a remote retrieval.

Not only was he a master of martial arts, but his combat experience was immense.

‘Well, yeah. If your family’s survived for hundreds of millions of years, you’d have data on every kind of opponent. I really underestimated this bastard.’

Things like “weapon recall” or “psychic blade mastery” that amazed people on Earth were no surprise here.

“……”

Though the arena was still hot from the earlier breath attack, cold sweat trickled down Yeongwoo’s temple.

He still had one card left.

If the lords present had never seen a “reset” before, it would be a surprising trump card.

“I believe we’ve seen enough of your martial prowess today, young lord. So…”

Yeongwoo made a final attempt at a ceasefire.

Emel responded with a single motion.

—Silence.

THUMP!

He kicked Bastard back toward Yeongwoo.

SSSSHHHHK!

“…What?”

Faster than its usual recall speed, Bastard rocketed toward Yeongwoo, who barely managed to block it with Aratubank.

CLAAANG!

Seeing the shield, Emel’s expression shifted slightly—he realized it, too, was a divine artifact.

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—In respect to the Head Maon of Tiseph, I won’t take your life today. However—

Shing.

Emel raised a sword and pointed it at Aratubank.

—I will still take payment for the offense you’ve shown me—and the House of Shirach.

“……!”

He was demanding Aratubank.

Rage flared in Yeongwoo’s chest like never before.

“Like hell, you psycho.”

Aratubank was a divine relic promised to be returned to Lord Bang and the Red Foot Clan someday.

And before that, it was the sacred artifact of his brothers.

So it was obvious that losing this would cause a lot of serious problems.

"Cut the bullshit and just kill me instead."

As Yeongwoo spoke through clenched teeth, gripping Aratubank and the Bastard tightly, Emel spun his sword once in midair.

—That’s not something you get to decide.

Then, in an instant, Emel’s figure blurred, and Yeongwoo’s vision was dyed in a violet hue.

A holographic guide of the regional swordsmanship had activated.

“……!”

With that, Yeongwoo instinctively realized that Emel had begun ultra-high-speed movement.

In reality, Emel hadn’t become blurry—Yeongwoo’s cognitive speed simply couldn’t keep up with Emel’s movements.

So—

“Ghh!”

Yeongwoo hastily retreated, raising Aratubank in a guard stance.

As expected, a sharp screeching sound rang out from beyond Aratubank’s thick armor.

Screeeeech!

Emel had lunged in an instant and stabbed the exterior of Aratubank.

‘Damn it, I’m not even reacting to the guide—I'm having to rely on pure predictive defense.’

A different level—no, a different dimension entirely.

Add Emel’s natural finesse to the gap in fundamental combat skills, and this is what happens.

—…….

—Hah.

Meanwhile, the heads of the noble houses watched the fight between these two monsters in stunned silence.

The one being overwhelmed now—wasn’t he the same lord of the Renaissance House who once exchanged blows with Bioto of the Satral House?

In other words, this battle was also an answer to the unspoken question: What would happen if each of them fought Emel, the minor lord of Shirach, seriously?

And the result?

Wham!

Emel, moving like a feather, kicked Aratubank, and Yeongwoo, who had been gripping it, was sent sprawling disgracefully.

Thud!

—Oh……!

—Ah…!

At that, the gathered house lords gasped involuntarily.

Was there truly no one who could stand against the Shirach clan?

If even the bare minimum of synergy had been possible, the disappointment wouldn’t be this deep.

But what was happening now was, frankly…

—A one-sided beating, as expected.

Just then, Bioto—the only one who had ever exchanged blows with Jeong Yeongwoo07—let out a low sigh, spotting something.

Yeongwoo07, lying on his back, was pulling something out from inside his chest.

—What, he’s not thinking of committing suicide, is he?

Zeana, lord of the Tucson House, tilted her head with a puzzled murmur.

Her home, the sacred planet Shariphi, had a custom where losing a duel meant taking poison and dying.

But Bioto shook his head.

—Not that guy. He’d rather…

Rather embrace his opponent and blow himself up instead—but Bioto left that part unsaid, because he, too, was rendered speechless.

Skkk.

Yeongwoo07, having pulled something from his chest, made a piercing sound.

BEEEEEEEEEEP!

—What the…

—What is that?

—A scream?

As the unfamiliar whistle echoed, the saturation of the area suddenly dropped, and the sky split open like paper.

Craaaack!

And from within that rupture, even Emel had to look up in response to the intense Prestige that surged forth.

It was none other than—

「Yaaaaaaah!」

The original friend, Hong Yeongtae, along with four members of the penal laborer squad.

Mutated warriors, empowered by the "Furst Calamity" buff thanks to Dragon Kang Hongtae, who was currently in Gwangjin-gu.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Gnoll, Granite Golem, White Tiger, Harpy.

A somewhat ragtag team of mutants landed one after another near Yeongwoo, as Emel glared with white pupils, radiating pressure.

—What are these lowlifes?

But the mutants, who had fallen from the sky—or perhaps from space—didn’t even flinch in the face of Emel’s pressure.

Because they had been granted temporary immunity from his aura.

“Lowlifes? They’re my friends.”

Seeing that his ‘friends’ were unaffected by Emel’s Prestige, Yeongwoo slowly got back on his feet.

At that moment, General Kim Younghyeom twitched his white mustache and spoke.

「If even you couldn’t beat him, what the hell can we do?」

He had been watching Yeongwoo getting pummeled from the Returnee’s Room.

At that, Yeongwoo readjusted his grip on the Bastard and wrinkled his nose.

“You seem unusually energetic today, don't you?”

「Huh? Oh, now that you mention it…」

It wasn’t just energy.

In the corner of each friend’s vision, the buff icon indicating the "First Calamity" was visibly glowing.

“So if we fight him six-on-one, we might be able to pull something off.”

「Six-on-one? There’s only five of us.」

General Kim lifted his white front paw and folded one claw at a time.

Four ‘friends’ plus Yeongwoo made five in total.

Unless the Hwayong on the other side joined them, that should’ve been everyone.

「Is the one-legged guy joining too?」

At that, Yeongwoo stood Aratubank upright and released its lock.

Clunk!

“No, one more’s coming.”

Then, bringing his face close to Aratubank, he spoke in a low voice.

“What are you doing in there? Hurry up and get out.”

∴ Ah.

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