Chapter 684

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Chapter 684: Special-Grade Supply Crate (1)

The younger sibling of the Young Patriarch who was missing an arm.

Since he had failed the qualification exam, his rank within the family was surely low, yet hearing that he was the Young Patriarch’s younger brother also made it seem unlikely that he would be treated that poorly.

“But still… if the Young Patriarch personally paid attention to the composition of his supply crate and even raised his security level, then that’s not really mistreatment, is it?”

—But his actual rank is low. He practically has no voice within the family, and the planet he was assigned to is merely an unimportant frontier region.

“Ah, well. The fact that it’s close to where you were stationed says enough.”

At Yeongwoo’s remark, Neheren frowned slightly before turning his gaze toward outer space beyond the window.

At present, Earthship was traveling toward the destination Neheren had mentioned earlier—the planet Tspodal.

—Still, his rank is higher than mine. And the other direct descendants ignore him far less too. After all, he has the Young Patriarch’s backing.

“Him? Sounds like you and that one-armed guy aren’t exactly close.”

At that, Neheren looked momentarily flustered as he turned toward Yeongwoo.

—W-we’re not exactly on good terms.

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better for people at the bottom of the rankings to stick together? Besides, earlier you said you wanted to protect the other Salzeos.”

—I still do want to protect them. But if I absolutely had to hand over one of my siblings, then he’d be the first choice.

“Why exactly? Because unlike the other failures, he has someone backing him?”

—…You’ll understand once you meet him.

Neheren held back his words.

Perhaps, as the refined child of a prestigious house, he simply didn’t want to continue badmouthing his sibling.

So Yeongwoo did not pry further.

Just as Neheren said, he would find out once they met anyway, and what mattered most to Yeongwoo was the contents of the supply crate.

“Yeah, whatever. No need for me to know the details of your family feud. I just need to get my hands on that guy’s supply crate.”

—Then don’t ever forget this. The owner of the supply crate has to be alive for the seal to be released.

“Don’t worry. I’m not the type who enjoys deliberately killing people who can’t even fight properly.”

After saying this, Yeongwoo asked again to confirm.

“That one-armed guy’s crate really is definitely better than yours, right?”

—…Probably.

“Probably?”

—I didn’t know what was inside my own supply crate until it was opened. How would I know the state of someone else’s crate?

Then Neheren added after a pause.

—But there was definitely far more investment put into his than mine. The Young Patriarch really did intervene in the organization of that crate, after all. Honestly, even I’m curious about what’s inside it.

“Then it’s definitely worth opening.”

Convinced by Neheren’s explanation, Yeongwoo nodded and shifted his gaze toward Mantero.

“Deputy, how much longer until we reach the destination?”

At Yeongwoo’s question, Mantero, who was at the helm, turned his eyes toward the monitor.

—We should enter Tspodal’s territorial zone in about ten minutes.

“Ten minutes? We’re almost there.”

This time, Earth spoke to Yeongwoo.

『If Tspodal is also a kind of tactical stronghold, then there probably isn’t a visitor menu or anything like that. Just like Girgo.』

“Ah, true.”

『Then are we just going to start blasting cannons and descend like we did at Girgo? I need to know in advance, which is why I’m asking.』

“Well? Wouldn’t this time be a bit different? We’ve got a Salzeo on our side.”

As Yeongwoo said this and turned his head toward Neheren, his dark blue pupils trembled briefly.

“What, can’t you prevent Tspodal’s anti-air cannons from firing by presenting your personal code?”

—I suppose I can… but we never agreed that I’d openly act as your accomplice.

“That’s exactly the agreement we’re making right now.”

—…What?

“So you want a planetship bombarding the planet where your family lives?”

—T-that’s…

Neheren’s expression stiffened hard.

Although he was disappointed in the family that had abandoned him and was partially cooperating with a robber because of it, he had not completely lost his feelings for his clan and blood relatives.

“You already experienced it yourself, didn’t you? There aren’t many planets capable of enduring our firepower. And if it’s a frontier tactical planet, then even less so.”

That was half a lie.

The only reason Earthship had been able to conquer Planet Girgo so easily was entirely thanks to the Level 4 prisoners.

Of course, with the addition of Headmaster Herisa’s numerous ship cannons, Earthship would probably still have been able to neutralize Girgo’s anti-air network eventually even without the prisoners’ help.

But it was equally obvious that Earthship itself would have suffered considerable damage during a prolonged battle.

In other words, this opponent had a higher level of security than Girgo, and all the Level 4 prisoners were gone now, meaning the invasion difficulty would be far greater.

Which meant that, in practice, Neheren’s assistance was essential to Yeongwoo.

“When we arrive at Tspodal, use your personal code to open the route. Then I’ll also do my best to avoid bloodshed inside Tspodal.”

—And if I refuse?

When Neheren lifted his chin stubbornly with a resolute face, Yeongwoo’s expression turned fierce.

“Are you really trying to turn a businessman like me into a thug?”

It was a threat that, if necessary, he would subdue Neheren by force and make him use his personal code.

—Businessman…? You’re a robber. Do you not know what robbery means? It already inherently involves violence, directly or indirectly.

As expected of someone educated by a prestigious family, Neheren rebutted him without flinching.

At that, Yeongwoo chuckled lowly.

“If possible, I’d prefer you call it a violence business.”

—Violence… what?

“Honestly, I don’t bear any ill will toward you people. All I want is to take the money you possess.”

—That’s exactly what people usually call robb….

Neheren trailed off and shook his head.

Because Planet Tspodal had already become visible beyond the window.

“The choice is yours. Either obediently open the path, or personally experience the practical side of the violence business.”

—Even if I open the way, that won’t solve every problem. The office itself will still have considerable security.

“That’s something we can think about after we get inside the planet. Let’s deal with the obstacle right in front of us first.”

The moment Yeongwoo said this, Earthship entered Tspodal’s territorial zone, and familiar text soon appeared.

「You are now entering territory under the jurisdiction of the Salzeo Family.」

Then, just like at Girgo, a one-sided and forceful warning appeared.

「Warning lights will now activate sequentially. The third warning light is the signal for attack, so if you do not wish for combat, withdraw from the territory.」

“Alright, this is the point where we fired the cannons and began our descent. What does Salzeo do here?”

As Yeongwoo asked while looking at Neheren, he soon extended the personal code on his wrist toward the communication screen glowing white.

—…This should probably deactivate the alert state.

“That’s practically a master key.”

The instant Yeongwoo said this, the warning message displayed on the bridge windows vanished without a trace.

Then, an unusually polite message appeared in its place.

「Lord Neheren Salzeo, welcome to Tspodal. We will now display coordinates available for docking.」

At the same time, several massive pillars of light rose from points across Tspodal’s planetary surface, and a series of coordinates was transmitted through the public channel Mantero was monitoring.

—Tspodal has sent several coordinates, but they’re quite far from the office location Lady Neheren provided.

At this report from Mantero, Yeongwoo nodded as if he had expected that.

“We’re guests arriving from outside, after all. There’s no way they’d let us dock near the person who controls the planet.”

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—Then… what should we do? Tspodal will notice our existence soon enough, and since they already know about the Girgo incident, they’ll definitely attack us.

Our existence.

He meant the planetship.

“We still don’t know the locations of their anti-air cannons like last time, right?”

—Yes. We can only accurately determine the locations of the anti-air cannons installed on the planet once Tspodal initiates an attack.

“But we do know the exact location of the office.”

—…Yes.

However, if they bombarded the office, the one-armed owner of the supply crate would die, making the entire reason they had come here meaningless.

Sure enough, Neheren hurriedly reminded them of this fact.

—You didn’t forget, did you? Only the owner can open the supply crate. And only if the owner’s biological signals are clearly active.

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m not planning to blow up the office.”

Yeongwoo blinked rapidly.

It meant he was thinking hard.

Then he abruptly turned his head toward Poachi Shalmoram.

“Mr. Poachi.”

―……?

“They say your nickname is the sword that saves lives, right?”

At that, Poachi rolled his single eye toward Yeongwoo.

―At the very least, it does not take lives.

“Then how about coming down there with me?”

As Yeongwoo said this while pointing toward Planet Tspodal, Poachi revealed confusion.

―Why……?

“There are many people on Tspodal who need your help, sir.”

At that, Tiape, who had been silently listening, stepped between Yeongwoo and Poachi as though shielding the latter.

―You bastard! You sinister planetship lord! What scheme are you plotting this time? Shalmoram only draws his sword when he can save lives. He is not someone who can associate with a scoundrel like you.

In response, Yeongwoo shrugged and stepped back once.

“That’s exactly why I’m giving him an opportunity. An opportunity to save lives.”

―What?

“If we can’t strike their anti-air cannons preemptively, then our only option is to head to the one-armed man’s office and seize control of the anti-air authority. If we twist his one remaining arm, we can make sure they don’t fire at us.”

Then Yeongwoo raised his index finger and added,

“But unlike at Girgo, this guy is under extremely tight security. So I’ll have no choice but to fight with my full strength too, and the result of that will be….”

Quiiik!

Yeongwoo lightly stabbed the bridge floor with Bastard, causing red sparks to scatter.

“A large number of Salzeo guards dead. Well, if luck goes badly, I might die too, and in the worst-case scenario, we might get hit by anti-air fire and countless people could die.”

―You spout nonsense.

“I’m not spouting nonsense. No matter what, a considerable amount of death is going to happen because of this incident. But if Mr. Poachi accompanies me to Tspodal.”

Yeongwoo paused briefly and stared into empty space.

Poachi was a Level 3 Virtuous One.

No matter how strict Tspodal’s security might be, could it really stop the intrusion of a Level 3 existence?

“If you help us even a little, sir, we can enter the one-armed man’s office without bloodshed. Then wouldn’t that itself become an act of saving lives?”

―…….

Tiape, rendered speechless, could only gape beneath the silver-white mask.

Because it was pure sophistry.

―To begin with… none of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t started all this in the first place?

“But it’s already happened. No, think about it carefully. It’s the same concept as karma. Why is eliminating a great evil considered a virtuous deed? Isn’t it because you prevented the evil acts that great evil would commit in the future?”

―…T-that’s.

“So this is the same thing. Preventing the killings that are certain to happen soon. And this time, we don’t even need to hurt anyone. You just need to subdue the Salzeo forces.”

As Yeongwoo finished speaking and looked at Poachi as though expecting an answer, Poachi soon expressed his refusal.

―Your words are correct in principle. However, by the same principle, they would bring about an even greater problem, and so in the end they become incorrect.

“What greater problem?”

―If Salzeo discovers that I aided the lord of a planetship, then a bloody revenge will surely follow. Against all Shalmorams throughout the universe, and perhaps even Delmir itself would suffer their wrath. So how could this possibly be called a small issue?

At these words, Yeongwoo’s eyes lit up as though he had been waiting for them.

“Ah, so you do want to save the Salzeos on Tspodal, but you’re trying to prevent the even greater slaughter that would inevitably follow because of retaliation, correct?”

―…Correct.

Poachi looked at Yeongwoo with deeply suspicious eyes.

Then, with an extremely excited face, Yeongwoo suddenly pulled out a cloak.

“In that case, there’s no problem. I’ll lend you an invisibility cloak.”

「Delusion」 – Legendary Cloak

【Homogenization】

| The cloak’s surface projects the surrounding environment. However, it can be seen through by extremely powerful detection abilities.

When Yeongwoo actually produced the invisibility cloak, not only Poachi but even Tiape became flustered and exchanged glances with each other, and Yeongwoo pressed the advantage by draping the cloak over Poachi himself.

“There, the big problem’s gone now, right? Let’s hurry and go save some lives.”

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