Chapter 687

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 687: Special-Grade Supply Crate (4)

-Wh… what, you bastard?

At the words telling him to go back to being a proper one-armed cripple, the arrogance finally vanished completely from Dots Salzeo’s face.

Because he had a strong intuition that the other party would truly swing that sword.

And in reality as well.

Swaaaaaash!

Before Dots’ Subua could even react, Bastard moved first.

Slash!

A dark crimson trajectory brutally tore through the office air.

And then, starting from Dots Salzeo’s shoulder, the prosthetic arm fell off, and before Dots himself could even scream, Subua let out a piercing shriek first.

-Aaaaaaaagh!

For Subua, the Salzeo he served suffering harm was something that could never happen.

To begin with, the very fact that a threat of this magnitude had reached a direct descendant of Salzeo was absurd.

Craaack!

As Subua re-gripped his sword and tried to charge the intruder, Yeongwoo immediately grabbed Dots’ head with one hand and warned him.

“Your memory seems pretty terrible, but if you pull any funny business, this guy’s skull is getting crushed.”

-…What in the world are you even going this far for?

“What else? I told you, I came to shake you down for some money.”

-……?

Even though Yeongwoo had spoken the complete truth, Subua still looked utterly unable to comprehend it.

What kind of lunatic would specifically choose Salzeo as a robbery target?

“First, stop the bleeding.”

As Yeongwoo said that and pulled out the mutation bracelet, “Slime Core,” Dots Salzeo flinched.

-Th-that thing again… what is it?

“Just wear it for a bit. The severed part’ll reattach itself.”

After putting the bracelet onto Dots, whose body had gone completely rigid, Yeongwoo picked up the prosthetic arm lying on the floor.

Slide.

“This bastard had something completely unnecessary attached to him…?”

Of course, it was only unnecessary for Dots Salzeo.

For Yeongwoo, it would definitely be extremely useful.

Because what the guy had been wearing was a legendary prosthetic arm.

「Dogdan」 - Legendary Left Arm

【Hidden Instinct】

【Standing Alone】

【Battle Maniac】

【Hidden Instinct】

|When battle begins, sensory stats increase by 15%.

【Standing Alone】

|When no blood relatives are nearby, all combat abilities increase by 10%.

【Battle Maniac】

|If an enemy is killed within 1 minute, attack power increases by 2%, and this effect can stack up to 15 times.

“Isn’t this practically a prosthetic arm made for warfare? What were you even planning to use something like this for?”

As Yeongwoo asked while holding the prosthetic arm, Dots Salzeo glared at him angrily and answered.

-Since being assigned here, I have not neglected swordsmanship training for even a single day. If you had come looking for me just one year later, the arm falling off would have been yours!

Yeongwoo let out a hollow laugh.

“One year? You bastard, if you’d met me a year later, do you think you’d have even been able to breathe properly?”

What was there to explain at length?

After confirming that Dots’ shoulder had recovered to a certain extent, Yeongwoo took the bracelet back from him.

Then he pondered how to dispose of the prosthetic arm, whose performance was far beyond expectations.

‘Well, I can register it in the Body Encyclopedia first, so I don’t necessarily have to wear it myself.’

Still, its durability would obviously be superior to a human arm’s, and detaching it would also be easier than removing a real arm, so it would clearly be more advantageous for activating “Physical Loss.”

【Power increases by up to 80% depending on the degree of limb loss.】

‘In terms of efficiency, directly using the prosthetic arm is an overwhelming victory, but the problem is…’

Yeongwoo’s gaze returned to the legendary prosthetic arm, “Dogdan.”

Since this prosthetic arm was also a machine, if he chose to wear even this one directly, then both of his arms would effectively become machines.

‘If that happens, then in the event I run into someone who can control machines however they want, wouldn’t I have no way to deal with it?’

For example, there was Lemu, whom he would likely meet again someday, or perhaps that mechanical swordsman Mohir, who might still be chasing after him even now.

“……”

As Yeongwoo stood there holding the prosthetic arm in thought, Neheren, who had been hiding in the corner of the office, tilted his head.

-What are you… thinking about now?

“Ah, it’s nothing much. I was just debating whether to wear this directly or only put it into the encyclopedia.”

-Wear it directly…?

Neheren’s gaze moved toward Yeongwoo’s arm.

This kidnapper’s right arm was already a prosthetic arm, so saying he would wear another prosthetic meant he intended to cut off even his remaining healthy arm, didn’t it?

-You can’t seriously mean you’re going to cut off your arm on purpose, right?

“Well, I’d get stronger if I did. But this time, it’d probably be better not to.”

After much deliberation, Yeongwoo decided to prepare for battles against advanced machinery and registered “Dogdan” into the encyclopedia.

Paaaat!

[Body Encyclopedia]

〔9〕

As a result, the Body Encyclopedia progression rose to 9, and in the corner of Yeongwoo’s vision, he saw an icon shaped like a thick vertical line appear.

The “Standing Alone” effect had already been applied.

【Standing Alone】

|When no blood relatives are nearby, all combat abilities increase by 10%.

‘The profits are already pretty sweet, huh?’

He did feel fairly satisfied already, but wasn’t the robbery only just beginning?

Yeongwoo immediately grabbed Dots Salzeo by the collar and hauled him upright.

“Now then, time to get to the main topic.”

-…The main topic?

“Where’s your vault?”

As Yeongwoo spoke while surveying the spacious office interior, Dots answered with a highly displeased expression.

-A vault? Why would I need such a thing? Merely speaking this body’s name grants me everything.

“What, you bastard?”

Since Yeongwoo somewhat knew that statement was actually true, he momentarily even felt envious.

Still, was the story that there was no vault here really the full truth?

“You say everything’s given to you just by speaking your name? That itself means there’s money piled up somewhere around here.”

-What nonsense are you spouting now?

“There’s gotta be some place that supplies money or whatever else when your orders are given. It’s not like money that never existed suddenly pops out of nowhere.”

At those words, Subua, who had silently been glaring at Yeongwoo, steadied his emotions and spoke.

-There’s no vault like the kind you’re imagining. Most supplies are procured through headquarters distribution channels.

“Ah… so even this place doesn’t have a vault? Just how high up do I have to go before I finally see one?”

Yeongwoo let out a deep sigh, then soon changed his gaze and threateningly re-gripped Bastard.

“But is that really true?”

-……?

“Even this one-armed bastard’s office is this huge, and you’re saying there isn’t a single vault?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

At that, Subua, sensing yet another threat, practically pleaded as he tried to calm Yeongwoo down.

-In a situation like this, what reason would I have to lie? There’s no vault. Within Salzeo, this planet’s rank simply isn’t that high.

“Hm.”

Since they were even bringing up planetary rankings, it at least didn’t seem to be a lie.

So instead of dragging the conversation out further, Yeongwoo swung Bastard toward Dots Salzeo’s remaining arm.

“So, there’s no money? What a shame that is!”

Swaaaaaash!

The moment Subua detected Yeongwoo’s movement, he let out a shrill scream and flattened himself against the floor.

-Reserve funds! There are planetary reserve funds!

At that, Yeongwoo stopped Bastard right above Dots’ right shoulder as if he had been waiting for exactly that.

“Where? I still don’t see anything.”

As Yeongwoo asked without fully withdrawing Bastard, Subua slightly rolled his eyes toward Dots Salzeo.

Naturally, the authority over reserve funds had also been granted to the controller of this planet.

“Hey, hand over the money. They say you’ve got it.”

After noticing Subua’s gaze, Yeongwoo threatened him by swinging Bastard through the air, causing Dots to grit his teeth.

-You intend to disgrace me over such an insignificant amount of money?

“You’ve already been disgraced plenty. Like you said, it’s just pocket change, so what difference does it make whether you lose a little more or not?”

-There’s a huge difference between having two categories of damage and having three.

Even in this situation, Dots Salzeo was afraid of the gaze of his family.

The reputation he held within the family was more terrifying to him than the demonic sword right before his eyes.

“…What the hell is wrong with these bastards?”

Once again realizing just how monstrous the Salzeo family truly was, Yeongwoo lightly stabbed Dots’ shoulder with the tip of Bastard.

Puuuk.

-Kgh!

“Don’t make me into a real villain. I’d prefer to carry out a nice, gentle robbery if possible.”

-You crazy bastard. You’re dead anyway. Whether you kill me or not, the family’s bloody rev—

Puuunch!

Before Dots could even finish speaking, Yeongwoo’s fist smashed straight into his mouth.

“I heard that line enough back in Girgo. No, can’t you tell already? That bastard ended up following me all the way here in the end. You’re no different.”

As Yeongwoo pointed toward Neheren over there, Subua, sprawled on the opposite side, silently sent Dots a look.

A look telling him to quietly hand over the money and plan for the future afterward.

-……

Eventually, Dots Salzeo bent his fingers into a strange shape and slammed them against the floor.

Kuuung!

Then, from the side of the chair Dots had been sitting on, a small mechanical device rose up.

“So this definitely isn’t the kind of vault I was expecting.”

As Yeongwoo said that while staring at the machine, Subua spoke through clenched teeth.

-Converted karma data is stored inside that. Upon contact, it’ll transfer immediately.

“I roughly get it.”

Nodding, Yeongwoo beckoned toward Neheren in the corner of the office.

“Hey, you do it.”

-…What?

“You receive the money first and then hand it over to me.”

In other words, he was telling him to make contact with the machine first.

“Hey, among the people I’ve met was a real scumbag who hid contracts underneath drinking glasses. How am I supposed to know whether touching that thing’ll paralyze me or something?”

-You’re excessively cautious.

“After traveling around space a bit, I realized there’s no such thing as being too cautious.”

As Yeongwoo repeatedly pointed at the device with Bastard, Neheren finally moved over and received the reserve funds of Planet Tsufodal.

“How much is it in total?”

-1.4 billion.

“It really isn’t that much.”

When Yeongwoo then jerked his chin, Neheren approached and lightly grabbed his arm.

And then he transferred the entire 1.4 billion he had just received over to Yeongwoo.

-Then is that everything now?

After witnessing the planetary reserve funds being handed over, Subua spoke in a half-resigned voice.

In response, Yeongwoo declared proudly while holding not one but two Salzeos in the palm of his hand.

“Everything? Come on, use common sense. You think I came all the way here just to make 1.4 billion?”

Then he glanced toward Neheren and asked.

“You should know best. What’s the next thing the one-armed guy has to do?”

At that, Neheren alternated his gaze between Dots Salzeo and the center of the office.

-…You should bring it out now. This really is an emergency situation.

-Bring out what, Neheren?

Instead of answering directly, Neheren simply spread both hands apart.

-Ah.

Seeing his gesture, Dots’ eyes widened.

Come to think of it, there had been absolutely no sign of an emergency supply crate around the Salzeo who had left his own planet.

-You bastard… don’t tell me.

As Dots unconsciously took a step backward, Yeongwoo’s blade immediately approached his neck.

Slide.

“Honestly, you’re curious too, aren’t you? About how much the family values your life at.”

-Not at all. You can’t seriously think some supply crate is equivalent to my worth, can you?

“Then that’s a really big problem.”

-……?

“Because I absolutely need to see your supply crate. This is an emergency situation.”

As soon as Yeongwoo finished those words, he swung Bastard once more, and this time Dots’ right arm fell to the floor.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]