Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 240: The Twin Evils of Joseon (3)

“Hey, mister! W-wait a minute!”

As Yeongwoo was almost done calling out the coordinates, Yechan hurriedly grabbed him.

Taa!

“Why? What’s up?”

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Yechan’s gaze was already directed towards the sky as he asked this.

Though he didn’t know exactly what, he instinctively felt that his master was about to summon something terrifying from the sky once again.

“You said we need to get rid of the bodies. So, I was going to erase them.”

“So, what exactly do you mean by ‘erase’…?”

Yeongwoo was about to talk about the laser cannon while casually looking at the corpses, thinking it was obvious.

He meant that if they used the laser bombardment here, the troublesome corpses would instantly evaporate, and it would also convey to the Southern Alliance people why they must prepare funds.

But before that.

“Oh!”

“…?”

“Hey, Chan, you did well to stop me. That was almost a big mistake.”

“W-what do you mean? By yourself.”

“The bodies. If I’d requested the bombardment immediately, we would’ve been in trouble. We need to collect the loot, don’t we? If they get hit by the bombardment, the equipment and everything will disappear.”

“Uh…?”

Only then did Yechan realize.

The insane bombardment his master was about to request had the power to not only erase bodies but also equipment.

“You’re saying the equipment would disappear?”

“Yeah, since it’s not mine, I was just going to erase it.”

“…….”

Yechan found it hard to believe.

In this world, wasn’t equipment considered nearly indestructible material?

That’s why there was a special equipment effect specifically for destroying equipment below a certain grade.

“How exactly are you going to destroy the equipment?”

“With a laser.”

Swish.

As Yeongwoo nonchalantly pointed a finger at the air, Yechan’s jaw dropped.

So, when he was talking about requesting bombardment from the general or whatever, he was referring to laser bombardment.

“Quickly gather the equipment. I won’t take that away out of conscience.”

When Yeongwoo said this, Yechan, who had been standing in a daze, belatedly started scavenging the corpses of the Japanese soldiers.

He realized that his master’s talk about erasing equipment with laser bombardment was not a joke.

“That’s really absurd. You can destroy equipment with bombardment…?”

As Yechan stripped anything that looked like equipment off the Japanese soldiers’ bodies, Yeongwoo mumbled while looking at the ‘Serpent of Greed’ coiled around his wrist.

“If you knew who was firing that bombardment, you’d find it even harder to believe.”

Right now, Yeongwoo was using the Serpent of Greed to check if there was any loot Yechan might have missed.

Though he was a bandit and a delinquent master, he genuinely cared for Yechan, who had chosen to be his disciple.

That’s why he was even doing something he normally wouldn’t, like leaving some loot behind.

“Got everything? I don’t have much time.”

“Y-yes. I think I got almost everything.”

“Then move back. The impact range is quite wide.”

At Yeongwoo’s words, not only Yechan but also the Strongest Swords of the Southern Alliance, who were standing in line behind him, hurriedly stepped back.

Then.

“Earth! 063, 152, 4675 17!”

Yeongwoo finished calling out the coordinates he had started earlier, and soon.

KABOOM!

With a roar that seemed to tear the sky apart, a laser beam really shot down from somewhere in space.

Fwoosh!

“Huh?”

“What, what is that?”

“It’s a laser…!”

The Strongest Swords instinctively took a step back as they watched the massive laser beam piercing through the sky.

Even the battle-hardened Yechan stared with his mouth agape at the Japanese soldiers’ corpses, which began to turn white.

‘Is this for real? How can a person do this in just five days?’

What were the limits of his master, Jeong Yeongwoo07?

KABOOM!

Everyone was left speechless as they watched the laser beam obliterate the corpses, leaving no trace behind.

At the same time.

‘If that were to fall on our heads…’

‘Its original purpose must’ve been to kill people, right?’

‘Did he say he was from Seoul? What kind of place is Seoul?’

Everyone became fearful of Jeong Yeongwoo and Seoul.

It was clear to anyone that the bombardment was not just for erasing corpses but was a lethal weapon.

Whoosh!

Finally, the laser beam that had enveloped the battlefield ceased, and as expected, nothing was left where the corpses had been scattered.

“Is it done now? Wrap things up and come up to Seoul.”

Yeongwoo said this to Yechan and then added something as if he had almost forgotten.

“And if you have any unused equipment, come to Seoul and sell it to me.”

“Unused equipment…?”

“Yeah. Whatever it is, sell it to me. The more equipment I have, the stronger I get.”

He was talking about his collection, but there was really not much time left.

Taa!

Yeongwoo immediately pulled the reins to move Negwig’s head north and said,

“Since this is an important border area, I won’t collect defense fees. But you must send the promised travel expenses today.”

Although it was practically a one-sided promise, there was no reason for the Southern Alliance to not prepare the travel expenses.

Hadn’t everyone just seen it?

The scene of the laser cannon shooting down from the sky.

What on earth was up there?

While everyone was looking at the sky, Yeongwoo started to ride north again.

* * *

Day 6 of the Reset.

So much had happened in that time that Yeongwoo felt like he had lived not six days but sixty.

It was probably because he had lived each day divided into minutes.

That was one of the few ways to survive in this crazy world.

‘I never knew a day could be this long before.’

As he watched the scenery quickly recede, Yeongwoo checked the time.

Swish.

Current time: 12:38 PM.

In about 20 minutes, the sky would open again, and all sorts of monsters and mutants would pour down.

And right now, Yeongwoo was passing through Seongnam City, the southern gateway into Gangnam.

Smash, smash!

Because he had been running non-stop from Busan, Negwig’s speed had noticeably slowed.

But Yeongwoo couldn’t afford to let the creature rest.

“……!”

Finally, the sky over Seoul, which was starting to become visible, was dyed red.

“Ah.”

That must be…

“…Dragon ceremony.”

Before the first dragon, ‘Poison Dragon Im Kwangho,’ appeared in Seoul, the sky had turned red like that.

And the reason for this phenomenon was none other than to find an opponent.

‘So, marking wasn’t exclusive to the Poison Dragon. Any dragon would come seeking an opponent.’

As Yeongwoo exited Seongnam and entered the outskirts of Gangnam, he saw thunder and lightning in the blood-red sky.

—Hahaha!

Along with a hearty laugh.

The laughter reverberating from the sky was undoubtedly from a high-risk mutant in Seoul on the sixth day.

‘Another dragon is coming today.’

As Yeongwoo was running, looking at the blood-red sky, the voice echoed again.

—No one is stepping up? Disappointing.

Hearing this, Yeongwoo could roughly guess what had been happening in Seoul.

The high-risk mutant of the sixth day had been seeking an opponent long before he arrived in Seoul.

But with the strongest being absent, there was no one in Seoul willing to stand against the dragon…

‘So, how long has this been going on?’

Rumble!

Another round of thunder and lightning struck.

And a voice that seemed genuinely disappointed resounded from the sky.

—If no one steps up…

At this, Yeongwoo immediately raised his bastard sword high and shouted,

“I will!”

—…?

“I will fight! Send the mark!”

When Yeongwoo mentioned the ‘mark’ first, the opponent was so taken aback that they paused for a moment.

After a while.

—…Who are you?

The once arrogant voice now asked cautiously.

Seoul had been cowering with its head down in fear all this time.

Now, suddenly, someone with a formidable aura had appeared, surprising the dragon.

So, Yeongwoo pondered how to introduce himself and then borrowed the phrase from Broker Kubu.

“I am the master of the Bastard, the dragon slayer, Joseon’s Strongest Sword, Jeong Yeongwoo07!”

The reaction was immediate.

—What? Slayed a dragon…?

This indicated that the opponent, who was only projecting their voice, was also a dragon.

However, having already defeated a dragon once and having broken through dungeons in space every night, dragons didn’t seem that formidable to Yeongwoo.

To him, a dragon was just a big lizard that would provide his next heart.

Of course, there was no denying that dragons were quite strong.

“If you have nothing more to say, send down the mark quickly. I’m busy.”

When Yeongwoo, in a disinterested tone, demanded the next sequence of events, a voice, clearly insulted, shouted from the sky.

—What the hell, you punk?

“…?”

Surprised by the suddenly low-class language, Yeongwoo hesitated.

—Do you even know who I am to act like that? Are you not scared?

Though the dragon’s growl was intimidating, Yeongwoo was equally fiery.

“What are you saying? Aren’t you just another spoiled rich kid?”

—What?

Stunned by the accurate jab, the opponent paused momentarily before shouting in an enraged voice that shook the sky.

—I am Song Taeho, the rightful heir of Jinhyeon!

“What?”

Jinhyeon.

The second-largest conglomerate in the country.

While the opponent mentioned it purely to refute being called a “spoiled rich kid,” it struck Yeongwoo differently.

“Jinhyeon? The one where Song Jiseon is the chairwoman?”

Jinhyeon was the family of Yeongwoo’s biological mother, Song Jiseon.

And as expected…

—So-Song Jiseon…!

The voice from the sky practically had a seizure at the mention of Song Jiseon’s name.

While the opponent claimed to be the rightful heir of Jinhyeon, the actual history was entirely different.

Nicknamed the “Iron-Blooded Empress,” Song Jiseon had been the youngest of the candidates for Jinhyeon’s succession but had defeated her two older brothers in the battle for management rights.

Yeongwoo had read articles about this.

So the opponent was…

‘The eldest son of Jinhyeon Group is named Song Taeho.’

The only name Yeongwoo knew from Jinhyeon Group was the famously renowned Song Jiseon.

It was only after the world turned upside down that he learned the name of the family’s eldest son.

And in about ten minutes, he might even meet him in person.

“So… you’re saying you’re the eldest son of Jinhyeon, Song Taeho?”

When Yeongwoo asked for confirmation, the opponent marked Yeongwoo’s head with the character for “General.”

Fwoosh!

「General」

—Now do you understand who you’re daring to challenge?

Still sounding quite angry, Song Taeho was met with a shocking piece of news from Yeongwoo that would immediately cool his anger.

“Do you know who I am?”

—What? You, you’re obviously…

The master of the Bastard, the dragon slayer, Joseon’s Strongest Sword, Jeong Yeongwoo07.

But naturally, Song Taeho couldn’t recall that introduction precisely.

It was as absurd and surreal as his own transformation into a dragon.

But Yeongwoo wasn’t asking to remind him of that sentence.

Snap!

Yeongwoo halted Negwig and interjected his voice amidst the opponent’s bewildered breathing.

“It’s late, but let me introduce myself. I am the illegitimate child of Jinhyeon Group Chairwoman Song Jiseon.”

—……?

“And I am also the son of Kim Jeonggu. My name is Jeong Yeongwoo.”

—Song… Kim… Jeong? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?

Not a single surname matched among the three names.

—And who the hell is Kim Jeonggu?

Now, Song Taeho’s voice was laced with displeasure.

Yeongwoo could only say:

“He’s the man who had a one-night stand with the chairwoman in her youth.”

—What? Had a what?

“Anyway, I’ll see you soon, uncle.”