Chapter 14: 14

Chapter 14: Who's Next?

"I declare."

Kang Jungsoo unknowingly held his breath. Despite his low tone, Limon's voice rang out loudly like a temple bell.

"To those who come for me, give up your hope."

"To those who try to fight me, fight with your life."

"And to those unsure of themselves, get down on your knees and beg for your life immediately."

Limon warned.

"That's my mercy to all of you."

He sounded as dry as a whistle, as if reciting a book he'd memorized. 

But that wasn't all that terrified Kang Jungsoo. Inside his tranquil, golden eyes shone a horrifically pure, crystal clear light. 

It made Kang Jungsoo instinctively take a step back.

"Those still standing after hearing my warning… Be aware that you will not survive to see tomorrow."

It was more of a threat than a warning.

A bold declaration from a man with nothing but a sword, to 200 men equipped with all kinds of guns and items. 

But it couldn't be taken as a joke as it normally would have.

Gulp.

No one laughed at his words. Their anxiety, weak knees and chills on their necks told them…

It wasn't a bluff.

'Kneel down right now.'

'Now's your only chance.'

Their instincts whispered to them.

Their bodies were telling them a premonition before they could process it.

The weight of death would've crushed any regular person immediately. 

But there were two pitiful truths.

One: Everyone of those 200 men were proud, skilled elites that could hold up the weight of death.

Two: Their commander grossly overestimated how good his own judgment was, enough to ignore his instincts. 

He immediately gave orders to keep up the faltering morale.

"What are all of you doing sitting around this piece of nonsense for?! Take your positions!"

Aside from them being the right or wrong calls, Kang Jungsoo was an effective commander.

Those who were on the fence on listening to their pride or their instincts, as soon as they heard his command, every single one of them devoted their minds to fighting Limon.

It was in an astoundingly uniform fashion.

And it was those most accustomed to following orders that marked the beginning of the battle.

"All units, open fire!"

 

***

 

Ratatatata—

When it came to levels, Squad 909 was the weakest among everyone. It was inevitable, when they weren't players who made a living off of the dungeon, but soldiers. 

But in terms of strength, they were stronger than any other group.

The secret was in their equipment.

Exoskeleton KIM-S009.

[Skeleton Knight's Bones], [Armor of the Living Army], [Fragments of the Metal Golem], [Shadow Hunter's Arrowheads], and many more. 

Crafted from the drops of high-level monsters above level 70, it was the cutting-edge magnum opus of the National Defense Research Institute.

Thanks to the costly materials, it was notorious for being more expensive than a combat plane. But that also spoke of how incredible the exoskeleton's performance was.

It could balance out the playing field for a level 30 mid-level player going against a level 60 player.

Because of its main armament, the shadow bullet, it was a piece of equipment even high-level players feared. It had the ability to ignore all defense.

Now, what if 50 members of Squad 909 all fired at once with the KIM-S009?

It'll basically be a death sentence.

Unless they had a special skill like 「Absolute Defense」, it would be impossible for even the highest level players to guard against the shower of shadow bullets.

"…What was that?"

Which was why Mira, the guild master of 『Stardust』, was dumbfounded.

"What just happened…?"

Mira couldn't understand.

How was Limon still standing after being on the receiving end of a barrage from Squad 909?

And why did all 50 of the soldiers fall after opening fire?

It was so mysterious, she thought for a moment that Squad 909 could have used a deception tactic. 

Roll—

A shattered head, an eyeball rolling on the ground… The warm blood splattered on her face. It was undeniable

'Squad 909 was annihilated…?'

Squad 909 consisted of no ordinary soldiers.

It was an elite troop, where each individual was the equivalent of a high-level player. Just five of them could decimate the majority of guilds.

They were masters of combat that even Mira, a level 93 Grand Duke, would struggle with if she went against just ten of them.

And yet, their annihilation happened less than a second after their attack.

Of course, she wasn't the only one in shock.

No one could believe their eyes either.

"…Oh… my god."

He barely managed to get the words out of his mouth.

"Mr. Ahn Dongkwon?"

"Holy shit… How did he just do that…?"

"Do what? Did he use some sort of skill?"

The Guild Master of 『New Divinities』 was as pale as a corpse.

Thanks to his unique skill, he was the only person who could see what Limon had done.

"No."

"Huh?"

"That wasn't a skill."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

Mira was astonished. She thought it was obvious Limon had used a skill.

Of course, that was only possible if Limon was both a Swordmaster and a Grand Duke-level player.

Yet still, that was what she chose to believe.

To her, unless he used skills like 「Time Stop」 or 「Verbal Authority」, what he did was impossible.

But Ahn Dongkwon cried out against her beliefs.

"That monster deflected the bullets back at Squad 909 with his sword!!!"

For a very brief moment, Mira couldn't understand what he said.

And once she did, her face contorted even more.

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"De-deflected? All 50 of the shadow bullets… shot simultaneously at supersonic speeds?

"That's right."

"With just… swordsmanship?"

"……Most likely."

"How… How is that even possible?!"

Mira looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her sockets. 

But Ahn Dongkwon didn't say a word back.

Whether she got it or not, what just happened wouldn't change.

"That's… That's not possible. Even a player who mastered a sword skill couldn't……"

Biting her nails and muttering to soothe her anxiety, she suddenly shut her mouth. She'd realized who she was really going up against.

Limon Asphelder.

An ancient relic who only knows how to swing a sword.

A symbol of the past who met his downfall as times changed.

She thought it was more than just a good deal if she could look good to the Infinite Monarch and not be indebted to the PAB director anymore, just by getting rid of some goner like him.

The reason Limon passed as the 'Guardian of Humanity' was because there were no players back then.

Only in the past were martial artists effective. Just as how they were hopeless when on the receiving end of a gun barrel, there was no longer any need for a Swordmaster in this day and age.

Those were her thoughts.

She judged that getting rid of a 'civilian' who could swing around a sword decently would be a piece of cake.

…But was that really a good judgment?

'Why…?'

Mira, the guild master of 『Stardust』.

She was of a level not even a hundred players had reached — a Grand Duke.

Proud of her wider knowledge as compared to others, it was then that she felt a great sense of incompatibility with her reality.

'Why did I think a Swordmaster would be weaker than me?'

Compared to players who could handle powerful skills and bring tremendous wealth and development to the world, Swordmasters only knew how to wield swords.

That was why they were considered goners.

But to put it the other way around?

That meant they were definitely good with a sword.

Like how a well-off businessman wasn't stronger than a soldier or martial artist just because they were more respected in society — just because players had a better reputation and made a lot of money doesn't necessarily mean they could fight and win against the Swordmaster.

Just as how the rich aren't on guard against a soldier, she didn't doubt her beliefs that merely being good at wielding swords would make Limon her match when she could use skills.

But could one really describe that swordsmanship as 'merely'?

Was he able to reign as an Absolute Ruler, just because there were no players?

Was she… Rather, were they ridiculously delusional about Limon Asphelder, bound under social notions?

Had they been an old man who thought he'd be safe even after smacking an armed soldier with a money bag, just because he was rich?

Or maybe…

Like a puppet getting drawn into a fire by someone holding the strings, unaware they were a puppet.

"So."

The very person who annihilated Squad 909 with just a sword. He had a woman's body in his arms. He didn't even need to set her down.

"Who wants to die next?"

Mira trembled as she looked at humanity's last Swordmaster. The Absolute Ruler who maintained peace for centuries among humanity by saving the world multiple times. His eyes were as cold as ice.

 

***

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Translator - woni

Proofreader - sharlottle

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***

 

Kang Jungsoo kept his composure when he saw Squad 909 get annihilated instantaneously.

No matter how much they increased their attack power with expensive gear, they were still mid-level players. It was possible for them to die in vain if they let their guard down.

He was surprised but accepted it when the criminal players and killers who attacked were slaughtered in the blink of an eye.

Their self destruction was the result of attacking without coordination,  as expected of a criminal organization with no combat training.

He believed until that point — if the remaining 120 high-level players could properly execute their skills,

And if the two Grand Dukes who he only managed to invite after promising huge benefits, Mira and Ahn Dongkwon, would step forward, things would turn out differently.

……Until a couple minutes ago.

He was stunned from the devastation for a while. Frozen and unable to breathe as if someone had been putting him in a chokehold, Kang Jungsoo opened and shut his mouth.

"How— how could this… This can't be…"

"You dumb fucking piece of shit."

"Eek!"

Kang Jungsoo fell down as he backed away in panic. Hurriedly turning around and crawling away, he once again froze in terror.

A head with both eyes blasted was right in front of his face.

But it wasn't just the head.

A mercenary sliced in half down the middle. A PAB agent with a gaping hole in their chest. A player with their head smashed in.

And countless more visceral scenes of death. 

Surrounding him were mountains of horrific bodies he couldn't bear to see with his eyes.

"Did you really try to come at me with those 200 children?"

"……Wh-what have you done?!"

The very person responsible for the mountains of corpses. Staring at the white-haired young man who didn't have a single drop of blood on him, Kang Jungsoo unknowingly cried out.

"Do you know who these people were?! They were the future of our country! They were going to become the pillars of our society for at least half a century!"

This wasn't an over exaggeration.

30 elite PAB agents,

50 fully armed troops from Squad 909.

38 frontliner guild members from 『Stardust』 and 『New Divinities』.

On top of that, 50 S-rank mercenaries of Black Wolf and 30 various criminals and killers.

The last two groups may be an exception, but there were still 118 state-affiliated players who were killed.

Among them, 68 were high-level players.

In this day and age, every individual high-level player was their own one man enterprise and Art of War.

68 of such high-level players getting slaughtered at once had never happened before since the start of the Iron Age.

If word of this got out, the entire nation would be shaken.

However, Limon laughed coldly at Kang Jungsoo's outcries.

"So what about it?"

 

——

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