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Chapter 236: The Invincible Sword (3)

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The highest practical authority in China before the reset, and this largely remained unchanged after the reset.

Surprisingly, Im Dupyeong, the President and General Secretary of the Central Committee, had survived.

Of course, a President is only meaningful as long as the ‘state’ exists.

Due to the reset, the entire country had turned into a lawless zone, and dozens of large regions had escaped the Party’s control, rendering the title of President Im Dupyeong effectively meaningless.

So Im Dupyeong’s policy of regaining power from his base in Beijing was ‘One China.’

“One China? Isn’t that something they advocated before?”

Yeongwoo tilted his head as he made a remark, to which Zhang Jaham agreed.

“Yes. But now it means something different. Because China is no longer one.”

It’s not even a federal state.

Even in Shandong Province, relatively close to Beijing, they were trying to kill the President using an expert from Korea.

In a way, the reset had given the people their freedom.

Before the reset, the idea of killing the nation’s leader was unthinkable.

“Is Im Dupyeong that strong? So strong that multiple regions can’t do anything?”

“That we don’t know.”

“Hmm…?”

“We only know that he exists; we’ve never met him directly.”

“What? So, you’re paying tribute to someone you’ve never even met?”

Yeongwoo asked incredulously, and this time Wu Qingjin spoke while looking south.

“The ones who notified us of the collection are the members of the Central Politburo. They are Im Dupyeong’s hands and feet.”

And according to Wu Qingjin, they couldn’t last even three rounds against them.

Thus, it was clear that Im Dupyeong, who commanded them, was the strongest expert in Chinese history.

‘If nothing else, that much is certain.’

Yeongwoo also agreed with Wu Qingjin to a large extent.

Even without considering the martial skills of those so-called Politburo members, it was clear that Im Dupyeong was strong.

[PR/N: Politburo is the principal policymaking committee of a communist party.]

‘It’s a mystery why he wasn’t filtered out in the first phase of the vote, and even more so in the second phase. How did he survive all those assassinations? Did he really have hundreds of millions of karma points?’

If that were the case, then as Wu Qingjin said, Im Dupyeong would be the strongest expert in history.

Imagine blocking countless assassinations and taking the remaining karma points to the exchange.

Im Dupyeong might have started with hundreds of millions of karma from day one of the reset.

‘None of this makes any sense.’

Even Yeongwoo, who had visited dungeons on alien planets multiple times, couldn’t fathom the background of Im Dupyeong.

“So, how much tribute have you been paying to Beijing?”

Yeongwoo asked about the tribute amount, and Wu Qingjin suddenly hesitated, looking at Yeongwoo nervously.

“That is…”

“How much is it?”

When Yeongwoo slightly raised his voice, Zhang Jaham kneeled again as if to share the damage.

“Thirty million per day, Master Jeong!”

“Man, these guys have such cheap knees.”

Thirty million per day.

That’s ten million more than the defense expense fee Yeongwoo had demanded.

‘No wonder they were willing to pay up so easily.’

There was indeed a reason.

From Shandong’s perspective, it was a ten million gain to make a pact with Yeongwoo.

“So, you asked me to do something about Beijing just because of money.”

Yeongwoo said this with a somewhat disappointed look, and Zhang Jaham, still kneeling, made a fist and spoke.

“That’s not it! Im Dupyeong is a dictator… We would have had to rebel against him someday.”

“But you said you couldn’t last even three rounds against the Politburo members, right? How can you be sure I can defeat someone who commands such monsters?”

It’s a hard question to counter.

But the two masters of Shandong overcame this conundrum with a touch of romanticism.

“Invincible Sword…!”

“We believe that Master Jeong can surely do it!”

Their gazes were fixed on the ‘Golden Trail’ shining behind Yeongwoo.

Not only was Yeongwoo himself at an invincible level, but even the automatic hunting greatsword he wielded appeared to be a marvel to the Chinese.

Without understanding its mechanism, it seemed no different from swordsmanship performed with telekinesis.

In other words, Yeongwoo was now a superhuman who had reached the realms of invincible swordsmanship, automatic healing, and an immortal body.

Therefore, the two masters of Shandong had no choice but to bet that Yeongwoo could take Im Dupyeong’s head.

‘What started as just wanting to pull some foreign currency has blown up into something huge.’

Yeongwoo scratched his chin.

Of course, if Im Dupyeong was really alive and still enforcing ‘One China,’ he would eventually become an opponent Yeongwoo had to face.

He was, after all, a thief who had dared to plunder China’s assets.

Thanks to the doctrine of territoriality, his presence was already significant enough that Im Dupyeong wouldn’t just sit back and watch.

“First, let’s cut off that tribute. When do they come to collect it?”

When Yeongwoo asked this, Zhang Jaham bowed his head.

“There’s no fixed time, but… they usually come between five and six in the afternoon.”

“Hmm.”

It seemed that they started collecting after solving all the mutant problems.

‘This complicates the routes a bit.’

Yeongwoo blinked as he quickly spun his thoughts.

Today’s essential task was to return to Gangnam before 1 PM to deal with the mutants.

And if possible, he had to inform about the defense expense fee issue of Shandong Province beforehand.

He needed to get the money through a trustworthy person.

‘Then I’ll have to return to Shandong Province around 5 PM to meet the collection team. Looks like I’ll have to collect today’s defense expense fee myself.’

However, this was contingent upon being able to subdue the collection team without any issues.

Coincidentally, it seemed he would have his skills tested from the very day the agreement was made.

“……”

As Yeongwoo calmly scanned the hundreds of people with fearful faces by the seaside, Wu Qingjin cautiously opened his mouth.

“Master, what are your thoughts? We can’t pay tribute to both sides. 50 million is far too large an amount.”

His implication was clear: if Yeongwoo did not intend to fight Im Dupyeong, it would be difficult to pay the defense expense fee.

And this was, of course, a reasonable statement.

If peace could not be maintained, why should they pay the defense expense fee?

So Yeongwoo said,

“Don’t worry. From today onwards, you only need to pay me 20 million karma.”

“Oh……!”

“Really?”

A large thief instead of a colossal one.

Nevertheless, the two masters of Shandong couldn’t hide their relief.

Politically and financially, it was better to make an agreement with Korea’s Strongest Sword to deal with their own dictator.

“Then, when will the decisive battle with Im Dupyeong be……?”

Wu Qingjin, already eager for the outcome of the agreement, asked, and Yeongwoo shook his head.

“If Im Dupyeong truly survived the vote, his martial prowess must be immense. So, I need to meet him at my full strength.”

First, he needed to handle the mutants in Seoul and then think carefully.

Could he surely win against Im Dupyeong?

‘I only have one life, so I must be cautious.’

As Yeongwoo was steeling his resolve and taking a deep breath, an unexpected notification flashed across his vision.

*Flash!*

「Our national title, Strongest Sword of Gimhae, has been stolen!」

“…Huh?”

Having only ever stolen others’ assets, this was Yeongwoo’s first time seeing a notification about being stolen from.

“What? Wait, Gimhae means…”

Gimhae. In Korea, the name “Gimhae” refers to Gimhae County in Busan Metropolitan City.

It happened to be the time when ‘Pangaea’ was active as well.

Something major had occurred in Busan.

And soon.

*Taang!*

A loud warning sound rang, and for the first time since the reset, an alarm of territoriality for South Korea was triggered.

『Territorialism: South Korea』

| The assets of South Korea have been stolen! The location of the invader is now revealed. Track them down and punish them.

* * *

At the same time, in Cheongsapo, Haeundae-gu, Busan.

The Strongest Sword of Busan, Kang Gyowon, sensed that something was seriously wrong.

Not just because the head of the Strongest Sword of Gimhae, Park Seongjoon, had been cut off in one blow.

“Waaah!”

“Kyahhh!”

The difference in individual combat power wasn’t that significant, but the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.

“How did they gather so many?”

Even the mere sight of nearly thirty swordmasters and Strongest Swords from various regions of Japan was staggering.

In contrast, the total number of the Southern Alliance gathered today was only eleven.

The Southern Alliance thought they were well-prepared, but Japan had come ready for a full-scale war.

Especially, the giant who had just beheaded Gimhae’s head was imposing.

“Haaaah!”

This man, standing at least 2 meters tall, easily beheaded Donggu’s Strongest Sword who rushed in for revenge and locked eyes with Gyowon.

『Yamaguchi Swordmaster』

‘A swordmaster. So that’s a higher title. The swordsmen are relatively weaker.’

It was evident just by seeing Ulsan’s Strongest Sword, Kim Chaena, battling three swordsmen nearby.

Of course, Ulsan was known to be stronger than Gimhae or Donggu’s Strongest Sword, but could the difference be that vast?

‘If she fights that swordmaster, Ulsan won’t last long. And more importantly….’

Gyowon glanced around the darkened Cheongsapo, filled with the shadows of Japanese swordsmen.

Swordmaster aside, they were vastly outnumbered.

Staying here would be suicide.

So Gyowon ultimately decided.

“Retreat! Withdraw from the battlefield immediately!”

He made the call for retreat, even though he was still staring down the Yamaguchi Swordmaster.

It felt like his pride was being crushed under a cigarette, but it was unavoidable.

“What? Retreat? Do you even know what that means?”

As expected, Kim Chaena, who was entangled with the swordsmen, gritted her teeth and asked.

Retreating from Cheongsapo meant immediately falling back to Haeundae.

Essentially, retreating from here meant giving up Haeundae.

However, Gyowon did not reverse his decision.

Because—

*Slash!*

The troublesome swordmaster suddenly shifted his gaze towards Kim Chaena and grasped his sword tightly.

‘He’s moving again…!’

Seeing this, Gyowon dashed in and pulled Kim Chaena out of the battlefield.

“Meaning? Staying here will only mean dying meaninglessly!”

Gyowon nearly crushed Chaena’s forearm as he dragged her, attempting to get out of Cheongsapo.

But—

*Snap!*

Kim Chaena shook off Gyowon’s hand with incredible strength and pierced an approaching swordsman with the tip of her spear.

*Thud!*

“Can’t you see? We have no escape route. Where do you think we’re going?”

Indeed, the rear of Cheongsapo was already occupied by Japanese swordsmen.

Given their numbers, forming a siege wasn’t difficult.

“Just be prepared to kill as many as possible. Someone will come to reclaim this place eventually.”

She suggested reducing the number of Japanese forces for any possible reinforcements.

“Damn it.”

Unlike Chaena, who had resolved herself, Gyowon had been planning for future battles.

He looked around with a grim expression.

The messengers dispatched before the land masses connected would have barely reached major cities by now.

Even if they succeeded in persuading the Strongest Swords of those cities, by the time they arrived here…

“You’re right. Reducing their numbers is the best we can do.”

Finally, when Gyowon’s voice lost its will to survive, Chaena smirked bitterly.

At that moment—

*Clang!*

The powerful swordmaster, who had been slicing through the Strongest Swords of the Southern Alliance, stood before them, looking back and forth between them.

“Why didn’t you gather more forces? It should have been well-known that today the lands would connect. Fairly speaking.”

This was not just a matter of combat strength but also a taunt about their preparedness.

Kim Chaena furrowed her brow, pointing her spear at the man’s face.

“You’re an island, but we’re a peninsula, you idiot. We’re surrounded by enemies.”

Japan’s population was also more than twice that of Korea.

Even taking that into account, it was clear the enemy had meticulously prepared for this invasion.

In the world after the reset, where asymmetrical forces were rare, the side with more swordsmen would inevitably win the war.

‘Damn, we really lost this. We should have requested nationwide help earlier.’

Just as Gyowon clenched his teeth, his pride stung by the swordmaster’s provocation, a strong wind blew from behind him.

*Whoosh!*

Kim Chaena, who had been glaring at the Yamaguchi swordmaster, saw his pupils suddenly dilate in surprise.

“What, what’s happening?”

Unable to turn around due to keeping the swordmaster in check, Chaena asked, and soon a corpse flew in from behind.

*Thud, splat!*

The body, as heavy as a sack of rice, crashed to the ground with a large hole in its forehead.

It was a Japanese swordsman.

“Oh…!”

Whoever it was, they were an ally from within the Korean Peninsula.

Even if they weren’t an ally, it didn’t matter.

As long as they were an enemy of Japan, it was enough.

“Who, who is it…?”

Gripping her spear tightly, Kim Chaena glanced sideways.

She saw another spear blade glimmer in her peripheral vision, accompanied by a voice that sounded like it had just passed through puberty.

“Ah, not here either.”

Unable to contain her curiosity, Chaena turned her head.

“Who, who are you looking for?”

A towering high school student, at least two meters tall, filled her vision.

“Huh…?”

Chaena’s eyes widened in surprise.

The massive spear wielder surveyed the battlefield with a troubled expression.

“Well, if he’s still alive, maybe the Seoul’s Strongest Sword…? But he’s not here, so…”

Sighing, the spear wielder continued.

“He’s either dead or neglecting his duty.”

At this, Gyowon, who had been staring at the corpse on the ground, asked the spear wielder.

“Excuse me, but may I ask who you are and where you come from?”

He asked this because he saw no title above the spear wielder’s head.

The unknown spearman looked around at the Japanese swordsmen surrounding them, then violently thrust his red spear into the ground.

*Thud!*

“The Japanese invaders have attacked, and many towns have fallen. The people, unaccustomed to fighting, could not withstand their blades.”

“What…?”

“1592-1598, the Imjin War. I still remember the passage because it was a question on last week’s exam.”

Then, leaving the members of the Southern Alliance behind, he took a step forward alone.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kang Yechan, the Strongest Spear of Gyeongbuk. And I am an anti-Japanese advocate.”

[PR/N: OFFICIAL RACISM?]