Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 232

————

Chapter 232: The Imjin War (4)

Incheon Metropolitan City.

Located in the western part of South Korea, Incheon is not only home to Incheon Port but also to Incheon International Airport, making it effectively a major gateway to South Korea.

With a population of 3 million, it is the third-largest city after Seoul and Busan, underscoring its significant importance.

This is especially true in times when it directly borders China.

“Sa… You shouldn’t just kill people! These are all our national defense forces!”

Even though Yeongwoo was half-crazed, he remembered that his country needed to secure as much power as possible.

So.

Clack!

Even after confirming through the evil meter that his opponent’s evil score was a whopping 1,200, he didn’t draw his sword.

Of course, the practical reason was…

“Kind of… ambiguous? Still, it’s on the higher side, right?”

Yeongwoo’s current evil score was a whopping 50 million.

So, it was natural for him to see 300 or 1,200 as equally small numbers.

‘Killing him wouldn’t even register on my evil score.’

He had hoped to meet the worst villain in Incheon, but reality was not so accommodating.

“…”

As Yeongwoo lowered his gun in disappointment, the so-called leader of the Incheon coalition rushed at him at high speed.

“Stop right there!”

“Stop…?”

Perched atop the nether creature, Yeongwoo found the command baffling.

Whish!

When Yeongwoo landed on the ground to meet his opponent, Bupyeong, who was terrified, shouted at him.

“M-Mister! You can’t use weapons here! Not even guns!”

“What? Then what am I supposed to fight with…?”

As Yeongwoo turned to Bupyeong with a look of incredulity, a sensory alert appeared in his vision.

「Your sensory score has temporarily increased from 3,400 to 5,532.」

Finally, the Incheon leader had launched an attack on the outsider.

‘Wow, what the hell?’

Yeongwoo blinked as he saw his sensory score surpass 5,000 in an instant.

The opponent was indeed a formidable master.

Moreover, impressively enough.

Whizzzz!

The Incheon leader was swinging his fist, not a sword.

‘What the… is this bastard for real?’

Bupyeong Strongest Sword’s claim that weapons were not used here was true.

“So, Incheon fights with fists, not swords?”

Since the hologram warning of the opponent’s attack was right in front of him, Yeongwoo twisted his upper body to avoid the Incheon leader’s punch.

Swish.

The opponent’s right forearm, heavily tattooed, narrowly grazed Yeongwoo’s chin.

“You bastard…!”

The Incheon leader gritted his teeth in frustration.

Only then did Yeongwoo confirm the opponent’s title.

『Namdong’s Strongest Sword』

‘So, even though he’s the leader of Incheon, he’s not Incheon’s Strongest Sword?’

This meant that the best swordsmen in Incheon had never fought each other.

To become Incheon’s Strongest Sword, one needed titles from at least three districts.

‘What kind of people are they? Incheon?’

Culture shock.

Yeongwoo was so astonished that instead of countering with an elbow as the hologram suggested, he stepped back.

The Incheon leader interpreted this as a sign of being intimidated.

“Stop right there, you bastard…!”

Gaining confidence, he charged at Yeongwoo again.

Whoosh!

This time, a bold middle kick.

The martial art “Rohm’s Bottom” that Yeongwoo was currently using advised him to swing his sword and cut the opponent’s shin.

However.

‘No, you crazy bastards. The opponent is unarmed. Isn’t that too vicious?’

Though Yeongwoo had a evil score of 50 million, he wasn’t evil enough to swing a sword at an unarmed opponent.

So instead of drawing his sword.

Clack!

He grabbed the Incheon leader’s leg aiming for his side.

Then.

Shwish!

He delivered a fast punch to the opponent’s cheek, making a sound of the air splitting.

Bam!

“Argh!”

The Incheon leader made a pitiful noise as he was knocked back.

But he quickly got up again and assumed a fighting stance.

“Ugh…?”

But even that didn’t last long.

The effect of the Golden Retribution’s pain induction had immediately activated.

“Wha-what did you do?”

The Incheon leader, who had only been slapped once, was trembling so much he couldn’t stand properly.

Seeing something was off, the three from Incheon panicked.

“Mister! What did you do? Did you use poison or something?”

“P-Poison?”

Yeongwoo repeated this, scratching his chin.

“Poison… Are you not supposed to use that?”

At this, Bupyeong’s jaw dropped.

“I told you, you can’t use weapons! Poison is a kind of weapon too! It’s even more despicable than a sword…!”

Despicable.

Only after hearing this did Yeongwoo clearly understand Incheon’s duel rules.

Those kids had only said “no weapons,” but it essentially meant no use of any equipment, including weapons.

“No swords, no poison or hidden weapons… Basically, no underhanded tactics.”

Of course, the outsider currently at Incheon Port was Jeong Yeongwoo07, considered the worst villain in Korean history.

He was a major advertising model for Dogo, a notorious company known for its universal weapon brands and for beating public officials to death.

“How are you supposed to duel without using swords or any equipment?”

When Yeongwoo protested, Yeonsu’s Strongest Sword rebuked him.

“Do you kill someone every time you fight?”

“…!”

Yeongwoo’s conscience was sharply pricked.

Even more so because the person who said this had an evil score of only 12.

From Yeongwoo’s perspective, that was practically saintly.

And to be precise.

‘Couldn’t you kill someone with just your fists?’

While Yeongwoo was grumbling internally, Michuhol added.

“You have to fight with bare fists to see who is truly strong. Honestly, if you have good equipment, who wouldn’t be strong…?”

“Uh… It’s not wrong, but.”

From a romantic point of view, it wasn’t wrong, but in these times, it was a philosophy that could easily get you killed.

“But you would use weapons against the Chinese, right? If they invade?”

When Yeongwoo asked this, the three from Incheon, including Michuhol, nodded in unison.

“Yes. War is completely different from fighting.”

“Not complete idiots, I see.”

At this, Yeongwoo finally nodded in agreement.

He could agree with this level of romanticism.

And as a western border region, it met the criteria.

There were enough top fighters alive, and their fighting spirit was commendable.

So the remaining task was.

‘If even outsiders with strong fists are recognized, it means they’ve adopted a romantic duel style, right?’

Yeongwoo dramatically began throwing his gear onto the ground.

First, he let the “Cosmic Etiquette” hanging over his shoulder fall to the ground.

Boom!

Then, he dropped all the bracelets, including the Serpent of Greed and Golden Retribution, from his wrists.

Next.

“Hey, I’ll even kick with bare feet. No complaints later.”

He took off his only footwear, “Illusion,” and tossed it far away.

Bupyeong pointed cautiously at Yeongwoo’s waist.

“That… gun too.”

“Oh, right.”

Yeongwoo readily agreed and unfastened his entire belt, throwing it away.

Everyone’s eyes changed.

“A complete lunatic has come.”

“Isn’t he crazy…?”

While the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” they couldn’t help but admire the boldness of the outsider who voluntarily disarmed himself in a situation surrounded by four people.

Of course, in reality.

‘Hehe, idiots.’

Although he had only discarded his equipment, Yeongwoo, who was fully equipped with various catalog effects, still retained the benefits of dozens of equipment.

‘Still, it’s right to deactivate the toxic effects, ethically speaking.’

Yeongwoo deactivated the lethal poison and Golden Retribution’s pain effects, then clenched his fists.

Clack!

“Let’s go at it properly this time. I won’t use poison or anything.”

By then, the pain effect had somewhat subsided, and the Incheon leader, gritting his teeth, firmly guarded with his arms.

“Come on, you bastard. I’ll show you why I’m the coalition leader!”

Swoosh!

The sound of water being cut behind Incheon’s leader’s words came from Yeongjongdo.

The boundary between Yeongjongdo, where the five were standing, and Incheon Port was still sailing westward toward Shandong Province in China.

So, in a way, they were dueling on a moving ship.

Swoosh.

Yeongwoo slowly took a fighting stance and spoke to the man representing Incheon.

“This time, you’ll find out what’s been happening outside Incheon.”

* * *

At the same time, at Cheongsapo in Haeundae District, Busan.

Near the pier where a holographic dotted line was blinking, a dozen masters from Gyeongnam Province were standing, each holding their weapons.

They were known as the “Southern Union,” an alliance of swordsmen from Gimhae City in Gyeongnam, Ulsan, and Busan.

They had come to fight the anticipated Korean-Japanese war today.

But for the moment, Japan was the least of their concerns.

“Is this really happening?”

“How long will this continue?”

They were focused on the rapidly receding seawater in front of the pier.

Due to the western part of the Korean Peninsula moving to meet Shandong Province in China, the speed of the southernmost part of Korea, including Busan, had increased dramatically.

In effect, the Southern Union gathered at Cheongsapo were now on what felt like a massive speedboat.

“At this rate, the pier might break.”

Someone expressed a realistic concern, to which Busan’s Strongest Sword, Kang Gyowon, responded.

“Let’s step back for now. We don’t see any Japanese yet anyway.”

“Yes, let’s do that just in case.”

“Even a seal wouldn’t survive being swept away there.”

Indeed, the current in front of Cheongsapo was visibly strong.

Just as everyone was about to move their formation inland.

Crack!

A disturbing sound came from the edge of the pier.

Bang!

The concrete forming the pier’s surface began to crack.

The pier was indeed breaking apart.

“Bad luck.”

Park Seongjun, the Strongest Sword of Gijang and an actual fisherman, wore a frustrated expression as he sheathed his sword.

And at that moment.

“Huh…?”

As he shifted his gaze to the distant sea, Park Seongjun’s eyebrows twitched.

The horizon looked unusually thick.

Soon, others noticed the same thing and started murmuring.

“Is that…”

“Looks like it, doesn’t it?”

At this, Ulsan’s Strongest Sword, Kim Chaena, pushed through her comrades and approached the half-broken pier.

Then.

She peered through the binoculars in her hand at the suspicious horizon.

「Binoculars」 – Epic Compass

【Once a day, you can look into a desired region.】

Even with its special function exhausted, her binoculars retained their basic 10x magnification.

And what she saw with that 10x magnification was.

“Those bastards… they’re really prepared for an invasion.”

She saw at least dozens of Japanese swordsmen standing in a line along the coastline, moving toward Busan as if riding on a moving piece of Japan like a battleship.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! At that speed, they’ll be here within an hour!”

As Chaena shouted almost in a scream, Busan’s Strongest Sword issued orders from behind the port.

“Send people to Seoul, Suwon, Changwon, Incheon… Let’s inform the major cities that a war with Japan is likely.”

Then Kim Chaena added to Kang Gyowon’s command.

“Seoul! Send the fastest person to Seoul! The most useful people are likely to be there.”

————