Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 333

Chapter 333: Earning Foreign Currency (1)

What is patriotism?

If the intent to serve one’s country is embedded within, then anything can be considered patriotic.

In that sense…

‘If there are many undressed soldiers on the battlefield, Lemu has to pay Japan more money. And that money, as per the agreement, will come to us. So, if you’re a true patriot…’

Swoosh.

Yeongwoo once again shifted his gaze to the void, or rather, somewhere beyond the ceiling into space.

‘You have to undress. An undressed soldier is a patriot. In other words, if you don’t undress, it’s practically the same as not serving your country!’

Yeongwoo’s eyes began to fill with madness, and across from him, Yuto looked concerned.

He was worried for the people of South Korea, who were led by this crazy man as their representative.

《All processes are now complete. The negotiation table will be closing shortly.》

Soon, as the system message appeared, the negotiation hall began to light up, and shortly afterward—

Whoosh!

A portal opened up behind each of the representatives, drawing in everything nearby.

“Ugh!”

Forced ejection.

Both Yuto and Yeongwoo were sucked into the portals that appeared behind them, and their vision was soon filled with the disorienting sensation of the portal’s space.

Flash!

In an instant, the surrounding scenery shifted to a hotel bedroom.

‘I’m back.’

They had been returned to the location they were at just before entering the negotiation hall.

In that case, the next thing to check was—

‘What time is it?’

Yeongwoo raised his wrist, and the time was projected over the Vesedel armor.

Beep!

Current time: 5:48 p.m.

There was roughly 1 hour and 12 minutes left until the locations of each company’s headquarters would be revealed.

‘However, I already have a good idea where Lemu’s base is located.’

Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

It was highly likely that Tokyo was Lemu’s Earth headquarters.

It was easy to deduce from the “Tokyo Summit” card that Yuto had played during negotiations.

‘So, what about Mara? Is there no separate negotiation with Mara?’

Yeongwoo casually turned his head to the west, Japan’s opposite direction, but no system message appeared even as time passed.

‘If that’s the case, I’ll need to prepare for the Tsushima War first.’

Even if the addresses were revealed, the only place to meet Japan was on Tsushima Island.

On the other hand, Mara was different as its location was still unknown.

Once the addresses were revealed, there was a high chance Mara would immediately invade Seoul.

Of course, their first target might still be Tokyo.

‘But attacking Tokyo is no longer acceptable. All the infrastructure there is mine now.’

As Yeongwoo pondered for a moment over his first-ever war, he felt Jiseon’s presence as she walked out from the living room.

—What, you’re back already? Did the negotiations go well?

“Yes, they went very well.”

It was practically a landslide victory.

But in order to realize the profits gained from the negotiations with Japan, they had to win the Tsushima War, and to maximize those profits, he would need as many undressed soldiers as possible.

And all within the next hour and 12 minutes.

‘There’s enough time to move the troops. I can use the super-speed routes.’

The problem, however, was Japan.

Could Yuto and his 200 undressed soldiers make it to Tsushima on time?

“We should’ve set a specific time for the war… but the space closed as soon as the negotiations ended.”

—What? But you said we’d know each other’s locations by 7 p.m., right? Doesn’t that mean the war will automatically start then?

“Well, that’s true.”

Yeongwoo was about to explain the details of the agreement he made with Japan, but the system saved him the trouble.

「The representatives of Dogo and Lemu have agreed to conduct their war on Tsushima Island!」

「At 7 p.m. today, Tsushima Island will be designated as a war zone, with a white capture flag to be installed at its center.」

—A capture flag?

Since Jiseon could see the universal announcement, she looked puzzled, and Yeongwoo added a comment while looking toward the living room.

“I was wondering how the winner would be decided in this war… and now they’ve told us.”

“The method of victory in this war is flag domination.”

Flag domination.

Yeongwoo had a pretty good idea of how this war would go.

「The faction that makes contact with the capture flag will enter a ‘capture’ state, and if this capture state is maintained for over two hours, they will immediately be declared the victor.」

In simple terms, it was a game of capture the flag.

The objective was to guard the flag installed in the center of Tsushima for two hours to win.

There was also a faster way to end the war.

「During the war, both factions must attempt to seize the capture flag.」

「If either faction fails to attempt flag seizure for more than an hour, the war will immediately end.」

—So it’s saying to keep fighting without rest?

Jiseon muttered after reading the rules, but Yeongwoo shook his head.

“If you don’t want to guard the flag for two hours, you can end the war in one hour by wiping out the enemy on the battlefield.”

—…Really?

“If we start at 7 p.m. and eliminate the enemy right away, we’ll finish around 8… more realistically, it would end around 8:30 p.m. at the earliest.”

—Then what happens next?

“I don’t know. This is my first war too. Who knows what Mara might do in the meantime?”

They still had to pay taxes by 10 p.m., and by 11 p.m., strange weather would once again envelop the world.

So would the war continue into the night?

‘I haven’t even negotiated with Mara yet… so what happens in that case?’

It was confusing.

One thing he knew for sure, though, was that a system-scheduled war with Japan was set to start today at 7 p.m.

“Mother.”

—What?

“You’re now the proud guardian dragon of Seoul, aren’t you?”

—…So?

“So, you’ll need to look after Seoul.”

—You’re telling me to protect the neighborhood while you go have fun on Tsushima?

“It’s better for you to stay here. You have to fight undressed on Tsushima.”

When Yeongwoo finally made the infamous statement, Song Jiseon’s silver hair spiked up in shock, and she practically screamed.

—What? What do you mean by that?

“There’s a special clause for this war. If participants fight naked, Lemu pays us. It’s a huge opportunity to earn foreign currency.”

—What… what kind of nonsense is this?

“If you don’t understand, just accept it. Don’t try to comprehend the universe, Mother!”

—You crazy… what on earth are you doing?

Clank.

Jiseon took a few steps back to put distance between herself and her son.

Hearing her shout, her husband Jeonggu came rushing into the bedroom.

“What’s going on?”

Yeongwoo, waiting for this, pointed to him.

“What else? We’re preparing for war. Hurry up and grab your weapons.”

“What? My weapons?”

“Yes. Aren’t you going to fight in the war?”

Jeonggu pointed at himself with a baffled look.

“You want me to join the war? Why?”

* * *

War.

The war starting in about an hour was no ordinary war.

This was a war in the reset world.

It was a gathering of superhumans who had survived countless invasions by monsters and mutants.

But given the wildly mutated state of the world, even among superhumans, the difference in power could be immense.

For instance, even if there were a hundred Strongest Swords like Jeonggu, they probably wouldn’t be able to take down Yeongwoo alone.

So—

“Why do I have to go to the battlefield? Shouldn’t you cherish your parents now that you’ve finally found them?”

To Jeonggu, being dragged into this war was incomprehensible.

Honestly, it seemed like Yeongwoo could handle the entire war on his own.

“Yeongwoo! Say something!”

When Jeonggu loudly shouted from the backseat of Negwig, Yeongwoo finally glanced back at him.

“You’re not a real parent yet. You have to show proof that you’re a true father.”

“A-Ah! That’s why we’re getting married tomorrow…!”

The groom-to-be, Kim Jeonggu.

Only now did he start to tremble, as if he had just realized something.

“Damn it! The wedding is tomorrow, and you’re pushing me into a war zone? Does that make any sense?”

At that, Yeongwoo looked back at him again, speaking in a low voice.

“Oh? You’re getting bold because Mom’s not around.”

“You…!”

“Should I send you back to her?”

When Yeongwoo asked this, Jeonggu was left speechless.

“…Why on earth do I have to go to a war zone?”

“What are you so worried about? Do you think I’d make my father a human shield? There’s no need to worry about getting hurt.”

“You say I won’t get hurt? That sounds a bit off. So, you mean I’ll get hurt in some other way?”

Jeonggu wondered what on earth could get hurt if not his body.

As his confusion deepened, the destination of the two travelers appeared below.

The Great City of the Red Footed Orcs, Darwin in Australia.

“We’re here. Get ready.”

“Huh? Ready for what?”

Jeonggu tilted his head, checking his equipment.

To this, Yeongwoo replied with an ambiguous phrase.

“Be ready to give everything for this land… no, for this son.”

And at that moment, Negwig carrying the two men plunged into the tower in Darwin.

CRASH!

The Red Footed Orcs guarding the top of the tower spotted Yeongwoo and exchanged uneasy looks.

–Little Foot?

–What’s going on all of a sudden?

By now, the orcs had learned well.

Whenever Little Foot visited, it meant trouble was coming.

“Where’s the Lord? Is he in the city?”

–Of course. He’s always here to guard the clan.

–I’ll let him know you’re here.

One of the orc guards pulled out a pouch of powder from his waist.

He hesitated between a red pouch and a black one.

The red signal meant welcome, the black one meant warning.

Yeongwoo, noticing this, rested his hand on his weapon and spoke.

“Are you out of your mind, brothers?”

–It’s a tough call.

–But you’re still our brother.

The orc guards, reluctantly, tossed the red pouch into the air.

An orc on the opposite side shot an arrow to burst it.

FWOOOSH, BANG!

The signal took shape in the sky as a red footprint.

“Good.”

Yeongwoo, satisfied with the signal, pressed the descent device, and the two moved to the lower floors of the tower.

SWWWISH!

A wondrous sphere of light surrounded Negwig and the two men, instantly passing through hundreds of meters, revealing the vast northern Australian landscape before their eyes.

–Little Foot!

–Little Foot is here!

A swarm of Red Footed Orcs, even larger than before, gathered around the tower to welcome Yeongwoo. Soon, Bantubangtong, the first chief who sold off the clan’s history, approached with a huge wave of his hand.

–Little Foot! What brings you here so suddenly?

Looking at his assembled brothers, Yeongwoo spoke.

“Has the news not reached here yet?”

–News? What news?

“The first war has been declared.”

–War? Have you finally found Mara?

A rare excitement crossed Bantubangtong’s face.

But Yeongwoo shook his head.

“No, but we’ll meet them soon. In the meantime…”

Yeongwoo scratched his chin thoughtfully, and Bantubangtong took a step closer.

–What is it? Please, don’t deceive me.

Yeongwoo nodded solemnly as if he understood.

“Before we go to war with Mara… we’ve found a way to gather a massive amount of military funds.”

–What? Military funds?

How words are phrased can completely change how they’re received.

As expected, the “war vocabulary” worked well on his brothers.

–What’s the method?

As Bantubangtong showed significant interest, Yeongwoo gave a sly grin and asked his next question.

“How many brothers are currently staying in Darwin?”

–As of sunrise today, there are seventeen thousand six hundred and four brothers.

17,604.

Yeongwoo couldn’t help but be surprised that Bantubangtong knew the exact count of his brothers to the last digit.

“Lord Bang.”

–…Must blood be shed again? This is too much. I won’t barter my brothers’ lives any longer.

“No, I don’t want any of my brothers to get hurt either. Isn’t it almost time for vengeance? Every single brother should savor the moment of glory.”

–…W-What? Then why do you keep calling me ‘Lord Bang’?

“Lord Bang! How much does revenge weigh for you and your brothers?”

–You dare to ask the weight of our revenge? It’s already like Mount Tai…

“That’s right! It’s so heavy that even the armor on our bodies can barely withstand it, almost to the point of turning us naked in an instant!”

–Wh… what did you say?

For a moment, the grand tone vanished from Bantubangtong’s voice, replaced by deep confusion.

–Why would our armor suddenly shatter?

At that moment, he noticed that Little Foot had already taken off his top.

———