Chapter 197
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 197: Black Rain (3)
Why on earth?
Why didn’t Jang Jeongho from Dongdaemun bring the money?
To this question, Lee Yoobin, who lives in the neighborhood right next to him, attributed it to Jang Jeongho’s intelligence.
“I told you earlier, didn’t I? That he’s a stupid guy? I doubted he’d go as far as killing.”
“Well, that could be true.”
Upon hearing this, Yeongwoo partly agreed but soon changed his mind.
‘But no matter what, he wouldn’t have chosen to confront me.’
Although Jang Jeongho was somewhat hot-tempered and not particularly kind-hearted, he wasn’t reckless enough to pick a fight with a well-known strongman.
Didn’t he immediately back off when he realized the difference in strength during their first meeting at the Strongest Swords assembly?
‘What then? Did he manage to get a large sum of money?’
If not that, then…
‘…A coordinate locator.’
There was also a chance that Jang Jeongho had personally purchased a coordinate locator, one of the items Yeongwoo was wanted for.
Regardless of whether Jang Jeongho displayed such proactive behavior, it was uncertain.
Anyway, what mattered was…
“Oh…”
It was a fact that the Strongest Swords were indeed bringing in ten million Karma.
Because there was a procession of black sedans driving in the same direction as us on the road ahead.
Among the Strongest Swords in Seoul, the only one who would bother to attend with such a big protocol was Kim Doha, Yongsan’s Strongest Sword.
“Ha, there’s such a method.”
Watching the line of vehicles from Yongsan, Lee Yoobin slapped his forehead.
“It seems they brought the money properly, seeing that there are so many cars.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Yeongwoo agreed with Yoobin and increased the speed of the Negwig a little.
Vroom!
As they entered the city, they could see more and more residents gathering along the roadside.
“Oh… Strongest Sword!”
“Jeong Yeongwoo…!”
“What’s going on today?”
They too noticed that the Strongest Sword from various regions were gathering in Gangnam.
“If only I had brought along some backpacks to sell, I would have made a fortune.”
Seeing the crowd on the street, Yoobin waved awkwardly at the people.
And in the midst of that…
“Everyone, please step back! It can be dangerous!”
Employees of Taewon Corporation, holding megaphones, began pushing people aside at the hotel entrance.
Taewon was also caught off guard by the sudden visit of the Strongest Swords.
“Yeongwoo!”
Soon, as the Negwig reached in front of the Parnas Hotel, Lim Suna, who was waiting in front of the lobby, rushed over.
“The Strongest Swords have alr- already…”
As Suna said this, behind her, Songpa Strongest Sword Oh Yeonhee and Gwanak’s Strongest Sword Jo Sangik, who had arrived early and were chatting in the lobby, could be seen.
They had also come deliberately to observe the scene, just like Lee Yoobin.
“Since everyone is gathering on their own, it’s good.”
As Yeongwoo exchanged glances with Sangik in front of the lobby, Yoobin asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are there things other than those who came to pay money?”
To this, Yeongwoo pointed his finger towards the sky.
“As I mentioned around lunchtime, if we secure the coordinate locator, we plan to test fire it. So the more spectators, the better.”
“…?”
Yoobin couldn’t readily understand Yeongwoo’s words and tilted her head in confusion.
“You might not understand yet. You’ll see later.”
Since Yeongwoo had not yet confirmed the power of laser bombardment, he kept his words.
If the power of the bombardment was sufficient, he would start receiving defense fees, and if the performance of the laser cannon was lower than expected, he would have to step back.
‘Tomara, was it? It seems to be a place that sells planetary-scale weapons… If the bombardment provided by such a company is used, it would be extraordinary.’
Clack, clack.
As the Negwig reached its destination and started to slow down, all the Strongest Swords gathered in front of the lobby turned to look at Yeongwoo.
“Yeongwoo.”
“Oh… You finally came.”
Quite a few Strongest Swords had gathered in front of the main gate of the Parnas Hotel.
Among them, there were three who were not obligated to pay protection fees: Oh Yeonhee from Songpa, Jo Sangik from Gwanak, and Yangju Strongest Sword Choi Jongseon.
On the other hand, there were six who had to pay protection fees.
‘And four of them have arrived.’
Dongdaemun, Seongbuk, Yongsan, and finally, Dobong Strongest Sword Kim Jeonggu.
“Hey, are you really that greedy? You called all these people together just to collect money. Isn’t it?”
Jeonggu looked intimidatingly at the strongmen gathered from various parts of Seoul as he walked out.
Then, to support Yeongwoo, who was getting off the Negwig, he reached out his arm.
“Ah, it’s okay.”
“What are you talking about? You can’t even walk properly.”
Seeing Jeong-Yeongwoo’s ankle as he stuck out his tongue, Jeonggu widened his eyes for a moment.
“Huh? This kid.”
Because Yeongwoo’s foot had grown quite a bit in the meantime.
“With this speed, I should be able to walk in an hour or two.”
Anyway, it was a fact that he needed someone’s support right now to avoid looking awkward.
“…?”
So, at the moment when Yeongwoo was about to lean on his father involuntarily…
–Babbat!
The slave, Pofu Tenta, quickly rushed over and stood behind Negwig, supporting his back on the right side.
It seemed as if he was about to lift Yeongwoo up.
“…What?”
Jeonggu looked at the alien slave with a displeased expression.
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo, with a questioning gaze as if to say ‘really?’, lifted his right thigh and part of his buttocks onto Pofu Tenta’s adorable shoulders.
*Swish.*
At that moment, Pofu’s body trembled as if trying to support Yeongwoo.
–Babbat!
He was willing to carry his master who had uncomfortable legs around.
“Are you really okay…?”
Although the conversation didn’t happen, Yeongwoo, understanding the intention, transferred the rest of his body that was leaning on Negwig to Pofu.
*Swish.*
As a result, Yeongwoo ended up resembling a rider, with his thighs resting on Pofu Tenta’s shoulders.
Of course, Pofu Tenta’s height was only 70 centimeters.
In contrast, Yeongwoo was two meters tall.
Therefore, he had to stretch out both legs to keep his ankles from dragging on the ground, which made Yeongwoo look quite ridiculous.
Moreover…
–Babbat! Babbat…!
Because Pofu Tenta kept chanting ‘Babbat’ as if putting in effort with each step.
“Uh…”
“Is that right…?”
“It looks so pitiful.”
“Uh, what should we do? Should we leave it like this?”
Both the citizens surrounding them and even the Strongest Sword looked at the diminutive alien frog with pity.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Because, on the surface, it seemed as if Jeong Yeongwoo was abusing Pofu.
“…I’d rather crawl on the ground. Please let me down now.”
When Yeongwoo requested to be let down, Pofu, after looking around with his large eyes, almost at a right angle, turned his head to look at his master.
–Baaat!
“What?”
At the moment when Yeongwoo felt confused by the slightly angry voice, unlike usual.
–Baa…!
Pofu took a deep breath and suddenly inflated his body.
–Baeaatt!
His height, which was only 70 centimeters, increased to a whopping 2 meters.
As a result, Pofu, who had seemed cute and pitiful, instantly transformed into a formidable frog monster exuding an intimidating presence.
“Wow?”
“It’s, it’s a monster!”
“Aaah!”
As a result, there was no one left to glare at Yeongwoo, and the area around the hotel became chaotic.
Most people, except for the Strongest Sword, panicked and fled.
“…Now it’s a bit calmer.”
As Yeongwoo said with a troubled expression, Oh Yeonhee, who had been holding the spear without realizing it, sighed.
“You seem to have nothing but troublesome things.”
This was what Yeongwoo’s friends were saying, as well as a reminder about the laser cannon they were secretly assembling.
“This is something I really didn’t know about.”
While Yeongwoo was making excuses with applause, Pofu Tenta moved his steps towards the inside of the hotel.
*Kuwung, thunk!*
At that moment, Yongsan’s Strongest Sword Kim Doha, who had been hiding in the car and observing the situation, opened the rear door and appeared.
“Yeongwoo, sir! It seems you haven’t fully recovered yet. I wish you a speedy recovery.”
Then, he instructed the government officials to lower the money bags in front of Yeongwoo.
*Clack, clack!*
“This is the promised ten million Karma. The New Seoul government remembers what you have done, Yeongwoo!”
Kim Doha seemed to have become a politician by now.
Since he couldn’t withstand the strongman, Joseon Strongest Sword without paying money anyway, he had come up with a grand plan to pay protection fees in the name of the New Seoul government.
“Yes. Thank you. I will use this money in a very meaningful way.”
As Kim Doha extended both hands, Yeongwoo also shook hands with him.
Anyway, it wasn’t usual to hand over ten million, so willingly.
‘Then, who on earth is that gentleman…?’
*Swish.*
Yeongwoo’s gaze finally fell on Jang Jeongho from Dongdaemun, who was standing awkwardly in his light attire.
“Mr. Jeongho… Are you also… prepared?”
Then, with a confident smile for some reason, Jang Jeongho walked briskly towards Yeongwoo, who was riding his horse.
“I’m here. When I was in the military, I heard this kind of saying.”
“…?”
“B-grade soldiers do well only after being told what to do, but A-grade soldiers finish the task even before being told.”
“So, are you saying that Mr. Jeongho is an A-grade soldier?”
When Yeongwoo asked this, Jang Jeongho shrugged and pointed to his chest with his right thumb.
“Well… If I have to say so myself.”
Then he took something out of his pocket with his left hand.
*Swish.*
“I’m S-grade. Not only do I find and complete tasks in advance, but I also have good luck.”
Jang Jeongho proudly revealed what Yeongwoo had been looking for so desperately—the coordinate locator.
「Coordinate Locator」 – Artifact tool
【It shows the coordinates of visible points.】
“Anyway, didn’t you issue a search order because you needed the locator? So, instead of wasting time, I personally bought it for you.”
“I see.”
Yeongwoo nodded as if he understood.
“So, how much did you pay for it? Since it’s an artifact grade, it couldn’t have been very expensive… I’ll subtract five times the price of the locator from the money I promised to give you.”
Yeongwoo had seen the prices of numerous equipment so far.
Therefore, his remark implied that the price of artifact equipment was unlikely to exceed 400,000.
However, Jang Jeongho’s following dialogue…
“Well… That’s because this item has some special functions, so the price…”
Just as Jang Jeongho was about to lie with his eyes half-closed, indicating that he was bluffing, Lee Yoobin, who was standing behind Yeongwoo, gestured as if to slit his own throat with his palm.
It meant that if he said something wrong now, his throat would be slit.
“Th-that’s… So, the price…”
When Jang Jeongho stammered, Yeongwoo pointed to the locator with Bastard, which he had pulled out at some point.
*Swish.*
“Surely the price was a bit over ten million? So, should I return some of the difference to you…?”
“Ah, sir… That wouldn’t be possible.”
Jang Jeongho barely managed to escape from the underworld.
However, he had done his best until the end.
“Oh… It was Five hundred thousand Karma.”
Even though Bastard was only about 40 centimeters away from his throat, he had increased the price to about 20% of the original cost.
But fortunately, this level of lying was within Yeongwoo’s tolerance.
Jang Jeongho had indeed done a good job.
Moreover, it was a stroke of luck that the locator appeared in his jurisdiction.
“Phew, it’s much cheaper than I thought. It’s a very valuable item to me, at least.”
By now, everyone in the audience must have realized that Yeongwoo had seen through Jang Jeongho’s lie.
So, instead of wielding a whip, Yeongwoo decided to offer a carrot.
There might be a day when he would need the help of the Strongest Swords again.
And since he was planning to receive defense fees in the future, there was no need to spoil the atmosphere by demanding a few million more Karma right now.
“As you said, you’re really lucky.”
“…”
“You could have hidden or not brought me this item… After all, we’re members of the same alliance, right?”
“Ah, yes. Of course. That goes without saying.”
Finally, Jang Jeongho realized where the Bastard was pointing.
But unlike a sharp blade, Yeongwoo’s words flowed softly and gently.
“Thank you so much. In that sense, I won’t take any money from you today, Mr. Jeongho.”
Then, Gwanak Strongest Sword Jo Sangik, who had been quietly watching the whole series of events, secretly opened his mouth.
‘This… This guy, is he trying to get into politics now?’
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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