[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 234: The Invincible Sword (1)
Blood ties, regional ties, academic ties.
There are countless connections in the world, but this was a first for Yeongwoo.
‘Should I call this a different kind of bond…?’
Yeongwoo double-checked the banner held by the Chinese, unable to believe his eyes.
《Shandong Province welcomes your entry.》
– Shandong Twin Evils, Zhang Jaham
The peculiar wording of “your entry” was almost certainly referring to Yeongwoo himself.
The banner’s direction, towards the southeast coast of Shandong Province—essentially facing the Korean Peninsula across the Yellow Sea—made it clear.
Zhang Jaham, having identified Yeongwoo’s passage across the Yellow Sea through territorial markings, hastily prepared these banners.
Shandong Province needed to quickly convey that they had no intention of fighting against Korea’s Strongest Sword to avoid disaster.
‘Wow, this guy wasn’t just any Strongest Sword but a regional magnate, it seems?’
There were at least several hundred Shandong residents mobilized just to hold these banners along the coast.
Numerous banners were erected at regular intervals along the shoreline.
This was an unprecedented show of hospitality.
‘He really meant it when he said we should go to the next dungeon together.’
Yeongwoo reproached himself for not acknowledging Zhang Jaham’s sincerity.
And once again, he learned a valuable lesson.
Diplomacy indeed stems from military strength.
“What’s that? A banner?”
“What does it say?”
Eventually, the Strongest Swords of Incheon, seeing the banners lined up along the Shandong coast, widened their eyes in astonishment.
At first, they thought it was a battle flag, but as time passed, they realized the writing on the banner was in Korean.
“Welcome to… entry?”
“Who’s Zhang Jaham?”
“How did they know we were coming and write that in advance?”
Suspicious of the unexpected hospitality from the Chinese side, the Strongest Swords began murmuring, prompting Yeongwoo to speak in a calm tone.
“He’s an acquaintance of mine. But just in case, don’t let your guard down completely.”
Although Zhang Jaham was welcoming them with open arms, one could never be too sure of the world’s unpredictability.
‘Of course, seeing how they’ve deployed residents at the forefront, it seems like they truly are welcoming us.’
Rumble…!
Meanwhile, the tremors around Yeongjong Island grew stronger than before.
They were significantly reducing their cruising speed.
In fact, the distance to Shandong had decreased so much that they could now distinguish not only the banners but also the faces of the people holding them.
“There’s a huge crowd gathering…?”
“Is that all a welcoming party?”
It became clear that the people on the Shandong coast were waving small flags as well as holding banners.
The fact that they were holding such harmless items instead of weapons unequivocally indicated Shandong’s unconditional welcome or even surrender.
Naturally, all eyes turned to the “Strongest Sword of Korea.”
Who was this outsider whose reputation had spread across the Yellow Sea to China?
“How do the Chinese know you, sir?”
“…Explaining it all now would be too complicated. Just know that there’s an Olympics-like event where representatives from each country showcase their strength.”
Yeongwoo was referring to night dungeons, but for the Strongest Swords of Incheon who had no dungeon experience, this was difficult to grasp.
“Showcase strength…?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Does that mean our country won that Olympics?”
Yeongwoo pointed to the Shandong coast, now only about a hundred meters away.
“Well… something like that. To be precise, Zhang Jaham saw me winning.”
Rumble rumble rumble!
At last, Yeongjong Island made a violent tremor akin to an earthquake as it rapidly decelerated, causing the Chinese waving flags on the opposite shore to begin retreating.
And then.
Boom!
With an earth-splitting roar, Yeongjong Island connected with the southeastern part of Shandong Province.
“Wow, damn….”
“The land actually connected.”
“Is this really okay?”
The Strongest Swords of Incheon stared in disbelief at the junction between Yeongjong Island and Shandong.
It was surreal enough when Yeongjong Island connected to Incheon Port, but now, it had even connected to China, creating a land route.
“Uh… sir, what happens now?”
The Strongest Sword of Bupyeong instinctively called for Yeongwoo, who then pushed through the dazed Strongest Swords of Incheon.
Step, step.
Right up to the boundary between Yeongjong Island and Shandong.
There, the hundreds of Chinese holding the “Welcome to Our Country” banners hesitated and stepped back.
Though they were following Zhang Jaham’s orders to offer a warm welcome, they were meeting Yeongwoo for the first time.
Consequently, they couldn’t help but feel vague fear and reluctance.
After all, in terms of population and landmass, China was the relatively ‘large country,’ and the implementation of Pangaea had taken the form of the Korean Peninsula being attached to Chinese land.
In the eyes of the Chinese, it was only natural that Korea could be seen as refugees or invaders.
‘It seems they are all dumbfounded.’
Yeongwoo scanned the eyes of the Shandong residents, which were not particularly friendly, as expected.
Then, suddenly, a dark figure sprang up from within the crowd and landed right in front of Yeongwoo.
Swoosh!
Anyone could see that this was the movement of a Strongest Sword, and sure enough, the person’s identity was.
“Long time no see, Master Jeong…!”
It was Zhang Jaham of the Shandong Twin Evils.
Though somewhat hot-tempered and dismissive of Taiwan, he was undoubtedly a master of diplomacy, more skilled than any other Chinese person.
Thump!
Zhang Jaham initiated a martial salute, forcing Yeongwoo to awkwardly reciprocate.
Then, glancing at the banner still held high, he asked cautiously.
“What is all this…?”
“As you can see, it’s a welcoming greeting. How could we not come out to greet you when you’re coming directly?”
“…”
Zhang Jaham’s speech was overly polite, as if drenched in honorifics.
For some reason, he was putting excessive effort into welcoming Yeongwoo.
Yeongwoo bowed slightly, pretending to greet him, and whispered in a low voice.
“Why are you overreacting like this? It’s making me uncomfortable.”
Zhang Jaham also bent down and whispered in Yeongwoo’s ear.
“You’re not here to wage war, are you? I have no intention of fighting with you.”
In Zhang Jaham’s memory, Jeong Yeongwoo07 was the absolute demon who had summoned a mutant army to gang up on the giant Gameta.
While thinking of how to utilize this demon to effortlessly conquer dungeons, he suddenly saw an alert yesterday that two of the Dandong’s Three Swords had been stripped of their titles by Jeong Yeongwoo07.
Then, the very next day, he saw the territorial mark attached to Jeong Yeongwoo, or rather Master Jeong, crossing the Yellow Sea.
In this situation, Zhang Jaham could only think that this demon had marked China as his first target.
On the other hand, Yeongwoo was inwardly celebrating.
‘What’s this, I’m going to get the western border without shedding a drop of blood.’
This was a good thing for both Shandong and Incheon.
If the border areas were on bad terms, the damage would directly affect ordinary citizens.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Of course, this didn’t mean he should act overly submissive.
“Well… China has frequently invaded the Korean Peninsula in the past, and with the lands connecting, I did come prepared for a fight.”
Yeongwoo said this while subtly indicating the Strongest Swords of Incheon behind him.
“Internally, there was also a dominant opinion that we should prepare for war.”
“Ah… is that so.”
Zhang Jaham’s gaze reached the young Strongest Swords covered in elaborate tattoos, and he made a face that said, ‘I see.’
“But since you have welcomed us like this today, I will discuss it internally. There’s no need to fight with friendly people.”
The last line of Yeongwoo’s speech was sincere.
There was no reason to torment those who came out friendly.
Moreover, having a potential ally on the western border was extremely important.
Currently, only Zhang Jaham, who had directly witnessed his prowess, was favorable to him, not the entirety of China.
“By the way, is the whole of Shandong really welcoming my ‘entry’?”
When Yeongwoo asked this, a troubled look appeared on Zhang Jaham’s face, as expected.
“Actually, I have something urgent to tell you regarding that.”
“…”
I knew it.
Yeongwoo nodded as if he had fully anticipated this.
However.
Swish!
He didn’t expect another master to ambush him from within the crowd at this moment.
“I am Wu Qingjin of Shandong Twin Evils! I will test if you truly deserve to set foot in Shandong!”
Swoosh!
A middle-aged man charged forward, thrusting his sword while shouting confidently.
“What is this now?”
An ordinary Strongest Sword might have been enraged at Zhang Jaham for not informing him of this ambush, but Yeongwoo was different.
『Shandong’s Twin Evils』
He noticed that the title ‘Shandong Twin Evils’ was also attached to the man who introduced himself as Wu Chengjin and immediately understood the situation.
It wasn’t the whole of Shandong that was welcoming his entry.
‘Of course, since there are two Twin Evils, it makes sense.’
The two great evils representing Shandong.
One, Zhang Jaham, knew exactly who Jeong Yeongwoo was, but the other didn’t.
So, it was only natural for the other to send a very different kind of greeting.
‘That means this ambush must have been discussed with Zhang Jaham in advance.’
In the moment when Wu Chengjin’s sword was flying at him, Yeongwoo confirmed that Zhang Jaham was retreating.
Indeed, this ambush was a sort of verification process approved by Zhang Jaham.
It was an unavoidable discourtesy meant to demonstrate the strength of the demon Jeong Yeongwoo to everyone.
Slash!
In that moment, the tip of Wu Chengjin’s sword reached Yeongwoo’s bare chest, right at the position of his heart.
“……”
So, Yeongwoo…
Swoosh!
He reached out like lightning and caught Wu Chengjin’s sword between his index and middle fingers.
He was mimicking a scene he had seen in martial arts novels before.
Displaying a level of skill that could catch a sword with his fingers would ensure obedience without question in the future.
‘Judging by the senses I’ve gained, he’s a total amateur. At best, he’s only average among Seoul’s Strongest Swords.’
Yeongwoo had calculated this performance attempt and succeeded in it.
The blade that was about to pierce his chest came to a halt.
“……!”
“Huh?”
“Ah!”
Zhang Jaham, the residents of the Shandong coast, Incheon’s Strongest Swords, and even the attacker Wu Chengjin gaped in astonishment.
Catching a named swordsman’s ambush with bare fingers was an unimaginable feat.
However, shortly thereafter…
Creak!
The seemingly halted blade in Wu Chengjin’s hand twitched.
“What the…?”
“Oh…!”
There was a variable Yeongwoo hadn’t accounted for in his desire to put on a performance that would captivate everyone present.
It was the fact that…
Creak!
Some masters prioritize other attributes over sensory skills.
‘What? This isn’t right.’
The blade caught between his fingers began to move again, and before Yeongwoo could respond, it pierced his chest.
Swoosh!
NG.
It was a catastrophic mistake that should never have happened.
“Mister?”
“No, that idiot!”
“Damn, I knew this would happen.”
As the Strongest Swords of Incheon, witnessing the fall of their pillar, simultaneously drew their weapons, and even Zhang Jaham was reaching for his sword in the face of this unexpected disaster.
Clang!
At that moment, a clear metallic sound echoed from inside Yeongwoo’s chest.
“Huh?”
“What was that?”
“What…?”
The source of the metallic sound was so obvious that everyone’s eyes were fixed on Jeong Yeongwoo07’s chest, where the blade was embedded.
Even Yeongwoo, who was as surprised as anyone, quickly looked down at his chest and realized.
The sword hadn’t penetrated the ‘Heart of the Poison Dragon.’
‘Wow, what’s this?’
So, what should he do next?
Smoothly, with a now calm expression, Yeongwoo raised his head, pulled out the sword with his bare hands, and shouted.
“Did you see that? I am the invincible sword, Jeong Yeongwoo!”
[PR/N: Dugu Qiubai?]
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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