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Chapter 342: The Path of Vengeance (3)

“…What?”

Swordmaster of London, Ben Walter.

The strongest knight of Britain, determined to save at least his homeland in a world on the brink of collapse.

And yet, the first thing he hears from the Eastern adversary he encounters is...

"Do you have the money Mara was supposed to pay?"

"What? Mara\'s payment? Why would I owe you?"

"Because of you, the payment I\'m supposed to receive from Lemu might get reduced. So, isn\'t it only right that you cover the difference?"

This was Yeongwoo\'s argument—since he had left the battlefield early upon hearing the news of his mother being assaulted, it might have caused a reduction in his reward.

"Really? But for someone like that…"

Ben glanced between Yeongwoo and Jiseon.

No matter how he looked at him, this naked \'Strongest Sword\' didn\'t seem like the dutiful son type.

After all, hadn\'t he immediately brought up money as soon as he got here?

“…Since coming here, all you’ve done is talk about money.”

When Ben pointed this out, disregarding propriety even in the presence of the man\'s mother, Yeongwoo simply nodded.

“Of course.”

“What are you talking about? Weren’t you here to save your mother?”

“Saving money is saving my mother.”

“…?”

“If there’s no money on this planet, we’re all dead. My mother included. It’s just a question of whether you die a few days earlier or later.”

“...Is that really something you should say in front of your own mother?”

As Ben rebuked Yeongwoo for his perceived lack of filial piety, Jiseon abruptly distanced herself from Ben and retorted.

—Is he wrong, though? Without money, what exactly can you do against those creatures?

“What... what did you say, Madam?”

Ben was so flustered he accidentally used honorifics.

Meanwhile, Jiseon pointed her greatsword toward the massive spacecraft in the sky.

—Just look at that. How can anyone dare bring something like that onto someone else’s planet without permission? It just shows how defenseless this Earth has become.

“Well, that’s because…”

Ben Walter followed Jiseon’s gaze to the sky.

Ever since the Reset, it was an open secret that this planet had become accessible to anyone—a “free zone,” as Jiseon called it.

And Ben had merely chosen to align himself with Mara, a sponsor who had promised immense power and had indeed delivered on that promise.

“Thanks to the Reset, we’ve already lost our self-sufficiency. That’s why we must align with powerful forces to rebuild.”

Sharpening his blade as he regained his composure, Ben declared.

But Yeongwoo burst out, roaring at him.

“What the hell, you idiot! Why Mara, of all people? You should’ve teamed up with Lemu instead, even if it meant stripping naked!”

Yeongwoo also turned his gaze to the sky.

“Dogo and Lemu are businesspeople. Their calculations are straightforward—based on money.”

By working with them, the planet would essentially become a subcontractor, but there would at least be a chance to gather resources and achieve independence later.

“But Mara… is different. That guy is just the cancer of the universe.”

The titles attached to Mara said it all.

「Master of the Void, one who walks in the shadow of universal laws, King of Ten Thousand Demons.」

Having encountered some of the void entities under Mara’s control, Yeongwoo could not accept aligning with such a force.

But fundamentally, Yeongwoo and Ben had different goals.

“Cancer of the universe? Don’t you think I know that? But sometimes, you have to ally with evil when the situation calls for it. For us, sorting out our internal affairs takes priority.”

This statement essentially summed up Britain’s stance.

As a major player in Earth’s civil war, Britain had no intention of losing and becoming a colony.

They had to win at all costs.

Especially as a former colonial empire, the thought of submitting to other nations—let alone the East—was unthinkable.

In short:

“We intend to restore the hierarchy on this planet.”

For Ben and some British leaders, the immediate power struggle on Earth outweighed concerns about the cosmos.

“You’re insane. So, you\'re saying there’s no money coming from Mara?”

As Yeongwoo asked this, Jiseon instinctively stepped back several paces, sensing an imminent fight.

But, oblivious to the tension, Ben Walter glanced at the sky and responded.

“Even if there were, I have no intention of giving it to you.”

“Really? Then leave your gear and go. That sword, in particular, looks pretty nice.”

Yeongwoo shifted Bastard to his left hand, raising it to point at Ben’s greatsword.

Swoosh.

“…!”

That’s when Ben realized it.

Yeongwoo had been stalling to recover his left arm this entire time.

“You… you bastard…!”

“You seem upset about my supposed lack of filial piety, so you can’t be all bad.”

As Yeongwoo spoke, he summoned equipment from his inventory.

In an instant, his once-naked body was clad in the full-body armor of Vesedel.

Ssshhhhh.

A massive flying greatsword, Golden Trail, appeared behind him, and Aratubank materialized, its blade sinking a third into the ground like a gravestone.

“What the…”

For Ben Walter, this sudden display of equipment felt like a sucker punch.

Finally, as the legendary bow White Fire wrapped around his body, Yeongwoo shifted Bastard back to his right hand and unsheathed Aratubank with his left.

Crack!

“But if you win this war, our planet will fall into the Void. That’s something I can’t allow.”

Pointing his blade toward the heavens, Yeongwoo declared:

“On the other hand, if I win this war, we’ll reach the stars. Making me this planet’s ruler is clearly the better choice!”

“What… what nonsense is that? How does that even make sense?”

As Ben protested, Yeongwoo dashed forward, his eyes glowing golden.

“Shut up and hand over your head and equipment! I’ll send you back to the Void!”

“Wait, no! I’m a human of Earth too…!”

Ben tried to object, but Yeongwoo was already charging at full speed.

Tap-tap-tap!

Covered in dazzling equipment, the Strongest Sword’s advance made even the mighty Swordmaster flinch.

And then—

Fwoosh!

A strange symbol appeared on Yeongwoo’s right shoulder.

“This battle is proudly sponsored by the intergalactic weapons brand Dogo!”

As Yeongwoo launched into a pre-battle advertisement, Swordmaster of London muttered under his breath in disgust.

“You… idiotic bastard.”

Hearing this, Yeongwoo snapped back.

“Doesn’t Mara make you do this kind of stuff? Isn’t that even weirder?”

“What?”

“To be sponsored by a military contractor already makes you an idiot, but what kind of price do you think you’d have to pay to make the Master of the Void your backer?”

“...!”

It was a very persuasive argument, but for Ben, it was too late to change the course he’d already decided upon.

And above all—

“Save that kind of thinking for when you’ve actually beaten me!”

The moment of truth had already begun.

The blade of Bastard was charging toward him with incredible speed.

Shreeeeek!

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Yeongwoo’s high-speed thrust made a sound like a jet engine.

Having already experienced the mysterious techniques of the East in his earlier fight with Yeongwoo’s mother, Ben chose evasive maneuvers.

Swish!

He vanished, leaving behind an afterimage, and reappeared at Yeongwoo’s flank.

“Huh?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened at Ben’s extraordinary skill.

Meanwhile, Ben—

Slice!

—was shocked to see the Bastard’s blade slice cleanly through his greatsword as if it were cutting through water.

“What the hell is this guy?”

“Wait… can he teleport?”

Both fighters were astonished by the other’s abilities.

But when it comes to an opponent who ignores guards and lands their attacks versus one who can teleport, who’s the true predator?

“Hey, you punk. What was that just now?”

Yeongwoo barked the question aggressively, like a gangster.

Ben quickly retrieved his sword and stepped back.

“And how did you pass through my blade just now?”

In response, Yeongwoo hoisted Bastard threateningly.

“Then let me show you again!”

“…!”

Without hesitation, Yeongwoo swung his blade.

Wheeaaak!

Ben Walter, the Swordmaster, responded by launching his greatsword toward Yeongwoo while teleporting again.

If his greatsword failed to block Bastard again, it would at least fly past Yeongwoo, allowing Ben to take his back through teleportation.

Fweeeew!

Ben’s strategy, while intricate, was laughably thwarted by Yeongwoo’s gear advantage.

Clang!

Golden Trail, which had been orbiting around Yeongwoo, intercepted Ben’s flying greatsword.

Ben reappeared near the hilt of his greatsword as planned, only to find—

“…Huh?”

—he was still standing right in front of the lunatic.

And worse, his guard was completely down.

“Oh, so that’s the secret. You’ve got a magic sword.”

Having finally deduced Ben’s trick, Yeongwoo followed up with a straight punch.

Smack!

Ben’s head twisted violently to the side from the impact, unable to react as he’d been too focused on Bastard.

“Ugh!”

Though his combat hologram had warned him, the punch came too fast for him to process.

“You seriously didn’t get a single dime from Mara? Huh?”

Even in this intense final interrogation, Yeongwoo’s question was all about money.

His mother, Jiseon, watched her son in disbelief, though she also had her own question.

Whoosh.

As she observed, there was still a massive ship hovering above Seoul, sent by Mara.

In other words, Mara—the King of Ten Thousand Demons—was likely watching his agent get beaten up right now.

—Wait, what the hell is Mara even doing? Not sending reinforcements?”

Jiseon voiced her thoughts.

Yeongwoo, who was about to throw another punch at Ben, turned around at her comment.

“Oh, you’re right. Lemu even gave Japan equipment and a whole army of combat robots.”

It was a valid point.

For a being with titles like “Lord of the Void” and “One Who Walks in the Shadow of Cosmic Law,” Mara’s investment in this planetary development competition seemed suspiciously lacking.

Sure, giving the Swordmaster enough power to challenge Yeongwoo’s mother was impressive.

But in the end, that power was no match for a mythical sword.

“Hey, do you have anything else you got from Mara?”

Yeongwoo pressed his blade near Ben’s head.

Finally, the beleaguered agent’s eyes widened in realization.

“Ah…!”

But it wasn’t because he suddenly remembered something.

Instead, he had spotted something in the sky.

Yeongwoo followed his gaze and turned to look.

Whoosh.

There in the sky, strange symbols shimmered, as if oil had been spilled across the heavens.

It was—

‘Transcendent Script.’

A form of language that only higher beings of the universe could manipulate freely.

The message contained within was brief but unmistakable:

「I seek a new agent. In exchange, I offer a portion of this planet and the Void.」

The meaning was short but clear.

“They’re saying they want me to be their new agent, right? Is that even possible?”

Yeongwoo gazed up at the darkened sky.

As things stood, Yeongwoo was the official agent of Dogo.

But Mara’s bold move suggested it was possible to poach an agent from a rival faction.

‘Wait… holy crap. Mara is fluent in Transcendent Script?’

Yeongwoo blinked rapidly.

He had seen his chairman use fragments of Transcendent Script to create intergalactic contracts with a single slash of a sword.

But creating an entire sentence purely in Transcendent Script?

That was new.

“Well…”

Yeongwoo scratched his cheek.

Sensing something, Jiseon exhaled sharply and shouted:

—Whatever you’re thinking, stop it! Absolutely not!

She had already figured out her scheming son was weighing his options between Dogo and Mara.

But for Yeongwoo, whose “global” scale was intergalactic, there was no such thing as an absolute no.

The universe was vast, and possibilities were endless.

“Master Mara! As you may know, tomorrow at 3:23 PM is my parents’ wedding!”

—What?

“What?”

Ben Walter, who had overheard the wedding announcement, widened his eyes in disbelief.

“If you could spare some time to attend the ceremony, I would seriously consider switching sides.”

Yeongwoo added with a sly grin:

“Ah, and as for gifts, remember: bribes count too. Cash or anything mythical and above only, please.”

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