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Chapter 286: The Student Surpasses the Master (2)
"Oh... fifty million?"
"How are we supposed to come up with that money now...?"
"They said installments are possible. Let's just try to gather some money first."
The citizens frantically searched their pockets with bewildered expressions.
After all, they had stopped kneeling, assuming that Hong Jingbai was about to die soon.
However, as Hong Jingbai began to stand up, nearly recovered, the atmosphere in the hall became tense.
"Hurry, take out your money!"
"If we don't, we're really all going to die!"
The citizens of Tongliao started urgently collecting money, their voices almost screaming in fear.
Huang Seongli, the second sword of the Tongliao's Three Swords, glared at Yeongwoo.
"Isn't Fifty million too much? Earlier, it seemed like the money collected by Beijing wasn't even close to that..."
She was implying that it wasn't even forty million, let alone Fifty million, which was true.
Yeongwoo quickly raised his finger to cut off Huang Seongli's words.
"That's right. I lied."
"What did you say?"
"But wasn't it too much for three of you to attack one person? Let's call it even."
"What... What kind of nonsense is that...?"
"If my martial arts weren't advanced, I would have already been killed by your swords before I even had the chance to lie."
"..."
"And isn't it possible that I got angry and raised the price because you attacked me without any warning?"
"But that's not true, is it? You were planning to extort a huge sum from the start."
"Hah."
Yeongwoo chuckled wickedly at Huang Seongli's rebuttal.
"That's something you'll never know. But what is certain is that the price might have been different if you had tried talking first."
"..."
In any case, the fact remained that he had intended to extort millions from the beginning.
But the powerless three swords of Tongliao couldn't argue any further.
Meanwhile, Hong Jingbai, now fully recovered, shook his neck from side to side, his expression filled with anger.
"You lunatics are just spewing nonsense."
Hong Jingbai's words were full of rage.
Yeongwoo pointed at him and spoke.
"You're the second executive, which means you're the second in martial ranking, right? So how weak are the rest?"
As Yeongwoo no longer used honorifics, Hong Jingbai's face twisted in a menacing way.
"This little pup thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's gained some power."
Of course, Hong Jingbai was 68 years old.
He was a veteran who had lived twice as long as the ‘Strongest Sword' in front of him.
To be exact, he was a veteran of the previous world.
So Yeongwoo made this clear.
"Whether then or now, you're just a dog doing Im Dupyeong's bidding. And don't forget, the world has been reset."
Swish.
As Yeongwoo said this and took up a fighting stance again, Hong Jingbai unsheathed his sword, his eyes gleaming.
A second round between the second-ranked warrior of Beijing and the representative of the Korean Peninsula.
Most of the people in the hall already had a good idea of how it would end.
After all, they had all seen Hong Jingbai's shoulder get shattered by Yeongwoo's strike.
"Is the money ready? How much have you gathered?"
Still locking eyes with Hong Jingbai, Yeongwoo only opened his mouth to ask the question.
The citizens of Tongliao, despite looking overwhelmed, dutifully responded.
"Around ten million."
"Hmm, ten million."
Yeongwoo mulled over the amount.
It was far short of the fifty million karma he initially demanded, but given the number of people present, it was clear they had put in a considerable effort.
It meant each person had contributed at least ten thousand karma.
"Very well. I'll collect the remaining forty million tomorrow."
As Yeongwoo nodded, the citizens finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They had managed to move this killing machine with just ten million, when it should have required fifty million.
At this point, it was unclear whether it was better to continue paying fifty million daily to the Korean national treasury or to hand over forty million daily to Im Dupyeong in Beijing.
'Hah, but since we've already stopped kneeling, Hong Jingbai won't let us live.'
'There's no other choice. Hong Jingbai has to die for now.'
As the citizens alternated between looking at Yeongwoo and Hong Jingbai with conflicted eyes, Hong Jingbai, who had somehow read their thoughts, widened his eyes.
"Independence for Tongliao!"
"...?"
"What?"
"What did he just say...?"
The words were so surreal that they wondered if they had misheard.
Hong Jingbai, as if to confirm, repeated himself.
"Beijing will guarantee Tongliao's independence!"
Then, he pointed at Yeongwoo with the heavy sword that had grown from his forearm.
Whoosh!
"But to do that, the three swords of Tongliao must cooperate with me to kill this man from the Korean Peninsula right here! Shouldn't we handle our own affairs?"
Hong Jingbai cleverly avoided using the words "our country" or "China."
It was proof that he was indeed a veteran of nearly seventy years.
Realizing that he was unlikely to win a solo battle against the ‘Strongest Sword,' he chose the lesser of two evils.
But the representative of the Korean Peninsula, Jeong Yeongwoo, was a far more unpredictable character than Hong Jingbai had anticipated.
"What nonsense. Just die now."
Like a villain who doesn't wait for the hero to finish transforming, Yeongwoo charged at Hong Jingbai before he could finalize his deal with Tongliao.
Tat tat!
In an instant, Yeongwoo's form reached right in front of Hong Jingbai, causing some of the Tongliao swordsmen to flinch.
Almost without realizing it, they had been about to strike Yeongwoo from behind, following Hong Jingbai's proposal.
But then, Yeongwoo stopped them with a firm voice.
"Don't do something you'll regret! If I die here, Im Dupyeong's monopoly will begin! There will be no more competition for Beijing!"
"...!"
This argument was logically sound, and it shocked the Tongliao swordsmen deeply.
The current "tribute market" in China was dominated by Jeong Yeongwoo from the Korean Peninsula and Im Dupyeong in Beijing.
It was already a vile situation, but at least there was a minimal amount of competition, preventing it from becoming the worst-case scenario.
But if Jeong Yeongwoo were to die here, Im Dupyeong's only competitor would disappear, leaving China entirely in the hands of a dictator.
But what if Yeongwoo survived this encounter?
'We would still have to pay a fortune as planned.'
But instead of Im Dupyeong, it would be Hong Jingbai who died here, leaving the market in its current duopoly—still bad, but the lesser of two evils.
"And will Beijing really keep its promise? Both sides are extorting money, but Im Dupyeong was a dictator even before!"
Yeongwoo's words were a clear self-assertion.
Im Dupyeong was an enemy of Tongliao even before the Reset, but Jeong Yeongwoo, who was said to have come from the Korean Peninsula, was an unknown entity.
At least, he had no history of oppressing Tongliao before the Reset.
Swoosh!
As Yeongwoo's blade flashed like lightning, Hong Jingbai screamed and swung his sword.
"Die!"
A violet streak erupted from the tip of Hong Jingbai's forearm.
Whoosh!
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In contrast, Yeongwoo's blade, tracing a red arc,
Bang!
struck Hong Jingbai's blade diagonally and ruthlessly split it.
"Huh?"
Crack!
Hong Jingbai's blade shattered in mid-air like a crumbling biscuit.
The sight of an otherwise indestructible weapon being mercilessly destroyed was so unfamiliar to everyone that Hong Jingbai and everyone present was taken aback once more.
And over the tremendous impact, Jeong Yeongwoo's voice fell.
"You don't need to demand Tongliao's independence from me. I've never placed Tongliao under my control, even once."
"...!"
"Just pay the agreed money. That's all I need. If that money needs a name, it could be called 'independence assistance fee.' After all, I'm going to kill Im Dupyeong."
With these words, Yeongwoo kicked down with his left foot on Hong Jingbai's knee.
Bang!
As a result, Hong Jingbai's lower body tilted, causing him to half-kneel, and soon Yeongwoo was about to strike down with his sword again.
Whoosh!
But the opponent was still the second-in-command of Beijing.
At the last moment, Hong Jingbai figured out how to counter this Korean swordsman.
He mustered all his strength and grabbed Yeongwoo's forearm with his left arm.
Thud!
He would have to control the arm holding the sword if he couldn't block the sword.
"What... What kind of weapon is that?"
Hong Jingbai, holding onto Yeongwoo's arm, asked, trembling.
He was using all his strength to withstand Yeongwoo's force.
In response, Yeongwoo looked down at Hong Jingbai with a calm expression and said,
"A match detector."
"...What?"
"If you can't block this sword, it means you're not my match."
With these words, Yeongwoo added more strength to the arm holding the sword, causing Hong Jingbai's eyes to widen.
"Stop it!"
This was because Hong Jingbai's arm was being forcefully bent.
It was a simple power struggle, but he was losing completely.
Crack.
As the tip of the sword neared Hong Jingbai's forehead, he spoke a problematic line.
"You're not just a human, are you...?"
"Not 'just'? Then who else isn't just a human?"
Yeongwoo asked, and soon realized.
This referred to Im Dupyeong, who had given power to the Standing Committee members.
"Im Dupyeong? What about Im Dupyeong? Who's behind him?"
Yeongwoo asked, twisting the sword threateningly, but Hong Jingbai did not easily open his mouth.
He knew that the battle was over and that his death was certain.
"Hah... The world is being toyed with by demons."
Hong Jingbai suddenly pretended to be indifferent.
But Yeongwoo didn't listen to any more unnecessary words.
"If you have nothing to say, just die. I'll find out who Im Dupyeong's sponsor is myself."
"...!"
As Yeongwoo exerted all his strength, the sword, which had been barely hovering in the air, immediately pierced Hong Jingbai's forehead.
Crunch.
The sound of the blade piercing a watermelon was heard, and soon, the blood-red blade protruded from the lower back of Hong Jingbai's head.
"Ugh..."
Seeing this, Tongliao's Three Swords realized anew.
That strength is always relative.
Who would have imagined that Hong Jingbai, who was so mighty, would be so helplessly defeated?
"Ugh."
Hong Jingbai, with his head pierced by the sword, let out a brief groan and then his pupils stopped moving.
"..."
He was dead.
"He's already gone."
Whether this departed soul would be absorbed into the void or go to Lemu's Lustful Garden was still unknown.
As Yeongwoo watched, he pulled the sword out, causing Hong Jingbai's emaciated body to fall sideways.
Thud!
Then, a violet aura from his body began to rise into the sky.
Swoosh!
Beijing was probably reclaiming the power given to him.
"..."
Seeing this, Yeongwoo thought it might be a good time to deal with Im Dupyeong.
The Standing Committee members, who had received power directly from him, were much weaker than expected.
‘Im Dupyeong might not be that strong either.’
Despising the weak.
Yeongwoo looked in the direction of Beijing with the same cunning eyes as always, when suddenly, he sensed something above his head.
Swoosh...!
Something was falling at high speed.
The presence was threatening enough that Yeongwoo instinctively swung his sword and cut the object in question.
Slash!
The object that had been falling toward Yeongwoo's crown split in half, and soon a piece of paper inside floated down as if dancing in the air.
Flutter.
"Huh? What's this?"
As Yeongwoo frowned and grabbed the paper with his hand, he saw ink-written characters come into view.
「I wish to meet the Master of the Skyscraper, Mr. Jeong.」
"...Suddenly wants to see me?"
Many thoughts crossed his mind, but Yeongwoo first checked the seal at the bottom of the paper.
And then, the name Yeongwoo most wanted to see appeared clearly.
『Northern Beijing Evil』 Im Dupyeong.
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