Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 340

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 340: The Path of Vengeance (1)

"What? Lord Bang! What are you talking about? The war here isn’t over yet!"

Yeongwoo looked dumbfounded as he saw the brothers already beginning their retreat.

No matter how one-sided the battle seemed, the war wasn’t finished.

They needed to hold the flag for at least another hour to secure victory.

If the Lemu faction attempted a counterattack, they’d need to fight for another two hours at the very least.

-That’s right. The war isn’t over yet.

Lord Bang nodded in agreement, but his eyes were already filled with vengeance.

-Our war starts now! Mara is in Seoul... Mara!

As Lord Bang roared with rage, his voice seemed to pierce the heavens.

Seventeen thousand brothers raised their weapons in unison, shouting in response.

-Mara!

-The path of vengeance is open!

-Maraaaaa!

‘These lunatics.’

Of course, Yeongwoo understood the sentiments of the brothers.

Mara had mercilessly massacred their kin, even driving them to the brink of extinction, after taking their home planet.

How could they not be consumed with vengeance against Mara?

Compared to that, the war over Daemado seemed trivial in their eyes.

But for Yeongwoo, who had ambitions to claim dominion over this planet and secure massive funding from extraterrestrial backers, this war was a crucial business opportunity.

“No one leaves until this war is over.”

Yeongwoo brandished his sword menacingly as he spoke, causing Lord Bang, who had been heading toward the tower with the brothers, to twitch his eyebrows.

-What did you say?

“Mara’s true body isn’t even in Seoul. It’s just a proxy that’s been found. Hardly a reason to halt the war.”

-But now...!

Wasn’t the presence of a proxy in Seoul essentially a signal for full-scale war with Mara?

To the Redfoot Orcs, the news was tantamount to declaring an all-out battle against Mara.

-This planet is your planet, yes. But it’s also our new home.

The message was clear: they couldn’t allow Mara to claim this planet, which was supposed to be their new sanctuary after losing their home.

Yeongwoo nodded as if it were obvious.

“Indeed. As I promised, the brothers will thrive on this land. But to ensure that—”

Swish.

Yeongwoo reached out, and from the distance, a golden goblin scurried over, handing him a commemorative coin bearing Yeongwoo’s face.

Yeongwoo tossed the coin to Bantubangtong.

Whizz!

-...What’s the meaning of this?

Thud!

Catching the coin, Bantubangtong tilted his head in confusion.

“Money.”

-Money?

“Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture by getting caught up in immediate concerns, Lord Bang. Money comes first.”

-What nonsense are you talking about? There’s someone from Mara in Seoul right now...!

“And what about here?”

-...?

“There’s a mountain of wealth here, yet you’re willing to abandon military funding just to chase after one of Mara’s proxies?”

With that, Yeongwoo made his trademark scheming gesture.

Fwoosh!

He pointed his scimitar toward the sky—or rather, the cosmos.

“Mara’s proxy is just a human under Mara’s shadow. Your true enemy lies beyond, out there in the universe.”

-Small Foot...! Are you trying to deceive us again?

Bantubangtong, sensing déjà vu, raised his voice.

But Yeongwoo silenced him with an even louder retort, crushing his momentum.

“The Master of the Void! The King of Ten Thousand Demons!”

-What...?

“The one who walks in the shadow of cosmic law. In the universe, that’s what Mara is called. And that bastard is the ultimate tax evader, the kind even our chairman couldn’t touch!”

Of course, there was no official evidence about taxes.

“To face a lunatic of Mara’s caliber, what do you need? Courage? Burning vengeance?”

Yeongwoo’s rhetorical question left Bantubangtong speechless.

As victims, neither he nor his brothers knew much about Mara, who loomed large as a cosmic force.

But Yeongwoo, who had looked toward the stars early on, knew what was essential to challenge the King of King of Ten Thousand Demonss.

“Money. A ridiculous amount of money.”

Money—known as Karma in universal terms.

Coincidentally, a word also used on Earth to mean “fate” or “consequences.”

And with enough Karma, one could transcend the limits of their species, even bribing cosmic officials.

Perhaps...

"You... you’re the true evil, aren’t you?"

At this, Jeong Yeongwoo raised his crimson demon sword high and spoke in a flat tone:

"Thank you for sending my brothers and me to space. Send my regards to Mara in the void."

Then, without hesitation, he struck down at Yuto.

* * *

Same time, near the tower in Samsung-dong, Metal Seoul, Dogo Special City.

「A representative of Mara has discovered Dogo's planetary office!」

The ominous alert had appeared five minutes ago, prompting Jiseon to rush outside.

Yet despite this, nothing seemed to be happening in Seoul.

—What’s going on? Isn’t this the only Dogo planetary office?

Jiseon let out a shallow sigh as she scanned the still and quiet Seoul skyline.

Although she was tense—her son was away during this unexpected situation—the lack of any actual incident left her feeling anticlimactic.

Then, moments later—

Tat-tat!

A faint presence. Jeonggu came running out from the direction of the Parnas Hotel.

“Dear! Are you alright?”

Apparently, he’d been hiding inside the hotel for the five minutes following the alert, only now daring to emerge.

Jiseon frowned and pointed the tip of her frost greatsword at Jeonggu.

—You idiot, don’t say things like that when Yeongwoo’s not here. Just don’t call me at all.

“But... but...”

Jeonggu faltered, looking around nervously.

He couldn’t help but worry Yeongwoo might have installed cameras throughout Seoul to keep an eye on his parents.

But Jiseon didn’t care about that.

What mattered to her was the ominous alert she’d just seen.

—This is the Dogo office, isn’t it? Yeongwoo said as much.

“Yes, yes. This is where Dogo Special City was declared...”

And this is where their son would return to after the battlefield.

—Then what is this? There’s no way that alert was just a system error.

A representative of Mara has discovered Dogo's planetary office...

According to the message, the enemy had already located Metal Seoul.

They were watching from somewhere.

—...

As Jiseon carefully surveyed the buildings around Samsung-dong, from the smaller structures to the tower leading to the high-speed transit network, something strange caught her attention.

She turned to Jeonggu and asked:

—Hey.

“Y-yes? What is it?”

—Was it always this dark at this time?

“Pardon?”

—The sky. Doesn’t it seem unusually dark?

Jeonggu looked up at the sky and blinked.

“Huh... You’re right. It’s like midnight already. Not a single cloud, either.”

Suddenly, Jiseon raised her sword and pointed it at the hotel.

—You, go back inside and sleep. Now.

“What? Why the sudden—”

Jeonggu gave her a hurt look.

But Jiseon wasn’t looking at him.

—Just get lost. If you want to walk into tomorrow’s wedding hall alive.

“...?”

Finally, Jeonggu realized something.

Following Jiseon’s gaze, he, too, looked up toward the sky above Seoul.

Sshhhhhh.

And then he saw it.

The pitch-black sky flickered for a moment.

“Ah!”

Jeonggu gasped instinctively, and at that moment, the eight anti-aircraft cannons installed throughout Seoul raised their barrels in unison.

Weapons Yeongwoo had set up had detected something.

Duuuuuuuuuuuuu...!

A deep, resonating horn-like sound spread from the sky above.

—Damn it. What the hell is that? There’s something above us.

Jiseon’s words slipped through gritted teeth within her helmet.

Even though her eyes saw only darkness, her dragon instincts told her the truth.

Something was covering the entire sky above Seoul.

And then—

Thut-thut-thut-thut-thung!

The anti-aircraft cannons of Metal Seoul began firing into the heavens.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]