Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[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…

“We can defeat even the King of King of Ten Thousand Demonss with enough money. Forget about clashing with one of his underlings.”

As Yeongwoo laid out the reasons for finishing the war, Bantubangtong swallowed hard, his expression grim.

-But… isn’t Seoul important to you and us as well? Your kin live there.

‘Your kin,’ referring to the citizens of Seoul.

“Yes, that’s why I left my parents there.”

-…Jeonggu!

“My mother is the guardian dragon of Metal Seoul. She’ll do her duty—protecting her husband and the city. And she only needs to hold out for an hour.”

-An hour…?

As Bantubangtong tilted his head in confusion, Yeongwoo strode toward the battlefield, moving among the Redfoot Orcs, Strongest Sword, and a significant number of Japanese troops who still held their ground.

He placed his hand on the central flag planted in Daemado.

Thump.

The flag, previously marked with Lemu’s insignia, now bore the wedge-shaped symbol of Dogo, transitioning its status to “Contested.”

“One hour! If the opposing faction doesn’t attempt to reclaim the flag in an hour, the war ends automatically.”

Yeongwoo’s words drained the color from the faces of the Japanese forces.

“So if you truly want to head to Seoul to deal with Mara’s proxy, finish this war cleanly first.”

The implication was clear: if they killed every enemy here to prevent any attempts to retake the flag, they could secure their military resources and head to Seoul afterward.

-…

Bantubangtong looked away from the tower, instead gazing at the sky—or rather, the universe.

The seventeen thousand Redfoot Orcs followed his gaze upward.

-…The cosmos.

Bantubangtong murmured as he envisioned the universe beyond.

Yeongwoo shook his head, correcting Bantubangtong’s line.

“To us, the cosmos is ‘Mara.’ And in this war, we’re earning our fare to reach Mara. In one hour.”

Having completed his universal logic for vengeance, Yeongwoo pointed his sword at the Lemu faction.

“They’ll open the path to Mara for us! The path of vengeance still shines brightly!”

With golden light gleaming in his eyes, Yeongwoo’s words spurred the Redfoot Orcs to reorganize their ranks.

Before Lord Bang even issued an order, they decided on their own: finish the Daemado War first, then march to Seoul.

-Mara!

-Open the path to Mara!

-Maraaaa!

The furious cries of the orcs sounded like the whirring of cash registers to Yeongwoo.

‘Perfect. Time to bleed Lemu dry.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

As the brothers turned back from the tower, the Japanese swordsmen began retreating in fear.

Having overheard the earlier conversation, they were utterly overwhelmed.

How could they possibly outdo this madness aimed at the universe?

Even the desperation of Tokyo’s Sword Master, who sought foreign backing at the cost of his dignity, paled in comparison.

“Screw… screw this. What path is there for us?”

“These guys are completely insane.”

The only sensible course of action when dealing with madmen: avoid them.

Especially when those madmen were enraged orcs.

And so, finally—

Clank, clank!

The Japanese Sword Masters, along with their elite forces, threw down their weapons and fled.

The retreat had begun.

Yuto, still holding his sword, desperately shouted after them.

“If we retreat here, Japan is finished! Are you willing to be ruled by them?”

In response, a swordsman who had been standing by Yuto’s side until then slowly lowered his sword and stepped back, saying:

"Those guys... they’re already aliens. They never planned to rule us; they're just lunatics."

"...What?"

Hearing this, Yuto hastily turned to look at his side, but the swordsman in question was no longer there.

Tat-tat!

He was already far away, retreating with his back turned.

Instead...

Fwaaaah...

A massive shadow, so large it darkened the twilight air of 7 PM, began to stretch over Yuto's feet.

"Yuto."

"...!"

The voice and the shadow’s owner—

“…Ye-Yeongwoo.”

The number one swordsman of the Korean Peninsula, Jeong Yeongwoo07, stood before him.

Had he always been this large?

Yuto blinked nervously and finally saw clearly:

Behind the now-naked Jeong Yeongwoo07 stood an endless line of orc soldiers, forming a fortress-like wall.

Darker than the darkness itself.

Yuto looked at the figure towering before him like a demon king and muttered:

"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]