novelThe Struggle
| ← Ch.235 | Ch.237 → |
Translator: Leyy3
"How dare you!?"
Rothschild, who was standing on the high spire of Cyamodus, bellowed angrily at Kang Chul-In.
"You dare step into my territory? You bastard!"
His voice contained a mixture of resent and murderous intent.
"How scary."
Kang Chul-In snorted.
However, Rothschild couldn't hear him from afar.
Therefore,
Chuk!
Kang Chul-In pointed his middle finger at Rothschild to reveal his intentions. Wasn't it just the best to insult Rothschild?
Flash!
However, Kang Chul-In's entertainment didn't last long. The lightning strikes had yet to cease!
Psst!
Kang Chul-In flung his body away.
Bang!
Immediately, a lightning strike struck at where he was standing just moments ago. He had no luxury for a relaxing conversation with Rothschild.
"You, you bastard, will never get out of here alive. I swear to make this place your grave!"
Rothschild declared.
That's what you think.
Kang Chul-In simply ignored the infuriated Rothschild and chased after the escaping Cyamodus soldiers.
"D-Don't come near me!"
"Y-You devil!"
In the soldiers' eyes, Kang Chul-In was the death reaper himself.
The Lightning God!
Who could even challenge Kang Chul-In, when just standing next to him could guarantee an electrocution? All they could do was run.
Rothschild grit his teeth as he watched this.
"Alright then, let's see how long you can keep up that rampage of yours. I will slaughter you, Kang Chul-In!"
Whatever.
Kang Chul-In paid no attention to Rothschild. He continued to run here and there, summoning lightning bolts everywhere. Cyamodus soldiers, beware!
"Let's go, Cyamodus!"
Rothschild shouted.
-Keuhhhh... !
Cyamodus, the giant fire turtle, slowly raised its body.
Kang Chul-In, I will do whatever it takes to capture you!
The territory's capital would be in ruins after deploying Cyamodus, but Rothschild believed that it was inevitable.
He could pour in gold to reconstruct the territory anytime he wanted to, but opportunities like this didn't come by often. It was a worthy investment as long as he could capture Kang Chul-In.
***
Upon deploying the fire turtle, the territory was completely ruined.
Rumble,
Bang!
A lightning bolt struck towards Kang Chul-In.
Flick, flicker!
Cyamodus, the fire turtle, breathed a pillar of flame.
Thump, thump!
To top it all off, the gigantic fire turtle fumbled around, creating harmful vibrations throughout the city.
All of these factors contributed to the destruction of Rothschild's territory, even without the squall and earthquake promised by the artifact.
"Arghhhh!"
"Y-your Majesty!"
"M-Mercy... Kuhuk!"
The casualty rate was extremely high as well.
Many lives were lost from Kang Chul-In's electrocution and the fire turtle's stampede. It was almost as if a war had happened.
"Go, capture him! I said to stomp on him!"
However, Rothschild was focused solely on inciting the fire turtle. He couldn't care less about his people and soldiers.
That's right! You're doing well, Rothschild!
Kang Chul-In was highly motivated thanks to that.
What a hilarious situation!
It was entertaining and energizing to watch Rothschild break his own territory apart just to capture him.
Rothschild's rash actions didn't just cost money. If he continued to neglect his soldiers and people, how would he handle the aftermath? They would lose faith in him as their leader, which was difficult to recover from.
Rothschild should have maintained his composure even if he suffered a little damage. Lee Gong-Myung would have done that without a doubt.
Damn it... when are these lightning strikes going to end... ?
Of course, Kang Chul-In was on the verge of collapse as well.
-
Notification!
At that moment,
-
The Aura of Jealousy will stop soon!
-
Lightning strike will stop soon! (Remaining: 20 bolts)
A notification popped up to inform him of when the lightning strikes would end. It was fantastic news for Kang Chul-In who was desperately trying to find the right time to escape.
A lightning strike takes roughly... five seconds.
Kang Chul-In calculated quickly.
Twenty bolts, each five seconds apart... that's 100 seconds in total. The problem is how do I escape...
He laid his gaze in the direction towards Laputa.
The escape route was to the west.
The problem was that he still had 100 seconds of torture left and he had not yet established his escape route at all.
Flash!
Another bolt of lightning struck.
A bit more!
Kang Chul-In flung his body aside with all of his might.
He had to endure this penalty before he could even plan his escape. If not, the lightning bolts would just be a neon sign revealing his location to Rothschild.
***
While Kang Chul-In busily ravaged throughout Rothschild's territory, Kwak Jung visited Lee Chae-Rin's Dorado territory as Laputa's diplomat.
"Welcome."
Lee Chae-Rin, who was sitting on her mithril chair, greeted Kwak Jung.
"Thank you for coming such a long way."
"Haha! No worries! I came here via a magic circle! Anyway, Ms. Chae-Rin..."
Kwak Jung was about to continue his statement when...
Flash!
A chilling glare could be felt from his surroundings.
Shit... !
Kwak Jung immediately realized his mistake.
Lee Chae-Rin was a Lord.
In fact, she was an Overlord.
To call her 'Ms. Chae-Rin' was not only rude, but also a diplomatic disaster.
I-I screwed up... !
Kwak Jung shuddered.
Lee Chae-Rin's subordinates were glaring at him with such unbearable intensity.
"Ehem... !"
A low, heavy voice let out a fake cough.
"Excuse me."
A man stepped forward.
E-Eek?!
Kwak Jung was shocked to see this man.
He had seen plenty of other races, including Drakan, the dragon-human of Laputa, but it was different this time.
It was because this time, the man in front of him was,
C-Cerberus?!
A three-headed canine.
"Tactician Kwak."
"Yes?"
"I am Anubis, a humble servant of her Majesty and the leader of the royal guards of Dorado."
"Ah, yes... nice to meet you."
Kwak Jung thought otherwise.
Wah... this guy looks real scary...
He wasn't wrong.
Anubis was originally a low-level canine who used an S-rank Infinity Stone to upgrade into a three-headed canine. His new appearance was horrifying indeed.
-Grrrr... !
-Grrr... ?!
In addition, the other two heads attached to his shoulder growled menacingly, further escalating the pressure.
"Tactician Kwak, please do mind your language."
"..."
"You may be from the same hometown as her Majesty, but she is still an Overlord. Isn't it common courtesy to greet her with some respect?"
Anubis was speaking the truth. Kwak Jung couldn't rebut him and consequently apologized to Lee Chae-Rin.
"I apologize, your Majesty. I am not fantastic with words... Please forgive me..."
"Not at all, Tactician Kwak."
Lee Chae-Rin smiled and shook her hand.
"I understand. You don't usually put up a pretense."
"Haha..."
"Moreover... I can accept 10, or even 100 mistakes from someone who receives full trust from Mr. Chul-In."
"I-Is that so?"
"Of course~!"
"Hahaha~! As I expected, your Majesty is no normal heroine."
"You flatter me, hohoho~!"
Thanks to Lee Chae-Rin's witty comments, a comfortable atmosphere could form between the two of them.
"Your Majesty, I have something to tell you."
That was at least until Kwak Jung mentioned 'that story'.
"It's a crucial matter."
"Go on."
"Do you mind if I just tell you now?"
"Not at all."
"Your Majesty."
Kwak Jung's eyes gleamed.
"Yes, Tactician Kwak."
"Let me ask you as the chief tactician cum diplomat of Laputa."
He spoke in a heavy, serious tone unlike before.
"Do you, the ruler of Dorado, have any intention of marrying his Majesty, Kang Chul-In?"
"M-M-Mar..."
Lee Chae-Rin didn't expect this question at all. She was too shocked to continue her sentence.
Heh, she's surprised as expected!
Kwak Jung grinned inwardly.
Now, shall we start fishing for more?
And hence began Kwak Jung's plan.
***
Meanwhile, Kang Chul-In was fully occupied with dodging the 19th lightning bolt. He had not the slightest clue of what Kwak Jung was planning to do.
Flash!
Bangggg!
A lightning bolt landed on the food warehouse, which was one of Rothschild's most essential infrastructures.
Thump!
To add on to that, Cyamodus, the giant turtle, stomped on that very same warehouse. The territory now had no means of preparing for the incoming winter.
This was very satisfying for Kang Chul-In.
He intentionally ran towards clusters of people and vital buildings to dodge the lightning, while Rothschild was thankfully causing havoc on his own land.
"You little rat!"
Rothschild screamed in fury.
Shudder, shudder... !
Kang Chul-In slipped out of Rothschild's grasp every time, as if mocking him.
"Keke! How long do you think you can last?"
However, Rothschild was somewhat confident.
Despite his incredible abilities, Kang Chu-In was still a human. He couldn't possibly dodge at that speed for 365 days straight.
Wasn't he bound to hit his limit someday? Rothschild's judgment was precisely on point.
One last bolt.
Kang Chul-In didn't care.
Immediately after the 19th lightning strike, he swung his body towards the west --- the direction towards Laputa.
It was time for him to escape without even turning back.
Escaping here is my first priority.
Kang Chul-In was about to turn his body when,
Crack, crack!
With a sharp screech, hairline cracks began to appear on his armor.
"... !"
Kang Chul-In stopped moving for a moment.
He wasn't the one who stopped.
He was bound by some kind of effect.
String!
The culprit was a metallic string which boasted an enormous durability.
Grasp!
Tens of metallic strings instantly began to wrap around Kang Chul-In's body, locking him down.
The opponent had formidable skill.
God damn it!
Kang Chul-In could identify the user of these metallic strings, but that was the least of his concerns. The impending 20th lightning bolt was of a much bigger concern.
Flash!
The lightning bolt appeared.
... I can't dodge this.
Kang Chul-In was fully locked down now. Any movement of his could rip him into pieces. As even his neck felt a stinging sensation, he could be headless if not careful.
Damn it, I guess there's no choice but to get hit.
He had to acknowledge that he couldn't possibly dodge the last lightning bolt.
Thump!
However, before he was hit, someone dropped straight down from the skies and embraced Kang Chul-In.
| ← Ch. 235 | Ch. 237 → |