The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 127

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – Episode 127

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace 127

Sword Spirit (10)

Now that Yoo Seong-woo had established a guild, he had no choice but to work.

With no need to hide his power, he even entered Grade 1 Abysses alone.

Other guilds would need to gather all their strength to challenge such an Abyss, but he was conquering them single-handedly.

Most Grade 1 Abysses were managed by the government, so the government commissioned Sword Spirit to conquer them in order to close them. These Abysses were a ticking time bomb: terribly high risk with little reward.

“Another dud.”

Yoo Seong-woo didn’t encounter an Ascender in this Grade 1 Abyss either.

Unfortunately, Ascenders weren’t so easy to come across.

They were like cockroaches: nowhere to be found when you were looking for them, but suddenly attacking when you least expected it.

Yoo Seong-woo held the small gem, the core of the Grade 1 Abyss, in his hand and walked back out to the exit.

Then, the large black hole slowly closed and disappeared.

“Oh, it really closed…”

“Is that power real?”

The reporters who had been waiting in front of the Abyss exclaimed and tapped on their laptops.

It was amazing that he had conquered the Grade 1 Abyss alone, and the conquest time was also incredibly short.

Even on a global scale, he had shortened the conquest time of Grade 1 Abysses by more than half.

“Wow, this is national pride. He declared that he would even catch pro-Japanese traitors, so politicians seem to be careful these days.”

“He’s a legendary figure. There seems to be a lot of wariness in the political world, but what’s going to happen?”

“What can they do? At best, they’ll try to check him with the law. But if they stir that up, they’ll soon be hanging by their necks in Gwanghwamun [a major public square in Seoul].”

The reporters chattered excitedly.

The birth of an S-class Diver in Korea, surpassing all others, was something to be celebrated.

However, someone with uncontrollable, unknown power is also a cause for wariness.

Especially for those who don’t really know about the strength of Divers, those who only sit at their desks and engage in armchair discussions, he is nothing more than a thorn in their side.

This tendency was especially strong in Korea. Some politicians empowered Divers, while others tried to control them.

“It’s about time they start biting…”

Yoo Seong-woo, having perfectly completed the conquest of the Grade 1 Abyss, returned to the guild building, placed the core roughly on his desk, and pondered.

Quite a few days had passed.

He had confirmed that the Ascender Church was quite deeply embedded in Korean society.

When he caught the elf, even a guy named Andro was involved.

‘Considering his personality, it doesn’t seem like he’s the type to give up so easily.’

The fact that they were quiet now meant they were definitely planning something.

Judging by the government’s checks, it seemed that some of them had joined hands with the Ascender Church….

“From the start, commissioning me to conquer the Grade 1 Abyss was probably hoping I’d go in and die.”

“They don’t know their place. They should be handing over the country, but instead…”

Yoo-wol, who was organizing documents, said.

Yoo Seong-woo thought that was a bit much, but Yoo-wol seemed to be serious.

“…For the time being, accept Grade 1 Abyss requests without discrimination. I need to be aggressive so that they’ll take the bait.”

“Fish prefer live bait to dead bait.”

Yoo Seong-woo was planning to use himself as bait to lure them out.

If he kept going into Grade 1 Abysses, they would show up on their own.

Continuing to conquer like this would be a thorn in their side.

The more he conquered Grade 1 Abysses, the more his name value would increase, making it difficult to touch him.

It would be most beneficial for them to take him down before he was fully established as a force.

“I’m curious to see what they’ll prepare this time. It was a bit bland last time…”

“Only Seong-woo can say that, right? If someone else had been caught up in that, they would have disappeared without a trace.”

“It’s because I’m like that that I’m being targeted. I’m starting to get a sense of what they’re after.”

“What is it?”

“Ascension, the method of transcendence. It seems they want transcendent souls. They’re close to a fanatical group trying various things to raise their own status.”

He hadn’t been able to figure out what kind of god was behind them….

‘No, I can’t be sure there’s a god.’

Just because it’s a religion doesn’t necessarily mean they worship a god.

The ‘jong’ (宗) in religion (宗教) can also mean origin or leader.

It must be a monster that can cross dimensions and has the power to make people follow it.

“It’s the end of the world…”

He was amazed that the Earth hadn’t been destroyed yet.

Even with these crazy bastards running wild.

* * *

“Hello.”

-Yes, how have you been? Seok-hyung. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.

“You son of a… I told you not to contact me anymore.”

-How can I do that? I hope you don’t forget who you owe your current position to.

“That’s why I’m not leaving your head alone right now, isn’t it? I feel like blowing your head off right now, if possible.”

-That’s harsh. It won’t do you any good to talk like that.

“What, so are you threatening me now? Min Cheong-woon is dead, so there’s nothing to hold me back now.”

-It’s a shame that Cheong-woon died, but don’t think that Cheong-woon is all I have.

His fist clenched involuntarily.

It was a relationship and a person that hadn’t changed from the past until now.

He kept hiding something and revealing it only when necessary.

The sharp dagger pricked the most fatal spot….

He gritted his teeth, suppressing the rising anger.

“So what? What is it this time? This is really the last time. I’m listening to your orders.”

-It’s nothing much. It’ll definitely be good news for you too.

The voice coming from the smartphone speaker conveyed what he had to do.

The more he listened to the voice, the more distorted the face of the man called Seok-hyung became.

It was crazy.

He was demanding a crazy act.

“Kill him?”

-Yes. The Ascender Church will help you. So that you can kill him for sure.

“Are you saying that after seeing what he’s doing? He’s a monster. How can I kill a monster who conquers Grade 1 Abysses alone?”

-That’s why I said the Ascender Church would help. It’s enough for you, the gangsters, to stall for time.”

Seok-hyung’s face distorted again at the mention of gangsters.

They weren’t gangsters.

Now they had a proper name, ‘Black Bear (黑熊) [Heuk-Gom, a Korean organized crime syndicate].’

Seok-hyung suppressed his anger again and continued to speak.

“…I understand. But this is really the last time I’m cooperating with you. Don’t contact me anymore.”

-Yes, I’ll do that. If this goes well.

Click.

The call ended.

It was an unsettling remark to the end. It was as if he expected things wouldn’t go well.

However, Seok-hyung knew that he had no choice but to obey.

Black Bear (黑熊), one of the top guilds in Korea.

Their predecessor was the organized crime group ‘Black Bear Faction’.

Yoo Seok-hyung, the guild master of Black Bear, was the head of the Black Bear Faction, and after the Great Disaster began, he tried to transform the Black Bear Faction into Black Bear and come out into the light.

However, it was too difficult to go out into the light as he wished.

The Black Bear Faction was one of the top organized crime groups in Korea, and they had ties with politicians in various ways.

The politicians supported them in exchange for taking on dirty work for them.

Min Jong-ho, who had just called, was one of those politicians.

He had used them over and over again since they were the Black Bear Faction, and even after they became Black Bear, he took advantage of their various weaknesses to make them work.

Either Min Jong-ho disappeared, or Black Bear disappeared.

It was a relationship that would only end when one of them disappeared.

Yoo Seok-hyung clenched his fist and smashed his smartphone.

‘Yes, this is the last time.’

This is the end.

Once this is over, Black Bear will be able to escape from the shadows and stand completely in the light.

Yoo Seok-hyung stood up and summoned the executives of Black Bear.

Something had come up that they had to succeed in no matter what.

* * *

“Another Grade 1 Abyss request has come in. This time, it’s a direct request from the Diver Management Department.”

“How much are they offering?”

“The core is for Sword Spirit, and the request fee is 50 billion won [approximately $37.5 million USD]. Tax-free. It’s 20 billion more than before.”

Yoo-wol explained this and that.

The Grade 1 Abyss that was requested this time was in Seosan, not far from Sehyun City.

It was a bit far from the city center, and it was an Abyss that was the number one target for closing because it couldn’t generate much profit.

“It’s finally here.”

Yoo Seong-woo felt it instinctively.

This was a trap prepared for him.

So, shouldn’t he accept it? There would be fun in breaking whatever trap they had prepared.

And if he broke it… they would show their faces to start moving in earnest.

“Do you think it’s a trap?”

“That’s right. There’s no difference between the Grade 1 Abyss I conquered last time and the Abyss I’m going to conquer this time. But the fact that they’re inflating the price by almost double means they want me to accept it.”

“It would be interesting if you refused. Then they’ll make some excuse to make you conquer it…”

“Hmm… that sounds like a good idea. Reject it a few times. If it’s the Diver Management Department, wasn’t Min Cheong-woon’s father the minister? The Ascender Church must be involved too, so try to squeeze as much as you can. If they’re scared, they can die…”

“I understand. I’ll try to squeeze as much as possible.”

Based on Yoo Seong-woo’s words, Yoo-wol began to readjust the reward.

As he thought, this request was a request to trap Yoo Seong-woo.

A stage prepared by Min Jong-ho of the Diver Management Department in cooperation with the Ascender Church.

They had to lure him there no matter what, so they needed to send Yoo Seong-woo to Seosan at all costs.

They used the Diver Management Department’s budget as much as possible, and even had to pilfer some of the Ascender Church’s assets.

The request fee gradually increased, becoming several times higher than the amount usually spent to conquer a Grade 1 Abyss.

They had to add various reasons to get approval for such an amount.

It was to solidify the relationship of trust with Yoo Seong-woo, who would become Korea’s representative Diver in the future, and that he was a Diver who should not be sent to other countries….

The final amount decided was 85 billion won [approximately $63.75 million USD] tax-free for conquering the Grade 1 Abyss, and even support for artifacts.

From the government’s point of view, which had to save as much as possible, it was a big sacrifice.

From the perspective of government officials, it was such a huge amount that they said, ‘Are you crazy?’

Because such an amount was flowing into a newly established guild.

Yoo Seong-woo, having finished the contract, looked at the contract in his hand with a satisfied expression.

“Yeah, the price of life should be this much. We should have received more than this, but let’s just say we were a little lenient.”

“…But are you really okay? Even though you know it’s a trap.”

At her words, Yoo Seong-woo scoffed and replied.

“From the moment I knew it was a trap, the trap has lost its usefulness.”