The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 71

## 71. City within a City: The Case of the Wanderer (2)

“Absolutely not….”

Despite Choi Hyun-ji offering double the lodging fee, the old woman refused to speak about the Overlord.

Tinkering. Tinkering.

Choi Hyun-ji sat at the table, listlessly stirring her food with chopsticks.

Then, she lifted an unidentified piece of food with her chopsticks.

“What is this?”

As the rounds progressed, survivors no longer ate food from the old civilization.

As food became scarce, survivors replenished their nutrients in various ways.

Even for Choi Hyun-ji, who had been to many factions, the food before her was bizarre.

Snow Nepenthes tentacles seasoned with a generous amount of red pepper powder…?

It looked like the root of a green onion, but it had sparse, bristly hairs like pig skin.

It was seasoned in a similar way to kimchi [a traditional Korean fermented dish, usually made with vegetables].

Choi Hyun-ji frowned and swallowed it down her throat.

Gulp-.

The texture was like chewing on a long, cartilaginous bone covered in dandelion seeds, but thanks to the generous amount of red pepper powder, it tasted familiar.

‘Seriously, Koreans will make anything into kimchi.’

To think they would even kimchi monster byproducts.

In addition, there was a lump of mashed sweet potato, three seasoned rat meats, and a bowl of bone broth made by simmering rat bones.

A table like this was a typical meal for the residents here.

Choi Hyun-ji was now used to eating rat meat, having eaten it often in other factions.

Rats reproduce quickly, are easy to raise, and, above all, are an excellent source of protein.

It was tough, but many people enjoyed its savory and unique flavor.

Choi Hyun-ji chewed on rat jerky and looked out at the street.

The residents were taking a break for the holiday.

Some were throwing dry planks into drums, children were running around the streets, and the women of the village were gathered, drinking cups filled with suspicious liquid.

‘Peaceful, systematic, but with a unique atmosphere.’

She thought it wasn’t bad.

She thought that showy peace was better than not being able to show it at all.

This place was distinctly different from the other factions Choi Hyun-ji had seen so far.

At least there was ‘laughter’ here.

‘Maybe the Overlord of this faction is the player who will control the 3rd round. Who the hell is it?’

Basically, the trading market used by Overlords and players was generally ‘anonymous,’ so it was impossible to identify the Overlord here.

However, it would be possible to roughly guess if it was a place that listed famous products.

‘Where… what inventions did this Overlord make?’

There was no way the Overlord wouldn’t use the trading market.

There must be something.

Wanderers are players who collect information.

Information was their greatest strength.

And upon seeing the existence she encountered shortly after, Choi Hyun-ji could tell who the Overlord here was.

“Ah, no way?”

Clatter- Clang-!

Choi Hyun-ji walked out into the street, not even noticing that her tableware had fallen over.

It wasn’t far away.

At first, she thought it was part of the building.

But it was a living creature.

“Ogre… wow-.”

Crunch… Bang!

A creature as large as a villa was crushing a passenger car like a can.

And with the flattened car on its back, it connected the buildings one by one.

This was a fortress wall.

It was common to make it out of stone, but the ogre was stacking crushed passenger cars to make a fortress wall.

The ogre was the Overlord’s slave.

“Hahaha… ah, crazy.”

Choi Hyun-ji, faced with the unbelievable situation, silently tore at her hair.

And she was certain.

At least among the Overlords Choi Hyun-ji had seen, this was by far the most progressive place.

“Ha-. This is so much fun. This is faster than the development speed of southern Seoul. The 3rd round hasn’t even started yet… Ah, crazy. Wait. Maybe…?”

Choi Hyun-ji had to meet the Overlord here as soon as possible.

* * *

Mangyeong is a city in a ruined world where law and order coexist.

All residents belonging to this place called each other comrades.

And there was no one who didn’t work.

As time passed, Zion’s power became more systematic and stronger.

For the past year, Zion has devoted all its efforts to urban construction and the establishment of internal order.

The result is this.

A more systematic, stable, and progressive group than any other force.

Everything in Mangyeong now was done by Zion.

A born leader.

A capable Overlord.

The reason why his approval rating has remained above 90% even after a year was for this reason.

Of course, Zion had not only focused on urban development over the past year.

This was because Jaehee and Zion’s biggest goal was personal training.

And the effort paid off.

Manan 2nd Force.

For the past six months, the guys who had grown their power as much as Zion’s had been expanding their territory, using Anyang Elementary School as their capital.

So far, there had been no friction with them.

Because they feared Zion’s power.

But now Zion wanted to cause friction.

Now that a year has passed.

The expedition to subjugate the Manan 2nd Force was only about 30 people, but most of them were there to clean up the situation after the battle.

The attack team was only two people.

Kang Zion and Jin Jaehee.

They were now standing on the roof of an apartment building across from their capital.

“The defense at the entrance is more solid. It would be better to go back.”

Jin Jaehee looked at the battlefield first and said to Zion.

Zion was silently looking at the elementary school next to her.

Several people were living in tents on the playground.

And there was also a strange object.

That must be the secret weapon that the Manan 2nd Force was making.

Most of the troops were concentrated at the entrance of the elementary school, and the rear was relatively unguarded.

Perhaps they only cared about the security in the front to check the 1st Force, which was Zion’s force.

“I’ll distract them at the front gate first. You attack the rear with the weapon.”

Zion, who had been listening to Jin Jaehee’s plan, shook his head.

“What’s the point of doing that?”

“Meaning?”

A cold wind blew.

Zion’s shaggy bangs fluttered.

“I mean the meaning of coming here today. Isn’t it to confirm the results of the past year?”

“…Yes. That’s right, but.”

Jin Jaehee answered in a low voice.

Today’s subjugation is not just a battle or war between forces, but an experiment.

How strong Kang Zion has become, and how well the weapon performs.

But when Jaehee faced the enemies, she was worried about his body.

“The most important thing is how far I can use my enhanced artifact against humans. My enemy is not a thug from Manan-gu [a district in South Korea], but a warrior from Dongan-gu [another district in South Korea].”

“Okay.”

“Anyway, I’ll do it this time. I’m going to subjugate the enemy’s combat troops. I’m going to colonize the rest and build a farm on the playground. My personal ability is important, but the development of the force is also important. I hope you keep that in mind.”

“Okay.”

“Join Choi Myung-joon and come in the rearguard. I’m leaving now.”

With those words, Zion turned around and tried to leave the roof.

Grasping the doorknob, Zion looked back at Jaehee as if he had remembered something and concluded.

“And if anything happens, you’ll save me, right?”

Zion could go to the battlefield without any worries because she was there.

With those words, Zion left the roof.

Squeak-, Thump.

Jaehee, left alone on the roof, silently stared at the tightly closed roof door for a while.

And the weapon finally began to move.

He was crouching between buildings with his huge body.

Clang-.

And with a cheerful bell sound, he raised his head.

* * *

The Manan 2nd Force had thoroughly checked the 1st Force for the past year.

They also knew that only one force could survive in the Manan area during the 2nd round.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the two forces clashed.

“Move quickly! Put that there. Huh?!”

The Overlord of the 2nd Force was the former principal of the elementary school.

He had come up with a clever plan.

The 1st Force is a huge force with fortress walls built by stacking solid passenger cars.

In comparison, the total population of the 2nd Force was around 1,000, and even then, they were only old or young people who had not been combat trained.

That’s why the principal was making a ‘catapult’.

For the past year, all the labor of the force has been put into the development of this catapult.

In addition, they produced Molotov cocktails and bows, and built defense facilities.

In order to stand against the 1st Force, they had to produce such strong weapons.

“Okay. That’s it. This is enough.”

The principal smiled contentedly as he looked at his catapult.

It was a giant catapult made by modifying a city bus.

Since catapults basically have no fuel, people had to pull them, but the important thing was the function of throwing stones.

“Hey, pull it once!”

Drrrrrr…….

At the principal’s command, the former faculty members pulled the rope with all their might.

The catapult’s rod and joints were all obtained from a nearby hardware store.

When the catapult’s rod, a city bus without a ceiling, came down to the floor near the rear wheels, the prepared iron plate was inserted between the city bus’s windows on both sides.

Thump-!

That’s how it was fixed.

Of course, everything was manual.

At least twenty people were put in to hold the iron plate and pull the rope.

The existence of the catapult was the principal’s only hope.

‘If I only have this…! If I only have this…!’

The principal thought that if he only had a catapult, he could live a great life like other Overlords.

In fact, the information community of Overlords and players has the greatest purpose of exchanging information, but there are often level differences among Overlords.

If there is a great Overlord with tens of thousands of people, there are also small Overlords with only a few hundred people at most.

It’s inferiority.

The principal was feeling inferior to other Overlords who monopolized all the power.

Especially to Kang Zion, the Overlord of the Manan 1st Force.

“Okay-. Now it’s war! Let’s go!”

The principal shouted to everyone gathered in the playground.

He thought that if he only showed the power of the catapult, the Overlord of the 1st Force would surrender.

That’s how huge and majestic the catapult looked.

But that was just his delusion.

Thump-!

At that time, a huge earth-shaking sound echoed throughout the playground.

“Oh, no…!”

The principal momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

He felt the earth rumble again.

Thump-!

The ground rumbled in succession.

Thump, thump, thump-!

The earth rumble was slowly coming towards this place.

Everyone gathered in the playground glanced around.

And the existence that terrified everyone finally revealed itself from afar.

“…….”

“…….”

In front of that tremendous majesty, all the residents gathered in the playground froze.

They dropped the weapons they were holding, and their legs were shaking.

Some fell backward, and some lost their will to fight and sobbed.

-Gueeeeeee……!

A monster full of scars all over its body.

Its overwhelming body was at least over 10m tall, and the utility pole it was holding was full of bloodstains.

And the ogre was being controlled by a man.

Thump……!

The man was sitting on the ogre’s left shoulder.

Thump……! Thump……!

Numerous spheres were rotating around the man and the ogre in a constant curve.

The man was looking at the palm of his right hand.

The principal, who was staring blankly at the sight, was startled and ran backward.

“Hey, hey… hey. Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey……! Prepare for battle……!!”

“Yes… yes! Principal!”

“I told you not to call me that! Teacher Lee! I’m an Overlord now!”

“Let’s just surrender……! Principal……!”

“What are you talking about!”

The achievements of the past year.

He didn’t know who that man was, but it was a good thing.

It was an opportunity to check the power of the catapult.

“Can you hit it?”

“I, I think I can. But I can’t guarantee it…….”

“You have to hit it no matter what!”

“Yes… yes!”

As the ogre slowly approached, the soldiers of the 2nd Force also began to move busily.

Their own battle preparations were in full swing.

But the ogre and the man sitting on his shoulder were by no means doing any ‘battle preparations’.

Again, this is an experiment.

It was an experiment to test the destructive power of the ogre and the results of the past year’s training.

Zion carefully took out another bell.

A bell with an inscription of an order with the pattern of 三 [three in Chinese numerals]. When Zion shook it, a unique bell sound rang.

Clang-, Clang-.

It was the attack signal.

-Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Along with the sound of the bell, the monster’s roar echoed throughout the 2nd Force’s city.

At the same time, ‘fireballs’ flew towards the ogre.

Zion’s experiment had begun.

(To be continued)