Martial Arts Returnee's Game Broadcast-Chapter 294: A Fearsome Talent

 The defense line of the Eastern Industrial District is made up of four defense lines: the Regional Border Line, the Outer Checkpoint Line, the Inner Outpost Line, and the City Defense Line. This defense system, designed by players who had experienced the breaches of defense lines manned by random NPCs during the Silent Swordsman’s subjugation battle, was a result of their hard thought and careful preparations.

1st Defense Line - Regional Border Line.

This line is defended by NPC foot soldiers.

2nd Defense Line - Outer Checkpoint Line.

This line is defended by NPC Armored Mobile Patrol Units.

3rd Defense Line - Inner Outpost Line.

This line is defended by player infantry.

4th Defense Line - City Defense Line.

This line is defended by player Armored Owners.

The setup is based on the assumption that infantry will sacrifice themselves to buy time while intercepting the enemy, with no preemptive attack planned on the Armored forces. Such reckless positioning, where NPCs are expected to die, would be impossible for an average player to implement.

"The lord’s misguided leadership caused the death of the men in our village."

"I can't take this anymore. It's a peasant rebellion!"

"Pick up the pitchfork!"

This is due to the nearly 100% chance of an NPC rebellion. Yet Hwang Geum-gang insisted on such a setup because he had a solution.

"Most problems arise from a lack of money. For NPCs who die in military operations, pay the death compensation and exempt their families from labor for three years."

A player with sufficient commercial power could suppress even NPC rebellions!

"Over there!"

"That golden gleam, doesn’t it look like a golden goblin?"

"If we catch it, we’ll get a lot of money!"

Although now that the city has been breached, it’s uncertain how useful that money will be.

"The enemy's wandering around even here. We’ve been caught off guard, Hwang Geum-gang."

"What are you babbling about? Wasn’t I paying you a high wage to step up in situations like this?"

"This... The employer’s patience is running out."

As Gastro flicked his fingers lightly, three attackers who had been charging forward suddenly grabbed their ears in pain.

"Young ones, what use is your empty hand?"

"Ah!"

"Gotcha."

Hwang Geum-gang widened his eyes. By the time he noticed the slight tremor in Gastro's fingertips, the three players had already scattered into particles of light and logged out.

His keen observation, strange skill, and lightning-fast swordsmanship were signs of a rare player. While many armored owners are strong because of their armor, few are strong due to their own skills. Gastro was one of those rare strong players.

"Where are the armors?"

"In a disguised hangar at the food warehouse over there..."

Boom!

A burst of flames erupted from the hangar Hwang Geum-gang had pointed to. Gastro stared at him intently.

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"...There’s a secret passage leading to the adjacent building..."

Boom!

Another explosion rang out, and the adjacent building was struck.

Gastro’s gaze sharpened.

"...But the real hangar is underground, we’ll need to go down!"

"Are you suggesting we enter that inferno?"

"Rich people love to have multiple secret passages. Follow me. There’s a direct route we can use from the outside."

Inside the city, Hwang Geum-gang entered a notorious, unappetizing restaurant and dialed a 13-digit password into the receiver. With the sound of machinery operating, the wall opened, revealing an elevator heading down to an underground base.

"Sometimes, a rich person’s excess comes in handy."

Inside the underground hangar stood a massive golden armored suit, over 50 meters tall.

Seeing the armor, Gastro remarked dryly.

"That’s my personal suit. Don’t covet it."

"..."

"Yours is the unique suit over there."

Gastro hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to request his deposit back and leave, but his thoughts were quickly cleared.

A gleaming silver suit, streamlined and glowing, emanated a unique aura.

"It’s a special product made by combining all kinds of unique materials I’ve collected since the Thousand-Year Kingdom era. It’s a unique suit created by Golem Corporation."

"Impressive. You’ve plastered it with unique materials that money can’t even buy now."

"With this, can we defeat them?"

Gastro chewed on the grass stems, savoring the bitter taste.

"Maybe, we’ll see how far we can push it."

"You fool, do you know how much that suit is worth, speaking so nonchalantly..."

As soon as Gastro mounted the suit, he immediately opened the launch hatch and ascended toward the sky. Hwang Geum-gang quickly followed, mounting his personal suit, just as an armored suit from the Silent Swordsman’s side slammed into the wall next to him.

It had been less than a minute since he lost Gastro, yet the area was already filled with the wreckage of destroyed armors.

"Open the mini-map! Radar detection mode!"

Hwang Geum-gang activated the detection function of his personal suit and froze in shock.

The entire city was filled with the red signals of enemy suits! The thought of surviving this encounter crossed his mind.

In the blink of an eye, red signals began to rush out at terrifying speed, sweeping over the area.

"This is the power of rank 4?"

Then what about the top three, who are stronger than Gastro?

For a moment, Hwang Geum-gang felt overwhelmed by the power before he realized the situation.

As he and his guard unit reached the secret base, more golden suits, smaller than Hwang Geum-gang's, began to land on the ground in quick succession.

"Follow Gastro! If he falls, we all die!"

If they only followed Gastro,

And if they could hold on until the end,

The Silent Swordsman’s forces who infiltrated the defenses would all perish here.

‘So this is it! Gastro already knew the conditions for our victory in this ambush. The direction of advance is the north gate, not where the enemies entered!’

At the north gate, the top-ranked player, Prisoner No. 502, was already there, ready to defend.

If Gastro and Prisoner No. 502 joined forces and spread their counter-surrounding strategy with other defense forces, the Silent Swordsman and her crew would be trapped.

Boom!

A pillar of fire erupted from the direction of the Lord’s mansion.

"Hwang Geum-gang, enemy suits are chasing us!"

"Don’t be afraid, press forward with strength. Those clumsy enemies won’t be able to face the power of the 4th-generation Armored suits made of rare materials."

The power of capital was truly extraordinary.

The enemy suits from the Silent Swordsman’s side exploded one after another, turning into junk.

"Gastro! Why are you standing here instead of breaking through!"

"It’s too late. I expected this. If they weren’t fools, they wouldn’t just let us go."

The main road leading to the north gate,

Among the group of suits blocking the way, one suit had a kill log over 100, and another over 50.

Today, the marking function that shows the players’ accomplishments seemed especially frustrating.

"100 kills... Is it really possible for such a third-generation supply-grade armor to do that?"

"Do you want to deny reality? You know too. There’s only one player who can record such monstrous kills with that junk."

"Silent Swordsman...?"

Gastro clenched and relaxed his hands, raising his focus with his own routine.

"Silent Swordsman. If we defeat her, the rest will be manageable. Defend the north gate at all costs, Prisoner No. 502."

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"Hwang Geum-gang, push the others with the guard unit. You didn’t invest in the suits just to get fancy toys, did you?"

"Truly a master. Guard unit, we’ll take care of the 50-kill giant and his subordinates! Don’t let anyone get near Gastro!"

As the Silent Swordsman focused, Eom Gil-dong's right-hand man led the slave gladiator unit into intercepting the enemies.

"Silent Swordsman. I’ve heard much about your fame. You won’t be an easy opponent."

[Quite confident, aren’t you?]

"Remember this. The name of the player who stands before you, Gastro, is one of the top rankers."

Clang!

With a sharp strike, Gastro flicked the beam sword handle, causing a deafening sound.

‘Good suit. High mana conduction rate.’

Unlike swords or bullets, sound cannot be blocked. The intense vibration that shakes the semicircular canal, piercing through the eardrum, causes temporary imbalance, rendering the opponent unable to fight. The fast combo that follows cannot be blocked.

<Gastro's Vision Technique>

<Closing the Soul - Closing Sensory>

The brilliant strike that deprived her senses and severed her soul resonated with a sharp sound.

"!!"

Gastro stared in surprise.

Before him, Ha Eung Eung was wearing a twisted smile.

‘You’re fearless. Daring to manipulate sound waves before me.’

The sound wave technique learned in the Hao Mun was considered a low-tier skill, but to Ha Eung Eung, who had mastered the principles of martial arts, any skill was just a matter of time.

Thwip!

Ha Eung Eung flicked the beam sword, creating a deep, resonant tone that was the exact opposite of Gastro's sharp sound.

The low tone slammed into his brain, forcing it to process the changes in sound.

<Hao Mun’s Low-tier Soundwave>

<Tungso Tongbi>

<Ascension Skill - Il-Yeon Ji>

<Ascension Skill - Degradation>

[The soundwave contained all the changes in the tone in a single flick (Il-Yeon Ji)]

[The opponent’s concentration will forcibly decrease.]

[Tungso Tongbi’s level ascends to the second tier.]

[The overlapping worthless tone changes within the soundwave will unnecessarily consume the opponent's focus (Degradation).]

[The level of Tungso Tongbi ascends to the first tier.]

With a single move, Ha Eung Eung raised her technique to the first tier, stealing Gastro's concentration and overloading his brain.

"!!"

Ka-ga-gang!

With a sharp spark, Ha Eung Eung's beam sword was blocked.

But Gastro's expression stiffened.

Crackle!

Though he blocked three attacks, the fourth change was unrecognized.

The spark from his shoulder told him that his technique was eaten in a single strike, and worse, it was executed at a higher tier.

"This is a terrifying talent."

There would be no second opportunity against the Silent Swordsman.

If he couldn’t take her down in one hit, he had to prepare to lose all the techniques he had built up over time.

As a swordsman, it was the ultimate shame.

Worse than death itself.

Ha Eung Eung would normally not resort to such ruthlessness, but...

[If you interfere with my revenge, you must be ready.]

[Be prepared to lose everything you’ve mastered.]

It was the Silent Swordsman, who cut away not only the body but also the heart.