Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 339

Finally, the first portal.

There were three summoning-type Gate portals on the Amnok River.

In other words, all three had to be destroyed to stop the continuous spawning of Lizardmen from the river.

Of course, wiping them out wouldn’t erase the ones already summoned.

A shame—but it couldn’t be helped.

Still, it was better than having an endless stream of them.

Su-ho stood in front of the first portal.

It was tucked into the innermost chamber of the fallen Battalion Commander Lizardman's quarters, and in some ways, it even looked sacred.

‘Sacred, my ass.’

Su-ho immediately raised his sword and focused.

[Cutting the Ring has been activated.]

Slice—Szzzzzzch!

The skill carved a clean, straight line through the air, and the resulting shockwave caused the portal to begin vibrating.

Summoning-type portals couldn’t be destroyed by regular physical attacks.

At minimum, you needed a special attack—Cutting the Ring, which could sever spells and skills, was perfect for the job.

And then—

Zzzraaaaaa—BOOOM!

[You have destroyed a summoning-type Gate.]

[The Gate has been cleared.]

[Gate Clear MVP: An Su-ho.]

[Bonus EXP awarded for MVP.]

[1 Bonus Stat Point awarded for MVP.]

[Level Up!]

[All stats increased by 1.]

[You have received 1 Bonus Stat Point.]

System alerts poured in.

Familiar ones.

The kind you’d only see after clearing a Gate.

Which made sense—what Su-ho had just destroyed, though structurally different, was still a type of Gate.

But the alerts didn’t stop there.

[For achieving a great feat, the system has awarded you 10 bonus stat points.]

‘Hm?’

Su-ho’s eyebrow twitched as he read the message.

A great feat?

So no one had ever cleared a summoning-type Gate before?

His lips curled upward instinctively.

It wasn’t being the first that made him happy.

It was the stat points that came with being the first.

"Status window."

[An Su-ho]

Lv: 231

Class: Rage Crusader

Traits▲: <New Blood> <Hercules Candidate> <King of Fallen Nations> <Sealed Power of the Moon> <Power of the Sun> <Power of the Moon>

Strength (B): 57

Mana (B): 66

Perception (G): 66

Leadership (N): 50

Bonus Stats: 12

Level 231.

Even as a 2-star Player, his stat income was still solid.

His Leadership stat had already reached 50.

But there was no noticeable change just yet.

‘I’ll probably see something shift when Leadership hits at least 100.’

With that thought, Su-ho dumped all 12 bonus stat points into Strength, then walked over to his Lizardmen army.

He raised his sword and shouted:

"Tshura!"

"Tshuraaaah!!"

Thousands of Lizardmen echoed his cry.

Two commanders down. One King left.

"Tshura!"

Thousands of Lizardmen marched forward.

*

[You have defeated the Large Commander Lizardman of the Amnok River.] 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

[Cutting the Ring has been activated.]

Zzzraaaaaa—BOOM!

[You have destroyed a summoning-type Gate.]

[The Gate has been cleared.]

[Gate Clear MVP: An Su-ho.]

[Bonus EXP awarded for MVP.]

[1 Bonus Stat Point awarded for MVP.]

[Level Up!]

[All stats increased by 1.]

[You have received 1 Bonus Stat Point.]

Su-ho had just taken down the second Battalion Commander Lizardman.

And cleared the second summoning-type Gate portal.

He’d gained two levels and expanded his army by another few thousand Lizardmen.

No more need for eating enemy leaders to assert dominance.

But Small and Company Commanders still had to be slain.

That was fine.

After all, it was just a matter of cutting off a few heads.

With that, Su-ho’s Lizardman army marched on toward the final stretch.

Meanwhile, across the river, the Chinese began to notice something strange happening along the Amnok River.

It started with the CMC Surveillance Division that monitored the area.

“What the hell?”

“What is it?”

“The Lizardmen at the river... their movements are suspicious.”

“Let me see. Oh, you’re right. Why the hell are they suddenly moving in massive groups?”

“Zoom in on that.”

They zoomed the camera in on request—and sure enough, thousands of Lizardmen were on the move.

Then one agent pointed at the screen.

“What the hell is that?”

“What?”

“That guy in the middle, sitting like a king. The one with the red scales.”

“Huh? You’re right. Why is that one red?”

“Is that the King?”

“No, the King has blue scales. I’ve never seen one with red scales before.”

“Then what is he?”

“Who knows... maybe a mutant?”

“A mutant? Yeah, maybe. Either way, this isn’t normal. We need to report this upstairs.”

“Report what exactly?”

“That it looks like a new King might’ve been born.”

“Isn’t that a bit premature?”

“Just look at him. If that’s not a new King, then what is?”

“I mean, true... But where is he heading? That direction leads right to the Lizardman King’s territory.”

Their eyes met.

“...You don’t think?”

They were right.

Su-ho was marching relentlessly south.

His target: the Lizardman King.

And his goal—becoming the new Lizardman King.

After continued southward advance, Su-ho finally encountered the last Battalion Commander Lizardman.

"Jururur..."

Unlike the previous two, this third and final commander did not underestimate Su-ho.

Given his unusual appearance—and more importantly, the army he led—he couldn’t afford to.

Perhaps that’s why—

SPLASH!

The commander stepped down from his perch to converse with Su-ho.

"Jurara jururur jura, juruk?"

His tone seemed polite, even formal.

But Su-ho had no idea what he was saying.

So he simply struck.

SLICE!

Without a word, Su-ho drew his blade and cut him down.

The Battalion Commander couldn’t even react before his head was cleaved off.

"Tshurururura!"

"Tshahahahaha!"

"Tshuaaaa!!"

Without so much as a conversation, their commander was beheaded—and Su-ho’s Lizardmen roared in admiration at their master’s boldness.

And then—

"ZURAAAAH!!"

[The Lizardman King is using Boss Monster-grade Fear.]

[Dragon Blood has been activated.]

[Due to Dragon Mind, you are immune to Fear effects.]

A thunderous roar.

It was the Lizardman King’s boss-tier [Fear].

Su-ho smiled as the system message flashed.

‘Finally showed up.’

Summoning-type Gates differed in many ways from standard ones.

One of the biggest differences? Their boss monsters.

In a standard Gate, bosses have designated zones and receive special power-ups.

But in a summoning-type Gate, monsters spawn endlessly, and over time, the strongest and oldest naturally becomes the boss.

That’s all it takes.

Defeating that monster doesn’t actually clear the Gate.

‘Still, the symbolism of taking down the summoning-type Gate’s boss monster is huge.’

In fact, it’s massive.

Because the Gate’s “boss” didn’t get the title automatically—it was the result of constant struggle and evolution among all field monsters.

Same goes for every named monster in the hierarchy: Large, Company, and Small Commander Lizardmen.

That’s why it mattered.

Slaying the King in front of everyone would grant immense dominance.

This had nothing to do with Leadership stat—it was a different kind of authority.

And then—

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Heavy footsteps echoed from somewhere.

The Lizardman King.

Its presence boomed like thunder from a deep canyon near the Amnok River.

And when it finally appeared, Su-ho greeted it with the smile of someone meeting an old classmate.

‘Been a while.’

– Lizardman King of the Amnok River, Lv. 270 –

Level 270.

Its size was in a league of its own, incomparably larger than anything Su-ho had seen. Horns lined its skull and spine, and its tail rivaled that of a dragon.

But most impressive was its weapon.

The biggest and most brutal trident Su-ho had ever seen. Unlike the others, its central prong was longer and deadlier.

Its scales shimmered a dark blue.

Once, it was even called the “Black Sea King,” likened to a Dark Dragon Lord.

‘At Level 270, this might be the strongest field monster currently in existence.’

No wonder neither China nor Russia dared to cross the Amnok River.

It was a monster—literally.

In the early days, when the Amnok River first became classified as a threat zone, this thing would respond to disturbances involving its subordinates like a madman—rushing across miles like a hero to personally resolve issues.

‘Only after the Lizardmen population hit the thousands did it ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) stop intervening directly.’

Which meant now, while it had grown lazy, was the perfect time to strike.

Eventually, Su-ho stood face to face with the King.

– ......

The Lizardman King looked down at him with a blank expression.

The confidence of a ruler?

It rested its massive weapon on its shoulder, indifferent.

So Su-ho did the same, resting his sword across his own shoulder.

Silence.

Both sides fell still, and thousands of Lizardmen gulped.

Maybe, just maybe... a new King would be born today.

Su-ho locked eyes with the King for a few seconds.

Then twisted his lips—and swung.

KWAANG!!

A deep boom.

Not the slicing sound of a sword—but a collision.

The blow shook the Amnok River, and the splashing water fell like a downpour.

The Lizardman King had blocked Su-ho’s strike.

And grinned.

As if to say, “That all you got?”

Fine.

That smugness needed an answer.

Su-ho quietly invoked his skills.

[Blessing has been activated.]

[Holy Enchant has been activated.]

[Mana Perception has been activated.]

[Endurance has been activated.]

[Enhancement has been activated.]

[Eye of the Blacksmith has been activated.]

Self-buffs wrapped around him.

Su-ho swung again.

[Steel Severance has been activated.]

[Enhancement applied.]

[Steel Severance power greatly increased.]

It was an Enhanced Steel Severance.

Buffed even further by Holy Enchant, Su-ho’s sword slashed toward the Lizardman King at high velocity.

The King once again raised its weapon to block.

Or tried to.

If it could, that is.

SHRIP!!

A clean diagonal cut.

The King’s massive trident was caught in the path too.

But against Su-ho’s Enhanced Steel Severance, it was nothing but scrap metal.

FWOOOOOSH!!

Blood sprayed.

And then—

[You have defeated the Lizardman King of the Amnok River.]

[Level Up!]

[All stats increased by 1.]

[You have received 1 Bonus Stat Point.]

At that moment, a new Lizardman King was born on the Amnok River.