Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 340

“......!!”

“......!!”

“......!!”

“......!!”

The eyes of the Lizardman King's subordinates widened. And on top of that—

“......!!”

“......!!”

“......!!”

“......!!”

Su-ho’s subordinates also had their eyes widen.

Both groups had every reason to be shocked.

But the difference was—

“Tstststststst!!”

“Tsahahahahaha!!”

“Tsrararararara!!”

“Tschachachachacha!!”

Su-ho’s Lizardmen began grinning, then burst into maniacal laughter.

And at the same time—

Cries of disbelief erupted elsewhere.

“W-what the hell?!”

“What is this?!”

“Red won?!”

The source of the uproar was none other than the CMC Yalu River Surveillance Division.

There, Su-ho’s appearance had triggered an emergency.

All agents were monitoring Su-ho, and the moment he engaged the previous Lizardman King, they bit their lips in anxiety.

The original Lizardman King had only rampaged in the early stages of his respawn, and recently he’d stayed relatively quiet—monitoring the zone was enough.

But with the new Lizardman King, they hadn’t figured out his characteristics yet.

So naturally, everyone was on edge.

Worried that a usurpation might occur.

But just now, Su-ho had won.

And that threw them into despair.

“Hah... I’m gonna lose it.”

“What the hell is that guy?”

“Wait, wasn’t ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Blue last recorded at level 270? So how strong is Red if he took Blue out in one hit?!”

"Blue" referred to the previous Lizardman King.

His scales had been a deep blue overall.

In that sense, Su-ho, with his red scales, was "Red."

No—he would now be called the Red King.

Thanks to the Red King, CMC was in chaos.

One of the executives watching the camera footage spoke up.

“......Convene an emergency meeting.”

*

“Tsk!”

“Tsk!”

“Tsk!”

“Tsk!”

The Lizardmen stomped their feet.

They looked just like a Maori war dance troupe.

They were all stomping for one reason—because they wanted Su-ho to devour the Lizardman King’s corpse.

'This isn’t just any corpse—it’s the old boss, so of course I have to eat it.'

This was, after all, the Lizardman King.

Su-ho stared down at the bisected body of the Lizardman King, feeling unexpectedly sentimental.

In his past life, the Lizardman King had been a terrifying beast.

'This is why you shouldn’t be arrogant.'

Nor careless.

It was because of his arrogance and carelessness that he died so easily.

Su-ho activated Bloody Hand in full view of everyone.

[ Bloody Hand is activated. ]

Suuuuu!!

The skill effect triggered, and the former Lizardman King’s body was sucked into Su-ho’s palms.

That was when—

[ Successfully copied the skill ‘Wave Surge’ from the target. ]

[ The Great Blood Orb already contains five copied abilities. ]

[ To copy ‘Wave Surge,’ you must delete one of the currently stored abilities. ]

[ Do you want to remove one of the previously copied abilities? ]

The system prompt.

It was asking whether Su-ho wanted to copy Wave Surge from the Lizardman King.

Su-ho considered.

'Wave Surge, huh...'

Wave Surge was one of the Lizardman King’s signature skills.

Just like the name, it generated waves in bodies of water to attack enemies—an environment-based skill.

Wave Surge is insanely powerful in rivers or oceans.

Depending on how it’s used, it can shift ship directions—or create massive tidal waves just by dumping enough mana into it.

In his previous life, the Lizardman King had repeatedly used Wave Surge to unleash insane water waves across the Yalu River.

That’s why people avoided getting near the river.

So giving it up would be a huge waste.

Su-ho looked at the skills currently stored in the Great Blood Orb.

Not many options.

After some thought, he chose to remove Linear Gate.

'Only Sinuiju remains now, and I’ve milked that skill enough.'

The moment he removed it—

[ ‘Linear Gate’ has been removed. ]

[ ‘Wave Surge’ has been copied. ]

He obtained Wave Surge.

A fun little irony.

The original owner never even got to use the skill properly before handing it over to his killer.

Just as Su-ho acquired Wave Surge, the Lizardman King’s body crumbled and vanished.

Su-ho looked around.

Countless Lizardmen gazed up at him in reverence.

Comforting.

'I’ve become your new ruler.'

But they couldn’t understand words.

So, once again, he decided to put on a performance befitting a king.

Su-ho raised his Blood Sword and activated a skill.

[ Wave Surge is activated. ]

As the skill activated, mana drained from Su-ho’s body.

At the same time, the Yalu River began to stir.

“Tsrrah?”

“Tsrruh?”

“Tsrr!”

As the river began to rise and ripple, the Lizardmen’s eyes widened.

That face—Is this...?!

The swelling water soon formed massive waves that surged toward the Lizardmen.

No one was harmed.

He only used it to demonstrate that he, too, could use Wave Surge.

Perhaps because of that—

The Lizardmen began cheering as if they were kids at a water park, letting out their signature laughter.

“Tsahahahahaha!”

“Tsrarararara!”

“Chuhuhuhuhu!!”

Hearing their laughter made Su-ho smile too.

He scanned his surroundings.

Then, using Mana Perception, he located a magically hidden surveillance circuit device planted by CMC.

Su-ho summoned the Guiyeong Spear and hurled it at the circuit.

CRACK!

One down.

Then he destroyed the rest in rapid succession.

“Damn it.”

“Camera 1 down.”

“Camera 2 down.”

“Camera 3 is also out.”

The Yalu River Surveillance Division echoed with reports of feeds going down.

The surveillance chief bit his lip.

“Red King, that lunatic...!”

They knew he wasn’t normal, but to think he even found the surveillance devices?

The emergency meeting had already been called.

Now all that was left was gathering data and coming up with a response plan.

The surveillance chief’s brow furrowed deeply.

'Now then, time to destroy the final summoning-type Gate.'

He’d given the Lizardmen enough of a show.

Finding the summoning Gate wasn’t difficult.

Compared to the other summoning Gates, the one under the Lizardman King’s management was relatively famous among the Yalu River Gates.

'That’s why there were so many surveillance devices here.'

Eventually, Su-ho arrived in front of a summoning Gate that was significantly larger than the others.

Big.

It was definitely massive, befitting the Yalu River’s first summoning-type Gate.

And appropriately, it summoned two Lizardmen at a time.

Of course, the moment those Lizardmen saw Su-ho, they bowed in submission and obediently wandered off to join the others.

Su-ho drew his sword and used Origin Slash.

[ Origin Slash is activated. ]

Slice—KZZZZZZT!!

Just one swing.

Sparks flew as the destruction began.

ZUUUUU—BOOOOM!!

Soon, the Gate crumbled magnificently.

[ You have destroyed a summoning-type Gate. ]

[ The Gate has been cleared. ]

[ MVP of this Gate Clear: ‘An Su-ho’ ]

[ MVP bonus: Additional EXP granted. ]

[ MVP bonus: 1 bonus stat point granted. ]

[ Your level has increased. ]

[ All stats increased by 1. ]

[ You have gained 1 bonus stat point. ]

The system messages rained down.

Now, no more Lizardmen would respawn in the Yalu River.

The Yalu River nightmare was over.

'Unofficially, that is.'

Su-ho opened his status window and distributed the bonus stat into Mana.

His level was now 235.

Truly monstrous.

He had expected to hit 220 by the end of the Yalu River operation—but this far exceeded expectations.

'Can’t wait to meet that bastard Alex.'

The moment he revealed his level, that guy wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face.

Just imagining it made his heart race.

Su-ho shifted his gaze, scanning the area.

He’d dealt with the summoning Gate. Time for the next step.

What he was now looking for was the Lizardman King’s quarters.

A Lizardman King wouldn’t manage summoning Gates directly.

He’d pass the duty off to a subordinate and laze around.

The Lizardman captain Su-ho killed earlier had filled that role.

Su-ho retraced his memories and made his way to the Lizardman King’s lair.

It was located in a cave carved into a cliff, off a branch of the Yalu River.

But it was clearly artificial, obviously manmade at a glance.

The Lizardman King must have made it himself.

The interior was pitch dark.

Didn’t matter.

Su-ho was immune to darkness.

[ Due to the Original Vampire effect, you are unaffected by darkness-based restrictions. ]

The skill activated and his vision lit up, allowing Su-ho to examine the interior comfortably.

There were no other Lizardmen.

Apparently the guy was the solitary type. The place was big and quiet.

That’s when Su-ho spotted a large stone throne in the distance.

It looked like the Lizardman King had carved it himself—wide enough for someone to sprawl on and rest their chin.

Su-ho approached the throne.

Behind it, on a large stone tablet, was a carving of a dragon.

A long, traditionally Eastern-style dragon, etched in relief.

Su-ho examined the dragon closely.

It started at the river below and soared up into the clouds.

The dragon faced forward.

And held a yeouiju in its mouth and both hands.

'This is it.'

Three yeouiju.

Technically, three depressions shaped like yeouiju.

Su-ho quietly placed his hand on it, and a system message appeared before his eyes.

[ A related item is required. ]

Just one short line.

Seeing that, Su-ho smirked.

Because it meant he had come to the right place.

'Yeah. Of course it would need a related item.'

He pulled three items from his inventory.

They were the Dreams of the Imoogi.

Su-ho checked their information.

[ Dream of the Imoogi ]

The dream of an imoogi that wishes to become a dragon.

If the desire is strong, the dream will come true. And a realized dream yields great power.

No updated description.

All three had the same info.

That’s why he knew he was in the right place.

'The highlight of the North Korea operation is the Yalu River Gate. After defeating the Lizardman King, we discovered his lair late...'

And what we found was this image.

No one knew the name of the carving.

Later, scholars dubbed it “The Dream of the Yalu River Monarch,” but honestly?

Still, they somehow figured out it required Dreams of the Imoogi.

But at the time, they had only found two.

Since the ritual required three, the Dream of the Yalu River Monarch remained an eternal mystery.

'But now it’s different.'

Su-ho had collected all the Dreams of the Imoogi scattered across North Korea.

Finally, one of humanity’s long-standing mysteries could be unraveled.

And of course, the rewards would be his alone.

Most people didn’t even know these items or this location existed.

Su-ho began placing the dreams into the yeouiju-shaped depressions one by one.

'Left hand first.'

Click—

A perfect fit, like a lie.

Then he placed one in the right hand, and finally, into the dragon’s mouth.

The moment the last one went in—

[ All related items have been gathered. ]

[ Conditions met. ]

FWOOOSH!

Light burst forth.

Then, the once-empty eyes of the dragon flickered to life, and suddenly, the carving began to move.

And then—

[ A hidden monster has appeared. ]