Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 344

"Neighhiiiiiiiiing!"

The Iron Horse was still flying.

But it wasn’t flying at high altitude endlessly.

From time to time, it lowered its altitude and descended—and that was the moment to strike.

Of course, he had no intention of doing this alone.

Su-ho first activated [Army Tactics].

[ Army Tactics activated. ]

Su-ho summoned as many clone soldiers as possible.

Then, he supplied them with [Blood Bows] from his [Blood Armory].

Arrows were distributed as well.

And so the entire force of clones waited with bowstrings drawn, holding position for quite some time.

At last, when the Iron Horse descended—

"Now!"

Thwthwthwt!!

At Su-ho’s command, the clones released their arrows all at once.

The arrows flew rapidly, striking the Iron Horse.

Of course, more arrows missed than hit.

But that didn’t matter.

The important thing was that some did hit.

And the moment those arrows struck the Iron Horse—

[ Top-tier Binding activated. ]

[ Top-tier Binding activated. ]

[ Top-tier Binding activated. ]

[ Top-tier Binding activated. ]

...

A flood of notifications poured in.

The clones’ arrows, thanks to the Obsession Fragments, had triggered a barrage of binding effects.

"Neigh?!"

As the binding effects activated, chain-like effects materialized on the Iron Horse’s body, yanking it down to the ground in an instant.

The binding effect didn’t care if the target was a ghost type or a flying type—it forcibly dragged them to the surface and pinned them in place.

It wasn’t paralysis.

It was coordinate fixation—locking the target in place.

"Neigh!! Neigh!!"

The bound Iron Horse struggled violently.

Useless.

Its level was still displayed as a question mark, so its exact value was unknown, but no matter how high it was, there was no way it could stay free under the relentless hail of arrows from the clones.

Naturally, Su-ho didn’t have to worry about killing it.

The arrows handed out to the clone soldiers were all blunt-tipped, non-lethal types.

Su-ho approached the Iron Horse as it # Nоvеlight # flailed helplessly on the ground under the binding effect.

Even though its size had shrunk a bit compared to when it was sealed, it was still massive.

Su-ho drew out the Chain Overseer’s Chain and threw it at the creature.

The chain, sensing Su-ho’s intent, flew like a serpent and instantly coiled around the Iron Horse.

[ Chain Overseer’s Chain binds the Iron Horse. ]

"Neighhhhhh!!"

It had just barely escaped its seal—only to be bound again!

The unpleasant sensation of the chain sent the Iron Horse into a wild panic, as if suffering from PTSD.

But it was no match for the double-layered barrage of binding effects.

Only now did Su-ho calmly draw his [Blood Sword].

He approached the struggling Iron Horse and looked at its head.

The Iron Horse really did have a horn.

How odd.

He’d thought it was a Pegasus-type, but apparently, it was a unicorn-type instead.

Although... the horn was absurdly small for a unicorn.

No wonder it hadn’t been visible.

But did that even matter?

Su-ho swung his sword and sliced off the horn.

"NEIIIIIIGHHHHH!!"

Sensing danger, the Iron Horse thrashed with all its might.

But Su-ho’s sword was more precise—and with one clean stroke, he severed the horn.

Shhk!

The moment the horn fell—

[ You have successfully severed the Iron Horse’s Horn. ]

[ Quest complete. ]

[ You have obtained: Iron Horse’s Horn (S). ]

[ Your level has increased. ]

[ All stats increased by 1. ]

[ You have obtained 1 bonus stat point. ]

The quest was complete.

And as a bonus, he had leveled up.

But none of that mattered right now.

Su-ho’s focus was solely on the Iron Horse’s Horn.

He quickly checked its item description.

[ Iron Horse’s Horn ]

The mystical horn of the legendary horse that can fly a thousand leagues without tiring, possessed only by its master.

Possessing the Iron Horse’s Horn allows you to summon and command the Iron Horse at will.

The Iron Horse’s stamina, mobility, and size are affected by the user’s stats.

The Iron Horse never forgets a location once seen, and can autonomously navigate even to unfamiliar places after learning them.

Su-ho’s lips curled upward.

He’d only dared to hope—but he didn’t think they’d actually give him the Iron Horse itself as a reward.

I really got the Iron Horse...

Honestly, he’d expected maybe a piece of equipment at best.

Like shoes modeled after the Iron Horse or something.

But to actually receive the Iron Horse itself?

No wonder they made me slice off its horn.

Now that it was his, there was no way he wouldn’t check it out.

Su-ho immediately used the horn to summon it.

"Iron Horse."

[ The Iron Horse is being summoned. ]

The Iron Horse responded instantly to his call.

Thankfully, the summoned Iron Horse appeared before him in a normal horse-sized form.

It was essentially a miniaturized version of the Iron Horse he had grown familiar with.

The only difference was that it no longer had a horn.

Other than that, its bronze-toned body and lively eyes made it look almost like a statue of a Pegasus made of polished bronze.

Su-ho stroked the Iron Horse’s head and spoke.

"Let’s work well together from now on, Iron Horse."

Snort.

The Iron Horse responded like any ordinary horse.

It clearly understood human speech—no doubt, a true spiritual beast.

Su-ho de-summoned the Iron Horse and finally distributed his bonus stat point.

Then he exited through the portal.

His tasks in North Korea were now complete.

It was time to proceed to the final step.

With anticipation on his face, Su-ho stepped outside.

*

“Huh?”

“What the hell is that?”

“H-Hey?”

“A-A monster!!”

“Lizardmen! They’re Lizardmen!!”

Panicked cries rang out.

All of them in Chinese.

Naturally so.

After completing his business in Sinuiju, Su-ho had begun his invasion of China—bringing with him over ten thousand Lizardmen hidden beneath Weihua Island.

The beginning was the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge under Weihua Island.

The bridge connects Sinuiju and Dandong City in Liaoning Province, but it had fallen out of use after North Korea’s collapse.

And now, Lizardmen were suddenly appearing on that very bridge.

“Run for it!!”

Sirens blared throughout the city.

A monster raid alert.

The people began to flee in a panic, while Su-ho slowly advanced, watching them run.

The invasion of China.

He definitely planned to go through with it.

But he didn’t want unnecessary casualties.

The invasion was just one part of his grand plan to save humanity—and if it caused too many civilian deaths, it would be meaningless.

So he deliberately deployed the ten thousand Lizardmen slowly, delivering visual terror instead.

Thankfully, the people of Dandong fled quickly.

The residents along the Yalu River were well-trained for emergencies like this.

Of course, not everyone could escape.

Hospitals were in the way. Some were disabled.

That’s why Su-ho issued an edict to the Lizardmen.

They could destroy buildings, cars—any property—but they were not to kill people.

This was just a warning.

And naturally, no one objected.

Because it was an order from the charismatic Red King, inheritor of the Lizard Dragon’s soul.

“Tsura!”

“Tsura!”

“Tsura!”

The Lizardmen began their rampage through the city.

Cars were smashed, explosions rang out, glass shattered, and people’s homes were reduced to rubble.

This level of destruction was unavoidable.

Su-ho’s goal was to completely overrun the city—and instill terror across China.

And sure enough, it wasn’t long before the awakened of Dandong began to appear.

“That’s far enough!”

“Fucking lizard bastards!”

China’s awakened.

Su-ho immediately activated [Mana Perception].

Hmm.

Their levels were unknown.

But the magic levels sensed through [Mana Perception] were pitiful.

Barely 100?

The strongest among them might have just broken past 100.

Nothing to worry about.

Su-ho drew a bow from the [Blood Armory].

He then neutralized them one by one—aiming for their shoulders, chests, and arms.

He even deployed Lizardmen to create a sloppy pursuit scene.

The effect was outstanding.

None of the awakened who showed up late fought to the end.

It wasn’t a lack of patriotism.

It was just that the enemy was too overwhelming—and they were too few and too weak.

They lost the will to fight.

So they chose to retreat.

Su-ho silently applauded their choice.

And for a while longer, he showcased the might of Su-ho Land by demolishing the city.

At this level, it would take a long time to recover.

That’s why he went so hard on the destruction.

To make sure they wouldn’t even think about rebuilding.

To make them leave.

After creating this mess, Su-ho finally gave the command to retreat.

"Withdraw."

"Tsura!"

There was no massacre.

Yet even the bloodthirsty Lizardmen obeyed Su-ho’s words without question.

Simply wrecking the city had been enough stimulation for them.

*

“Goddamn it!!”

Bang! Someone slammed a desk.

It was the department head of the CMC’s Yalu River Surveillance Division.

He had already requested that an elite awakened task force be dispatched to investigate the Yalu.

But then it happened.

Over ten thousand Lizardmen suddenly attacked Dandong.

A blessing in disguise: almost no deaths.

Those who died had fallen during evacuation—not to the Lizardmen.

Of course, the awakened were injured.

But even they weren’t killed.

They had been sniped and forced to retreat by Red King’s precise archery.

Still, that was the only silver lining.

The city was paralyzed, heavily damaged, and functionally crippled.

It was a massive loss.

And then the inexplicable happened.

The Lizardmen, expected to continue advancing, suddenly retreated.

No one knew why.

Surveillance cameras that had survived caught the Red King issuing a retreat command.

The Surveillance Division rewound that footage over and over.

And everyone felt the same thing.

“A madman became king...”

What’s the most terrifying kind of person in the world?

A lunatic.

Especially the kind whose motives you can’t understand.

That’s exactly what the Red King looked like to them.

What the hell does this lunatic want?

Even Blue King had approached cities before.

But he just killed people near the riverbanks, destroyed buildings, and left.

It was clearly a warning: “Don’t come any closer.”

They confirmed it when he threw spears at anyone near the Yalu.

But this guy was different.

He came deep into the city, demolished everything—but didn’t kill anyone.

What kind of psychotic logic was that?

“This is driving me insane...”

And then—

“Department Head! The elite awakened forces have arrived!”

“B-Bring them in!”

In a hopeless situation, hope had come.

Good.

If anyone could offer a solution, it was them.

The department head quickly ushered them into the command room.

“We’ve been briefed. You were attacked by Lizardmen in Dandong?”

“Yes, sir. A large-scale assault, led by the new Red King we reported previously.”

“But no civilian casualties?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I heard even the Blue King was taken down in an instant?”

“That’s the current speculation.”

“Blue King was what, Level 270?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. Then here’s my conclusion.”

“What... conclusion, sir?”

“I think we need to abandon Dandong.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Realistically, we have no other choice.”

The elite task force commander was deadly serious.

And it was the upper brass’s decision, too.