Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 437

“Keuk, are you curious?”

At Su-ho’s question, this time Alex’s eyes took on a strange light.

“If you’re curious, join us. Then I’ll tell you.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that.”

Su-ho nodded.

Good.

With that answer, he understood everything.

Looks like there really is someone behind them.

That was enough.

If those two knew it, then prying out the rest would be a walk in the park.

Su-ho thought for a moment.

“Okay, I’ve decided.”

“Oh, yeah? Then of course you’ll come with—”

Snap!

Cutting off Alex’s words, Su-ho snapped his fingers.

Then, instead of Nguyen—whose snow-white, straight teeth like rice noodles had been so charming—the man reverted to his original appearance.

“Huh?”

“?!”

The instant Nguyen’s appearance changed, Alex and Hex both froze.

Their eyes widened and their hearts pounded.

Their muscles went rigid.

It felt like the blood in their heads went cold, gooseflesh rushed up all at once, and they felt the trickle of cold sweat.

Su-ho smiled.

“Why are you so startled?”

“A—An Su-ho?”

“Yeah, it’s me. You’re thrilled to death to see me, right?”

Chajajak! Boom!

At the same time as the greeting, Su-ho lifted the foot that had frozen together with the ground.

His foot came up with the ice sheet so easily, and the shock shattered all the surrounding ice slabs.

[ Blood Armory is activated. ]

As the skill fired, a blood-forged sword settled into Su-ho’s hand.

He gave it a light swing.

Chajajak! Fwoooom!!

The surrounding ice slabs all shattered and Hiro’s restraints were loosed.

[ You have slain a Wild Rabbit. ]

[ You have slain a Wild Rabbit. ]

[ You have slain a Wild Rabbit. ]

[ You have slain a Wild Rabbit. ]

......

The Wild Rabbits that had been frozen and bound together couldn’t even let out a scream before they were all massacred.

Su-ho shifted his gaze back toward the tree where Alex and Hex were standing and spoke.

“Why are you standing still? Shouldn’t you either run or come at me?”

“Th—th—th—that’s...”

“For the record, ‘I’m sorry’ on your knees isn’t on the menu. Even if you beg till you die, I’m never letting you off.”

“Y—you...!”

Alex ground his teeth.

Then he pulled several drugs from his inventory, smashing the vials almost to pieces and ramming them into his mouth.

“Get ready, Hex...!”

“...Are you serious?”

“Then what, you wanna stand here and die like a dog? I’ll break in head-on, so you keep distance and attack.”

“But...!”

“Don’t chicken out, fuck. He pulled off one-versus-many on stream because the opponents were nobodies. You know the level of Korean and Japanese Players better than anyone, right?”

“...”

Hex’s eyes deepened.

Then he nodded.

“Got it.”

“Then cover my back.”

Alex’s body swelled.

The doping effects of the potions he’d crammed down started to manifest.

“Oh, you’re going to rush me? Good. That’s better. Getting caught while running away is way more embarrassing.”

“Shut up, fucking yellow monkey!!”

Alex charged Su-ho with his trademark Kite Shield held forward.

At the same time he popped every self-buff he could use.

Meaning: right now Alex’s state was as juiced as it gets—as if facing a boss monster entering its second phase, all stats peaking.

He had no choice.

His opponent was the one who had proven to the entire world live on air that he was the strongest Player.

From the start, if he didn’t go all-out, there was no chance of victory.

‘It’s humiliating, but I have to admit what I have to admit!’

He had told Hex that, but in truth Alex was forcing himself to endure his fear.

No matter how much Korean and Japanese Players lag behind America or Britain, taking on twenty of those guys at once is something even America’s flagship Player like him couldn’t be confident about.

So he poured everything into this attack.

“Here I come!”

Alex’s Kite Shield slammed into Su-ho.

Kwahhhh!!

He hit.

There was a heavy sensation across the shield’s face.

Alex’s eyes widened.

Good.

From the feel of it, a clean hit had definitely landed.

Proof: the ground around them sank from the shockwave, and dust gusted up under the wind pressure from the impact. However—

“Is that your best?”

Whoooosh!

With a gentle question, the thick dust cleared.

In front of him stood Su-ho, who had easily blocked the shield with just his left forearm.

Alex’s eyes went wide as if they would pop.

“H—how...!”

“How frustrating for you. You went full doping on top of skills and potions, and your strength is still only this much.”

“W—what?”

“I said it must be frustrating.”

With those words, Su-ho took his forearm off and grabbed the guy’s shield with both hands.

“Watch closely.”

Then, locking eyes with Alex, he began to tear the shield apart with his bare hands—

Like tearing well-fermented napa kimchi by hand.

“Wh—wha...!”

Overwhelming brute force.

Faced with that overwhelming difference in strength, Alex couldn’t say a word for a moment and could only surrender the shield.

But only for a moment. Even if you’re caught in a tiger’s jaws, if you keep your wits you can live—Alex didn’t give up to the end even as he watched his shield rip.

“Uwaaaaaah!!”

Alex let out a beastly roar and swung his fists.

He’d learned boxing and MMA to some degree, and his punching form wasn’t ordinary.

Bang!! Bang!! Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!

Each time a fist detonated, booms rang out like a mountain exploding.

But that was all.

Amazingly, Su-ho stood right where he was, without taking any guard at all, and calmly received Alex’s punches with his whole body.

He didn’t get pushed back, didn’t voice any pain, didn’t even knit his brows.

In stark contrast to the thunderous blasts erupting like a volcanic peak, Su-ho was the picture of serenity.

“Die!! I said die!!”

By contrast, Alex was desperate to the point of misery.

The roar he let out to hide his fear soon turned into a cry filled with desperation, then a scream.

“Huff... huff....”

“Done?”

“Y—you crazy bastard...!”

“Is that really something you’re in any position to say?”

Having calmly tanked all of the guy’s phases, Su-ho lightly swung his sword.

Sereuk!

“Gyaaaaaaah!!”

As the sword swept and a slicing sound rang, a horrific scream burst from Alex’s mouth.

With a single swing, one of Alex’s legs was severed.

Su-ho toed the severed leg far away and looked down at the fallen Alex as he spoke.

“Tsk, tsk. And this is supposed to be America’s macho representative....”

“Huff... huff... you son of a...!”

“Cut the whining. You don’t die so easily from losing one leg. Especially you—I’m never letting you just die.”

“What did you say?”

“Did you think you could just get off easy after how many people you’ve killed? There’s no repentance easier than death. In that sense, you’re going to live suffering until the day you die.”

“What the hell is that supposed to...!!”

“Shh. By the way, backstabbing must be your daily routine, huh? Didn’t you forget something?”

“...!”

At that, Alex hurriedly looked back.

But Hex, who should have been covering him from behind, was nowhere to be seen.

“Hex bailed a long time ago. Idiot. You have to pick the right people to trust. What kind of moron trusts a guy who fragged his own and stabs backs?”

“...!!”

Betrayal and indignation surged over Alex’s face like a wave.

Watching that expression somehow made revulsion well up.

Clicking his tongue, Su-ho said,

“Tsk, tsk. Still, consider yourself lucky. Better to get hit first—because I’m planning to make Hex suffer horribly starting now.”

Ttak!

Finishing his words, Su-ho snapped his fingers.

Then, as if exhaled from the direction of ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Su-ho’s gaze, Guiyeong burst forth, then took off in pursuit of the fleeing Hex.

“He’d better run hard. Otherwise it’s going to get really rough.”

Su-ho grinned and walked in the direction Guiyeong had darted away. Then he suddenly stopped and called Hiro.

“Oh right, Hiro.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Are you going to keep using the wrong form of address? Other people will hear.”

“It’s just us, though. Aren’t you going to kill Alex soon anyway?”

“That’s true. So I guess it doesn’t matter? Anyway, I’m going to go catch that big-eared bastard—can you stay here alone?”

“Yes, I can handle it.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.”

Su-ho cast another Heal and buffs on Hiro, then started moving again in the direction Guiyeong had gone.

*

‘I have to run, I have to run...!’

Hex ran.

With more strength than ever—no, staking his life—he ran.

Alex had told him to cover his back, but Hex did not follow Alex’s words.

Because he had realized it instinctively.

Even if they both attacked, there was no way to bring Su-ho down.

‘What he showed on the stream was only a fraction. He’s obviously stronger than I thought...!’

As bad premonitions always came true, Hex’s instincts were fairly accurate. And those instincts made him flee.

So he threw Alex out as bait.

He had once thought of him as the best comrade and a partner he could trust to cover his back to the very end, but even then, in the worst situation there was nothing else he could do.

There was nothing in this world more precious than his own life.

‘If I keep going like this, I can get out of the Gate!’

Fortunately, the 2-star Rabbit Hell Gate was an escape-type Gate that let you get back outside even if you failed the clear.

And when he had gone scouting alone earlier, he had already found the exit leading out.

The others didn’t know where it was.

He had told them only that there was an escape portal, not where it was.

So, sorry to Alex, but at least he himself could get out first.

He figured the other problems could be handled after he got out of here.

He was almost to the exit portal when—

Crunch!

A burning sensation.

At the same time, his calf hurt like it was being ripped open.

He turned at the hot, tingling shock like an electric jolt to see a black wolf clamped onto his calf.

It was Guiyeong.

“W—what is this!”

He definitely hadn’t sensed any presence?

No wonder.

Guiyeong was a divine beast made of shadow.

By nature, it wasn’t a being that made any sign of presence when it moved.

Startled out of his wits, Hex hurriedly drew his sword to drive Guiyeong off—at that very moment.

“Got you.”

“H—huh?!”

Hex nearly fainted on the spot.

A moment ago, what was biting his calf had been a black wolf; but the instant he drew his sword to drive it away, the black wolf was gone and Su-ho was standing behind him.

Clatter-thud-thud!

So shocked was he that Hex toppled over where he stood.

His calf had been mauled by Guiyeong, the muscle torn and blood pouring.

But with no time to feel the pain in his calf, Hex crab-scuttled backward along the ground, as if he’d seen a ghost.

“H—how...!”

“How what? Did you seriously think tossing Alex at me would let you walk out of here alive?”

“W—what are you...!”

“You’ve got the added crime of being insolent, so your pain is going to be at least five times worse.”

Sereuk!

Su-ho’s sword began to butcher Hex.