Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 339: Becoming Each Other’s Shadow (4)

“What? What kind of crazy nonsense is that?”

Yeongwoo's eyes widened as he read the system message.

「Some card effects from the power deployed in the battlefield are now activating.」

No matter how many times he read it, it meant that the special effects of the cards used at the negotiation table were also taking effect here in this battle.

Take, for instance, the “Workers” card.

Performance-based

If this card is drawn again, its power doubles.

The performance-based effect doubled its power.

And sure enough, the workers descending from the sky were now surrounded by a radiant glow, different from before.

‘How does this make sense? Even if the war rules were set at the negotiation table, the card effects are actually being implemented here?’

Yeongwoo still looked confused.

If the special effects of the cards were indeed being applied here on Tsushima, what would happen to his father, Jeonggu?

[Before the Storm: Jeonggu]

“Jeonggu is still alive, shielded by the mysteries of the universe.”

|Card Grade: Legendary

|Power: 1,000

Suspicious Straw

<Always defeats cards of the same grade. However, it loses to all other cards.>

A card that always wins against cards of the same grade, such as Jeonggu.

Which meant that he would automatically win against Lemu, another Legendary.

‘What kind of place is this?’

If Jeonggu had been here, what would have happened?

Yeongwoo felt a shiver run down his spine.

And meanwhile…

―What the…?

―It feels like my body got bigger?

―I… feel strange.

Yeongwoo's friends, officially titled “Workers,” landed on the battlefield.

BOOM!

Four mutated giants entered the battlefield, and the Lemu forces surrounding the capture flag collapsed in an instant.

To avoid being crushed by the mutants, they had no choice but to fall back.

On top of that, due to the "Performance-based Pay" card effect, Yeongwoo’s friends’ bodies had indeed grown larger.

Even General Kim Younghyeom, who had returned as a white tiger, was originally around 5 meters long, but now looked closer to 8 meters.

―Fighting the Japanese on Tsushima—now that’s a strange situation. Am I allowed to kill every Japanese here?

General Kim Younghyeom bared his gleaming fangs with a sinister line, and Yeongwoo spoke up loudly, making sure everyone heard him.

“You can kill anyone holding a sword, but if they disarm or flee outside Tsushima, don’t kill them. We should spare a few for post-war administration.”

“……!”

For the Japanese soldiers, this sounded like a compelling surrender offer.

It was essentially saying that they would be spared if they dropped their swords and fled Tsushima.

And it wasn’t out of compassion; it was simply for easier post-war governance.

‘Is this guy… really going to spare the ones who surrender?’

‘This is basically our last chance, isn’t it?’

‘If we don’t take this chance now, we might not get another…’

The Japanese soldiers’ resolve began to waver.

With morale already crushed by the combined forces of the orc legion and mutated giants, they were all the more inclined to give in.

Seeing this, Yuto, the Tokyo Sword Emperor, widened his eyes and looked around at his allies.

“What is happening? Does that nonsense really shake you all after coming this far?”

“……”

“If we lose here today, Japan will become a defeated nation forever!”

Yuto understood better than anyone that there would be no next time.

This wasn’t just a national conflict; it was a proxy war for the powers of the universe.

Once this war ended, there was a high chance that no further internal wars would occur.

From then on, they’d be busy with planetary development and making contact with the worlds beyond the sky.

“When we took off our clothes, we also threw away our lives! Fight with everything you have! Lemu is still with us!”

As Yuto shouted and gripped his sword tightly,

BOOM!

The Red Foot Orcs, maintaining their formation, struck Lemu's flank.

-Shield-bearers! Keep pushing forward!

-Split their forces!

-CHARGE…!

Like bulldozers, the shield-bearers pressed forward, spear-wielders thrusting behind them, while axemen swiftly infiltrated the gaps created by the assault.

The Red Foot Orcs, who had experienced numerous large-scale battles, were leagues ahead of the Japanese troops, who had only a week of experience in this reset world.

The same went for the combat robots Lemu had sent as reinforcements.

Not being a company that made war machines, Lemu’s combat robots were simply physically powerful and numerous, but lacked any sophisticated combat abilities.

Smash, crash!

They were swept away helplessly by the three-stage tactics of the Red Foot Orcs.

Moreover, Seoul’s Strongest Swords mingled within the orc formation, reinforcing their firepower, causing Lemu’s numbers, which had overtaken the Dogo forces, to dwindle again.

[17,619 – 19,330]

When both sides clashed, the numbers had been nearly 19,000.

Flash!

[17,602 – 17,483]

But in the blink of an eye, it dropped to 17,000, with some casualties on the Red Foot Orc side as well.

However, the exchange ratio was so disproportionate that the balance of power on both sides, briefly even, was broken in an instant.

[17,531 – 15,207]

Lemu's forces lost 4,000 in an instant.

While the remaining numbers were still roughly equal, the two armies felt vastly different.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The Dogo forces, seeing their opponents crumble as they advanced, gained momentum, while the Japanese swordsmen on the collapsing side felt their morale drain rapidly.

Seeing only alien robots all around them, even those were flung around like paper dolls each time one of the massive mutants swung their bodies.

―What the hell is this? It’s neither glass nor metal.

General Kim Younghyeom spat out some remnants of a Lemu combat robot that was caught in his teeth, growling as he did.

A Japanese swordsman who happened to be standing nearby trembled, realizing that a human body would be as crushed in those teeth as the remnants of the robot.

Finally…

“Screw it!”

He became the first deserter from the Lemu forces.

Tap tap!

Throwing away the sword Lemu had given him, he started sprinting south.

“No… no way!”

Yuto, who was the first to spot the deserter and thus the first crack in the Japanese ranks, felt his face twist like a demon's.

He instantly realized that this would lead to a chain reaction of further defections.

“Stop! Anyone leaving now is a traitor to the nation!”

As Yuto shouted and prepared to hurl his sword at the deserter’s back, a crimson silhouette blocked his path.

Whoosh!

It was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo, the proxy of Dogo.

He had finally broken through Lemu’s reinforcements and arrived before Yuto.

“Yuto-san, doesn’t Japan also need a future?”

“…What?”

“If all of Japan’s Sword Masters and Sword Emperors die here today, it will put us in a very difficult position. Someone has to survive to pay the tribute, don’t you think?”

Yuto ground his teeth, glancing at the deserter, who was now a distant figure.

“And who’s supposed to pay this tribute? The war isn’t over yet.”

“Is that so?”

Yeongwoo didn’t rebuke him directly.

Instead, he shifted his gaze to the battlefield status displayed in the air.

[17,422 – 11,829]

“You already know you can’t beat me in a one-on-one duel. You even lost to me in that card game.”

“……”

“And now you’re losing this war as well. At this rate, the Japan you worked so hard to uplift will end up stripped of everything—even its soles.”

Yeongwoo was offering Yuto one last chance—a chance to live long enough to keep paying the tribute.

But.

Slash!

Contrary to Yeongwoo’s expectations, Yuto lunged forward, swinging his sword and shouting:

Achwing!

“One-armed bastard! If I kill this guy, the war ends! Forget everything else, focus on killing him first!”

His plan was to immobilize Yeongwoo's sole arm and have his men attack from behind.

But things didn’t go as he intended.

Clang!

Yeongwoo effortlessly parried Yuto’s blade and then thrust forward with Bastard, piercing through Yuto’s sword. It was the activation of one of the mythical blade’s unique effects: Contempt the Weak.

【Contempt for the weak】

| This blade’s attacks can only be blocked by equipment of mythical grade or higher.

“Wha…?!”

Yuto’s disbelief was evident as he saw Yeongwoo’s blade cut through his guard.

He had never encountered a mythical weapon before and couldn’t have imagined such an extraordinary ability.

In contrast, Yeongwoo…

Slash!

…severed Yuto’s right arm in a single stroke, finally revealing the voice befitting a commander of a foreign land.

“My true enemies are beyond that sky. You are not even worthy to be my foe. This sword is proof of that.”

The mythical sword Bastard was designed to prevent even a single exchange with anyone unworthy.

With Yuto’s blood dripping from the blade, Yeongwoo turned to face the Japanese swordsmen who had been about to flank him.

Seeing Yuto lose his arm in a single strike froze them in place.

They realized that even if all the Sword Masters and Sword Emperors here attacked at once, victory was far from guaranteed.

“……”

Finally, Yeongwoo made a proposal—not mercy, but an offer to defect.

“Those who leave here alive will prepare the tribute for the Korean Peninsula. That is how you’ll survive.”

“……!”

“If you have family or friends left back on the mainland, you’ll get to see them again. You’ll even get to keep breathing.”

Then, he looked skyward once more.

Perhaps the night had grown darker because the paths of vengeance shining in the heavens appeared even more radiant.

“Of course, dying heroically here is also an option. I won’t force you to choose. But if you wish to live, start running now.”

Whoosh!

Yeongwoo pointed south with Bastard, and the Japanese swordsmen hesitated, their expressions conflicted.

If staying here meant certain death, then running and surviving seemed like the wiser choice.

In the end…

Tap tap!

Dozens of swordsmen began fleeing southward.

At that moment, a new war notification appeared.

Ding!

「Mara’s proxy has discovered Dogo’s planetary business site!」

“What? Are those bastards looting the empty house…?”

While this scenario had been anticipated, there was one variable Yeongwoo hadn’t accounted for:

-Mara?

-Mara…!

-It’s Mara!

The red-footed orcs stationed in Tsushima also saw the war notification.

Unsurprisingly, moments later, Bantubangtong, pointing to the tower next to the occupation flag, roared:

-The path has finally opened! All troops, advance to Seoul!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]