Chapter 18 — Orthodox Faction and Unorthodox Faction (1)
“I couldn’t tell because it was nighttime, but...”
Seok Taejun frowned.
“Kang Yujin, aren’t we kind of screwed?”
“...”
Hearing Seok Taejun’s words, Kang Yujin raised his head once again and looked around.
The ghost train had stopped in the middle of a field whose location they couldn’t identify.
It seemed to be in a completely different direction from the Capital Region, which had originally been their destination.
“Where the hell are we? In the old days, we could figure out our location with something like a smartphone, but that’s impossible in the world we live in now...”
Seok Taejun sighed.
“We finally found what looked like a village where people lived, but there wasn’t even a single rat around, let alone any people.”
They had passed through a small village a little while ago.
However, there had been no one there.
Even worse, the entire village looked as though it had been hit by a bomb, leaving it completely devastated.
Because of that, it was difficult to find any clues that could tell them where they were.
“And I don’t see any Apostles either... What the hell are we supposed to do?”
“Don’t be so negative.”
Kang Yujin spoke calmly to Seok Taejun, who kept sighing beside him.
“Since things already turned out like this, just accept it.”
“Kang Yujin, even so...”
“If you think about it, the fact that we couldn’t even board a proper train must have been that person’s will from the beginning.”
“...What?”
“He wants us to walk there.”
Kang Yujin spoke with complete confidence.
“The Nameless One wants that.”
“...”
Seok Taejun stared blankly at Kang Yujin’s face.
Then he let out a long sigh.
“Well, if that’s what you think, I guess there’s nothing I can say.”
“For now, the Capital Region should be north of here, so let’s head north.”
“Sigh... Sure.”
Using the compass Seok Taejun had brought with him, the two continued walking north.
They discovered another village along the way.
However, that place had also been completely destroyed.
“This atmosphere doesn’t feel right.”
“Really?”
“It’s rare for a monster attack to leave a place looking like this. This feels more like... there was a war here.”
“A war? You mean another country invaded?”
“No. It doesn’t necessarily have to be another country...”
While they were talking, something unusual came into view.
“That...”
“Looks like corpses.”
There were numerous human corpses scattered across the field.
“They’re wearing equipment, so they probably weren’t civilians. They seem to have been Contractors.”
“Quite a lot of them died.”
“And... Ah.”
“What?”
“Kang Yujin, look at that corpse.”
The corpse Seok Taejun pointed at was different from the others.
Its skin was dark-colored, but it wasn’t a black person.
Its ears were slightly pointed, and its clothing was also different from the other Contractors.
“What is this person?”
“It’s not a person.”
There was a hint of tension in Seok Taejun’s voice.
“This is bad. I was wondering why there weren’t any people or monsters around...”
“What’s wrong?”
“This area seems to be within Pandemonium’s sphere of influence.”
“Pandemonium?”
“The demons that appeared during the Great Chaos ten years ago.”
“Ah, those demons.”
Ten years ago, when the Fantasy Realm merged with this world, tremendous chaos had broken out.
About half of that chaos had been caused by demons who had been targeting the Fantasy Realm even before the merger.
Unlike ordinary monsters, the demons formed armies and invaded the human world through organized movements.
As a result, humanity had suffered enormous damage.
“I guess those guys are still doing pretty well?”
“Yeah. Northeastern China and North Korea are completely under Pandemonium’s control. And even in South Korea, Pandemonium has a strong presence along the western coast.”
“Then does that mean we’re close to the west coast?”
“Most likely. Looks like the ghost train was running west.”
Seok Taejun let out another deep sigh.
“Still, judging from the fact that a battle happened here between them and Contractors, this must be somewhere near the outskirts of their territory. I don’t see any other demons around either... We should probably just head east as quickly as possible.”
“East?”
“Yes. If we do that, we should eventually get out of Pandemonium’s sphere of influence.”
“That’s...”
Just as he was speaking—
Kang Yujin felt an unusual presence and raised his head.
“What is it?”
“Something’s coming.”
“Don’t tell me it’s the demons from Pandemonium...!”
Seok Taejun urgently grabbed Kang Yujin’s arm.
“Kang Yujin! Let’s hide in those ruins over there!”
“Do we really need to?”
“What are you talking about?! They could be demons! We need to be careful!”
“Why do we need to be careful around demons?”
“Seriously...!”
“Besides.”
Despite Seok Taejun’s urging, Kang Yujin simply stood straight where he was.
“They’re not demons.”
“What?”
“They’re humans.”
About ten humans were approaching them.
All of them were wearing white uniforms and were armed.
“You two over there!”
The man at the front raised his voice.
“I’ve never seen your faces before! Where did you come from?! Who the hell are you?!”
His voice was aggressive.
“What about you?”
“What?”
“Who are you?”
Kang Yujin stared directly at him as he asked.
“Shouldn’t you tell us who you are first?”
“You bastard...!”
The man’s eyes widened in anger.
“Are you from the Unorthodox Faction?!”
“I don’t know what this ‘Unorthodox Faction’ is.”
Kang Yujin raised his chin stubbornly.
“But put that sword away first.”
“...!”
They had drawn their swords the moment they discovered Kang Yujin’s group.
Even now, the man standing in front had his sword raised toward Kang Yujin.
“W-Wait! We’re not suspicious people! We have nothing to do with that Unorthodox Faction! We just got lost and have been wandering around!”
“Don’t make me laugh! This area is within Pandemonium’s sphere of influence! The fact that you got lost here means you’re working with Pandemonium! You bastards must belong to the Unorthodox Faction... the Black Dragon Society!”
“No, that’s what I’m trying to explain...!”
Seok Taejun hurriedly tried to intervene, but Kang Yujin raised his arm and stopped him.
“Seok Taejun, enough.”
“Kang Yujin...!”
“You can tell just by looking at them.”
Kang Yujin’s expression remained cold.
“There’s nothing for us to gain by bowing our heads to guys like these.”
They were pointing swords at fellow humans while openly releasing killing intent.
“This is exactly why I said what I did earlier.”
A little while ago, Kang Yujin had asked—
Why did they need to be careful around demons?
“Humans are the ones you need to be more careful of than demons.”
“...!”
“You bastard!”
The man standing at the front swung his sword toward Kang Yujin.
However, Kang Yujin caught his arm, twisted it in the opposite direction, then kicked him away.
Bang!
“You bastard!”
“He really is from the Black Dragon Society!”
“Even if you’re not from the Unorthodox Faction, you’re dead now!”
The men’s eyes widened as all of them began moving at once.
Kang Yujin had confidently accepted the fight, but the situation wasn’t particularly favorable for him.
“Hup!”
A man’s blade cut into Kang Yujin’s shoulder.
He was wearing the rider-suit-style protective gear he had bought from No. 49 last time, but it couldn’t completely block their attacks.
Should I start wearing something like armor too?
Meanwhile, the uniforms worn by his opponents had metal plates attached in several places, almost like armor.
They protected themselves with those metal plates while steadily pressuring Kang Yujin.
“Don’t let your guard down! He’s not an ordinary guy!”
“Surround him and keep pushing him!”
They were all carrying longswords.
Each of them was skilled individually, but they also seemed especially experienced at fighting as a group.
There are a lot of them, and they have swords. That makes them annoying to deal with.
They were actually more difficult to fight than Echidna or Cheon Muhyeok.
Of course, in terms of pure combat power, Echidna and Cheon Muhyeok were stronger.
These men weren’t powerful enough to be considered major enemies.
Still, they were extremely troublesome.
Is it because they’re well-trained, move in an organized way, and have proper equipment?
Things might have been easier if he were fighting together with Seok Taejun.
However, Seok Taejun was currently standing back.
Kang Yujin had ordered him to stay out of the fight because he didn’t think he would be much help.
The Chimera was sleeping inside Seok Taejun’s bag, perhaps because it had pushed itself too hard in the middle of the night.
Maybe because it was still a baby, it seemed to sleep for long periods of time.
Fighting humans armed with swords is more troublesome than I expected.
No matter how tough Kang Yujin’s body was, a sword would still cut him.
His fists had already become covered in blood.
That was unavoidable when continuously fighting at close range against opponents armed with blades.
Fighting with just my fists isn’t going to work.
As Kang Yujin reached that conclusion, his opponents continued launching attacks.
“Keep pushing him!”
“Watch out when he charges! Coordinate with the person beside you!”
“Kill him!”
“You demon-whoring bastard!”
The concentrated attacks caused more and more wounds to appear on his body.
However, Kang Yujin remained calm.
He could endure this level of pain as much as necessary.
More importantly, he needed to maintain a clear and rational mind.
If this is a trial that person has given me, then I just have to overcome it.
After steadying his resolve, Kang Yujin spoke.
“Clown, you’re watching, right?”
“Did you call for me, Kang Yujin?”
The voice of No. 49, who had remained silent until now, finally answered.
“I need a weapon. Pick me a good one.”
“What level of weapon do you require?”
“I earned about 100 million Coins this time, so give me one worth 100 million.”
“Understood. Is there a particular weapon you desire?”
“You choose.”
“I shall repay your trust.”
No. 49 worked quickly.
The moment a message appeared showing Kang Yujin’s Coins decreasing—
Thud!
Something fell onto the ground.
It was a massive flail with an enormous iron ball attached to it, like something straight out of a comic book.
No. 49’s cheerful voice rang out.
“You often see ordinary humans with nothing but great physical strength wildly swinging around an iron ball the size of a person’s head in fictional works, but that’s actually quite unrealistic.”
He continued in an amused tone.
“An iron ball the size of a human head would weigh around forty to fifty kilograms, after all.”
Then he chuckled.
“But if it’s you, Kang Yujin... especially with an S-rank Strength Enhancement...”
“You should be able to handle it easily, shouldn’t you?”
Kang Yujin dodged a sword aimed at his neck and grabbed the handle of the flail.
It was heavy.
It really did feel like it weighed over forty kilograms.
But Kang Yujin lifted it with one hand.
Whoosh!
The massive chunk of iron tore through the air and struck the shoulder of a nearby man.
“Aaargh!”
Bam!
With a heavy impact, the man’s body twisted as he was thrown backward.
Seeing him collapse with his body bent unnaturally and trembling on the ground, the other men stopped moving in shock.
“I like it.”
If No. 49 had given Kang Yujin a sword like the ones his enemies were using, Kang Yujin would have been a little confused.
He had never used a sword before.
Even if No. 49 gave him a sword worth 100 million Coins, all he would be able to do was swing it around wildly.
That was why Kang Yujin was glad No. 49 had chosen an impact weapon like this.
He has surprisingly good instincts.
Kang Yujin raised the handle and began spinning the iron ball above his head.
As the chunk of metal weighing dozens of kilograms spun around at high speed, the men began backing away.
Their expressions stiffened.
“W-What the hell is that...?”
After seeing what had happened to their fallen companion, all of them imagined the same thing.
A slight hit to the shoulder had already done that much damage.
What would happen if that thing struck someone directly in the head or torso?
If they weren’t careful—
they might literally have nothing left to bury.
“Hey, Clown.”
“Yes, Kang Yujin.”
“It cost 100 million. There’s no way it’s just an ordinary chunk of iron, right?”
“Of course not. There should be something like a small gear sticking out from the handle. Try turning it to the right first.”
“This thing?”
Kang Yujin felt around with his fingers until he found the gear No. 49 was talking about.
The moment he turned it to the right—
Clink!
The chain connecting the handle to the iron ball extended.
“So it has a function like this.”
“Its reach increases. Adjust it however you see fit.”
Before the men who had been backing away to create distance could react, Kang Yujin swung the now longer-ranged flail in a huge arc.
Against the destructive force of the accelerated iron ball, defense became meaningless.
No matter how skilled they were with swords—
No matter how perfectly they coordinated with one another—
One strike from the flail was enough to smash through them without exception.
“Just so you know, that isn’t merely a lump of iron. Since it costs 100 million Coins, it has received special treatment. For example—”
“Tell me later.”
Kang Yujin cut No. 49 off while continuing to spin the flail.
Then he glared at the terrified men in front of him and spoke in the tone of someone giving them a lecture.
“You guys should stop pointing swords at people so casually from now on.”
His expression was completely serious.
“Do human lives look like a joke to you?”
One of the men trembled as he protested.
“You crazy bastard... Are you really saying that while crushing people with that giant lump of iron?”
Kang Yujin answered by hitting him once with the flail.
After that, he became quiet.
