[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 661: Secret Duel (3)

“Mm? Me?”

Yeongwoo shrugged his shoulders as he became the focus of countless sinister gazes.

At that, a wavering breath leaked out from inside Tiape’s helmet.

—You…

Only now had she realized.

That a feeble being who should never have been able to stand in this place was planted right among the villains.

—…What in the world are you?

As Tiape asked in a confused voice, Yeongwoo glanced around before answering.

Then he saw that the villains filling the arena were still staring at him.

They were genuinely acknowledging it.

That the one who had brought down Pahalufe and saved them was Jeong Yeongwoo.

“Uh…”

So Yeongwoo had no choice but to begin.

“Nice to meet you, Head of the Family. I’m Jeong Yeongwoo of Renaissance.”

—Renaissance?

“Yes… I do have some ties with Doatel, but it seems you haven’t heard of it yet.”

—If you say Doatel, could you mean the Shelbir Royal Family?

Tiape asked in a tone of disbelief.

In response, Yeongwoo nodded and took something out from his chest.

Srrk.

It was none other than the ‘Token of Salvation.’

A mythical currency that allowed one to borrow the decisive weapons of the three great virtuous families, including Delmir.

“In fact, I’m not entirely without ties to Delmir either.”

When Yeongwoo said this while holding up the token, Tiape, who immediately recognized the item in question, stepped back.

—How is that here…? Don’t tell me you even brought down Doatel?

Tiape now looked at the numerous villains around her with a newly changed gaze.

Come to think of it, with this level of force, wouldn’t it have been entirely possible to bring down Doatel as well?

For her, it was impossible to even imagine that someone mixed among these felons had received the token as a gift from King Teroph.

So Yeongwoo quickly waved his hand and said,

“No, Doatel is fine. I received this token directly from King Teroph.”

—Teroph? Is he alive?

Tiape once again looked around at the villains in the arena.

It seemed she was assuming that the prisoners here had stopped by Doatel, carried out a massacre, and then come here.

At that, Yeongwoo unconsciously furrowed his brow.

“Hey, we’ve never even been to Doatel. It’s just that I personally have some connection.”

When Yeongwoo said this, Tiape finally loosened her stiff body slightly.

—You’ve never been to Doatel? Then why are you here… no, how did you even find this place?

If they hadn’t extracted the information by torturing King Teroph, how could they have discovered this secret dueling arena?

After all, in this vast universe, wasn’t this place less than a speck of dust, yet over a thousand criminals had suddenly appeared here?

From Tiape’s perspective, it was only natural to think that the secret must have leaked from somewhere.

But the reality was—

“…It was a coincidence.”

—A coincidence?

“It just so happened that you were passing nearby at the exact moment we appeared. So unless it was an incredible coincidence…”

As Yeongwoo searched for the next word, the prisoners filling the arena in pitch black opened their mouths.

—Then it is inevitability.

—To encounter the head of Delmir right after leaving Pahalufe—what could that mean?

—Ask him how Pahalufe was brought down.

At those words, Tiape, who had been harboring doubts all along, could not help but ask Yeongwoo.

—Even if I accept that Pahalufe fell, how exactly? Are you truly saying that you were the one who destroyed Pahalufe’s walls?

A being that did not even reach Rank 4, let alone Rank 3.

Tiape could not understand this situation at all.

Starting with the fact that the criminals gathered here were even keeping such a feeble being alive.

Then the long-haired man spoke in place of Yeongwoo.

—With that innocent head of yours, you could never even imagine it. This man is a Planetary Ship Master.

—What…?

From inside the helmet came the sound of Tiape’s jaw dropping open.

Then even Poachi Shalmoram, who had remained silent the whole time, widened his eyes.

—That man is a Planetary Ship Master?

Srrk.

Poachi pointed directly at Yeongwoo with his finger.

Then, with his single eye, he glared sharply at Yeongwoo.

—Are you truly a Planetary Ship Master? Say it yourself.

It meant he could not trust the testimony of criminals.

At that, Yeongwoo was about to toss him a manifestation body, but then changed his mind and instead checked the coordinates of the wasteland visible far away.

Then he sent those coordinates to Earth and spoke.

‘Fire a volley over there. Use as much firepower as possible.’

○ What? What’s going on all of a sudden? Did something happen?

‘I need to prove that I’m a Planetary Ship Master.’

When Yeongwoo said that, Earth, who had been about to continue speaking, changed its line.

○ Understood. I will relay it to the manager.

And not long after, the atmosphere in the arena began to change entirely.

Rumble…!

If it wasn’t a mistake, the very atmosphere of this planet was trembling.

—What is this…?

A bizarre phenomenon that occurred at a strangely coincidental timing.

Sensing something, Poachi looked up at the sky with fear in his eyes, and soon his mouth, hidden behind a steel mask, fell wide open.

—Ah.

Something that had looked like a small dot far beyond the sky was gradually growing larger.

The Earth Ship was approaching directly.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

And finally, when the silhouette of the Earth Ship became three times larger than the moon seen from Earth—

Piiiaaaaat!

From the Earth Ship, all kinds of laser cannons began pouring down.

Straight toward the nearby wasteland.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!

The red earth struck by the ship’s bombardment was instantly churned up, scattering dust in all directions, and seeing this, Poachi had no choice but to believe.

—A Planetary Ship Master? Why are you here?

Now that he acknowledged his opponent as a Planetary Ship Master, the question that followed was naturally ‘why?’

Why was a Planetary Ship Master, a terror of the cosmos, together with such vicious criminals?

No, not merely together—he had even taken them out of prison.

—Planetary Ship Master, do you know what you have done?

As the enraged Poachi tried to approach Yeongwoo, the nearby prisoners blocked his path with their bodies.

—Hey, calm down.

—Where do you think you’re pushing that filthy body?

—If you have something to say to the Planetary Ship Master, kneel first.

With those words, the prisoners actually tried to kick Poachi’s legs, and as Tiape rushed in to stop them, another chaotic brawl broke out.

The difference from earlier was that this time, even Tiape could not exert much strength and was slammed to the ground.

It was because, near Yeongwoo, there were individuals among the Rank 3 prisoners whose martial prowess ranked among the top.

Thud, thwack!

In an instant, Poachi and Tiape were being beaten.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo was reminded of being beaten by thugs on the first day of the reset, and without realizing it, he shouted loudly.

《Stop! Everyone, stop moving…!》

For the first time, Yeongwoo raised his voice with authority in front of the “presidents.”

And surprisingly, the presidents who had been trampling the two virtuous beings immediately stopped their movements.

Of course, it wasn’t because they had been suppressed by Yeongwoo’s authority.

In this place, wasn’t the only one emitting such feeble authority the Planetary Ship Master?

Ironically, that was precisely why they could recognize it immediately.

Planetary Ship Master.

In other words, the voice of the one who held the Right of Gratitude.

—…?

—…What is it?

The presidents, who had stopped the beating in response to the request of the holder of the Right of Recompense, stood blankly and looked at Yeongwoo.

At that, Yeongwoo pushed aside the presidents who were surrounding him like a wall and walked up to the two virtuous beings lying on the ground.

“I said we came to watch the secret duel. When did I ever say we should beat the duelists to death?”

As Yeongwoo said this and tried to help Poachi up, one of the prisoners who had been beating them spoke with a sharp aura.

—Hey, Planetary Ship Master. Don’t get it twisted. What you have is a claim right, not a command right.

Then he suddenly drew a blade from his waist and swung it toward Poachi.

Fwaaaash!

—If you want to save him, then use your claim right!

It was truly a judgment befitting a vicious criminal.

He was trying to use this opportunity to free himself from the “favor.”

He was even deliberately making an attack that Yeongwoo could clearly read.

It was no different from giving Yeongwoo time to decide.

“You crazy bastard!”

As Yeongwoo was about to draw his weapon, the long-haired man who had been behind him leapt out and grabbed the prisoner’s blade with his bare hand.

KWA-AAAACK!

—How dare you try to discard a favor so cheaply? One so unsightly does not belong in this place.

Then the opposing prisoner ground his teeth and said,

—You’re crossing the line, Quiad.

Quiad.

The moment the long-haired man’s name was revealed.

But as the situation was turning increasingly dire, Yeongwoo didn’t even realize he had heard the man’s name.

Because—

Saaaaaah…!

An overwhelming aura, enough to make the surrounding space seem to ripple, was pouring out from the prisoners.

All of them were ready to draw their blades on one another at any moment.

They couldn’t even tell who was on whose side.

‘Fuck, this feels like it’s gone to shit.’

Meanwhile, blood was streaming down Quiad’s palm as he held the opponent’s blade barehanded.

‘Ah, that guy… he was human, right?’

It was true that Quiad was strong even among Rank 3 beings, but he wasn’t an overwhelmingly absolute existence.

“……”

Feeling cold sweat, Yeongwoo wiped his chin with the back of his hand, and Poachi, narrowing his single eye, said,

—Do you understand now? What kind of things you have unleashed upon this world?

And as if that line were a signal, the prisoner aiming at Poachi spun his sword at tremendous speed.

Swiiaaaak!

This time, he truly intended to kill the virtuous being. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

At almost the same moment—

—You’re complicating matters.

Quiad, who seemed to take half a step aside, in the blink of an eye struck the prisoner’s neck with the edge of his hand.

KWA-AAAAAT…!

“Ah!”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

And at that moment, a line of system text appeared in Yeongwoo’s vision, and the prisoners in the area all emitted fierce killing intent at once.

「Witnessing war +0.4」

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