Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 190

Su-ho’s destination was Dongmyeong Port, located in Sokcho.

Like Samcheok, Sokcho was one of the regions devastated by the Gate Shock, making it an ideal location for an illicit transaction.

"Slums always make for easy business."

As Su-ho drove into Dongmyeong Port, it didn’t take long for him to spot the people he was looking for.

"There they are."

But their appearance was... amusing.

He had been expecting an underground deal involving cultural artifacts. Instead, what he found was a group grilling meat and drinking alcohol like they were at a casual get-together.

For a moment, Su-ho thought he had the wrong place.

After parking the car, he opened his subspace house and pulled out Song Kang-chul.

Song Kang-chul hadn’t even realized he had been inside the subspace house.

After all, Su-ho had struck his pressure points, rendering him unable to move, covered his face with a hood, and stashed him away.

Seating Song Kang-chul in the passenger seat, Su-ho pulled off the hood and released his pressure points.

"Kang-chul."

"Y-yes?"

Song Kang-chul trembled in fear.

And rightfully so.

He was close to reaching level 200, yet both the previous man who had visited him and Su-ho himself had treated him like a child—no, worse than that. They had beaten him like a ragdoll.

Even though Su-ho had healed him to some extent, the sheer physical terror Su-ho had instilled in him remained. Now, just seeing him triggered an instinctive reaction of trembling.

Su-ho asked, "Are those the guys?"

Song Kang-chul squinted, quickly scanning the group, then nodded.

"Yes, that’s them."

"But I thought this was a smuggling operation? Normally, you’d expect people to quietly exchange money and goods and be done with it, wouldn’t you?"

"Well... We have a blood pact with Inagawa. It’s more than just business; we also use these meetings to strengthen our relationship."

"Even so, you’re a big operation. Strengthening bonds by grilling meat out in the open? What is this, a neighborhood soccer club?"

"Haha... This is just for today. Usually, we rent out private rooms."

"Tch. What a load of—" Su-ho stopped himself. "Hold on, though. No matter how underground Raid Guild is, you guys seriously formed a blood pact with the Yakuza?"

"Inagawa’s roots are in the Yakuza, yes, but nowadays, they’re one of Japan’s major guilds."

"What a bunch of idiots."

Shaking his head, Su-ho said, "Let’s go."

"H-huh? Go where?"

"You need to come with me so they’ll understand the situation right away, don’t you think?"

"W-wait a second!"

"No can do."

Su-ho struck Song Kang-chul’s pressure points again, then got out of the driver’s seat. Throwing the limp man over his shoulder, he made his way toward the gathering.

It didn’t take long for the members of Raid Guild to notice him.

"Huh?"

"Who the hell is that?"

"Who's he carrying—wait, isn't that the Vice Leader?"

Song Kang-chul’s distinct features and build made him easy to recognize, and the guild members caught on immediately.

Perhaps because of that, the man drinking inside—Raid Guild’s leader, Song Kang-cheon—furrowed his brows.

"Who? Kang-chul?"

Thinking he had misheard, he stood up and looked in the direction his subordinates were pointing.

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Then, when he saw his younger brother slung over Su-ho’s shoulder, he let out an incredulous chuckle.

"What the hell is this? Why the hell is he being carried in like that?"

The scene was so ridiculous that the members of Raid Guild simply stared as Su-ho walked over and set Song Kang-chul down in front of them.

Then, someone recognized him.

"Wait... isn't that—"

"What?"

"The Sword Saint?"

"Sword Saint? ...Oh, shit, it is!"

"The Sword Saint? You mean that Sword Saint, An Su-ho?"

Their bewilderment turned into pure shock.

Their expressions screamed, What the hell is he doing here?!

Su-ho set Song Kang-chul down and greeted them.

"Hello there."

"A-ah... hello?"

Strangely enough, since Su-ho had started with polite speech, one of the guild members automatically responded in kind.

To be fair, there was no reason for them to act tough.

Even though they were part of an underground guild, they were still employees of a formal organization—not street thugs.

But upon seeing the state Song Kang-chul was in, their wariness toward Su-ho only grew.

Before the situation could drag on, Song Kang-cheon stepped forward.

"Good evening. I’m Song Kang-cheon, the leader of Raid Guild. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the Sword Saint, An Su-ho?"

"Ah, yes, that’s me. I’m glad you came out right away. I was looking for you."

"For me? Wait, before we get into that—what the hell happened to my brother? And why did you bring him here?"

"You’ve got a lot of questions. Let’s go one at a time. First, your brother ended up like this because I beat him up. And second, I brought him here for efficiency’s sake."

"...What?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

For a moment, Song Kang-cheon doubted his own hearing.

Did he hear that right?

You’re the one who did this to my brother?

But looking at Su-ho’s expression, he wasn’t joking.

And honestly, who would even have the guts to joke about something like this?

Did this guy have any idea where he was or who he was dealing with?

While Song Kang-cheon stood there in disbelief, Su-ho continued.

"Song Kang-cheon, leader of Raid Guild. You’ve been smuggling our country’s cultural artifacts, magic stones, and various items to the Japanese guild Inagawa, haven’t you? Your brother has already confessed everything. And those people back there—those are Inagawa’s people, right?"

"......"

As Su-ho listed off their crimes, Song Kang-cheon’s expression darkened.

But Su-ho remained completely unfazed and pressed on.

"You know who I work for, don’t you? Then I suppose this is a good time to announce that I’m placing you under arrest."

"Hah... Are you fucking serious?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You’ve been making quite a fortune off of this, but how could a fellow countryman commit such a despicable act?"

"Unbelievable... Hey, guys."

"Yes!"

"Kill him."

"Understood, boss!"

"Oh? Is that how it’s going to be?"

Even though these guys were officially registered with the guild association, the moment things turned tense, they immediately reverted to acting like common gangsters.

Well, underground guilds were all like that from the start.

Of course, Union was an exception.

Ion from Union wasn’t a gangster or a thug—just a single genius who ran every profitable venture imaginable, which was why they were treated as an underground guild in the first place.

Still, Su-ho was grateful.

At least Song Kang-cheon didn’t hesitate before giving the order to kill him.

As the guild leader moved to check on his fallen brother, Su-ho spoke.

"What are you doing?"

"Shut up and mind your own business."

"Wow... The two of you really think you can just ignore me, huh? Oh, I get it. Since you’ve got the Yakuza here, you think you need to put on a tough act, don’t you?"

"What?"

"You know what, never mind. Guys like you only learn when you experience it firsthand. Take him. You’ll be lying right next to your brother soon enough."

"Kukuku... Sure. I’ll be looking forward to that."

Without another word, Su-ho unsheathed his Blood Sword.

Song Kang-cheon took a step back, dragging his brother with him.

Then, as if completely unbothered, he placed a fresh cigarette between his lips and picked up a pair of barbecue tongs.

One of the men from Inagawa’s guild—their negotiation team leader—spoke up.

"What’s going on, Mr. Song?"

"Oh, it’s nothing. Just some crazy bastard wandered in, so I told my guys to take care of him. Apologies for the disturbance."

"Hm, if you say so, Mr. Song."

The team leader simply nodded and sat back down.

It was ridiculous.

Su-ho turned his gaze back toward the approaching Raid Guild members.

They were just as ridiculous.

Still, he tried to be reasonable.

"Listen up, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} guys. If you put down your weapons and surrender now, I won’t touch you. But if you charge at me out of some misguided sense of loyalty, I promise you’ll regret it for the rest of your lives. You do know who I am, right?"

Su-ho spoke in the calmest, most polite tone possible.

But would it work?

Typically, gangsters wouldn’t care about things like that. Out of loyalty alone, they would throw themselves at him without hesitation.

Still, he figured he might as well give them a warning.

Then—

"......"

"......"

"......"

The members of Raid Guild hesitated, glancing at each other.

It was an interesting sight.

No—actually, they were just smart.

It made sense.

Each of them was at least level 100—a 1-star player at minimum.

Every single one of them had been hand-picked by Song Kang-cheon himself.

In other words, they were elite fighters.

And unlike typical gangsters, they weren’t just disposable pawns.

They actually had working brains.

Seeing them hesitate, Su-ho smiled.

"Hah. So there is some intelligence among Song Kang-cheon’s men. Good. Think carefully. No matter how high your levels are, how many of you can actually clear a Sealed Gate on your own? Knowing your limits and acting accordingly is a skill, too."

With that, Su-ho calmly walked into the middle of the seven men standing before him.

Watching the scene unfold, both Song Kang-cheon and the Inagawa members were left dumbfounded.

Song Kang-cheon, in particular, was fuming.

"You sons of bitches... Hey! Have you lost your minds?!"

"I-I'm sorry, boss. But... I mean... He’s the Sword Saint! There’s no way we—"

Boss.

Hearing the term made Su-ho chuckle.

Just a moment ago, they were calling him hyung-nim (big brother).

Now, they had drawn a psychological line between them.

Smirking, Su-ho spoke.

"You hear that? Earlier, they were calling you big brother, but now it’s boss again. No matter how much you pay them, it’s all meaningless in the face of life and death."

"You little—!"

Furious, Song Kang-cheon reached into his inventory and pulled out his weapon.

It was a massive greatsword, just as thick and heavy as he was.

A normal person would have to wield it with two hands.

Seeing it, Su-ho nodded.

"So, he still acts like an older brother, huh?"

Like his younger brother, Song Kang-cheon was also a warrior-type player.

And he, too, was close to reaching level 200.

It was a shame, really.

A talent like his, wasted on nothing more than thuggish smuggling operations.

Raising his greatsword like a command baton, he pointed at his men.

"Once this is over, every single one of you is dead. Understand?"

Silence.

No one responded.

But none of them moved, either.

They were still afraid.

Su-ho snickered.

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you all survive. So just sit tight and enjoy the show."

"You bastard—!!"

That was the final straw.

Song Kang-cheon roared, activating a skill as he swung his greatsword with explosive force.

A warrior near the level of 200.

His attack carried immense power.

Su-ho watched the massive blade streak toward him, considering his options.

Should I dodge?

Should I block?

Or should I avoid the strike and use the opening to drive my blade into his body?

He had the luxury of contemplating.

Because despite Song Kang-cheon’s high level, he was slow.

No, perhaps it was just that Su-ho’s sensory stats were far higher than Song Kang-cheon’s raw physical abilities.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Su-ho caught the gazes of the Inagawa members watching the fight.

Oh, right.

They’re here, too.

That made the choice easier.

With his decision made, Su-ho raised his sword and swung.

Seeing this, Song Kang-cheon’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

What a fool.

His sword wasn’t an ordinary weapon.

Forged from black iron—one of the heaviest and hardest metals—it was further enhanced with a skill that tripled its attack power.

There was no way that flimsy red blade of Su-ho’s could withstand it.

It would be split in two.

And then Su-ho himself would be cleaved in half right after.

With that confidence, Song Kang-cheon put all his strength into his swing.

And then—

Schlk!

A clean slicing sound.

Song Kang-cheon’s eyes widened in shock.

His treasured greatsword—the one he had always taken pride in—had been sliced cleanly in half.

Like it was nothing.