Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 338: Becoming Each Other's Shadow (3)

"Earth! 319, 104, 8113, 62!"

When Yeongwoo shouted the coordinates of the central part of Tsushima, everyone on the Korean side flinched and stepped back.

This was because both Seoul’s Stronges Swords and the Red-footed Orcs harbored a fear of Yeongwoo’s asymmetrical power.

And soon after...

Boom!

With a sound like the heavens splitting open, a laser designed for planetary bombardment shot down from above.

It covered only half of the central part of Tsushima where the occupation flag was planted.

'Let's try killing only half of them for now!'

There were two main reasons why Yeongwoo targeted only half of the Japanese forces, despite having access to such a laser bombardment.

The first reason was that if all the top Japanese fighters in this place were massacred, it would become difficult to handle Japan's mutants in the future.

After this war, they would need to demand reparations daily, and for those reparations to be obtained, someone needed to deal with the mutants.

More importantly, the mutants had to be managed before civilians were wiped out.

Therefore, it was more convenient for Yeongwoo if some of the regional titleholders from the Japanese side survived.

'But it's not like all of them need to stay alive.'

And the second reason was none other than:

[The Proxy of Dogo must fight with one of their arms severed.]

This was part of the current war agreement—an "arm-severing" rule.

However, since no warning message had appeared yet, it seemed that...

'Does the system consider that the battle hasn't officially started? I thought it would warn us immediately, but it's surprisingly lax.'

Contrary to Yeongwoo's thoughts, it wasn’t the system that was lacking.

The real shortcoming was...

Boom!

Yeongwoo’s predictive ability.

Swoosh, Bang!

Toma's planetary bombardment struck the central part of Tsushima but couldn’t penetrate the camera network installed by Lemu above.

"Huh?"

Not only did it fail to penetrate, but it even seemed like the cameras scattered by Lemu over Tsushima were absorbing the laser.

"What the hell? Is this really what those Toma bastards call a weapon?"

Of course, that didn’t mean Toma was weak.

It was just that Lemu wasn't so easy to beat down like a mere punching bag.

"What... what was that?"

"Did something just come from the sky...?"

"Huh?"

The sudden appearance and disappearance of the laser bombardment left the Japanese side equally bewildered.

It was shocking enough that a laser had suddenly appeared from the sky, but for it to vanish like a lie in an instant?

"Did we imagine that...?"

"No, I definitely heard it. Someone called out coordinates from over there..."

While the Japanese "Naked Resistance" unit of 200 warriors looked confused, someone stepped forward to resolve the situation.

And that was none other than:

Thud!

『Tokyo Sword Emperor』

Kawachi Yuto03, the person who brought Lemu to Japan.

Like his comrades, he was also in a naked state.

Pointing at the cameras above Tsushima, he spoke confidently.

"Did everyone see? Lemu is protecting us!"

Even though he knew the difference in strength between both sides due to a previous card game, Yuto's spirit was truly incredible.

Even Absolute Demon Yeongwoo had to admire it secretly.

'He’s definitely something else.'

As expected from a human with an alien sponsor and one of Japan’s representatives.

He probably sensed defeat was near, yet he still chanted for his sponsor until the very end.

"Everyone, raise your voices together! Lemu!"

"Leeemuuu!"

"Lemu...!"

As the naked warriors raised their glowing weapons to the sky and chanted Lemu's name, the large camera of Lemu installed above shone down on them.

And then, soon after:

Tap!

Yuto touched the occupation flag planted in the central part of Tsushima.

Immediately, the white occupation flag displayed Lemu's emblem—a square.

A system message then appeared in the air.

「The Proxy of Lemu has secured the occupation flag!」

「Lemu's Cumulative Occupation Time: 1 second」

This was the moment when the official war interface appeared.

Flash!

[17,619 – 201]

"Huh? What’s that...?"

"What is that?"

"No way."

It was obvious to anyone: those numbers represented the forces of both sides.

The Korean side, composed of Seoul and the Red-footed Orcs, showed their combined troop numbers.

Meanwhile, Japan’s side consisted of Yuto and his 200 naked warriors.

"Is there really such a huge difference in numbers?"

"This is insane... It makes us look like total bullies."

Seoul's Strongest Swords expressed discomfort.

Of course, the majority of the Japanese side were titleholders, so there wasn’t a huge difference with the Korean side in terms of total combat power.

Still, it felt disgraceful to pit nearly 20,000 soldiers against just 200.

"Uh, Yeongwoo, is this okay?"

"...Is there no concept of war ethics in space?"

When the Strongest Swords voiced their concerns about the overwhelming difference in numbers, Yeongwoo became furious and raised his sword against his allies.

"What nonsense are you spouting in the middle of a war? If you had to kill me, wouldn't you bring 200,000 soldiers?"

"Uh, well... that's true..."

Hearing such words, they found it convincing.

"Those guys are also crazy people with alien sponsors. Don’t be swayed by mere numbers!"

「Lemu's Cumulative Occupation Time: 17 seconds」

As Yeongwoo pointed to the steadily increasing occupation time of Lemu, the Strongest Swords finally gripped their weapons tightly.

"Now that I think about it, you’re right."

"...Yes. If we think about trying to kill Yeongwoo..."

But the lukewarm atmosphere lasted only for a moment.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a series of white beams rained down from the sky like a barrage, and this time, Lemu’s cameras didn’t block them.

"...Damn it. Of course."

Sensing something, Yeongwoo turned his gaze towards Lemu's forces.

There, white silhouettes appeared endlessly around Yuto and the 200 naked warriors.

Pa-pa-pa-pat!

Lemu had sent reinforcements to Yuto.

The mercenaries sent by Lemu were a type of android, equipped with swords and shields made of light.

They were two meters tall and looked like mannequins with a fully humanoid appearance, but their semi-transparent material was clearly not of Earth origin.

At first glance, it seemed like glass, but since no one would send glass robots into battle, the strength of that strange exterior was unknown.

“What the…?”

“They… they keep increasing?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The top swordsmen pointed out the state of the growing army in mid-air.

[17,619 – 1,849]

The Lemu faction’s numbers, which were only 201 a moment ago, had swelled to 1,849.

Then, a second wave of even larger white beams fell from the sky, and it was then that everyone on the battlefield realized what was happening.

Lemu was matching their headcount with Dogo's side.

[17,619 – 4,735]

As the Lemu faction's total surged to 4,735, Yeongwoo stepped forward towards the enemy and spoke.

"Why do villains in manga always lose? It's because they foolishly wait for their opponents to finish transforming."

He then took out a black sword from his weapon inventory and threw it forward.

Swooosh!

Just as the Lemu androids were getting up after landing on Earth, they were pierced one after another by Yeongwoo's sword.

Crash!

Twenty of Lemu’s androids were shattered with a single throw, causing the previously confident Japanese forces to hesitate.

Taking advantage of this moment, Yeongwoo abruptly severed his own left arm.

Swoosh!

“Huh?”

“What?!”

“What the heck is that?”

Both allies and enemies were stunned by this shocking display.

But to Yeongwoo, it was merely a doping tactic to instantly boost his stats through the loss of a limb and the resulting blood loss.

“Let's go! Kill them all before their reinforcements are finished!”

Determined to end the battle quickly without worrying about the aftermath, Yeongwoo shouted with a murderous glint in his eyes, and the 17,000 Red Foot brothers responded first.

- Shield bearers, to the front! Initiate the advance formation!

Bantubangtong commanded, pointing his massive sword toward the Lemu faction.

The javelin throwers in the front row stepped back, positioning their spears forward, while the brothers with large shields took the front line, forming their ranks.

And then.

Thud, thud, thud!

The 17,604 Red Foot brothers started marching forward in perfect unison.

It was the same infantry tactic they had practiced countless times on their home planet, now being executed on this foreign world.

Yeongwoo hastily shouted at the naked top swordsmen.

“Our brothers are not invincible! There will definitely be bloodshed, so spread out and help maintain the formation!”

At this, Jo Sangik, who had already seen the advancing Red Foot orcs behind him, asked in a flustered voice.

“Then, Yeongwoo, what about you…!”

But Yeongwoo was already gone.

Leap!

He was already rushing toward the Lemu faction, holding his severed arm aloft.

“Yuto! Come out and face my sword!”

As Yeongwoo yelled, intending to cut off the enemy commander’s head, Yuto, who was hiding among the naked warriors, gave a sly grin.

[17,619 – 13,402]

The two armies were now nearly equal in numbers.

All he had to do was deal with that one-armed Strongest Sword, and Lemu's reinforcements would handle the rest.

“Comrades, our moment has come. If we kill that one-armed man, this war is ours.”

Yuto pointed his blazing sword tip at Yeongwoo as he spoke.

At that moment, the one-armed warrior unexpectedly blew a whistle.

Fweeeet!

“…?”

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and an ominous presence could be felt from far above.

Yuto was reminded of the cards he had seen at the negotiation table.

Those cards were based on the actual forces present, so it was possible that some of them might appear on this battlefield.

And just as he thought, he saw it.

― Waaah!

― Aaaah!

― Look at that, the place is crawling with those invaders.

― W-What… there are so many of them?

With eerie voices, four massive silhouettes, known as "Workers," fell from the sky.

“…The Workers.”

Yuto instinctively looked up and recognized the reinforcements as the very same "Workers" he had only seen on the cards.

[The Workers]

"Yeongtae, Taejoon, Younghyeom, Geumhwa."

| Card Grade: Epic

| Power: 1,000

Performance-based

If this card is drawn again, its power doubles.

But then, something unexpected happened, even for Yeongwoo, who commanded the Laborers.

「A special condition of this battlefield has been partially fulfilled.」

“…What?”

「The effects of certain cards deployed on the battlefield are now activating.」

At that moment, the bodies of the Laborers, who were just about to hit the ground, started glowing with an unusual light.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]