Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant – Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Suho asked.

“Are you sure?”

– Yes, I’m sure.

Jo Jin-hwi was serious.

It wasn’t the kind of matter he’d joke about, and he’d already completed cross-verification before calling Suho.

Knowing this, Suho didn’t question further.

Instead, he rubbed his temples and continued.

“The one who first proposed the spoils-of-war appropriation policy was Yuk Kyung-bae, right? The Korean Hunter Association’s first president?”

– Yes, that’s correct.

Yuk Kyung-bae.

He was the inaugural president appointed when the Korean Hunter Association was first established.

If the second president, Jang Kyunghwan, was known as the Dark Lord, Yuk Kyung-bae wielded his authority even more ruthlessly, like a true tyrant.

After all, the Awakener hunters of the time were regarded as less than people, even treated as monsters.

‘That’s why so many unreasonable policies were made back then.’

In hindsight, it was laughable.

Awakeners were the ones who could stand against the Gates, so why were they treated as monsters instead of heroes?

But even more absurd was that, although Yuk Kyung-bae was seen by national hunters as the worst of the worst, the government oddly rewarded his “contributions” by promoting him to a better position.

‘Later, Jang Kyunghwan’s trolling overshadowed Yuk Kyung-bae’s reign as president, burying his legacy.’

Yet here he was, suddenly popping up again.

Of course, he wasn’t someone they would never encounter again.

Yuk Kyung-bae had also had a hand in the redevelopment Gate affairs.

Suho asked.

“But why is this guy, who was lying low, suddenly causing such a fuss?”

– It’s because of President Jang Kyunghwan.

“What about President Jang?”

– In the recent issue, Jang Kyunghwan shifted the blame, saying it wasn’t his fault but rather the fault of the one who drafted the legislation. Yuk Kyung-bae was infuriated by this.

“Huh?”

Right.

That made sense.

He’d forgotten, but now it all came back to him.

Suho let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

‘Right. When were you guys ever the rational type?’

These people had never operated on logic or reason.

If anything, they were steeped in elitism.

For such individuals, their own emotions were paramount.

‘Especially if their pride or self-esteem was wounded; they always retaliated.’

Still, this was over the line.

If he wanted to vent his anger, he could have contacted Jang Kyunghwan directly; why involve us?

Suho sighed at the unexpected addition to his schedule and spoke.

“The law revision is coming up soon, right?”

– Yes, it’s not far off.

“Then I’ll take care of this issue.”

– You, sir? Are you sure? Yuk Kyung-bae is currently the party leader.

Party leader.

The figure who represented the party, holding the highest authority.

That was why he could wield this kind of pressure.

But what did it matter?

Suho spoke indifferently.

“It’s fine. Who else will take care of it if I don’t? You called me because you didn’t see any other options.”

– That’s true, but…

“Don’t worry. It’ll be resolved quickly. In fact, Yuk Kyung-bae was someone who’d be taken down along with the redevelopment Gate situation anyway. Let’s just move up the timeline a bit. Do you happen to have his number?”

– Are you going to call him directly?

“No, I’m just curious about his number.”

– I’ll send it right over.

Jo Jin-hwi, catching on quickly, didn’t ask further.

Soon, Suho received Yuk Kyung-bae’s number on his phone and went straight to Seo Giwon, who was sleeping on the first floor.

“Giwon… No, wait.”

Given the time, Seo Giwon was asleep.

Initially, Suho considered waking him up but then changed his mind.

‘The circumstances have changed now, haven’t they?’

Suho, having reconsidered, pressed his fingers together and applied acupressure to Seo Giwon’s numb spot.

“Mmm.”

There was a slight reaction to the pressure, but with the numbing acupressure, the sensation was quickly paralyzed, rendering him unconscious.

Now, even if someone were to saw through Seo Giwon, he wouldn’t feel a thing.

Suho activated another skill in succession.

[ True Blood Drain is activated. ]

The skill he used was True Blood Drain.

He used True Blood Drain to copy Seo Giwon’s digitization ability.

[ Successfully copied the ‘Digitization’ ability from the target. ]

Suho successfully copied the Digitization ability.

Afterward, he released Seo Giwon’s numbed state and moved to the master bedroom, preparing to enter the digital realm.

‘If it weren’t for the fact I had to do this myself, I would have assigned someone else.’

But considering what he was about to do, he couldn’t think of anyone else to handle it.

After setting up his phone, Suho activated the digitization ability.

[ Digitization is activated. ]

[ Connecting to the network world. ]

With a thud!

The moment Suho’s consciousness entered the network realm, his body collapsed onto the bed.

* * *

‘I found it.’

Now that he had Yuk Kyung-bae’s number, it wasn’t difficult to dig up information on him.

Tracing through the network, Suho accessed Yuk Kyung-bae’s phone and pinpointed his current location.

Luckily, he wasn’t far, but his location was rather eye-opening.

‘So he jumps at every opportunity, as long as he can lift a spoon, huh.’

The place Yuk Kyung-bae was at.

It was none other than the apartment of a young college student he was secretly sponsoring.

The house she lived in was naturally provided by Yuk Kyung-bae.

Suho deactivated the digitization ability, then drove straight to the sponsor’s house where Yuk Kyung-bae was staying.

Parking his car nearby, Suho looked up at the tall apartment building.

‘He sure found a high place.’

It was even a high-end apartment, complete with privacy-protecting Safe Zone Premium.

After gazing at the building for a while, Suho activated Mist Transformation.

[ Mist Transformation is activated. ]

Although it was slow, Mist Transformation allowed him to float upwards.

He hadn’t used Monochrome Solitude because apartments like these often had elevators that required exclusive access cards or apps to operate.

So, he floated up in Mist Transformation.

Eventually, he reached the sponsor’s apartment and slipped through a small gap near the air conditioning unit.

The room was silent.

Being a high-end apartment, the floor space was spacious, with empty bottles and snack remnants scattered around the living room, perhaps from a heavy drinking session.

In the bedroom, he saw two figures entangled, both naked.

It was Yuk Kyung-bae and his sponsor.

‘Tsk, tsk.’

The surrounding scene was even worse.

Clothes and adult items were strewn around near the bed, and Suho lightly touched the blood points on the body of Yuk Kyung-bae, who was lying on the edge of the bed.

The points he touched were the vocal point, which would prevent him from speaking, and the paralyzing point, which immobilized him.

Yuk Kyung-bae flinched at the sudden acupressure strike.

But that was it.

Suho lifted Yuk Kyung-bae and transported him into the Subspace House.

“Mmm…”

Right after entering the Subspace House with him, the sponsor stirred slightly, sensing movement.

However,

“Mmm.”

She quickly fell back into a deep sleep, having drunk too much.

* * *

“Ugh…”

Meanwhile, Yuk Kyung-bae was also starting to come to.

Still groggy from the alcohol, he faintly regained his senses under the bright lights.

Suho cast Recovery on him.

[ Recovery is activated. ]

Recovery.

An advanced healing skill that removes status ailments and diseases from a person.

One of its effects was also hangover relief.

Since a hangover could be considered a type of ailment.

Perhaps because of this?

The instant the light flashed, the alcoholic haze vanished from Yuk Kyung-bae’s mind, and his eyes snapped open due to the sudden change in environment.

“Wha…?!”

Naturally, he was shocked.

He had fallen asleep with his sponsor beside him, but now she was gone, and a strange man was staring down at him in a bright, outdoor setting.

And he was stark naked.

“Ahhh!!”

Shocked, Yuk Kyung-bae screamed.

But he couldn’t move his body.

Suho released Yuk Kyung-bae’s paralyzing point as he thrashed in panic.

Suddenly, his body was freed, and he hurriedly covered his chest and groin with both hands.

He looked up in shock and finally recognized Suho.

“Ah?!”

But then he realized he couldn’t make a sound.

He was in utter confusion.

What in the world was going on?

Unable to comprehend the bizarre situation, Yuk Kyung-bae started experiencing cognitive dissonance.

In that instant, he wondered if he was dreaming.

At that moment, Suho summoned the Blood Club and swung it next to Yuk Kyung-bae’s ankle.

Thud!

“Ahhhh!”

Thump!

After being struck near his ankle, Yuk Kyung-bae collapsed to the ground in a pathetic heap, unable to withstand Suho’s power and the pain.

Suho finally released Yuk Kyung-bae’s vocal point and knelt down to match his eye level.

“Yuk Kyung-bae?”

“Ah, you, you’re…?”

In pain, Yuk Kyung-bae stared at Suho with a mixture of fear and astonishment, barely able to process the situation.

But Suho continued speaking without caring in the slightest.

“You know who I am, right?”

“You… You’re Ahn Suho! How dare you—!”

“Dare?”

At the word “dare,” Suho stood up.

He pressed Yuk Kyung-bae’s acupressure points in his ankle, paralyzing him, and then poured a stored blood from his Blood Prison on him.

Splash!

A massive wave of blood drenched him.

Yuk Kyung-bae, momentarily overwhelmed, was unable to comprehend what was happening, but as he recognized the smell and texture, he began to scream.

“D-Damn it! What… What is this?! This is blood!!”

What a loud voice.

Suho transformed the Blood Weapon into a whip.

Holding the whip, he began striking Yuk Kyung-bae mercilessly.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Though it was blood instead of water, the effect was the same.

Like water slaps, the impact stung worse than anything.

His body became covered in welts, his skin splitting open, and blood trickled out.

But, given that he was already covered in blood, it was hard to tell.

Suho continued until Yuk Kyung-bae fainted from the pain.

When he eventually passed out from the agony, Suho checked his pulse and activated his skills.

[ Heal is activated. ]

[ Recovery is activated. ]

In seconds, his wounds healed, and new skin emerged.

His mind similarly returned.

“Ugh!”

Yuk Kyung-bae awoke as if from a nightmare.

He realized now that this wasn’t a dream or hallucination but cold, harsh reality.

So, as soon as he came to his senses, he crawled over and grabbed the hem of Suho’s pants.

“Ah, Hunter Ahn! I don’t understand why you’re doing this to me…!”

At that moment,

Wham!

Suho raised his foot and kicked his chin lightly.

Several of his teeth flew through the air.

It was a light kick, yet…

Understandably so.

Yuk Kyung-bae was just an ordinary person, not an Awakener.

He didn’t faint, though.

Suho raised the whip again and struck him until he fainted.

Once he collapsed from the pain, Suho healed him again with Heal and Recovery, waking him up and drenching him in fresh blood whenever the old dried up.

After several cycles of this, Yuk Kyung-bae finally lowered his head to the floor.

“S-Stop! I was wrong! I was wrong!”

The pride that had kept him upright finally broke.

But.

Wham!

Suho kicked his chin once more.

“So what?”

Suho raised his whip again.