23. Full of Confidence. (3)

At first glance, it looks like a grand battle is taking place, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

Despite the men surrounding the leader cockroach and me, I said,

“Just come. It’s fine.”

Tae-young and Jun-hyuk gasped for breath, looking at me with fear in their eyes.

“Ha.”

The leader cockroach laughed in disbelief.

“This bastard doesn’t even know his own situation and is trying to act cool?”

Laughter erupted from the surrounding men.

Mocking laughter.

The leader cockroach, baring his teeth, said,

“Hey, look at me. Look at me.”

I looked at the leader cockroach.

His short, unruly hair.

His rough, stubbly face.

He looks a lot tougher now.

He must have spent a lot of time on the streets, fighting and killing his way up.

The leader cockroach said,

“Does my voice sound like shit to you? Huh?!”

His hand shot up.

[Automatic Cast: Acceleration]

It’s slow.

His hand is rising.

Even as this is happening, I’m still looking at the leader cockroach.

I had planned to kill him if I saw him.

But now that he’s here, he seems so insignificant and pathetic that I feel my resolve waning.

I need to get angry.

The acceleration ended.

Crack!

My head barely turned.

My eyes were still fixed on the leader cockroach.

But I could feel the sting on my cheek.

Well…

This is…

My stomach churns.

The leader cockroach said,

“Fucking a-“

Acceleration.

[Automatic Cast: Acceleration]

Thud.

I grabbed both swords with my hands.

I pushed my arms out to the sides as I stood up.

The swords slid out.

Swoosh.

I walked past the leader cockroach, heading behind him.

The men were so close that a single step brought me right in front of them.

I thrust my sword.

Thud, the blade pierced the neck.

On the left, the pig who hit Jun-hyuk.

The sight of the tattooed pig made my teeth grind.

Grind.

I swung the sword to the right with all my might.

The feeling of flesh and bone being cut traveled up my hand and arm.

I twisted my body, putting all my strength into it.

In one swift motion, I cut through the necks and chests of two men.

I had mastered the timing of acceleration.

I now instinctively knew when it would end.

I maintained the acceleration and continued to swing my sword.

Flesh and bone were cut cleanly, along with the clothes.

I moved in a circle, slicing through the men one by one.

Blood spattered like fireworks where I had passed.

Slice, swoosh!

I cut through arms, necks, chests, stomachs, and heads without stopping.

Finally, I reached the man holding Tae-young.

This bastard also had a tattoo.

Fucking hell.

I extended my sword, pressing it against the man’s neck.

Then, I spread my arms to the right.

The neck and bones were cleanly severed.

This man was dead.

He just didn’t know it yet.

I walked back to the chessboard.

And I looked down at the leader cockroach.

The hand that had slapped me was still raised in the air.

I pressed the blade against the back of his hand.

Not vertically, but horizontally.

As I thrust the blade in, I could feel the bones in his hand being cut by the sword.

The acceleration ended.

I forcefully plunged the sword into the chessboard.

Thud!

At the same time, blood spurted from the men around us like a fountain.

The men whose necks were still intact let out their final screams.

Chilling cries echoed one after another.

Slice, swoosh!

Blood and organs splattered on the ground.

Severed body parts fell to the floor, scattered and broken.

The leader cockroach was drenched in blood, covering his entire body and face.

His face hardened.

He had no idea what had just happened.

Then, his eyes began to tremble.

He looked down at his own hands.

“…Aaaaaah!”

The leader cockroach screamed.

At the same time, the men surrounding us screamed in unison.

The leader cockroach clutched his wrist and screamed, trembling all over.

I released the sword.

It was deeply embedded in the chessboard.

This sword can only be pulled out by me.

I looked up.

Blood dripped from my hair, forming droplets.

I walked past the screaming leader cockroach, heading towards the tattooed pig holding Jun-hyuk.

The tattooed pig’s eyes were wide open.

His mouth was half-open, and his jaw was trembling.

I said,

“…Hands.”

The tattooed pig didn’t seem to understand me at first.

But then, he flinched and released his grip.

Tae-young and Jun-hyuk were free.

I picked up the sword.

The tattooed pig flinched and stepped back.

I had already pierced through more than a thousand heads.

Whether it’s my left or right hand, I never miss my target.

The man took a step back.

I took a step forward.

Naturally.

But swiftly.

I pierced through his neck.

“Choke!”

I pulled out the sword.

Blood gushed out.

The tattooed pig clutched his neck and fell to his knees.

The organs on the ground were crushed.

“Choke! Cough, gurgle!”

I said,

“…I told you, if you touch them, you’ll die.”

I only pierced his neck.

Blood gushed out.

The blood made it hard for him to breathe.

The more he tried to breathe, the more blood entered his lungs.

This man will drown in his own blood over a long period of time, which will be quite painful.

I looked around.

The screams that had erupted had subsided.

The old cockroaches.

The newly recruited cockroaches.

Their eyes were filled with shock and fear.

I met each of their gazes one by one.

Blood dripped from my hair.

I turned and walked back to the chessboard.

And I sat down in the folding chair.

The leader cockroach was clutching his wrist and screaming.

“Aaaaaah! Ah, aaaaaah!”

“Shut up.”

I flipped the sword and struck the leader cockroach’s head with the blunt side.

Smack!

The blunt part of the sword.

Thanks to that, his head wasn’t severed.

“Choke!”

The leader cockroach’s screams stopped.

I said,

“Anyone who runs will die.”

The cockroaches were frozen in place, either in shock, panic, or because they understood my words.

I looked at Tae-young and Jun-hyuk.

Their eyes were filled with shock.

In a single moment, nearly twenty people had been dismembered and were writhing on the ground.

This must be a sight they’ve never seen before, just like the cockroaches.

I said,

“Come and take this. Share it with the others.”

I pointed to the bow and the wooden box of arrows.

The shock on Tae-young and Jun-hyuk’s faces quickly faded.

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

“Yes, Seong-hun.”

They had been beaten badly.

Are they okay?

Did they suffer a brain hemorrhage or concussion?

They walked over.

They didn’t stumble.

Though their faces were bruised, it didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with their heads.

That’s a relief.

They lifted the wooden box together.

Their grunts suggested it was quite heavy.

The cockroaches stepped aside, giving them a path, while watching my every move.

I turned my gaze from their backs to the cockroaches, one by one.

Then, I turned my head.

The leader cockroach.

He was clutching his pierced wrist, trembling violently.

He was gasping for breath, drenched in cold sweat.

Or maybe it was tears.

The blood mixed with tears streamed down his cheeks.

I said,

“That’s why you were covered in blood back then. You understand now, don’t you?”

The leader cockroach was gasping for breath, looking around. Intestines were scattered everywhere.

The contents of the severed intestines, mixed with blood, were strewn across the floor.

The leader cockroach was looking at the scene.

Even though he had killed his own comrades, he had never seen such a brutal sight.

He didn’t seem to understand my words.

No matter.

I said,

“I knew you were spying on us. I just let you be because I was busy with my own things.”

I was busy leveling up.

The leader cockroach slowly raised his eyes.

The arrogance from before was gone.

I said,

“You gathered some people while I let you be. You got cocky because you had some people behind you. Cockroach.”

The man was gasping for breath, silent.

He was looking into my eyes.

I could feel the emotions in his eyes.

He dared not look away.

I slowly tilted my head.

“Look at these dead people. They all died because of you. Aren’t you sorry?”

The leader cockroach didn’t answer.

He just looked at me, sweating, crying, and bleeding.

I smirked and said lightly,

“I found something out before. Do you know what it is?”

I wasn’t really expecting an answer.

I smiled and looked at him.

It was quite a fierce smile.

“It doesn’t take any effort to kill a person.”

That’s right. The strength in my status doesn’t drain when I kill a person.

It only drains when I kill an evil body.

That’s what I meant, but the leader cockroach and the other cockroaches seemed to interpret it quite differently.

Their faces changed.

They had no way of knowing about me.

I crossed my arms and looked at the leader cockroach.

His pale face was filled with fear and shock.

His eyes were pitiful.

I sighed.

“Ha, really.”

I stood up and grabbed the sword embedded in the chessboard.

Then, I pulled it out.

“Choke!”

The leader cockroach clutched his arm, trembling violently.

I said,

“Go. I’ll let you live.”

The leader cockroach slowly raised his head and looked at me.

I smiled.

“I’ll let you live. Go. Can’t you hear me?”

His jaw was trembling.

He didn’t move.

I raised the sword and pointed it at the cockroaches behind him.

Then, I gestured.

“Come here. Take this guy away.”

The cockroaches were still gasping for breath, some vomiting, and some wetting themselves.

The subordinate cockroaches looked at each other and slowly approached.

Then, they cautiously grabbed the leader cockroach’s arms from both sides, watching my every move.

“Let’s go…”

“…Gurgle.”

The leader cockroach stood up.

The three cockroaches, watching me, slowly turned around.

I said,

“Hey.”

The cockroaches looked at me.

I smiled.

Acceleration.

[Automatic Cast: Acceleration]

I grabbed the sword with both hands and approached the leader cockroach.

I swung the sword at his right elbow.

Slice!

The arm was severed.

Then, I took another step and cut off his left elbow.

Both arms were severed.

I stood facing the leader cockroach.

I held the sword upside down and raised both arms.

The tips of the two swords aligned with the leader cockroach’s eyes.

The acceleration ended.

I thrust the swords.

The blades pierced the leader cockroach’s eyes.

The leader cockroach’s face contorted instantly.

“…Aaaaaah!”

Thud.

The severed arms fell to the ground.

The cockroaches screamed in shock.

I slowly pulled out the swords.

The leader cockroach screamed in agony.

I said,

“I’ll let you live. Don’t look ahead, don’t touch anyone, and live like that.”

Then, I smiled.

“Aaaaaah! Ah, aaaaaah!”

He raised his blood-soaked arms, trying to cover his blood-soaked eyes. But he had no hands.

The leader cockroach hung from the cockroaches, screaming endlessly.

I said,

“Hey, stop the bleeding. What are you doing? He’ll die.”

One of the trembling cockroaches hastily untied his belt and wrapped it around the leader cockroach’s arm.

Another cockroach, seeing this, untied his own belt.

I shifted my gaze from the cockroaches stopping the bleeding to the others around us.

“You guys. Clean up these bodies. And get out of here.”

The cockroaches dared not move, watching my every move.

I bared my teeth and said,

“If you show up again, I’ll wipe you all out.”