Chapter 69

Ryo’s temper had been steadily fraying for quite some time now.

To be exact, his irritation had taken root well before they even arrived at this location.

He simply could not comprehend the attitude of their opponents.

What on earth were they thinking?

Demanding one hundred billion won per match?

Or suggesting a wager of that same astronomical amount if they were dissatisfied?

It infuriated him that Shusuke-hyungnim could just accept such an outrageous, nonsensical proposition without offering a single word of protest.

Japan had already demonstrated its absolute dominance on the global stage.

Why should a powerhouse nation like theirs be pushed around and dictated to by players hailing from some insignificant, backwater territory?

Whatever. Fine.

He could reluctantly overlook the matter of the wager.

However, the outcome of the preceding duel had made his blood boil even fiercer.

They actually managed to defeat Atsuto?

It appeared that South Korea’s latent capabilities were considerably higher than anyone had anticipated.

Kang Jiho and Hong Ari.

Admittedly, both of those competitors had pushed themselves to their absolute limits, but Ryo had never imagined they possessed the strength to hold their own against Atsuto, who stood near the pinnacle of Japan’s elite national roster.

That realization wounded his pride, if only a little.

Fine.

He would make one final concession and look past that as well.

It wasn’t as though Korea was to blame for Japan’s failure to completely crush them.

But then, something else happened.

— Why, do you think you can’t defeat him?

— ……I will win. By any means necessary.

— Excellent. Keep that exact mindset.

He had inadvertently caught a snippet of their dialogue.

The casual, dismissive tone they used—as if someone of Ryo’s caliber was guaranteed to lose—bored directly into his mind.

Arrogant, conceited brats.

That was the exact moment his patience shattered entirely.

“……Where does some nameless nobody I’ve never even heard of get the nerve to look so relaxed when facing me?”

Ryo curled his lips into a disdainful smirk, staring directly at Ki Jaehyeok, who stood on the opposite side with a solemn, grim expression.

“Very well then.”

I will show you!

The insurmountable gulf in our abilities!

The exact reason why Japan is recognized as a global superpower!

CRASH-SH-SH-SH!

In response to Ryo’s command, two massive chickens, each the size of a fully grown adult man, burst into a furious sprint toward Ki Jaehyeok.

These were far from ordinary poultry.

They were Transcendent Chickens (B-rank), legendary beasts rumored to hunt down and consume even the fiercest birds of prey.

Ki Jaehyeok’s tactical lineup centered entirely around goblins.

Just as Oh Seonyeong adamantly relied solely on wolves, Ki Jaehyeok maintained a strict preference for goblins.

The specific reasoning behind this choice would be revealed at a later time.

Taking up positions on the front line were two Hob Goblins (B-rank) and a single Poison Goblin (B-rank)!

A Forest Goblin (C-rank) filled the role of the dedicated medic, while a Goblin High Priest (B-rank) acted as the team’s primary buffer.

“Goblins? Do you honestly expect to defeat me using trash summons like those?”

Ryo scoffed mockingly after the initial collision of forces.

Ki Jaehyeok was quite young.

And the fiery, impetuous nature of South Korea’s youth meant he wasn’t about to let an insult like that slide without a retort.

“Sure thing, KFC.”

“……”

“Still, you have to admit they look way cooler than a pair of oversized chickens, don’t you think?”

“Keep your mouth shut.”

“Man, I should really order some Baekssie Chicken after we finish up here. Chomp chomp.”

“You miserable piece of—!”

Grind!

Completely bested in the verbal exchange, Ryo ground his teeth in pure frustration.

As a general rule, Japanese players were notorious for being terrible at trash talk.

There was even a historical theory floating around that the Japanese preferred to skip verbal confrontations altogether and simply eliminate their targets immediately.

……Be that as it may.

It was an incredibly difficult task to win a war of words against a Korean high school student whose vocabulary had been forged in the merciless fires of internet profanity since his primary school days.

“Just drop dead!”

The beak of the Transcendent Chicken began hammering into the goblin’s torso at a speed that defied comprehension.

Perhaps reflecting the sheer rage of their master, the summons’ physical strikes had grown significantly more brutal and erratic than before.

SCREEEEECH!

The Hob Goblin swung its heavy club entirely on instinct, but—

Swish!

The giant bird evaded the counterattack with a swift sidestep and plunged its sharp beak directly into the monster’s midsection.

“W-holy crap.”

“What kind of insane chicken moves like THAT?”

“That’s serious business. Our own Firebird was taken down by those exact creatures earlier.”

The watching disciples gathered along the sidelines let out collective gasps of pure amazement.

It truly was a fascinating sight to behold.

Regardless of the specific summon being utilized, an enormous disparity in performance existed depending entirely on the skill of the practitioner controlling it.

Ki Jaehyeok appeared to have no effective counter-strategy either, as he was forced to continuously order his goblins to retreat.

“Keep it up!”

“Overwhelm him!”

The high-ranking Japanese competitors finally began to relax, expressions of visible relief washing over their countenances.

Yes, this was the proper order of things.

Being utterly suppressed by the player ranked ninth in Japan—this was the true reality of the Korean national squad. This was the exact spectacle they should have been witnessing from the very beginning.

“That’s the power of our Transcendent Chicken!”

“Go, Ryo! Wipe the floor with all of them by yourself!”

However.

Amidst the celebrating Japanese rankers, one individual’s face remained tight with anxiety.

Shusuke.

Had this been the Korean team of the past, the confrontation would have concluded long ago.

The physical movements of the Transcendent Chicken were incredibly explosive and rapid.

Naturally, this meant that a shorter, more aggressive engagement favored them heavily, and yet……

Ki Jaehyeok, was it?

That young man’s micro-management and control were absolutely remarkable.

It created the illusion that he was absorbing a tremendous amount of damage, but the clever way he consistently avoided lethal blows—that was anything but simple to execute.

If this pattern continued, the Transcendent Chickens would deplete their stamina first.

Shusuke’s tactical assessment was entirely accurate.

Curse it all.

Despite trying to maintain a confident facade, Ryo was internally burning with anxiety.

“You irritating little insect! How much longer do you plan on running away?!”

A deep sense of frustration slowly consumed him.

Every single strike looked as though it was destined to connect, yet it missed the mark time and time again.

Furthermore, whatever physical damage the sharp beak managed to inflict was almost instantly mended by the Forest Goblin’s magic.

To make matters worse.

“Whoa there, calling me an insect is a bit uncalled for, don’t you think? It’s not like I’m choosing to dodge these attacks because I want to.”

That annoying mouth just wouldn’t stop running.

Continuously grating on Ryo’s raw nerves without a moment’s pause.

“If you don’t want to dodge, then plant your feet and face me directly!”

“Come on, let’s be reasonable here. If you expect me to stand still, how about you stop trying to peck my face off first?”

“You arrogant brat, you’re nothing but talk—!”

“Yep. Cluck cluck.”

“GRAAAAAAH!”

Ultimately, driven to absolute madness by his boiling fury, Ryo resorted to a singular, desperate measure.

Shhk.

He reached into his pocket and retrieved a specific item.

[Supreme-Grade Movement Speed Enhancement Scroll]

[Rank: A-rank]

[Temporarily multiplies a summon’s movement speed by 10x.]

This particular item had been manufactured using a rare blueprint acquired as a reward from the Tower of Trials.

It was a magic scroll that practically no one ever bothered to craft, solely because the required components were utterly ridiculous to obtain.

While the actual combat enhancement was top-tier, the raw materials alone commanded a market price exceeding one hundred billion won.

In simpler terms, its cost-to-benefit ratio was abysmally poor.

To hell with it.

Ryo had completely lost his mind—any semblance of rational calculation had entirely vanished from his thoughts.

“H-hey, hold on a second!”

Shusuke instantly recognized what Ryo intended to do and frantically scrambled forward to intercept him.

That absolute lunatic.

Utilizing consumption scrolls during official matches was strictly forbidden by international conventions.

While the core system technically permitted their use, Rachel had originally introduced the restrictive resolution to prevent the needless squandering of valuable resources during league play, and the measure had been universally adopted.

Even if he manages to secure a victory and claims the one hundred billion won, burning that scroll renders the entire profit pointless!

Unfortunately, his intervention came a moment too late.

RIIIIIIIP!

Ryo had already torn the parchment in half.

“You’re finished.”

With the activation of the item, the velocity of the Transcendent Chickens elevated to an entirely unimaginable level.

CRASH-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

They darted forward like concentrated streaks of lightning, mercilessly tearing into the Hob Goblin’s vital points.

“Idiot. THIS is the insurmountable distance between your strength and mine.”

Ki Jaehyeok’s defensive line of goblins was utterly decimated in the blink of an eye.

“Oh?”

Standing with his arms crossed, Baek Jinwoo narrowed his eyes, a sharp gleam reflecting in his gaze.

So it turned out Japan was the party holding that specific blueprint.

As a matter of record, that particular scroll schematic was of the Unique-grade classification.

Only a single copy existed across the entire globe.

Baek Jinwoo was intimately familiar with it—he had been the rightful owner of that asset during the events of Battle of Summoners.

Even so.

The economic cost of gathering those components couldn’t have been cheap. And he chose to waste it on a petty grudge like this?

It defied all logic.

A priceless consumable of that caliber ought to be fiercely hoarded and preserved for conquering the perilous higher tiers of the Tower of Trials.

Regardless of the foolishness.

Now that the item had been expended, the parameters of the engagement had fundamentally shifted.

No matter how exceptional Ki Jaehyeok’s micro-control proved to be, there was simply no mechanical counter to this level of overwhelming velocity.

“C-damn it.”

Ki Jaehyeok gazed down at his fallen summons with an expression of profound disappointment.

They were already collapsed upon the ground, completely stripped of their capacity to fight.

The enhanced birds had thoroughly demolished the goblins.

“Genetically altered poultry…… Their power is just absurd.”

And then.

Ryo chose to push the boundaries even further.

Rather than sending the defeated goblins back to the summoning dimension, he deliberately kept them pinned down on the verge of destruction, actively mocking them.

— Cluck?

Whenever a battered goblin attempted to push itself off the ground, the giant chicken immediately pecked its legs out from underneath it.

WHOOOOSH!

When one tried to swing its weapon from a prone position, the bird effortlessly evaded the clumsy strike and hammered its beak violently into the creature’s armpits and shoulders.

“What in the world does he think he’s doing?”

“Isn’t that taking things entirely too far?”

The observing disciples felt their anger flare.

“A duel is supposed to be handled with dignity! Is it honestly acceptable to torture creatures like that?”

The active players, in particular, harbored a profound, genuine attachment to their summoned companions.

They couldn’t help it.

Whether they liked it or not, they spent their entire lives operating side by side, and as time marched on, it became impossible not to view them as living entities possessing actual feelings and personalities.

Ryo directed a smug, self-satisfied grin toward the crowd of spectators seething on the sidelines.

“Why are you complaining? Was there some sort of restrictive clause explicitly forbidding this in our formal contract?”

“Display some basic sportsmanship!”

“To hell with sportsmanship.”

Ryo’s upper lip twitched violently.

“HE was the one who abandoned sportsmanship in the first place!”

He had already suffered a tremendous amount of public ridicule and mockery from the Japanese populace due to the nature of his chosen beasts.

KFC, Mos Burger, Toribani……

Being constantly associated with various Japanese fast-food chicken franchises was a deeply rooted source of trauma for him, and Ki Jaehyeok had managed to strike that exact psychological wound with perfect precision.

“My bad…… I was honestly just messing around. I had no idea you’d take it so incredibly personally.”

Ki Jaehyeok awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and offered a genuine apology, but the gesture only served to pour gasoline onto the roaring flames of Ryo’s rage.

“YOU UTTER PIECE OF TRASH!”

CRACK!

He drove the chicken’s powerful beak straight into the center of the goblin’s chest, forcefully dissolving its summon state, and immediately directed the hyper-buffed Transcendent Chicken to charge directly at Ki Jaehyeok, whose protective magical barrier had completely dissolved.

“Ryo, CEASE AT ONCE!”

Shusuke shrieked out in absolute horror, but—

— CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!

The completely unhinged bird was already hurtling toward Ki Jaehyeok at maximum velocity!

“Wh-what?!”

Ki Jaehyeok stood entirely frozen in disbelief.

The official match had concluded. Launching a lethal assault against an opponent out of pure spite after the whistle—wasn’t that a severe criminal offense?

It was a blatant infraction of international statutes. Direct attempted homicide.

“Tch.”

Baek Jinwoo, who had been quietly monitoring the entire sequence, let out a sharp click of his tongue.

Then, he calmly elevated his right hand.

Slice, slice!

Rolly, who had been patiently biding its time while concealed in perfect stealth, swept its massive scythe out from the shroud of invisibility and cleanly severed the heads of both Transcendent Chickens as effortlessly as cutting through soft vegetables.

“What……”

Ryo’s jaw dropped, his mind completely blank with shock.

“What the hell just happened.”

Some completely imperceptible force had suddenly materialized out of thin air, annihilated two fully empowered Transcendent Chickens within a fraction of a second, and vanished without a trace.

An entity of death?

A grim reaper’s blade?

No, regardless of its true nature—

Was an achievement like that even remotely possible?

Those magically enhanced Transcendent Chickens should have been capable of putting up a fierce fight even if Shusuke himself had been the one opposing them.

Furthermore, that wasn’t the conclusion of the assault.

SCR-R-R-RITCH!

The remaining three summons that had been providing tactical assistance from the rear lines had their throats cleanly slit simultaneously.

Thud. Thud.

Baek Jinwoo began closing the distance toward Ryo, whose personal barrier had now completely collapsed, his strides long, steady, and filled with intent.

His sheer aura was reminiscent of a massive, predatory beast closing in on its prey.

“W-wait a minute, let’s just—”

WHAM!

Baek Jinwoo rotated his entire torso to generate maximum torque and buried his fist incredibly deep into Ryo’s midsection.

The execution was far too rapid, far too abrupt—Ryo couldn’t even process the thought of summoning his backup beasts to defend himself.

“GUH—GHHHHHHK!”

Baek Jinwoo’s physical strength stat and explosive kinetic power, meticulously forged through grueling, daily specialized regimens under the watchful eye of Drill Sarge, had transcended ordinary human boundaries a long time ago.

That solitary impact caused Ryo to collapse instantly onto the floor, violently vomiting up the entire contents of his stomach.

Even so.

“HRRGH—HAAAGH! H-how can this be—!”

Even while experiencing violent muscle spasms and shaking uncontrollably, he managed to glare upward at Baek Jinwoo with eyes full of fierce resentment.

Baek Jinwoo looked back down at him, his expression colder than ice.

You miserable little brat.

Where do you get the absolute audacity to lay a hand on MY student?

And using a summon to do it, no less.

No matter how much I analyze this situation, there is absolutely no way I am letting this slide.

I don’t care about Shusuke, or anyone else for that matter.

THWACK!

Baek Jinwoo delivered a powerful, sweeping kick straight into the ribs of the grounded Ryo.

“AAAAAARGH!”

Ryo went airborne, spinning violently through the air and kicking up a thick cloud of dirt and debris as his body tumbled repeatedly across the training field.

Shusuke rushed to his comrade’s side in a panic, but he found himself completely devoid of any words to offer in defense.

From the perspective of any objective onlooker, Ryo was undeniably the instigator and the party at fault.

Not that Baek Jinwoo’s conduct could be classified as diplomatic, either.

He properly should have neutralized the threat of the Transcendent Chickens and left the subsequent disciplinary action of Ryo to Shusuke, who functioned as Japan’s active team captain.

“Even if that is the case, executing this kind of violence is a blatant demonstration of disrespect toward our nation……”

“What.”

Baek Jinwoo shifted his icy glare directly over to Shusuke.

“Are you looking to get beaten up next?”

Some random nobody acting like they have a death wish.

Even if Sugoi-hyung were standing right here in this room, I would still cause an absolute scene.

Baek Jinwoo possessed a deep, fundamental hatred for anyone who dared to harm the people under his protection.

Regardless of the underlying context, Ki Jaehyeok was his personal disciple, and Ryo had just made a deliberate attempt on that disciple’s life.

Ryo honestly ought to be dropping to his knees and thanking whatever gods he believed in that this encounter concluded with him only taking two physical strikes. And they want to talk about what?

Disrespect?

These absolute fools. This level of punishment isn’t going to suffice.

“Drill Sarge.”

Shhk!

Responding instantly to Baek Jinwoo’s verbal summons, Drill Sarge materialized into physical reality.

“Him. Give me one minute.”

He commanded softly, his eyes locked dead onto Ryo’s trembling form.

FLASH!

A concentrated burst of pure ki erupted violently from the tips of Drill Sarge’s fingers.

The specialized, sinew-tearing, bone-grinding technique.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

Ryo’s bloodcurdling, agonizing shriek resonated through every single corner of the training facility.