There Is No World For ■■
Chapter 160: 19530305 (5)

* * *

[Only, it’s not the guest we were expecting.]

The sound of footsteps drawing closer, and the increasingly resonant voice of the dragon.

Of all people, why was Kahal Magdu here? However, there wasn’t enough time to ponder this question.

Yeomyeong turned to the two sisters, silently mouthing three words while alternating his gaze between them and the door.

Step. Back. Now.

It might have been a different story had his strength been at its peak, but after a series of relentless battles, he couldn’t guarantee their safety with another fight looming over them.

Especially against that accursed skeletal dragon.

Perhaps due to the gravity of Yeomyeong’s expression—Seti didn’t argue about staying back this time.

The sisters exchanged a brief glance before quickly darting toward the armory’s entrance.

Silent even as they made their retreat, they slipped out of the laboratory.

And not long after, the iron door on the other side screeched and groaned as if clutched by a giant’s hand.

The locking mechanisms crumpled, and the door imploded like a crushed soda can.

Boom.

Yet the figure that stepped in wasn’t Kahal Magdu but an elderly man garbed in luxurious attire.

He carried a long golden staff, atop which a massive ruby glimmered faintly with magic residue; evidence that he was the one who had crushed the door with magic.

Scowling, Yeomyeong veiled his face with the Blood Tear’s illusion.

In the meantime, a skull wreathed in flickering blue flames clattered into the room.

Kahal Magdu—was it still using the skeleton avatar instead of its actual form? But this one seemed… peculiar.

Yeomyeong’s train of thought was interrupted by the elderly man’s voice.

“Boy, where are the Western Count Palatine and those monsters? And why is someone like you here?”

“…”

“Are you a scout? Or did those monsters already betray that novice?”

“…I should be the one asking you—how exactly did you get here?”

“Do you really think such a big armory would only have an entrance beneath the Western Count Palatine’s domain? Boy, stop dodging the question and answer me.”

The unmistakable arrogance of nobles from beyond the Dimensional Portal. From his tone alone, Yeomyeong could deduce the man’s identity.

…The Southern Count Palatine. One of the few true nobles in the city.

After confirming that Seti and Neti were far enough, Yeomyeong crossed his arms and replied.

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking any questions?”

“…What did you just say?”

“It’s basic etiquette. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that?”

The man’s jaw dropped at Yeomyeong’s brazen provocation.

And as if to make matters worse, the Skeletal Dragon beside him let out a rasping chuckle. Seizing the momentum, Yeomyeong added.

“Or perhaps… you’re too embarrassed to share your name?”

As the elder’s face turned beet red, he slammed his staff onto the floor with a thunderous bang.

“…How dare you!”

Sensing that a fight was imminent, Yeomyeong began weaving a spell while the noble bellowed furiously.

“Well then you insolent lowlife, open your ears and listen well! I am Audrion Va Terriel! The current head of the Terriel Household, which has safeguarded this land for eleven generations, and the sole legitimate Count Palatine of this city, recognized by His Majesty the Emperor!”

“…”

“So, do you now realize whom you dared to provoke? If so, kneel at once!”

As the Southern Count Palatine’s words came to an end, his staff unleashed a heavy surge of mana—the same invisible magic that had crushed the door.

Feigning fear, Yeomyeong took a step back while subtly launching the spell he had prepared.

Invisible telekinesis—its target: the Southern Count Palatine’s neck.

The Southern Count Palatine’s spell and Yeomyeong’s Telekinesis collided almost simultaneously.

An immense pressure bore down on Yeomyeong’s shoulders, and his Telekinesis nearly succeeded in twisting the Southern Count Palatine’s neck. However, right at that moment…

Crack!

Kahal Magdu waved its hand, deflecting both spells in unison.

Only then did the Count Palatine notice the telekinetic force pressing against his throat, his face showing a look of utter shock. If anything had gone wrong, he could have died on the spot.

Clicking its tongue, Kahal Magdu’s skeletal avatar remarked.

- Is this really the sort of behavior you expect from civilized beings? Surely, you both could get what you want through dialogue.

“…”

- *Don’t you think so, Cheon Yeomyeong?*

So, it could see through the Blood Tear’s illusion. Yeomyeong frowned and replied.

“…We’re hardly on speaking terms.”

- Oh? Then you wish to fight? Against the both of us?

“Why? Do you think I can’t?”

Though disappointed that his ambush had failed, Yeomyeong had no intention of backing down.

Killing Aura flared up, heating the atmosphere.

Yeomyeong silently raised his sword, prompting Kahal Magdu’s skeletal avatar to let out a rattling laugh.

- Ah yes, the courage of the weak. It’s really a commendable attitude, always a thrill, even to my dead heart.

“…”

- But I don’t think this is the time for you to display such confidence. The Western Count Palatine and those slaves of the Korean government… surely you didn’t leave them alive. You must’ve gone through quite the ordeal killing them all, right?

The creature’s gaze seemed to guess at Yeomyeong’s condition, but he ignored its taunts and focused on strategy.

The Surging Wave technique, Blood Flow Acceleration, Mārīcī Divine Arts, Black Wing Flow—he was considering using all of them simultaneously to land a decisive blow.

Or should he drag the battle into a war of attrition and make the armory collapse around them?

And right at that moment, when Yeomyeong’s tension was stretched taut, and every nerve in his skin stood on edge, razor-sharp, Kahal Magdu made an offer.

- *I’ll be generous. Hand over the launch codes, and I’ll spare you this time—both you and those two wenches who fled.*

“…Launch codes?”

- Oh, are you pretending to feign ignorance? It’s a shame but drop the act. Forget about that Western Count Palatine, I doubt those Korean wretches would have breached the armory without knowing that.

At the mention of the words ‘launch code,’ greed flickered in the eyes of the Southern Count Palatine watching from the sidelines.

Noticing this, Yeomyeong was certain.

Their goal was indeed the object slumbering deep within this armory.

Hidden at the farthest end of this armory, beneath a thick seal that even Superhumans could not breach, lay that slumbering object.

It was none other than…

* * *

[A nuclear missile.]

[A nuclear missile lies dormant beneath this city.]

Yeomyeong recollected the information Ben had shared with him in the Blood Tear Key.

[Why, you ask? Hmm, where should I start… Okay, let’s begin with this term: Mutually Assured Destruction.]

Mutually Assured Destruction was the formal term, or MAD for short.

It was a nuclear strategy theory that posited that if two nations with nuclear weapons waged nuclear war, both sides would be annihilated.

[As you know, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union produced enough nuclear weapons to obliterate the entire Earth. And as those nuclear weapons accumulated, the desperate efforts to avoid destruction evolved as well.]

…Are you talking about bunkers?

[Exactly, digging deeper air-raid shelters, researching teleportation… and eventually developing Dimensional Portal technology.]

Dimensional portal?

[When nuclear war broke out, the high-ranking U.S. officials began to research ways to create an emergency Dimensional Portal to escape. It cost a lot of money but was the most practical solution available.]

…

[What sort of answer do you think Stalin arrived at when he learned of this information? It was simple. He said that if they could just shoot nukes through the Dimensional Portal, it wouldn’t matter.]

…That’s insane.

[Yes, he was indeed a mad leader fit for a mad age. And before its fall, the Soviet Union was undeniably a country capable of turning that madness into reality.]

Ben had a pained expression in the memory.

[This very city is proof of that madness. They forcibly took over the Emperor’s court and poured concrete all over it to create a secret nuclear missile base.]

…

[Can you imagine? With just the launch code, one could destroy all the major cities beyond the portal and Dimensional Portal itself, turning them into ruins.]

Yeomyeong couldn’t imagine it. After the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and the World Tree incident, nuclear weapons had never been used in combat again.

[Shocking, right? That’s why, if possible, I hoped our Blue Rat would take control of this place… but, as always, fate was not on our side.]

His trailing words were followed by the sharp glint in his eyes.

[Cheon Yeomyeong, it might be unexpected, but I have a favor to ask of you.]

…Go ahead.

[I’ll give you the launch codes for the nuclear missile… go to the armory control center and take the nuclear weapons. At least make sure the other fools don’t get their hands on them.]

Without even giving Yeomyoeng a chance to respond, Ben had already spoken the code.

[19530305.]

[This is the launch code to gain control of all the nuclear weapons in the city.]

What… is that a date? Some kind of anniversary?

[We don’t know either. In fact, no one in this world does. It was Stalin himself who created the code, but nothing happened on that day.]

…

[…Anyway, what matters isn’t the secret contained in this code, but what can be done with it.]

What can be done? Just as Yeomyeong was about to plunge into deep thought, Ben added one last remark.

[I don’t know what decision you’ll make… but I hope you make one without regrets.]

* * *

Again, back to the present.

Yeomyeong didn’t bother asking the Southern Count Palatine and Kahal Magdu how they knew about the nuclear facility.

If they were able to locate and enter the armory, it likely meant they had gathered some intelligence.

He roused his mana and spoke.

“I don’t know what is this launch code you’re talking about, and I’ve never heard of it either. I killed both the Western Count Palatine and the Korean government dogs before they could speak.”

Hearing his answer, the Southern Count Palatine couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“Why? Why would you kill them without even hearing such valuable information? This is why you remind me of a lowlife!”

“…”

“Undead Dragon, kill him right now and resurrect the corpse of the western man as a zombie! If the corpse is damaged, our whole plan is done for!”

The Southern Count Palatine threw a fit, but Kahal Magdu remained indifferent.

- Cheon Yeomyeong, Earthian chosen by the stars. I truly intended to spare your life.

The skull rattled.

- I also deeply regret this turn of events as I wanted to kill you in front of the Saintess.

From between the empty sockets of the skull, a blazing flame shot toward Yeomyeong.

The next moment, Yeomyeong unleashed every technique he had mastered and swung his sword.

The translucent mana aimed at him bounced off with a sinister sound as it collided with his sword.

Staggering from the recoil, Yeomyeong grabbed the hilt of his sword to steady himself, but as more blue flames followed, he was forced to leap back to avoid them.

KWA-AAAAA!!!

The blue, flickering dragon flame engulfed the spot he had been standing at.

Firing a breath using its skeleton avatar, that damn dragon!

Yeomyeong rolled down the hallway outside the lab, using the rebound to quickly rise to his feet.

Just then, a flash of lightning struck him.

Psssssh! As his sword struck the lightning, light erupted, and Yeomyeong was pushed back yet another step.

- Has your skill level increased again? Impressive!

Kahal Magdu let out a sound of admiration before following up with another lightning spell.

The outpour of light caused Yeomyeong’s eyes to sting, and the sound of the air heating up made his ears throb.

After cutting through the lightning, Yeomyeong instinctively unleashed a Telekinesis spell.

TWAACCKKKK!

As expected, the invisible force magic fired by the Southern Count Palatine struck his Telekinesis the next moment.

The spell, powerful enough to crush a steel door, shattered the Telekinesis in an instant, but that brief moment gave Yeomyeong enough time to roll on the floor and avoid the spell.

Perhaps because he had missed the perfect opportunity to end Yeomyeong, the Southern Count Palatine yelled angrily.

“Undead Dragon! What are you doing? Finish him off already!”

- Do not rush. One should never try to defeat an opponent worthy of respect easily.

“Respect, my foot. That filthy Earthian mongrel—”

In that instant, comet light burst forth from Yeomyeong’s sword, filling the armory corridor.

- Comet Sword? The activation speed has increased drastically.

Recoiling in horror, the Southern Count Palatine activated his shield, while Kahal Magdu layered another shield on top of it.

As if that weren’t enough, even after summoning dragon flames to cover the shield…

!!!

The Southern Count Palatine’s shield shattered like candy the moment it made contact with the Comet Sword.

Kahal Magdu’s shield cracked as well, but the weakened Comet Sword was unable to push through further and exploded.

The Southern Count Palatine’s clothes fluttered as the shockwave swept through, his frantic attempt to shield his face making him appear extremely flustered.

In the meantime, Yeomyeong simultaneously conjured an ice spike and weaved a Telekinesis spell, targeting the Count Palatine.

The ice spike aimed for the liver, while the Telekinesis targeted the neck.

Even if one attack was blocked, the other would deal a fatal blow—a combined assault. Kahal Magdu admired the move but blocked the spell in the Count Palatine’s stead.

- You even possess such a level of magic. This seems like a trait of a dragon. Are you perhaps of dragon blood?

“Shut up.”

Seeing the Comet Sword and this follow-up attack blocked, Yeomyeong gritted his teeth. It wasn’t easy fighting two Mages alone.

Should he have fought alongside Seti? No, unlike him, they hadn’t had enough time to recover their stamina—

As Yeomyeong was pondering over this while blocking another lightning spell, a familiar voice echoed from down the armory corridor.

[Brother-in-law! Retreat to the first storage room!]

The laughable yet clear voice of Neti. Hadn’t she left the armory yet? Why was she still here?

- Didn’t run away, huh? This is why wenches always… mess up the scene where the male sacrifices himself.

Kahal Magdu snickered, but Yeomyeong retreated using the Flying Kick technique.

Of course, Kahal Magdu and the Southern Count Palatine didn’t allow Yeomyeong to fall back easily.

They cast Acceleration magic to increase their speed and unleashed numerous attack spells to prevent Yeomyeong from escaping.

Fireballs, lightning, invisible force, ice spikes, dragon flames…

Dodging all those spells by a hair’s breadth, Yeomyeong ran towards Neti’s voice.

After passing the armory and running further down the corridor, he finally reached the first storage room, the one where the tanks were parked.

Neti then shouted again.

[Brother-in-law! Get down!]

“What?!”

“Get down? Why?” Even though the question crossed his mind, Yeomyeong trusted Neti. Or more accurately, he trusted Seti, who was standing beside her.

And that trust was not misplaced.

The moment Yeomyeong dropped to the floor, the storage room door flew open, and the thing they had prepared inside revealed itself.

T-82, or the ddaengpali.

- A tank?

The tank, which Neti always wanted to ride, emerged from the storage room and immediately fired its cannon.

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