Chapter 299: Gold Rush (3)
Each person’s abilities were different, but among these varied abilities, there was one most specialized for the modern era of 2025.
For example, there was the metal manipulation right in front of our eyes.
Ka-ga-ga-kang!
Metal plates flew through the air.
Metal shards buzz around like bees, stabbing with sharp stingers like needles.
“Annoying!”
Cheonma stomped hard on the ground, shaking it, while Rasputin leapt up with suppression rods in both hands, swinging them in a large X-shape.
“Die!!”
Without mercy, she swung the rod, aiming to smash Taejo’s head.
However, Taejo leaped backward to distance himself from them, simultaneously extending his hand forward.Cha-kang!
A sharp sword extended from his hand toward Rasputin’s crown.
The silver blade not only has the form of steel but also spins like a saw blade.
“Hmph!”
Rasputin took it head-on.
Tilting his head slightly backward, he thrusted it forward, ramming his forehead into the blade.
Metal blade versus human forehead.
Surprisingly, it was the blade that broke.
Pa-ji-ji-jik!!
Orange sparks flew, and the blade started to crumble.
Without even a scratch or a red mark on her forehead, Rasputin, with just mana enveloping her body, destroyed Taejo’s blade.
“Do you think you can beat us with your power?!”
[You’re just a Cheonma bus rider.]
“Shut up!”
Whether it’s his original personality or he had truly mastered fighting like the Goblin.
‘Even Rasputin alone cannot defeat Taejo.’
His skill in provoking the opponent with words was superb.
And his skill in proving those words with actions was equally superb.
“You, I’ll kill you-”
Swae-eak!
As something silver glistened and flew from Taejo, Rasputin quickly turned her head to the side.
‘Even an S-rank would naturally get scared.’
No matter how high-ranking, if something sharp flew towards their eyes without protective goggles, they had two choices.
Dodge it.
Or deflect it.
Rasputin couldn’t deflect it and twisted her body excessively to dodge the attack.
[Hmph.]
“Damn it!”
It was only one attack, but it was clear who was more composed.
Though Rasputin continued her attack, Taejo blocked them all with the surrounding metal chunks.
[You should stick to being an S-rank in Russia.]
Taejo reached out and pulled his hand forward.
Rasputin frowned but soon stepped back, still frowning.
“What the…!”
Kwaaak.
As Taejo clenched his fist, Rasputin’s belt began to tighten.
The metal buckle was pulled from both sides, and the leather belt began to constrict Rasputin’s abdomen excessively.
“You bastard…!”
“Anyway.”
Suh-reok!
The belt was cut.
The leather was sliced by Cheonma, who had sharply slashed Rasputin’s back.
“At the start of the battle, you should have taken off all the metal pieces.”
“Cheonma…!”
[Tch.]
Cheonma threw away her smartwatch, standing only in light clothing, and stepped forward toward Rasputin.
“Watch carefully. This is the dignity of a true S-rank.”
Kwa-aaaaang!
Steel blades erupted from the ground, but Cheonma didn’t dodge them.
The blades only managed to cut her fluttering clothes, breaking upon touching Cheonma’s white skin.
“Your weakness is already exposed.”
[……!]
Taejo stepped back, crossing his arms in an X shape in front of him.
At the same time, molten metal rose over his arms, forming a thick shield, but Cheonma lightly jumped forward, undeterred.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Cheonma kicked off her shoes, leaping barefoot towards Taejo’s shield.
[!!]
Kwa-aaaang!
With a sound like a person being hit by a dump truck, Taejo flew backward with his shield.
In an instant, his body was in the air, and Cheonma lightly landed, immediately chasing after Taejo.
Bang, bang-bang, bang!
“Cheonma’s consecutive strikes.”
[Some strange technique…!]
“Yes, you can’t block it, right?”
Every time the rapid consecutive strikes landed, a loud explosion echoed.
With just her bare fists swinging, explosions resounded, shaking the entire cavity.
Pa-ji-jik!
Each strike on Taejo’s shield caused his shirt to tear explosively, blood dripping from under his helmet.
“Hey, kid. This is what happens when you mess with your elder sister. Got it?”
[……Fighting recklessly.]
“It’s not reckless, it’s called a difference in class.”
Cheonma gently landed, extending her hand forward.
“You have more magic power than me? No, right?”
[…….]
“I’ll just take half of those gold pieces. Then it would be simple, wouldn’t it?”
[What did you say?]
“Those two.”
Ka-aaaaang!
“Gah!”
With a fierce sound, the two A-rankers were quickly cornered.
“I’m sorry…!”
“Damn it, cowardly…!”
Dozens of ability users from China and Russia, armed with shovels, rifles, and their own weapons, were cornering them.
“Let’s kill those two and keep our mouths shut. How about that?”
[…….]
“Originally, there was only the leftover gold, except for what we were taking. Isn’t that simple then?”
[You’d kill people over a lump of gold?]
“Just a lump? Hey, who knows what will happen with that gold? If you bury it in the ground, who knows if it will turn the minerals around it into gold? Right?”
[…Then even more so, I cannot hand it over.]
Taejo staggered forward.
[Never!]
He reached out his hand towards the rifle.
As long as it was made of metal, if he didn’t infuse it with mana and grab it, then surely-
[What…?]
“It’s plastic. Do you think you can handle plastic too?”
[……!]
“Not the shovels!”
Taejo reached for the shovels lying near the gold mine, but Cheonma kicked towards the direction Taejo’s hand was reaching, causing a gust of wind.
The shovels that were floating in the air quickly fell to the ground.
“Too bad. It’s just your bad luck that your perfect counter came along.”
[Do you really want to take resources from another country that badly?]
“We’re just sharing among people living on the same planet.”
[Really? Too bad, but there are ways to not share.]
Taejo raised his hand behind his neck and then extended it forward again.
[I’d rather blow it all up than give you even a speck of gold.]
“……!”
Click.
As Taejo pressed something like a switch, Cheonma and Rasputin crouched down and stepped back.
But.
Nothing happened.
[…….]
“What is this? A bluff?”
“Hey. In these situations, something usually blows up in like 10 seconds or so.”
The tension was high, but nothing happened.
Surprisingly, only time passed.
“…Is this just one of those things? Like, a bomb was planted but the detonator didn’t go off or something?”
“Or the switch was really just a bluff. …Considering the situation, that doesn’t seem likely. Phew, got scared for nothing.”
[…….]
Taejo slowly lowered his hand.
Then he tilted his head up towards the ceiling, placing his hand on his face.
Pah-sus-sus.
The black iron dust that made up his helmet clung to Taejo’s gloves, revealing his face, soaked in sweat and with blood dripping from his mouth.
“What, are you trying to do something with your face?”
“No, I was just trying to focus a bit more….”
Taejo smirked and took a step back.
“Don’t call it cowardly, okay?”
“……?”
Whiiiing.
A wind blew.
A cold wind that shouldn’t be blowing from deep underground.
“What the hell is this-”
“I don’t know either.”
Taejo just lightly shrugged his shoulders-
Flash!
Soon, from the hollowed-out gold lump, a golden sphere emerged.
The golden light, big enough to fit two people comfortably, shone brightly like the sun in the cave. Soon, the sphere split open, and footsteps echoed from inside.
“What is that…?”
“A knight…?”
The being that appeared was an ability user they had never seen before.
But the appearance was somehow both unfamiliar and familiar.
“Wait, why is that coming out here?”
“Platinum… Sun…?”
[Esacta.]
A blonde woman stepped forward with an unknown phrase.
Though she wore a mask, unlike the Golden Priestess, she was dressed in a black suit and yellow shirt like an office lady, with her golden hair shining brightly - she was undoubtedly the famous demon purifier, Platinum Sun.
“Why is Platinum Sun here…?!”
[You don’t need to know that.]
“This…!”
[But if you really need a reason, it’s because if that gold falls into your hands, you’ll commit all sorts of evil deeds with it. And you could create demons with it.]
“How is that even possible?!”
[Why do you think it’s impossible? Too bad.]
Platinum Sun stepped forward, clenching her fist.
[A Korean protecting Korea’s resources, is there a problem?]
“…So, you’re saying you’re Korean too? Fine, I have a proposal.”
With a tense face, Rasputin stepped forward.
“How about ‘Talco’?”
[…What?]
“Talco. Literally. Leave Korea.”
Grin.
“If you meet Russian men, you won’t even think about Korean men.”
[Not that I want to compare, but your words are quite unpleasant. Well, you won’t be able to return intact anyway.]
Click.
[I’m not the only one here.]
“……What?”
Cheonma’s expression hardened.
At the same time, Rasputin’s face hardened.
The faces of all the ability users from China and Russia hardened.
“Why, why are you here…!!”
[Why am I here?]
The masked being.
Suspiciously, he wore large black armor.
With giant claws on both hands.
[You cannot be allowed to open the gate of Qlipoth.]