NOVEL NEXT Chapter 363
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Chapter 363: Between Good Karma and Bad Karma (4)
Villain.
What exactly does it mean to be a villain in this vast universe?
In truth, Yeongwoo had never once considered himself a true villain.
Sure, he caused minor inconveniences from time to time, but in the grand scheme of the universe, his influence was barely a speck.
Besides, weren’t there countless individuals in this universe far stronger than Earth's so-called greatest swordsman?
Take Lemu, who could even glimpse the future, or Chairman Dogo, who could beat Lemu to a pulp.
Even the things Yeongwoo had encountered so far were but a tiny fraction of the vast cosmos.
So, a feeble existence like Jeong Yeongwoo07?
‘I’m just a guy trying to live my life as best I can. How could I be a villain?’
Jeong Yeongwoo07, a cosmic being with millions of evil karma points to his name, lunged forward with a fierce expression.
"Haah!"
His body and gaze were aimed at the spot where three virtuous aliens from Team 023 had gathered.
“It’s already too late! Everyone, get over here! If you get hit by that thing, there won’t even be remains to send back to your home planet!”
As Yeongwoo shouted, the area around him was already stained crimson.
It was due to the bombardment from Team 002, which had opened the sky above the promotion field and cast a fiery red light.
Whatever it was, the planetary weapon from the other side emitted a reddish hue.
‘I’ve never seen anything like that before. Can I block it with this?’
Yeongwoo glanced at his only defensive mythical equipment, the Aratubank.
「Aratubank」 - Mythical Shield
【Immunity】
【Coffin】
【Shared Pain】
【Immunity】
| This shield cannot be destroyed and can block most non-physical damage and mental attacks.
According to its immunity effect, the shield could theoretically block that laser as well.
Of course, this depended on whether the bombardment fell under the "most" category of non-physical damage.
In any case, Yeongwoo had no other options.
Boom!
From the gaping sky above, a blazing red laser beam descended, and Yeongwoo immediately raised the Aratubank over his head.
Whoosh!
A semi-circular barrier unfolded around the Aratubank as it faced the sky.
"Whoa...!"
With a diameter of about six meters, the barrier was clearly the manifestation of the "Invulnerability" effect.
Without waiting for Yeongwoo's command, the virtuous aliens leapt behind him.
-Gasp!
-It’s dangerous!
-Wait for us!
As the guardians and representatives of their planets, they had an overwhelming desire to survive— even if it meant hiding under the shield of a villain.
And then, immediately.
Thooom!
A tremendous pressure struck the Aratubank as the bombardment engulfed Team 023.
-Aaaagh!
-Oh no!
-Help...!
The three virtuous aliens screamed under the overwhelming pressure they’d never experienced before, while Yeongwoo turned his gaze towards Team 002.
‘So, it’s going to be melee combat now.’
The enemy, seemingly shocked that their bombardment had been blocked, simply stood and watched from afar.
And then.
“...!”
Among the dark-clad members of Team 002, a single figure emanating a bright light raised an arm.
Szzap!
From the end of their arm, a lightning spear began to form.
"Seriously? Are those bastards targeting me while I’m maintaining the barrier?"
True to form, the figure threw the lightning spear moments later.
Szzzzz!
The lightning spear tore through the air of the promotion field’s midwestern region.
As it hurtled toward him, Yeongwoo thought of twisting his body to block it.
Thunk!
Unexpectedly, Taru, a golem from the Pigot planet, stepped in front of him.
"...What?"
-I’m immune to elemental attacks.
"What?"
As Yeongwoo widened his eyes in shock, the lightning spear collided with Taru’s abdomen and dissipated.
Sizzle!
As he claimed, Taru was indeed immune to elemental damage.
‘So, this is why people in the universe prefer using ability attacks against beings like him!’
Yeongwoo couldn’t help but marvel.
With Taru’s immunity to all elemental damage, he was practically invincible against elemental-type dragons and similar foes.
‘The universe truly is vast.’
While Yeongwoo was lost in thought, the laser beam that had stained the surroundings crimson finally ran out of energy and dissipated.
Fwoosh!
At that moment, Aldo and Amana, who had been crouching under Yeongwoo’s shield, cautiously raised their heads.
Meanwhile, Team 002 started showing signs of movement.
‘So it’s really time for melee combat now?’
With two mythical pieces of equipment at his disposal, Yeongwoo felt supremely confident in close combat.
As he lowered the Aratubank he had held aloft and stared at Team 002, the enemy suddenly.
Swoosh!
Started running away at full speed.
‘What?’
After witnessing Team 023 block both their bombardment and sniping attempts, Team 002 decided to retreat.
‘Those guys... They’re real experts!’
Clicking his tongue at their cold judgment, Yeongwoo quickly prepared to give chase.
“We can’t let them get away! If we do, they’ll become top-ranking teams. We have to catch and kill them now!”
Yeongwoo declared menacingly, clutching his weapon tightly, speaking of "death" yet again in front of the virtuous aliens.
Ordinarily, such words would have drawn resistance from his teammates.
However, fresh off the terrifying laser bombardment, their reactions were markedly different from earlier in the trial.
-Stand beside me.
Suddenly, Amana hefted the hammer she was holding onto her shoulder, spread her feathered arms, and looked toward the sky.
Though unsure of what was happening, Yeongwoo obediently stood beside her as instructed.
At that, Aldo and Tarudo silently followed Yeongwoo and stood nearby in alignment.
In that moment, the bodies of the four aliens were connected by a ring of wind.
Then.
Whooosh!
In an instant, everyone in the area was propelled dozens of meters into the air—at a tremendous speed.
“Huh?”
As Yeongwoo widened his eyes in astonishment at the incredible momentum, Amana spoke in a low voice.
-Today, I shall commit a duty I do not welcome.
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She then turned her gaze toward Unit 002, which had already moved far away.
Their mobility was extraordinary, and they seemed poised to disappear from view in a moment, but Yeongwoo instinctively understood:
The specialty of the Owlbear from the Sacred Planet Patrol was flight and acceleration.
Catching up to such an escape would be simple for him.
-Doing good deeds does not mean being weak. It simply means not being evil.
Amana, gazing at the sole villain of Unit 023, spoke as if offering a reminder.
Yeongwoo, flailing his legs in the air, shouted back.
“Do you think committing evil deeds makes one just evil? It doesn’t make you weak either! In this universe, if you’re weak, you can’t even commit evil deeds!”
He then pointed toward Unit 002, now just a tiny dot in the distance.
“Let’s go! I’ll take care of all the evil deeds myself!”
Finally, Amana’s eyes glinted fiercely, and her feathers bristled.
Flap, flap, flap!
Then.
Hahh!
With a powerful shout, she shot forward diagonally, carrying the three unit members bound by the ring of wind.
Whooosh!
It was a kind of gliding, but the speed was comparable to ultra-fast movement lanes.
The distance between them and Unit 002, which had vanished from sight moments ago, closed rapidly.
Naturally, for Unit 002, who was fleeing:
-W-what?
-Above us! What is that?
They couldn’t help but be startled as they saw Unit 023 flying overhead.
-Go, guardian of Earth.
As Amana spoke, she released Yeongwoo from the ring of wind that bound him and sent him plummeting to the ground.
Thud!
Right into the midst of Unit 002.
Boom!
“Seriously, just dropping me here like this?”
Despite his complaint, Yeongwoo began disrupting Unit 002’s formation the moment he landed.
Crash!
With his landing, he split a black-armored knight in half, making it clear to everyone:
If they didn’t deal with this lone intruder immediately, everyone here would die.
-Gunaki!
The moment the black knight fell, a frightened alien standing behind him shouted.
The alien was a steel humanoid, with heavy chains draped over his back like a cloak.
His dark gray skin, entirely made of steel, gave him an appearance of strength, but his face was full of fear.
The fact that their opponent had instantly killed another crew member made it clear he could do the same to him.
-Kill him! This one’s dangerous!
As the steel humanoid shouted and drew blades from his fingertips, Yeongwoo’s Aratubank struck his jaw first.
Crash!
“You bastards, don’t even think about running anymore.”
Sensing a sharp presence behind him, Yeongwoo turned and raised Bastard to block.
Clang!
Beyond Bastard’s blade, a golden sword glimmered.
-You bastard...!
“What now?”
Yeongwoo blinked in surprise as he saw his opponent.
A navy-blue gorilla was locking swords with him.
The gorilla’s strength was immense, enough to push Yeongwoo back bit by bit.
Meanwhile, to the side, another enemy who had thrown a lightning spear earlier was preparing an ambush, as the hologram had already warned him.
‘The level here really is something else.’
Realizing he couldn’t clean up the area at once in his current state, Yeongwoo rolled backward to escape from the gorilla.
Then.
Slash!
Using Bastard, he severed his own left arm.
Everyone, including the gorilla, froze momentarily, stunned by the sight.
-He... cut off his own arm?
-Who does that?
On their planet, meeting someone who would willingly sever their own arm was a rare occurrence.
But the true nature of Yeongwoo, who had lost his arm, was revealed.
Ssshhh...
【Corrosive Blood】
|Blood becomes corrupted, gaining corrosiveness.
The blood pouring from Yeongwoo’s wound melted the ground beneath him.
A being whose entire body was essentially a weapon—this was Jeong Yeongwoo07.
-Did you see that?
The gorilla holding the golden sword took a step back, asking his teammates.
But before anyone could answer, Yeongwoo moved first.
Leap!
He swung his severed arm, spraying blood across a 180-degree arc, and charged toward Unit 002.
Screeech!
The gorilla, who was the first to be doused in Yeongwoo’s blood, screamed and collapsed, and at that moment, a system message appeared in the sky above the battlefield.
「10 minutes have passed since the trial began.」
「The power and score rankings will be revealed shortly.」
「All teams are advised to finish their battles promptly and check the rankings.」
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