Chapter 150: Chapter 150

“S-Stop! I’m sorry!”

The one-sided violence only ended when Rob begged for mercy.

“You should have done that from the start. Is this enough?”

Jeong-hoon asked, looking at Sors.

“Uh… I think it would be okay if you hit him a bit more.”

“You son of a… Gah!”

Rob, who had been glaring at Sors as if he wanted to kill him, quickly lowered his head when he met Jeong-hoon’s eyes.

“Do you want to get hit more?”

“N-No!”

Rob shouted in a voice filled with discipline.

“Good. Then kneel and wait.”

Jeong-hoon made Rob kneel and then approached Sors.

An exclamation mark was blinking above his head.

[Quest Completed.]

[Trust with all tenant farmers in the City of Warriors has slightly increased.]

“Thank you! But… I don’t think we’ve completely driven away the bandits yet.”

Sors’s face was still dark.

And a question mark blinked above his head once again.

[General Quest: Bandit Extermination]

– Restriction: ‘General Quest: The Plunderer’ completed

– Reward: Significant increase in trust with all tenant farmers in the City of Warriors

– Description: Rob is burning with a desire for revenge. Completely exterminate the bandits and relieve the tenant farmers’ anxieties.

Jeong-hoon immediately accepted the quest.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of all the bandits.”

“Is that even possible…?”

Sors asked, his face full of disbelief.

Jeong-hoon nodded.

“Yes. I don’t know why he came alone, but just beating him up won’t stop the looting.”

Jeong-hoon looked at Rob, who was groaning with his head down.

Usually, bandits would attack in groups, but for some reason, Rob had come alone.

‘Thanks to that, things got easier.’

Jeong-hoon’s next target was the bandit leader.

Three undiscovered fragments in the territory of the City of Warriors.

Surprisingly, the bandit leader possessed one of those fragments.

He had accidentally acquired the buried fragment.

‘While helping the tenant farmers, I’ll also take down the bandit leader, and a fragment will appear.’

During his search for the fragments, James Marcus had confirmed that the bandit leader possessed one of them.

Therefore, Jeong-hoon planned to take Rob and head to their main base.

“…Please, I beg you.”

“Yes.”

* * *

Rob couldn’t hide his confused feelings.

‘Damn it, what kind of guy is this?’

Why did the punches from a guy who was only level 203 hurt so much?

Where did the tenant farmer bring this monster from?

He had come alone because it was just a task to go down and receive the crops, but if he had known this would happen, he would have brought the guys from below.

If only he had brought them, he could have crushed this damn guy.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“W-Where to?”

Rob’s voice trembled slightly.

“Where else? Your hideout, of course.”

“My hideout…”

At that moment, Rob’s mind raced.

Right.

I’m alone now, so I can’t handle him, but there are others at the hideout, and most importantly, the boss, who’s stronger than me!

Unlike those arrogant bastards in the City of Warriors, the boss, a true warrior, would surely avenge me.

“What? You want another beating?”

Rob’s face turned pale, and he hurriedly spoke.

“No! I’ll guide you right away!”

“Good.”

Heh heh, just keep chanting that you’re dead.

Rob smiled inwardly and tried to get up.

“Ugh!”

But his legs wouldn’t move.

He had forgotten the pain due to fear, but Rob’s body was currently a wreck.

“What are you doing? Do you want more?”

The bastard looked down at him with a contemptuous gaze.

That son of a bitch…!

Rob gritted his teeth and barely managed to stand up.

“Ugh… No…”

“Then guide me quickly. I don’t have time.”

“Yes.”

Rob moved forward with difficulty.

* * *

Their hideout was located a short distance from the city.

[The bandits are so close, yet the city people just watch?]

‘It’s strange. They’re doing nothing even though the tenant farmers who pay taxes are being harassed.’

Mukho and Anima’s questions were valid.

Bandits running rampant so close to the City of Warriors?

“Ah, that’s because the bandits also pay maintenance fees.”

[Maintenance fees?]

“Yes. I think they pay quite a bit.”

That’s why the warriors just watched the bandits’ atrocities.

The tenant farmers paid a certain amount of taxes, and on top of that, the bandits’ loot was received as maintenance fees, so from the rulers’ perspective, there was no loss.

Also, since they operated outside the city, they also robbed people living in other cities, and they rarely bothered the warriors living in the city, making them perfect as a sort of security force.

‘In short, only the powerless suffer.’

[I don’t understand. They leave the bandits alone even though they know that?]

You shouldn’t try to understand this city.

It was the result of destroying dimensions, selecting people to turn into NPCs, cramming them into a so-called city, and then adding all sorts of strange mechanisms.

“H-Here it is.”

Rob, who was walking ahead, stopped.

In front of him was a door made of carved wood, with a wall built beside it.

‘They said there were over 50 of them during the raid, the scale is huge.’

Rob hurriedly knocked on the door.

The door slowly opened with a creaking sound.

“Huh? Boss, why are you back so early… Gah! Who beat you up like this?!”

One of the bandits who opened the door was startled when he saw Rob’s face.

“Th-The guy behind me.”

“Behind you? …Who are you!”

The bandit, who belatedly noticed Jeong-hoon, drew his sword from his waist.

===

[NPC Information]

-Nickname: Tao

-Level: 175

-Occupation: Bandit

===

He was a bandit with a much lower level than Rob.

Jeong-hoon used his movement technique and struck the bandit’s throat with his fist.

“Keuhk!”

The bandit fell backward, foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.

“Tao!”

As Rob hurriedly tried to check on Tao, Jeong-hoon kicked him in the butt.

“Get inside if you don’t want to die.”

“…A-Alright.”

Rob groaned and went inside.

Inside, there were several huts, and bandits poured out of them at the sound of Tao’s scream.

They were all bandits with levels between 170 and 220.

“Tao? What happened?”

“Boss Rob! What happened to your face?!”

“Who is it?! Who dared to touch our boss!”

The bandits’ eyes widened at the sight of Rob’s battered state.

Rob hurriedly ran towards the group.

“Th-That… That bastard! He did this to me!”

“What? That gigolo?”

“I’m telling you! I was about to take the crops, and that bastard suddenly punched me…! Ahh… It hurts so much.”

While Rob was tattling to the bandits, Jeong-hoon stretched his body.

“Boss, rest. I’ll take care of that bastard.”

One of the bandits approached, taking out an axe he had been carrying on his back.

“If you can.”

Jeong-hoon chuckled.

“Look at your attitude. You’ll be buried here today.”

At those words, the rest of the bandits also took up their weapons, ready to attack Jeong-hoon.

“Well, let’s see who gets buried.”

Jeong-hoon grinned.

[Blackfield activated.]

[All stats are increased by 1.2 times.]

[Due to the effect of Blackfield, all stats of monsters that enter the area are decreased by 3%.]

First, activate Blackfield.

[Blackfield has reached its maximum level.]

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ is activated.]

[Blackfield’s grade has increased from Epic -> Unique.]

With that, Blackfield’s level reached 10, and its grade upgraded from Epic to Unique.

‘So the limit has been lifted… The Legendary grade Steadfast Will is truly overpowered.’

It wasn’t just that he could acquire skills.

With the upgrade to Legendary, the ability to upgrade skills obtained through serendipity was added.

The condition was for the skill’s level to reach its maximum.

Once that happened, it would automatically be eligible for an upgrade.

[All stats are increased by 1.5 times.]

[Due to the effect of Blackfield, all stats of monsters that enter the area are decreased by 10%.]

The effect of the upgraded Unique Blackfield was tremendous.

The stat increase went from 1.2 times to 1.5 times, and the debuff, which was a 3% decrease, increased to a whopping 10%.

Moreover, the range widened even further, bringing all the bandits within the influence of Blackfield.

As the ground beneath their feet turned black, the bandits were overcome with confusion.

“W-What is this?!”

“Damn it! What did you do!”

The bandits quickly realized that this was Jeong-hoon’s doing.

But that was all they could do.

Bam!

Jeong-hoon used his movement technique and struck the bandit who had just spoken insolently in the stomach.

“Ugh!”

Underworld King’s Fist Technique 1st Form.

The bandit was sent flying backward by the damage from the Legendary grade Underworld King’s Fist Technique.

And he didn’t get back up.

“Crazy… He took out Kin with one hit?”

The approaching bandits faltered for a moment.

“We have to attack together! If we go one by one, we’ll die!”

“A-Alright.”

At Rob’s urgent shout, the hesitant bandits all rushed at Jeong-hoon at once.

And Jeong-hoon’s massacre began.

With each punch from Jeong-hoon, a bandit fell.

3, 4, 5.

As the number of bandits sprawled on the ground rapidly increased, Rob was frozen in fear, unable to move.

‘A m-monster… He’s a monster…’

How could someone with a level barely over 200 possess such power?

“Stop!”

At that moment, a voice of salvation came from behind Rob.

===

[NPC Information]

-Nickname: Kukri

-Level: 260

-Occupation: Bandit Leader

===

He was the leader of these bandits, Kukri.

‘Yes…! With the boss joining, there’s a chance…’

As Rob felt a glimmer of hope, Jeong-hoon used his movement technique and arrived in front of Kukri in an instant.

“W-What!”

Kukri’s face contorted in shock at the speed that was impossible to follow with his eyes.

“While I’m still being nice, hand over the fragment.”

“F-Fragment? What are you talking about…?”

“Don’t play dumb. The Fragment of the Old Warrior’s Mark that you have.”

“How do you know about that… Keuhk!”

Bam!

Jeong-hoon struck his abdomen.

Kukri’s waist folded in half.

It was the Underworld King’s Fist Technique, which had been activated to the 2nd Form while beating up the bandits.

Unlike the others, the fact that he didn’t get knocked back showed that the boss was indeed the boss.

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

Jeong-hoon punched him in the face.

“Ugh!”

Kukri felt like he was going to lose his mind.

How did this stranger in front of him know something that even Verd didn’t?

But he couldn’t hand over the fragment.

This fragment was proof of a great warrior.

‘This fragment coming to me is fate!’

It meant that the heavens acknowledged him as a great warrior!

Kukri reached into the pouch at his waist.

And then he threw ‘it’ at Jeong-hoon.

Bang!

With the sound of an explosion, purple liquid drenched Jeong-hoon’s body.

“Khahaha! How’s that! The taste of poison!”

It was an item he had obtained with great difficulty.

It cost him a lot, but the effect was sure to be certain.

“What? You’re the boss, and you’re resorting to using poison?”

But Jeong-hoon was completely fine.

“N-No… Why… Why isn’t it working…?”

Kukri stammered in shock.

[Resisting poison.]

Why wouldn’t it work?

It was the Thousand Poisons Immunity, which had been upgraded to Unique this time.

It was a poison that couldn’t penetrate the Thousand Poisons Immunity, so it was useless.

Jeong-hoon started beating Kukri again.

[This bastard! He dared to poison me?! Beat him up!]

Mukho’s anger reached its peak.

It was because he was drenched in poison thanks to Kukri.

“If you don’t want to hand it over, don’t. I’ll just kill you and take it.”

“Keuhk! H-How do you know where it is?!”

“That’s none of your business.”

Bam!

Jeong-hoon’s fists pounded Kukri’s body.

‘C-Crazy…’

The remaining conscious bandits, including Rob, shuddered at the brutal sight.

If even the boss couldn’t handle him, they had no chance.

“Kuaaak! I’ll give it! I’ll give it, so please stop!”

Finally, Kukri couldn’t endure it any longer and surrendered.

Only then did Jeong-hoon stop his fists.

“From this moment on, I’m your boss. Got it?”

He then spoke to the bandits who were watching from behind.

“…”

“Any of you have a problem with that, step forward.”

This time, Jeong-hoon drew Leviathan.

It was a warning that he would kill anyone who opposed him.

“N-No, we don’t.”

“Your voice is too quiet.”

“We don’t!”

The bandits answered loudly.

“And you?”

Jeong-hoon asked, looking at Kukri who was groaning.

Kukri hurriedly knelt down.

“Of course not, boss.”

With that, he had successfully recruited the bandits.

‘Good. I can use these guys to find Verd’s master.’

They were more useful than he thought.

They would definitely be helpful in carrying out his future plans.

———