Chapter 48 : Chapter 48
Chapter 48
The fallen No Tae-jin breathed heavily.
The interval between his chest expanding and subsiding was very short.
He was intuitively showing through the contractile force of his lungs that his condition was not good at all.
Because the shield had properly exerted a mitigating effect, he barely managed to avoid injury to his major body parts.
However, quite deep wounds were gouged into his forearm, thigh, and side, and the amount of bleeding was constantly reaching new peaks.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
If he were to surrender, now was the only time.
If he surrendered once, he could step out to the outfield and take emergency measures, even if only hurriedly.
However, Kim Ju-han pulled the fan to the side as if he had no intention of providing any room for No Tae-jin to survive.
“Bodhisattva No Tae-jin, I forgive your sins.”
He was speaking as if killing No Tae-jin were an act of bestowing mercy.
He had no hesitation in treating himself as a noble being.
From his behavior of not even wanting to give time to surrender, an unknown sense of incongruity emanated.
I quietly snorted.
‘He judged No Tae-jin to be a threatening existence. Otherwise, there would be no reason to kill him in such a hurry. It's like admitting he would have lost if it weren't for the foul.’
No Tae-jin's physical condition had deteriorated enough to be called a patient without any exaggeration.
It was no overstatement to say that next time, whether it be Kim Ju-han himself or a follower, if they encountered No Tae-jin, they could obtain an additional 100 million won for free on the spot.
Nevertheless, he was trying to kill him in a hurry.
It was proof that he was scared of No Tae-jin.
Of course, he himself seemed unaware of it.
Whoosh!
The moment Kim Ju-han swung the fan, a single black Go stone intervened between Kim Ju-han and No Tae-jin.
The Go stone instantly increased in volume and took the form of an ancient Chinese soldier.
The soldier received the wind blades instead.
Clang! Claaaang!
The wind blades possessed a powerful enough force to crack No Tae-jin's metal shield, yet they stopped at only leaving a scratch against the Go soldier.
Kim Ju-han stared at the person who intervened and spoke.
“A Dealer shouldn't show favoritism to a specific player. It's not fair.”
The person who intervened was November.
No matter how one looked at it, it only appeared that November had intervened from the outfield to protect No Tae-jin.
November presented a valid reason.
“I blocked it because Mr. No Tae-jin surrendered. It is a rule violation to continue fighting while in a state where the battle has ended.”
“Hohoho, I am not so old as to be told that my ears have gone bad. This person never once spoke the word surrender.”
“In my eyes, it appeared that he expressed an intention to surrender.”
November tilted his chin to point out No Tae-jin's right hand.
In No Tae-jin's right hand, a shredded pure white scarf was shaking minutely.
The act of shaking a pure white cloth.
This was identical to the act of shaking a white flag, which has traditionally been used as an expression of surrender.
Kim Ju-han indirectly expressed dissatisfaction with the referee's judgment.
“It cannot be helped. Even if the referee's subjectivity is mixed in, a judgment is a judgment.”
The spirit of November responding to that was also not ordinary.
“A misjudgment stems from the loss of one team. Exactly which part of this situation is a loss for your team?”
As expected of a Dealer who had faced numerous players.
For Kim Ju-han to say at this time that not being able to kill No Tae-jin was a loss was the same as Kim Ju-han tightening his own neck.
Because it was no different from admitting in front of his followers that he felt a threat from No Tae-jin.
Moreover, there was nothing to be gained from bickering at length with a Dealer.
As expected, it was Kim Ju-han who first tucked his tail.
“Hoho, it cannot be helped. I will accept it this time. Since I caught the opponent team's piece, I may throw once more, correct?”
November gathered the Yut sticks neatly and handed them to Kim Ju-han.
In a refreshing tone.
“By all means. I will root for you to throw a Yut or a Mo.”
“You are rooting for our team this time.”
“I felt like you thought I was showing favoritism only to that team, so I balanced it out for you. Is there a problem?”
“That rooting. I shall accept it gratefully.”
Amidst the exchange of thorny words, the Yut Kim Ju-han soared high.
The hand that came out was a Gul.
Kim Ju-han settled into the sixth space while advancing three spaces.
The gap with me was four spaces.
He had entered the range where the spaces could overlap at any time.
An opponent I could finally talk to appeared for me, who had been isolated after moving overwhelmingly ahead.
I unhesitatingly threw a vitriolic remark at Kim Ju-han.
“Do you know this? Mr. Tae-jin is in a position where he is the president of several social clubs. Since you are both fellow social club presidents, you should have gone a bit easy on him.”
I treated the religion Kim Ju-han founded as a mere social club.
Whether my words had truly provoked him, a hairline crack appeared in Kim Ju-han's gentle smile.
The wrinkles between his brows were slightly more prominent than before, even if only a little.
“You did a very terrible thing to our followers. Since you are someone contaminated to the root to be proselytized to, it will be difficult to save you. Do not be upset, as it is for everyone's sake.”
“Ah, I had no intention of retaliating because Mr. Tae-jin was hurt, so it's troublesome if you misunderstand on your own.”
“You change your words now that the crisis is right before you.”
“No, it's just that I personally don't like you guys, so I'm crushing you. It's definitely not for Mr. Tae-jin's sake.”
When I delivered a cool and straightforward blow, Kim Ju-han repeatedly closed and opened his eyes slowly.
The sight of Kim Ju-han, dazed as if hit by a stone, was quite a sight to see.
Even while I was delivering a shock to Kim Ju-han, the game continued to proceed.
Eighth - Gul.
Ninth - Gae.
Tenth - Gul.
Eleventh - Do.
Twelfth - Gul.
Two Dos, three Gaes, three Guls, one Mo.
A formation was completed where one to three players from the red team were waiting in every space except for Yut.
For August, who was the last turn, to pass without a battle, a ‘Yut’ had to come out among the Yut hands.
However, in reality, a completely unexpected hand popped out.
August threw the hand, and November announced the result of the revealed hand.
“Back-do. Since according to the rules you haven't stepped onto the board, there is no change in position. Please wait as you are in the outfield.”
If it were a normal Yutnori, I, the only one on the board, would have to retreat one space back, but in this game, the result of the hand only applied to the person who threw the hand.
August's location was the outfield.
Since a space in the outfield is not affected by Back-do, the 1st Set ended without August joining the board.
Immediately after the end of the 1st Set, an announcement flowed out along with noise through the indoor speakers.
[The 1st Set has ended. As forewarned during the rule explanation, we will announce the additional rules.]
[Straight Yutnori Additional Rules]
-From now on, when it is your turn, you can purchase a Yut hand once per turn.
-The prices are as follows.
Mo : 300 million won.
Yut : 100 million won.
Gul : 50 million won.
Gae : 25 million won.
Do : 10 million won.
Back-do : 5 million won.
-You can purchase the desired hand and move to the desired space.
-However, the right to throw once more does not apply to a ‘Mo’ or ‘Yut’ purchased and finalized.
A rule was added where one could advance by the desired number of spaces by paying money.
It was a rule with a clear intention.
As soon as I encountered the price list, I saw through the hidden intention embedded in each price.
‘Do to Gul could actually leave a profit if used when catching a preceding player. Yut and Mo could be used usefully when a last spurt is needed for the team's victory.’
Since the Yut hands corresponding to Do to Gul had a cost of 50 million won or less, if one caught an opponent's piece and acquired 100 million, a profit could definitely be left.
The remaining two higher hands that could not leave a profit were hands that contributed to the team's victory, so they were significantly more expensive than the rest.
As the additional rule announcement ended, November approached and thrust the Yut sticks forward.
“We will begin the 2nd Set. Mr. Ju-seong, who is the first in order, please throw first.”
The second time throwing the Yut.
This time too, I threw the Yut high after attempting the gesture of rubbing nose oil once.
‘Shall I start designing the setup to suppress Kim Ju-han. To set the board, an excessively overwhelming solo run isn't good. Gae or Gul. I'd prefer it if it were a Gul, though.’
Did the nose oil fulfill my wish?
The Yut sticks rolled on the floor, and three out of four turned over to show their bellies.
It was a clear Gul without a single point of controversy.
“Mr. Lee Ju-seong, it is a Gul. Please move forward three spaces.”
I advanced, leaving behind the voice of November giving the judgment.
While advancing, I secretly put my hand in my pocket and gripped a few needles.
And while moving, I dropped them one by one, spaced out.
Needles were placed at regular intervals in the place I passed.
Just like Hansel and Gretel left pebbles.
With this, it was the thirteenth space.
Arriving at the thirteenth space, I pretended to tie my shoelaces while sticking several needles into the floor.
It was a design prepared for a battle just in case.
Afterward, the game proceeded smoothly for a while without any prominent incidents.
Since the second follower had been eliminated, the turn was skipped and the third follower gripped the Yut sticks.
Clack.
Yut + Gae.
Clack.
Gul.
Clack.
Mo + Gul.
As it became the 2nd Set, the frequency of especially high hands coming out increased.
The opposing team's followers moved forward significantly, narrowing the gap with me.
In particular, the advance speed of the followers who arrived in the same space in the 1st Set and moved together was overwhelmingly faster compared to a person who was alone.
The special rule unique to this Straight Yutnori, that every player without exception can throw the Yut once per set, brought an enormous benefit to the people who joined and moved.
If alone, one can only advance once per set, but if there are two people, they can move twice per set.
As a result of throwing the Yut up to the fifth player like that, as many as eight followers were concentrated in the 6th to 10th spaces.
The turn went around and around, and it became the turn for the sixth sequence to throw.
November handed the Yut sticks to the sixth sequence and asked.
“Mr. No Tae-jin, will you be able to throw the Yut?”
No Tae-jin's condition was weakened enough to be seen at a glance.
His face was pale as a sheet of paper with the blood gone, and he walked while constantly limping on his injured right leg.
The bandage made by tearing his shirt was becoming moist with red stains seeping out on the surface.
It could not be said to be a sight that could possibly endure for long.
However, No Tae-jin's will to continue the game was firm.
“I will do it. Please let me do it.”
As if there were no reason to stop him since he said he would do it, November readily handed over the Yut sticks.
“By all means. However, be careful as losing consciousness is considered as a voluntary surrender.”
“That will never happen. If it comes down to it, I will endure even by biting my flesh.”
Clack.
The hand that came out was a Gae.
It was a meager hand to expect completion.
On the other hand, since he didn't have to face the followers immediately, the point that there would be no battle for a while was positive.
Next was the long-awaited turn of Kim Ju-han.
Kim Ju-han calculated the gap with me and then put on a benevolent smile.
“Gae after a Mo. Or a Gul after a Yut. Bodhisattva Lee Ju-seong, surely you aren't thinking that you have secured a safe distance?”
The probability of him catching up to me was quite high.
Mo or Yut.
Only one of the two needed to come out.
Because he could then advance by the desired number of spaces arbitrarily.
Yut Kim Ju-han rose high and then fell to the floor, rolling freely.
Clack.
The result was a Mo.
Kim Ju-han, who had obtained the desired result, burst into an overtly husky laugh.
It was the laughter of someone who did not doubt for a moment that he alone was sailing with a tailwind in this game.
When the echoing laughter stopped, Kim Ju-han declared gallantly.
“I will purchase the right to move forward two spaces by paying money.”
The place he wanted to reach even while paying money.
That place was, as expected, the space where I was staying.
The fact that he went as far as to spend money was a message directed at me in itself.
Let's have a go at it.
Kim Ju-han, he openly sent a challenge to me.