Chapter 28
Chapter 28: The Man Who Sweeps Half of the World Alone
Just over ten minutes into the match.
The crowd's attention was fixed on only two people.
"Incredible, No Song-baek! Was he holding back yesterday? He's already at 14 kills and still storming through like a typhoon!"
"Let's not forget WillWinTournament either! He's been building on that early momentum without pause and is already past 17 kills!"
"Between the two of them, they've practically wiped out half the participants! It's genuinely terrifying to think about where these two will stop!"
Kim Cheol and Song Jae-woo had seen their share of things in this world, but this was a first.
Players completely steamroll through a tournament-level match.
Honestly, No Song-baek had been somewhat expected.
But what on earth was that Bronze?
—lmaooo this is actually hilarious lol lol lol lol lol
—Beyond impressive at this point, it's just absurd lol lol lol lol
—Where did this freak even come from?
—If he just keeps queueing, top ten ranking is basically a given lol lol lol
—Top ten? More like straight to number one lol lol
The Peacemaker.
A monstrous pistol that's already a nightmare just to fire—yet he only ever hits headshots.
And not just at close range.
100m, 200m, 300m.
Not a guided missile, not a magnet—and yet the bullets flew like they were pulled in. The more you watched, the more impossible it felt.
"I genuinely never say things like this, but if this tournament wasn't being held in a Capsule Room, I'd be calling for a hack investigation."
"Oh, it wouldn't just be you, Kim Cheol! Anyone would've thought the same thing."
"Honestly, I'm watching it in real time and I still can't believe it. How does a rookie monster like this even appear?"
Sprinting through an underground tunnel in ten seconds.
Killing a rooftop enemy from the first floor with a grenade.
Treading across water, slipping into a blind spot, and picking someone off.
With situations this absurd piling up one after another, a new nickname had been added.
—The Termin-tor has arrived omg
—Shotgun and pistol combo fits perfectly lol lol lol lol
—At this point even the actual Termin-tor would bow down lol lol lol
The livelier the chat got, the better Song Jae-woo's mood became.
Commentary really does hit different when the audience reacts.
He cleared his throat with a light ahem before opening his mouth again.
"Now, the third circle is about to close! Based on the positioning, the Lava Power Plant looks set to be the main battleground! Will No Song-baek and WillWinTournament finally come face to face?"
"It'll be dangerous. They might miss each other, but the way things are going, a clash is more likely!"
"I'm so curious who's going to win!"
"Let's keep our eyes on it! Can that Bronze live up to his name!"
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Thwak!
Mu-yeong took down another enemy hiding in the building and did the mental math.
I'm currently at 25 kills. Seven people remain.
Then how many had No Song-baek killed?
Not necessarily just him—others must have traded kills among themselves too.
And with a map this wide, that number wasn't small.
After a rough calculation, Mu-yeong put the worry aside.
He himself was far stronger than No Song-baek, and he was at 25.
No Song-baek had some experience, sure, but there was no way he'd crossed that number.
This wasn't speculation. It was certainty.
Mu-yeong grabbed only grenades and ammunition, then went back on the hunt.
Then—
[No Song-baek -> ChocoBread—g201]
A gunshot rang out nearby, and the kill log appeared.
He sprinted toward the sound and found No Song-baek rifling through a dead player's bag.
Their eyes met from about 50 meters away.
Six remain now. That means four are still hiding somewhere.
Too early to fight.
No Song-baek seemed to think the same—he made no move to engage.
But just walking away wouldn't be very polite.
Mu-yeong glanced briefly to the right.
An enemy who had been crouching low this entire time, waiting for an opening.
A faint, almost imperceptible click.
Planning to throw a grenade and seize the advantage.
But would that ever work?
That was like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs.
Mu-yeong, now practically a seasoned expert, deliberately stepped into an easy-to-hit position.
Whoosh!
As expected, a round object came flying.
It bounced off the ground once and dropped nearby.
Knew it.
Mu-yeong grinned and raised his foot.
This is a gift.
He aimed squarely at No Song-baek, then sent the grenade flying with a fierce kick.
"What—!"
No Song-baek had been half-expecting it, but still threw himself sideways.
It was too late, though—Mu-yeong had kicked it with the detonation timing calculated.
Boom!
A 120 appeared.
Confirmed it landed clean. Mu-yeong charged at the crouching enemy.
He sent two clean shots—Peacemaker to the head, then shotgun.
With another kill secured, Mu-yeong extended his Energy Sense.
That's 26. And there's one more hiding in the upper part of the building.
Location confirmed. Mu-yeong glanced at No Song-baek.
He was crouched behind cover, restoring HP with a Shield Ball.
Twenty-five per use—it'd take a while.
In that time, Mu-yeong leapt up to the three-story building.
"Ahhhh!"
He burst into sight and the enemy nearly jumped out of their skin.
He sent them to the afterlife just the same.
27 kills.
He swept the surrounding area immediately.
Right on cue, No Song-baek—Shield now almost full—was about to move.
Not a chance.
Mu-yeong sent another gift flying without hesitation.
"You insolent little—!"
No Song-baek bellowed with fury as it landed at his feet.
But all he could do was eat another 120 damage.
With a massive explosion, Mu-yeong dusted off his hands.
The system really is well-designed, I'll give them that.
One might ask why a Predator couldn't dodge a single grenade.
The reason: movement speed drops sharply when using a Bandage or Shield Ball.
In a way, it's entirely fair balancing.
Imagine a high-level fighter with exceptional movement and Footwork, healing mid-fight.
You land your hits, but the enemy is somehow perfectly fine.
Nothing's more demoralizing than that.
Battle Attack may aim for realism, but it added this handicap to keep the wider player base engaged.
Bought myself time. Let's clean up the rest first.
Mu-yeong moved out, leaving No Song-baek diligently restoring his HP.
It took less than a minute to track down and eliminate every last hidden enemy.
Now only No Song-baek and Mu-yeong remained.
Just the two of them.
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"WillWinTournament is genuinely terrifying! I didn't dare believe it, but 29 kills—for real?!"
"If he takes out No Song-baek now, that's a clean 30 kills. He'll have single-handedly wiped out half the participants!"
"Does a record like that even make sense?! I've watched countless matches, and nothing like this has ever happened!"
"That's right! But that badge of honor only counts once the final fight is won!"
Kim Cheol stared at the screen more agitated than he'd ever been.
The final circle was shrinking.
They were both circling each other—but a fight to the death was coming soon.
The anticipation of who would come out on top was nearly driving him mad.
Either way, win or lose, that Bronze has nothing to be ashamed of.
29 kills.
And the performance up to this point? Enough to go down in history as the greatest.
And what a story it was.
He passed the qualifiers Unranked, then proceeded to absolutely wreck the main tournament as a Bronze.
"Greatest" felt like an understatement.
In contrast, No Song-baek was on track for 20 kills.
Not a small number, by any means.
An achievement anyone would be amazed by.
But considering he was Predator Rank 12—it wasn't quite jaw-dropping either.
That's how high expectations had always been for him.
All things considered, the gap was enormous.
Then again, who could have predicted a freak like that outside every known metric would show up.
He'd already lost the battle for attention.
As a commentator he had to stay neutral, so he kept it to himself—but he couldn't deny that everyone was rooting for the Bronze.
—Wait, what happens if No Song-baek loses here?
—Probably gets a good beating from the Sect Leader lol
—He's the First Disciple though, no way he'd actually get beaten lol lol
—I think Daehwasan Sect is just gonna have it out for him. They dote on him something fierce.
—Yeah that's actually plausible lol lol
He was mid-scroll through the chat when the red dot on the minimap began to move.
Snapping back to focus, Kim Cheol jumped in with his line.
"Here we go! Who will be the last one standing?! Everyone stay with us until the very end!"
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How do I break the pride out of this walking ego?
Mu-yeong considered it.
His type didn't seem like he'd accept it if he just lost to a gun.
That left only one option—show him Footwork and take him in close-quarters combat.
Let's just go for it.
Mu-yeong struck first.
Unlike every other engagement up to now where he'd only aimed for the head, this time he struck the chest.
[60]
The sharp sound landed clean.
No Song-baek returned fire instantly with his assault rifle.
The moment he pulled the trigger, Mu-yeong activated Ghost Stride.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
He didn't dodge all of it.
His Shield was shaved down by about 50.
No Song-baek reloaded and shouted.
"I've already figured out every one of your moves! I spent three days rewatching your footage!"
The bullets came in sharper now.
Mu-yeong clicked his tongue.
Science really has gotten too advanced in this day and age.
In the Martial World, this would've been unthinkable.
Unless you possessed a manual, or had personally learned the technique—knowing an opponent's style was simply impossible.
The only way to understand someone was to experience them firsthand in battle.
And yet now people could just analyze everything on video.
Fine then—he'd move at a speed no footage could account for.
Mu-yeong threw caution aside and activated the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
Boom!
"Wha—what the hell is this?!"
No Song-baek faltered as the movement jumped to an entirely different dimension.
Bullets are only fast when they actually land.
If your eyes can't even follow the target, how are you supposed to aim?
You can't.
Whoosh!
Mu-yeong closed the distance instantly and cracked No Song-baek in the face with the shotgun stock.
No Song-baek squeezed his eyes shut on instinct.
Clang!
"Grkh—!"
Oh, that felt good.
Nothing beats the satisfaction of landing one yourself over pulling a trigger.
Mu-yeong chuckled and stepped back.
No Song-baek recovered almost immediately, face flushed crimson, and activated Five-Formation Plum Blossom Step.
Plum blossom fragrance flooded the air around him.
So that's the Daehwasan style?
He'd seen something like it before.
In Castle Defense, when Yu Ye-rin had swung her blade—that Footwork.
Faster and more refined than hers, of course, but to Mu-yeong's eyes it was completely transparent.
Where he would move next, what he was about to do—all of it plain to see.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
No Song-baek aimed while channeling power into his legs.
He cut sharp, jagged angles left and right to make himself hard to hit.
The moment No Song-baek's magazine ran dry, Mu-yeong drove the butt of his shotgun into the back of his head.
"Gkahh—!"
40 damage.
No Song-baek's remaining HP was now 60.
Mu-yeong glided to the side and checked his lower-left.
Took more hits than I thought. Didn't expect to be sitting at only 90.
A few stray bullets had clipped him here and there.
The dripping that soaks you before you notice it—that phrase fits perfectly.
But that was over now.
Mu-yeong slipped into the blind spot in No Song-baek's field of vision.
He was just about to swing the shotgun again when No Song-baek's head turned toward him—precisely.
"Caught you! Did you really think I was that dense?! I let the first two go, but not the third!"
The barrel leveled at Mu-yeong's face dead-on.
The strategy of sacrificing flesh to strike the bone?
A close-range hit only took 40 off his HP—so taking one hit was acceptable. Strike when the window opens.
Smart thinking—but Mu-yeong's hands were faster.
Click!
In an instant he chambered the round. Instead of swinging, he pulled the trigger.
The shotgun went off with a thunderous recoil.
Bang!
"KAAHHH—!"
No Song-baek screamed as he was blasted back and sent flying.
He crashed to the ground and his body began turning grey.
At the same moment, a deeply satisfying message appeared before Mu-yeong.
[Victory]