Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 296: Den of Evil (1)

“Great power...!”

“We are a great power!”

A few citizens shouted this among the crowd rushing toward the sacrificial altar, causing Jeonggu to look terrified.

“H-Hey, Yeongwoo. You’re ruining our country. Look at what these people are saying!”

Then, the demon Jeong Yeongwoo glanced at the citizens before returning to his father.

“So what? It’s not wrong to call a great power a great power.”

He pointed to the top of the brightly shining Victory Monument.

“Do you think this will end with just a planetary civil war? Even if we fight and win amongst ourselves, it won’t be the end.”

“...Then what?”

When Jeonggu questioned him, Yeongwoo looked down at the armor of the royal family of Vesedel that he was wearing.

“Dogo, Mara, Lemu. At least three interstellar forces are currently positioned on our planet. And there are others, like Toma, who are trying to intervene unofficially.”

Yeongwoo thought that the debt company \'Osaek Credit,\' which he had encountered before, might be a similar case.

“But isn’t Dogo your sponsor? If you win the civil war, doesn’t that mean...?”

If Yeongwoo won the civil war, his sponsor, Dogo, would also win.

However, Yeongwoo was considering far more than Jeonggu could imagine.

“Yes, if we win the civil war, Dogo could become the only alien force on Earth.”

“That’s right.”

“But why do you think that’s a good thing?”

“...What?”

“Dogo is still an alien force, and they’re businessmen.”

Moreover, they were in the business of violence.

Yeongwoo was walking a similar path, but he believed they needed to be cautious precisely because of that.

“Our chairman? I respect him. He’s an incredible person. But if you think carefully about how he gained that great reputation... you’ll realize there’s a need for caution.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need at least some negotiating power. We’re not fighting this civil war to become slaves or refugees, right?”

Yeongwoo looked back up at the sky.

But this time, his gaze reached higher than the sky, towards space\'s vast, unfathomable depths.

“One thing I’ve learned for sure about the universe is that if you lack power, things get difficult. Our brothers in Australia ended up here because they couldn’t stand up to Mara.”

Brothers.

The Red Foot Orcs in Australia lost their entire planet to Mara.

So there was no guarantee that such a future wouldn’t come to Earth.

“You... this kid...”

Jeonggu\'s eyes widened as he realized that his son had far greater ambitions than he had imagined.

Soon, Yeongwoo clenched his fist.

“So, I will become someone who can beat anyone.”

“...What?”

“That’s the only way to achieve true peace. No one will be able to stand in the way.”

“Please, just conquer the world. Don’t start messing with things beyond that.”

Jeonggu, born of the Earth, looked at his son worriedly.

Why else would the ancient myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell, exist?

Humans have limits, and there are things they should never challenge.

“Don’t confuse bravery with recklessness. Getting this far is already amazing. But I’m not sure fighting with aliens even more is the right thing to do.”

As Jeonggu spoke gently, Yeongwoo tilted his head.

“We are already aliens.”

“Huh?”

“From the perspective of other planets, we’re just like them—aliens.”

Then Yeongwoo added a final remark.

“To be precise, we’re classified as 12th-grade aliens under universal law.”

“......”

“So now the only question left is: what grade of alien do we want to live as?”

And the first solution to that problem had just arrived before their eyes.

The Victory Monument and the planetary promotion evaluation.

Thud!

As Yeongwoo took a step forward, Jeonggu asked in shock.

“Where are you going this time?”

“To do business.”

“Business?”

“Time for my first Legendary Invitation Match.”

A match that would likely be marked by kidnapping, threats, and violence—Jeong Yeongwoo’s first Legendary Invitation Match.

Stealing someone else’s achievements... was that even possible?

“Who... who’s the first?”

Naturally, Jeonggu, being human, couldn’t resist his curiosity, and soon his son gave him an answer.

“The Great Master Bang in Australia.”

“The Great Master Bang?”

“Yes. He himself is a legend, as he’s the first orc to conquer Australia.”

And he also survived the invasion of Mara, the master of the void.

With such a legend, Yeongwoo expected an impressive track record.

* * *

11:46 AM.

Leaving Seoul and once again ascending onto the overpass, Yeongwoo began speeding southward along the path of light.

Flash!

His destination was Darwin, a city in northern Australia, part of the Orc Autonomous Territory.

‘I\'ll finally get to see that portal he talked about,’ he thought.

According to Orc Lord Bantubangtong, there was a massive portal in Darwin, the city of his brothers.

He had mentioned that they could bring in more of their kin using Karma through this portal.

For Yeongwoo, who had spent his entire life on Earth, it was a sight he couldn’t quite imagine.

Yet, Lord Bang hadn’t seemed too surprised.

‘Well, considering this is the man who once lost a planet to the Master of the Void…’

Who knows what bizarre things he had seen in the process?

Lord Bang was certainly the senior in terms of being invaded by aliens.

“Oh…!”

After a while, as Yeongwoo sped along the path of light, the edge of the Australian continent finally came into view, and soon the problematic city of Darwin revealed itself.

A city located at the northern tip of Australia, named after the famous British biologist Charles Darwin, known for his theory of evolution.

The soil had a reddish-brown hue, which gave the city a desolate feel despite its substantial greenery.

‘It really looks like orcs would live here.’

Since the orc city of Darwin had a “tower” they had built, Yeongwoo headed straight for it.

Flash!

From atop the tower, two heavily armored orc brothers with red feet stood guard.

It was, after all, their territory, so they had stationed guards.

“Brothers…!”

As Yeongwoo waved while approaching on the path of light, the orcs soon made way, completely opening up the top of the tower in Darwin for him.

– Human!

– The one with the small feet has arrived.

As the two brothers tucked their swords into their belts, they welcomed the only human allowed to use this road.

Yeongwoo glanced toward the base of the tower and asked,

"Where is Master Bang? I’ve come this far, but..."

One of the brothers pointed to the north of the tower.

- The Lord is greeting the brothers.

It seemed like the Lord was at the portal.

"Ah, so he\'s here. That\'s all I needed to know."

When Yeongwoo nodded from atop Negwig, the other brother pointed at Yeongwoo’s feet.

- Your feet aren’t red. You must follow protocol before leaving the tower.

"Oh."

Only after hearing that did Yeongwoo look down at his feet.

His feet had been dyed red the last time they met, but now they were hidden by the Vesedel armor.

‘Well, the dye must have worn off by now.’

As Yeongwoo scratched his chin, the brother who had pointed out Master Bang’s location approached a nearby path.

"...?"

Curious, Yeongwoo watched him, wondering what he was up to.

The brother pulled a reddish cloth pouch from his belt.

It was slightly larger than a fist, carefully tied up.

"...What is that?"

The brothers\' actions were so analog that they piqued Yeongwoo\'s curiosity.

Yet neither of the two brothers answered his question.

Instead—

Whoosh!

The brother near the path threw the pouch high into the sky, about 800 meters up.

The other brother quickly picked up a bow that had been lying on the ground.

Swoosh.

Then—

Whoosh, thunk!

With surprising speed for his large frame, he drew the bow and shot an arrow.

"Oh...!"

The moment Yeongwoo instinctively realized what was happening—

Swishhh!

The thin arrow flew straight into the cloth pouch, piercing it cleanly.

Bang!

The pouch exploded, and its unknown contents spread through the air, forming a red cloud.

It was a signal to Master Bang.

- We have prepared red feet for you.

The brother who had shot the arrow pointed at the red cloud in the sky.

"...Oh! It looks just like a foot!"

Of course, it didn’t resemble a foot at all, but Yeongwoo made a polite lie.

This was human etiquette—humans generally think with their heads, not their hearts.

But the Red Foot Orcs—

- Red foot!

- Go! The Lord awaits you!

As always, they spoke with their hearts as they punched the transmission device at the top of the tower.

Bang!

As Yeongwoo saw his body enveloped in light, he hastily asked,

"Brothers! If the welcoming signal is red, what color is the warning signal?"

Through the now-whitewashed view, the brothers’ rough voices answered,

- Black hand!

- The color of death!

And at the same time—

Swoosh!

Yeongwoo’s body was transported to the lowest level of the tower.

“Hah!”

In an instant, Yeongwoo found himself on the ground floor, where yet another brother stood, holding a steel inkwell full of red paint.

- Small Foot.

The brother pointed a large finger at Yeongwoo, then dipped it into the inkwell.

He expected Yeongwoo to dip his foot in.

So, Yeongwoo dismounted Negwig, still clad in his Vesedel armor, and dipped his foot into the inkwell.

Squelch.

At last, the gatekeeper bared a savage grin, something resembling a smile.

- Go, Red Foot! The great city of Darwin awaits you.

Even though most of the city’s buildings were still human-made, it didn’t stop the brothers from talking about the "great city."

‘Their self-esteem is through the roof.’

But as Yeongwoo stepped beyond the tower\'s inner walls and entered the "great city of Darwin,"

"...!"

He had no choice but to agree that Darwin was indeed a grand city of the Red Foot Orcs.

As soon as he stepped out of the tower, a massive portal, about 100 meters in diameter, dominated the view to the north.

"What the...? Why didn’t I see that earlier?"

The colossal portal of Darwin.

It was a privilege earned by a species that had fallen to an alien planet as monsters and obtained a title on their own.

"...!"

Yeongwoo swallowed heavily without realizing it.

Because soon, he would have to go up to that portal and request the legendary kill record from Master Bang, as well as deliver the bad news that Mara wasn’t in China.

‘They\'ve been working so hard, preparing for war.’

Yeongwoo saw some brothers passing by the tower, carrying raw metal ore.

It seemed like the ore had also come from the portal.

Not only could they rescue their brothers from their home planet through the portal, but they could also bring back materials left behind.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and the distant portal began to swirl.

‘Wait, is it opening again?’

Sensing something unusual, Yeongwoo quickly mounted Negwig, and then his belt vibrated.

"What...?"

When he reached into his pocket, he felt the Epic Compass, "Fearful Cat," trembling.

- Graaa!

It was warning him that a dangerous enemy was near the portal.

“What’s coming out of there that’s making this thing shake?”

With a grim sense of foreboding, Yeongwoo was about to dash toward the portal.

Shwoosh!

The swirling portal suddenly calmed, its surface becoming transparent, revealing something beyond.

“This...!”

Yeongwoo instantly realized that the portal had been activated and was now connected to Earth and the brothers’ home planet.

And if the brothers could cross over to Earth through the portal—

‘In theory, other things could come through too.’

As this thought occurred to him, a long, eerie wail echoed from the 100-meter portal.

— Screeee!

“Huh?”

Something else was coming through the portal, along with the brothers.

Whatever it was, it seemed to be chasing the brothers fleeing to Earth.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

With that, Yeongwoo hastily drew his Bastard and urged Negwig to charge toward the portal.

"Master Bang! You can\'t just smuggle in dangerous items! Close the portal!"