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    Chapter 362: Between Good Karma and Bad Karma (3)


    -What?


    The iron-armored toad, referred to as a count by the beastmen, widened its eyes in shock.


    Meanwhile, Yeongwoo was already rushing past the corpses of the 011 Team members, closing in on the two remaining enemies.


    “No time for introductions!”


    As Yeongwoo shouted this, he extended Bastard to a length of 6.6 meters.


    Upon seeing it, one of the beastmen opened his elongated snout wide in disbelief.


    -What on earth is that?


    And then—


    Screeeeech!


    With a chilling sound, Bastard shed through, splitting the beastman vertically.


    -Ack!


    A short cry was all that escaped as the beastman''s head split, and his mane was stained crimson.


    The toad count, now clutching his fallenrade’s bisected body, wailed the beastman''s name in despair.


    -Poima…!


    Poima.


    A white-maned beastman from an unnamed.


    -Poima, I swear I’ll avenge you!


    The toad’s eyes grew wet as he red at Yeongwoo, who merely shrugged while gripping Bastard.


    “Why are you making me out to be the bad guy? We’re both viins here.”


    -You despicable scum!


    “Still, I gave you time to mourn. Why do I get the me for that?”


    As Yeongwoo said this, he nced around once more.


    Thankfully, no one hade to ambush him yet.


    Meanwhile, the iron-armored toad raised both arms and assumed abat stance.


    -Hyah!


    -I am Count Katissan from the distant Berek!


    “……”


    It was evident that the toad count specialized in closebat.


    His peculiar stance alone made it clear that he practiced some unique martial art.


    Could he steal that?


    The arena, known as the promotion ground, didn’t explicitly state whether spoils of battle could be imed.


    There was only one way to find out.


    He would just have to take him down and see.


    The moment Yeongwoo made this decision, Count Katissan charged forward, waving his arms wildly.


    -Kraaaah!


    What was with this guy?


    The clumsy-looking movements of Katissan made Yeongwoo furrow his brows momentarily.


    Crunch!


    “……!”


    From beneath Katissan’s shoulder des and lowerts, additional arms suddenly emerged, bringing the total to six fists barreling toward Yeongwoo.


    “You crazy toad bastard.”


    Though it caught him off guard, Yeongwoo, having endured countless battles, wasn’t overly surprised.


    Besides, he had a sword.


    -Hyah!


    Yeongwoo stepped back with his left foot, using it to stabilize himself as he swung Bastard, cutting through Katissan’s fists.


    Screeech!


    The newly sprouted arms, unprotected by iron armor, were severed instantly and spun midair.


    However, there was a problem.


    -Huh?


    Even Katissan’s original arms, d in iron armor, were flying off in the same direction.


    Yeongwoo’s demonic sword had effortlessly sliced through the iron protection.


    -How… How is this possible?!


    As Katissan, who had trusted the strength of his armor, looked utterly bewildered, Yeongwoo thrust his de into the toad’s abdomen and dered coldly.


    Crunch!


    “Head to hell first!”


    -What?


    With those final words, Yeongwoo’s Bastard rose from Katissan’s abdomen to the top of his head, splitting him in half.


    St!


    The thick skin split to either side, and the massive shadow he cast on the ground was also divided in two.


    Thud!


    With a dull impact, the entirety of Team 011 was annihted.


    Boom!


    「023 Team achieves first elimination in the promotion ground!」


    A system notification appeared high in the air for everyone in the arena to see.


    So there was a ‘First Blood’ concept here, too.


    As Yeongwoo tilted his head to read the message, another notification followed.


    「011 Team has been eliminated.」


    The system announced theplete annihtion of a team.


    Momentster, a massive scoreboard appeared in the sky above the promotion ground.


    [49/50]


    Ah.


    It seemed that the survival status was only disyed after the first team was eliminated.


    There were still 49 teams left?


    That was a lot.


    As Yeongwoo stared at the survival count with a weary expression, the corpses scattered around Team 011’s waiting area began to glow brightly.


    Fwoosh!


    “Huh?”


    Hoping for loot, Yeongwoo approached the glowing bodies.


    But instead of treasure, an unexpected message appeared before his eyes.


    「Katissan04」


    |This participant perished while striving valiantly during theary promotion trial. Though the registry will no longer record his future, the glory of his past deeds will remain forever.


    Assant: |l||I-Earth’s Jeong Yeongwoo07


    …Huh?


    It was a type of eulogy.


    Except, it also listed the killer, prominently and unapologetically.


    Momentster, a holographic box appeared before Yeongwoo, apanied by another message.


    「Katissan04’s body and equipment will be transported to ||I|II-Berek. Please input a eulogy to apany the remains.」


    Wait, “the person viewing this screen”?


    They meat him, didn’t they?


    Who else but the killer would be standing in front of a corpse during a chaotic battle royale involving 50 teams?


    So, they were asking the murderer to write the eulogy?


    Even Yeongwoo, infamous as the “Greatest Viin of the Promotion Ground,” was left speechless by this absurd rule.


    Was this really necessary?


    He didn’t have time for this.


    Yeongwoo nced at the bisected bodies of Katissan and Poima.


    The eulogy didn’t seem mandatory, but remembering Katissan clutching Poima’s lifeless body stirred a twinge of pity in him.


    More than that—


    -Ah…


    -I can’t believe they’re sending the bodies back to their homes.


    -To witness aary guardian return in a coffin… I can’t even imagine the pain of those left behind.


    [Trantor - Night]


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    The remaining three team members, having witnessed the eulogy system, were now either sweating profusely or shedding tears.


    Yeongwoo swung Bastard at them and roared.


    “Stop crying, you idiots! We’ve still got more fighting to do, and tears will blur your vision!”


    Then, to quickly deal with Katissan’s remains, he began typing a eulogy.


    |His six arms were surprising, but they didn’t seem particrly fast.


    Send.


    After confirming the eulogy, Katissan’s bisected body was enveloped in light and shot up into the sky beyond the promotion ground.


    Fwoosh!


    The remaining members of Team 023 raised their arms toward the heavens, bidding farewell to the fallen warrior.


    -Oh, Katissan!


    -He was courageous! I saw it myself.


    -May he rest in peace!


    ‘What the hell? Aren’t these guys the real demons?’


    Yeongwoo shook his head in disbelief as he nced at his teammates, then hurriedlypleted the eulogies for the remaining corpses.


    |Your sses were cool. You were killed by the strongest contender in the promotion ground.


    |You were the second to die in your team. Honestly, you weren’t going to be the one to secure a future for your anyway.


    |I killed you so quickly that you likely didn’t feel any pain. Consider it an opportunity to choose a better representative.


    ‘There. All done.’


    Send.


    And send again.


    Yeongwoo licked his lips as he sent off the eulogies along with the corpses of the deceased.


    ‘Well, I guess if you die during a trial, it’s only fair to recover the equipment. After all, it is the property of their.’


    sh, sh!


    Three beams of light shot up into the sky.


    The equipment within those beams would soon arrive on their respectives, to be handed down to sessors.


    And, as Yeongwoo had written in the eulogies, perhaps this would pave the way for better representatives to emerge.


    ‘…But my name and are fully listed on those eulogies. That’s unsettling.’


    He would have to send off at least dozens more corpses before this trial ended.


    And what if one of those sessors receiving the corpses decided toe back to Earth for revenge someday?


    ‘How much bad karma am I stacking up today…’


    Yeongwoo stared nkly at the sky—or rather, at the registry inscribed with their future.


    At that moment, a change urred in the survival status board hovering above the promotion field.


    Pop!


    [48/50]


    “Huh?”


    Just moments ago, the number had been 49.


    Now it had changed to 48. S


    hortly after, another message appeared.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    「Team 037, annihted.」


    “……!”


    The number was familiar.


    It was one of the five teams that hadnded in the central area of the midwestern sector.


    023, 046, 037, 011, 002.


    Now, with 011 and 037 gone, the remaining teams were…


    ‘002 and 046.’


    But it wasn’t just the midwestern sector where the realpetition had started.


    Bang!


    A sharp, intense alert echoed, followed by consecutive annihtion notices.


    「Team 009, annihted.」


    「Team 041, annihted.」


    Two teams wiped out almost simultaneously.


    This was proof that battles were erupting across the entire promotion field.


    [46/50]


    Four teams had essentially been eliminated as soon as the trial began.


    Finally realizing the violent and murderous nature of the trial, three of Yeongwoo’s teammates shuddered.


    -W-what kind of battle is this…?


    -It feels like we’ve only been here for ten minutes, and already four teams are gone?


    -If we’re not careful, we’ll…


    Sensing the growing fear among his teammates, Yeongwoo turned to them with a reassuring smile.


    “Don’t worry too much. I’ll personally write your eulogies if the timees.”


    -……!


    -W-what?!


    -Eulogies?!


    Then, as if remembering something, Yeongwoo turned to Aldo.


    “Oh, and Your Highness is an exception. I’ll do my best to protect you.”


    Aldo nced nervously at the others before cautiously asking Yeongwoo:


    -W-why is that?


    “You must have a royal ship at your disposal.”


    -Well, that’s true, but…


    “In that case, I’d like you to visit my when this is all over. We could use some help.”


    Aldo was the second prince of Doatel, a known as the sanctuary of the gxy.


    If Yeongwoo survived this promotion grounds, he nned to send Aldo an invitation to his wedding.


    As for the other two…


    “I can’t cover three people alone, so you’ll have to fend for yourselves. But since we’re teammates, I’ll lend a hand if I can.”


    In essence, it was a deration of self-preservation.


    -…Ah.


    -Seriously?


    In this brutal trial, if they couldn’t defend themselves, their bodies would be sent back to theirs apanied by Yeongwoo’s morbid eulogies.


    “Well then, let’s all get ready. We’ve got iing.”


    Yeongwoo raised his Aratubank and turned to face the east.


    From that direction, a group of ominous figures was swiftly approaching.


    Crash!


    Other than one figure glowing white all over, the rest wore ck armor or draped themselves in chains.


    And above their heads…


    [002]


    Another familiar number was disyed.


    ‘002. These guys don’t seem like your average team.’


    Yeongwoo had a hunch that they were the ones who had annihted Team 037, which hadnded nearby.


    And sure enough…


    Zing!


    “……?”


    A sound came from their direction.


    Swoosh!


    Aser beam shot up into the sky.


    “What?”


    Then, a thin, guided strand descended from the sky, heading straight toward Yeongwoo.


    Zap!


    Itnded right at his feet.


    “Oh, crap.”


    Yeongwoo’s eyes widened in realization.


    Having faced a rtively weak Team 011 earlier, he had overlooked one crucial fact:


    Everyone here was a representative of their respectives.


    Which meant thatary bombardment weapons weren’t exclusive to him.


    -Your Highness! Take cover immediately! It’s an airstrike!!!


    As Yeongwoo shouted to protect his precious guest, the skies above the promotion grounds truly began to open.


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