Chapter 360 (1/2)

Act 4

For all intents and purposes, the title “grand duke” was no different from a king.

There was only one emperor in this world, but this individual never revealed itself. Thus, the three existing grand dukes acted as the rulers of this land.

Even though this world was small and boasted around ten million inhabitants, the existing grand dukes were still satisfied with this arrangement.

The position offered them safety and the authority to do whatever they want.

And the necessary strength to protect that authority…

Despite this being the worst possible situation where one had been abducted by an unknown entity, the life afforded here was rather satisfying in its own way.

But now…

“What on earth is up with this sudden upheaval?”

Grand Duke Kang Mu-hyeok was strong enough to be among the top 10 on the continent back in his world.

And through that strength, he earned himself the position of the grand duke after being dragged into this world and managed to carve out a rather comfortable life until now. Everything was within reach, and nothing could stop him. Being a grand duke had afforded him such luxuries.

It was a position where one possessed not only strength but also authority.

But then, a change had occurred to such a position.

‘Maruhan… That fool got killed, and someone else took over his position as the grand duke. And there’s another one who’s starting off as a grand duke too.’

Maruhan was a two-horned dokkaebi.

Once upon a time, Kang Mu-hyeok fought against Maruhan, who utilized various sorcery techniques. However, their skill level turned out to be equal, and the battle ended in a draw.

Thus, Maruhan losing to the newcomer could mean that Kang Mu-hyeok was in danger of losing as well.

“Are you saying that a newbie is that strong?”

Periodically, new people would arrive here. Countless races had arrived in this world, and whenever that happened, Maruhan would pay attention to them.

From an ordinary fool to someone slightly noticeable…

And even some who seemed especially outstanding too.

All sorts of people had been in this place before, but not even once had there been anyone quite like these two newbies.

“I better hide for a while.”

In order to initiate the duel, participants had to be face-to-face, staring at each other. One had to either kill their opponent or get them to surrender to take the other’s peerage.

As that was the case, if Kang Mu-hyeok hid now, he should be able to bide his time until the “day of the duel.”

“After that, I’ll think about what to do next…”

Knock, knock.

Someone suddenly knocked on the door.

“Who can it be?”

Kang Mu-hyeok stopped himself from standing up and saying something.

Something didn’t feel right here.

It wasn’t a rational decision, and there was no clear reason for making such a call.

It was just that his instincts were trying to warn him right now, encouraging him to flee.

That was the warrior’s instinct Kang Mu-hyeok had carefully honed throughout his life.

However, in moments where one’s instincts and reasoning were not in harmony, one would inevitably end up hesitating, just like what he was feeling at the moment.

This brief moment of hesitation was enough to alter Kang Mu-hyeok’s fate.

Kaboom!

The door that had been securely locked earlier was torn down in an instant. Kang Mu-hyeok reached out to the pair of gauntlets resting on the table, put them on, and prepared for battle.

“Who goes there?”

“Are you Grand Duke Kang Mu-hyeok?”

Unlike his actions, the intruder’s manner of speech was surprisingly courteous.

Kang Mu-hyeok lowered his fists halfway to the floor. He considered that maybe the intruder wasn’t an enemy. The intruder had a sword strapped on his hips, but he hadn’t unsheathed it yet.

“My name is Kim Su-hyeun. I’m the new grand duke, you see.”

“When you say you’re the new grand duke…”

“You are Sir Kang Mu-hyeok. Yes?”

Kang Mu-hyeok ended up nodding at Su-hyeun.

Up until a short time ago, Kang Mu-hyeok had been deeply wary about the arrival of the new grand duke. The news of Maruhan’s defeat worried him.

“Maybe he isn’t an enemy?”

He began to think that maybe his worries were for nothing now that he had run into Su-hyeun like this.

Of course, Kang Mu-hyeok had temporarily forgotten about the small matter of Su-hyeun “breaking the door” to enter without permission.

Su-hyeun said, “Are you going to fight me or simply surrender?”

“What?”

“I’m not satisfied with just being a grand duke, you see. It is unfortunate, but in order to fight the one higher than my position, I apparently need to either defeat you or get you to surrender, Sir Kang Mu-hyeok.”

His manner of speech remained friendly and polite, but his words were sharp, basically the same as thrusting a blade right under Kang Mu-hyeok’s throat.

Simply put, it was the same as demanding him to hand over the peerage of grand duke.

“Wait, if I surrender here, do I get demoted to a duke?” Kang Mu-hyeok considered.

A “duke” wasn’t such a bad rank. Only five dukes currently existed, and it was a rank right below “grand duke” as well.

One could still command thousands of subordinates, including the right to possess a castle as one’s own property.

However, there was no way that Kang Mu-hyeok would be satisfied by that.

No, no, no…

“You want me to surrender? Me?”

Grit.

Kang Mu-hyeok gritted his teeth. The light in his eyes began to burn as he glared at Su-hyeun.

Clack.

Kang Mu-hyeok fixed the gauntlets properly on his fists. The hard metal touching his skin silenced the warning bells of his instincts that ceaselessly rang.

He was rapidly building confidence.

As long as he had his gauntlets, he didn’t feel like he would lose to anyone.

“A young punk dares to say something quite insolent, doesn’t he?”

Kang Mu-hyeok’s body gave off a murderous aura.

Crack. Split.

Gu-gugugu—

The aura coming out from his body caused a mess in his room and went on to ruin the floor.

Clang! Shatter!

The windows shattered to bits and the ceiling began to quake precariously. The aura he emitted was enormous and violent enough to shake the entire golden castle.

“Why don’t we see your skills first, then? If you are the new grand duke, then your strength must at least be…”

Slap!

“Slap?

Kang Mu-hyeok didn’t finish the rest of his sentence…

All because of a fist that landed in his face.

Crack!

Crunch!

The fist landing on Kang Mu-hyeok’s philtrum broke his balance, and his body was slammed to the floor. The floor was already ruined by his violent aura, so the impact caused it to completely break apart. Kang Mu-hyeok’s body tumbled down several floors as a result.

Bang!

“Keo-euh… Euph…”

Kang Mu-hyeok touched his lips. Blood was dripping from his nose.

The crimson blood…

He couldn’t remember the last time he bled like this. But then, that blood wasn’t coming from a wound or a blasted body part. It was coming from his broken nose. There couldn’t be any worse humiliation than this.

“I punched you to make you go down, but you are still standing. I see.”