The Hero Returns

Chapter 360: Chapter 360

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."

"You bastard! Suddenly attacking without any…"

Pah-ahk—

Kang Mu-hyeok's silhouette suddenly turned blurry.

At the same time, he reappeared right next to Su-hyeun and punched him as hard as he could.

Crack!

He felt something on his fist.

It felt quite heavy.

"It landed properly!"

At the very least, the target's face should have caved in, and the impact could have damaged the brain too.

This was a tragedy brought by one's carelessness. That's what Kang Mu-hyeok thought.

But then…

"Since I struck you first, we are now even."

"What?"

Kaboom!

Su-hyeun's fist smashed Kang Mu-hyeok's face one more time.

As he collapsed on his back, Kang Mu-hyeok almost blacked out. He barely managed to grab on to his fading consciousness and prevented the unsightly spectacle of him rolling on the floor like a piece of trash.

"Keuh-euh…"

"Okay, now." Su-hyeun stood tall on his spot and slowly lowered his fist. "Let's find out who will pass out first, shall we?"

"What the hell is…"

Kang Mu-hyeok's eyes widened at what Su-hyeun had said.

It wasn't that the attack had landed successfully, but the opponent simply let it hit him. Was it?

Since he struck first, they were even?

"He wants to see who will pass out first…"

Kang Mu-hyeok shook the cobwebs off his bludgeoned head and then made a despair-filled face.

"You want me to withstand punches this strong again?"

* * *

Su-hyeun stared at Kang Mu-hyeok as he lay on the floor.

The latter's body was convulsing intermittently after managing to withstand three of Su-hyeun's punches.

He felt sorry for this guy.

Well, it was Su-hyeun who had forced his way in and began swinging his fists while demanding the other party to give up the grand duke title.

Of course, Kang Mu-hyeok responded with brute force. He wouldn't give up his title without a fight.

[You have acquired the token of the grand duke.]

Once Kang Mu-hyeok completely lost his consciousness, a ball of light appeared on Su-hyeun's chest. It came from a golden badge shaped like a wing.

It seemed that this little thing was the token of the grand duke.

[Token of grand duke]

* This is the token that symbolizes the peerage of grand duke.

* You can command less than 10 counts, viscounts, and barons.

* You can command less than 100 knights.

* You can command less than 5,000 commoners.

* When three tokens are acquired, you can challenge the emperor.

Its most fundamental ability…

Being able to command 5,000 or so people with just one token was indeed a major privilege. It was the same type of privilege the nobles of medieval times might have enjoyed.

"No, wait. I guess this level of authority is greater than that."

This place was not some simple class-based society.

No, it was a world where a special power was applied, and that power was none other than the powers of the "system."

And in the context of such a system, "commanding" someone probably was the same thing as calling for a summoned creature.

In other words, absolute obedience…

The higher one's peerage was, the higher the number of subordinates one could command. That would naturally lead to one enjoying greater, more absolute authority.

"What an insane world this is."

With this, Su-hyeun had now acquired two tokens.

He could challenge the emperor as soon as he collected three tokens. Meaning, there was one more that needed to be acquired.

But then…

"I see that this side is already taken care of."

One person was in possession of the remaining token.

It was Luslec.

Su-hyeun asked, "What about your side?"

"I've already dealt with the two of them. I heard that only the guy named Kang Mu-hyeok remained. However, Mister Su-hyeuk, it seems you've already taken care of things here."

Luslec stepped inside the wrecked room and stared at the unconscious Kang Mu-hyeok on the floor.

Su-hyeun took a closer look at Luslec's chest.

Two badges were there.

The news of him defeating one grand duke had made the rounds by now, but the truth was, he had already defeated two.

That was quite fast.

"When did you arrive here?"

"I arrived about half a day earlier than you, Mister Su-hyeun. Before you came, I defeated one and won against the second guy, but well…I heard that a new grand duke has arrived, and as expected, it was you."

Luslec had finished his third trial and arrived in this world much earlier than Su-hyeun. He was given the peerage of "duke," and before Su-hyeun arrived, he killed one grand duke and acquired the token.

While Su-hyeun sought out Kang Mu-hyeok and "fought" him, Luslec had defeated the remaining grand duke and took the token.

Wiggle.

It was at that moment that Kang Mu-hyeok's body writhed.

Although he was still unconscious, his body seemed to be gradually waking up.

Luslec checked out Kang Mu-hyeok's reactions and remarked, puzzled, "This guy, it seems he isn't dead yet."

Luslec raised his hand as he spoke.

His magical energy concentrated on a single point, and the tip of his hand transformed into something razor-sharp. The hand, sharper and tougher than your average famed sword, decidedly headed toward Kang Mu-hyeok's heart.

"Should I finish him off?"

"Leave him be. I deliberately didn't kill him."

"But why not?" This confused Luslec.

"Why should I kill him?"

Luslec thought for a moment at Su-hyeun's reply and nodded. "Well, I guess you have a point there. I'm sure this guy won't be a hindrance to us even if he manages to live."

Then Luslec withdrew the magical energy from his hand and lowered his arm.

It seemed that he was okay with letting Kang Mu-hyeok live.

There was no real reason to kill someone, but from the look of things, Luslec must have believed that an opponent had to be killed without exception.

Su-hyeun didn't think that it was a wrong philosophy. He just had different beliefs compared to Luslec.

Rather than wrong, it was simply a matter of different perspectives.

Kang Mu-hyeok revealed his intention to kill, clearly planning to kill Su-hyeun from the get-go.

If someone tried to kill another, would there be a reason to spare them in such a case? If Su-hyeun would be asked the same question, he wouldn't be able to come up with a rational answer.

It was just a difference in perspective. That's all.

Su-hyeun had always believed that it would be better to spare one's life, even of an opponent's. He wouldn't kill unless it was either him or his enemy.

"In any case, I heard that you can only fight that emperor or whatever if you have three of these tokens…" Luslec shifted his gaze between the two tokens on his chest and the other two on Su-hyeun. Then he continued, "So what are we going to do now?"

A faint trace of desire to fight could be seen in Luslec's eyes. He knew Su-hyeun was no easy enemy, but he was willing to give it a try. He might get lucky and be able to defeat him.