SFRW-Chapter 154

Ch. 154 Sword God From The Ruined World

The woman who effortlessly decapitated seven primitive tribal warriors in one strike was Jung In-joo.  

She had been on a bus heading toward the third defensive line when she received word that the primitive tribal warriors had begun their attack.  

“If only we could have deployed helicopters… we could have arrived much faster…”  

Hong Zi-xian had been unable to hide his anxiety ever since receiving news of the attack, and Jung In-joo, along with the members of Team 1, grew increasingly tense as well.  

Despite driving on roads cleared for emergency vehicles, China’s vast territory meant it still took them 40 minutes to reach the third defensive line.  

By the time they arrived, the situation at the third line was already in shambles—so much so that it might as well have been considered collapsed.  

“Wouldn’t it be better to retreat and commit our full strength at the fourth defensive line?”  

Jung In-joo shook her head at Hong Zi-xian’s suggestion.  

She couldn’t just stand by and watch the Heroes and soldiers dying right before her eyes.  

“Three to the right! The rest to the left! Hurry!”  

To an outsider, her orders might have sounded abrupt, but the six members of the Casserian Guild nodded briefly and moved into action.  

Finally, Jung In-joo charged straight into the frontlines alone.  

She had suspected the situation wouldn’t be easy after hearing Hong Zi-xian’s explanation, but she hadn’t expected it to be this disastrous.  

‘What the hell are those so-called S-rank Heroes even doing?’  

It was true that the number of primitive tribal warriors was overwhelming, but weren’t they supposed to be S-rank Heroes?  

How could they be watching the battle collapse so easily, no matter how long the fighting had been going on?  

“□□□□□□□□□□!”  

One of the primitive warriors let out an incomprehensible roar and rushed at Jung In-joo.  

His footwork was as light as a beast’s, and his eyes, locked onto his target, were filled with nothing but venom and killing intent.  

Despite his rapid steps, his upper body swayed flexibly, while his lower body remained solid enough to withstand most impacts.  

‘He’s at least A-rank.’  

This wasn’t an opponent an average A-rank Hero could handle.  

‘A dagger… and a shield.’  

Based on the warrior’s equipment, Jung In-joo predicted his attack patterns and how he would defend.  

‘Try blocking this if you can!’  

She swung her sword as if testing just how sturdy the warrior’s shield really was.  

Kaa—Gagagak!  

The moment her blade clashed against the shield, it seemed to hesitate for a split second—before cleanly splitting the shield in half and severing the warrior’s head.  

“…Huh?!”  

“W-What the hell?!”  

It was just as shocking as when she had beheaded seven warriors at once.  

An attack that ignored defense.  

If she thought about it more carefully, this was far more impactful than cutting down seven enemies in one strike.  

And the most surprised person was Jung In-joo herself.  

‘…Why did the shield break so easily?’  

While she was lost in thought, two more tribal warriors rushed at her from both sides, letting out eerie cries.  

‘Let’s try again!’  

Her sword traced another blue arc through the air.  

Kaa—Gagagak! Kaa—Gagagak!  

The two shields caught in the blue trajectory were split apart once more.  

One warrior had his head sliced off, while the other’s chest was split open.  

Jung In-joo’s expression twisted as she confirmed once again that the primitive warriors couldn’t block her sword at all.  

“What the hell is going on here?”  

Why were the enemy’s shields being cut apart so easily?  

And what exactly were China’s S-rank Heroes doing against opponents like these?  

Frowning, Jung In-joo glanced to her left and right, where screams continued to erupt.  

The Casserian Guild members who had come with her were also effortlessly overpowering the primitive warriors.  

“…Why was I even nervous?”  

The entire way to China, she had been worried—Would I be able to do well? Would I actually be of help? Would I tarnish the Casserian Guild’s name?  

She had taken deep breaths multiple times to calm herself, and she had struggled in secret to steady her trembling heart, afraid her unease might affect her team members.  

But now…  

“Ha! This is ridiculous.”  

All she felt was a hollow sense of disbelief—why had she been so worried in the first place?  

***  

South Korea – Casserian Guild PR Team Monitoring Room  

Park Chul and the rest of the PR team were staring blankly at Monitor No. 1, watching the live feed of the situation.  

“Park Young-gi, are the Chinese still faking their ranks these days?”  

“They might get away with it up to A-rank, but they can’t fake S-rank without risking international humiliation, right?”  

“…Then are those guys really S-rank?”  

“Probably?”  

“But that doesn’t make sense! They’re the same rank, so… why is there such a huge gap?!”  

Jung In-joo was S-rank, and so were all her team members.  

What’s more, they had received their rank evaluations much later than China’s S-rank Heroes.  

So why was their strength the complete opposite?  

Shouldn’t more experienced fighters logically be stronger?  

Of course, there were exceptions like Seo Do-jun—an absurdly powerful outlier—but that was an extremely rare case.  

“I think our guild is just weird. First the Guild Master, and now even the members… Did they all take some kind of drug or…?”  

Before Park Chul could finish, Park Young-gi jabbed him hard in the ribs.  

“Oof! What the hell was that for?!”  

“You should watch your mouth, Team Leader. Do you want to become a freelancer again?”  

Park Young-gi shot a glance at the other team members as he warned him, and Park Chul coughed awkwardly, admitting his slip-up.  

But in his mind, one question kept floating around—Why does joining the Casserian Guild turn people into monsters?  

11 S-ranks, 1,000 A-ranks, and several thousand B-ranks and below! Not to mention military forces armed with modern weapons!  

This was the strength China had deployed to hold the third defensive line.  

And yet, they had failed to stop the primitive tribes, leaving the third line on the verge of collapse.  

But then—  

The moment the Casserian Guild’s seven-member strike team (Team 1) entered the battlefield, the situation completely reversed.  

“Watching this suddenly makes me think of something.”  

Park Young-gi stared at Park Chul’s mouth, wondering what nonsense he was about to spout this time.  

“What if Lü Bu from Romance of the Three Kingdoms had six other generals with similar strength? How would history have changed?”  

“Huh?”  

“Lü Bu! If he had six other warriors just as strong as him, he would’ve crushed Cao Cao and unified the Three Kingdoms easily, right?”  

“Well, unifying the Three Kingdoms wasn’t just about military strength…”  

But wasn’t it possible?  

Park Young-gi found herself seriously considering Park Chul’s idea.  

At the very least, Lü Bu wouldn’t have died so pathetically.  

“One against a hundred—no, one against a thousand? This is… insane.”  

Park Chul whistled and shook his head repeatedly.  

Meanwhile—  

“Team 4 has also begun combat!”  

Though the footage had come in first for Team 1, Team 4 had started fighting the primitive tribes slightly later.  

“What about Shinjo?”  

“Still on the move.”  

“Will they be okay without Shinjo?”  

The primitive tribes emerging from Japan’s rift zones resembled bears.  

Their massive frames were covered from head to toe in thick, shaggy animal hides, and they carried large axes slung over their shoulders. Just their appearance alone was far more intimidating than China’s primitive tribes.  

“In the first battle, Japan’s top three couldn’t hold them back and had to retreat, right?”  

Yamaguchi Hiro, Mago Yosuke, and Domita Masahiro—who had risen to fill Shinjo’s vacant spot—had failed to stop them.  

Given China’s situation, it wasn’t surprising that Japan was struggling too.  

But Japan had an even more serious problem.  

The two rift zones where the primitive tribes had emerged were dangerously close to each other.  

The distance between them was a mere 64 kilometers.  

And despite being from different tribes, the warriors were moving toward each other as if by some prearranged agreement.  

“How far have the ones from the Hayachine Mountain rift zone advanced?”  

One of the team members immediately answered Park Chul’s question.  

“They’ve reached Iwate University in Morioka City!”  

Park Chul quickly checked the distance on his tablet.  

“…Dammit! Only about 10 kilometers left?”  

If luck wasn’t on their side, they could end up being attacked from behind.  

The only saving grace was that, even without Shinjo, Team 4 of the Casserian Guild was also sweeping through the primitive warriors in ‘Lü Bu mode’.  

“At this rate, even if they get ambushed from behind, they should be able to hold out, right?”  

Park Young-gi watched Team 4’s dazzling performance on the monitor as she asked.  

“If they can maintain their stamina, maybe…”  

But could they really keep fighting so intensely without running out of energy?  

Park Chul’s uneasy gaze remained fixed on the screen.  

***

“Where is Shinjo now?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, Park Sung-wook checked Shinjo’s location using the GPS he had given him before leaving for Guam.  

“He just entered Japanese territorial waters. He should arrive at Towada-Hachimantai National Park within an hour.”  

Towada-Hachimantai National Park was the designated location to confront the two primitive tribes—one moving south from the Hachimantai Mountain rift zone and the other moving north from the Hayachine Mountain rift zone.  

“How severe is Japan’s damage so far?”  

“Morioka City has suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, Takizawa City has avoided major damage thanks to the Japan Hero Association’s diversion tactics. But…”  

Park Sung-wook trailed off.  

He couldn’t help but wonder if facing both tribes at once in Towada-Hachimantai National Park would really succeed.  

If it failed, the consequences would be catastrophic.  

Given Japan’s inability to properly stop even one tribe, fighting two simultaneously seemed…  

‘Even if it was the Guild Master’s suggestion…’  

Wasn’t this too much of a gamble?  

Park Sung-wook couldn’t help but worry.  

If they succeeded, it would be a relief—but if they failed?  

Japan would undoubtedly blame Seo Do-jun and the Casserian Guild for everything.  

From Japan’s perspective, they should be grateful for the help, but government officials and the Hero Association would try to shift responsibility no matter what—and they’d need a scapegoat for that.  

‘Japanese politicians have never been known for their humility.’  

Park Sung-wook was deeply concerned that their attempt to help Japan might backfire, leaving them to shoulder all the blame if things went wrong.  

“You can trust Shinjo.”  

From the beginning, the two tribes had been moving toward each other like magnets—one southbound, the other northbound.  

Seo Do-jun had devised this operation to minimize casualties, reasoning that confronting both tribes at once was the best solution, and he had chosen Shinjo as the one to handle it.  

Hearing Seo Do-jun’s confident voice eased Park Sung-wook’s nerves slightly.  

“But is it really okay for Choi Kang-soo to stay in Guam?”  

Given the situation, Park Sung-wook believed they should send Choi Kang-soo to Japan now to increase their chances of success.  

Seo Do-jun recalled his earlier conversation with Choi Kang-soo.  

-If I’m not absolutely needed, I’ll stay in Guam.  

“Wouldn’t it be good for him to gain real combat experience alongside Shinjo?”  

-I still think I’m too weak for real combat. If I feel outmatched, I’ll end up relying on divine power again… and honestly, if that happens, I don’t think I’ll have the confidence to continue training in Guam like this.  

“Because you think everything you’ve done so far would be meaningless? That no matter how hard you try, divine power will always be the answer?”  

-Honestly… yes.  

“I appreciate your honesty. Let me be honest too—I value the divine power within you the most.”  

-…Yes.  

“But the more you train, the stronger your divine power becomes. You know that, right? To me, you’re a secret weapon.”  

-A secret weapon?  

“Yes, a secret weapon. So the harder you train, the more powerful this weapon becomes. This time, I’ll respect your decision. You’re not urgently needed right now anyway. But let’s make one promise.”  

-Yes, please tell me.  

“No one will blame you for being weak. You’ve already done more than enough. Have confidence and believe in yourself. A Divine Knight should have that much faith and self-assurance.”  

-B-Brother!  

“We can’t just casually deploy our guild’s ultimate secret weapon.”  

“…Huh?”  

Park Sung-wook stared at Seo Do-jun in surprise at his playful response.  

Has Seo Do-jun always been like this?  

And what did he mean by ultimate secret weapon?  

Under Park Sung-wook’s stunned gaze, Seo Do-jun awkwardly averted his eyes.  

The silence was broken when PR Team Leader Park Chul burst in.  

“Guild Master!”  

He barged in without knocking, speaking in a rush.  

“A third wave of primitive tribesmen has emerged from the rift zones!”  

It was an expected development, but the timing couldn’t be worse.  

“From all the rift zones?”  

“We’ve confirmed it in China and Japan so far. Since the timing was almost simultaneous, we assume the same is happening elsewhere.”  

Park Sung-wook was already on the phone with someone.  

“…Is that so?”  

He nodded at Seo Do-jun as he listened.  

This meant reinforcements had appeared in other locations as well.  

‘If my guess is right, these will be supporters for the primitive warriors.’  

Shamans, or perhaps long-range attackers, would likely be the main forces this time.  

“They’re saying giant toads and snakes have appeared too?!”  

Park Sung-wook’s shocked voice made Park Chul grimace at the mere thought, while Seo Do-jun recalled the Black Tigers from Indonesia.  

‘So it’s not limited to just humans?’  

Anything that could enhance the combat abilities of the primitive tribes was fair game—whether it was more tribesmen or beasts.  

“How much longer until the guild members sent to Europe and America arrive?”  

Park Chul checked his watch before answering.  

“Assuming no delays, the team heading to Europe should arrive within two hours. The ones going to the U.S. and Canada will take about 30 minutes longer.”  

Factoring in additional travel time to the actual combat zones, the Hero associations in each country would have to hold out for at least three, possibly four hours.  

Reports from the associations indicated that every nation was struggling to maintain their defenses.  

With additional reinforcements now emerging from the rift zones, the situation was bound to worsen drastically—no confirmation needed.  

“…W-What did you just say?”  

Park Sung-wook’s voice sounded strange.  

His stiff expression made it clear something major had happened.  

Has an entire city been wiped out?  

Has a world-famous S-rank Hero died?  

Or had someone who absolutely couldn’t afford to die been assassinated?  

Seo Do-jun and Park Chul stared at Park Sung-wook with questioning looks.  

“…Understood.”  

Park Sung-wook ended the call with great difficulty.  

“What on earth did you just hear?”  

Unable to contain his curiosity, Park Chul pressed for an answer, while Seo Do-jun also urged him with his gaze.  

“India just… launched a nuclear missile.”