Chapter 74. Going-Out-of-Business Bargain Sale (2)

[Richmond Storage, for today only!]

[Tearful Going-Out-of-Business Bargain Sale!]

…..Crinkle!

The already crumpled flyer was instantly balled up. The hand holding it trembled. And its owner thought:

'How… how could something like this happen?'

Richmond's faithful right-hand man and secretary, Ruslan, seethed with bitter resentment.

He couldn't believe it.

He couldn't understand it.

But still…..

"So, what's the exact number of people who entered the mine without permission?"

"Well… we can't really say."

"What?"

"There are just too many."

"Then at least give me an estimate."

At Secretary Ruslan's outburst, the red-haired mercenary hesitantly opened his mouth.

"In my estimation, at least over a thousand."

"......."

"I swear it's true."

"...Right, I suppose it is true, seeing as we've been dealing with this since morning."

Clop, clop!

If only the horse he was riding were a little faster. If only he could get to the mine sooner. If only he could see the situation there as quickly as possible.

Secretary Ruslan felt like his chest would burst with anxiety. But once he arrived at the mine, he felt like his insides would burst instead.

"....."

What am I even looking at?

That place, once operated under such secrecy.

The entrance disguised so well to look like a mine—Richmond's hidden storage.

'Why has it turned into a marketplace?'

With disbelief, Secretary Ruslan stared vacantly at the entrance of the tunnel.

People.

A sea of people.

A crowd.

No, a mob.

Countless rioters swarmed the tunnel entrance, lined up, trying to get in even a single step earlier than the others.

The mercenaries who were originally stationed here?

They hadn't abandoned their post. But still…

"Why… why aren't the mercenaries suppressing the mob, but instead lining them up in an orderly fashion and guiding them in?"

It was true!

And it was driving him mad!

With fury boiling inside, Secretary Ruslan quickened his pace. He called out to the nearest mercenary.

"What the hell is going on here? And who are these rioters!"

"Ah, well…"

The mercenary, recognizing the secretary, stammered.

"We tried to stop them at first, but… there were just too many…"

"And?"

"Neither force nor threats worked on them."

"And?"

"Um, so we tried to at least keep the chaos to a minimum…"

"And?"

"Er, well, we also…"

"So instead of stopping the mob, you went and organized them into neat lines and started letting them in? Huh?!"

"Well, but…"

"But what."

"Everyone here… got entry permission from the golems. So there wasn't really anything we could do…"

"What?"

He couldn't believe his ears.

And then—

Beep—!

A familiar sound pierced his eardrums.

'No way… don't tell me…'

The secretary turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.

And in the next moment, he saw it.

A citizen—no, a rioter—held out a pale orb to a golem, something he'd never seen before.

And the golem responded:

– Blood composition confirmed. Welcome, VVIP Richmond. How may I assist you?

"...!"

What is that?

What's going on?

How is this happening?

Secretary Ruslan fell into momentary confusion. But he didn't deny the reality unfolding before his eyes. That wouldn't help resolve the situation at all.

So then…

'They got Lord Richmond's entry authorization… with that cheap-looking orb?'

And it wasn't just one or two people!

Beep! Beep-beep! Beep—!

The cheerful sound rang out from all directions.

Along with the soft, polite voice of the golems:

– Blood composition confirmed. Confirmed. Lord Richmond, Lord Richmond, welcome, welcome, come in, in, come!

"......"

He saw it.

Ten golems lined up at the tunnel entrance. Those bastards scanned people one after another like it was a medley performance, letting the rioters in.

"What in the world… is going on…"

He had no idea.

Was this fate's cruel joke?

And what happened to Lord Richmond?

"…I'm going down to the storage."

Leaving the mercenaries behind, he pushed through the line of rioters alone. Discontented voices rose from all sides.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!"

"Seriously? Cutting the line?"

"...."

I want to kill them all.

Secretary Ruslan suppressed the urge to scream at the rioters who dared accuse him of cutting. He pushed his way into the tunnel.

And that's when he realized.

He would have to wait in line the entire way down to the storage. From the tunnel entrance to the storage chamber itself—the entire path was packed with people standing in line.

"...Goddammit!"

He forced his way through. A storm of complaints and curses rained down upon him as the so-called "serial line-cutter." More than once, someone grabbed him by the collar.

But he didn't care.

He shoved them off.

He pushed forward.

He kept descending.

By the time his neatly combed hair and shirt collar were completely ruined,

he finally arrived at the storage.

And he saw it. The raw face of the chaos unfolding there.

"Come one, come all! First come, first served!"

"....."

A shout that stabbed into his cochlea.

Atop a display stand in the center of the storage stood a familiar face.

Kim Jangcheol.

The man had tied a towel tightly around his head and was banging two cans together in his hands, shouting with enthusiasm.

"Opportunities like this don't come every day! Only today! Until everything's sold out! A special chance just for you!"

"Wooooah—!"

"Prices you've never seen! Freshness you've never seen! Take this home today,

and you too can be the best mom and dad!"

"Uwaaaaaa—!"

"Everyone! Want to show some filial piety? Want to steam this year's freshly harvested corn and feed it to your aging parents? Then! Today's your chance! A sack of corn for one-twentieth the market price! That's right, today's featured product is corn! Now, lucky winners, are you ready?!"

"Yes!!!"

"Then on the count of three, we all dash! You all know where the corn's stacked, right? I explained it earlier!"

"Yeeeees—!"

"Alright, I'm counting! Anyone who pushes their neighbor is disqualified! I'm watching! If someone falls, lend a hand! If it's too heavy, carry it together! Extra points for kindness! Eight, nine, ten! Gooooo!"

"Waaaaaaaah—!"

The citizens ran.

With excitement in their hearts, they ran cheerfully. Putting aside all their worries and troubles. Feeling joy in the fortune of the day, free from their daily routines.

But what Secretary Ruslan saw was different.

"......."

The rioters were running.

With eyes rolled back in greed, shamelessly. Throwing away all semblance of dignity. Like vermin scurrying toward bread crumbs on the street.

...Crack!

Ruslan barely managed to suppress the emotions that had nearly exploded. And in doing so, he felt his mind cool.

His head grew cold. Judgment fell like a blade—clean, precise.

'As I thought… that's the only way left.'

He had to get this situation under control.

No—he had to suppress it.

'And to do that, there's only one method right now.'

He made a decision.

He would awaken the battle golem.

'I'm alone, with not even a single mercenary by my side. On the other hand, the number of rioters is easily in the hundreds. I cannot resolve this on my own. Therefore…'

He would have to employ force.

Even if dozens died in the process, it didn't matter.

They were nothing more than intruding rioters who broke into the storage.

If that's what it takes—

Even if it meant bloodshed—

What mattered most was to suppress them quickly and regain control of the situation.

'Lord Richmond, I'll take responsibility.'

He recalled the countless lessons he had received since the day he caught Richmond's eye as a young orphan.

He also remembered the loyalty he felt toward Richmond, who was more like a father than anything else.

He rushed toward a wall in the corner of the storage. There, he opened the emergency device's lid. He inserted his ring into a socket etched within a magic circle and turned it.

Clink—!

An ominous metallic sound.

And with it, the magic circle began to react.

That's when it began.

Clatter, clunk!

The entire wall on one side of the storage began to tremble with metallic noise. Countless mechanisms activated, connected, and sequentially disengaged.

Ruuuumble…..!

The wall opened.

And from behind it, a silhouette took its first step—a figure ten times larger than a regular labor golem.

…..Boom!

The heavy impact shook the storage. Those rushing toward the corn sacks halted. The smiles that had hovered on everyone's lips vanished.

"Uh…?"

Heads turned instinctively.

Eyes widened without thinking.

They saw it.

An unprecedented presence walking out from behind the open wall. A battle golem whose power was on a different level from the others in the storage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The awakened battle golem moved without hesitation. Its identified targets—those running toward the corn sacks.

It advanced toward them.

Like a giant slayer from myth who trampled human armies without pause. Or a cold-hearted ancient angel who governed all life by the rules of good and evil alone.

Boom!

– Intruder detected. Identity verification required.

It came to a halt with a thunderous noise and loomed over the nearest citizen.

"Ah, aaah…?"

The young woman flinched beneath the battle golem's gaze. The child clinging to her skirt hid behind her.

– Repeating request. Identity verification required. If not authenticated within 10 seconds, you will be regarded as an intruder.

"...Uh, um…"

Frightened, the woman fumbled through her clothing.

It was confusing. She had already been verified when she entered the mine. So why now? Why again?

She was scared.

Her hands trembled.

She finally found the flour orb in her clothing. In a panic, she pulled it out and held it up toward the battle golem.

"Here, here!"

She felt all eyes on her. An eerie, chilling silence fell, so thick no one even dared to breathe loudly.

Within it, the battle golem stared at the woman's flour orb.

After about two seconds—

Buzz!

A threatening alert rang out.

A red light glowed in the battle golem's eyes.

– Authentication failed. Registered device not detected. Subject will be regarded as an intruder and eliminated immediately.

Whoooosh!

The battle golem's fist rose.

With no hesitation.

As if to swat a bug.

It came crashing down toward the woman and child.

BOOOOOM—!

"...!"

The woman's bangs flew into the air.

Her eyes widened.

It felt like the world had slowed. And within that slowed world, the golem's fist was coming far too fast. As big as a carriage. Brimming with murderous intent.

With violence.

Unavoidable. Death, inevitable and imminent.

Death?

Am I going to die?

'Ah...'

In the moment she sensed her death, she thought—

Then what about the child by my side?

My child?

What will happen?

It's fine if I die.

But at least my child—

Please—

'…Please!'

She tried to push the child away.

You must live, no matter what.

But there wasn't enough time.

Her reaction was far too slow. The golem's fist was already descending in an instant. Far too close. Hopelessly so.

'Ah...'

She tightly shut her eyes.

No, she tried to shut them.

And then—

"Get out of the way!"

"...!"

She saw it.

A rough voice cried out from nowhere.

A figure leapt in without hesitation.

Who?

'Ah.'

The man who'd been selling potatoes in the plaza. The one who spread word of today's bargain sale through every alley. The one who kindly guided and welcomed everyone who gathered.

Kim Jangcheol… that's what they called him.

And in the next moment, everyone in the storage witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Thunk—!

Kim Jangcheol's feet planted firmly on the ground.

At the same time, the golem's charging fist came barreling in.

He threw his own fist straight at it.

...!

A deafening roar.

In the instant of impact—

The battle golem's enormous fist shattered and was flung backward from a single blow.

[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]