The Swords I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 47. Awakening (4)
“The North’s causing trouble again.”
The soldiers of South Korea’s military.
Among them, those stationed at the frontmost positions.
They are beings who transcend humanity, possessing hearts of steel.
Though they have not undergone natural awakening, their spirits rival those of transcendents.
“Open fire! Kill them all!”
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat———!!!
They do not waver at the sight of anything.
They simply fulfill their unwavering resolve to eliminate all that descends from the North and protect South Korea’s territory.
“It’s particularly intense today, isn’t it?”
“Those bastards will stop eventually if we keep shooting.”
Despite the endless procession of corrupted monsters, not a single soldier showed fear.
They do not actually feel fear.
They have evolved that way.
The frontline itself had made them so.
“The defensive line has been breached!!!”
The corrupted monsters push through the barrage of countless cannons.
Tens of times the usual numbers.
Black creatures filled the space beyond the 38th Parallel.
They had breached South Korea’s territory, piercing through the mystically-enhanced bombardment.
Yet the military remained unmoved.
“Pull the tanks back. Deploy the Awakened Unit.”
“Maintain the rear defensive fire.”
There was only command and its faithful execution.
Rat-a-tat-tat———.
A thunderous boom that shook the earth.
Beyond it, something black and elongated approaches.
Grotesque monsters that inspired dread merely by sight.
The dregs of China’s “awakening experiments” derived from humans.
“Ready—!”
Just before they reached the defensive line, a unit stepped forward.
They wore Shop-made armor engraved with national defense patterns, and were equipped with staffs and swords instead of guns.
Members of the Awakened Unit, composed of guided awakeners.
Under normal circumstances, they would have moved with ridiculous fanfare, but thanks to the recent Korea-Japan mystical technology agreement, their appearance was remarkably light.
“Activating portable Gate units.”
They advanced, equipped with the new weapons.
Portable Gates expected to increase South Korea’s military power by more than tenfold.
This is all thanks to the new transcendent, Shin Si-woo.
“Shin Si-woo is no ordinary person, that’s for sure.”
“If every Tom, Dick, and Harry became a Transcendent, would this world have anything left?”
The Awakened Unit members chuckled as they crossed the first containment line.
Those who had casually exchanged jokes even in the presence of countless Tainted Beasts shifted their stance the moment they encountered the creatures.
The Tainted Beasts, barely maintaining human form, revealed long tentacles toward the soldiers.
Some individuals melted like sap while others split and multiplied their numbers.
And the South Korean military met them head-on.
“Charge—!!!”
Thus the soldiers of South Korea
were reborn as true iron men.
Screeeech————.
The fierce battle ended.
The Awakened Unit trampled the head of the last remaining Tainted Beast before departing.
Immediately after, another unit arrived to begin post-battle cleanup.
The follow-up unit was the Decisive Corps, composed of non-Awakened soldiers.
“South Korean military casualties: twelve. Recovering dog tags and beginning cleanup operations.”
The Decisive Corps incinerated the Tainted Beast corpses with flamethrowers.
Then they cremated the bodies of their own fallen soldiers, dog tags and all.
The flames consuming both monster and ally blazed with iridescent light.
It was a special flamethrower crafted with [Mystery] imbued within it.
“Cease!”
The horrific stench of death seeped even through the protective suits.
Yet not a single soldier grimaced.
Instead, their eyes grew only more resolute.
‘If this line breaks, we’re finished. Even the Patriot can’t do anything about that.’
Moon Ji-hoon, commander of the incineration unit, steeled his resolve and shouldered the charred remains of the beast.
Then he issued orders to the soldiers following behind.
“Transport operations commence.”
The Tainted Beast corpses that wouldn’t burn were moved to the massive crater where the Patriot’s bombardment fell.
This was the life of South Korea’s frontline unit.
Boom— Thud!
Moon Ji-hoon hurled the Tainted Beast corpse and gazed into the enormous pit.
Amid countless bombardments, the remains of beasts that refused to disappear writhed, emanating a ghastly reek.
A grotesque sight that might drive an ordinary person mad at first glance.
Yet the Decisive Corps didn’t even flinch.
They methodically burned the remaining corpses and disposed of the remnants before returning to base.
‘Transcendents cannot bear all the burden.’
Moon Ji-hoon recalled this same thought every time he saw this pit.
Most soldiers of South Korea knew this truth.
Unlike the ordinary citizens chattering on WorldNet, they were well aware of the fates of North Korea and other nations.
After all, weren’t they witnessing that very outcome every single day?
At such a frontline, the casualty rate among South Korean soldiers is quite high.
But that’s acceptable.
‘Even if I die, the nation will take care of my family for life.’
The notion that dying for one’s country is a meaningless death is something that only applied before the Gate incident.
In today’s world, all those who dedicate themselves to the nation receive proper treatment.
It’s thanks to the Patriot, who commands the absolute support of the South Korean military.
‘Without him, I would’ve fled to somewhere like Jeju Island too.’
Moon Ji-hoon’s life had taken a peculiar turn.
During the Gate incident, while serving as a senior sergeant nearing the end of his conscription, he was forced to serve an additional two years under the pretext of a ‘national emergency.’
Then suddenly, his regiment commander announced he would stage a ‘coup.’
Moon Ji-hoon, who thought he’d be conscripted forever, was saved by the Patriot.
“A coup? Those crazy bastards. Execute everyone involved!”
Moon Ji-hoon expected to be executed for being part of the coup forces.
At that time, the National Assembly was dominated by the argument that ‘those who participated under orders should also be punished!’
But—.
“What the hell do conscripted kids know to deserve punishment? And who are these unmilitary bastards to make that judgment?”
The Patriot instead executed the National Assembly members and granted freedom to the soldiers who had suffered.
Of course, all the generals lost their heads, but….
Anyway.
Was it because he was deeply moved at that time?
Moon Ji-hoon remained in the military and headed to the frontline.
He survived and earned distinguished service, eventually securing a rather high position.
As medals and commendations accumulated, his family’s life became more comfortable, but Moon Ji-hoon no longer seeks out his family.
‘I wish I could see my children.’
This place cannot sustain human emotion.
The human body cannot endure it.
This is South Korea’s frontline.
“Phew, all units have returned.”
A land guarded by indomitable warriors who advance toward their inevitable death without fear.
The frontline unit guarding the 38th Parallel—the Patriot Guardian Division, and within it, the ‘Decisive Corps.’
“Check the monsterification progression rate and proceed with voluntary quarantine!”
The monsters were particularly unruly today; two soldiers’ infection levels had increased.
The one fortunate thing was….
“Everyone, salute in loyalty to Shin Si-woo for erecting the Barrier of Sanctuary!”
The soldiers raised their salute of loyalty toward the golden veil that covered South Korea.
A body stained by monsterification.
Moon Ji-hoon felt that the contamination spreading across his blackened left arm had slowed slightly.
‘About two months left until I become a martyr for the nation.’
There was still time before his name would be engraved on the memorial at Gwanghwamun Plaza.
* * *
Through this crisis, I’ve come to understand a critical truth.
‘This world has already undergone considerable infiltration.’
When the Demon Worshippers first appeared, I believed we were still in the early stages.
But not long after, I encountered Gye Man-hwi, the Demon God’s archbishop, and he achieved descent, summoning Necribas.
And now?
‘They brought the World Tree’s seed, corrupted it, and triggered a massive Gate flood that swallowed entire cities.’
South Korea stands as one of the world’s top one percent of pristine nations—arguably more advanced than before the Gate crisis.
Yet even we’ve fallen to this state, which means globally, the situation is far more catastrophic.
The world has already approached a critical threshold of danger.
‘There were already countless signs all along.’
Now, a month after my awakening, I can say this with certainty.
As proof, weren’t the strange occurrences from years ago—just like what’s happening now—also entangled with Demon Worshippers?
⦗I share that assessment.⦘
My swords seem to hold similar thoughts.
“It’s quite possible that the massive catastrophes of the past were all connected.”
For instance, the undead crisis that began in Canada and spread into the United States.
Or China, which from the very beginning of the Gate crisis has been oddly obsessed with controlling Awakened Ones.
And the contaminated monsters pouring from North Korea, along with mysterious Awakening experiments.
⦗Are you concerned that the world is collapsing?⦘
Reinhardt Euclid asked me.
In [Sword Cultivation], the world would collapse repeatedly.
Even in the endings where my swords transcended and gained immense power, witnessing the final chapter—the world’s collapse still occurred.
The only difference was the scale of it.
‘Collapse.’
It doesn’t mean the planet shatters into pieces.
It refers to the [Abyss] completely consuming a portion of the world.
I was equally dumbfounded at why such thoughts only occurred to me now.
Well, before my awakening, my life was no different from ordinary days.
The reason was truly simple.
⦗Master, perhaps that imperfect metal has been imperfectly protecting the world.⦘
When I think about it, Earth has already shown these signs countless times.
We’ve simply been forcibly delaying it through [Mystery].
‘The sea, the sky, the land.’
The sky paths have been sealed for a long time.
The sea barely manages fishing operations in areas purified by [Mystery].
And the land has countless devastated regions, like the Red Sea in Goyang City or here in Jeolla Province.
We’re simply enduring, enduring, enduring—grinding through enormous numbers of Hunters, military forces, and [Mystery] itself.
Especially [Mystery].
‘The metal that grants wishes.’
Things I once took for granted now strike me with grave clarity.
If mystery had not existed, humanity would have perished long ago.
And according to Muratan, [mystery] is imperfect metal, and imperfection means it could vanish at any moment.
For that reason, I found myself regarding the black seed I held in my hand with far greater gravity.
“The World Tree….”
This is the seed of a fallen World Tree.
It had consumed countless lives and even grown into a sapling, but Muratan had reduced it back to seed form.
Under normal circumstances, I would have immediately converted this World Tree into a source of power.
But now, I could only entertain a different possibility.
[Saengsagwi]
The Saengsagwi that Muratan created is a demon that devours life and death.
If done correctly, it might be possible to restore the fallen seed.
To accomplish that—.
‘First, I need to escape this place.’
A structure constructed from coffins stacked upon one another.
This is the world of the Awakened One, Kim Jun.
And he had necessarily made a contract with an evil god to save hundreds of thousands of citizens.
Should the terms of that contract be revealed, he would not receive unqualified praise, but I intend to bury all of this deep within my heart.
‘The condition of erasing memories.’
A fact I confirmed through the memories of Demon Worshippers that Iris Ruzbella had consumed.
The evil god had attempted to test Kim Jun’s true nature, and Kim Jun, having forgotten this transaction, upheld his mission to protect the people for ‘1,135 days.’
Regardless of the contract’s terms, his choice was ultimately correct.
I will conquer this Gate and escape alongside Kim Jun, who protected 170,000 people.
In the process, all the Demon Worshippers died, and the evil god’s contract becomes as if it never existed.
‘By erasing the mark, I nullify the contract.’
The fallen World Tree’s seed is a mark that proves the contract with the evil god.
And it is a dead seed.
A reversed World Tree’s seed that grows from death.
“Eat it.”
I placed the seed into the Saengsagwi’s mouth.
The Saengsagwi, bearing the powers of ‘vital life’ and ‘inevitable death,’ naturally performed its destined function.
It consumes death and grants life.
While it cannot resurrect those truly dead, it was possible to restore a seed that ‘grows from death’ back to ‘life.’
——No taste.
The Saengsagwi shrieked and spat the seed back out.
The black seed, once tainted by death, had transformed pure white, and no trace of the contract remained.
The contract had been forcibly broken.
As a result, the man guarding this [coffin] awakened.
Shhhhk——.
This space was Kim Jun’s world, yet his figure was nowhere to be seen.
But the moment the contract shattered, a man emerged from between the massive coffin tombs.
It was not the withered man clinging to the World Tree, but rather the robust, hearty man I had often seen in videos.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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