Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 333

At Su-ho’s words—“One down”—a swirl of emotions crossed the faces of the surrounding Russian Players.

The emotion they all shared, of course, was rage.

But Su-ho felt nothing of the sort.

Instead, he felt incredibly refreshed.

Because he had finally eliminated one of the four who had stabbed him in the back in his previous life.

'Isabella Mikhail may not have betrayed me in this life yet... but who cares?'

She was the type who would betray him eventually if left alone.

Isabella Mikhail was a strategic Saint, raised through a special KGB program.

He didn’t know if that Saint Project was still running now, but sooner or later, she’d hold her head high under that title again.

'I’m not watching that crap play out twice.'

That’s why he killed her quickly.

He was planning to wipe out all of Russia’s top combatants while he was here anyway—and among them, taking out the healer first was a basic principle.

Should he have made her suffer for betraying him?

He didn’t care enough to do that.

No, it was just a waste of time.

'Better to use that time to get my own work done.'

Of course, the witch and the archer bastard would be a different story.

"Die, you fucking bastard!!"

One man, seething with fury, charged at Su-ho with a sword.

Blocking the attack, Su-ho spoke.

"That’s a lot of rage. Did you have a thing for her?"

"Shut the fuck up!!"

The man's mana exploded.

'Oh... nobody at this stage should be able to control their mana like that yet.'

It was probably being unleashed subconsciously from his overwhelming rage.

Su-ho pushed the man back with force and immediately swung his blade.

[Steel Severance has been activated.]

The blade slashed from collarbone to hip, cutting him diagonally.

He didn’t know the man’s name.

Didn’t care to.

Flicking the blood off his blade, Su-ho looked at the rest.

"What’re you waiting for? Aren’t you coming?"

"Everyone, run!!"

One of the Players, regaining his senses in the face of Su-ho’s overwhelming strength, shouted in desperation.

But that wouldn’t do.

Su-ho dashed after them and slashed.

*

"Phew."

In the end, he killed them all.

He counted twenty-four.

They’d said thirty were coming, so it looked like six hadn’t shown up.

Su-ho jammed the [Guiyeong Spear] into a nearby corpse’s shadow, then walked over to Alexei and pressed his sleep pressure point again.

"Khuhp!"

Alexei woke up like a man jolted from a nap.

[Enthrallment] was still in effect.

Su-ho asked,

"Go check the faces of the ones I killed and report back on how much damage the KGB just took."

"Understood."

Alexei quickly checked the faces of the fallen Players.

After completing the check, he gave his report.

"We’ve lost nearly all of our top-tier combat power. This is a catastrophic loss."

"Then I guess that means all the projects they were involved in are getting shut down?"

"Yes. Gate raiding was the main focus... but they were all being groomed with full state support. The damage is severe."

"Is that so? This place still had emergency power running. Got any CCTV footage?"

"The director’s office has none."

"Perfect. By the way, about Baikal."

"Yes?"

"I took your data, killed your top brass. That means... no, with the Baikal data leaked, you can’t even dream of producing it anymore, right?"

"Yes. Since the data was leaked, I doubt the authorities will dare to proceed."

"Good. That’s all I needed to hear."

Hearing the answer he wanted, Su-ho pressed Alexei’s bloodletting point and cleanly ended his life.

There was no point in letting him live. As the man responsible, he’d just end up in prison anyway.

And knowing Russia, they’d probably quietly assassinate him from behind afterward.

Better to just kill him now, painlessly.

Su-ho turned on his phone camera and filmed the scene.

He didn’t have a bodycam, so this was the only way to record it.

After dealing with Alexei, Su-ho finally used the teleport stone.

[Using Teleport Stone.]

Flash!

A burst of light.

And when his vision returned, Su-ho stood at the Hasan railway junction.

"Clean."

Hasan was exactly as it had been before he departed.

After a brief moment of thought, Su-ho used [Shadow Movement] to teleport once more.

This time to his home in Seoul. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The moment he arrived, his phone reconnected to the network.

Foreign telecoms didn’t catch signal due to the SIM issue.

Su-ho sent the video footage to Choi Woo-seok and Jeong Cheol-min.

A call from Choi Woo-seok came immediately.

—"W-what the hell is all this?"

This guy, seriously.

They’d already agreed to speak casually, yet he still talked formally.

He must’ve been so shocked that old habits kicked in.

Su-ho chuckled.

"I just got back from the 13th District where the KGB’s 13th Bureau is located. I killed 24 of Russia’s top-tier Players and also killed their Bureau Director, Alexei Petrov."

—"W-what?!"

"I also secured all related data. Where are you right now? I’ll come deliver it directly."

—"...You mean where we were earlier?"

"I’ll head over now. Is the Director still with you?"

—"He’s still here."

"Got it."

Ending the call, Su-ho immediately summoned his bike and mounted it.

"Aide."

"Yes, Director?"

"What should we do about that guy?"

"I... I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything."

"Right? Me too. That’s what worries me. I don’t mind personally, but people up top hate blades that are too sharp."

"That’s true, but... if I may speak frankly, rather than worry about which administration comes next, wouldn’t it be better for the NIS to support him now, while we still can control him?"

"I think so too. That guy... if we mess with him even once, it’ll be a disaster."

It wasn’t that Choi Woo-seok was too naïve to act.

The National Intelligence Service originated from the old KCIA. If they tried any of that dirty old-school cloak-and-dagger crap “for the sake of national interest,” they’d unleash something they couldn’t handle.

Choi Woo-seok quietly pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips.

*

The moment they stepped outside, Su-ho said,

"Director, want a smoke?"

"You don’t even smoke, what are you— Let’s just go."

There was a smoking room inside, but they deliberately stepped out.

After confirming no one was around, Su-ho grinned and pulled out two cans of soda from his inventory, handing one over.

"You carry these around?"

"I’ve got tons. Go ahead. It’s zero-cal."

"What isn’t zero these days... So, why’d you want to talk?"

"Just to take a breather. Shoot the breeze."

"What?"

"I’m serious."

As Su-ho popped the tab, Jeong Cheol-min gave him a bewildered look.

"You really are something... Do I even look like a director to you?"

"Of course. You’re a director, through and through."

"Doesn’t feel like it... Whatever. Say, Su-ho, mind if I give you some advice? I’m saying this because I genuinely worry."

"Of course. Go ahead."

"I know you’re strong, and impressive—but don’t be too intimidating to people like the NIS Director. Historically, retainers who knew too many state secrets or became too powerful always got purged. You’ve got to be careful."

"I know. I get exactly what you’re worried about. But all of them—those were human."

"What?"

"I mean, it’s just the truth—I’m not really just a normal human anymore. You know where I rank in Russia’s Player power scale. I soloed 24 of their top fighters. How can those suits upstairs who see the Player industry as a joke do anything to me? Bullets don’t even work on me now."

"That may be true, but..."

"I kept my claws hidden when I was weak. But I don’t think I have to anymore. Taking Russia apart convinced me—there’s no Player in the world I’m afraid of now. So I’m just going to do things my way. No more tiptoeing around, no more detours. Who’d even notice? It’s just wasted time."

Hearing this, Jeong Cheol-min took a long drag of his cigarette.

Then nodded.

"You’re right. After what happened in Russia, I’m convinced—you could probably take out the President of the United States by yourself if you wanted."

"Right? And that’s why I’m not obsessed with money. My real goal is ending the Gates and achieving peace for humanity. So even if nobody else does, I hope you understand. And please... man the desk in my place. I’ll handle the field."

"Jeez, so you’re just saying you’re gonna work me like a slave."

"Aw, don’t say that. Think of it as a great partnership. A good pair. I really do like you, Director."

"Yeah, I like you too. Let’s make it work."

Jeong Cheol-min raised his can in a toast.

Su-ho smiled and clinked it with his own.

Then, after a sip, he asked:

"Can I ask you one favor?"

"What favor?"

"Do we have any spare meteor iron in the national treasury?"