[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 524: To the Edge of the Galaxy (7)

‘Three collection effects at once?’

Well, considering the number of weapons had jumped from 24 to 144, it wasn’t strange that there were multiple effect thresholds.

The important thing was what those effects actually were.

Piiiing!

A sharp sound rang out, and the effects that Yeongwoo had been waiting for finally appeared one by one.

[Collection Effect: 30]

| Increases the effect of registered weapons by 20%.

[Collection Effect: 50]

| Sword Mountain’s attack power increased by 50%.

[Collection Effect: 100]

| Sword Ability…

“…Huh.”

An utterly outrageous effect.

Especially the 50% increase in Sword Mountain’s attack power—that was bound to cause a tremendous shift in his combat power.

The projectile damage of the legendary weapons contained within Sword Mountain would also rise by 50%.

‘Then just how strong would the Chairman be with his Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain…?’

While Yeongwoo was thinking this, a new system message appeared before his eyes.

「You are now able to use Sword Ability.」

‘Sword Ability?’

It was the 100-weapon collection reward of the Armoury Catalog.

A detailed explanation followed.

「Sword Ability allows you to freely control the weapons you own, recalling those thrown far away or directing them in any direction you wish.」

‘Ah, so it’s basically true Sword Control.’

Until now, he could only fake it with remote recall.

Now he could finally use authentic sword control.

「Currently, the number of weapons you can control under Sword Ability is one, and this applies even to weapons summoned by Sword Mountain.」

Meaning, he could leave the weapon in his hand as is, and control one blade out of the 144 swords summoned by Sword Mountain separately.

‘Then… someday I might be able to control all of Sword Mountain through Sword Ability?’

Surely, the Chairman must already know the answer to that.

「Weapons affected by Sword Ability gain a 25% attack increase. The moment Sword Ability ends, this increase is immediately lost.」

‘A 25% increase…? That’s insane.’

Because of this effect, the weapon to be controlled with Sword Ability was set in stone—it had to be Bastard.

After all, it was already a Myth-grade sword with unmatched destructive power.

Shwaaak!

As Yeongwoo drew out Bastard to test Sword Ability, Pacha flinched, his eyes flashing.

—Do… do you like it?

“It would be a lie if I said I didn’t.”

At that moment, Yeongwoo was holding an eight-meter-long Bastard.

Shwaaaak!

The third collection bonus, which increased weapon effects by 20%, also applied to the sword-lengthening effect.

‘Something like this… I can control however I want?’

Tap.

When Yeongwoo carefully willed Bastard to float in midair and stay there, the massive eight-meter Myth sword really did hang suspended, awaiting his next command.

○ My god.

Earth, watching from the bridge, let out a gasp without realizing it.

And then—

Swaaaaaaash!

Bastard suddenly swerved its head and shot toward the wall of the grand hall at extreme speed, so fast that even Yeongwoo, who had given the order, was shocked.

Kwooong!

The speed was such that even he could barely perceive it.

‘Looks like the real deal begins at 100-weapon collection.’

○ I’d say the same.

For once, Yeongwoo and Earth were in full agreement.

He immediately turned to Pacha.

“How long would it take to get another weapon bundle like this?”

Pacha scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

—To secure weapons of this caliber, a large-scale war must break out. But such wars are…

Rare enough to be seen maybe three times in a lifetime, he added.

Of course, wars did break out all the time across the universe.

But traversing the entire cosmos to scavenge battlefields was impossible.

So unless a war happened within regions Pacha could physically reach, there was no guarantee of when such an opportunity would come.

“Damn it… then how am I supposed to gather more weapons?”

Large-scale wars were usually fought on the scale of royal houses.

For Yeongwoo, the head of a mere newly-risen clan, starting one himself was impossible.

—All we can do is wait for a good opportunity. But if I ever manage to collect another weapon bundle, I swear I’ll contact you first.

With that promise, Yeongwoo handed over the payment for this deal.

“I thought you were some lunatic, but it seems you’re a true benefactor.”

—It is my honor.

Pacha beamed, excited over having closed such a major trade.

Then, collecting the now-empty steel crates, he bowed.

—Then I’ll take my leave… May fortune always be with you!

Pacha stepped back through the portal.

Yeongwoo waved after him with genuine warmth.

After all, Pacha had to stay alive for there to be another chance to secure a weapon bundle.

‘Truly, the world is about living together!’

Of course, the flip side was that one had to hold irreplaceable value in order to survive dens of thieves.

Swaaash!

Finally, Pacha and the steel crates vanished completely into the portal.

Right after, Earth contacted him.

○ Return to the bridge. We’re about to enter the Golux system.

‘Golux?’

○ The planetary system where weapon merchants live.

‘Ah… it’s already that time.’

The moment of the “Collision” that all humanity was waiting for was drawing near.

* * *

9:08 AM.

At the moment when every person on Earth had come outside, switching their gaze between the sky and the broadcast screens, Yeongwoo once again sat in the captain’s chair.

“I think I’ve figured out how the Chairman created the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain.”

Earth tilted its head.

『How did he do it?』

“War.”

『What?』

“I think there was a time when war never stopped. One of the Chairman’s epithets is ‘The One Born on the Battlefield,’ isn’t it?”

And surely, there was a reason why he came to be known as the King of Destruction.

Perhaps it was endless war that reduced the House of Vesedel to a fallen royal line.

And through that process, the Chairman obtained the Hundred Thousand Swords Mountain…

“……”

Imagining this, Yeongwoo shivered involuntarily.

Did that mean the Chairman gained such overwhelming power at the cost of watching his house crumble?

If so, it was a rather tragic story.

Kwooong!

The Earth-Ship shook, and outside the bridge, the view filled with holograms of the relay zone.

『We’ve resumed interstellar travel. We’ll reach Golux after passing through about two star systems.』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

With a sweep of its hand, Earth projected a map of Golux into the air.

Fwaaash!

『Golux is… peculiar.』

“What do you mean, peculiar?”

Tilting his head, Yeongwoo studied the map—and immediately understood.

“Ah.”

That was because the orbits of the celestial bodies making up the Golux system formed a huge ellipse.

On top of that, the map showed hazy dust stretching across the entire system, almost as if it were revolving together with the orbits.

According to Earth, that was—

『An asteroid belt. There are a ton of them.』

“What… an asteroid belt?”

『We have an asteroid belt too, but nothing like this.』

Asteroid belt.

A term used for clusters of celestial bodies smaller than planets—essentially, massive rocks gathered together.

The problem was, these too were fast-moving objects following set orbits.

What made it especially troublesome in Golux was their distribution.

『There are just way too many. Big bodies like us… we won’t be able to avoid collisions with the belt.』

“What are you saying? Then before ramming the star, we’d have to ram asteroids first?”

『This isn’t a ram. It’s more like we’re going to be showered with asteroids.』

As Earth said this, Moro stroked her chin while staring quietly at the system map of Golux.

『This time, even my kids are going to suffer a bit.』

By “kids,” she meant the smaller planets of the Solar System.

Since the asteroid belt rippled through all of Golux, even the planets of the Solar System wouldn’t be able to avoid collisions.

『When passing through the asteroid belt, I’ll need to pay extra attention to gravitational adjustments. Some of the planets’ orbits could get knocked off course.』

To this, Moro replied while gazing out the window.

『They’re all free planets anyway, aren’t they? A little orbital shift doesn’t matter. But… losing a planet is unacceptable. Especially here.』

Even Moro didn’t seem to think Golux looked like a hospitable environment.

Neither did Yeongwoo, for that matter.

“I don’t think any of our planets would want to stay there.”

『Of course not. We won’t let that happen.』

No matter the asteroid collisions, the planets currently near Earth and the Sun weren’t about to get flung away.

But for the dwarf planets orbiting on the outer edge of the Earthship system, it was a different story.

They were less influenced by the system’s gravity, and since their mass was small, they risked getting swept away by the asteroid belt.

『Our first rough patch since leaving orbit.』

Earth wore a rather solemn expression.

Meanwhile, the relay zone outside the windows was fading, until finally—

The Earthship began to enter the problematic system Golux.

『Hold on tight. We’re about to burst out of the relay zone.』

At the moment Earth gave this warning to everyone aboard—and to all of humanity—the entire Earthship shook violently with a deafening roar.

KWA-A-A-AANG!

The pitch-black expanse of space filled the windows, and in the distance, the asteroid belt was already coming into view.

And beyond that, glowing a dull yellow, was the star itself.

“That’s… the star?”

『Yes. The star Golux. Our target.』

Just as Earth said this, a crash sounded from far outside the command deck.

THUUUUNG…!

The asteroid belt had begun colliding head-on with them.

『We’re just too big. There’s no way but to take the hits as we go.』

But Earth added that since they had strengthened the shields enough for a star-ram, mere asteroid collisions wouldn’t be a big issue.

“Then what is the big issue?”

『Why, the lonely little dwarf planets orbiting out there, of course.』

TUTUTUNG!

Meanwhile, the impacts grew more frequent, and on the monitor beside Yeongwoo’s captain’s chair, a red light flicked on.

BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!

“…?”

When Yeongwoo turned to look, the schematic of the Earthship system showed the outer edge flashing red.

“What’s this? Looks like a really bad warning sign to me.”

『It means that part is taking the heavier damage. To put it in human terms, right now Pluto and Eris are getting pelted like baseballs.』

“What?”

『The only option is to ram Golux quickly and move on.』

With that, Earth’s eyes flared blue as he swept his arms through the air.

In the absence of a captain, Earth itself was directly piloting the Earthship.

KRK-KRK-KRKK!

The sound of steel pillars straining rang out somewhere, as the system schematic Yeongwoo was watching began to rotate leftward.

As a result, the asteroid impacts shifted toward the area around Jupiter.

『Voltu should be able to take it. He’s tough.』

Jupiter—the one-armed Voltu.

He was the largest of all the Solar System’s planets by volume.

That was why Earth deliberately diverted the asteroids to Jupiter instead of the dwarf planets.

『Now, we’ll head straight for Golux. Where’s the impact site?』

“The whole middle of Nevada. Aim for Nye County as the center point.”

『Got it.』

Earth nodded, understanding, while in a corner of the bridge, Jeonggu muttered as he braced himself against the wall.

“‘Got it’… really?”

Of course, Earth could scan the entire planet in real time, so the odds of accidentally crushing civilians were practically zero.

And in the meantime—

KWA-A-A-AT!

The Earthship accelerated, racing toward the star Golux.

『Ten minutes to impact…!』

A mere planet-born dared to rush headlong into a star.

Earth’s expression was solemn to the extreme, and seeing this, Moro chuckled as she rose half from her throne.

『Still no word from their side?』

『Eh? From their side…?』

Caught off guard, Earth turned back—just as the bridge suddenly glowed yellow and a cautious voice spoke.

《Excuse me… unless I’m mistaken, the distance between us is steadily shrinking.》

The star Golux had noticed something strange and reached out.

And only then did Earth realize why he’d kept feeling like something was being overlooked.

『…Ah! Come to think of it, we never asked Lord Golux’s opinion, did we?』

Instinctively, like a planet-born, he used an honorific when speaking of the star.

At this, Yeongwoo smirked wickedly.

“You just realized that? A ram is always an insult, no matter when you do it.”

Then, turning toward the yellow-lit ceiling, he continued.

“Hey, Golux! Ready to have some fun?”

《Fun…? What are you talking about?》

“Headbutting. Don’t you know the saying—if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it?”

It was true that Golux had no way to avoid the ram.

A star, a celestial body, could only follow its predetermined orbit.

Whereas the Earthship was a free body, unbound by such things.

『F-forgive us, Lord Golux!』

As Earth shut his eyes tight and pushed the speed even higher, Golux finally understood what “ramming” meant—and panicked.

《W-wait! You can’t do this!》

At that, Moro threw her head back and laughed from her throne, half rising from it.

『We can! Sit tight in your orbit and embrace the destiny of a star!』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]