[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 327: Negotiation (2)
‘Uh... Mother?’
Yeongwoo was stunned when he drew his first card.
It wasn’t just the name on the card that left him speechless.
[Mother Who Returned from the Heavens]
“Mother breathed her blue breath.”
| Card Grade: Legendary
| Power: 1,200
Strongest Mother
If the opponent’s card is a dragon type or mother type, power increases by 600.
‘Damn it, this is basically a card duel.’
The composition of the cards looked just like the ones in competitive card games.
‘We’re deciding the outcome of a war with this? Are they insane?’
As Yeongwoo wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, still unable to grasp the reality of the situation, Yuto across the table flashed a wicked smile.
"So? It seems you’ve drawn quite an impressive hand."
"...!"
When Yeongwoo looked up, he saw that his opponent, the duelist standing across from him, was completely naked.
He even held the elongated card between his fingers as though he were used to games like these.
‘Who the hell is this guy? Even the way he’s holding his cards is different.’
Swallowing hard, Yeongwoo caught sight of the card Yuto held between his fingers.
It reflected a faint, bluish light.
As explained earlier, until the terms of negotiation were confirmed, they couldn’t see each other’s cards.
"Have you played a lot of... games like this?"
Yeongwoo asked carefully.
Yuto, placing his massive, pale pecs on the table, clasped his hands together with a confident smirk.
"‘Games like this’... If you were an experienced player, you wouldn’t use that phrase. It’s clear that you’re a novice, Mr. Yeongwoo."
Yuto chuckled unpleasantly before switching to a cold tone.
"I won’t lie. To put it mildly, I’m a veteran duelist."
"...!"
"The fact that we’re each using a different deck version would disqualify this from official matches, but we have no choice. The whims of the universe are far beyond our control."
Listening to Yuto, Yeongwoo realized something.
This guy was just as insane as he was.
‘Judging by his attitude, he was probably a game nerd in his youth. And this lunatic is supposed to be Tokyo’s Sword Emperor? Japan’s in real trouble.’
Yeongwoo had momentarily forgotten that he himself had once been a gaming streamer.
"So, now that we’ve both drawn our cards... does this mean we should propose our negotiation terms?"
Yeongwoo looked back at the card he’d drawn for this round.
A legendary card with 1,200 power.
From the looks of it, 1,200 seemed to be on the high end of the power spectrum.
But this was only a guess.
Without more cards to compare, he couldn’t be sure.
‘Given that only monsters powerful enough to be called to the negotiating table are here, the average deck composition could be legendary.’
Yeongwoo reminded himself that this was a power struggle backed by extraterrestrial sponsors.
‘I have Bastard and Aratubank among my forces. With equipment at a mythic level, their card grades should be mythic too.’
On the other hand, “Mother Returned from the Heavens” was at the legendary level.
It was a powerful conditional card, but it might be relatively average if the condition didn’t match.
Yeongwoo hadn’t played a lot of card games, but he knew that conditional power boosts typically worked that way.
‘My mother’s power increases by 600—or 50%—when facing another mother or dragon.’
It was effectively a counter card.
Which meant its base power might have been intentionally set lower, assuming it would occasionally encounter matches in which it would receive a power boost.
‘So if I face the right opponent, I could potentially take down a mythic card. But since it’s only a counter for two types, its base power might be lower than average for a legendary.’
This was the best deduction Yeongwoo could make.
Now, he needed to figure out the strength of his opponent’s card.
But he had no prior knowledge about this naked man, making any guess difficult.
‘Besides, in a world where even orphans can get mother cards... anything is possible from his side.’
Would he get a feel for things after the first round?
‘Let’s dive in.’
Resolving himself, Yeongwoo tightened his jaw, and Yuto squinted, noticing the change in his expression.
"Seems like your card is a bit underwhelming, huh?"
"...!"
Realizing his expression had been read, Yeongwoo widened his eyes.
‘Right. I should’ve kept a neutral face, even if I wasn’t bluffing.’
But it was too late to hide what had already been revealed.
So Yeongwoo turned the question back.
"What about you? Did you draw a decent card?"
Yuto, self-assured as a veteran, answered without batting an eye.
"Hmm... Legendary?"
"..."
Yeongwoo tried to stay calm, controlling his breathing, but his pupils betrayed him by widening slightly.
"Yeongwoo, that card’s legendary, right? Or maybe it’s epic, but you’re intimidated by legendaries."
Yuto skillfully probed, observing Yeongwoo’s reaction.
‘This guy’s not just a duelist; he’s a gambler. He’s way too good at mind games.’
Yeongwoo’s impulse was to skip the cards and snap Yuto’s neck, but he had no choice.
"Let’s get this over with. Propose your terms."
Seeing this, Yeongwoo immediately touched the coin by his bedside and shouted.
“The Korea-Japan war will be fought solely on Tsushima!”
A negotiation draft instantly appeared between the two of them.
Ping!
[The battle between the Dogo and Lemu factions shall be conducted solely within Tsushima.]
“This...!”
Yuto looked slightly flustered at the sudden negotiation draft, and Yeongwoo added a few more words.
“If you don’t like it, you can exercise your veto.”
“...”
But Yuto knew well enough that the first side to use their veto usually ended up at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, he hadn’t even proposed his own negotiation terms yet.
≪The representative of Lemu, please present your negotiation terms.≫
The system prompted Yuto, who finally slammed the table with his right hand and grasped the coin with his left.
Thud!
“Like me, strip off all your clothes. Let’s both fight in the nude.”
“...What?”
Yeongwoo’s eyebrow twitched as Yuto’s proposal appeared below his own on the screen.
Ping!
[The representatives of Dogo and Lemu shall engage in combat in a completely naked state.]
“You... you bastard...”
First, he was all about making choices for the people, and now he was demanding a nude fight?
What was this nonsense?
“You said you don’t lie! Don’t you want to make choices for the people?”
Yeongwoo pointed accusingly, but Yuto closed his eyes quietly.
“You asked me why I was naked.”
“I... I did.”
“This is the reason.”
Clunk.
Suddenly, Yuto stood up, revealing his entire body.
“Ah, damn it.”
Yeongwoo cursed, squinting in disgust, while Yuto slowly opened his previously closed eyes.
“Everything I do is recorded by Lemu’s cameras.”
“...What?”
“What I gave to Lemu in exchange for immense power was humiliation.”
“...?”
“The more humiliation captured on camera, the greater the national benefit. So if I can strip the representative of Dogo as well... it will benefit my country immensely.”
“What, what the hell are you talking about?”
As Yeongwoo instinctively reached toward his sword, Yuto stretched out his right hand in a gesture to stop him.
“Representative of Dogo, Jeong Yeongwoo! Please strip. We have already prepared 200 naked warriors!”
“...!”
Yuto’s pale flesh reflected in Yeongwoo’s wide eyes.
Yuto then approved Yeongwoo’s negotiation terms.
Ping!
Now, if Yeongwoo accepted Yuto’s proposal, the real battle would begin.
‘Damn... if I lose here, I’ll have to fight naked? And for free?’
Could this all have been part of Lemu’s grand plan?
Was this some roundabout way of taking revenge after losing the Dogo publicity model?
“You, do you have any idea how crazy this is? Dogo and Lemu...”
Yeongwoo was about to explain the interstellar power dynamics when Yuto interrupted.
“Then just decline it.”
“What?”
“Exercise your veto. Isn’t that all you have to do?”
“You bastard.”
It wasn’t exactly wrong, but it wasn’t entirely right, either.
He’d likely fall into the opponent’s pace when he exercised his veto.
And after two vetoes, he could be met with an even more humiliating proposal.
Maybe it would be better to gamble everything on winning here.
‘If I can overpower his hand with my card, then I just need to win... but is this the right move?’
Lowering his gaze, Yeongwoo looked at the card he held firmly in his hand.
[Mother Who Returned from the Heavens]
“Mother breathed her blue breath.”
| Card Grade: Legendary
| Power: 1,200
Strongest Mother
If the opponent’s card is a dragon type or mother type, power increases by 600.
Could this card possibly defeat the crazy hand that man would reveal?
‘Mother, you’re strong, right? I’ll trust you this time.’
There was no choice but to go all in.
Yeongwoo opened his eyes wide, then slammed the table as he accepted Yuto’s nudity proposal.
Bang!
“Fine, reveal your card! If I lose, I’ll strip as much as you want! But if I win...”
A glimmer of madness flickered in Yeongwoo’s eyes.
“I’ll make you realize why I’m known for going after all my opponents’ money.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]