Finally Got Stronger but Ended Up Regressing

Chapter 050 National Sword (6)

“What, what is this…!”

“Oh my god.”

As the iron fortress crumbled in vain, the Kiblack members froze like petrified stones. Dozens of eyes, widened in shock, scanned the spot where the giant knight golem had disappeared.

“Well done, Koo Yoon-ho!”

Captain Oh Joon-beom’s booming shout was heard.

The wave of energy, split into three by the trident, was pushing Kwon Chang-soo away.

Kwon Chang-soo strained with all his might, veins bulging.

It seemed insufficient, as he continued to be pushed back.

It looked like there was no need to worry about that side anymore.

“Wow!”

“He took it down in one blow!”

The shield bearers, who had been struggling to block the giant knight golem’s sword strikes, cheered in unison.

They had been hiding their heads behind their shields, but now they grasped the situation.

The final moments of the giant knight golem, which had turned into smoke.

“Amazing.”

“I can’t believe it.”

The squad leaders who arrived shortly after were momentarily at a loss for words.

Of course, it wasn’t because they had been dawdling.

They had been dealing with the Kiblack officers until now.

Fearing that the soldiers might be harmed by the giant knight golem, they had rushed over as quickly as possible.

But the situation had already been resolved by then.

“Gu Yoon-ho, it seems even the rank of sergeant is insufficient for you now.”

First Platoon Leader Lieutenant Noh Young-il had also arrived by then.

Leaving a brief remark, he sprinted off to the distant rear lines.

There, a wretched man was hiding.

It was Go Taek-gi, who had summoned the giant knight golem.

“Let’s push forward too!”

“They’re all dead!”

The soldiers regained their strength.

With the wall that was the giant knight golem breached, the enemy’s formation had already collapsed.

In their confusion, they fell to the combined attack of the soldiers.

“Ugh.”

“Gah.”

Kiblack’s morale plummeted in an instant.

Eventually, they even abandoned their weapons and fled.

“Rest assured, no more summoned creatures will appear!”

“Yes!”

The sword of Lieutenant Noh Young-il, who had returned, was covered in bright red blood.

It was obvious whose blood it was without even looking.

“Commander!”

“At this rate, we’ll all die!”

The remaining Kiblack officers wailed.

Some had their right arms cut off and could barely hold their weapons, while others had their left legs severed and were crawling on the ground.

The regular members were in even more dire straits.

Some had their bellies slit open and were pushing their intestines back in with their hands.

It was a miracle they were still conscious.

“Not a single one of you will leave here alive!”

Captain Oh Jun-beom raised his trident high.

Kwon Chang-soo was covered in blood.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!

The trident swung in a figure-eight motion.

The wave of energy from the rotation struck Kwon Chang-soo directly.

Kwon Chang-soo tried to block it with his sword, but it was already too late.

Thud.

The leader of Kiblack fell to his knees.

One of his ears had been cut off.

His clothes were torn, revealing his upper body, which was riddled with dozens of wounds.

“I… I surrender.”

“What a ridiculous thing to say.”

The trident pierced Kwon Chang-soo’s neck in the blink of an eye.

Thud, the severed head fell among the officers and members.

Their faces turned pale all at once.

“We have committed a grave sin!”

“Please forgive us!”

If they had any sense, they should have begged earlier.

Not that it would have saved them.

“Clear everything.”

Captain Oh Jun-beom curtly ordered.

The troops responded loudly.

“Yes!”

There was no reason to show mercy to those who had brought their comrades to such a state.

I also began the finishing touches.

《Due to extreme fatigue, [Momentary Fatigue Recovery] has been activated.》

《Physical strength is slightly restored.》

《Energy is slightly restored.》

《Stamina has been regained.》

I had used all my strength to catch the giant knight golem, but thanks to [Momentary Fatigue Recovery], I was only slightly out of breath.

That afternoon, Kiblack was annihilated.

* * *

“We have accomplished something today that will go down in the history of the Biho Battalion.”

“!”

“You can be proud of yourselves.”

“!”

“This is our victory!”

“Wow!!!”

The final conclusion of the battle was the commander’s bold words and the cheers of the troops.

Even so, it might not go down in the history of the Biho Battalion, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Usually, the task of wiping out such villain groups falls to specially trained division direct units or special forces.

But it was accomplished by ordinary officers and soldiers.

“And Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho.”

“Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho!”

“Step forward for a moment.”

I was at the center of such an event.

“Thanks to Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho discovering Kiblack’s hideout, we were able to achieve this result.”

“!”

“Also.”

Captain Oh Jun-beom’s trident pointed somewhere.

It was where the giant knight golem’s stone dust remnants were scattered.

“By Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho eliminating the troublesome summon, the battle proceeded more smoothly. If the golem had still been alive at that point, the number of injured would have doubled.”

“!”

“Let’s all give a big round of applause to the brave Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho.”

A thunderous applause erupted, loud enough to make one’s ears ring.

A swelling chest.

Privates Jeong Ye-som and Kwak Woo-hee even raised their arms high and clapped.

They also cheered, shouting, “Awesome!”

Sergeant Sun Ah-rin was also watching me with a clear smile.

At that moment.

《Something reacts to the current situation.》

Something reacts.

It’s a phrase usually used when an ability is being unlocked.

But the battle had long ended.

Then what is it?

“Good job, Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho. Return to your position.”

“Yes!”

I returned to my position for now.

Some soldiers congratulated me and apologized, saying, “Sorry for doubting you earlier, Yoon-ho.”

No need to apologize.

Who would believe that we found the enemy hideout within 30 seconds of arriving at the search area?

I wouldn’t believe it either.

“The company commander will go make a report, so each platoon leader and squad leader.”

“Yes.”

“Distribute the soldiers appropriately and search the surroundings.”

“Understood.”

Anyway, the real search started now.

The soldiers, divided into small groups, began to thoroughly search the empty dungeon.

The Kiblak gang had long been dead.

Except for a couple of officers trying to find the rat who gave the information.

“Please, spare me!”

“This way!”

The search was a spectacle from the start.

Emaciated people were trapped in the container box-shaped ruins.

A very slight flow felt from their skin.

It was Ki and Mana.

The hunters were trapped.

“Please wait! We’ll get you out right away!”

The soldiers hurried to rescue the hunters.

As the restraints on their wrists and ankles were cut off, the hunters bowed their heads to the ground.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“We should be thanking you. We’re glad you’re alive.”

Fortunately, those trapped were all there was. Even so, there were well over ten of them.

“Damn b*stards. We should have burned them more.”

Private Jeong Yesom vented his anger.

Sergeant Kwak Woohee also seemed unable to calm down.

“If you have the abilities of a hunter, even if you don’t save others, you shouldn’t torment them. Ha.”

“Still, it’s a relief we gave them a good beating.”

“Exactly. I’m glad I killed those trash with my own hands.”

I agree.

If we had left them here to live in luxury, they wouldn’t have lived long.

Afterwards, we went to that place. Kiblak’s treasure vault, no, the storage of plundered goods.

As soon as the door opened, Lieutenant Noh Youngil was appalled.

“It’s beyond belief.”

“Platoon leader, what do we do with all this?”

“We return it. To the original owners.”

“Understood.”

The soldiers took out the treasures one by one.

Among them were dungeon relics plundered from the Blue Horse Battalion.

“How do they manage all this?”

“They probably sell it on the black market and get dirty money.”

“And then they do more bad things with that dirty money?”

“Probably.”

“They were troublesome in many ways.”

Corporal Jeong Yesom frowned. She sighed deeply, saying there was no answer, and moved the treasures like the other soldiers.

I also carried items one by one, from weapons like swords, spears, and axes to books, ceramics, and jewels.

There was so much stuff that it took more than 30 minutes to completely empty it.

A mountain of treasures.

It was the result of several years of the Kiblock villains.

Of course, it was all someone else’s.

“No more. Everyone, come out.”

Lieutenant Noh Youngil, who had looked around the interior for the last time, went out first.

As I was inspecting every corner with the soldiers, I quietly stepped back.

A five-tiered shelf attached to the left wall.

At the very bottom, there was a small stone.

‘I almost missed it.’

It was smaller than my thumb and looked just like an ordinary stone, making it hard to distinguish.

Whether it was just a stone or a spirit stone with some power.

Fortunately, I found the latter.

As I held it in my hand and concentrated my energy for 15 seconds, it reacted immediately.

《You have obtained a ‘spirit stone’!》

While I was briefly focused on the notification, I heard Sergeant Kwak Woohee’s voice.

“Yoonho! What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Yes, I’m coming!”

I went outside first.

Putting the spirit stone deep into my hardtack pocket.

* * *

Central training ground of the Bihodae Battalion.

“Our soldiers, well done!”

Lieutenant Colonel Park Eui-cheol came out to greet us barefoot. His combat cap was askew, which was evidence of his haste.

“Captain Oh Jun-beom!”

“Well done, 3rd Company Commander.”

“Thank you!”

He shook hands with each of the officers and soldiers lined up.

He stood in front of me as well.

“I received all the reports, Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho.”

“Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho!”

He clasped my hand with both of his. Lieutenant Colonel Park Eui-cheol laughed heartily and said,

“This kind of thing shouldn’t end at the battalion level.”

“!”

“It should go up to the division. The commendation will probably be awarded tomorrow.”

“!”

Lieutenant Colonel Park Eui-cheol looked around at everyone again.

“Of course, everyone who participated in the operation will receive a commendation. However, Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho will stand at the highest place. Does anyone have any objections to this?”

“No, sir!”

Everyone responded immediately.

It wasn’t just because it was the battalion commander’s words.

“If it weren’t for Yoon-ho, we wouldn’t have even found them, let alone dealt with them.”

“He was amazing in the fight too. He took down that huge knight golem with a single blow.”

They were acknowledging me.

Even the officers.

“He performed like a monster, so he deserves more recognition.”

“He’s an incredible guy.”

The next day.

I put on the A-grade combat uniform that I had ironed the day before and headed straight to the division.

I stood in the auditorium with the others who had participated in the operation.

After two hours of practice, I finally faced the general with two stars.

It was the division commander.

“In carrying out this operation, all the soldiers have done their best, but I would like to especially commend Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho for his contributions. Sergeant Gu Yoon-ho is….”

The battalion commander was seen once or twice a month, but I hardly remember seeing the division commander.

That was certainly the case before the regression.

From such an entity, I received a commendation.

“Therefore, I award Sergeant Gu Yunho, who has elevated the prestige of the Bihodae Battalion and our division, with this commendation.”

“Sergeant! Gu! Yun! Ho!”

He shouted louder than ever. The commendation was placed in my hand.

It was at that moment that the notification rang.

《You have met the conditions for unlocking an ability.》

Suddenly?

Could it be that the 《Something reacts to the current situation.》 from yesterday referred to this?

I finally understand.

I don’t know what kind of ability it is, but it seemed to be related to ‘recognition received from others or groups.’

‘Wait, could it be?’

As I received the pouring applause with the commendation tucked under one arm, something suddenly came to mind.

Soon after, a notification appeared, and I gaped.

《A new ability [Reputation] has been unlocked.》

《From now on, the ‘rank’ outside of combat power will increase according to the accumulation of [Reputation].》

Rank.

A power of dignity that allows one to subdue enemies without fighting.

The [Reputation] that nurtures it is an ability that even high-ranking officers cannot easily unlock.

It’s like picking stars from the sky, to exaggerate a little.

‘!’

I have obtained such an ability now.

I, a mere soldier lacking in every aspect compared to high-ranking officers.