Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 228

It was real.

An Su-ho’s name was echoing throughout the entire nation.

— Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint! Sword Saint!...

— Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint! Mom, when I grow up I want to be the Sword Saint!...

— Damn it, it's Daesuho again. I was gonna sleep after reading just one more post tonight, but now I have to worship him and fall asleep. Because I...

— Seeing stuff like this, I suddenly realize how insane it is that An Su-ho has been consistently pulling this off solo within the Grand Hunter Association.

— I went to the Sword Saint Café today.

The Sword Saint Café didn’t open or anything.

I just thought about the Sword Saint at a café.

Actually, I didn’t go to a café.

I just drank coffee at home.

Well, not even coffee.

I’m just... in a Sword Saint state.

......

Su-ho’s popularity wasn’t just peaking—it had turned into worship.

And of course it had.

He was doing what no one else could.

At this point, unless some major scandal occurred, Su-ho had become a religion and a full-on social phenomenon.

As Su-ho skimmed through the online posts overflowing with obsession, he thought:

‘If I manage to purify the North as well, I can fully restore my position in Korea to what it was in my past life.’

This kind of thing wasn’t unfamiliar to Su-ho.

In his past life, he had already been both a religion and a social phenomenon.

Naturally.

He had been more than just Korea’s top Player—he was one of the most powerful in the world. National pride was bound to overflow.

That’s why Su-ho understood better than anyone how potent popularity could be as a weapon—and just how powerful it could become when wielded properly.

He spoke to Jeong Cheol-min, who had just returned.

“You did great.”

“I thought my heart was gonna give out.”

“You seemed pretty charismatic up there, though.”

“Took a calming pill.”

To be honest, even without it, Jeong Cheol-min would’ve done fine.

The version of him Su-ho remembered from the past had a surprising knack for public speaking.

Jeong Cheol-min asked,

“I went with what we discussed, but... are you seriously pushing forward with the North Korea project?”

“Of course. Absolutely. I’m not the kind of guy who runs his mouth and doesn’t back it up. And now that we’ve gone public with this, the elections for President and Vice President of the Association are going to move quickly.”

“Right. Normally you’d need upper management approval before making this kind of announcement...”

Unfortunately, both the Association President and Vice President positions were currently vacant.

So they had gotten interim approval from acting representatives to go ahead with the official announcement.

That way, it would pass easily.

‘Not that even if the President and VP were in place, I wouldn’t have gotten approval anyway.’

In fact, the timing of the official announcement during this power vacuum wasn’t solely because of upper-level approval.

The real reason was to separate the wheat from the chaff.

‘Should be getting some reactions soon.’

And that evening.

Just as Su-ho had predicted, the reactions came in.

He heard the news through Jeong Cheol-min.

Su-ho answered the phone while lying on his sofa at home.

“Yes, sir?”

— “You hear the news? All the candidates for President and Vice President of the Association just withdrew.”

“Really?”

— “Really? That’s your reaction? You sound way too calm.”

“I expected it.”

And he had.

They’d just dropped the North Korea purification project bomb before anyone had even officially stepped into those roles. From the standpoint of incoming senior officials, it was an overwhelming burden.

Even if Su-ho was the one leading the raids, in public office, the top brass usually took the fall when a project went sideways.

So it made sense they’d pull out early to avoid the fallout.

Su-ho asked,

“So who’s left?”

— “For President: Im Cheol. For Vice President: Do Sang-wan and Chae Gyu-cheol.”

“Hm.”

None of the three were the ones he and Jeong Cheol-min had picked.

Still, they weren’t the worst of the bunch, so Su-ho nodded.

“Between Do Sang-wan and Chae Gyu-cheol, who should we go with?”

— “Who do you prefer?”

“They’re basically the same, but if I had to pick the lesser evil, I’d go with Do Sang-wan.”

— “Then let’s go with Do Sang-wan.”

“Understood.”

Su-ho ended the call and then called Jo Jin-hwi.

— “Yes, Pro-nim.”

“Did you hear? All the President and VP candidates for the Association just withdrew.”

— “Wait, really? Then who’s still in the running?”

“For President: Im Cheol. For Vice President: Do Sang-wan and Chae Gyu-cheol. We’re going with Im Cheol as President and planning to back Do Sang-wan for VP.”

— “Then should I just release the article about Chae Gyu-cheol?”

“Let’s do that.”

— “Hmm... Pro-nim, if your goal is just to get him to back out, I can quietly take care of that on my end. Want me to do it?”

“On your end? How?”

— “If I just send some dirt to Chae Gyu-cheol, he’ll freak out and resign on his own.”

Ah.

Right.

That was definitely an option.

And a pretty good one at that.

The goal wasn’t punishment—it was to push for resignation.

“Alright. Go with that.”

— “Got it. I’ll take care of it right away.”

That was Jo Jin-hwi for you.

And the effect showed up the very next day.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

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