Chapter 23. Armed Forces Demonstrations, Part II
Translator: Khan
Editor: RED
3.
After Lieutenant Colonel Yoo left with his men, Kim Tae-hoon remained in the coffee shop. In his loneliness, he closed his ears. The quiet he felt for the first in a long time was cozy. As soon as he had coffee in the cozy quiet, things that were tangled in his mind began to unravel.
‘I don’t need to go to Seoul.’
The first thing that he unraveled was the information that the second death informed him of. There was nothing he could get from Seoul at this moment. Seoul was like a barn with holes already in it. The Capital Defense Command in Seoul was nominal.
The ruling party of the Korean peninsula would be decided by whoever took the relics of Buyeo and Gyeongju. The two areas, Buyeo and Gyeongju, which were full of national treasures, became the key. Until now, there was nothing different from what he already had in mind.
‘Next is China.’
What changed was the interpretation of the third clue.
‘I will take Chinese and Asian relics, and monsters, too.’
Kim Tae-hoon had thought that Gwanggaeto Stele and Sword of Goujian which were included in the wish list was a signal to keep China in mind as an enemy. But the moment he saw the Cross of a Saint, his thoughts changed.
China was not the end.
‘I must take China so that we can fight against the world.’
It was rather the beginning. After taking China and even Asia, it was possible to fight for survival against Europe and the United States.
‘Fucking hell.’ It felt far away only in his imagination.
Kim knew how much violence the countries gathered under the name of Europe could be, how terribly powerful the country that led the World War was, and what the great war that was unprecedented in human history had done.
Furthermore, the power of the United States was at a level unprecedented in human history.
This violence was quiet because the world’s justice and their pursuits were similar. But now, the justice of the world has changed.
‘I can imagine killing a dragon, but I can’t even imagine dealing with America.’
Kim, who had watched the results of the US military in the countless disputed areas more clearly than anyone else, swallowed coffee instead of saliva. He had a new coffee and started thinking of a new idea.
‘Twin-head Ogre.’
There was a new rule that emerged when monsters appeared.
Humans and monsters could not coexist, and if humans wanted to regain the land, they must take the land from the monsters.
The same was true of Incheon. Incheon would never become a human land unless they could kill the Twin-head Ogre on Yeongjong Island. If they killed it, Incheon would be the territory of Kim Tae-hoon and the Mac Guild. In other words, they have to kill it, and then they can move on.
‘If I kill it and seize Incheon, the following target is Buyeo.’
At that moment, he had a third coffee, and then he thought of the third idea. The time of silence got him up to there.
‘I have to call Jang Sung-hoon.’
4.
Kieeek! A Monkey Dog fell to the ground, screaming.
The man, who was staring at the Monkey Dog pouring out blood all over its body, pointed his gun at the ground, still aimed at the Monkey Dog, and set to his shoulder firmly.
“Hoo-ooo…” he drew a long breath.
After a short silence, the man took a breath that was supposed to double the amount he had exhaled before. He shouted. “Clear!”
Starting with the cry, the sound of “clear” was heard in succession, as if to echo the man’s cry all over the place.
When the echo stopped, the man shouted again. “All monsters in Incheon have been cleared! By this time, Incheon City Hall has become the area of the Mac Guild!”
At the shout, the echo came out again. However, this echo was different from the previous echo.
Wow!
We did it! We did it at last!
There was a completely different sound from what was said. However, the feelings that the words had were the same.
Passion!
The Mac Guild had taken over Incheon City Hall. It was so monumental, even though they hadn’t cleared the whole city of Incheon yet.
“Yes, we did it! We did it! We got it back from these fucking bastards, monsters!”
It was the first time that a group of people, who had been killed without any resistance since the appearance of the monsters, took back a symbolic space, Incheon City Hall, from the monsters.
The survivors here were feeling the same thing which the survivors had felt on the day of the successful Incheon landing operation in 1950, with the hunters and the soldiers. The news spread naturally to everyone in Incheon.
“Incheon City Hall?”
“That was a monster den, wasn’t it?”
Of course, people were thrilled.
“At last… at last…”
In particular, Incheon citizens who had their lives in Incheon felt much more excited. Some laughed, and others cried ceaselessly.
“I can’t cast a cloud over that reaction.” But not everyone was thrilled. “We have to put a flag here so it’s all over.” Jang Sung-hoon touched one area of the Daedongyeojido on a large table with his finger with the remark.
Gulp! Kim watched Jang and swallowed a monster stone down. There was a mountain of monster stones next to Kim. It was an enormous amount, enough to feel bloated just thinking about eating everything.
Gulp! But Kim swallowed them silently.
“It seems like the boss has become a more frightening human being in just a few days.” Jang Sung-hoon watched the scene and couldn’t help commenting. “But, if you don’t, you’re in trouble.”
Tap-tap-tap. Jang hit the spot with his fingers again.
“The Yeongjong Island is a place where four islands are made into one island through reclamation projects. As a result, the Daedongyeojido does not provide a clear picture of Yeongjong Island. If there are monsters on land made by reclamation projects, they don’t appear on Daedongyeojido.”
The tapped area was the one where Yeongjong Island was currently located. A green light twinkled like a star in the area. Soon the green light disappeared.
“This bastard really can’t stay still.”
After shaking his head, Jang painted with his fingers the bridge connecting Yeongjong Island to Incheon City, and the place where Yeongjong Bridge might be located.
“And now, Yeongjong Bridge has collapsed.” Immediately, his fingers moved to the location where Incheon Bridge might be located.
“There is only Incheon Bridge left, but the number of monsters here is not available because it could not be drawn on the Daedongyeojido. That is, there is no way to know how many monsters are there on the longest bridge in the world, which is twenty-one kilometers long.” With the words, Jang Sung-hoon took his finger off the map.
“Boss, why don’t you just blow up Incheon Bridge?”
Instead of answering, Kim continued to swallow monster stones.
“This is a green-grade monster. There are too many variables. We’re better to lock it up on Yeongjong Island. No matter how great a monster is, the distance from Yeongjong Island to Incheon is not normal. Even if a green-grade monster can cross, a horde of orcs will never be able to cross.”
It was a plot made when he received Kim’s call and received a rough report. It was a possible tactic for Kim.
“You are going to go in alone, aren’t you?” As Jang knew Kim, he would definitely enter Yeongjong Island alone and start hunting for monsters. “It’s dangerous.”
The risk was a big deal.
No matter how strong Kim was, and even if he has a strong card in himself, he could die against a green-grade monster at any time.
“It’s really dangerous.”
And Kim was a man who should not die now. When he died, the hope would become despair. At the concern of Jang, Kim looked at his right hand with Black Eyes.
=======
[Basic Abilities]
– Strength: 300
– Health: 277
[Special Abilities]
– Energy: C+ Rank
– Mana: C+ Rank
– Telekinesis: A Rank
– Defense: C+ Rank
– Mana Resistance: C+ Rank.
[Achieved Abilities]
– Stealth of a Big-nosed Orangutan (Grade 5): The power of a Big-nosed Orangutan can make one’s presence faint.
======
After confirming his abilities, Kim looked at Jang with Black Eyes.
“This risk is less than the danger of having the United States or Europe as enemies.”
“Yes?” Kim’s rebuttal made Jang look rather helpless, not understanding the logic.
Kim did not explain in detail to Jang.
“Prepare the boat.”
“… Yes.”
It was time for an order, instead of an explanation.
5.
Namsan Tower…
The place, which was once just a sightseeing spot for Seoul citizens, was now a stronghold of the Capital Defense Command that was heavily guarded.
The reason why Namsan Tower became a base was simple. In a world where buildings that were scratching the sky collapsed easily, Namsan Tower was currently the tallest place north of the Han River.
The importance of a high tower in a world where radar or wireless communications devices were no longer available was beyond description.
Of course, Namsan Tower looked completely different from the past. Among the changes, the biggest change was that the new monument inside the entrance of Namsan Tower.
1.54 meters high, 0.6 meters wide, and 0.16 meters thick.
It was cracked, it had bullet marks, the left lower part was destroyed, the writing of Choosa Kim Jung-hee was on the one side… it was the Sunsubi of King Jinheung, Korea’s national treasure No. 3.
The Sunsubi of King Jinheung, which should be in the National Museum of Korea, stood as if guarding Namsan Tower. From the Sunsubi of King Jinheung, a red light was streaming softly.
The light was like a flame. Even those at the top of Namsan Tower could see the light as a hazy glow.
At the top of Namsan Tower, originally used as a restaurant, but now used as a temporary headquarters for the Capital Defense Command, they were talking over the red light. There were two people talking.
“Things happened in Incheon this way.”
A man in his late-fifties with a strong appearance and well-built body, and a man in his mid-forties with a gentle image, were Major General Lee Ki-soo and Colonel of Jang So-gook respectively, who were in power in the Capital Defense Command, and at the same time, were traitors.
They were traitors who wanted to use the Capital Defense Command as their own after rotting it away from within.
“Would that be a big problem? Even if he had the ability to fly, that would be all. Even if he was from a special forces unit, he would be just a kid. What could a man who has never dealt with an army do?”
“No. The problem is…”
“Yes, I think we should end up in Incheon after all.”
“Tut.”
“So, what do you think?”
“At best, they’re only in Incheon. At any rate, we can lure the monster from Yeongjong Island back to downtown Incheon and it will take care of them.”
“Is there a possibility that the man named Kim Tae-hoon can kill a monster with a green-grade?”
“It doesn’t make sense. He needs to get into Yeongjong Island to kill it, but under the current circumstances, he can’t bring in a proper vehicle, let alone a tank. I bet if we want to kill it, we have no choice but to bring a B2 bomber and turn Yeongjong Island into a devastated land. If you’re really worried… just give me the order, and I’ll send my men to take care of him.”
Captain Lee Ki-soo sighed briefly at the words of Colonel Jang.
“If we can afford it, it would be right to send our men to Pocheon, not Incheon.”
Pocheon.
The word made Jang’s smile disappear from his lips.
“What is the status of the 8th Division?”
“If we look at the situation, they are quickly absorbing the troops on the front line. I think they’ll settle in Gangwon Province soon.”
“Colonel Lim Hyun-joon… If we join him, I think everything will run smoothly.”
“It won’t be easy. He knows how to join… but he does not know how to hold hands for free.”
Then a man appeared from a remote place. It was Major Oh Se-bum, with the handsome appearance that anyone could not help but admire. As he approached, Major General Lee and Colonel Jang stopped talking. Major Oh came to the two and saluted them, taking something out of his vest and handing it to Major General Lee.
“This is Mr. Mao’s letter.”
