“We are counting out the religious fanatics.”
“Ah…”
“They will try again.”
Todd immediately frowned. The Khalodian Empire labeled the Horuns as a public enemy and oppressed them in every possible way. However, the Horuns also did the same outside of the empire. They labeled the empire as a country of evil and accused them of being a demonic empire that was set to invade the world with their evil.
It should’ve been hard to believe under normal circumstances, but a lot of people were already tainted by the wrong teachings of Horun.
“We have been holding them off because of the work of our agencies and army… and also with the help of our people. But it will not be easy from now on. You know what I mean.”
Todd nodded again. The Horuns were definitely going to start with their schemes in times of crisis.
“We should just wipe those pests out…”
Todd spoke fiercely, as he too was a victim of terror attacks by Horun fanatics.
“It is amazing how people can still believe in them.”
“Sir, we have terror attacks made against twenty-six of our food storages and Philand farming plains. They are also spreading false rumors and propaganda that say every disaster that has happened by the Gate is due to work of the Demon Emperor of Khalodian.”
Jackson and Todd frowned as a soldier walked in and gave a report.
“Those assh*les…”
They gritted their teeth.
“Is that all?”
“We have a report that the Tessona Kingdom has twelve of their estates in ruins by monsters, and the Krit and Belzen Kingdoms are in a similar situation, sir.”
“Hmph.”
Todd nodded, but Jackson seemed to welcome what had happened.
‘This is a good chance.’
Horun fanatics were trying to use their last resort. It would certainly cause temporary panic and chaos, but it was but a dying flame. As the soldier returned to his duty, Jackson smiled at Todd.
“We should gather those refugees from those kingdoms. We’ll get to use the new ships we recently created. Prepare our ships so we can sail across the sea to them. We’ll travel by sea and get those people to safety.”
“Yes, sir!” Todd answered with a determined look.
Taesoo was astonished at the sight of the steam engine train.
“Whoa… never imagined this was possible…”
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Joonbum grinned at Taesoo.
“In just a few years?”
“Yeah. We have many talented people in our empire. This train is only one of such creations by them.”
“I see. It is amazing.”
As they were talking, the train stopped and soldiers began to unload supplies from the train. However, as they started unloading, people began to disembark from the train and the soldiers stopped. There was a woman in a fiery red dress with a bright smile walking out of the train.
“Wow, Joanna is here,” Jinpok said in surprised as he whistled, cheering like the other soldiers. Joonbum also looked at her in surprise and laughed.
“She’s the most popular singer in the capital, and her name is Joanna. I didn’t think she would come all the way here,” Joonbum commented.
Taesoo guessed, “Well, the Emperor and the General in charge of all the armies are both here… she’s bound to come even if she’s the most popular celebrity.”
However, it didn’t seem that Joonbum or Jinpok cared about their positions.
‘And they still manage the empire so well…’
“Let’s go. We’ll see why she’s here.”
Joonbum stood and Taesoo followed. Joonbum was no longer the young man he once knew. In 10 years, he had grown to become the ruler of a great empire.
’10 years…? Will they try to go back? Will they even want to go back?’ Taesoo thought. He had already expected as much. After he arrived at the secret hideout, his people were able to rest easy in a safe environment. But he was surprised when he found out about the empire and was even more surprised when he found these two.
‘They will never go back.’
Soldiers saluted in a casual fashion as Joonbum and Jinpok walked past them. It seemed too casual to be an exchange between a mere soldier and an emperor.
‘It’s way too casual.’
It didn’t seem to make sense for Taesoo’s knowledge of the medieval times on Earth.
“Let’s sit here.”
Joonbum sat down and Jinpok followed — Doral also sat down nearby on a rock. There were a lot of soldiers sitting down around, but no one seemed to mind them.
“Hello, soldiers of Khalodian! I, Joanna, am here to cheer for all of you working hard for our country!”
“WHOAAAAA!”
“JOANNA! JOANNA!”
Men began to shout in excitement. Joanna began to sing her high tempo songs as beer was served to everyone. Joonbum, Jinpok, and Taesoo also were handed beers.
‘This…!’
Taesoo quickly gulped down the beer.
“Isn’t it great? All the beers have different tastes. Try them out.”
“Is… is this?”
“Haha. You remembered?”
Joonbum grinned. Taesoo remembered when Joonbum had requested to get equipment for making beer.
“Oh, so you used the machines and recipes to create these?”
“Haha, yeah. But it has gone through many alterations. We call them Ainos beer.”
Taesoo drank the beer again.
‘It’s so cool.’
It was a taste from the time before the disaster swept through Earth. He never imagined he would get to taste it again. The show moved onto various tricks and acrobatic shows with different people. Joanna walked around below the stage, cheering for the soldiers.
“Have this too.”
It was a thick cigar. Taesoo took and lit it as he bit on it. White smoke began to rise from the cigar.
The show was soon over and the soldiers returned to their stations. Silence fell and Taesoo felt like he had finally found the time to rest after all those years of survival.
‘Let’s just think about the current peace…’
He needed to prepare for the future, but that was going to take time. For now, it was important to adapt to the current situation and prepare until the time came to go back.
“Have you finished organizing your thoughts?” Doral asked Taesoo. He nodded silently.
“The Gate is closed, so we will start preparing. And within a month, we will start advancing slowly toward the secret hideout.”
Taesoo nodded at Joonbum’s words. He wanted to ask Joonbum to charge straight into the place, but he knew it was impossible as he moved on a chopper.
‘How many monsters came through?’
It was terrible — there were numerous monsters. Fortunately, those monsters could not go over the giant wall that was built on Lown Peak.
Taesoo looked at Joonbum, enjoying his beer and cigar.
‘It’s up to him for our survival now…’
End of Chapter
