Storm Warrior - Chapter 321
Only Noblemtl
#321, Conquerors Are Still Needed
About 3,500 armed soldiers, including 300 superhumans, crossed the Chinese border.
If it had been before the portrait era, this would have been considered an invasion and a military action that would have resulted in a battle, but these thousands of troops quietly infiltrated without anyone knowing.
Because we moved to dozens of safe coordinates provided by He Chun-ning.
Even if the scale were much larger,
A world where such infiltration is possible even if the positions are reversed.
Wouldn’t it have been more noble to have fired arrows, shot guns, and threatened with missiles?
The force of the pre-scientific era was, paradoxically, the most primitive.
You can go anywhere in an instant,
Individuals may possess legion-level military power.
Therefore, the current military operations have ultimately returned to ‘approaching and beating them to death.’
The raw violence was monitored in real time through body camera footage equipped by squad leaders and above.
Small groups of people fought in small, localized, hand-to-hand combat in dozens of locations, with blood and flesh flying but not making a fuss.
If we compare it to the non-portrait power, there were two corps-level forces holding out in the hallway of the Vice Chairman’s residence, and -Dingwei was secured.
An aircraft carrier battle group was stationed on the first floor of the State Council official residence.
-We have secured new recruit Liang Jiabao.
A tactical nuclear weapon was sitting on the sofa in the office of the secretary of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The tactical nuke’s head fell off, and blood spurted out, covering the body camera lens.
-… Li Xiaoping has been secured.
Considering that even a superhuman with the value of a nuclear bomb is ultimately just ‘one person’, I thought that it could be an ideal evolution in terms of the damage caused by war.
-I secured the idol pay. Ah… but the condition isn’t very good.
Defense Minister Woo Sang-Pei was himself a S-class superhuman, but his upper body bones were crushed by a single body slam from Jang Hong-Do.
The former members of Chuhaegwan had all become unspeakable monsters.
My father’s thoughts on them were, ‘Now they’re somewhat useful,’ but the practical ability I felt with my own eyes and in real time was astonishing.
Now, each of them surpasses the average S-class, and the combination of the four of them is enough to handle ten S-class people at the same time.
If the ones who had stormed into Cheongsong were the same guys as now, then not only Ham Seong-ah and Raiko, but all the students at the school would have lost their lives that day.
The 300-man superhuman force was no pushover either.
If we compare the same people with others, each and every one of the superhuman agents could be said to be at the level of the Chuhae-gwan from four years ago.
The number of people who were deployed was about 30% of the elite superhuman soldiers of the Republic of Korea, so that was also an absurd force.
My father personally trained this crazy unit.
With the huge capital he earned from the hippocampus, he did not spare support for his promising subordinates.
The process was no different from that of leading academies.
However, they were survivors of actual training from beginning to end, not in a simulation capsule or anything like that.
-Heo Chun-ning met with the commentator.
1 hour and 20 minutes after the operation commenced.
We quietly took over China’s leadership.
If I hadn’t remembered my father’s memories of the power under his command, I would have been shocked too.
Even if you only consider pure superhuman power, the results are hard to believe.
Just as the frequency of gate occurrence varies by region, there are differences in the awakening probability relative to the population, but the difference between the countries with the highest and lowest awakening rates was less than double.
On the other hand, China was a country with a population 20 times that of the Korean Peninsula.
However, the mere difference in numbers was meaningless, as the number of lands they had to divide and protect and the number of people in power were dozens of times greater.
Also, this was not a full-blown military coup.
Modern China is the country in which a coup is most difficult to carry out due to its characteristics.
There were dozens of leaders of municipalities, provinces, and autonomous regions of a national scale. Thousands and hundreds of heads of organizations were tightly connected through a spiderweb-like network.
If a party official is the sworn brother of a confidant, if a provincial governor is the sworn brother of a political partner, and if a brother-in-law is not the chairman of a local government, then they cannot unite as one.
So our help was just to give him a little bit of an advantage in starting the conversation.
Even though it was a purge crisis, He Chun-ning was still one of the top five figures in the power hierarchy.
If he had not had a base of his own and a force that could be persuaded, he would not have joined hands with the United States.
Our operation took less than two hours, but it took eight days for He Chun-ning to finish his part.
“Just now, at an emergency meeting of the Central Committee, He Chunning was elected as acting general secretary, taking over as chairman of the Central Military Commission. For the time being, Jiang Sunping will remain as president of the country, and the formal succession will be finalized at the next National Congress.”
“Isn’t there about 3 or 4 years left until the 23rd National People’s Congress?”
“Now that he has seized power, he seems to be thinking of following tradition and treating Zhang Sunping like a former emperor. He Chunning, who was forced out, may not be feeling good about it, but he probably doesn’t want to create any trouble between factions.”
You know your own family circumstances best.
“Anyway, now that you’ve come out of the back room, take good care of He Chun-ning so that she doesn’t have any other thoughts.”
“All right.”
As planned, China is in our grasp.
Of course, my father’s memory was not the least bit worried about the failure of this effort.
As Gong Ha-gyun bowed and left my office, Im Tae-seong paused for a moment and then opened his mouth.
Taeseong Lim treated me like he treated his father, whether or not there were other people around.
“This matter has been concluded more quietly than expected, so other countries are still unaware of the whole story. Director Gong did not mention it to the General… but even now, rumors about the General’s absence are still spreading.”
If you are going to continue to play the role of a father, shouldn’t you put an end to the rumors?
“How about having a review ceremony or, if it’s too hectic, trying to contact other leaders naturally?”
I was already thinking of a way.
It’s easy to show my appearance, but I was reluctant to have my image of myself imitating my father broadcast on TV.
I was concerned about my mother, who believed that he was my real father, and I also felt awkward with my friends who found out that he was fake.
“…I plan to leak the information in a different way.”
He got up from his seat as if he was trying to move himself.
Taeseong Lim showed a faint smile.
It felt like a greeting telling me to take care of myself.
Although I haven’t revealed any specific plans yet, I can at least see that I intend to play both roles in the future.
“There, that.”
As soon as I opened my mouth, Im Tae-seong took something out of his arms and handed it to me.
“This is satellite mode. No matter where you are, press 1 and you will be connected to me.”
“ah….”
Since what I was about to ask was how to contact him, I accepted right away.
And he conveyed his gratitude to his father for the faith he had shown him.
“Thank you.”
“…Thank you too.”
“… … ?”
When I looked at Im Tae-seong with a puzzled look, he spoke as if he was embarrassed.
“You kept me and Director Gong from drifting away.”
“I haven’t told you what I’m going to do yet… No, has your father ever told you about any ultimate plans?”
No. My father didn’t even tell Im Tae-seong, who was closest to him, that the world would end in 1936.
“doesn’t exist.”
So… .
But why did you follow it so blindly?
“Since we’re on the subject, I’m asking, Director Lim, what did you expect from your father that made you come all the way here?”
“We didn’t expect anything. How could we expect anything when we looked at the general’s… empty eyes every day? He seemed like a person who didn’t want anything in the world. But seeing him do all these things so resolutely, we could only guess that he had some kind of destiny. We were simply fascinated by his appearance and wanted to help.”
“… Are you saying that Director Im’s life was staking it on the fate of another person who couldn’t even explain it to him?”
“Deciding who to follow and going all-in could be a goal. Not everyone lives with a grand goal. But still, if you are a founding father of the United Republic of Korea, isn’t that a successful life?”
Im Tae-seong’s playful words were undeniable.
“So, in short, you’re just saying that my father was good?”
Taeseong Lim didn’t necessarily answer yes, but smiled brightly.
“I really want to tell you this when I see my father again.”
I don’t think even my father knew that I was willing to become his servant for that reason.
Taeseong Lim quietly closed the office door and left, as if he knew how I was going to move.
***
After arriving in Korea, the first place I visited was the U.S. Embassy in Korea.
Before I could even ask at the desk if it was possible to meet the ambassador, an employee jumped up and picked up the intercom.
I was a little embarrassed and tried to stop her, but I just left her alone. It was not polite to visit her like this in the first place.
After a while, Ambassador Madison came running out with a very surprised look on his face.
“Oh! Why are you here all of a sudden… No, welcome!”
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something urgent to tell you, and I forgot that it would be rude.”
“Don’t say that. I’m surprised, but if you’re a hero, you’re welcome even at 3 in the morning. Come inside. Is an Americano okay?”
“It’s the US embassy, so of course it’s Americano.”
Madison laughed out loud at my joke, and the staff all laughed out loud along with me.
I just said this because I thought it was too stiff, but I feel like I’ve become a manager.
I could tell that their overreaction wasn’t just because they found me difficult or because they barged in suddenly.
This means that America also takes my father’s death as a done deal.
The Ambassador’s Office.
There was no need to prolong Madison’s cautious mood, so I got to the point right away before the coffee even arrived.
“I just came back from seeing my father.”
「… … !」
As expected, Madison’s eyes widened.
“General Han, that…”
I took it upon myself to understand what Madison was having trouble saying.
“I also went to see him because I heard a rumor that he had passed away.”
“Then General Han… .”
I grumbled as if I was in a bad mood for no reason.
“Yes. You are doing very well. You don’t even know that your child is worried, and you are up to something else.”
“Even if you plan a hundred things, it is fortunate for one hero. After all, aren’t you my father?”
Although I knew he was already focused on the ‘work’ I had mentioned, he responded to my words with a grateful smile.
Since I came here to give information in the first place, I didn’t drag it out.
“Huh… Chun-ning? Do you know someone like that?”
“He is a Chinese party official. He was pushed down from the second place in the power hierarchy and was walking a tightrope. But today, he was suddenly promoted to a position that is virtually no different from the chairman. He was a person who was even considered a possible purge, and there were no signs of an emergency convening of the Central Committee of the Party or a sudden transfer of power, so the world is on high alert.”
“I see. I happened to hear this on my way here, but it looks like your father is behind it.”
I pretended not to know anything, but Madison wasn’t fooled by my attitude.
“Thank you for coming to me directly to share this important information with me. However, I’m not sure if I’ve interpreted your reasoning correctly.”
“There’s no particular reason why it’s difficult. I need to let you know quickly so that you don’t make hasty decisions and things don’t get complicated… As I said before, I’m the type of person who can’t go with your father, but at the same time, I’m also the type of son who has no choice but to run to you when he hears bad news… That’s just what it was like.”
The country that will be most troubled by this incident will be the United States.
Until the great disaster, the United States thought that Father’s ambitions were limited to the Korean Peninsula, and so they even considered pushing Father to become the leader of a unified Korea under the pretext of keeping Rak Bishya in check.
But, as he kept extending his reach into the world, he must have felt a sense of crisis.
When I heard the news of my father’s death, I may have felt secretly relieved.
Anyway, since I was the ‘General Han’ they would be dealing with in the future, I revealed that I was a third party and subtly asked about America’s future position.
「… … .」
Of course, that wasn’t something the ambassador could answer on this occasion.
I took a sip of the Americano that had just arrived and got up from my seat.
“…Thank you again.”
Madison shook my hand and said just that.
***
A time when the meaning of dealing with Marduk was not yet fully understood.
I did not agree with the need for world conquest.
But now I understand and acknowledge that it is not simply a convenient ambition, but a necessary step.
Because it is a challenge that is already impossible.
At least, there should be nothing on this earth that cannot be mobilized.
However, I will be different from my father.
‘I’m not going to change the world, but I’m going to make everyone participate for themselves, for their families. … Of course, it won’t be easy.’
Because it’s not something that can be accomplished just by me making a strong determination.
Even on that day of great disaster when all the chapters opened at once, it was a disaster of a small area, like a dot, when viewed from the perspective of the entire Earth.
Even if I only looked into it then, didn’t I personally see hundreds of thousands of people who did not follow the controls and hundreds of small guilds that ignored the warnings?
Moreover, it is the work of making the whole world into one body.
It is a matter of recognizing the transcendent and fighting against the end.
But only my words could convey that incredible planetary dialogue.
Even Jesus could not make the Jewish governor believe, but I have to make the whole world believe.
Wouldn’t it be necessary to perform greater miracles or become a visible savior?
The plan still required a conqueror.
‘So, father, you will have to continue to play the villain.’
That too is a lie, but at least it is a lie told in order to convey the truth.
After leaving the embassy, I opened a new watch.
Because the Watch of the Five Kingdoms that was on the tower was turned to dust and disappeared.
The watch was activated, but it didn’t make any immediate contact. It didn’t have any numbers memorized, and it wasn’t yet in a state where it could have a private conversation with anyone.
My footsteps naturally led me to the Dongducheon hideout.
The garden was beautiful, as if someone had recently taken care of it, but the inside of the house was cold and stuffy.
Still, for me it was a place as comfortable as the Rioja farm.
‘…I wonder how Dong-gu is doing. I suddenly miss him.’
I spent a few days there, gathering my thoughts on the divine realms, dimensions, and time.
And the day dawned when I was supposed to meet my classmates.