The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 169

169. Reorganization (1)

Martial law was declared in Mangeong under the Emperor’s decree, and a bloody storm raged throughout the night.

Ha Yunha sealed the borders and initiated a thorough purge of internal traitors.

The captured traitors were so numerous that they overflowed the streets.

This was the most shocking event to occur in the past five years.

To outside observers, Mangeong appeared politically and culturally stable, but this incident publicly revealed the deep-seated corruption and internal decay that plagued the nation.

Initially, the citizens were bewildered, unsure of the unfolding events, but their expressions transformed the moment they heard the charges against the traitors.

“How dare you!”

“If it weren’t for the hero [referring to Kang Si-on], you would have frozen to death long ago!”

“You bastards!”

Stones and cans rained down upon the accused.

The majority of those implicated were connected to the Land Department or were members of the Progressive Party.

Because related individuals were implicated in a chain reaction, the arrest operation continued relentlessly throughout the night.

Anyone even remotely involved was beaten, bound, and ruthlessly thrown into the streets, regardless of their actual culpability.

“You son of a X! Get out!!!”

Whoosh-! Thwack!

One of the perpetrators was struck in the head by a stone thrown by the crowd and collapsed.

Military police struggled to maintain control, but they were unable to restrain the enraged citizens.

They hurled stones, shoved the perpetrators, and took justice into their own hands.

Even young children threw branches, venting their anger.

The bloody storm that raged all night finally subsided by morning.

Meanwhile.

After ringing the bell, Kang Si-on, who was at the summit of Suri Mountain, observed the scene from beginning to end.

He sat comfortably on the palm of the Ogre, who respectfully offered his hand, and watched the night view unfold below.

Crowds with torches and perpetrators surrounded and arrested in every corner of the street.

The cleanup operation was progressing smoothly.

At that moment, the ministers prostrated themselves at the feet of the Ogre, trembling and began to revere him.

Their tone and accent were quite irritating, but Kang Si-on didn’t show his displeasure.

“Please, calm your anger and come down……!”

When one of the leaders shouted that, everyone chanted in unison.

Kang Si-on chewed on the almonds he had taken from the pension [likely referring to a retirement fund or a place where he stored his belongings] and looked down at them.

‘Why are they talking like that? Ha Yunha wouldn’t have ordered this.’

It wasn’t as if they were imitating a third-rate historical drama, but their tone was quite irritating.

But this was also a changed aspect of Mangeong.

At that moment, a light ascended into the sky above Mangeong, which was filled with lights.

The light brightly illuminated the dark city, then split into hundreds of swords and spread in all directions before converging where Kang Si-on was.

The light gradually coalesced into the form of a woman. It was Jin Jaehee.

“……Hello.”

Jin Jaehee, who greeted him cautiously, descended onto the palm of the Ogre.

Her silver hair had returned to its natural black color.

Jin Jaehee asked carefully.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine.”

“Did those guys do anything strange?”

“I’m the one who did strange things.”

Kang Si-on chewed on an almond, tilting his head to the side and lightly stretching his muscles.

In that state, he naturally examined Jin Jaehee.

Seeing her disheveled appearance, Si-on chuckled.

“Looks like you’ve been through some hardship.”

“……It’s nothing. You? Ah.”

Jin Jaehee was about to express her concern about Kang Si-on’s appearance, but.

“No. Nothing.”

Jin Jaehee quickly retracted her words.

His condition was remarkably good.

In fact, all Si-on had done since arriving here was rest.

Still, Jin Jaehee felt a sense of relief. Si-on was safer than she had anticipated.

Jin Jaehee walked forward and said.

“Ah, right. I met Yunha. She said she was coming here. But you stopped her. Told her not to come.”

“Tell her not to come.”

“Are you angry by any chance?”

Jin Jaehee sat next to him and gazed at the city’s scenery alongside him.

Si-on offered her the almonds he was holding, but Jaehee declined.

“Angry? I don’t have any particular feelings. I was thinking about what to do in the future.”

“You mean the force [referring to their organization or influence], right?”

“Yeah. I have a plan, though.”

Si-on chewed on another almond and laughed humorlessly.

“Honestly, it’s amazing. From my perspective, I achieved in just five weeks what I would have had to work hard for years to obtain.”

Kang Si-on praised Ha Yunha.

The development of the force she had achieved over the past five years was truly miraculous.

Looking back, Ha Yunha had built up her force without the state window of a monarch [likely referring to a system or advantage typically available to rulers].

Of course, her abilities were well-suited to accounting and politics, but even considering that, Ha Yunha had built up her force quite effectively.

Jin Jaehee said to Si-on, who was expressing his admiration.

“Then go and appease her quickly. She was crying and making a fuss.”

“Is she a kid?”

“She is a kid.”

“I guess.”

To Si-on, ‘child’ was based on Junho’s age.

Si-on classified anyone who was the same age as Junho or younger than Junho as a child.

In that sense, Ha Yunha was the same age as Kang Junho, so she inevitably fell into the category of a child.

“She’s grown a lot in the meantime. She’s about the same height as me, right?”

“I wonder if Junho has grown that much too. Since he’s a boy, he might be much taller.”

“Ah.”

At Kang Si-on’s words, Jin Jaehee lowered her head as if she had inadvertently said something she shouldn’t have.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

After Si-on’s response, there was silence for a while. Jin Jaehee pulled her legs up while sitting and wrapped her arms around them.

It was quite chilly in the evening.

Flowers were blooming, so she could only surmise that it was spring, but time was passing without a clear indication of the exact season.

The sun was rising beyond the horizon. Jin Jaehee looked at the sun and said.

“I met a friend. Hoseung.”

“A friend?”

At her words, Si-on turned his head.

“Yeah. Originally my friend. The friend I was supposed to compete in the league with.”

“That’s good.”

“It’s good, isn’t it.”

She wasn’t entirely sure. Whether meeting a friend was truly a positive thing.

Until now, she had abandoned everything and pushed forward, solely focused on breaking the league as quickly as possible.

But seeing her friend after a long time, old memories were resurfacing in her mind.

“How many years will it be?”

Jin Jaehee asked, and.

“I don’t know.”

Kang Si-on couldn’t say for certain.

But Si-on sensed that there wasn’t much time left.

Whatever it was, his ‘plan’ was to end this league ‘abnormally’.

Also, to deliver a significant blow to the managers and the beings who were observing and enjoying this league.

One way or another, the league was destined to end. At the end of that, they could find themselves at a crossroads where they could neither retreat nor advance.

Just go straight now.

Kang Si-on was determined to do so, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

Meanwhile, Jin Jaehee’s gaze settled upon a villa in the unfolded scenery of Mangeong.

That was Love Villa.

Si-on’s original home, and the place where his younger brother resided. It was also the place where he first made a promise.

-Just let me find my brother.

It was a kind of contract.

Kang Si-on helps Jin Jaehee win the league.

Jin Jaehee helps Kang Si-on find his younger brother.

So far, Kang Si-on has done his utmost to win the league. In fact, he had grown several times stronger than when she first encountered him in his previous life, and if things continued in this manner, he would be able to achieve victory with relative ease.

In fact, Kang Si-on in his previous life possessed a smaller force than this, yet he still managed to reach the final round.

But what is he to her?

Jin Jaehee simply turned her head and looked at Kang Si-on.

His cheeks were moving rhythmically as he chewed almonds.

She stared at him for a moment and said.

“Honestly, I wasn’t needed in your plan, was I?”

“What do you mean?”

Kang Si-on chewed on an almond and looked at her, asking in response.

When she met his eyes, she momentarily averted her gaze, but then mustered her courage and looked into his eyes again.

“Just listen to me for a moment.”

“……I’m listening.”

“Yeah. No. I mean.”

Jin Jaehee looked ahead again, avoiding his gaze, and said.

“When I first met Hoseung, I was honestly happy. I was happy, but on the other hand, I thought of you.”

“…….”

“Until now, I said I would help you find your brother, but we’ve never actually gotten close. What am I doing? I’m not helping. I just feel like I’m blaming myself.”

“…….”

Kang Si-on slowly placed an almond in his mouth, still looking at her.

“There’s only one thing I want to say. I. I mean…….”

After that, she bit her lower lip once and said again.

“……I’ll bring Kang Junho.”

“What?”

“I promise I’ll bring him within a year.”

“…….”

After thinking for a while, Kang Si-on asked.

“You said that the moment you leave the force, there will be a lawless zone where there is almost nothing but death. That’s dangerous even for you. But now you’re saying you’re going alone.”

“I’ll risk my life.”

At that moment, Jin Jaehee’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Just like you risk your life in the league. I’ll risk my life to keep my promise to you.”

Kang Si-on, disarmed by her determination, laughed humorlessly and said.

“Don’t think uselessly. I don’t care anymore…….”

“No.”

For the first time, Jaehee interrupted Si-on’s words.

“I’ll bring him. Wherever Kang Junho is, whatever he’s doing, whatever force he’s in, whatever monarch he is. If he’s a monarch, I’ll break that force to pieces, and if he’s captured as a slave, I’ll slaughter the enemies to bring him.”

Only then did Jaehee look at Si-on.

“……I’ll bring him. Definitely.”

The two stared at each other for a while. Neither Jin Jaehee nor Kang Si-on could say anything. In the first place, Kang Si-on had no right to bind her.

Jin Jaehee was simply staying by his side freely, according to her own will.

Even if it was because of a promise she made years ago, she always kept it in her heart.

Her heart was grateful enough, but Si-on had to refuse.

Si-on still needed her strength.

“Then go when you’ve almost completed the plan. Of course, I’ll go with you then.”

“But.”

“I’ll go wherever you go. So. I hope you’ll be where I go.”

From the beginning of the league, the two dreamed of one ending.

That was the only unchanged purpose so far.

“There’s not much left. Even if it’s hard. We’ll face the ending together.”

With those words, Kang Si-on held out his fist to Jin Jaehee.

She pondered the meaning for a moment, then lowered her head slightly and bumped her fist against his.

Thud.

Now the sun had completely risen, and the city was roughly cleaned up.

It was time for him to return to his throne.

* * *

Seoul West.

This was an area occupied by the Seoul Metro force, a space where forces lived by taking subway stations as their territory.

The Seoul Metro force, which originated in the subway from the first round, possessed more formidable and robust power than any other force in the area.

The Seoul Metro force had a unique decree.

That is, regardless of clergy, citizens, or soldiers, they should never live ‘above ground’.

Monsters roamed above ground, and the citizens of the Metro force believed that the ground was contaminated.

This theory was propagated throughout the subway station by the Metro force’s new religion, the Underground Church, and was now enforced by decree.

But there were also people on the ground in Seoul West.

Soldiers with guns under the command of the clergy.

They are called ‘Hunters’ in the Metro force, and they are the ones who eliminate all living beings roaming on the ground.

Those who are contaminated must disappear.

In other words, kill all living things moving on the ground.

That was the instruction given to the hunters by the church.

These hunter forces were quite a nuisance to the surrounding forces.

The order instilled in the hunter was to kill all living things living on the ground, so from the perspective of Mangeong, whose territory was directly adjacent to Seoul West, it was quite a problem.

So, what Mangeong dispatched was the former elite battalion commander, the current Hunter Hunter.

“…….”

The top of the Songjeon Tower, which appeared on the verge of collapse.

On top of it, a man was sitting and chewing on a twig.

The lower-ranking elite member who was looking at the man shouted at the top of his voice.

“Captain-! Let’s start now! The members have completed their assembly.”

At the elite member’s shout, the man spat out the twig.

“Already? Ah-. Let’s start a little later.”

The Hunter Hunter was Jung Hyunsoo.

He descended from the transmission tower in one swift motion and walked through the downtown area littered with blood and corpses.

They were all corpses of Seoul Metro force hunters wearing military uniforms.

There were many elite members of Mangeong with weapons.

“But Captain. Doesn’t it seem like there’s been too little news from headquarters these days?”

“Ah, damn it-. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly for days. Did the Emperor abandon us?”

At his subordinates’ words, Jung Hyunsoo thought of Ha Yunha in his head.

Then he chuckled.

“There’s no way that would happen. Something must be going on.”

“Captain……. Aren’t you trusting the Emperor too much?”

“Well. The Captain and the Emperor have been growing up together by the hero’s side since they were kids.”

“When Ha Yunha first became the Emperor, the Captain laughed out loud, right?”

“But it’s kind of funny! Woohaha! If Commander-in-Chief Choi Myungjoon saw it, he would turn his eyes upside down.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The elite members giggled and followed Jung Hyunsoo.

Jung Hyunsoo calmed down his chattering subordinates and looked ahead.

Cracked asphalt and abandoned cars scattered here and there.

The scattered corpses were now a familiar sight, and on the opposite street, hunters with gas masks and rifles began to crawl out slowly.

Jung Hyunsoo scratched the back of his head and said quietly.

“Let’s get to work.”

Crack-!

Electricity sparked from Jung Hyunsoo’s fingers.

After a brief burst of gunfire and screams, the corpses of Metro hunters were lying on the asphalt.

(Continued in the next episode)