The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 176

176. Nurturing Disaster (1)

Gyeonggi Province, Suwon.

This city, encircled by a fortress, had pioneered advanced red ore technology. Now, there was no sign of ‘destruction’ to be found.

Suwon, a city of revelry and freedom.

The Suwon area had no direct affiliation with the Seoul Branch and was a large city stretching north to verdant forests and south to Cheonan.

Suwon was already a dominant force in southern Gyeonggi, unchallenged by rivals.

The reason for their significant growth was that they were a union formed by several factions.

There were dozens of faction leaders within Suwon, and they prevented disputes by rotating the supreme leader every quarter.

For the people living in Suwon, the power of the ‘Branch Managers’ was paramount.

The Branch Managers were akin to local lords in European history, holding independent power that even the supreme leader of Suwon couldn’t easily influence.

Among the 134 Branch Managers, the largest force was ‘Branch 1’, centered around Suwon Station.

Numerous container boxes zipped around Suwon Station.

These were the primary mode of transport for Branch 1, enabled by the Branch Manager’s Artifact [a unique item granting special abilities].

The Branch Manager there was Kang Junho.

The life he enjoyed with such overwhelming power was comparable to that of an emperor.

“…….”

Lying on a luxurious bed, Kang Junho stared blankly at the ceiling.

Around him, naked women were sprawled out, sleeping carelessly.

The Branch Manager’s room was littered with underwear, blankets, clothes, and women, scattered like discarded shells.

Kang Junho found it all meaningless.

After finally accepting his brother’s absence, he had indulged in pleasure for a while.

Drinking, women, and cigarettes, one after another.

He tried to fill the emptiness by getting drunk on all of it.

But it was impossible.

In his life, Kang Sion’s existence was too profound.

Guilt.

What was that, really?

He consulted the most renowned philosophy professors and psychiatrists, but their advice was all the same.

They were just useless idiots who repeated platitudes.

They couldn’t fill his emptiness.

What was his brother to him?

It was simple.

He was the reason he existed.

His brother had sacrificed everything.

To Kang Junho, Kang Sion was a father, a mother, a teacher, and a benefactor.

His brother, who only knew sacrifice, had gone missing, and now he desperately wanted to give everything he was enjoying to his brother, but…

The world wouldn’t allow them to reunite.

A terrible loneliness washed over him.

No matter how many women he met, no matter how much he smoked or drank, this loneliness remained unyielding.

Kang Junho occasionally shed tears.

Tears that flowed unconsciously, regardless of what he was doing.

Then, a woman approached him.

Lee Juyeon.

Approaching her thirties, her face showed noticeable wrinkles.

She looked at Kang Junho, who was lying on the bed shedding tears, and said weakly.

“Something terrible has happened…….”

“…….”

What could possibly be a big deal to Kang Junho?

But the biggest business Kang Junho was running was cigarettes and alcohol.

Selling cigarettes and alcohol exclusively to the Branch Managers in Suwon was a highly profitable venture.

And today…

The supply of cigarettes had been cut off.

Someone, no.

Some crazy bastard had challenged Kang Junho’s cigarette business.

“All the cigarettes and alcohol in the market are sold out. There are still three months left in this quarter. What are you going to do?”

Lee Juyeon asked cautiously.

And Kang Junho was still lying down.

But his eyes were bloodshot, and even as tears streamed down, they were burning with rising anger.

“……What?”

* * *

“Cheep-cheep! Cheep-cheep!”

The noisy chirping of a baby beast filled the hatchery.

Choi Hyunji’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the beast.

“Seriously……. My heart is going to stop. After looking at the gloomy faces of gangsters all day……. Looking at it……. Ah-. Just looking at it is healing.”

“Is that what you think of me?”

Choi Hyunji was currently staying with Choi Myungjoon’s elite squad to procure the necessary supplies.

“Cheep-cheep! Cheep!”

The beast that hatched from the egg was a chick with pink feathers.

The reason it was called a chick was simply because it looked similar, but it was clearly different from a regular chick.

First of all, it had two pairs of wings.

Moreover, the way it walked was closer to an ostrich than a chick, with long legs. The chick strode around with its long legs.

Kang Sion did not see this beast as a ‘goal’ to be raised by mobilizing everything in the faction.

It was just a small beast. For now.

When Ha Yoonha carefully placed her palm on the ground, the cheeping beast climbed onto her palm.

“What should we give it to eat?”

Ha Yoonha asked Kang Sion with a look of adoration.

But even if she asked such a thing, there was nothing definitive to answer. Kang Sion frowned and replied.

“We’ll have to give it milk when it’s a baby.”

“Does the faction have milk?”

Choi Myungjoon naturally asked back, and Jin Jaehee, who had been watching quietly, chimed in.

“Ogre’s milk.”

Then Choi Hyunji frowned and vehemently opposed.

“Ogre? Milk?! Crazy-. Absolutely not.”

“Ogre’s milk is actually a drink that citizens also consume.”

“What~? Why would they eat that?”

“You’ve definitely had it before. It’s used a lot in Mangyeong’s food.”

At Jin Jaehee’s shocking answer, Choi Hyunji covered her mouth and froze in place.

“We have to use every possible means. Just take good care of it so it doesn’t die. Anyway, it was born.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best.”

Ha Yoonha answered boldly.

Afterward, Kang Sion called Choi Myungjoon out separately.

“Yes. Brother?”

Choi Myungjoon immediately ran to his call and lowered his upper body.

He always lowered his posture when dealing with Kang Sion.

The difference in height between the two was more than 20cm.

“Has Jung Hyunsoo returned?”

“Not yet. Brother. From what I’ve heard, that guy has gone quite deep into the Metro faction. There are times when he doesn’t even contact us. In fact, it seems it will take some time for him to return.”

“How is the unit training going?”

Kang Sion was actually more concerned about the unit’s situation than this small beast.

Choi Myungjoon was growing the unit together with Commander Hwang Minjae under Kang Sion’s orders.

The most important thing was the training situation.

In any era’s army, the difference between the trained and the untrained was significant.

“The kids have guts. But the problem is the main unit. As you know, most of the troops are only 投入 [tōnyū – invested] into labor and are not training in peacetime.”

“What is the frequency of training?”

“Currently, the elite squad is training every day without setting a specific number of days. The main unit is being called to the training ground in units of 5 each day. But-. As a result of my thinking……. In order to raise the overall level of unit training……. I think we need to train at least 2,000 people a day.”

“…….”

Kang Sion, listening to Choi Myungjoon’s report, fell into deep thought.

The main base of Mangyeong’s army was located in the citizen’s park right in front of what used to be Anyang City Hall.

There, a basic military training ground was installed, and the maximum number of people who could be trained was only about 500.

This revealed Mangyeong’s biggest problem.

Mangyeong has a small territory. At least, the maximum capacity of Mangyeong’s ‘military training facility’ is only 500 people.

It was also impossible to increase the military facilities.

Mangyeong’s territory is already saturated.

The number of people, wanderers, wanderer combinations, factories, warehouses, and residential areas.

Immediately, the area of Surisan, spanning tens of thousands of square feet, had to be used as a breeding space for ogres.

Securing training space for combat units was by no means an easy task.

That being said, the forces currently belonging to Seoul were not in the early stages of conquest, so most of the usable territory had already been divided.

If there was no land to conquer, they had to take the territory of other forces.

The easiest force to deal with is…….

It was at that moment.

콰아아앙-!!! [Sound of something being kicked open]

Someone kicked open the hatchery door.

Mangyeong’s guards held up their weapons and tried to stop her, but she was truly ‘unruly’.

“I heard you were calling, so I came myself-!”

Dongwang (East King). Kang Dahye.

She shouted, looking at the Mangyeong leadership gathered on the roof.

The leadership gathered in the hatchery was startled and turned to look at her, and without being daunted by their gazes, Kang Dahye confidently introduced herself, pointing to her chest with her thumb.

“Dongwang. Here I am.”

Kang Sion, who was looking at Kang Dahye, nodded slightly.

‘……It seems like we can take some of her territory.’

It was good timing.

Of course, the entrance itself was quite rude.

“Yoonha.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Please bring the map.”

“Ah, yes!”

* * *

Gogung (Ancient Palace) [A significant historical site, used here as a meeting place]. Conference room.

Dongwang said to Sion.

“All our Gangnam wants is just one thing. For three months. We want you to send troops so we can only defend for three months. About two thousand would be good. Of course, we won’t be doing any actual fighting. It’s just for show. It’s on the level of, we also have troops, so don’t invade recklessly.”

Dongwang spoke as if dispatching 20 units was an easy task.

Sion put down his teacup and replied.

“I refuse. No matter what amount you offer, I can’t spare that many troops.”

“Th, then a thousand!”

“…….”

“Aish……. Five hundred……?”

“…….”

“Okay. Really. Then even three hundred. It’s only three units?”

“…….”

“100……?”

“If it’s 100, the weekly rental fee is 1,000 people, 3 days’ worth of food, and two cartons of cigarettes. I’ll give you that much. Of course, Gangnam will bear all the food and living expenses of the dispatched soldiers.”

“That’s expensive……? No, it’s worse than Ha Yoonha.”

“Did you think it would be cheap? As Round 2.5 begins, the value of individual soldiers has greatly increased. We have to be thorough in our calculations.”

“Hey……. Namwang (South King) [Kang Sion’s title]. Let’s live together.”

“Survive. Well on your own.”

Dongwang grabbed her hair and tried to negotiate.

But Sion, under no circumstances, could let things go her way.

The demand is made by the one in a high position to the one in a low position.

The one in a low position can never demand.

Dongwang leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply.

“……By the way, the baby bird seems to have hatched?”

“As you can see.”

“We haven’t yet……. I guess Mangyeong is different in some way?”

Dongwang began to twist her sideburns with her fingers.

Her eyes were facing out the window.

She untwisted her hair and looked at the cityscape, continuing.

“I thought we were friends. I guess the great hero doesn’t think so.”

“There are no friends. There is only the one above and the one below who serves.”

“Ha Yoonha said that there would be some changes between Gangnam and Mangyeong as she stepped down from practical command. But I never thought it would change this much.”

“…….”

“Namwang. This is all of us dying together. Anyway, Mangyeong can’t deny the existence of Gangnam, right?”

That was true, but there could be no equal relationship in future rounds.

Sion said.

“Blackmail doesn’t work.”

“This isn’t blackmail. I’m saying that we can’t help it either! No, then…… I’ll ask. What do you want?”

“Wait. My question comes first. Is all you want just three months of defense?”

At that time, Ha Yoonha walked over and spread a map between Sion and Dongwang.

It was not a modern map divided by provincial boundaries, but a new map that marked the territories of each force.

“What I want is your territory.”

“Territory?”

“Yes. You dominate Gangnam and expand your forces towards Gangwon Province, possessing a vast territory. If you give me that land, I’ll accept your proposal.”

“……How much.”

Dongwang’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Sion said to her.

“10 million square feet.”

At those words, Dongwang’s sharply narrowed eyes widened.

“10 million square feet?!”

“Yeah.”

“11 Yeouido Islands [A large island in Seoul, used as a unit of measure]? Xbar [A Korean expression of disbelief]! There’s a limit! Are you asking for as much as Mangyeong’s area?!”

“Instead, I’ll deploy 20 ogres and a thousand soldiers to the border between Gangnam and the Metro forces. However, they won’t fight. It’s just for show, as you originally wanted.”

“……Eut?!”

20 ogres.

In modern terms, that was the equivalent of 20 state-of-the-art fighter jets.

Currently, there was no single unit that could defeat an ogre in terms of power.

At least, even a single rifle unit from Metro cannot defeat an ogre.

Of course, Gangnam also had players comparable to ogres, but what they were negotiating now was infantry.

The war between forces is never fought only between players.

In modern warfare, players are similar in status to tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets, and players without artifacts are infantry.

For Gangnam, which had to strengthen its infantry, Sion’s proposal was bound to be sweet.

But.

‘Even so, 10 million square feet is too much. What kind of dog-like hardships did I go through to get that land in the early days of Round 2……!’

Saying it was 10 million square feet, it was a huge territory 11 times the size of Yeouido Island.

Even if Gangnam had a lot of land, once it gave away 10 million square feet at once, the force would falter.

In addition, the residents living in the land had to undergo a large-scale relocation, which was no easy task.

‘Devil…….’

Dongwang, Kang Dahye, thought of the devil as she looked at Sion.

He maintained his position as if he would not release the troops no matter what he did, and at the end, he stated his requirements.

This resulted in determining the positions of each king during the negotiation.

But she had no choice but to accept.

As Sion thought, Gangnam was cornered.

Moreover, Dongwang was not even using Gangnam’s vast territory properly.

It was rational to use unusable territory in this way.

However, Dongwang also had pride.

“Okay, I’ll hand over the Gwanggyosan and Pangyo areas. Just add one clause.”

“?”

“That they can fight if those bastards attack first.”

“Impossible.”

“Please-!”

“My soldiers are Mangyeong’s resources and treasures. Not a single one must die. I told you. The establishment of our contract is only possible when the troops are used for ‘simple display’.”

“……!”

“Or. Let’s forget it.”

As Kang Sion tried to get up from his seat, Dongwang shouted.

“Okay!”

Kang Sion stopped in his place.

Dongwang took a deep breath and looked at him, finishing her words.

“I understand…….”

I’ve only heard rumors, but it was more than the rumors.

Kang Sion had a higher level of negotiation than Ha Yoonha.

He was a devil. A real devil.

(Continued in the next episode)