The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 178

178. Nurturing Disaster (3)

Jeong Hyun-soo reported everything that had happened to Kang Si-on in great detail.

The conversation between the two flowed naturally, like brothers meeting after a long time.

They laughed, raised their voices in excitement, and comforted each other while calming their emotions.

Many officials were watching, but Kang Si-on didn’t care.

Jeong Hyun-soo had done great things so far.

Kang Si-on knew well how miserable it was for someone who deserved to be welcomed to not be welcomed.

“That’s all for my report.”

“You’ve been through a lot. It must have been tough.”

“No, not at all. It was nothing, haha!”

Jeong Hyun-soo supported the back of his head with his hand and laughed heartily.

At that moment, Ha Yun-ha, who was standing next to Kang Si-on, noticed that his hearty laughter seemed a bit impolite and cautioned him.

“Commander Jeong Hyun-soo, you are in front of a hero. Maintain your manners until the end.”

“Huh? Oh, you were here too? Long time no see?”

“…Commander Jeong Hyun-soo, you…”

“It’s alright. Hyun-soo has returned today, so let’s have a banquet for the first time in a while.”

Kang Si-on rose from his seat.

Then, the gathered officials all looked up at him.

He said,

“The monster’s size is getting bigger, and it’s a crisis situation, but Commander Jeong Hyun-soo fought with his life in a foreign land to protect Mangyeong. We must welcome him. Therefore, let’s allow everyone to rest today and tomorrow, except for the minimum military force and labor force.”

The officials voiced their concerns at Kang Si-on’s words, but he ignored them all.

It wasn’t that Si-on didn’t understand the officials’ positions.

Over the past month.

The monster had grown so large that a soccer field was not enough, and it consumed nearly 600 tons of food a day.

As a result, it cost as much to maintain as the ogre unit.

The problem was that its growth was not stopping.

As 2.5 Round progressed for about a month, they now roughly understood the meaning of this round.

This was a game of passing the buck.

The monster would not die until it had eaten all the food of the forces.

And if it only cost money and food, it wouldn’t be a big disaster.

The problem was that everything in the forces was 맞춰져 [aligned] to the monster.

To protect the monster, the security forces were increased from two to three times.

In addition, a large number of transport troops were 投入 [invested] to procure the monster’s food.

The number of people nursing the monster alone exceeded 100.

From controlling all the roads in the area, to dispatching workers for training more than twice a week.

War preparation, the monster, and the labor force.

The citizens of Mangyeong were truly 과부화 [overloaded].

In that situation, Jeong Hyun-soo had come, so Kang Si-on thought it was right to give them a break for a day or two.

In fact, Si-on’s approval rating was gradually falling due to excessive labor, so it seemed necessary to correct it at least once.

And above all.

‘This may be your last rest.’

So far, the citizens of Mangyeong had been preparing for war.

This meant that war was imminent, and the intelligence coming from Choi Hyun-ji, who had been dispatched as a spy, was also ominous.

The Metro forces’ provocations were 터지고 [erupting] one after another.

* * *

I came out of the pension and sat in the gazebo on a long-awaited holiday.

This was the pension at the top of Surisan Mountain where Lee Seok-jin had imprisoned me in the past, and now a banquet for the top executives was taking place.

Jeong Hyun-soo was enjoying a short break, holding the rifle he had brought and shooting at cans.

From this gazebo, you could see the entire view of Mangyeong.

The monster’s belly, which had protruded outside the soccer field, swelled greatly and then went down.

So far, there had been frequent attempts to assassinate the monster.

Most of them were spies from the Metro forces disguised as wanderers.

But they were all caught and executed.

No matter how 비열한 [despicable] methods they used to interfere, war preparations were proceeding steadily.

Above all, the role of alcohol and tobacco was significant.

Over the past month, merchants passing through Mangyeong had learned that they had to consume lighters to buy alcohol and tobacco.

This greatly shook the alcohol and tobacco market nationwide, and the market trading volume in Mangyeong increased significantly.

Currently, most of the cost of the monster’s food was being covered by profits from alcohol and tobacco.

In addition, supplies needed for the war were also being 쌓아두었다 [stockpiled].

Of course, not everything was smooth.

The economy of Mangyeong was 휘청거렸다 [staggering] due to the monster’s 뒷바라지 [support].

That Mangyeong, which had the highest economic power, was 흔들린다는 [shaking] meant that other forces that were worse off would be even more 힘들 것이란 [struggling], and that war was imminent.

Hitler tried to solve his country’s economic crisis through war.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi also waged a war of invasion after the war to unite the internal affairs.

The fact that war breaks out when a country is in crisis has already been proven by numerous examples in history.

And the information Choi Hyun-ji sent was also 암시하고 [implying] war.

At that time.

Taaang-!

I heard a gunshot and turned my head, and Jin Jae-hee was standing there blankly, holding a rifle.

White smoke was 새어 나오고 [leaking] from the rifle she was holding.

Jeong Hyun-soo, who was next to her, said angrily.

“Sister! No, what… Who holds a gun with one hand and shoots? It’s not a pistol! Have you never shot a gun before? Oh, really! Give it to me!”

“…Sorry.”

Jeong Hyun-soo took the rifle from Jin Jae-hee and instantly blew away a can that was about 100m away with the gun.

Even though he was drunk, he blew away the target at once.

He was truly a marksman.

At that time, Choi Myung-joon, who was with them, approached me and bowed his head.

“Hyungnim [term for older brother or respected male], I’ll be going now.”

“Why? Rest a little more.”

“The elite unit’s training is 밀려 [piling up]. With the war not far away, I can’t rest. It’s time to regroup my subordinates and increase the intensity of training.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a break, shouldn’t your subordinates rest too? There must be a reward to work.”

Choi Myung-joon 고민 [hesitated] a little at my words and said.

“A dog never lets its guard down to hunt its owner’s prey. When the owner needs it, the greatest reward for dogs is to hunt prey with well-honed claws and teeth and see the owner happy… I will train. Hyungnim, rest.”

Choi Myung-joon bowed to me at a 90-degree angle and walked away.

I was a little surprised by his words just now, because he had refused my 권유 [suggestion] for the first time and acted according to his own will.

He must have felt a lot while preparing for the war.

He must be 계산 [calculating] in his own way.

Choi Myung-joon had become 몰라보게 [unrecognizably] calm after obtaining the ‘Berserker’ artifact.

According to 간간이 [occasional] reports, his ability was not to create tentacles like Choi Hyun-ji or to create a holy sword like Jin Jae-hee.

It was said to be an artifact that gave him superhuman strength as the amount of blood he shed increased.

A war-specialized artifact that can play an overwhelming role in infantry battles.

His ability will be a great help in 통솔 [commanding] the entire army.

The 단비 [welcome rain]-like rest on the dry land was passing quickly.

The city was 들떠 [excited], and the citizens came out to the streets on a long-awaited holiday to enjoy their rest.

My heart ached at the fact that it might be their last laugh.

‘…Ached?’

I was 순간 소름이 끼쳤다 [suddenly got goosebumps] by the thought I had just had.

I was surprised that I was worried about ordinary citizens.

Was it a 무의식적으로 [unconsciously] uttered word?

Or was there some change in my 심정 [feelings]?

I couldn’t know even if I thought about it.

What I have to pursue and move forward is just to end this 개짓거리 [bullshit].

* * *

Pangyo.

That was the area that Kang Si-on had acquired through a deal with Dongwang, Kang Da-hye.

When Pangyo was first 할애받았 [allocated], it was full of residents from Gangnam.

After they finished moving, Kang Si-on built a training ground to make it a city for war.

The war in Seoul is a street fight.

That’s why the role of the elite unit was the greatest.

Even when the elite unit was initially 결성 [formed] within the Manan Police Station, they had been researching tactics that could 무력화 [neutralize] the enemy even in narrow passages.

That process had been 이루어졌 [happening] even during the five years that Kang Si-on had left Mangyeong, so the difficulty of their training was truly 극악 [extreme].

The most important thing in urban street warfare was movement.

In particular, there was a restriction on movement in limited spaces such as apartments, so an effective method was needed.

The elite unit 잡았다 [seized] the outer walls of the apartment as the solution.

They trained to stand precariously on the windowsills and 넘어가는 [cross over] to the opposite windowsills.

Of course, it was conducted on the first floor for safety, but if even one member of the elite unit fell, 무자비한 [merciless] Choi Myung-joon’s punishment awaited.

Because it was a 형식상의 [formal] punishment, they were hit exactly three times with a club.

But the pain was enormous.

The members did their best in training because they didn’t want to get hit.

In addition, they also trained to 뛰어넘는 [leap] between buildings by combining various mechanical devices.

The training of 넘나드는 [traversing] with a wire 걸어 [rigged] was quite difficult.

The elite unit’s level of armament was very excellent.

By making good use of the strategic characteristics of having to fight in narrow spaces, they wore only minimal armor and were mostly 무장 [armed] with sharpened 회칼 [sashimi knives] or hammers.

The aspect of large-scale conquest warfare in this league is largely divided into two categories.

The first is the road, and the second is the building.

The main force of Mangyeong 점령 [occupied] the road, and the elite unit 점령 [occupied] the building to prepare for ambush.

In the conquest war, ambushes and surprise attacks will be 반복될 [repeated], and a 유혈이 낭자하는 [bloody] and 파멸적인 [destructive] war will continue.

Everyone knew that the fate of the four forces centered on Seoul depended on this large-scale conquest war.

Currently, Gangnam had secured Gangdong, Gwangjin, Jungnang, Nowon, and Dobong districts. Nowon and Dobong were areas that Gangnam had acquired through conquest warfare.

And all areas of Seoul except for these districts were the territory of Gangbuk and Metro.

Gangnam only 겨우 지켰 [barely protected] the 자존심 [pride] by losing Seocho, Gangnam, and Songpa in the 1st Great War and only 지켜내 [defending] Gangdong.

The problem was the area where the enemies’ monsters were hidden.

According to Choi Hyun-ji’s information, it was 파악 [identified] that Gangbuk’s monster was in Jongno, but the location of the Metro monster was not 파악 [identified].

Metro’s main buildings were only built underground, so even Choi Hyun-ji’s 뛰어난 잠입 [excellent infiltration] ability had not yet found it.

Kang Si-on’s core strategy was to 이등분 [bisect] Seoul.

‘The problem is that the Han River is 가로막고 [blocking] until we go to Jongno.’

There were always many reporters around Si-on.

Si-on was 정리 [organizing] his thoughts while listening to their reports.

In order to go from Mangyeong to Jongno, they had to 거쳐 [pass] through Gwanak, Dongjak, Yeouido, Yongsan, and Jung-gu.

In the end, sacrifice was needed to 실행 [execute] the plan to 이등분 [bisect] Seoul.

The core of this war that Kang Si-on thought of was different from the strategy he had 고수한 [adhered to] so far.

The core he thought of this time was a 선제타격 [preemptive strike].

No matter what 희생 [sacrifice] there was, Kang Si-on will 점령 [occupy] Jongno.

The war is a month later. The first target is Dongjak-gu, Seoul.

The ogre unit will 무자비하게 짓밟을 [mercilessly trample] the enemies in the front line.

* * *

Seoul Metro, Seoul Station.

The 교주 [cult leader], who was 뿜어내는 영롱한 [emitting a brilliant] golden light, said.

“The enemy will 넘어 [cross] enter Jongno 넘어 [crossing] Gwanak, Dongjak, and Yongsan. God said so. This is the truth.”

The two leaders bowed their heads even more at his words and showed their 충성심 [loyalty].

The 교주 [cult leader] said that through 신내림 [divine revelation], the barbarians of Mangyeong would 감행 [dare] a 선제공격 [preemptive strike], and that their goal would be Dongjak.

Furthermore, they had a plan to 치고 [strike] up straight away and 이등분 [bisect] Seoul, rather than 진격 [advancing] towards Songpa, where Lotte Tower is located.

The Metro forces’ initial plan was that Kang Si-on would 점령 [occupy] Gwanak Dongjak and 진격 [advance] with Dongwang towards Seocho, Gangnam, and Songpa.

In fact, that was the 정론 [orthodox view].

It was 판단 [judged] that even if Mangyeong’s ogre unit had 돌파력 [breakthrough power], they did not have the 체력 [stamina] to 주파 [traverse] the entire Seoul.

That’s why they 판단 [judged] that they would 펼쳐 [form] a 연합 [alliance] with Dongwang of Gangdong and 사냥 [hunt] the 포위된 [encircled] hunters.

But the 교주’s [cult leader’s] thoughts were different. He thought that Kang Si-on would 침략 [invade] Yongsan, not Seocho.

Whatever the two leaders thought, all choices were 이루어졌다 [made] by the 교주 [cult leader].

“Then I will 막겠습니다 [block] Dongjak.”

“No.”

Once again, the two leaders were 놀라 [surprised] at the 교주’s [cult leader’s] words and 쳐들었다 [lifted] their heads.

The 교주’s [cult leader’s] hand, which was 주렁주렁 달린 [laden] with golden bracelets, was 치켜세워졌다 [raised] high into the sky.

“집결 [Gather] 20,000 troops each in Seocho and Geumcheon, and 40,000 troops in Yongsan. We will 점령 [occupy] Mangyeong.”

The President of Metro asked.

“If we 진격 [advance] like that, Songpa, which is the core of the 3rd round, is 위험합니다 [dangerous]. Doesn’t the dragon still live in Songpa? Leaving the troops 지키는 [defending] Songpa alone is….”

At that time, the 교주’s [cult leader’s] eyes tore sharply and 끊었다 [cut off] the President’s words.

“No one… can 토를 달 [object] on my words. You are a 따르는 자 [follower]. I am a 명령하는 자 [commander]. Are you 거역하겠다는 [defying] the will of God?”

“…….”

The President quickly 내리깔며 [lowered] his eyes and 바짝 숙였다 [bowed deeply] his head.

“…I will 따르겠습니다 [follow].”

“…….”

The 교주 [cult leader] 일어났다 [rose] from his seat and 바라보았다 [gazed at] the sky.

The 뜨거운 [hot] sunlight 쏟아졌다 [poured] on his face.

The golden lights 반사된 [reflected] by the sunlight were 반짝거리고 [sparkling].

“…God is 오신다 [coming] to me.”

He 중얼거렸다 계속해서 [muttered continuously].

“…God is 오고 [coming].”