Novels online

Chapter 210

< benevolent occupying force >

"Yes, yes... I understand. Then neither do we... We should do it too."

Koo Dae-sung finished the phone call and returned to the lobby. There, Captain Kim Do-han and other Men at Arms were waiting for Koo Dae-seong..

"what? What happened??"

"There is no major damage to the temple.."

"Phew~ That's a good thing."

Pantheon always focuses on targeting gates in terms of people's livelihood..

That means that most of the power at all times is inside the gate..

Currently, the only people left in the Pantheon were the resting Man-at-Arms soldiers and trainees, so upon hearing the news that a half-demon army of as many as 10,000 people had attacked, Gu Dae-seong and the Man-at-Arms were filled with anxiety..

"It looks like Lord Yapi's war weapons are in full swing. Unless you have quite a bit of power, it won't be easy to catch those weapons.."

"That's a good thing. But it's still strange."

"yes."

Koo Dae-sung and his unit have recently been active in the North Korean border area. Most of the operations were carried out with the help of Yapi's reconnaissance assets, and quite a few people were rescued..

"Sir Yapi dispatched reconnaissance assets to Pyongyang and the cease-fire line. But it's also strange that he didn't notice this large-scale movement.."

Until now, no one in the pantheon doubted Yapi's abilities..

Isn't this a Yapi who has shown absolute ability in everything from pantheon management to combat, politics, and operations??

Rather, that's why I couldn't think of the obvious question until now..

There is a possibility that Yapi was collecting incorrect information..

"Sir Yapi says that all observation information from cameras is classified as uncertain information. From now on, we will only collect visually confirmed information as data.······."

"In other words, we'll need a scouting party to act as eyes.."

"There are South Korean troops and hunters near the ceasefire line. But it's different in the north."

In other words, they must play that role themselves. You might not know this at the level of a normal border invasion, but this was war..

Fifty soldiers consisting of one knight-errant and C-class hunters. It was a huge risk for them to enter North Korea, which had become a battlefield..

"Let's do it."

But no one has any intention of running away from here..

12On the 30th of February, with 30 hours left until the New Year, Koo Dae-seong and fifty Men at Arms crossed the Duman River..

* * * *

There are not many cases where countries go to war after a cataclysm..

After China was torn into about 50 countries, each side claimed to be the true successor to the People's Republic of China and fought, but it was only at the level of local warfare..

Increasing territory means increasing the number of gates within the country, and each country, busy cleaning its own gates, could not even dream of a war for territorial expansion..

Therefore, the world paid attention to the war between North and South Korea that broke out ahead of 2033..

Aside from the United States and Japan, which dispatched large-scale landing forces and navies to support the military alliance, aren't South and North Korea's two countries extremely large armies with more than 1 million active-duty soldiers?.

Despite the reduced demand for modern weapons since the cataclysm, both countries still maintain huge military size..

It was expected that if such two armies collided, a bloody battle of slaughter reminiscent of a world war would break out..

but──

-What on earth? The North Korean army is not coming out and only monsters are pouring in..

-Does North Korea intend to focus only on defending Pyongyang? It's not that active, even if it's a preemptive attack..

- The actual battle on the battlefield is a confrontation between monsters and hunters. They say the navy and air force had nowhere to run, so they destroyed it a long time ago..

-Because of the monsters, the Korean Marine Corps is also hesitant to land. The battlefield has no choice but to take place starting from the truce line..

Starting with large-scale defections, North Korea caused the shooting down of a missile on a chartered Air Force plane and a large-scale attack..

However, when the war began, the air force was hit by a large-scale missile swarm just one day after the war began and was completely destroyed, and the North Korean artillery, which was still large in number, was only passively resisting..

It's as if some units did not participate in the war, while others did... and it felt like they had no choice but to respond because the opponent was attacking them..

In the end, the war turned out to be different from what was imagined for an all-out war between countries with the largest armies in Asia..

It was a pre-modern hand-to-hand combat..

Not to mention effective weapons against monsters, the swords and axes wielded by the awakened people..

Above all, over the past 30 years, hunters have been experts in monster strategy and ecology better than anyone else..

Hunters mobilized for war and deployed to the truce line escorted the Korean army and defeated monsters. Among them──

"GRARARARARA──!!"

A monster that overwhelms the battlefield. Knights who break through waves of monsters with such monsters.

-Quaaaaa!

Every time the powerful Holy Grail Knight swings the holy sword, flames that burn the mountain attack the monsters like a wave..

-bang! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak.!

And as the hundreds of thousands of landmines laid along the ceasefire line exploded along with those monsters, a terrifying explosion rang out everywhere..

It's not just them. Knight troops from various regions were transported using missile platforms at the request of the ROK Armed Forces. When the number, including the Holy Grail Knights, reached 300, cheers for the Pantheon of God rang out all over the battlefield..

"That's... the Holy Grail Knight. They are knights······."

The soldiers of the ROK Army, who were suddenly escorted by hunters, were in awe when they saw the knights who went beyond their role as firefighters on the battlefield and even broke through..

Hunter alone is a superhuman who cannot be reached by ordinary humans. Superhumans who cut off the thick skin and flesh of monsters with cold weapons. Their fight videos were completely different from other fighting sports..

Even if you are a party or a strategy team, in the end, unlike Hunters who live for their individual tastes, the Knights of the Pantheon and Men at Arms──

'Soldier... In reality, it's probably closer to that side..'

Superhumans equivalent to most S-class hunters operate under the discipline of the Order of Knights..

It is said that the Knights of the Burning Sword were the original knights, so even if that were the case, the knights from Earth, including Cheon So-yeon, and the Men at Arms were so thorough, having trained for less than a year..

That was possible because of the harsh training, but it was also thanks to the absolute charisma of Leon Dragonia Lionheart..

'This war. It would be natural for the protagonist to be a pantheon..'

Hunters and the South Korean military are not accustomed to this pre-modern war centered on hand-to-hand combat..

In that respect, the Pantheons are specialists in hand-to-hand combat. Since the opponents there are also demons, the protagonist of this war must be Pantheon..

[Armed Forces! Successfully broke through the ceasefire line! Her Majesty Beatrice's live broadcast of the devastation of the ceasefire line!]

[At least 10,000 kilogs from Lord Vulcan's Burning Sword Knights! Even monster waves are annihilated before the might of the Holy Grail Knights..]

[Together with Grand Duke Carina and Lord Yacht Spinner, we arrive at Kaesong City! A great achievement just three hours after entering battle!]

In front of the overwhelming combat power of the Pantheon and the Holy Grail Knights, even the tidal wave of monsters was washed away like a stain before the waves..

Even though Leon did not come forward, the overwhelming record of his criminal record was reported one after another..

* * * *

In this war, the Pantheon was given a status close to that of an 'allied army' rather than being subject to conscription..

Originally, as a Korean citizen, there was a need to be under the control of government authorities in case of emergency.──

"A king cannot enter another king's military gate.."

[note······.]

After thinking for a while, President Ahn treated the Pantheon as an ally's army and granted independent military operational authority..

Even including the Men-at-Arms and the Kikiruk warriors, the total strength was less than 20,000, but no one could deny the fighting power of the pantheon..

In fact, the sluggish battle at the truce line was concluded in less than a day after the Holy Grail Knights were deployed..

"The Knights of the Burning Sword lead the way!!"

Plus, a quick advance to Gaeseong. The Holy Grail Knights, who broke through the battlefield by simply using their bodies to penetrate the tens or millions of land mines laid along the ceasefire line, were the very thing of fear..

With Kaesong right in front of him, Leon had no choice but to stop for a moment..

"what are those?"

"They are North Korean citizens. It's like digging a trench.."

The commander of a South Korean armored division, who had barely followed the incredible rapid breakthrough of the Knights of the Pantheon, witnessed North Korean citizens digging trenches and preparing for a defensive battle in Kaesong City..

"All of them were skin and bones. Are you starving??"

"Well, it's a common thing in North Korea. At least his personality is better. Rice is given priority in aid to North Korea.."

But even taking that into account, the residents of Kaesong City looked very hungry..

'They stole our support supplies..'

It's a common occurrence.

Rice and medicine provided to poor countries are being smuggled out through backdoors..

Just looking at the export of rice to China from North Korea, which has not been able to resolve the food situation of its people, it is obvious who the export proceeds are accumulating..

Even though we knew that, the current reality was that we continued to provide support because we thought that if we supported 1 million tons, 100,000 tons would be distributed..

"Even that will not be properly returned to the residents.."

"what does that mean?"

"North Korea has a predatory economy in which soldiers plunder the people.."

Leon's eyes widened at those words. Even in the 1990s, when he was still an Earthling, North Korea was notorious, but he had never heard of soldiers plundering its residents..

However, North Korea became poorer as time passed, and the tyranny of the dictatorship became more severe day by day..

Since they maintained an army of over a million people but did not provide food to feed the army, it is obvious where the guns of the soldiers who have no military supplies to steal will end up..

Therefore, in areas where soldiers were stationed in North Korea, a vicious cycle of food and goods being regularly looted by soldiers was common..

"Have you seen these honorless guys?!"

Even considering the circumstances, it was natural for Leon to be angry..

"A soldier is a sacred profession that exists to protect the country and its citizens! But are you plundering the citizens of your own country that you are supposed to protect? This is an insult to all soldiers!"

"Yeah, that's right. But your Majesty? Why are you taking out the knife??"

The division commander was embarrassed to see Leon having a fit beyond the point of anger..

"Stallion!"

Leon suddenly draws his sword and summons the divine beast Stallion. As he draws his sword and shouts in the middle of the camp, knights and men-at-arms soldiers gather..

"What's going on, Your Majesty?!"

When Sir Ryhar of the Burning Sword Knights asked, Leon shouted:.

"Those soldiers are a group of people who enrich themselves by persecuting and plundering the civilians.!"

"Is it true??!"

"Have you seen these honorless guys?!"

"Aren't these crazy things??!"

The Burning Sword Knights were angry. Leon didn't stop there, he walked around the camp barracks and shouted..

"gun! Ready to charge!"

"Charge! Get ready!!"

"Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

"your majesty! your majesty! for a moment! Just wait a moment!"

The division commander tried to dissuade Leon, who was furious and ran wild like a madman, but as the Burning Sword Knights were already furious and boarded their horses, Cheon So-yeon and the 2nd and 3rd Knights of the 1st Knight Dango followed them..

Only two hundred people. Leon gave the order without delay..

"It's an all-out assault! Throw your gun away!!"

""WHAAAAAAAAAAAA──────!!""

The two hundred horsemen charging toward the trenches reminded me of the cavalry charging toward Maxim machine guns in World War I.──

"Second, gun bombs don’t work.!"

"Whatever that is! That's him?!"

"Please save me! Please save me oh oh oh!!"

This vicious assault ended in victory, destroying 134 North Korean tanks, 437 armored vehicles, and over 1,000 machine gun batteries..

Earth's history flows backwards.

* * * *

Surprisingly, North Koreans welcomed the South Korean military as liberators..

Although they had suffered from the People's Army and Party in the past, they also recognized that it was South Korea, not North Korea, that was protecting them thanks to active support and dispatched hunters over the past dozen years..

In particular, Kaesong is where the Kaesong Industrial Complex operates and where the black market for Choco Pie, which is provided as a snack to employees, is active..

Choco Pie, which is smuggled throughout North Korea, has made Kaesong City relatively wealthy, and although most of the salary is lost to the party, even 10% of the salary is equivalent to three years' worth of salary that could be earned by working in North Korea..

It sounds really unrealistic, but since it was all true, everyone knows how bad the North Korean economy is..

"Long live South Korea! Long live leader Andong-gil!"

"Long live the pantheon! Long live the Lionheart leader!"

Moreover, in North Korea, where South Korean culture and news were widely spread, South Korean soldiers could not be particularly ostracized..

It was a known fact that the most popular cultural contents in North Korea were South Korean dramas, and they trafficked USB sticks containing South Korean dramas..

-They say that Westerner named Leon is really the king of this world.?

- Is that so? Flashing in the east, flashing in the west. He is the one who knows how to make a stick and turns pine cones into grenades..

-He seems completely like Comrade Kim Il-sung..

Among them, Leon's news is famous even in North Korea. It was natural that the hottest news in South Korea recently was Pantheon and Leon..

-Anyone is good. It's better than the People's Army!

-You bastards, you stole half of the rice you had for the war.!

-If that is taken away, what will we do this winter?······.

- Is that all? Just because the trench was being built, it was simple and unpaid. They made me dig in this cold, harsh winter without even giving me gloves.!

In the past 50 years, the People's Army and the Party have never been protectors for the North Korean people..

How many North Korean people have ever eaten meat soup while singing that damn meat soup paradise on earth song?.

It was rare for anyone to even eat white rice, let alone meat soup. Meanwhile, with South Korea occupying North Korea, expectations are bound to rise in their eyes..

"Occupy the city step by step. Are these all the mobilized residents??"

Residents of Kaesong City were overwhelmed and overwhelmed when a man with cute blonde hair, whom they had never seen before, came riding a horse..

Kim Jong-un occasionally appeared on TV riding a white horse, but the horse only looked like a slave and lacked any style. The Lionheart King, who rode a huge and majestic steed, looked like an ancient hero straight out of mythology..

"Yes, yes...! Most of the people were mobilized for labor! There are some People's Army brats inside.."

"I see. good night. Since the situation is urgent, I will briefly declare my policy regarding the occupied territories.."

Indeed, what kind of policy will this new leader take? No matter what you do, it will be better than the People's Army and the Party..

but.

"First, all private resources are released in accordance with the Lionheart War Special Act. This will be treated as a special tax."

"yes?"

"Additionally, all able-bodied men are mobilized for labor. Except for the elderly, children, and women, all men who can move will follow the military and belong to the volunteer corps. more."

An ancient hero who looks like he came out of mythology.

That makes perfect sense..

"Are you dissatisfied with the lowly thing??"

However, it was also true that the heroes in mythology were sin aristocrats and royalty..