Chapter 55

Chapter 55. Let's Go, North! (1)

'Is it really necessary to go this far?'

Mental-type status effects had been discovered on the frontline soldiers.

According to Yuria's analysis, stimulant-type effects that triggered certain emotions under specific conditions had been applied…

⦗When I left the Holy Nation, the power I implanted in the paladins was of the same nature.⦘

Fear, confusion, and the like.

In the [Raise a Sword] world — consumed by the Abyss — all manner of catastrophes had blanketed the world.

To the point where stepping outside a safe zone was impossible without mental buffs.

Strictly speaking, polluted beasts could be seen as part of the same phenomenon.

'What the Patriot did was similar, but—'

There was a specific reason I said 'similar.'

A fatal difference existed between Yuria's ability and the Patriot's.

Because the power the Patriot had used explicitly included 'negative effects.'

On a very lethal level.

'Patriotism Enhancement and Soldier's Duty I can accept, but…'

The last one was the problem.

The Constellation's conviction implanted into the soldiers.

[Certain Death Brings Life, Certain Life Brings Death]

If you seek death, you shall live; if you seek life, you shall die.

A famous saying of Yi Sun-sin — who now existed as one of the Patriot's Constellations.

In a world where Jesus was real, it wasn't particularly strange.

But the weight of Yi Sun-sin's name was the problem.

'No one even questions it.'

Famous sayings sounded nice — that was true.

But the reason they were 'famous sayings' was that actually living by them would be disastrous.

'If you seek death, you shall live'?

Not exactly something to throw around carelessly.

Against foreign invaders boarding a panokseon, it might work well enough.

'Against catastrophes that humans can handle, seeking death might lead to survival.'

But the 'polluted beasts' our soldiers faced should not be confronted with that mindset.

In [Raise a Sword] terms, polluted beasts were the Dark God's refuse.

Refuse though they were, they bore the name of a god.

Charging at them with a death wish just meant dying.

Reality was not that forgiving.

"I'd like to see the combat footage."

Still, just in case, I reviewed the frontline records.

I was a being lawfully inaugurated as Transcendent, with full authority delegated by the President.

There was nothing in South Korea I couldn't see.

The combat records from the frontline showed—

'Can this really be called a fight?'

I witnessed an absurd spectacle.

Approximately 15,000 'Induced Awakened' unit members had ferociously engaged the polluted beasts that had broken through the military's fire net and crossed below the 38th Parallel.

⦗A fight seeking death.⦘

Right — they had recklessly engaged in point-blank melee against fissioning polluted beasts with human bodies.

Casualties varied by battle — as few as 10, as many as over 100.

Very low numbers.

'The survival rate is high.'

The reason was simple.

The polluted beasts flowing down weren't that strong yet, and the soldiers' valor — throwing themselves at the beasts without a care for their own bodies — was genuinely extraordinary.

But combat deaths and actual deaths were different things.

What were the real results?

'The Death Squad…'

More soldiers had been contaminated than had died in combat.

The price of mindlessly engaging polluted beasts at point-blank range.

'The numbers are excessive.'

There was an error in the military casualty statistics.

The figures excluded soldiers who had become — or were becoming — 'beasts' due to contamination, beyond those who had died in combat.

Currently, the Awakened Unit had 15,000 and the Death Squad about 10,000.

They were in a cycle of constantly shrinking and being replenished—

'Contrary to what's been reported, military deaths are quite high.'

Before conquering North Korea, I summoned the Patriot.

This was a problem that had to be addressed immediately.

________________________________

—Ep. 19. Let's Go, North!

Suddenly, because Shin Si-woo had headed for the frontline, the Patriot was maintaining wartime footing at maximum alert.

'This crazy bastard!!!'

While the Patriot had been dithering, war had crept right up to them.

These damned Constellations were no help at all.

Their eyes had all rolled back, and they were already sitting around holding strategy meetings.

"Hmm, let's bomb first, then deploy the ground forces."

"As always, bombing comes first."

All the Constellations were supposed to be within their Constellation Spaces, and yet…

"Wait, we're already planning strategy?"

Their wills did not move at the Patriot's command.

"It is a holy and sacred war to reclaim North Korea — the Republic of Korea's rightful territory."

"I, Yulgok Yi I, have prepared new operational methods for the 100,000-strong army."

Led by Yi Sun-sin, all the Constellations had endorsed Shin Si-woo's plan.

Cheok Jun-gyeong had even—

"I have been honing and honing myself. With this laser-sword…"

Fixed his bloodshot eyes on the North Korean land.

The North.

The meaning that place held must have been extraordinary.

Cheok Jun-gyeong's fingertips trembled.

A hazy memory surfaced.

A past where he'd been entangled in politics and saddled with an infamy he'd never wanted.

'Patriot, it was thanks to you that I could right that wrong.'

Now, it was a forgotten past.

By building the glorious land called the Great Korean Empire alongside the Patriot, Cheok Jun-gyeong's transgressions had been erased.

But a knot in one's heart never vanished completely.

Cheok Jun-gyeong declared.

"Patriot, from now on, we shall walk only the righteous path."

The land I wanted to protect.

The place where I should have been.

We would drive out the grotesque monsters that had been invading us…

"North."

At that intense resolve, the Patriot too nodded.

War was madness.

But it couldn't be avoided.

"Chings."

Chings — once known as the Jurchens, a savage band of plundering barbarians.

In one world they were called barbarians; in one era, soldiers of the Tang dynasty; in yet another, the Chinese Red Army.

Even now, they continued to obstruct South Korea's path by sending polluted beasts.

'Exterminating them all is the right call.'

Just as the Patriot was steeling his resolve.

"Lord Patriot, Lord Shin Si-woo says he's coming here."

President Lee Seok-hyeon approached urgently.

"Who's coming where?"

The Patriot looked at the Constellations with a flustered face.

The Constellations were equally taken aback.

"H-here?"

Because the place he occupied was no ordinary location.

Hwiooooooo————.

The distant upper sky.

The twelve-carrier Patriot Fleet that sheltered the skies of South Korea.

He was in the [command center] of the flagship.

On the eve of war, he had summoned the highest-ranking political leaders — including the President and Kang Mu-jin — and every military commander.

To make them bear the weight of the crown.

And Shin Si-woo was coming here?

'If he pulls out the demons, the country's done for…'

Everyone who mattered in Korea was right here.

Paranoid worries kept surfacing, but the Patriot forced a smile.

"Tell him to come! Yi Sun-sin, get the coordinates and open a portal."

"Are you sure?"

At Yi Sun-sin's concern, the Patriot laughed.

"That bastard's just war-crazy. Obviously it's time to feed his demons!"

He laughed, but.

A chill ran through him.

"We want to take back North Korea just as badly, don't we?"

Seeing that the man called the 170,000 Jeonju citizens' savior 'Patriotic Bastion — Kim Jun' a mere 'sword' — he was certain.

War-maniac, lunatic, sword-obsessed freak.

'Never met a blade-lover who was right in the head.'

Sreureuk—.

Through the portal that opened in the [command center], Shin Si-woo appeared.

Alone, by himself.

He swept his gaze across the surroundings, cracked a crooked smile.

Then strode straight toward the Patriot.

'Is he going to say let's attack right now?'

Lethal eyes.

Watching the tall man stride toward him, the Patriot tilted his head.

That was when it happened.

"The business of messing with soldiers' minds. Dial it back."

Abruptly, Shin Si-woo raised a sensitive topic.

The frontline soldiers.

Ahem. Cough.

From the President down to ministers and military generals, everyone cleared their throats and averted their eyes.

Only the Patriot met Shin Si-woo's gaze head-on.

Everyone present knew that the Patriot applied mental buffs to frontline soldiers.

'Does he think I'm brainwashing the soldiers? How dare he look at me like—'

Everything he did was for the nation.

The Patriot's anger surged.

"The fuck did you say?!"

Shin Si-woo's eyes narrowed.

Ah, maybe that was a bit much?

"No, the cursing — sorry. But they all knew and accepted it!"

The Patriot shouted.

He resolved never to yield, glaring at Shin Si-woo with wide, fierce eyes.

"They knew?"

"Yeah, only those who pass the patriotism screening go to the frontline."

The frontline soldiers were all elite troops who had passed the 'patriotism screening.'

In other words, every one of them was a volunteer.

And they were informed in advance that 'mental buffs' would be applied at the frontline.

Consent forms had been signed and everything!

"I never hide something like that! Wanting to protect this country even if it takes that — that's our military!!!"

The Patriot was unapologetic.

Even so, Shin Si-woo looked displeased.

"At the very least, drop the Constellation's conviction. What is this 'Certain Death Brings Life, Certain Life Brings Death' business? Watching them fight — they were charging in like moths to a flame—"

"What?"

The Patriot gaped at Shin Si-woo.

A moment later.

"If you seek life, you shall die. If you seek death, you shall live."

Yi Sun-sin, who had been silently guarding the Patriot's back, stepped forward.

Reciting a weighty line.

"That is how I survived."

The living hero of the Republic of Korea — wearing the fleet commander's cap and sporting a long beard.

"You are also a descendant of this nation. Are you denying my words?"

That Yi Sun-sin.

Swept his gaze across everyone gathered and spoke.

President Lee Seok-hyeon bowed his head. Senior Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin clutched his axe with closed eyes, as though in prayer.

The military generals likewise saluted Yi Sun-sin with reverence.

"Yeah, junior. Are you trying to deny the words of the living Constellation Yi Sun-sin?"

Checkmate by Yi Sun-sin.

* * *

"The great heroes who saved this nation are the Constellations! Huh? Junior, no matter how strong you are, there are things you can and can't say!!!"

The Patriot's rebuke.

I felt as though I'd instantly become a traitor.

The man was already a historically revered figure worshipped worldwide, and on top of that…

'Am I now the scum who denied a great man's famous words?'

Everyone present genuinely expressed respect toward Yi Sun-sin.

Without any mental effects at play.

"If Yi Sun-sin hadn't existed, our country would be Japan right now. Don't disrespect the great heroes of our nation!!!"

What kind of people were the Constellations?

The Patriot's impassioned tirade poured forth.

Starting with Cheok Jun-gyeong, Yulgok Yi I, and Yi Sun-sin, even historical figures not yet Constellations were invoked one after another.

"Without King Sejong the Great, we'd all be speaking Chinese right now!! And the martyr Yu Gwan-sun…"

I acknowledged the heroes' achievements.

But that didn't mean I'd hold my tongue.

South Korea's extreme tendencies were all born of this kind of atmosphere.

Having become a Transcendent, I could say so with certainty.

"There's such a thing as the right place and time. If our soldiers charge at polluted beasts — the Dark God's refuse — with a death wish, they'll simply all die."

The world and the era were different.

Seeing was believing, so—

I pulled out a crimson demon tethered to the [Baby Sword].

"When something like this is the enemy, what happens if our soldiers charge in to die?"

"Th-they'd all become food, obviously? But those are your summons."

"My point is that if something stronger than polluted beasts comes down, we're in serious trouble."

But this — trying to reason with a true patriot was no easy task.

"The stronger ones can't get through because I blow them away with precision bombing."

"And what were you planning if it happened while you were absent? Like this Black Gate, for an extended—"

"That's when you Awakened right on time and saved the country."

This bastard was impossible to reason with.

"Hypothetically, if I didn't exist—"

"Then I'd handle it. End of story."

"No, what if we're both gone — shouldn't there at least be the option to retreat?"

"If we both disappear, the country's done for. Every citizen gets massacred and Korea vanishes from the map."

He wasn't wrong, technically.

But he was impossible to reason with.

"Sigh…"

In the distance, Senior Prosecutor Kang and President Lee Seok-hyeon slapped their foreheads and groaned.

Everyone else seemed to share my sentiments.

"And our soldiers fight damn well. You saw it yourself, didn't you?"

I acknowledged they fought well.

But that wasn't his doing.

"Isn't it thanks to the martial-arts manuals the Sword Emperor left behind?"

"W-well, that's true, but…"

The Republic of Korea's military was composed of 'Induced Awakened,' the vast majority being 'swordsman' types.

They had Awakened by training in the [trial — Room of Time and Space] shared by the Sword Emperor, and were taught by those taught by him.

That legacy, passed down and down, had produced the present Awakened Unit.

"Anyway, let's drop the Constellation's conviction."

"That—"

Preventing a future where our soldiers killed themselves was critical.

The moment we touched North Korea, whatever lurked there might invade South Korean soil.

The terrible beings I'd seen in [Raise a Sword].

But these people had no way of knowing.

Explaining wouldn't help.

"I'm just going to do it."

I was done arguing.

If I said so, what was he going to do about it?

* * *

The Patriot said he would defer to my wishes as the second Transcendent, and proceeded with the war as-is.

'He's surprisingly easygoing.'

That I had the right as a Transcendent, or that as fellow patriots they should take turns setting the rules.

He made all kinds of generous proposals.

That's right.

I had prevented the soldiers' suicides.

And then arrived near the 38th Parallel.

Several weeks ahead of the original plan.

'I'd assumed a month, but when you're striking villains, hitting faster than planned is always better.'

I would fight every war ahead of schedule, favor surprise attacks whenever possible, and would not hesitate to assassinate during armistice negotiations.

Just as I had instructed all my swords to do.

The enemies we faced must never be treated 'humanely.'

That had to be kept firmly in mind.

Saaaaaaa————.

Darkness came into view ahead.

A zero-visibility blackness that blanketed the entirety of North Korea like fog.

Gazing at that darkness, the Patriot spoke.

"Ahead of schedule, but not bad."

"Will you be all right with just Cheok Jun-gyeong and the two of you?"

Astonishingly, the Patriot was not hiding inside the carrier.

He planned to cross onto the ground alongside me.

"Junior, I'm not that much of a pushover."

"Well, I'm counting on you."

He was undeniably a formidable Transcendent.

And from my perspective, having a strong ally was always welcome.

Because the place we were heading was that perilous.

'Land engulfed in demonization.'

North Korea was a demonic territory.

An unobservable darkness.

But we had assembled combat power that far exceeded expectations.

"Junior, I'll show you my real power. Let the senior take the first punch!"

The Patriot said.

I'd intended the same, so I gave a light nod.

Sususususu———.

I couldn't see them, but I could feel them.

Twelve aircraft carriers drifting in the distant sky.

Yi Sun-sin's Authority, perfectly fused with the heavens, sheltered the upper atmosphere.

The sensory perception of the swords dwelling in me conveyed the invisible carriers' presence with vivid clarity.

"Let's start with a light greeting."

Hwiooooooo————!!!

The sky suddenly shook.

No sound, no precursor, no presence.

Yet it felt as though the sky was being torn apart.

Tens of thousands of bombers were soaring into North Korean airspace.

Zzzeok—.

The unobservable darkness was split apart.

And a moment later, through the cleft, shells blazing in five-colored brilliance appeared.

Packed tight in rows that filled the sky.

———.

Territory so vast that human eyes could barely gauge its breadth.

Yet bombs rained from the sky, ripping through every last bit of darkness in the heavens.

The sight of shells falling toward the earth in formation was truly magnificent.

Tungtongtungtong.

A strange sound could be heard.

Almost cute, in a way.

But the instant that brief sound ended, what followed was a deafening explosion.

"I sent every last unmanned drone-bomber that's been patrolling the entire country 24/7 straight to North Korea!"

Every bomber that had been floating across the Republic of Korea, clearing danger zones — all of it had been redirected north.

A sight I'd never witnessed before Transcending.

I beheld the Patriot's true power.

'This is… the Patriot.'

The Transcendent who had led the Republic of Korea all on his own.

The Patriot's true power.

Truly, overwhelming violence.

Kuguguguguung———!!!

A tremor indistinguishable from an earthquake.

And a field of vision dyed bright yellow.

Into what had been North Korea — into the unobservable darkness — an enormous mushroom cloud bloomed.

Kiiiiiik——!

Terrible screams echoed across the whole of North Korea.

They were not anything that could be called human.

Truly, a chilling sound.

"They're coming."

I gazed at the North Korean land swept by the bombardment.

On the ground lit bright by the explosions, enormously vast and hideous monsters were pouring toward us.

It looked like a tidal wave made of polluted beasts.

"Let's go."

We would push against that tidal wave and head for the deepest heart of North Korea.