章 210: Merciful Occupation Army

"Yeah, yeah--- okay, then we should--- no, we should do it."

Koo Dae-sung ended the call and returned to the lobby. There, Captain Kim Dohan and the rest of the Man at Arms were waiting for him.

"What did they say? What happened?"

"There was no major damage to TTG Temple."

"Wow, that's good to hear."

The TTG Temple usually focuses on gate capture at the civilian level.

This means that most of its power is always inside the gate.

Currently, the only people left in TTG Temple were the resting Man-At-Arms soldiers and trainees, so the news of a ten-thousand-strong half-demon legion attacking was enough to cause anxiety in Koo Dae-sung and Man-At-Arms.

"Lord Yappy war machines must have done a good job."

"That's good to know, but it's still strange."

"Yes."

Koo Dae-sung and his troops have recently been operating in and around the North Korean border region. Many of these operations have been aided by Yappy's reconnaissance assets and have resulted in the rescue of quite a few people.

"Lord Yappy has sent reconnaissance assets to Pyongyang and the DMZ, so it's strange that he hasn't been able to identify these large-scale movements."

So far, no one has doubted Yappy's abilities at TTG Temple.

From running the TTG Temple combat, politics, maneuvering, and everything in between, Yappy has shown absolute competence, hasn't he?

That's why the obvious question hadn't occurred to them until now.

The possibility that Yappy was gathering the wrong information.

"Lord Yappy said that he categorizes all observations made by cameras as uncertain information. In the future, he will only collect information confirmed by the naked eye as data------"

"That means we'll need scouts to act as eyes."

"Near the ceasefire line, we have the National Army and the Hunters. But the north is different."

In other words, they have to do it themselves. This was war, even if it wasn't the usual level of border incursions.

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

"Let's do it."

But no one has any intention of running for the hills.

On December 30, with 30 hours to go before New Year's Day, Koo Dae-sung and the fifty Man-At-Arms crossed the Tumen River.

* * * *

It is not often that nations go to war with each other after the cataclysm.

After China was torn into fifty states, each claiming to be the true successor to the People's Republic of China, there were skirmishes, but they were localized.

More territory means more gates in the country, and each country is busy cleaning its own gates, not dreaming of a war for territorial expansion.

That's why the world took notice when the war between North and South Korea broke out in 2033.

Aside from the United States and Japan, which sent massive amphibious and naval forces to support their military alliance, the two Koreas had very large armies, exceeding one million active soldiers.

Even with the reduction in modern weaponry since the cataclysmic war, these two countries still maintain a massive military.

A clash between these two armies would have been expected to be a bloody and murderous affair, akin to a world war.

But──

-What the heck? No North Korean troops, just monsters.

-Is North Korea just going to focus on defending Pyongyang? It's not as aggressive as the first strike.

-The real battle on the battlefield is between the monsters and the hunters. The Navy and Air Force have already been defeated because they have nowhere to run.

-The Korean Marines are also hesitant to land because of the monsters. The battle can only be fought along the cease-fire line.

North Korea has started a large-scale homecoming, shooting down an Air Force chartered plane with a missile and launching a large-scale raid.

However, once the war began, the air force was decimated by a massive missile swarm just one day into the war, and the North Korean artillery, which was outnumbered, put up only passive resistance.

It was as if some units were not engaged and others were--and they were forced to respond because the other side was attacking.

In the end, it was a different war than people had imagined for an all-out war between the two countries with the largest armies in Asia.

It was a pre-modern white soldier war.

Swords and axes wielded by the Awakened, not to mention effective weapons against monsters.

Most importantly, the hunters are the ones who, over the past 30 years, have become the experts on monster tactics and ecology.

Mobilized during the war and deployed on the ceasefire lines, Hunters escorted the national army to repel monsters, among them──

"GRARARARARA──!!"

The monster that overwhelmed the battlefield. Together with such a monster, the knights broke through the waves of monsters.

-Kaaaaaah!

Every time the mighty Holy Knight swings his holy sword, mountain-scorching flames strike the monsters like waves.

-Bang! Quack, quack, quack, quack!

The monsters, along with the hundreds of thousands of mines that had been laid along the ceasefire line, exploded together, causing a tremendous explosion to echo throughout the area.

They weren't the only ones. Knightly troops from all over, transported by missile platforms at the request of the national army. When their number reached 300, including the Holy Knights, the TTG Temple trumpet rang out all over the battlefield.

"That's it--Holy Knights. Those are the knights------."

The national army soldiers escorted by Hunters were in awe of the knights who had gone beyond the role of battlefield fighters and had even broken through.

Hunter alone is a superhuman beyond the reach of mere mortals. They cut through the thick skin and flesh of monsters with cold weapons, and their combat videos are completely different from any other combat sports.

Unlike the Hunters, who, even if they were part of a party raid, were ultimately selfish, the Knights of TTG Temple and the Man-At-Arms were──

"Soldiers--that's actually more like it.

A group of superhumans, roughly equivalent to S-class Hunters, operate under the discipline of a knightly order.

The Burning Sword Knights are said to be the original knights, but even Chun So-yeon and other knights from Earth, as well as the Man-At-Arms, have trained for less than a year.

The reason for this is not only the harsh training, but also the absolute charisma of Leon Dragonia Lionheart.

'This war. It's a war of attrition.'

The Hunters and the national army are not used to this pre-modern, white-knuckle warfare.

In that sense, the TTG Temple Knights are specialists in hand-to-hand combat, and since their opponents are also demons, the TTG Temple Knights must be the main players in this war.

[National army! Successfully breaching the ceasefire line! Live broadcast of Queen Beatrice's devastation of the ceasefire line!]

[Lord Vulcanus' Burning Sword Knights kill log is at least 10,000, and the monster waves have been annihilated.]

[Grand Duchess Karina and Sir Yakt Spinner have reached the city of Kaesong, three hours after the battle began!]

In front of the overwhelming combat power of the Ten Thousand Gods Temple and Holy Knights, even the monsters were washed away like a stain before a wave.

Even though Leon hadn't even stepped forward, the overwhelming battle reports came one after another.

* * * *

TTG Temple was granted a status similar to that of an 'ally' in this war, not subject to conscription.

They were essentially Korean citizens, subject to the control of government authorities in case of emergency, but──

"A king cannot enter the gates of another king."

Ahn hesitated for a moment, then decided to treat TTG Temple as an ally's army and give it the right to operate independently.

No one could deny the fighting prowess of the TTG Temple, even though it was less than 20,000 strong, including the Man-At-Arms and knights.

In fact, the stalemate at the ceasefire line was resolved in less than a day after the Holy Knights arrived.

"The Burning Sword Knights will spearhead the charge!!!"

The Holy Knights were a terror to behold as they charged through the battlefield, blasting through the hundreds of thousands and millions of mines laid along the ceasefire line with their bodies.

With Kaesong so close, Leon had to pause for a moment.

"What are those?"

"They're North Koreans, digging trenches."

The South Korean armored division commander, who had barely kept pace with the TTG Temple knights, had seen North Koreans digging trenches and preparing for a defensive battle in Kaesong.

"They're all bloody thin. Are they starving?"

"Well, it's common in North Korea," he replied, "but Kaesong is better off because they get prioritized rice deliveries from the U.N. aid program."

But even with that in mind, the people of Kaesong seemed to be starving.

'They've been squandering our aid.'

It's not uncommon for rice and medicines to be smuggled out of poor countries through the back door.

North Korea, which hasn't been able to solve its own food situation, is exporting rice to China, and it's obvious where the money is going.

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.

"And not even that will reach the people."

"What do you mean?"

"North Korea has a looting economy, with soldiers looting the people."

Leon's eyes widened at that; even in the 1990s, when he was still an Earthling, North Korea was notoriously bad, but he hadn't heard of soldiers looting the population.

But the country has only gotten poorer over time, and the dictatorship's tyranny has only grown worse.

Maintaining an army of over a million soldiers and no food to feed them, it's not hard to see where soldiers with no supplies to steal would turn their guns.

As a result, it was not uncommon for areas where soldiers were stationed in North Korea to be regularly looted of food and supplies.

"What a bunch of honorless bastards!"

Given the circumstances, it's no wonder Leon was outraged.

"Being a soldier is a sacred profession, one that exists to protect the country and its citizens! To plunder the citizens of the country you are supposed to protect? That is an insult to all soldiers!"

"Well, yes, but your majesty, why are you not sheathing your sword?"

The division commander was bewildered as he looked at Leon, who was beyond outraged.

"Stallion!"

Suddenly, Leon drew his sword and summoned Stallion, the divine beast. As he draws his sword and shouts in the midst of the seriousness, the knights and Man-At-Arms soldiers gather around.

"What is it, Your Majesty!"

Sir Raihar of the Knights of the Burning Sword asks, and Leon shouts.

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

"Is this true?!"

"Have you seen such honorless bastards!?"

"Isn't this crazy?!"

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

"Prepare to charge!"

"Charge! Prepare to charge!"

"Geeaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, wait, wait, wait!"

The division commander tried to stop Leon, who was raging like a madman, but already, as the Flaming Sword Knights mounted their horses in a collective fury, Chun So-yeon and the First Knights, as well as the Second and Third Knights, hurriedly followed them.

There were only two hundred people but Leon barked out orders without delay.

"Charge! Charge, charge, charge!

""whaaaaaaaaaaaaa──────!!""

The two hundred horses charging toward the trenches reminded me of the horsemen charging toward the Maxim machine guns of World War I, but──

"Cho, the gun bombs aren't working!"

"What the hell is that, is that a human?!"

"Help me, help me, help me, help me!"

The assault ended in victory, destroying 134 North Korean tanks, 437 armored vehicles, and more than a thousand machine gun batteries.

Earth's history flows backwards.

* * * *

Unexpectedly, North Koreans greeted the South Korean army as liberators.

They had suffered at the hands of the People's Army and the Party, but after decades of active support and dispatched hunters, they recognized that it was South Korea, not North Korea, that was protecting them.

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.

Trafficked throughout North Korea, the chocolate pies have made Kaesong relatively wealthy, and while most of their paychecks are said to be taken by the party, about 10% of their salaries are worth three years of work in North Korea.

It sounds unrealistic, but it's all true, and it's a testament to the dire state of the North Korean economy.

"Long live the DPRK! Long live Ahn Dong-gil!"

"Long live TTG Temple! Long live Lionheart!"

In addition, the South Korean military was not exactly ostracized in North Korea, where South Korean culture and news are commonplace.

It's no secret that the most popular cultural content in North Korea is South Korean soap operas, and they trafficked in USBs with South Korean dramas to watch.

-Was that Western guy named Leon really a king in the other world?

-Yes, he was.

-He's just like Comrade Kim Il Sung.

Leon's news is well known in North Korea. It's no wonder that the most talked-about South Korean news lately has been about TTG Temple and Leon.

-Anyone is better than the People's Army!

-Those bastards, they stole half the rice we had!

-If we lose that, what will we do this winter------?

-They just make us dig trenches for no pay, that's all. They made us dig in the freezing cold without giving us 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 Koreans have ever eaten meat soup, let alone white rice?

Few had even eaten white rice, let alone meat soup. In the meantime, as South Korea occupied North Korea, their eyes were filled with anticipation.

"They're taking cities in stages. Is this all the mobilized residents have?"

The residents of Kaesong were overwhelmed when a man they'd never seen before, a dreadlocked blond man on a horse, arrived.

They'd seen Kim Jong-un on TV on a white horse, but the horse had always looked tired and unappealing, while King Lionheart, riding a huge, lumbering steed, looked like an ancient hero straight out of mythology.

"Yes, yes, yes---! Most of the people have been conscripted into slavery, though there are a few people's army bastards inside."

"That's good. The situation is urgent, so I'll make a brief declaration of our policy toward the occupied territories."

But what will this new governor do? Anything is better than the People's Army and the Party.

But

"First, we will release all private resources under the Lionheart Wartime Special Law. This will be treated as a special tax of ten trillion."

"What?"

"In addition, all able-bodied men will be mobilized for labor. All able-bodied men, with the exception of the elderly, children, and women, will follow the army and become part of the volunteer corps. That's it."

An ancient hero who seems to have come out of mythology.

That statement fits perfectly.

"Got a problem with that, lowly one?"

Except that the heroes of mythology were sinful aristocrats and royalty.