ch 239
Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 239
31st Infantry Division Mobile Battalion
"Excuse me, Battalion Commander, did I hear that wrong?"
These are company commanders who have served in the military for at least several years each, but they all have dumbfounded expressions like newly transferred privates.
I'm not angry.
I had the same reaction as them when I first received the order.
"DEFCON 1 has been declared. Wake up all the soldiers immediately, have all unit personnel pack their gear and assemble in the parade ground in full combat readiness. Issue live ammunition too!"
"Ah... understood."
"Personnel Officer, you go outside and have all officers living off-base return to the unit immediately, and have those on leave return as much as possible. Those who can't return within an hour should be told to return and take on the mission of guarding the base."
"Understood."
I'm anxious.
Although it was classified, given the nature of the situation, I contacted my older brother who works as an operations staff officer at the division headquarters after receiving the order.
The order came directly from Army Headquarters, but according to military structure, there's no way the division headquarters wouldn't know about our movement.
But my older brother just complained in a sleepy voice about why I was calling at this hour.
This means the division headquarters knows nothing at all and only our mobile battalion is moving independently.
I did see articles recently about strengthening surprise inspections and introducing new training, but even so, Army Headquarters directly issuing DEFCON 1 to a rear unit like ours?
I've been in the military for almost 20 years, but this is the first time I've encountered such a case.
Anxiety keeps rising in my heart, but a commander must never show signs of panic.
I was about to go outside to check the preparation status when there was a knock and the operations officer in full combat gear entered.
"Battalion Commander, all the matters you instructed are proceeding without any problems."
"Is that so? I was just about to go out myself."
"Um... but Battalion Commander, the other units adjacent to ours don't show any particular preparation posture. Is this perhaps a solo operation for our mobile battalion?"
"It seems that way."
"What do you mean 'seems'? Was a spy discovered or something? Where is the operation area?"
"I don't know."
"What?"
"It was classified with no separate explanation, just an order to have all forces stand by in the parade ground in full combat gear and armament."
"Are you saying the division headquarters gave no explanation at all?"
"It's not from headquarters. This DEFCON 1 order came from Army Headquarters."
"A-Army Headquarters? No, how can they bypass the chain of command and go so directly..."
"I only heard to stand by in the parade ground and nothing else, so I don't know either. You go and hurry with your preparations."
Leaving the operations officer behind, I headed to the ammunition depot.
Ammunition and other supplies are being distributed in full swing, and both soldiers and officers all have serious expressions.
Well, DEFCON 1 was suddenly declared in the middle of the night, so that's natural.
Still, befitting the division's finest elite troops, there's no personnel showing dissatisfaction or annoyed expressions.
Our mobile battalion consists of the 31st Division's finest troops.
Right. Thinking that we can accomplish any operation together with such unit members, I returned to the situation room to find the personnel officer and situation soldiers wrestling with telephones.
I'm urging them to give instructions for the fastest possible return when I feel vibration in my chest pocket.
"You're Battalion Commander Park Ok-chun of the Mobile Battalion, right? I'm the Army Vice Chief of Staff."
V-Vice Chief of Staff?
That's three stars, the number one in the Army Lieutenant General ranking.
"L-Loyalty. Lieutenant Colonel Park Ok-chun."
"Forget the salute. Lieutenant Colonel Park, how far along are the unit preparations?"
"We can definitely complete them by the time ordered!"
I answered with the loudest voice I'd ever used in my life.
"Oh, really? I'll have to visit your unit before the 35th Division then."
My God, the Army Vice Chief of Staff is coming to our unit right now?
I'm going crazy.
"Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Park?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Park! Ok! Chun!"
"You don't need to speak that loudly for me to understand. You'll burst my eardrums, man."
"I-I will correct that."
"What's to correct? I understand, so prepare as quickly and smoothly as possible."
"Understood. Loy..."
...was all I managed before the call ended.
Wait, but didn't he say 35th Division earlier?
If it's the 35th Division, it would be in Jeollabuk-do. He's stopping here and then going there?
Operating helicopters at this hour isn't happening either, so what kind of situation is this...
Anxiety struck again, but since I heard the Vice Chief of Staff was coming directly, I pushed my subordinates harder to complete preparations quickly.
It's been 20 minutes since all forces have been standing by in the parade ground in full combat readiness.
What?
Even though we've exceeded the ordered time by 5 minutes, there's no sign of the Vice Chief of Staff, let alone his shadow.
He said he'd come soon, so I had everyone stand at attention, but just as I was thinking whether to let them rest comfortably, a blue light flashed and two people appeared.
M-My God... I heard the Vice Chief of Staff was coming, but the beret has four stars shining on it.
"L-Loyalty!"
I could recognize him immediately upon seeing his face.
There are only 8 four-star generals in the entire military.
Moreover, the person who came here is our Army's number one, the Army Chief of Staff.
"At ease. So, your name is..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Park! Ok! Chun! I never expected to meet the Chief of Staff."
"I happened to be in this unit briefly when I was a field-grade officer. We're a bit late, aren't we?"
"Not at all!"
The person next to him is wearing a black suit instead of a military uniform. Is he an aide?
No. There's no way an aide would wear a suit when his superior is in military uniform.
Intelligence Service? Or maybe a civilian official from the Ministry of Defense?
Anyway, he's handsome enough to be an entertainer.
Somehow his face looks familiar too...
"Um, Chief of Staff, we need to go to the next unit too, so let's stop the small talk and quickly issue the orders first."
"Ah, sorry about that."
I barely managed to hold back an exclamation that was about to burst out involuntarily.
Just what is the identity of that young man?
What's his position... No, no matter how high his position, he looks much younger than me, yet he's scolding the Army Chief of Staff to stop the small talk.
And the Chief of Staff apologizes...
"There's no time, so I'll speak briefly. Your unit needs to go to Wonsan from now. The mission and operation details are all in this operation order, so just follow the order."
Wonsan? Ah! There's a place called Wonsan-dong in Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, which is our division's operation area.
Did a spy appear there?
"Has a spy appeared in Wonsan-dong?"
"Wonsan-dong? What do you mean?"
"Yes? I was referring to Wonsan-dong in Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, which is our division's operation area..."
"Haaa, Lieutenant Colonel Park, the place you're going to is Wonsan in Hamgyeongnam-do."
H-Hamgyeongnam-do?
"E-Excuse me, Chief of Staff? This is Gwangju, so how can we go to Wonsan in Hamgyeongnam-do..."
"I'll send you to Wonsan. Don't you know me?"
Using the polite form shows he's definitely not military... no, wait a minute. This man?
"H-Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok?"
"You recognize me. Yes. I'm Kang Shin-hyeok. All the forces in the parade ground are here, right?"
"Y-Yes."
"We'll depart immediately."
At the same time as Kang Shin-hyeok Hunter's words, blue light enveloped me and the surrounding scenery changed.
It feels like some military base, and all our forces that were lined up in the parade ground have come over together.
"We've arrived."
Arrived... this is Wonsan?
Most of the forces that came with me are as bewildered as I am, and some are dry heaving.
"That's just a little bit of motion sickness from teleportation. You'll be fine after a while. Just count the number of people and follow the orders as written on the document, as the Director said. It won't break easily, so don't worry too much. Oh, and here, take this too."
He handed me what looked like a radio or telephone that might have been used in the 1980s.
"It's a satellite phone. You can use this for additional instructions and contact. Well then, I'll be going."
I had many questions, but Kang Shin-hyeok disappeared with blue light.
***
"Teacher, we're almost at the hotel. I think you should wake up now."
"Uuugh... already?"
I got in the car and briefly practiced energy circulation, but I can already see the hotel where today's World Summit is being held.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm not okay. Teacher is dead."
"Come on, how can a dead person talk?"
"I really feel like I'm dying."
It's an exaggeration, but saying I feel like dying isn't a lie.
At 00:00 today, I used sleep magic targeting all of North Korea.
This alone was quite a strain, but to have it confirmed, I took the President directly and went around not just Pyongyang but all of North Korea.
What was deployed in today's 00:00 operation was entirely the Army.
When deploying the military to North Korea, using the Air Force or Navy could be detected and interfered with by other countries.
So I went directly to Army Headquarters, read the memories of the generals, and went around all front-line units nationwide to move them to North Korea.
Because of that, I really feel like dying.
No matter how much I've mastered Absolute Domain and have inner energy that almost never runs dry, "almost never runs dry" is just that… It's not infinite.
Still, my suffering seems to have been worth it, as the operation proceeded very smoothly.
I got a call from the Blue House before getting in the car, and they said the suppression of North Korean forces was completed long ago and all high-ranking officials were captured.
They're waking up the residents, and there's said to be almost no resistance.
There were some disturbances here and there, but they weren't directed at our Korean military—they were fights between residents themselves.
"But the news and internet are still quiet."
"How would the media know? Even if they knew, the Blue House put an embargo on it, so it's natural it's not coming out."
North Korea is a country with quite strong isolationist tendencies.
Of course, there are people sent from North Korea to various countries around the world and the UN, so they might have tried to contact their home country, but only 11 hours have passed.
What did I suffer so much for?
Of course, given the current time, I think countries with many surveillance assets like satellites are probably grasping the situation to some extent.
The Blue House also said the US had contacted them earlier, and Se-jin said she kept getting calls too.
I hung up saying I'd explain at the meeting, but as they say, even rotten fish is still fish… America is still America.
"I see. Um, Teacher... if you're too tired, should we postpone the meeting?"
"No, that won't do."
The countries that came because of the meeting I hosted aren't just one or two, but as many as 80-plus countries. I also need to explain at today's meeting how I handled North Korea as an example, so no matter how tired and exhausted I am, I can't postpone it.
Arriving at the hotel parking lot full of police, the first thing I see is an enormous press corps.
"It's Kang Shin-hyeok!"
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok! Please say a word about what you plan to discuss at today's meeting."
"Russia, China, and several other countries have declared non-participation and are criticizing and vilifying Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok, saying he's spreading apocalyptic theories and trying to become the center of world power. Do you have anything to say?"
"Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok!"
Ugh, the meeting hasn't even started yet and I've only seen the reporters, but I'm already sick of it.
"I'll discuss all matters after the meeting is over."
After saying one sentence, I entered the hotel with Se-jin.
Inside the hotel, there are not only police personnel but really many foreigners.
Anticipating it would be chaotic with leaders from many countries gathering, I limited the number of people who could accompany them to the meeting room to one person, but why are there so many?
Did they bring bodyguards since they just can't enter the meeting room itself?
All the foreigners inside the hotel are looking at me, and it seems even more intense than the press corps at the entrance.
Receiving such intense gazes that they felt piercing, I entered the meeting room with Se-jin.
Eight large round tables that can seat 10 people each. In front of them, near the podium, a smaller rectangular table and two chairs are prepared.
Each seat has the corresponding country's flag set up, and the two seats set aside separately are for the United States and the United Kingdom.
To avoid discrimination, I deliberately adopted round tables, but coincidentally there are 82 people, so two had to be set aside.
The United States and the United Kingdom are also the most powerful countries among those participating in today's meeting and have shown quite cooperative attitudes compared to other countries.
Of course, I don't know how things will change after talking about North Korea today.
There were people already seated, so I smiled at them once and arrived in front of the stage.
Most seats are empty, probably because there's still about 30 minutes until the meeting.
There are probably still people who haven't arrived yet.
"Teacher, then I'll go finish the preparations."
"Alright. Good work."
After sending Se-jin away, as I head toward the round tables, numerous foreigners approach me.