Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Ryu Han Empire (5)
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“Ah...... I can’t move anymore.”
“You’ve done well. Leave the rest to us.”
“......Alright.”
I wonder if there’s even anything left?
Kang-hyuk alone had taken down over a million Beastmen.
On top of that, high-ranking officers, nuclear weapons, and all sorts of military gear.
The Beastmen in North Korea had lost most of their forces.
The Ryu Han Empire Army swept forward, mopping up remnants and magic beasts while rapidly expanding their territory.
‘How much damage did we take?’
Thankfully, the legion commanders and division commanders had blocked the air force strikes, keeping casualties down.
Still, over 100,000 soldiers must have lost their lives.
Kang-hyuk let out a small sigh, lost in thought.
“Have we secured the Beastmen’s weapons?”
“Yes, sir. We’ve stockpiled enough arms and armor to equip 100,000 troops. We’re also looting more through the ongoing war. We’re transporting all the weapons and gear to the Kaesong area using cargo trucks supplied by South Korea.”
“......”
Kang-hyuk nodded and summoned 100,000 homunculi from the mountains near Kaesong.
After two days of basic training, they were issued rifles and armor and sent to the front lines.
Every time more weapons and gear were secured, fresh troops were added, allowing the Ryu Han Empire Army to capture Pyongyang in just five days.
The commotion at the border had South Koreans trembling in fear, but news of the Ryu Han Empire Army taking Pyongyang turned that fear into cheers.
“They say the emperor of the Ryu Han Empire wiped out the Beastmen grand general and all his generals!”
“Th-that means even Park Kang-hyuk couldn’t beat him, right?”
“No, Park Kang-hyuk took out the generals on those warships too.”
“There was only one grand general, though. The others crossed into China......”
“Well, yeah, but still......”
South Koreans began thinking the Ryu Han emperor might be a powerhouse surpassing even Park Kang-hyuk.
Meanwhile, Kang-hyuk pressed north with the Ryu Han Empire Army until they reached Sinuiju.
The Beastmen grand general stationed there, Kiark, gritted his teeth at the Ryu Han Empire Army’s assault.
Boom! Booom!
The city was burning.
Even reinforcements from Manchuria couldn’t hold back the Ryu Han Empire Army.
The more enemies the Empire Army cut down, the stronger they grew.
The same went for rifle fire.
The troops boosted their stamina stats every time they leveled up.
To keep fighting longer.
Rat-tat-tat! Bang!
“Fire!”
“Haaah!”
Swoooosh—! Boom!
Countless slashes rained down on the city.
Grand General Kiark gripped his straight sword and counterattacked, but
Swooooooosh—!
“......?!”
Kang-hyuk’s slash forced him to retreat in a hurry.
“F-fall...... Fall back!”
Kiark boarded a vehicle and crossed the Yalu River into Manchuria.
Having razed Sinuiju, the Ryu Han Empire Army turned east, methodically devouring North Korean territory.
Thanks to steady homunculus summons, their numbers swelled to 2.6 million.
Of course, over 900,000 had fallen in battle.
And 300,000 more were wounded.
Just conquering North Korea took two months.
Hearing of the Ryu Han Empire’s victories, South Korea hurriedly deployed its own forces to North Korea.
South Koreans expressed shock at the unification of the peninsula.
“Never thought I’d live to see unification with North Korea......”
“They say there’s barely anyone living there now. But it’s rich in resources, and the Beastmen were already mining them. We can just keep that going.”
“So we’re handing over Kaesong, Pyongyang, and Sinuiju to the Ryu Han Empire?”
“Yeah. Most of South Korea’s land is mountains anyway. But with Baekdu Mountain becoming South Korean territory, maybe we can visit someday.”
The Ryu Han Empire claimed most of Hwanghae Province and half of Pyongan Province, deciding to establish their capital where Pyongyang once stood.
After that, they harvested byproducts from subjugated magic beasts and secured a $1 billion loan from the South Korean government to order massive quantities of building materials, daily necessities, and food.
They also signed contracts with South Korea’s top three construction firms and decided to lease skeletons from the GH Guild.
Of course, leasing all 30,000 was impossible.
South Korea needed them to recover from the Spirit Race war.
Plus, reclaiming Jeolla and Gyeongsang Provinces required reconstruction too.
As Korean unification got underway, the US, China, Japan, and Russia lodged strong protests with the South Korean government.
Even threatening economic sanctions.
China signaled it would transfer territory to the remnant North Korean regime, while the US insisted the UN forces and America should manage North Korea.
Russia and Japan chimed in, claiming parts for themselves.
South Korea pushed back hard.
South Korea designated Hwanghae and parts of Pyongan Provinces, northern Gangwon, Jagang, Ryanggang, South Hamgyong, and North Hamgyong as new administrative districts.
They deployed 100,000 troops and swiftly contracted construction firms to launch urban development projects in these areas.
Neighboring countries, furious, imposed economic sanctions like tariff hikes.
“Fuck, is our economy about to get screwed?”
“The dollar’s over 2,000 won already. At this rate, South Korea’s economy might collapse!”
“We could be facing IMF 2.0. Foreigners are dumping South Korean stocks left and right.”
“Why the hell is America bitching?! If they hated it so much, they should’ve called out our constitution ages ago! Besides, the Ryu Han Empire conquered North Korea—and they protected us from the Spirit Race and Beastmen attacks!”
“Even so, with prices skyrocketing like this......”
South Korea’s economy began crumbling at breakneck speed.
Corporations were just as anxious.
Then, massive orders poured in from the Ryu Han Empire.
The Ryu Han Empire Army seized anything of value, sold it to South Korea, and used the proceeds to order rifles, swords, and other equipment.
Cargo trucks and construction vehicles flooded into Ryu Han Empire territory nonstop.
“For now, demolish all the buildings......”
Apartments and commercial structures would be built using modular methods.
Factories and warehouses with panel construction.
The construction firms were puzzled.
‘Compared to the population...... isn’t the number of factories way too high?’
The Ryu Han Empire planned to import all raw materials from South Korea.
Of course, South Korea imported them from China.
Even though China had jacked up tariffs by dozens of percent...
“We predict this issue will resolve itself over time.”
Arbon, vice master of the GH Guild, submitted a report.
“China currently has two national power-level hunters. But even they’re struggling to hold back the attacks.”
“Didn’t a bunch of the Jeju Island Spirit Race cross into China?”
“Yes. It seems they’re aiming to dominate the Asian continent. Three dimensions are assaulting China right now: the Spirit Race’s Aronnion, the Beastmen’s Lokna and Horben. Aronnion’s hitting the east, Lokna’s seized Manchuria and threatens Beijing.”
“And Horben’s rampaging through the center and south?”
“Yes. We estimate over 10 million Otherworld Races are active in China, armed with high-tech weapons.”
Of course, even those weapons couldn’t withstand a grand master’s slash.
“China’s lost over 20% of its territory to the Otherworld Races. Their activity spiked in China and Japan after South Korea’s war.”
“Didn’t China have an allied dimension?”
“Yes. They’re sending troops to hold off Lokna’s Beastmen.”
Driving the Beastmen out of Manchuria was impossible.
They could only hold the line.
“Recently, they breached as far as Chengde, 100 km from Beijing. Even the capital came under fire from Lokna’s air forces.”
“In other words......”
“Yes, they’ll ask the Ryu Han Empire and South Korea for help.”
To join them in attacking the Manchurian Beastmen.
“That’s probably why China hasn’t imposed export restrictions like Japan.”
“More importantly, these Otherworld Races have weapons rivaling nukes......”
“It seems legit. That’s why the US and China won’t touch nukes carelessly.”
Likewise, the Otherworld Races refrained from nukes, wary of nuclear powers like the US and China.
Casual nuke use could doom the Earth dimension.
Destroy the relay dimension linking worlds, and dominating others becomes impossible.
“Why do they want to conquer other dimensions?”
“......Probably environmental issues and resource depletion. Multiple nuclear wars have ravaged each dimension, triggering crises. Some face food shortages. Resources are running dry, leaving nothing for future generations.”
“That intel comes from......”
“Interrogations of captured Otherworld Races worldwide.”
Kang-hyuk nodded as he reviewed the report.
“Earth serves as a relay for other dimensions. More could connect. But it’s too small to share with everyone. They might need to seize the whole planet to sustain even one dimension.”
“Hmm......”
“Security dilemmas and such could factor in too. Or maybe it’s just raw ambition to rule all dimensions. The dragonkin and dragonmen active in Russia apparently want every race under their feet.”