Chapter 125
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Declaration of War
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Rachel, who had been teasing me for a while, seemed to tire of it and cautiously spoke up.
"So, our Yongyong who's busy making weird bombs. Does that mean no more expeditions for now?"
"Hmm... Who knows?"
In truth, I wanted to push down to Gyeongsangbuk-do, but the Sins made that impossible.
Even Chungcheong-do had taken quite a toll. If we'd gone after Chungcheong-do and a Sin appeared, China would've overwhelmed us with human wave tactics.
From the start, China had invaded with exactly 300,000 hunters.
Here, the battle with the Sin of Gluttony ends with Choi Si-woo victorious, wrapping up the war.
This time, it'd probably be me.
Choi Si-woo, as the hero, would stay by my side protecting me absolutely.
"If that Sin invades, it'll be dangerous. How about borrowing the power of the Elf Kingdom?"
"The Elf Kingdom?"
"Be honest. Are you confident you can beat whatever this Sin thing is?"
It didn't seem impossible without variables.
After all, Choi Si-woo subdues Gluttony around this time.
Maybe the law of causality would make him a bit stronger, but we had to consider China's forces joining in too.
The only real variable would be if another Sin showed up alongside it.
Even that might be manageable with the current Choi Si-woo.
"Maybe I should go see Mamang after a while."
I hadn't seen her in ages. Though we'd met a few times even when she was in the library.
It was around the time nearly a century had passed. I'd connected to Mamang's room once.
"Should I come along?"
"Let's think about it first."
The opponent might turn out weaker than expected.
But an unusual wave of unease washed over me.
A anxiety that something would blow up within days. The Sin of Gluttony and China definitely launch their invasion on June 25th.
Right around now.
In the end, the academy matters most. If war breaks out, it'll be relayed to Hansung through the Association.
Better not stray far for the time being.
The academy was unusually hectic today.
Especially the instructors—they seemed swamped, like something big had happened.
Is this that moment?
Thanks to me and the heroines, class balance broke ages ago. That's why we'd gotten multiple messages from the academy about joining guilds or whatever.
We'd ignored them every time.
But today, even Shinohara Kotone was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey. Long time no see, everyone?"
The Blazing Bat, whom I hadn't seen in a while, seemed happy fooling around with Yoo Jin-seok at first glance, but her face was unusually grim.
"Oh, Blazing Bat, long time no see. How's the love life kicking off with my brother?"
"This kid."
Things must be going well with Yoo Jin-seok? She waved it off with a smirk—that gross Blazing Bat.
Her expression suggested no issues with Yoo Jin-seok.
"Or are you thinking of switching to Baekhwa for your first kiss?"
That'd be fine by me.
Her personality sucks, but her body's great.
Fixing that attitude might be fun too.
"You've lost your mind. This isn't the time for jokes."
"Why not?"
She'd smirked first—what's going on?
"A Yellow Dragon appeared in China."
What? For real?
"Is that true?"
Choi Si-woo, who'd regressed once from shock, asked in surprise.
"Yeah. It's total chaos right now."
Shouldn't the Yellow Dragon be dead?
Did the law of causality revive it instead of the Sin?
That's a bit off.
The Beijing warlord, having discovered the Sin of Gluttony, located the Yellow Dragon's corpse and used the Sin to revive it.
Fuck. A Sin and now the Yellow Dragon on top.
Does that mean, unlike the previous Yellow Dragon, the Beijing warlord can control it via the Sin?
"How'd they find the Yellow Dragon's corpse?"
The Yellow Dragon's corpse originally drifted down the Yellow River and was used as the energy source for a Gate Break triggered by the death of original character Yoo Eun-ha. But now that things have diverged from the original, the Beijing warlord has revived it.
So it's because I'm still alive.
No, even so, the humans in the erosion zones would've all died. Without a Gate Break, they revived the Yellow Dragon—can't we just take it down?
The problem is that this Yellow Dragon is heading straight for Seoul.
The Yellow Dragon attacking Seoul directly?
We're screwed then.
"Can we stop it?"
There are various futures, so nothing can be stated definitively.
"Can I take on both the Yellow Dragon and the Sin at once?"
You can only handle one at a time. Master, you reincarnated in a human body. Even as a monster, you can't wield your former power fully. Facing both simultaneously would put you at risk. The Yellow Dragon is stronger than before.
Even I need full power?
"If Choi Si-woo takes on Gluttony?"
Gluttony is stronger than expected. Best case is a draw. It's inheriting the Beijing warlord commander's position in the future—Ping Tao is the host.
Ping Tao as the host?
Ping Tao holds the constellation Saimoari too.
We're fucked. Choi Si-woo's minions are recent creations.
Plus, I've been buffing him often with Lust's authority, making him stronger among Sins, but still relatively weak.
In the original, Gluttony used Beijing warlord commander Zhang Wei as its main body. But if it chooses Ping Tao with a completely different OS?
Gluttony grows stronger the more it devours. Even if Lust has higher growth potential, Ping Tao gorging mindlessly would level up faster than my loyal Choi Si-woo.
Her body's already sturdy, and gorging right up to war? This'll be rough.
We're doomed. Should I have let Choi Si-woo bang her thoroughly first?
No, NTR's off the table no matter what.
The Yellow Dragon... honestly, not sure if I can take it.
Maybe I can. But with the Sin too? Probably tough.
Time to borrow big bro Yoo Jin-seok's help, the original Divine Sword user.
In the original, the Divine Sword handled China's numbers.
With our headcount now, Yoo Jin-seok vs. Ping Tao sounds good.
"That's why there probably won't be classes. The other instructors told their classes they have to head to the Association because of the Yellow Dragon."
"You too, Blazing Bat?"
"Yeah. If the Yellow Dragon's under Chinese control, who knows what'll happen. Worst case, war. You all head straight home after this."
Immediate dismissal, huh.
"Could we get deployed to the war?"
An unnamed friend from Class A raised his hand.
"Even if it blows up, we pros will handle it—not you cadets."
But that's exactly what happens.
In the original, Choi Si-woo's meddling played a big part.
Good thing my Choi Si-woo only cares about me now.
This era's wars are all hunters anyway. Cadets become student soldiers. Wartime system's different from pre-Cataclysm.
Thanks to that, we headed back to the penthouse.
From breakfast through lunch, news on the Yellow Dragon flooded TV and the internet. By past 4 PM, it finally blew up.
Breaking news. Chinese President Zhang Xuechei has declared war on Korea from the Nanjing Presidential Palace. The Blue House expressed regret, with President Ha vowing a firm response to the invasion...
Ah, it blew up.
The Blue House stance isn't the issue. What did Ha Jeong-seok say directly?
"We will crush those rude, foolish Chinese bastards who still see us as Joseon and restore the glory of ancient Goguryeo!"
Crazy bastard. Hunters do the fighting. What're you gonna do?
But look.
That guy's eyes are twitching.
He's scared shitless? Won't he just run?
He didn't act like that in the original. Probably because all his hunter underlings died.
Choi Si-woo, who had been quietly watching the news beside me, spoke up.
"War might break out soon, and we could get a mobilization order not long after."
"That serious?"
Reina reacted to Choi Si-woo's worried tone.
That's the original. Early in the war, the national army gets crushed by China's hunter legions.
While they act as meat shields, Korea recalls all hunters abroad, forming a hunter army to fight back.
Probably similar this time.
"With the Yellow Dragon too, we might face the worst case. It wrecked an area the size of the peninsula in China before barely being subdued."
"If it's that dangerous, what about the monsters to face the Sins?"
"They'll handle China's numbers first. Problem is the Yellow Dragon might be stronger now. Revived by a Sin, it could even surpass them."
Sins alone are Four Heavenly Kings level.
Yoo Jin-seok said that himself in the original.
"Then how about bringing the anti-dragon Magnut from the Elf Kingdom?"
"There was such a thing?"
"Yeah. That dragon from the Demon King's army."
That guy's still alive?
Honestly, unknown to me. Wasn't around when I fought? Demon King's forces—I should've seen it.
"Mom. Was there a dragon like that?"
As Reina asked, Rachel fidgeted her fingers before answering carefully.
"It's a dragon I saw during my Resistance days. That thing burned every elf village to the ground. Don't remember details, but it was the guardian god of the nation formed by the Demon King and Empire's alliance—torched all the human rebels' lands."
"But we can't go to your timeline anyway."
With Rachel tied to this worldline, the destroyed one is inaccessible.
Only the happy Elf Kingdom remains after the Demon King's death.
"No, that dragon's ancient. Not sure, but Resistance elders said it'd lived centuries."
If such a dragon exists, worth a shot?
Nah. Test the bridge before crossing, as they say.
"It might be strong firepower-wise, but can we persuade it?"
"We have to try. It'll at least talk."
Yeah. Gotta do something.
"Just in case, I should meet Ha Jeong-seok too."
"Gonna yank more hair?"
No, not now. After the war—for creative economy.
Already getting skinned by the Yellow Dragon; pull his hair and who knows.
"Nah, something else. Won't take long."
Need to negotiate with Ha Jeong-seok this war.
On Baekhwagyo's treatment, and autonomy for my lands.
First, find a way to counter the Yellow Dragon.
I headed to the rooftop and called Kate.
"Kate. Open a gate when I say."
"Yes."
Got separate business with Ha Jeong-seok, but need to buy time against the Yellow Dragon.
Mentioning original divergences gives him headaches.
Better approach differently.
"Akashic Records. Does Korea still have an air force?"