Are They That Clueless?

The dazzling morning sun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rose over Malaysia’s beach.

The two-day dreamlike respite was over.

Above the emerald sea, the giant Goblin Gate Gabi had made finally revealed its bizarre, majestic shape once more.

Beyond the gate, the Indonesian and Philippine front lines still throbbed with violet mana mist and the reek of blood.

"Looks like we’re going."

Eileen let out a short sigh and swept her tangled hair back into place.

"Haah... what a shame...."

Yu Jihyun and Jo Ayoung were looking at Woojin too, their faces dripping with disappointment.

"So, um...."

"Once this is over, we’re taking a month-long vacation!!"

Woojin was about to see them off with a hug, one by one, when Eileen, who had stopped at the gate, suddenly turned back and hooked an arm around the back of his neck.

"Woojin."

"H-huh?"

Eileen’s red lips came so close to his ear that they were almost touching.

The moment her hot breath brushed him, Woojin’s body went rigid.

"You’d better be prepared. The day this Asian campaign is over, we’re going to unleash everything we held back last night."

"!!"

Woojin swallowed hard.

Eileen’s fingers slowly traced down his lips, then jabbed him right over the heart.

"We’ll decide the order ourselves. You just need to keep your stamina up and wait. Got it? Eat lots of food that’s good for you. It’s not one of us—it’s three."

Yu Jihyun hugged Woojin from behind as well, gently.

"Hehe, Woojin. I’m really not going to go easy on you. I’m not letting go that day until you’re crying and begging."

"C-crying and begging...?"

"Hehe... I’m telling you to prepare yourself for your soul to be wrung out."

Wrung out? What exactly?

The words Yu Jihyun added with a bright smile were even more destructive than Eileen’s provocation.

Jo Ayoung went ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a step further and wrapped both arms around Woojin’s waist, lifting her chin.

"Woojin! I’ll show you exactly what Hercules can do in bed!"

I-I’m curious...

What exactly could Hercules do in bed?

Woojin’s face turned bright red, as if it might burst.

Enjoying his flustered reaction, the three of them burst into laughter and threw themselves into the Goblin Gate.

Just before the gate closed, Eileen shot him one last wink that struck his heart like an arrow.

"I love you, my king. Don’t get hurt. The right to devour you belongs only to us."

Bang—

The gate shut, and silence returned to the beach.

Woojin stood there blankly for a long while, savoring the warmth that still lingered on his lips.

Watching from the side, Sangjin clicked his tongue and walked over.

"Wow... hyung, that was seriously scary. Did you see the look in their eyes? That wasn’t love—that was the look of predators sizing up prey. Me, I’m just happy with Eroa and Lumi."

"...Shut up, idiot. Get ready already. We’re heading north to Thailand soon. And you... "

Woojin gave Sangjin a sidelong glance.

"You and Eroa and Lumi, nothing weird, right?"

Sangjin put on a shameless grin.

"What do you mean?"

"...I mean they’re undead, aren’t they? They’re corpses. Corpses!"

"They’re not corpses. They were just in a corpse state before regaining their true forms. I’m a necromancer too, you know—does that make me a corpse?"

"No... but still..."

"And what’s the problem? I’d be fine with Eroa and Lumi even if they were corpses."

"Haah... you’re not planning to get married?"

"Why would I need to when I’ve got them? Once I hit level 30, I’ll get another one!! This time I should go for a different style!!"

"...Haah...."

Sangjin said it with surprising sincerity.

"I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, hyung. I’ve got you by my side, I’ve got three beautiful sisters-in-law, and I’ve got two lovely maid girls too. After this campaign, I’ll be insanely rich!! What more could I ask for?"

"Yeah... if you’re happy, that’s enough...."

"Hyung, you should enjoy it too!!"

"Enjoy what, you little brat. Let’s go!!"

Woojin took the lead, doing his best to hide his reddened face.

But in his head, his thoughts were already overflowing with blissful images of what would happen after the campaign ended.

After their rest, Woojin and Sangjin’s army arrived at the northern border of Malaysia.

Once they crossed this point, they would be in Thailand, the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula.

But an unexpected obstacle stood in their way.

Dozens of tanks and armored vehicles from the Thai border defense forces had their gun barrels trained on Woojin’s group, while senior Thai officials in military uniforms stood there with smug expressions.

Woojin narrowed his eyes and picked up the radio.

"This is Legion. We request border clearance. We’re here as part of the Asian Allied Forces to clear the gates inside Thailand."

Then an unpleasant voice crackled out of the Thai loudspeaker.

Woojin switched off the radio and looked at Sangjin.

Sangjin, still tucked into Eroa’s arms, snorted as if this were the stupidest thing he’d ever heard.

"Hyung, what the hell are those bastards saying? Why is the atmosphere like this?"

Woojin immediately tried contacting Eileen on a dedicated line.

Apparently she already knew what was happening, because the moment she answered, her voice was ice-cold.

"Oppa, I just heard the news. The Thai border defense force is blocking your way?"

"Yeah. They’re telling us to sign some security agreement or whatever, but what the hell is this? Weren’t the agreements between the allied forces already settled?"

Revulsion seeped from Eileen’s voice.

"A hard-right faction inside Thailand, along with corrupt senior military figures, pulled this on their own. They’re ignoring pressure from the Benedict family and trying to grab a cut of the action while they can. To gamble with humanity’s survival like this... they truly have no sense at all."

"Then what should we do? Wait here?"

Eileen answered without hesitation.

"No. Oppa, do whatever you want. I’ll clean up the mess afterward. If I have to erase them from the face of the earth under the Benedict name, so be it. You’re going to be a king now. There’s no need to bow your head to trash like that."

"...Got it. Then I’ll do this my way."

Woojin ended the call and lifted the radio again.

The Thai government’s demands, delivered through the Benedict family’s liaison, were enough to make anyone gape in disbelief.

* Fifty percent of all loot from the campaign would be handed over to the Thai government.

* A suppression fee of one billion dollars per gate would be paid.

* A security contribution of one hundred million dollars per day would be paid for the privilege of staying inside Thailand.

"...Have these guys lost their minds?"

The curse burst out of Woojin’s mouth before he could stop it.

Catherine, standing nearby, let out a helpless laugh.

"Mr. Woojin, it looks like the Thai government has no idea what situation they’re in. They seem more blinded by the profit right in front of them than by the fact that they’re blocking the saviors of the world."

"Hyung, they seriously have no sense, do they? We’re here to save their asses, and they’re making us pay??"

Woojin’s eyes cooled.

"Hyung, what are you going to do?"

"What, are they the ones at a loss or are we? Still, the Thai people need to know the truth."

Woojin took his smartphone out of his pocket.

"So this is where it comes in handy."

Then he started a live broadcast on the prearranged global channel called Legion Channel.

I never thought I’d actually end up doing a broadcast.

The moment the live feed went up, the number of viewers surged past hundreds of millions in an instant.

"Hello, everyone. I’m Kim Woojin of the Asian Suppression Force. Gabi’s dad."

After that, the chat window began flying upward at a terrifying speed.

The screen showed the Thai army blocking Woojin’s path with brazen, arrogant faces, along with the absurd demand letter sent by the Thai government.

"Everyone, do you see this? Right now the Thai government is leaving the gates that are devouring their territory untouched, while demanding half the loot and an outrageous amount of money from us, the ones who came to suppress them."

Woojin’s calm voice spread across the world.

"We recovered Malaysia in just three days. We saved hundreds of thousands of civilians, and in the process we didn’t ask for a single cent. And yet Thailand seems to think filling its own pockets matters more than humanity’s survival. If we stop here, who’s going to contain the gates inside Thailand?"

The moment the broadcast went out, global communities exploded.

But the real catalyst was something else entirely.

An hour after the broadcast began, a video uploaded by a Thai woman sent shockwaves across the world.

The video racked up hundreds of millions of views in no time and was shared all over the world.

The Thai people could not take it anymore.

Chants of “Save our families!” and “The corrupt government must go!” filled the streets of Bangkok.

But a statement like that was never going to work.

The next day.

Sangjin smirked and gave his smartphone a shake.

"Hyung, how about it? Want to push the public opinion angle a little more?"

"No, I think this is enough."

Woojin shouted at the troops blocking the border.

"We came here to save humanity! And anyone who tries to stop us is no different from siding with the monsters!! For the safety of the Thai people, we’ll break through by force!! We won’t attack anyone who stands aside!!"

Then Woojin called Sangjin over.

"Sangjin."

"Yeah, hyung. I’m ready."

Sangjin snapped his fingers.

Immediately, Eroa and Lumi, who had been waiting behind him, stepped forward in their dazzling maid uniforms.

"To the unworthy things that block the master’s path... rest."

Eroa’s dark violet magic spread over the land.

At once, the mines the Thai army had planted across the border were neutralized all at once, spitting out black smoke.

"Gabi, call your friends."

"Okay! Appa!! Everyone, come out—! Ttak, tak—!"

Gabi’s authority exploded.

More than fifty Thai tanks and armored vehicles blocking the border suddenly began to twist and contort with a sickening crunch.

The steel barrels became noses, and the treads became legs.

"W-what!? The tanks... the tanks are moving!!"

The Thai soldiers screamed and jumped out of the tanks.

The weapons they had been riding in transformed in an instant into Gabi’s subordinates: iron goblins.

The tank goblins turned with imposing dignity and trained their barrels on the Thai government officials.

"W-what in the world...!"

"Now, get out of the way. You government bastards are so full of greed it’s pathetic...."

With just one line from Woojin, the Thai officials turned ghost-white and fled.

The soldiers guarding the border, on the other hand, cheered and opened the way.

"Kim Woojin! Kim Sangjin! Please save Thailand!!"

"Please reclaim this land in place of our useless government!!"

The soldiers laid down their rifles and saluted.

And so Woojin and Sangjin crossed the border with the passionate support of the Thai people and the entire world at their backs.

A small smile touched Woojin’s lips.

Not bad.