Chapter 503: The 6th Great Disaster (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 503: The 6th Great Disaster (4)
Immediately following the outbreak of the Great Disaster, Baek-il received a mobilization order.
By law, they were supposed to fall under the direct control of the Central Government. However, Park Min-woo flatly declared his intention to refuse.
This wasn't a matter the government could just sweep under the rug. As Baek-il was South Korea's greatest armed faction, President Kim Jeong-tae contacted him immediately.
["What on earth is the meaning of this? Rejecting a mobilization order? In an emergency, all armed groups based in Seoul are required to follow the Central Government's command. Why is Baek-il, the supposed defender of justice, trying to act independently? This isn't like you at all."]
"No, this is exactly the kind of choice Baek-il would make."
Beyond the monitor, Kim Jeong-tae's face was flushed with anger. With the leadership of Baek-il watching his every move, Park Min-woo spoke in a resolute tone.
"The Central Government does not represent justice. Until now, I believed that President Kim Jeong-tae sincerely cared for the safety of South Korea, but my mind changed after seeing the Incheon incident. The citizens of Incheon are also citizens of South Korea. Yet, look at the Central Government's behavior over the past few months. Just because Incheon refused to bow to your control, you openly branded them a 'rebel faction' and instigated other local governments to ostracize them. And you dare speak of justice? The Central Government lost its claim to justice a long time ago."
["Mage in White. Think very carefully. You've just crossed a dangerous line."]
"Yes, and I have no intention of walking that line ever again. I agonized over this decision. Is it right to prioritize the safety of South Korea by blindly following the Central Government, or is it right to risk everything for those abandoned by your administration? I have determined that the latter is the only correct path, even if it demands sacrifices from Baek-il. For the sake of true justice, we are leaving the safe little fence of 'Seoul' that the Central Government so desperately clings to."
He poured his heart into the passionate speech.
But a sense of justice? It was nothing of the sort.
Baek-il was an organization built around the Mage in White, a figure who symbolized absolute justice. If Park Min-woo wanted to maintain their unwavering loyalty, he had to feed them a worthy justification.
He raised his voice. He made his stance clear. He needed to frame his defection to follow Roman Dmitry as a righteous crusade.
It was pure sophistry, but in this new life, Park Min-woo had mastered the art of making his silver-tongued lies sound like absolute truth.
["Those words... You will be held responsible for them once the Great Disaster is over."]
"Do as you please. For the sake of justice, I am willing to bear any burden."
Click.
He unilaterally cut the connection.
Park Min-woo looked at the people seated around him. Their eyes were sparkling like stars. In this defining moment of righteous defiance, the mages of Baek-il looked at Park Min-woo as if he were the literal god of justice.
They felt an overwhelming surge of pride. They were honored to be part of Baek-il—honored to be his mages.
* * *
Baek-il's course of action was set.
With the decision to aid Incheon finalized, one of the mages eagerly asked, "Are we heading to Incheon right now?"
"No, we are not." Park Min-woo shook his head.
A massive monster wave had just erupted around Incheon. If their true goal was to save lives, the obvious choice would be to deploy immediately.
However, Park Min-woo's thoughts operated on a completely different wavelength.
‘Helping Incheon right now is meaningless. The rest of the country is certain that Incheon will fall to the monster wave, but as long as Roman Dmitry is holding the line, that won't happen. Baek-il's entrance needs to be dramatic. It has to be a dire situation where even Roman Dmitry feels deeply grateful for our intervention. That way, even if he eventually discovers my true identity, he'll have no choice but to acknowledge my contribution.’
He swallowed a sly chuckle. He certainly couldn't voice his true intentions aloud. Meeting the questioning gazes of the mages around him, Park Min-woo adopted a grave expression.
"We have only opened up the possibility of helping Incheon; we won't mobilize for them immediately. President Kim Jeong-tae's logic isn't entirely flawed. During Red Time, we have no way of knowing when or where monsters will spawn. In just an hour, Seoul could face a crisis far worse than Incheon's. If we commit all our forces to Incheon now, Seoul could be devastated in our absence."
His words flowed like water. As if his tongue had been oiled, the lies slipped past his lips without a single hitch.
"Therefore, we will monitor the situation closely. Whether it's Incheon, Seoul, or elsewhere, we will deploy to the region in the greatest peril. Of course, this doesn't mean we will simply sit back and watch. I have already sent scouts to assess the situation in Incheon. The moment we determine they are in critical danger, we will use Teleport magic to intervene."
"As expected of the Master."
"You really have thought of everything."
The mages of Baek-il gazed at him in sheer admiration. Faced with a leader who saw the entire forest rather than just the trees, they couldn't help but praise Park Min-woo's boundless wisdom.
"Our thinking was far too short-sighted. Just because Incheon is in danger doesn't mean we should charge in blindly; we must look at the bigger picture and act accordingly. You truly are the Mage in White. Please, give us the command whenever you are ready. To enact Baek-il's justice, we are prepared to lay down our lives!"
"Just give the order!"
"We await your command!"
Baek-il was united as one.
He felt a swell of pride. For the past twenty years, Park Min-woo had poured his blood, sweat, and tears into building this organization. If Alexander in his past life had represented absolute evil, Baek-il in his current life was the very embodiment of justice.
This was his personal power. He was confident that if he played his cards right, he could secure a permanent place by Roman Dmitry's side.
‘Wait for the right moment. The absolute perfect moment!’
He bided his time.
Even as reports flooded in that monsters were actively besieging Incheon, he spun plausible webs of sophistry to keep the restless mages of Baek-il grounded. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. The monster wave was a massive disaster in its own right, but soon, news arrived that the Blood Rain had begun to fall over Incheon.
A mage monitoring the intelligence feeds shouted, "New information just came in! Blood Rain has started pouring over downtown Incheon. At this rate, massive civilian casualties are inevitable. As you know, the Blood Rain renders standard defense lines completely meaningless!"
Thud!
Park Min-woo sprang up from his seat. With every eye in the room locked onto him, he unleashed a powerful, commanding aura.
"The time has come! If we delay even a second longer, Incheon will be lost. Even if the Central Government persecutes us for this, we will not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the people. Follow me. We are heading to Incheon right now!"
"For justice!"
"For justice!"
The mages roared in a wild frenzy.
And with that...
"Teleport."
The mages of Baek-il threw themselves into the swirling spatial magic.
* * *
But upon arrival, something felt incredibly wrong.
The scene before them was entirely different from the bloodbath Park Min-woo had envisioned.
‘The military power of the Incheon Government is supposed to be weak. A battlefield without Roman Dmitry should naturally be crumbling, and the Blood Rain should be slaughtering civilians by the hundreds. I was absolutely certain of it, but...’
Flash!
Thwack!
Kang Min-ho cleanly severed a monster's head from its shoulders. There were barely any beasts left standing. Monster corpses lay scattered across the castle walls, piled up in massive, bloody heaps at the base of the ramparts.
Faced with the reality that Incheon had repelled the crisis using only the forces of the 2nd Defense Line, Park Min-woo couldn't hide the tremor in his eyes.
‘...This isn't right.’
A single glance was all it took to understand. Kang Min-ho was incredibly skilled. Furthermore, the members of the Directly Controlled Unit fighting alongside him possessed combat prowess far superior to anything the world knew about them.
If this was true, his entire plan was ruined. Baek-il's intervention was only supposed to shine if Incheon was on the brink of annihilation. If they could resolve the crisis on their own, Baek-il's value would inevitably plummet.
Just then, Kim Jun-hyeok approached him.
"Have you come to help Incheon?" the Mayor asked.
"...Yes. Upon hearing the news of the monster wave and the Blood Rain, we immediately utilized Teleport magic to get here."
Park Min-woo felt incredibly awkward even as the words left his mouth. However, Kim Jun-hyeok's reaction was unexpected.
"Thank you."
"Pardon?"
"To be completely honest, I doubted Baek-il's intentions until now. But if you are willing to come to Incheon's aid, even at the cost of turning your back on the Central Government, then regardless of what Baek-il ultimately wants from us, I will gratefully accept your sincerity. Please, lend us your strength. Help Incheon weather this storm."
It was just as Roman Dmitry had warned. Baek-il's intentions were likely far from pure goodwill. Nevertheless, in a situation like this, any allied strength was a necessity. Since this was merely the first day of the Great Disaster, Kim Jun-hyeok—a man who had tasted true despair—refused to grow arrogant just because they had won a single battle.
Therefore, he added, "When all these threats have passed, I will personally ensure that Baek-il's contributions are conveyed to Lord Roman Dmitry."
Kim Jun-hyeok had a perfect read on the situation. If Baek-il had an ulterior motive in Incheon, he would dangle the exact bait Park Min-woo couldn't resist. It was the perfect carrot to keep Baek-il on a tight leash.
* * *
Baek-il's contributions. Roman Dmitry.
Kim Jun-hyeok had deliberately linked those two phrases. He was a remarkably shrewd man. Through those brief words—which smoothly assessed the situation while subtly flattering his guest—Park Min-woo instantly grasped the Mayor's underlying intention.
‘He's trying to use Baek-il as a tool for Incheon.’
Yet, even knowing the truth, Park Min-woo had no choice but to play along. Just as Kim Jun-hyeok suspected, Park Min-woo had a very clear, desperate objective here.
As he surveyed the aftermath around the castle walls, Park Min-woo became absolutely certain of one fact.
‘The military power of Incheon that I analyzed before wasn't anywhere near this level. There is only one reason they could have grown so strong in such a short period of time. It's because Roman Dmitry is guiding them. Just as Dmitry—once a mere frontier barony—was reborn as the continent's greatest power, the people of Incheon are undergoing the exact same rapid evolution.’
Goosebumps erupted along his arms. Just looking at Kang Min-ho made it glaringly obvious.
The man used to be a lowly E-Rank Hunter. He was someone who hadn't even dared to dream of reaching D-Rank. Yet, after meeting Roman Dmitry, he had successfully broken through to B-Rank, and was now displaying combat prowess that far exceeded even that miraculous achievement.
To brush this off as a mere coincidence would be foolish. Having crossed paths with Roman Dmitry and suffered crushing defeats at his hands in his past life, Park Min-woo knew better than anyone that Incheon's sudden rise was no accident.
Incheon. The seed of Dmitry had been planted in this very city. Once it fully germinated, it wouldn't be long before the entire world revolved around Incheon.
‘If I wait until that happens, will Baek-il's value still mean anything to Roman Dmitry?’
Undeniably, it would not.
Roman Dmitry would elevate Incheon so rapidly that Baek-il would soon become entirely insignificant. If Park Min-woo kept trying to play both sides with one foot in and one foot out, he would end up with absolutely nothing.
When he really thought about it, the logic was simple. The people who achieved true greatness alongside Dmitry were the ones who pledged their loyalty before he hit it big. Just like investors who bought unlisted stocks before an IPO, or crypto coins before they skyrocketed, those early followers hit the ultimate jackpot and grew into the core pillars of Dmitry.
He envied them. He, too, desperately wanted to stand at Dmitry's side.
And now, he knew the absolute truth. Roman Dmitry was a guaranteed jackpot stock—a coin destined to explode in value. Knowing that, if he wasted any more time trying to maintain an ambiguous relationship, he might completely miss his chance to board the Heavenly Demon Coin.
‘I can't let that happen. Absolutely not.’
He gritted his teeth. Finally, clarity struck him. When it came to Roman Dmitry, half-baked schemes and political maneuvering were useless. Only unwavering trust and proven value could earn a place among his inner circle.
"Monsters!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Beyond the defensive formation, a fresh wave of monsters swarmed toward the walls. With hundreds of beasts pouring in all at once, Park Min-woo shoved his way past the defenders and stepped to the very front lines.
"Mayor of Incheon," he called out without looking back. "Keep that promise. Make absolutely sure to convey my performance on this battlefield, and the contributions of Baek-il, to your Lord."
Rumble!
Ruuuumble!
He drew up the vast reserves of his magic power. It was impossible to fully regain the transcendent realm he had reached in his past life. However, by exploiting the Awakening system, he possessed a destructive force that utterly overwhelmed the standards of this modern world.
"Fire Storm."
Whoosh!
Whoooooosh!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A tempest of roaring flames swept across the battlefield. The massive storm of ignited magic power erupted outward, instantly incinerating hundreds of monsters in its path.
The defenders gasped in sheer awe.
Park Min-woo. This single, devastating display proved exactly why he was revered as the Mage in White, and why he was hailed as humanity's first Pioneer. His magic, capable of turning even A-Rank monsters into charred ash, was the sole reason he was the only Awakener in South Korea ever granted an S-Rank.
As his magic power surged to its absolute peak, Park Min-woo roared, "Mages of Baek-il! For the defense of Incheon! For justice! Risk your lives and fight!"
‘Only then will I have the right to become Roman Dmitry's man.’
In this life, Park Min-woo was absolutely determined to secure his place at Roman Dmitry's side. The supreme figure he had looked up to in his original life as Kim Pan-seok, and the terrifying conqueror he had remembered even in his second life as Alexander—Park Min-woo intensely, desperately yearned to stand in the shadow of that absolute presence.