Chapter 24
Lion Inside(4)
‘Korean Independence Alliance’ Headquarters Conference Room.
Alliance Leader Park Byeong-geun called together all the core executives and commanders of the Alliance.
“Do you know why I called you all here today?”
Park Byeong-geun began the conversation with his own sense of courtesy.
Everyone here was a high-ranking officer.
They were either major generals like Park Byeong-geun during their active service
or held even higher ranks.
“I am aware that there are unsettling rumors circulating within the Alliance recently.”
The fur that had grown on Park Byeong-geun’s body had already disappeared.
But the red glow in his eyes and the eeriness still made anyone looking at him tremble with unease.
“I understand the anxious hearts of these high-ranking officers. Whether I, Park Byeong-geun, have gone crazy. Whether the Alliance is going wrong. Naturally, you might think such things.”
The executives glanced at each other sideways upon Park Byeong-geun’s words.
Their eyes were asking what on earth he was talking about.
“However! You have absolutely no need to worry.”
Park Byeong-geun slammed the table with a loud bang!
A thick wooden table cracked with a sharp sound.
Simultaneously, the door opened and soldiers rushed in.
“Alliance Leader! What is this about!?”
“W-what are these guys!?”
The high-ranking officers could not help but be caught off guard by the sudden situation.
“You need not worry. The task of rooting out traitors is already complete.”
Park Byeong-geun said with a vicious smile.
The soldiers approached some of the high-ranking officers and bound them with ropes.
“What are you doing!? Park Byeong-geun, have you gone mad!?”
“You bastards! Untie this immediately!”
The high-ranking officers tried to resist, but after having their rank insignias removed, they were just elderly men.
They could not resist with physical strength against well-trained men in their 20s.
“Two pieces of trash attached to the Peace Union.
Four pieces of trash attached to the Democratic Republic.
Three pieces of trash attached to the Free Alliance.”
Park Byeong-geun pointed one by one to the high-ranking officers who had been in cahoots with other warlords.
“And one piece of trash attached to the Hyeseong Group and Badass Guild.”
The last person indicated was Major General Kim Hyun-seung, who had sent people to Kang Hyeon.
“Exactly ten pieces of trash in total.”
“Park Byeong-geun! You crazy bastard! Do you think you’ll get away with this!? Do you think the people here don’t know what you’re doing!?”
Major General Kim Hyun-seung, being dragged away, shouted with veins bulging in his neck.
Park Byeong-geun walked up to Major General Kim Hyun-seung and grabbed his neck.
“Ugh, cough…”
“Trash talks too much.”
Crack!
Major General Kim Hyun-seung’s neck was broken in an instant.
The eyes of the high-ranking officers became like blazing flames.
They had never thought he would kill a fellow high-ranking officer in this manner.
After all the high-ranking officers involved in betrayal were dragged away,
Park Byeong-geun looked at the few remaining high-ranking officers in the room.
“You have absolutely no need to worry. Just watch how I, Park Byeong-geun, will unify the world, and enjoy the show and eat rice cakes. Do you understand?”
The high-ranking officers nodded with hardened faces.
“And that beginning is right here. Seoul.”
Park Byeong-geun pointed to Seoul on the massive map spread out on the table. Written there were ‘Hyeseong Group’ and ‘Badass Guild’.
“I hear the Hyeseong Group is releasing gold these days?”
Was it due to anger over stolen gold?
Park Byeong-geun’s lips trembled.
“The timing seems quite exquisite. Right after our wealth was stolen, they release gold… Isn’t that strange?”
“If you’re suspecting the Hyeseong Group, think again.”
At that moment, the former Army Chief of Staff, who held the highest rank here, spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“The state of the fractures is not ordinary. Damages are emerging everywhere in the Alliance.”
“Fractures being strange isn’t something of just a day or two.”
“That’s not all. Alliance Leader Park Byeong-geun. You know this well too. Every action needs justification. If you move without physical evidence…”
Park Byeong-geun raised his hand to cut off his words.
“There was a time when I was also trapped in such weak thinking.”
“Physical evidence? Justification? They are just excuses of the weak. Even if they didn’t steal the gold, it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean…”
“I will now occupy Seoul and immediately head south to absorb all other warlords! After that, I’ll go north and kill all those strange foreigners! Kekeke… Kik!”
Park Byeong-geun’s eyes were not normal.
He giggled to himself, seemingly enjoying imagining what was to come.
Seeing a 60-year-old man giggling madly did not seem to be a pleasant scene even for fellow elderly men. The high-ranking officers looked at Park Byeong-geun with somber expressions.
‘He’s completely mad…’
‘This… Now we can’t back out…’
The other high-ranking officers realized they could no longer turn back. Having boarded this runaway locomotive, they had no choice but to crush all other enemies. The moment they stopped, they would be the ones to die.
“We advance to Seoul at dawn today.”
Park Byeong-geun unilaterally announced and left the conference room.
“Keke! Khehe… I will become the leader of a unified Korea! No, the king! Kahahaha!”
Heading to his office, Park Byeong-geun was laughing with a mouth split wide like a clown.
***
Ippotranslation
***
That evening.
The 3 warlord groups stationed in each region received urgent reports from their informants planted in the Korean Independence Alliance.
“Park Byeong-geun, that crazy bastard is attacking Seoul!?”
“Why is the Korean Independence Alliance suddenly attacking Seoul!? Is this confirmed information!?”
“All the connections on our side have been cut off. What does this mean…”
The necks of the colluding high-ranking officers were all severed.
The story of Park Byeong-geun driving his army to attack Seoul. The three warlord groups simultaneously thought the same thing.
“This is our chance.”
Among the current four-power system of warlord factions, the Korean Independence Alliance was overwhelmingly the strongest.
“If we play our cards right, we can tear apart and devour the Korean Independence Alliance.”
“I’ve heard strange things have been happening in the alliance recently, but who would have thought things would unfold like this.”
The Korean Peace Union.
The Democratic Republic of Joseon.
The Free Korean Alliance.
Excluding the Korean Independence Alliance, the other 3 warlord groups quickly reached an agreement.
“This is a golden opportunity to swallow up even the Hyeseong Group, which has been a thorn in our side!”
This time, the 3 warlord groups will combine their forces.
To devour the largest force of Park Byeong-geun and the Hyeseong Group owned by Chairman Ahn Yu-seong.
“For the peace of the Korean Republic.”
If things go this way, this land would become much more peaceful and safe. The three warlord groups believed this without a doubt.
***
Ippotranslation
***
Badass Guild Office.
Today, Kang Hyeon was spending a leisurely afternoon drinking beer like a loafer.
“Guild Master.”
A voice from behind.
Kang Hyeon immediately sensed something was wrong.
“What is it?”
“A dimensional rift.”
“Do I have to go again?”
“The scale seems unusual. If the regular attack team goes, there might be considerable damage…”
Kang Hyeon sighed at Team Leader Han Si-hwan’s words.
“Phew… Let’s go.”
There’s no helping it.
There’s no need to cause unnecessary damage to the guild.
“These incidents have been frequent lately.”
Recently, the frequency of dimensional rifts has been increasing.
At the same time, the scale of the rifts has also grown.
A larger rift scale means a higher probability of stronger monsters appearing.
Therefore, Kang Hyeon’s comfortable loafer life was bound to be disrupted.
“That’s right. Some are saying this could be a sign of a large-scale dimensional rift.”
“Large-scale dimensional rift? What’s that?”
Kang Hyeon tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.
“During the time the Guild Master was not around, there was a massive dimensional rift occurring simultaneously.”
“Oh…”
“There have been a total of two such incidents on the Korean Republic.”
“I see. Was it serious?”
Han Si-hwan nodded with a somber expression at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Each time a large-scale dimensional rift occurred, tremendous damage was inflicted. It’s incomparable to typical rifts.”
According to Han Si-hwan, this was far more serious than Kang Hyeon thought.
“Can you predict when it will happen?”
“I don’t know. During the first large-scale rift,
there were signs the day before, but the second time, it happened without any warning.”
“However, during both large-scale dimensional rifts, something common occurred: the rift scale increased and the frequency became more frequent.”
Exactly matching the current situation.
“I suppose we should prepare.”
“Yes. We don’t know when it might happen, but preparation won’t hurt.”
“I’ll gather the guild members soon to discuss this.”
“I’ll prepare.”
“By the way, where are we? We seem to be almost there.”
Today, Kang Hyeon’s purpose was to handle the dimensional rift.
After talking with Han Si-hwan and traveling quite a distance, the rift was still not visible.
“It’ll be visible once we turn the corner at the end of this road.”
“We’re almost there.”
Finally, Kang Hyeon turned the corner.
A dimensional rift tearing through space was visible not far away.
“What…”
Kang Hyeon frowned.
Monsters had already escaped from the rift.
“I’m sorry. The expected rift time seems to have been incorrect.”
Dimensional rifts were not as convenient a dungeons. Such mistakes were common, and complete misalignments were frequent. Fortunately, someone had already dealt with the monsters this time. The rift was already closing. Around it were chaotic beings. Monster corpses were scattered everywhere. There were pools of black blood, indicating an enormous number of corpses.
A scene of brutal massacre.
In front of it stood a man and a woman.
People Kang Hyeon knew well.
“Han Se-yeon…?”
The wind blew, causing Han Se-yeon’s pitch-black long hair to flutter.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Long time no see.”
Han Se-yeon said in a monotonous voice.
“Right.”
“I never thought you would still be alive.”
“Actually, I was dead.”
“Is that so.”
Though she could have been surprised, Han Se-yeon was excessively calm.
Kang Hyeon looked at the corpses of various monsters scattered around her.
Among them were monsters he was familiar with.
‘That must have been quite tricky.’
Based on the circumstances, it was clear that Han Se-yeon and the man next to her had dealt with these monsters.
‘His name was Kim Yi-hyeon, wasn’t it?’
A man who had been following Han Se-yeon since the beginning. A former instructor at the early ability users cultivation school who had also met Kang Hyeon.
‘Well, I already knew their capabilities.’
They were among the top ability users in South Korea.
Even if times had changed, handling these monsters would not have been too difficult for them.
“Thank you. It would have been troublesome to handle, but thanks to you, it’s been cleanly resolved.”
Han Se-yeon nodded at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“If you’re grateful, why don’t you treat me to some tea?”
“Sure, why not.”
Kang Hyeon chuckled.
A moment later. Kang Hyeon guided Han Se-yeon to the reception room of the Badass Guild.
A teacup was placed in front of them. Han Se-yeon carefully savored the tea.
“It’s nice to have tea after a long time.”
Her expression was completely relaxed, as if truly happy.
“Three years. No, four years?”
“About that.”
“I thought I would never see you again, but here you are. To be honest, when I first heard that Kang Hyeon had returned, I didn’t believe it. I was at the battle that day, after all.”
“Everyone says that.”
“Should I say it’s just like you? You’re the same as always. Haha.”
Han Se-yeon laughed, finding Kang Hyeon’s lukewarm response amusing.
Kang Hyeon stared at her silently.
A hood like a rag.
The armor underneath was also torn and broken.
It wasn’t from today’s battle, but seemed to be the result of traces accumulated over a long time.
Her hair was disheveled and unkempt, and her face was dirty.
Despite this, her beauty had not faded.
It was clearly far from the Han Se-yeon he knew.
‘Is this really the same Han Se-yeon who used to be so neat?’
Feeling his gaze, Han Se-yeon spoke.
“Is there something on my face? You’re staring today.”
Kang Hyeon shook his head.
“It’s nothing. More importantly, what were you doing? From your appearance, it seems like you’ve been wandering for quite a while.”
“Hmm… Traveling.”
“Traveling?”
“Yes. Not long after you died, I left Korea. I traveled the world.”
From Han Se-yeon’s words, Kang Hyeon could discern one fact.
‘Her younger sister must be dead.’
The sister whom Han Se-yeon had cherished dearly.
The reason she had tried so hard to become stronger, and the reason she had been influenced by the administrators, was likely dead.
So she could leave Korea without regrets.
“I’ve only been back for about a month. I met Kim Yi-hyeon here and came to this Badass Town together.”
Kang Hyeon was inwardly surprised by her mention of meeting Kim Yi-hyeon in Korea.
‘Did she really travel the world alone during this time?’
He had naturally assumed she was moving with this man Kim Yi-hyeon, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“If Badass Town is your destination, did you come to see me?”
“Yes. I was curious if Kang Hyeon had really returned. And I wanted to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
“For my past mistakes…”
Just as Han Se-yeon was about to speak.
Thud thud!
The sound of someone urgently knocking on the door was heard.
“What is it?”
“Guild Master!”
The one who entered was surprisingly Team Leader Han Si-hwan.
“What’s going on?”
Han Si-hwan rarely shows such an urgent demeanor. Kang Hyeon sensed that something had happened.
“The Korean Independent Alliance is mobilizing troops!”
“Mobilizing troops?”
Kang Hyeon frowned and asked again.
“Yes. The entire army is currently advancing towards Seoul simultaneously.”
At that moment. Kang Hyeon suddenly recalled the words of a military officer he had met recently.
“A typhoon… Did he say a typhoon is coming?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. Prepare immediately.”
