Chapter 34 – Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians

Chapter 34 – Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians

I calmly watched the Production Facility Summoning Rift steadily opening. I quietly asked Seongjae, who was with me.

“How are the new people?”

“They seem to be adapting quickly. There are some around my sister’s age, so they seem to be brightening up a lot these days.”

“Were there any immediately useful abilities?”

“Oh, about that. There’s a Decay Ability User.”

“Decay Ability User?”

“They can rapidly decompose organic water, and apparently they can set directions and locations, like a castle.”

“Oh, really.”

“They might even be able to make compost, or if they’re good, even methane or oil. We’re experimenting with various things together, but…”

Seongjae shook his head.

“It seems they thought it was a useless ability until now, so I’m teaching them from scratch… It’s going to take some time.”

I patted him on the shoulder and said,

“I’ll trust you with it.”

If we could even get compost easily, farming would undoubtedly become much smoother. And farming was the most basic of basics.

We couldn’t just eat processed food forever.

Although there were greenhouses that Deokchan had originally managed, they were far from enough. At the very least, we had to hold out somehow until former colleagues who could solve related problems arrived.

The fortunate thing was that we had currently accepted about 40 people into Motel Village. And all of them were helping with various tasks, including farming, as laborers.

‘Of course, not as much as Worker Bugs.’

I sighed.

“Ding!!”

Watching the diligently working Worker Bugs, whether they knew their value or not, I thought. Unlike Worker Bugs, who could practically work for free near the Mana Facility of the Main Base…

Humans needed to be fed, they needed to sleep, they needed to be clothed. They had too many demands, such as heating, leisure time, and safety.

‘Even so, it’s for the future… ‘

Of course, I wasn’t doing this as a charity.

They were all Ability Users with special powers, and as society grew, many of their abilities would be useful in some way.

Even if not, we could rely on the professional skills they had in their previous lives. For example, we found a dedicated Electricity Engineer who is currently carrying out electrical work with Seongjae and Deokchan.

Also, the more they trained their mana, the more basic combat abilities they would acquire, and then we could achieve the Mana Stone Economy that was not realized in the previous life.

‘Then the supply of Mana Stones will surely jump significantly.’

In other words, I was purchasing their potential and investing in the future. And this was also an essential task.

‘Right now, no one knows the value of Mana Stones… but later, it will become impossible for Worker Bugs to go and pick up Mana Stones alone.’

For now, all I had to do was collect mana stones from the monster corpses scattered around, but eventually, everyone would realize the preciousness of mana stones, and there would be none left lying on the ground.

In particular, mana stones from Stompers were good enough for practical use, so rumors about them were starting to circulate in Apoin.

If you really think about it, the humans were no different from mana stone producers.

After all, it didn’t cost money to produce water and electricity, which were essential for modern life, and it was something that could be done with a little effort from Sua and Seongjae.

‘So you humans, hurry up and level up your castle.’

Three more Styrofoam Magitech Armors were summoned to act as their combat instructors, making a total of four that took turns fighting them. There was also a plan to immediately dispatch the humans to the dungeon once they had leveled up their castle enough.

“Hehehehe…”

A hopeful smile naturally appeared on my face.

* * *

Meanwhile, I continued to conquer the New Downtown Area.

‘The south is almost cleared…’

The problem was the north of the New Downtown Area. Not only was there Line 1 Route, but it was also a strategic point with many shopping districts, so a large force was stationed there, commensurate with its abundant resources.

‘Using the Assault Cannon will be difficult… ‘

If they were monsters, I could just sweep them all away with the Assault Cannon, but the opponents were people with resources. Putting aside the lives of the Marauders, I couldn’t risk destroying the humans’ food, clothing, and other necessities as collateral damage.

‘It’s something that’s urgently needed, after all.’

Since it was a place with many resources, the amount of resources the humans had collected was clearly on a different level from Kim Cheonsu, who had been struggling to survive.

Moreover, even without that, the number of people inside the castle was exploding, and I was starting to worry about resource procurement. I had to gather all the resources I could.

But the problem was their scale.

A number that seemed to be at least six hundred people.

‘The original population of Geumhwa New City was over 80,000, I think… ‘

Even assuming at least half of the humans survived, that was 40,000 people.

Compared to the total human population, it wasn’t actually a large number. It also meant that there were still many survivors who hadn’t properly gathered together.

‘Even if they’re humans, compared to my forces, it’s still too many.’

The opponents were Marauders. Many of them had combat-type abilities, and by now, they would have gained some experience. So, sending Magitech Armor or Mountain Cavalry wouldn’t solve the problem.

‘It’s not impossible if I try to do it with water…’

It was a problem that would eventually be solved if I sent enough water.

But this was a matter of efficiency. If I did this, I would have to spend as much time and resources as The Man. And in the worst-case scenario, I had to consider the possibility of my machines’ information being leaked.

‘At least before The Man, I want to reduce the number of enemies a bit… Is there a good way…?’

As I was thinking such thoughts, I was looking for a way to drastically reduce the number of looters without resource loss, using an observation probe with even better image quality, when I witnessed a peculiar sight.

“Oh, what is this now?”

It looked like two marauder squads were competing with each other, having a heated argument. The first group consisted mainly of looters living in a nearby middle school, wearing red headbands.

“What, stop bothering me and get lost!”

“You middle school punks are in our territory again! Are you crazy, wanting to die?””

The second group called the intimidating guys, who clearly looked like castle dwellers, “middle school punks.” It seemed like they were trying to provoke them.

“What, middle school punks!? These bastards, if they think they can get away with it!”

Soon after, the first group, stirring up mana with fire manipulation.

Perhaps it was a truly insignificant provocation, but for The Man who were fighting over territory, a small trigger seemed to be all it took.

Whoosh-

Thud-thud-thud-thud-

With an ability user in the rear, shooting stones like ammunition.

Whoosh- Flash-!

They were forming a battle formation, with a burly man swinging a Japanese sword, which he had obtained from who knows where, at the front.

Meanwhile, the other side wasn’t just taking it.

Clang-clang-clang-

The man covered in steel was taking the stones with his whole body.

“Hmph-!”

When The Man stretched out his hand and deflected the Japanese sword.

Clang!

The blade broke and bounced away helplessly.

“Damn it! I knew it was cheap!”

The brute swore, but the tide of battle had already turned.

Grab!

“Ugh, ugh, cough, cough!”

The brute, having lost his weapon, was immediately grabbed by the neck by a steel-clad hand.

“Don’t you ever show your face in this area again. I told you that last time, didn’t I? This is the last time I’ll let it slide. You’re not trying to pick a fight with us, are you?”

“Alright, we’re pulling out.”

The battle ended anticlimactically. Watching the scene through the Observation Probe, I pondered the situation from a moment ago.

“Hmm… They don’t seem to get along?”

But it didn’t seem to be a serious conflict. At the very least, it was a situation that fizzled out without anyone dying.

That’s not to say they were hesitant to kill. Human corpses were often seen near where they lived.

They also desecrated bodies, decorating their entrances with skulls, showing a loss of their human castle.

Anyway, it was true that my curiosity was piqued.

“It’s worth checking out.”

I immediately called Sua and asked her to gather some information from the survivors. Her answer was this:

“The Looters, it’s a place where three equally powerful groups have formed an alliance. But it seems there’s a certain amount of friction as they keep each other in check.”

It seemed they were having their own Three Kingdoms period amongst themselves.

‘This… I can use this, can’t I?’

I started to rack my brain.

***

I immediately issued orders to the Mountain Cavalry.

Whoosh- whoosh-whoosh-

The sound of wind cutting through. The eight Mountain Cavalry units patrolling the vicinity immediately began to move according to my instructions.

The direction they were heading was towards the Middle School Looters, who had invaded enemy territory, tucked tail, and were currently retreating.

‘There’s no way they acted like that for no reason.’

The Marauders weren’t fools. At the very least, most of the men in the Republic of Korea had served in the military. It was clear they would have reported to their loyal forces before heading to a specific area and then moved.

‘In other words, their superiors must have anticipated friction.’

They probably tested the waters, and if there was no reaction, they’d take the disputed area. Even the order to retreat if there was friction might have been part of The Man’s strategy.

‘Based on this… I’ll use the situation.’

I ordered the Mountain Cavalry to ambush.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

The Man immediately threw eight javelins.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Four of the five-man squad fell without being able to react. The Man was suddenly left alone, a hulking figure.

“Huh? Why are you guys-“

The Man initially couldn’t grasp the situation, but soon became terrified.

“H-heeeek!”

The Man then pulled out a broken Japanese sword and started looking around. I had a separate request for The Man.

‘I feel a little bad.’

I ordered the Mountain Cavalry to stab the right thigh of the man, who was trembling like an aspen leaf out of fear.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

The hulking man couldn’t even defend properly and gave up his thigh.

Gushing-

Blood began to pour from the man’s thigh, where the artery had been pierced. The hulking man tried to hold the wound, but it wasn’t the kind of bleeding that could be stopped by that.

‘Mountain Cavalry, withdraw now.’

I left The Man with such a wound and had the Mountain Cavalry retreat.

“Huh, gasp!? Why are you leaving me The Man way?”

The hulking man questioned, but his loyalty and life were in critical danger.

The Man now essentially had only one choice left.

‘Go back home, The Man.’

The Man’s actions had already been hidden from me.

In the end, he painted a bloody picture from the disputed territory towards the Middle School, like a brush with a clear direction, and soon collapsed.

It was excessive bleeding.

‘Good.’

Everything was according to my plan.

* * *

The situation progressed about 2 hours later.

The bodies were discovered by those who, finding it strange that the squad had gone out and not returned, sent out another patrol to investigate the situation.

I could directly observe The Man’s appearance with an Observation Probe.

“The direction of this blood…”

“I can’t believe The Men would go that far.”

“Cough, cough! This cannot be. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Even if we’re allied, we can’t just stand by and take it!”

“Calm down. The report comes first.”

The Men returning to Middle School.

“Hehehehehe…”

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Of course, I wasn’t someone who would stop at just this.

After that, I continued to check here and there with the Observation Probe for a while, sowing discord and inciting friction between them whenever the situation allowed.

Of course, I used various methods other than the Mountain Cavalry’s spears to create diverse wounds on the bodies, all to erase any traces of my intervention.

As a result… The Looters eventually split into the three factions they were before the Alliance, engaging in a bloody battle.

They began to drastically reduce each other’s numbers.

The factions, initially divided into Middle School, Hospital, and City Hall, eventually merged into the Middle School faction after several large-scale battles.

The number of The Men, which was over six hundred, dwindled to just over two hundred.

‘At this point, it’s worth a try…?’

Coincidentally, I had just finished summoning the Production Facility.

Now, it’s going to be an all-out war of quantity versus quantity.

If I only had a production facility, I could also produce the same amount as him. Once I took care of the looters like that, I would be able to block the railway heading to Incheon.

Choi Seunghwan… This time, things won’t go your way.

A smile naturally appeared on my face as I thought about throwing a wrench in his grand plan.