Chapter 122 – Divine Wind

While the Photon Destroyer’s artillery barrage was in the midst of sublimating the water mass into clouds of steam, the sentries of the Nagoya Merchant Guild were chatting while watching the scene.

“Oh, it’s flashing again!”

“You’re right!”

The sight of flashes occurring every few seconds in the water mass over Tokyo in the distance was impressive, but since they knew nothing, it was difficult for them to accurately identify what it was.

“It must be raining heavily over Tokyo.”

“But can there be that many lightning strikes?”

“Sigh… it really feels like the end of the world.”

To them, it looked exactly like thunder and lightning. That it was someone’s ability was something they couldn’t even imagine.

“Should I report that to the higher-ups?”

“And say what?”

“Hmm… that there’s severe thunder and lightning over Tokyo?”

“Since when are you the weather bureau?”

“I guess that’s true.”

Thus, the Photon Destroyer’s artillery barrage was mistaken for a natural phenomenon. That is, until the Reconnaissance Team Leader noticed something strange the next morning.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the skies over Tokyo.

K-boom! K-boooom!

Repeated artillery barrages from the Photon Destroyer.

At first, it was barely noticeable, but the water mass was bursting apart at an increasing speed. Simultaneously, the monsters wandering inside that water mass were, of course, eliminated.

After reducing the size of the water droplet to a manageable level through a period of firing, I gradually brought the Assault Landing Ship closer.

Rumble—

Then, I got the Worker Bugs ready in the Armored Transport Planes—.

“Now it’s your turn.”

I threw them into the water droplet.

“Ding-ding!?”

They seemed flustered by the sudden water, but…

Swish-swish-swish-swish!

Soon, they began kicking their legs vigorously, moving toward the center of the water droplet at high speed. Everyone watching from the bridge spoke up in surprise.

“What? Were they always that good at swimming?”

Sua looked down at the Worker Bug she was hugging with a bewildered expression. Seongjae tilted his head with a serious look.

“No matter how I look at their physical structure, they don’t seem like they’d be good at swimming…”

On the other hand, Rai seemed excited for some reason.

“Little friends. Do your best!”

Perhaps thanks to his cheering (and the Swimming Essence)…

The Worker Bugs were able to reach the center of the water mass quickly.

They rushed in as if competing with one another, tangling together until one of them snatched a small bead in its mouth. Once a winner was decided, the others obediently made way.

The winner, like a triumphant general, paddled back to the Armored Transport Plane. Soon, it handed the artifact over to me.

“Good.”

[Blue Marble]. This artifact, which looked like a blue bead, was vibrating quietly, emitting a faint light in my hand. In my previous life, I hadn’t even been able to see what it looked like.

‘How do I use this?’

I held the Blue Marble quietly and channeled mana into it. However, unlike other artifacts, there was no proper reaction.

‘This kind of reaction again…’

There was only one time before I had felt a similar sensation. It was none other than… the [Seed of Regression] that had sent me back to the past.

I fiddled with the bead for a while before eventually giving up.

‘Well, just not letting this fall into the enemy’s hands is a gain in itself.’

Simply stealing this from the villain who knew how to use it was a sufficient profit.

Also, considering the case of the Seed of Regression, I had faith that this would play a major role someday.

‘Anyway, if it’s just water, Sua can handle it.’

And that wasn’t the only gain.

“Come to think of it… Tokyo. It’s been submerged this whole time.”

I looked down at Tokyo, now liberated from the water droplet, and smiled.

“This place… must be a paradise of supplies.”

Following my command, numerous Armored Transport Planes carrying Worker Bugs began shuttling toward the ground. This was the beginning of the Tokyo looting, something no one had been able to touch until now.

* * *

After that, I remained stationed in the skies over Tokyo for a long time.

“It really is endless.”

Supplies were pouring out of Tokyo without end.

Naturally, a significant number of items had become useless due to being submerged, but many of them could be fixed using the Worker Bugs’ repair function.

Thanks to that, I was harvesting endless supplies over Tokyo. The warehouses of the Factory Ship and the Assault Landing Ship, which had some spare space, soon filled up… to the point where most of the supplies were being transported back to Incheon.

Furthermore, perhaps exhausted by the long harvest, some of them were enthusiastically engaging in untimely Tokyo sightseeing…

“See? It’s the same!”

“Wow! Magical Girl Yujina!”

Those were, of course, Seoyeon, Seongjae, and Seongmin.

They stopped by Akihabara, which had been submerged, and were filling their arms with the items they had been so eager for.

“Fix this for me.”

“Ding!”

They even went as far as requesting repairs from the Worker Bugs. Meanwhile, Sua and Rai were with them. Rai also seemed to have developed an interest.

He looked closely at a figure of Magical Girl Yujina…

“Wow. This is very good.”

He gave a firm thumbs-up.

“Ah… please, not you too, Rai-ssi…”

Sua could only shake her head while watching them.

Meanwhile, Minju looked like she wanted to join them, but she had other work to do.

Swoosh—Zap!

She was playing the role of quickly moving the gathered supplies to Incheon via Spatial Teleportation.

“Wow… you’re bringing more of this?”

“Ding!”

She was so busy that she even gave a reproachful look to the Worker Bug bringing her more work.

‘Just hang in there a little longer.’

It was while I was comforting her in my mind.

“Uh… excuse me, Boss?”

A communication came through from Rai. When I turned the Observation Ship toward him, I saw a familiar face he was confronting.

“What, it’s Yuzuki?”

I had met her before.

* * *

‘Yuzuki…’

I drifted into a brief reminiscence.

She was one of the people with the most influence in the Last City, and unfortunately, she hadn’t been my comrade.

‘Though I think she probably would have been.’

It was a sincere shame.

This was because she had died before we left the Last City to form our own group.

No, perhaps her death was… the true catalyst for us, who had been lingering while clinging to vain hope.

Because of her assassination, we completely severed our ties with the Last City, which we were already sick of, and decided to create our own separate group.

‘I won’t let her die this time.’

Thinking so, I sent down an Armored Transport Plane.

Rumble—

I intended to welcome Yuzuki.

* * *

Yuzuki faced me.

“Um, uh… Hello! Nice to meet you. I am Tachibana Yuzuki!”

She introduced herself energetically. Her attitude seemed to be a mix of half-expectation and half-fear.

Seeing her like that, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

‘Come to think of it, in my previous life, I was the one who introduced myself first.’

In the Last City, she was the focal point that bound the Japanese people into one group. Naturally, she held a higher position than I did, as I had only just begun to develop my abilities.

I had been in a position where I had to introduce myself first and strive for her recognition.

But now it was different.

She was treating me with strict discipline.

“Let’s leave the introductions here and get to the main point, shall we?”

“Yes!”

We talked for a while…

The main agenda was to encourage her to use Worker Bug Coins and, further, to confirm her willingness to join My Faction.

Of course, it wasn’t that difficult now. When I subtly mentioned that I was already using Worker Bug Coins in China and Vietnam, she clapped her hands.

“Wow, really? Of course! We will join you.”

She expressed her intent to cooperate.

‘She is trustworthy.’

I nodded. Even in my previous life, she was someone who built her position with a consistent attitude of upholding principles and trust. She would be a sufficient talent to entrust with the Japanese forces.

“Then I shall hand over some of the supplies from Tokyo.”

Beyond that, exceptional support was planned.

She seemed absolutely thrilled. As I began to list the regular supply transports and trade conditions one by one, she nodded repeatedly, eventually bursting into tears of joy.

“Well, is this enough?”

“Yes! Of course! I think it’s more than enough. But…”

She swallowed the rest of her sentence.

“Is there something?”

When I asked back, she hesitated before answering.

“Some strange people live in Osaka…”

“Ah, you mean the Patriots of the Empire.”

I smirked at her words.

“Of course, I’ll deal with them before I go.”

If I put my mind to it, it was a task that wouldn’t even take half a day.

* * *

And a few days later. The leadership of the Patriots of the Empire was swallowing their indignation over the rumors they had heard recently.

“Those bastards! They’ve finally gone and done it!”

Bang!

A man slammed the meeting table in frustration.

“It seems they’ve finally colluded with the Korean faction and decided to use their money. Reports are already coming in that they are repairing roads with strange bugs.”

“They really were Zainichi after all!”

“Ugh… they couldn’t even hide their insidious intentions…”

“We’re in big trouble if this continues!”

“Ryohei-nim! Take action immediately!”

Hashimoto Ryohei, the leader of the Patriots of the Empire, quietly looked around the room at their words.

He had a hobby of secretly scouting Apoin on his own. He was likely the only person in this room who knew how powerful the Magitech Civilization was.

‘Fighting that fleet… that’s no different from committing suicide.’

Ryohei trembled inwardly.

Being a villain anyway, he felt like leaving everything to the Mutants who had recently begun to act.

‘This won’t do. I have to calm everyone down first…’

Thinking so, he opened his mouth.

“Hmm… everyone, please calm down. The situation isn’t that serious…”

But at that moment, Ryohei flinched as he felt the meeting room turn ice-cold.

‘What, I’m going to be the first one to die here!’

He felt the killing intent from his own subordinates. Their hatred for Koreans was true madness. A man like Ryohei, who shifted his allegiances depending on the situation, was in no position to step forward recklessly.

In the end, he had to change the end of his sentence.

“Ahem, …it’s not that serious! Who are we? Aren’t we the ones who removed all the Zainichi from this Osaka?”

And he added:

“Those sorts of people can be wiped out in no time if we just join forces a little! Hahaha!”

He knew how delusional he sounded. In his heart, he was terrified that the fleet might appear before his eyes at any moment.

However, his leadership, oblivious to his feelings, shouted in response to his claim.

“Correct!”

“Kyah, as expected of Ryohei-nim!”

“No, this is no time to just sit here! Let’s go to Nagoya right now and drive out those Zainichi bastards!”

“Right! Go out and gather the boys. We march!”

The situation shifted rapidly.

“Ah… uh… excuse me!”

Ryohei tried to stop them with a pale face, but—.

“Huh?”

“Ryohei-nim, is something the matter?”

‘No, forget it.’

He shrank back once more.

“Uh, well, have a safe trip. Hahahahaha!”

As everyone left, he wiped away cold sweat. Ryohei, knowing that what they were doing was essentially a suicide mission, looked miserable.

“Ah… please… someone save me…”

His voice was almost pitiful.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Assault Landing Ship over Tokyo.

“What’s with these guys? They’re coming out to attack first?”

Looking through the Observation Ship, I was bewildered by the movements in Osaka.

“Haha… they really have no fear.”

Of course, I was bewildered because it was ridiculous.

I decided to leave the Assault Landing Ship, which was in the middle of operations, over Tokyo for now. I gave the order to move to two Photon Destroyers.

“Well, this is easier for me.”

In fact, it was better.