Chapter 124 – Miracle

After much deliberation, Ryohei headed west.

Since the west was the direction where the influence flowing from the Korean Peninsula was strongest, he felt deeply anxious, but he had no other choice. He couldn’t exactly head east, where the fleet was currently stationed.

‘First, I’ll merge with the monster army.’

Gritting his teeth, he headed toward a secluded forest.

In that forest were a considerable number of monsters—forces he had gathered after occupying Osaka to avoid attrition…

For Ryohei, they were a kind of insurance.

‘Still, with this many troops, I can breathe a sigh of relief.’

Ryohei let out a sigh of relief among the monsters. He believed that with this number of monsters, he would have at least a minimal chance of victory.

Of course, that was a grave delusion.

Whoooosh— Flash!

A pillar of light streaked across the sky.

K-boom!

The pillar struck right next to Ryohei. Along with the impact, countless monsters were instantly vaporized.

“……?!?”

Ryohei’s expression turned pale once again.

* * *

Meanwhile, watching Ryohei’s movements through the Observation Ship, my eyes widened at the sight of more monsters than I had expected.

‘Wow, that is quite a lot.’

It was a number of monsters I never imagined I’d see in Japan. Of course, I wasn’t particularly impressed.

‘But no matter how many there are… could they possibly be more than on the continent?’

To me, having seen countless monsters on the Siberian Front and further in India, this was a laughable number. I immediately began the elimination process, ordering the Photon Destroyer’s main guns to fire.

Boom! K-boom!

The forest where Ryohei and the monsters were hiding began to be riddled with holes, looking like Swiss cheese.

* * *

‘No, this can’t be… this is unfair…’

Ryohei trembled in fear as he looked at the massive craters.

Only three times.

The firing, which took place in less than 30 seconds, had only occurred three times in total.

But those three times provided enough firepower to wipe out half of the monsters he had spent so long gathering.

Faced with such irrational violence…

‘I’m not even an opponent…’

Ryohei completely lost his will to fight. However, his will to fight and his will to survive were two different stories.

‘I’ll avoid fighting as much as possible. I must escape!’

It was just as he made up his mind.

Zzzzzing— Boom!

A massive pillar of light began to pour down toward him. For a moment, his life flashed before his eyes like a kaleidoscope.

The memory of honing his swordplay through blood, sweat, and tears since childhood. The memory of being the most prominent kendo player in his region. Furthermore, the memory of inheriting the Japanese sword, a family heirloom, from his father for the first time.

Although he had been called pathetic by those around him after falling into various strange ideologies on the internet in his youth, these were the most brilliant memories that shone brightly in his life.

‘That’s right… I was like that.’

He gripped his sword firmly.

‘I can do this.’

He steadied his mind.

He couldn’t die like this.

He had to make it.

K-boom—

And the moment that pillar of light fell.

Squeezing out every last drop of mana his body could produce, he manifested his Sword Skill Ability… and achieved a miracle.

“Haaaaah!”

Along with a loud metallic clang that drowned out his shout—.

Clang—!

The pillar of light was split in half.

Boom!

As the dust settled, a crater split in half like a fan, centered around his sword, became visible.

“Huff… huff!”

Gasping for air… he gripped the object that had been his sword—now a red-hot iron club—and looked at the miracle he had achieved.

And he shuddered.

“I did it!”

Although he had blocked it, his entire body, having been too close to the light, was charred black, and his muscles trembled so violently from enduring the force that he felt like collapsing on the spot.

“I actually did it!”

He had certainly succeeded.

“Banzai!”

Intoxicated by the sense of victory, he shouted loudly.

* * *

Meanwhile, watching the scene through the Observation Ship—.

“Oh, he blocked that?”

My eyes widened once again.

Judging by his mana quantity, he was at less than half of Sati’s level. It was surprising that he managed to block it.

“Wow… that’s impressive.”

I was genuinely impressed.

“Do that again.”

So, I decided to make him do it one more time.

* * *

Back on the ground.

“Banzaaaaai!”

While shouting banzai, Ryohei heard a peculiar sound.

Zzzzzzzing—

“Huh?”

It was when he looked up.

K-boom!

A pillar of light was falling once again.

“Ah.”

This time, he instinctively sensed his fate.

* * *

I shook my head while looking at the man who had become a single lump of mana stone.

“Well, I guess miracles don’t happen twice.”

We call things that are common-sensically unlikely or statistically improbable “miracles.”

If they happen twice in a row, it’s no longer a miracle, but skill. And given his limits, this was a miracle, not skill.

“Well, I got the essence, so it’s fine.”

I decided to keep it light. It would certainly be a significant help to Gladiators who use swords or to Colossi.

“Let me try using that ‘miracle’ thing too.”

I grinned.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few days later. Nagoya City.

People who had arrived from Incheon via hundreds of Armored Transport Planes were giving a demonstration in a park located in the center of Nagoya.

“So… what is this called?”

“It’s called a Worker Bug.”

“Ding!”

Beyond that, they were surprised once again by items with a quality comparable to the Pre-Apocalypse era, and surprised yet again by artifacts they had never encountered before.

Of course, the expressions of the people encountering these new things were bright. This was because they realized that all of this would ultimately help them survive.

Furthermore, the people residing in areas reaching half of the former Japanese territory, from Fukuoka Island to Nagoya, were placed under the Nagoya Merchant Guild, namely under Yuzuki.

This was because friction was feared since they were people with different languages and cultures. They quickly showed a process of reorganization and reintegration under the name [Kansai Alliance]…

And they decided to maintain cooperation with us through Yuzuki.

Meanwhile, they were showing a different side compared to the Divine Merit Party of Shanghai or Vietnam.

They actually requested that troops be stationed there, offering to pay taxes in the form of protection money!

They even responded positively to the proposal to recruit volunteers.

Their logic was that they were satisfied just not having to fight as a militia like everyone else did now. This was also the reason why I had first led the separation of civilians and the military.

Both civilians and the military would become specialized.

Meanwhile, this was a sentiment most strongly voiced by the forces that had allied from southern Japan, who already maintained close economic cooperation with my faction.

Since they were already using Worker Bug Coins as common currency, they seemed to want to be firmly incorporated into my faction through this opportunity.

‘It’s better that way if possible.’

It was a good idea.

Unlike Shanghai or Vietnam, Japan—especially the south—is close. This meant that troops could be dispatched rapidly if necessary.

Also, the number of monsters was relatively lower than in Shanghai or Vietnam, where monsters from the continent constantly invaded. Since it was much easier to defend, it would actually be a benefit.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

I began making calls through Apoin.

* * *

Kim Gyeongcheol, Choi Yongjin, and others, upon hearing the news through Apoin that the Japanese forces would join, all looked welcoming.

“Ah, so you’re saying the finances will expand?”

“New troops are always welcome.”

Afterward, the incorporation of the faction happened in an instant.

It was partly because the administrative agencies under my command worked through the night, without me having to lift a finger.

The result was as follows.

First, the main framework was not much different from what was done on the Korean Peninsula. Taxes were collected from civilians to cover military maintenance costs, and recruitment for the military was conducted for volunteers.

Since I was at it, I wondered if I should introduce a kind of reserve force system to the civilians for basic military training, but it eventually fell through.

This was because the groups that had survived until now were all capable of at least basic survival, so it didn’t hold much meaning.

Thus, a military organization called the [Magitech Self-Defense Force] was organized, with a different name from the Volunteer Knights. I decided to place them under the Volunteer Knights so that I wouldn’t have to command them directly.

However, their basic combat organization was similar to that of the Volunteer Knights.

For example, a single squad consisting of a mix of Magitech Armor, Assault Cannons, and Ability Users, transported by Armored Transport Planes.

But of course, due to language barriers, mixed unit composition was limited. In other words, Koreans formed units of Koreans, and Japanese formed units of Japanese.

However, since sufficient experience was needed to properly utilize the equipment of my Legion, some competent personnel from the Volunteer Knights were dispatched to provide demonstrations.

A very small number were sent to the Japanese side continuously as operational advisors.

On the other hand, because a new military organization was being formed, some worried that they might betray us later…

In reality, there was no big problem.

First of all, by its nature, the organization of the Magitech Legion was designed to revolve around my machines. Everything from combat to logistics.

Therefore, betrayal was impossible from the start.

Rather, once they saw the performance of my machines, any desire to betray would surely vanish.

The fact that the Kansai Alliance had effectively been almost completely incorporated into my sphere of influence spread not only through Japan but to all countries under my influence…

Most countries looked enviously at Japan, which had finally regained its ‘daily life.’

In particular, rumors were circulating that the Shanghai Divine Merit Party under Chen, who knew the power of the Magitech Legion better than anyone, was suggesting a similar request.

In Vietnam, where the military was still strong, such requests were fewer, but they still occasionally surfaced among civilians.

Having built such a solid foundation, it seemed there would be no major problems even if I left my post in Japan, just as in the Korean Peninsula.

Specifically, many people wanted to advance further north and recover the former Japanese territory, just as I had recovered the Korean Peninsula.

I decided to accept their proposal positively, and the Magitech Self-Defense Force and the Volunteer Knights were scheduled to carry out joint operations under the command of Choi Yongjin.

Leaving East Asia behind, I advanced the fleet.

“I’m looking forward to coming back next time.”

I laughed lightly.

Beneath my fleet, the wide and deep Pacific Ocean surged. Now it was time to cross this ocean and head for North America.

“Wait for me, New World! Here I come!”

Seongjae, excited on his own, was striking a pose on the bridge.