Chapter 128 – Avalanche

The United States is a multi-ethnic nation.

As such, a vast array of people lived there.

For instance, not only races like Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians… but also followers of various religions, such as Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs.

Furthermore, even among White Christians, people were often categorized by their families’ countries of origin, such as Irish or German descent.

Moreover, if one began dividing them by modern factors like vegetarianism or political leanings, there was truly no end to it.

However, there was one unique place where these diverse types of Americans were bound together by nothing but combat power and discipline.

That place was the 1st Western Brigade.

Until a few days ago, it had been the 1st Western Regiment.

And within that 1st Western Brigade, there were veterans who had stood guard at the front lines of the past.

For example, Richard and Thomas.

Looking at Thomas, who had his eyes closed and was mumbling something, Richard wore a mischievous expression and poked him in the waist.

“Thomas, praying again?”

“Yes, please stop disturbing me.”

Thomas was a devout Mormon… but he seemed to have grown accustomed to it by now, as he barely paid any attention to Richard. Richard sat down beside Thomas and lit a cannabis cigarette.

Cannabis was legal in California.

“Disturbing you, my foot… I’m praying to my own god too.”

At Richard’s sarcasm, Thomas chuckled.

“Your god? You mean that cigarette?”

“Hahaha, I have another one besides this. Anyway, is your prayer finished?”

“Yes, I just finished. So, who is your god?”

At Thomas’s question…

Richard grinned and pointed toward the sky.

“Lately… it’s that.”

At the tip of his finger, an Assault Landing Ship was floating.

Kuguuuuuung—

Along with its escort fleet.

* * *

Of course, Richard’s ‘god’ wasn’t the only thing that had changed in the West recently.

First of all, the organization of the units had been drastically revised.

Like the survivors settled in Korea or Japan, Armored Transport Planes, Magitech Armor, and Assault Cannons were included in the infantry organization.

Additionally, the conventional artillery batteries that had been maintained were gradually being replaced by Magitech Artillery Units.

Naturally, Colossi were deployed to units like the 1st Brigade, which needed to exert powerful shock force.

Meanwhile, there were changes in the sky as well.

Attack aircraft capable of providing close air support to the ground, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt, had returned to the skies.

Of course, this was thanks to the overwhelming air-to-air firepower provided by Interceptors and Aerial Motherships.

And the ones supporting all of this were…

“Ding!”

Naturally, the Worker Bugs. The Worker Bugs were gaining immense popularity among American citizens…

From what I heard, a vast amount of transportation infrastructure—roads, bridges, and railways spanning the entire American continent—had become heavily dilapidated.

Thus, their reaction was something like, ‘We couldn’t even do this before the Apocalypse. Now we finally can, thanks to the Worker Bugs!’

Meanwhile, the reclamation of the US West Coast was proceeding in a slightly different direction than in China and Japan, which were relatively closer.

‘Since I can’t receive support from Korea this time…’

Unlike China or Japan, which could utilize the foundations already established in Korea, the United States was on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

In other words, an independent system had to be constructed.

Of course, there were no major problems.

‘I’m glad I have the Factory Ship.’

The Factory Ship not only possessed greater production capacity than the Assault Landing Ship, but it also allowed for a generous supply of production materials to be brought in.

In short, it was living up to its name.

Furthermore, the fact that a significant amount of Mana Stones had been procured from the Pacific Ocean was a huge help.

As a result… San Diego now possessed a considerable number of Mana Facilities and production facilities up to the Behemoth-Class.

Kuung—! Kuuung! Kuung!

It was all thanks to the Facility Construction Machines working diligently.

However, the United States still lacked many New Age materials, such as Adamantite and Aetherium.

Although information about Dungeons had spread across the world via Apoin… the Western Alliance had little leeway to invest manpower into Dungeons, and unlike me, who already had the information, many of those Dungeons turned out to be duds.

‘Well, it’ll be solved soon.’

But I wasn’t overly worried.

As they began to fight alongside my machines, the shortage of manpower would start to be filled. Unlike in the past when there was only minimal demand, it would now actually start making money.

Meanwhile, discussions regarding the material exchange with my Main Base located in East Asia were underway.

Taxes had to be collected, and resources had to be moved.

Of course, for things like Worker Bug Coins and Mana Stones collected as taxes, I decided to keep them as numerical values first rather than attempting to physically move them.

‘Since this place is my territory anyway.’

There was no need to move everything to Incheon.

Especially considering further expansion across the American continent, it was the United States, not Korea, that would need vast amounts of money.

‘Well, I’m glad things seem to be normalizing quickly.’

Watching the massive number of Armored Transport Planes beginning to ascend into the sky with a roar, I wore a satisfied smile.

This was my direct trade fleet. These guys, escorted by an Aerial Mothership, were items to be exported to Korea.

‘Let’s try some money duplication.’

If not now, this was the optimal time for trade.

The resources secured from this would allow the ‘snowball’ to roll even faster.

And for a force of my scale…

It was no longer a ‘snowball,’ but practically an ‘avalanche.’

‘Time to sweep everything away.’

I grinned.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the authorities of the Observation Ships were handed over from the Magitech Civilization, the legendary radar observer, whose workload had suddenly plummeted, finally received a vacation.

Jayden Green.

“How long has it been since my last vacation…?”

The dark circles that had remained under his eyes like tattoos had long since vanished. Under the scorching California sun, he wore sunglasses and enjoyed looking around the changed city.

He was observing everything like a tourist visiting the city for the first time…

His eyes stopped at the white Hollywood sign on the hill. As if it had been hit by an artillery barrage, many of the letters were gone, leaving it a mess. Some letters remained partially—.

[H O L I . V _ _ O . /]

The destroyed L looked like an I, and the W looked like a V.

Jayden chuckled upon seeing the sign.

“Oh, when did that happen?”

A Black man standing next to him laughed in disbelief at his words and asked,

“Mister, did you just come out of some cave?”

Jayden gave a meaningful smile at his words.

“Well… let’s just say that.”

The radar situation room was no different from a cave.

Hearing his answer, the Black man made a playful face and pointed toward the collapsed Hollywood sign.

“These days, people call it ‘Holyvo’! Anyway, have a good day!”

“You too!”

True to the nature of Westerners, the two exchanged friendly greetings and went their separate ways. It wasn’t long before Jayden stopped in his tracks once more.

“What on earth is that…?”

Countless Armored Transport Planes covering the sky. It was an exotic sight, even more unimaginable than something like ‘Holyvo.’

“What is that, exactly…?”

There was something about the flight of those beetles that shook the heart.

Kuguguuuuung—

Literally.

* * *

Jayden soon found himself arriving at the loading dock of the Armored Transport Planes as if possessed.

He approached a woman resting in the shade and began asking questions while pointing at the beetles.

“What on earth are these?”

“They call them Armored Transport Planes! They’re heading out for export!”

“Export… in a world like this?”

“A few days ago, I couldn’t have imagined it either.”

The woman grinned. Jayden asked her repeatedly.

“Where are they going? The East?”

“The East? Please. These are all going to Korea!”

“To Korea?”

Even though Jayden was the one who had suggested to the Commander-in-Chief that they should enter the jurisdiction of the Korean force, he couldn’t believe that all these machines were going to Korea.

The woman laughed at Jayden.

“You’re just like I was a few days ago. You’ll probably be even more surprised when you see the contents.”

The woman gave a mischievous smile.

Perhaps because she was using psychokinesis for the loading work, she flicked a box toward them.

When Jayden saw the writing on the box, his pupils shook.

“What is this…?”

“What do you mean? Blueberries.”

“Not guns or something?”

“Those aren’t necessary.”

“At least some oil…?”

“Blueberries, movie DVDs, wine—those things are selling well.”

Jayden asked the woman with a look of incomprehension.

“Wait, are there no monsters in Korea?”

To Jayden’s question, the woman replied with a smile, as if she didn’t quite know herself.

“Hmm… I heard there were. There were, but… now there aren’t.”

And so, standing in Hollywood, once the symbol of abundance…

“Just what is the situation in Korea like…?”

They could only imagine.

* * *

While changes were taking place across the West, I was leading my fleet across the Sierra Nevada mountains, which could be considered the border of Eastern California.

‘This should be enough for the West…’

All the West needed now was time. That was all.

But that didn’t mean I needed to stay rooted in the West. I wanted to incorporate the numerous people who were likely suffering in the East into my faction immediately.

Of course, it wasn’t just normal people in the East. Even without looking far… there was a strange force between the West and the East.

‘Right now, that guy should be in full activity in Texas…’

The Korean-American’s name was Jinseonmun.

The son of a pseudo-religious cult leader who had made a name for himself abroad… he was a guy running a church that worshipped firearms.

One might think he was just a hard-to-understand bishop of a cult… but as the Apocalypse dragged on, he had begun expanding his influence along with his fanatical followers, all armed with various firearms.

As a Marauder.

‘It’s laughable that a Marauder is expanding at this point, but…’

Ironically, it was a story possible only because the United States had just begun to collapse. Unlike other countries, public order had been maintained for a while.

Furthermore… though it was a little-known fact, the guy was also a Villain.

Thus, a terrible hybrid—an organized militia, a fanatical group, and a Marauder band led by a Villain—was active in Texas.

And I absolutely needed him.

‘His Essence… I used it usefully in the last timeline too.’

To be more precise, his Essence.

However, my current destination was Washington D.C. I was moving toward the President of the United States, with whom contact had recently been lost.

…Still.

‘Shall I drop by for a bit as I pass through?’

It seemed fine to stop by a “famous restaurant” for a moment.