Chapter 127

Whoosh—

A chilling aura filled the room.

“Damn it… you bastard!”

The man who had swung the sledgehammer at Kang Yuseong was panting, his face beet red.

Thud—

Crash!

In an instant, he took a massive blow to the chest and was sent flying backward, slamming into the wall.

It was such a powerful strike, he couldn’t even tell how he’d been hit.

Flash—

The next moment, a brutal wind of slaughter swept through the basement.

Bang—

Skulls shattered, ribs snapped—a horrific scene unfolded in an instant.

“Urgh!”

Five or six Tsukuyomi Attack Unit Hunters from the Fukuoka branch were utterly crushed by the overwhelming force, while the remaining Hunters scrambled to hide in terror.

But Kang Yuseong didn’t let them off.

Flash!

He tracked down every hidden Hunter and annihilated them.

“Gasp, gasp!”

The Hunters gasped for breath, begging for mercy, but Kang Yuseong showed them none.

Crunch!

His fist smashed straight through the Hunters’ heads.

It was a scene of pure carnage.

The Attack Unit, having cleared the first and second floors, stood frozen at the horrifying sight, unable to utter a word.

Even from a distance, they could tell the source of Kang Yuseong’s rage.

Thud.

Kang Yuseong walked up to the last remaining Hunter and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him.

“Speak.”

A chilling voice flowed from his lips.

“Tell me who you are.”

Though spoken in Korean, the voice seemed to penetrate directly into the Hunter’s brain, making him tremble violently and grit his teeth.

“Do…do you think I’ll speak? You, you filthy Korean bastard… Die, die!”

Slam!

At that moment, his jaw was completely dislocated, and broken teeth flew out.

“Urgh!”

The Tsukuyomi Attack Unit Hunter groaned in agony, his body writhing.

“From this moment on, I will ensure you can neither live nor die.”

Slam!

Again, his jaw was violently twisted.

“Gurgle!”

The Hunter’s face was utterly blank with terror, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Kang Yuseong glared at him coldly and continued.

“Even if you die.”

Thwack!

The Japanese man trembled violently once more.

At some point, Kang Yuseong’s fist had plunged into his side.

“It won’t be death. Even in death, you will never escape me.”

As he spoke, his fists mercilessly pummeled the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit Hunter’s entire body.

The Hunter continued to cough up blood, writhing in agony.

Then, in an instant, Kang Yuseong’s eyes began to change.

Whisper—

His eyes, once burning red, now held a black, ominous glow as they fixed on the Hunter, and a terrifying dark aura rose from his entire body.

Ghost Manipulation Skill.

A terrifying power unfolded, one that ensured he could not escape even in death.

At that moment, the Hunter was seized by extreme terror.

Tremble—

He trembled like an aspen leaf, gazing at Kang Yuseong with fearful eyes.

A chill, as if his soul was being gnawed away, suddenly enveloped him.

It was an extreme fear, inherent since the dawn of time.

It was a moment where he felt, unequivocally, that this man’s words were not a lie.

“Ki-kill me! Pl-please!”

The man began to beg.

“You want to die?”

“Allow me to preserve my honor! Pl-please!”

Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“Honor? You’re insane…!”

His lips twisted into a sneer.

“Is this your samurai spirit? Insane… You people kill those who beg for their lives like that, and now you want honor? Truly disgusting.”

A subtle killing intent emanated from his eyes.

“Very well, I’ll help you preserve that honor.”

Slam—

In an instant, his fist plunged straight into the Hunter’s face.

Crack!

With a single blow, his nasal bone collapsed, his orbital bone shattered, and a grotesque sound echoed.

And then, he slumped weakly, collapsing like a rag doll.

“Leader…”

Kang Yuseong had killed the Hunter with a single strike.

The Attack Unit members behind him shuddered at the sight.

Then, Kang Yuseong’s lips parted once more.

“Rise.”

At that, a colossal energy surged from his body.

That energy, like a dark mist, swirled around Kang Yuseong before being drawn in and absorbed into the crown of the fallen man’s head.

Twitch—

The next moment, one of the man’s fingers twitched and moved.

Then, he slowly opened his two eyes, which glowed with a bloody red light, and stood up.

Kang Yuseong looked at him with an indifferent expression and spoke.

“If you thought death could make you escape me, you were mistaken. From now on, you will never die unless I command it.”

At that, the man, a horrific sight with his shattered orbital bones and sunken cheekbones, slowly bowed his head.

“Yes, Master.”

“Relay all your knowledge. That is what you must do.”

“Yes. I will obey your command.”

Ghost Manipulation Skill.

As the terrifying power to control all aspects of a ghost unfolded, the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit Hunter could not dare to resist him and was forced to obey his command.

Afterward, Kang Yuseong extracted a great deal of information from him.

‘So it was as I thought.’

What he confirmed through the Hunter was that Kang Yuseong’s suspicions had been correct all along.

The Tsukuyomi Attack Unit was indeed completely under the control of the Necromancer Undertaker, and its branches across Japan were extracting the hearts of living humans and sending them to the Necromancer Undertaker.

And given that the Necromancer Undertaker and other key figures performed some ritual once every fortnight, it seemed they were using those hearts for sorcery.

‘Sorcery…’

Kang Yuseong’s face became pensive for a moment.

He finally understood the source of his immense power.

By taking the hearts of living humans in this manner, he was maximizing and sustaining his power.

‘This vile wretch… I will surely crush your ambitions.’

Listening to the Hunter’s story intensified his animosity toward the Necromancer Undertaker.

This was the man who, not content with Japan, had extended his evil grasp toward Busan, threatening the lives of its citizens.

Now that he had come to conquer Japan, he intended to completely eradicate this root of evil.

* * * * *

Tsukuyomi Attack Unit Fukuoka Branch.

It was now completely occupied by the Stardust Attack Unit.

All executives had been swiftly killed, and external communications were now under Stardust’s control.

“Let’s cast a bait.”

Kang Yuseong spoke, looking at the Attack Unit.

The other branches likely still didn’t know that the Fukuoka branch had fallen.

So there was no need to seek them out here.

All they had to do was set a suitable trap and wait.

“Prepare communications.”

“What should the message be?”

Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed with a cold light.

“Fukuoka branch attacked, but the enemy was repelled. Intelligence indicates the main Korean force is gathering nearby. Requesting support.”

A Hunter fluent in Japanese wrote it down and immediately transmitted it to other branches.

Since a transmission facility was already in place for emergencies, it wasn’t difficult.

Furthermore, perhaps because they never imagined the Japanese mainland would be attacked, there were no defense systems beyond basic security, making control of the communication facilities very easy.

“The coordinates are…”

Kang Yuseong pointed at the map and gave the coordinates.

A place he had marked on satellite photos beforehand and secretly sent people to scout.

It was a wide, flat plain, but surrounded by buildings, forming a basin-like area.

It wasn’t far from Hakata Port in Fukuoka, so they wouldn’t doubt that the main Korean force would arrive.

As the Hunter began the transmission, a cold smile appeared on Kang Yuseong’s lips.

“The trap is set. Now, the hunt begins.”

At his words, the Hunters behind him took on resolute expressions.

Destroying the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit Fukuoka branch was just the beginning.

Now, the great first step to taking over the Japanese mainland, orchestrated by Kang Yuseong’s grand plan, would begin.

Operation ‘Rat Catcher’.

With this, the persistent, ill-fated connection between South Korea and Japan would finally be severed here in Fukuoka.

* * * * *

“Hmm…”

President Kang Tae-seok muttered, having heard the news from the National Intelligence Service.

The Stardust Attack Unit, which had made the most distinguished contributions when the Blue House was attacked by monsters long ago.

He recalled a few days prior, when Kang Yuseong, their leader, had unexpectedly visited him at night and requested a private audience.

His visit had been highly secretive.

It was a meeting arranged by Song Sang-woo, the leader of the Phoenix Guild, but Kang Yuseong had specifically requested a private meeting with the President.

Thus, the private meeting between just the two of them took place with the Chief of Security and the security forces withdrawn from the vicinity.

It was right there that Kang Yuseong brought up the topic of conquering Japan, also known as the Southern Expedition.

That was surprising enough, but what astonished Kang Tae-seok even more was the content of the discussion.

“What? Just… a single Attack Unit?”

Kang Tae-seok couldn’t believe his ears.

Kang Yuseong had calmly declared his intention to cross into Japan with an Attack Unit of merely twenty-five people.

Even if the Maritime Self-Defense Force had been neutralized by successive Shocks, that was an impossible feat.

For President Kang Tae-seok, it was an utterly incomprehensible situation.

Yet, Kang Yuseong remained perfectly calm.

Kang Tae-seok looked him squarely in the eye and shook his head.

This was suicide.

As the leader of a nation, he could not send his people into such a death trap.

“That is… impossible. I cannot permit it.”

He knew well what feats Kang Yuseong had accomplished, but it couldn’t be helped.

At that, Kang Yuseong grinned and said.

“Mr. President, are you worried?”

Kang Tae-seok frowned slightly.

“Of course I am. That would be a reckless sacrifice…”

At that moment, Kang Yuseong spoke again.

“Mr. President, please only concern yourself with the diplomatic repercussions afterward. That will be enough. This matter will likely cause quite a stir once it’s over.”

“Mr. Kang Yuseong…”

Kang Yuseong looked him straight in the eye.

“Citizens of this nation have died at the hands of wicked individuals. I cannot simply stand by and watch. I will, without fail, exact retribution upon them and return. Trust me.”

A clear resolve emanated from his eyes.

President Kang Tae-seok swallowed dryly.

It wasn’t that he was intimidated by him, nor that he had nothing to say.

It was his confidence.

And the powerful resolve he felt emanating from him made him somehow want to believe.

It was also true that he had been deeply enraged upon hearing about the tragedy in Busan. To think they would cut out and take the hearts of living people…

He had felt fury rise just hearing about how ears were cut off the dead during the Imjin War to mark military achievements, but now they were opening the chests of the living and taking their hearts.

Kang Tae-seok’s eyes wavered for a moment, then gradually regained their focus.

“In that case…”

After a long pause, Kang Tae-seok nodded and said.

“The Republic of Korea government will provide all necessary support. This is my promise as the President of the Republic of Korea.”

Kang Yuseong smiled, bowed his head to the President, and then vanished.

President Kang Tae-seok recalled that moment.

And then he remembered the current report.

That highly confidential report stated that the Stardust Attack Unit had infiltrated Fukuoka and secured a stronghold.

Kang Yuseong had finally taken the first step, just as he said he would.

‘Please, take care of yourself, Mr. Kang Yuseong…’

A once-in-a-millennium opportunity, in the history of the Korean Peninsula, to plunge a sword into the heart of Japan!

Just before centuries of resentment could finally be assuaged, President Kang Tae-seok prayed again and again for Kang Yuseong’s military fortune.