Chapter 129

Bang!

Yamamoto, the leader of the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit’s Kyushu branch, utterly destroyed the desk in front of him, his face contorted with extreme rage.

“What?! The search party lost contact? Are you…are you actually reporting that and expecting me to believe it?!”

Yamamoto, a man in his fifties, was usually quick to anger, making his subordinates greatly fear him. But Yamamoto, now in a furious rage, was nothing short of a devil.

As if to prove it, one of his subordinates couldn’t move a muscle, even as blood streamed down his forehead from the ashtray Yamamoto had hurled.

Given that the Kyushu branch could be considered a direct border region with Korea, Yamamoto’s reputation was heavily on the line in annihilating the Korean attack unit that had infiltrated Fukuoka.

That’s why, when Yamamoto dispatched the search party, he had carefully selected only Hunters of considerable skill, yet this disaster had still occurred.

The last communication he received was a radio message: ‘Pursuing enemy.’

After that, they had completely lost contact, and their fate remained unknown.

Given the silence until now, it wouldn’t be strange at all to assume they had been wiped out.

The question was, why?

Was the Korean attack unit truly that powerful?

In truth, the Tsukuyomi intelligence unit had meticulously gathered information on Korea for their invasion, priding themselves on having a solid grasp of their capabilities.

Indeed, the near-total devastation of the Busan region was largely thanks to the intelligence provided by that unit.

While the Divine Monk Yoshii was the one who truly made things happen, it didn’t mean the Tsukuyomi intelligence unit had been idle.

Yet, now, the intelligence unit couldn’t offer any clear opinion on the current situation.

According to their analysis, most of Korea’s major guilds were clearly confirmed to still be within their own borders, and they insisted that no force capable of instantly annihilating a search party had crossed over.

To be fair, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

Although the strength of the maritime self-defense force had been weakened by the Mega Shock and other subsequent shocks, many maritime radar systems were still operational, and patrol boats continued to cruise nearby waters, constantly monitoring Korea’s naval power.

At this time, the Self-Defense Forces and the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit were practically one entity, sharing the same intelligence.

And yet, no large vessels had crossed over to their side, nor were there any unusual movements from attack units within Korea.

*Grrrind!*

Yamamoto ground his teeth.

He was already a man who hated losing to anyone, even if it meant death.

But to those damned Chosun bastards!

He was a descendant of a military official who, decades ago, had crossed over to Joseon when the Great Japanese Empire occupied it and achieved distinguished military feats.

His grandfather and father had been immensely proud of that history, and Yamamoto had countless times heard tales of his grandfather’s valor as an Imperial Army officer during his own childhood.

He had grown up hearing about the resentment from the time they were defeated by America.

There was no way such a man could harbor positive feelings toward Korea.

This time, too, when he heard that those Koreans, whom he regarded as mere insects, had dared to infiltrate Fukuoka, he was consumed by such immense fury that he almost went personally to annihilate them.

But he had sent a search party under orders from above…

‘Damn rotten leadership!’

If he had gone this time, he would have torn them all to shreds and thrown them into the sea.

But due to the command’s misjudgment, the honor of the Great Japanese Empire had been dragged through the mud.

They knew nothing of the enemy’s numbers, scale, or strategy, yet they had effectively pushed their forces straight into the enemy’s open maw…

“Sakamoto!”

He called for his adjutant, Sakamoto.

“Sir!”

At his call, Sakamoto stood at attention.

“Contact headquarters! Tell them I’ll personally deal with those vermin-like Chosun bastards!”

Sakamoto swallowed hard at his words.

“Personally…you mean?”

Yamamoto, an SS-class formidable fighter.

No one at the Kyushu branch liked his volatile temper, but his skill was undeniably recognized.

That was why he had become the leader responsible for the Kyushu branch, after all.

The problem was that if he personally stepped forward, that place would inevitably turn into an enormous bloodbath.

Both enemy and ally…

All would be torn apart by his brutal attacks, fueled by a mad frenzy.

When Sakamoto repeated the question, Yamamoto’s eyes filled with a dark, murderous intent, and he ground his teeth.

“Are your ears stuffed with telephone poles?! I said, I’m going myself!”

Sakamoto’s face went pale as he snapped to attention and quickly replied.

“Y-yes, sir! I’ll report it!”

“Tell them I don’t need their permission!”

“Sir!”

Sakamoto quickly rushed to the radio room, while Yamamoto glared into the air, his expression still simmering with unspent rage.

Whoever those bastards were who entered Fukuoka, they were about to taste hell.

Yamamoto, the fifth-ranked warrior in all of Japan. He himself would ensure their fate.

* * * * *

“By now, the news of their annihilation must have spread.”

“Most likely. We’re monitoring enemy movements in real-time, so I’ll report any unusual activity immediately.”

Kang Yuseong said quietly, seated in the command room of the Tsukuyomi Fukuoka branch.

Baek Myeong-han nodded at his words, then replied.

Kang Yuseong also gave a slight nod to his answer.

After instantly wiping out the search party, he deliberately waited another day.

He intended to observe how they reacted, then plan his counter-measures accordingly.

Currently, the Stardust Attack Unit consisted of twenty-five members.

And not all of them were super-elite attack unit members; it was an unstable unit with a mix of ranks, ranging from A-class to S-class.

While Gil Hyeok-jun, Kim Do-jin, and Kang Yuseong himself had already transcended such rankings, numbers still held power.

If the enemy acted cautiously, they, too, would have to respond in kind.

But if they came rushing out like moths crazed by a flame…

‘Yamamoto.’

He had already gathered information on the Kyushu regional branch leader.

A man with a fiery temper who utterly detested losing a fight.

His grandfather was a military officer who, during the Japanese colonial period, selectively massacred independence fighters.

‘A peculiar fate.’

A faint smile touched Kang Yuseong’s lips.

A strange connection.

His grandfather had entered the Korean Peninsula and massacred independence fighters, yet Kang Yuseong, on the contrary, had entered Japanese soil to annihilate the Tsukuyomi Attack Unit.

‘History repeats itself. Without eternal victors or losers.’

Throughout a long history, they had rarely ever defeated Japan.

But that didn’t mean it would always be that way.

History, quite literally, revolved, and whether one was in the position of victor or vanquished, roles would eventually be reversed.

‘This time, it’s your turn to experience it.’

As far as he could tell, Yamamoto’s pride would be severely wounded by the annihilation of his search party.

Given his fiery nature, there was a very high probability that he would personally enter the fray.

The Kyushu branch, unlike this Fukuoka branch, was likely to have considerably tighter security.

Attacking such a place with just twenty-five people would be suicide.

Kang Yuseong intended to strike them without expending much effort.

‘If they don’t come out, I’ll draw them out.’

If Kyushu’s gatekeeper fell, a massive storm would sweep across all of Japan.

It would be as if the entire southern region of Japan had fallen.

If they took over the Kyushu command after Fukuoka, more troops could cross over from the Korean mainland.

It meant that, after a long, long time, the Republic of Korea’s forces might finally land on Japanese soil.

Therefore, this battle was extremely important.

‘Now, what will you do, Yamamoto? Will you take the bait…or will you ignore it? Make your choice.’

Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed as he stared at a spot on the monitor.

The bait had been cast.

And taking it was entirely the fish’s choice.

Kang Yuseong waited for the fishing hook to move.

* * * * *

Yamamoto’s unilateral decision sent significant repercussions through the command.

“Has that man gone mad? No matter what, for a regional leader to move so carelessly!”

“But wasn’t the search party’s unilateral annihilation something we also didn’t anticipate? It’s not entirely incomprehensible that Branch Chief Yamamoto is acting so wildly.”

“Even so, this is a complete violation of the chain of command…”

“No, he is a regional leader with independent command authority. Strictly speaking, it’s not a violation.”

Prominent figures within the leadership were engaged in a heated debate.

Just then, someone slammed their hand on the desk and spoke.

“Hold on! The Old Master hasn’t given any orders yet! Why are you all acting so rashly?”

The Old Master.

It referred to Yoshii, known as the Divine Monk.

In Japan, the very concept of an Emperor had long lost its meaning.

And in his place, the Old Master, Yoshii, had taken his seat.

In this cruel world where might made right, his position was unshakeable.

The hilt of power had completely shifted from an ideological political structure, with its talk of emperors and such, to the true hegemon.

At the Grand Minister Tengo’s rebuke, the command staff fell silent.

At present, the Old Master’s name completely overshadowed that of the Shoguns from the old Shogunate era.

A perfect example of absolute obedience was manifesting right then.

Among them, someone cautiously opened their mouth.

“Why has the Old Master not given any orders? If Yamamoto were to lose, Kyushu would be completely lost…”

Grand Minister Tengo shot him a disapproving look.

Tanaka, the First Attack Unit Leader who had spoken, fell silent.

However, the desire of everyone present to hear an answer couldn’t be hidden. In fact, Tengo himself wanted to hear Yoshii’s response to the current situation.

But then, suddenly, everyone in the room shivered.

“Huuuuuh!”

“Haaah!”

Their faces began to turn a deathly pale blue.

It was as if they were naked outdoors on an extremely cold day.

Despite being fully clothed, they felt an extreme cold, and what was even more astonishing was that even as Awakened Ones who had awakened their Chakra Force, they were completely unable to resist the chill.

Thud.

And then, someone emerged and walked among them.

Thud.

Dead, blackened feet.

Someone, appearing as if only skin barely covered gaunt bones, moved, dominating the entire assembly.

His mere presence crushed everyone, and then he quietly walked to the place of honor and sat down.

His entire body was covered in a hideous, rotting blackish skin tone, and his two eyes glowed with a blood-red light, as if spewing blood.

It was the Demonic Monk, Yoshii.

“That man.”

His mouth opened, and an eerie voice, as if from hell itself, resonated.

Everyone who heard those words cowered, unable to endure the extreme fear and chilling cold.

In an instant, Yoshii’s lips twisted into a cold smirk.

“He will soon take the bait.”

At his words, everyone’s gaze turned towards Yoshii.

The bait.

For what it implied was all too obvious.

Yamamoto.

Yoshii intended to use Yamamoto as bait.

Everyone present shuddered.