Chapter 132

The trap was a complete success.

A single clash.

In that one encounter, Yamamoto and all the elites of the Kyushu branch were annihilated.

“That was a satisfying fight.”

Gil Hyeok-jun said, wiping the thick blood from his greatsword.

Kang Yuseong chuckled.

He, too, had seen enough blood to his heart’s content.

Gil Hyeok-jun hadn’t had a proper chance to unleash himself until now, and it seemed this opportunity had fully quenched his thirst.

Kang Yuseong looked at Kim Do-jin, who stood to one side.

Perhaps, the one at the very heart of this scheme was Kim Do-jin.

Without his formidable firepower, such an effortless annihilation wouldn’t have been possible.

Furthermore, cutting off the enemy commander Yamamoto’s breath was a major achievement.

Kang Yuseong had actually thought it would be a great help if Kim Do-jin could simply create a stalemate with Yamamoto, but Kim Do-jin had brazenly burned Yamamoto to death.

Even Yamamoto, an SS-rank Hunter from the Kyushu branch, was no match for him.

‘Are you growing too?’

A satisfied smile played on Kang Yuseong’s lips.

If he hadn’t secured Kim Do-jin, he might be struggling immensely right now.

“Attack unit total: twenty-five. Four injured. Otherwise, all squad leaders and personnel are accounted for and fine.”

Kang Yuseong nodded at Baek Myeong-han’s report.

They had held back nearly a thousand enemies with just twenty-five people.

This was a truly remarkable achievement.

However, this was a trap designed to infuriate and lure Yamamoto.

To put it another way, it was a strategy only possible because their opponent was Yamamoto.

Kang Yuseong gazed eastward with a chilling look.

Tokyo.

Yoshii was likely there.

‘Now, I’ll go directly to your heartland.’

Luring them out for annihilation wouldn’t work anymore.

They would have grown wary by now.

*Ring-ring-*

Just then, the satellite phone Kang Yuseong carried suddenly rang.

As the bell rang, the surroundings abruptly fell silent, and Baek Myeong-han, Gil Hyeok-jun, and even Kim Do-jin glanced over.

Kang Yuseong also frowned slightly and pulled out the satellite phone.

“Hello?”

The ringing of the satellite phone carried significant meaning.

This was a direct line to the Blue House.

“Commander Kang Yuseong. This is the President.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

A call directly from the President.

Kang Yuseong replied, his eyes sharp.

“Operation White Tiger. It has begun.”

At those words, a twisted smile formed on Kang Yuseong’s lips.

“I wish you good fortune.”

With those final words, the President hung up.

Kang Yuseong switched off the satellite phone and put it back in his pocket.

“All squad leaders, gather.”

Kang Yuseong gathered the squad leaders in the meeting room and spoke to them in a low voice.

“Operation White Tiger has commenced.”

At those words, everyone’s expressions tightened slightly, then relaxed.

“You… you actually pulled it off?”

Baek Myeong-han smiled, and Gil Hyeok-jun chuckled.

Kim Do-jin, meanwhile, scratched his head.

Operation White Tiger.

It was an operation that staked the fate of the Republic of Korea.

An operation impossible to proceed with unless the President himself intervened.

Kang Yuseong recalled the conversation he had with the President before crossing over to Japan.

“Understood. We will endeavor to mobilize all our strength to assist you.”

Kang Yuseong had requested the government’s aid for the subjugation of Japan.

The timing was so urgent that while it was decided the Stardust Attack Unit, as the first expeditionary force, would cross into Japan, follow-up troops needed to join them swiftly.

However, the major guilds had suffered considerable damage from the Second Shock, and a significant number of troops were consumed for recovery, leaving no reserves.

Even if a general mobilization order were issued immediately, there weren’t enough troops, making the situation impossible to manage.

But the President had promised Kang Yuseong that he would do his utmost to support his request.

And as a token of that promise, he had given him the satellite phone.

“If this phone rings, you may hold onto hope, Commander Kang Yuseong.”

Kang Yuseong had nodded as he accepted the satellite phone.

In truth, he hadn’t greatly expected support.

He knew the situation back home all too well.

What he wanted was an attack unit roughly the size of a regiment.

And if he were to be a bit more ambitious, he had hoped for armored unit support, especially now that the Maritime Self-Defense Force was virtually annihilated.

Both were, in fact, incredibly difficult tasks.

‘Hmm…’

Kang Yuseong, too, wore a faint smile.

It seemed the President had managed the impossible.

‘From now on, it’s a race against time.’

The support unit needed to arrive as quickly as possible.

Yoshii’s side wouldn’t sit idly by now.

Kang Yuseong had taken control of the Kyushu region, but now it was the enemy’s main force’s turn to push with overwhelming power.

Twenty-five attack unit members couldn’t possibly withstand such immense power.

Covering quantity with quality was only possible up to a certain scale.

‘Hurry and come!’

Kang Yuseong’s eyes turned towards Hakata Port.

The most crucial race against time in this conquest was unfolding there.

* * * * *

*Whoosh—*

A shrine.

It wasn’t a solemn or majestic shrine.

It was a devil’s shrine, exuding an eerie, chilling aura.

Around it, countless skulls, their necks severed, lined the walls, and the same was true for the altar in front.

Death.

In front of the altar of this shrine, filled only with death, sat a single person.

A figure clad in a yellow monk’s robe, holding what appeared to be a discolored human arm bone in one hand.

It was Yoshii, revered as a divine monk in Japan.

He continuously mumbled something, his lips moving, while toying with the blood-red prayer beads in his hand.

*Flash—*

And then, at a certain moment, his eyes snapped open.

A chilling smile played on his lips.

“Heheheh…”

His eerie laughter echoed throughout the entire shrine.

He had seen something.

To be precise, the enemy’s true nature.

“How interesting.”

Thanks to Yamamoto’s use of the Berserk Art, his soul had been bound and dragged here by Yoshii. By dissecting and probing that soul, he had learned how Yamamoto died and how many enemies there were.

This was the true meaning behind Yamamoto being called a ‘bait.’

The enemy’s numbers were a mere handful, fewer than thirty.

Yet, their skill was undeniably formidable.

And Yoshii remembered them.

Busan.

They were the ones who had shattered his clone right there.

“Excellent. Your graves shall be dug right here.”

Yoshii opened his mouth wide and laughed.

“Genzai!”

He called out to Genzai, who was practically his right-hand man.

“Hai!”

Genzai, who had been standing motionlessly outside the shrine, entered and prostrated himself before Yoshii.

Yoshii spoke to him without turning around.

“We go to catch the insects. Unleash ‘them’.”

Genzai slightly raised his head, then bowed it again, answering.

“Hai! Your command shall be obeyed!”

‘Them.’

Even Genzai felt a shiver run down his spine just thinking about them—the monstrous beings who were now to be unleashed.

Hunters among Hunters.

The strongest Shinobi in history, known as the Corpse Maker.

Covert assassins were about to move.

* * * * *

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Jang Gwang-ho, Commander of the Republic of Korea’s Southern Conquest Support Unit.”

Hakata Port.

Numerous personnel were lined up there.

The Southern Conquest Support Unit, dispatched by the Republic of Korea government, gathered all available forces.

Its commander was Jang Gwang-ho, the 3rd Attack Unit Leader of the Taebaek Guild.

Special S-rank forces remained on the mainland to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, while the strongest possible firepower group was assembled and sent.

Kang Yuseong grasped Jang Gwang-ho’s outstretched hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Kang Yuseong, Commander of the Phoenix Guild’s Stardust Attack Unit.”

The two men shook hands firmly, smiling.

“Let me explain the scale of the support forces.”

Jang Gwang-ho continued, looking behind him.

“The main Hunter Alliance force of 200, support unit of 300. A total of 500 troops. And in twenty-four hours, two allied armored divisions and an artillery division are scheduled to join.”

This was an unexpected level of support.

Kang Yuseong nodded vigorously.

The first attack unit in the history of the Korean Peninsula to advance towards the heart of Japan.

Ironically, this opportunity arose because the Maritime Self-Defense Force, which had been the biggest obstacle, collapsed due to the Mega Shock.

“The enemy is unimaginably strong.”

At Kang Yuseong’s words, Jang Gwang-ho’s expression hardened slightly.

He too had come here with a certain understanding of the situation within Japan and what had transpired in Busan.

This meant he was fully aware that events utterly incomprehensible by conventional wisdom had occurred.

Kang Yuseong grinned at him.

“But there’s no reason for us to be pushed back by them. By any chance, did you bring the items sent by Star Pharmaceuticals?”

Jang Gwang-ho pointed to one side and replied.

“Yes, they’re over there.”

“Please bring them.”

At Kang Yuseong’s words, several members of the Southern Conquest Support Unit went and returned with a few boxes.

They were heavily packaged boxes, so heavy that even several Hunters, whose abilities far surpassed human limits, struggled immensely to carry them.

And the boxes were sealed with a special enchantment.

Kang Yuseong approached the seal and extended his hand.

The key to the seal was his fingerprint.

*Beep—*

*Hiss—*

The sound of air rapidly escaping was heard, and the box opened.

Numerous vials, kept in cold storage, were visible.

The vials were labeled ‘S-100’.

S-100.

As Kang Yuseong picked up one of the vials, countless emotions flickered and vanished in his eyes.

This was the ultimate enhancer, meticulously developed by Star Pharmaceuticals over time, possessing the most potent effects.

In the past, such a drug would have taken another decade or more to develop.

A special drug that provided a small healing effect and boosted existing abilities by up to 100 percent.

Moreover, it was a comprehensive enhancer that, like a Stamina Potion, restored a certain degree of vitality.

“Distribute two vials per person.”

“Yes, understood.”

Jang Gwang-ho took the mysterious vials, a slightly puzzled expression on his face, but distributed them without complaint to the support unit members standing behind him. The Stardust Attack Unit members also received two potions each.

“These are potions meticulously crafted by Star Pharmaceuticals. If consumed at the necessary moment, they provide a small amount of health recovery, significantly boost your stats, and even restore stamina.”

A stir went through both the support unit and the Stardust Attack Unit at his words.

It was only natural.

This was a drug that was practically cheating.

Then, Kang Yuseong looked at them and continued.

“That means.”

His eyes slowly swept over the attack unit members.

“It means our opponents are that strong. This place might become our death ground, but it could also be the site of a historical event: the first time in the history of the Korean Peninsula that Japan is subjugated by force. And *you* will be the ones to do it.”

Another powerful stir arose.

The first stir was from understanding why Kang Yuseong had distributed the potions; the second was a surge of inexplicable excitement, making their bodies involuntarily heat up.

To subjugate Japan by force for the first time in history.

Who wouldn’t feel their heart pound at the thought that the long-standing grudge, always having been on the receiving end, might now be settled by their own hands?

“I wish you all good fortune.”

Kang Yuseong’s low voice resonated.

A resolute determination began to settle on the faces of the attack unit members who looked at him.

This was because they understood that this battle staked the fate of both nations.

Kang Yuseong grinned at them and continued.

“And let’s all return alive. In the same state as when we arrived.”