Chapter 151

Playing billiards, going to karaoke, and visiting a nearby amusement park once.

We took our rest faithfully in our own way. And finally today, while eating hangover soup at the hotel hut, a text message flew into our smartphones.

[Notice]

We apologize for inevitably contacting you via text due to an emergency.

Those who received this message are currently designated as hunters subject to mobilization by South Korea.

Hunters who received this message are requested to head to one of the nearest city or provincial government offices by 9:00 AM three days from now.

※ This mobilization has legal effect according to relevant laws and regulations. We ask for your voluntary and active participation.

It was concise yet seasoned with a considerable amount of threat.

The words were polite, but the subtext was: "If you don't come, something will definitely happen to you. Come obediently while we are asking nicely."

The fact that such a text was sent meant that Gonsalok was actually showing signs of movement.

“Still, they sent it politely because we are hunters. Oh, it is on the news over there too.”

Jung Oh-hoon pointed at the TV. The program that had been running until a moment ago was interrupted, and breaking news was being broadcast.

It was content announcing that a Level 1 alert status had been declared.

“Is it not supposed to be DEFCON?”

Jung Oh-hoon wore an ambiguous expression at my question.

“Chan-seok, what can soldiers do against monsters that crawled out of an Erosion Core? The main role of the military and police, other than hunters, will be maintaining public order and control.”

That was true. Unless it was the kind of threat where soldiers could actively step forward and do something, DEFCON, which prepares for all-out war, was meaningless.

“Since we are in Hongcheon, we should head to the Gangwon Provincial Office located in Chuncheon.”

I nodded and tapped the earthenware pot of hangover soup with my spoon.

“Let us eat quickly and go. There is no reason to go late. Rather, we will have to hurry.”

We had to establish an overwhelming level of merit in the engagement with Gonsalok compared to others. We had to move as quickly and actively as possible. The preparations to move were already finished.

“Ah, it is finally the end of the vacation huh.”

Jung Oh-hoon spoke like that and then finished his meal with an intensity as if he were going to drink the entire pot.

Han Sang-ah also continued her meal quickly and spoke to me.

“Still, it seems they don't intend to reveal yet that this incident happened because of us.”

“Of course not.”

It would not be too late to reveal that fact after failing. Right now, there was no reason to let citizens pour criticism on hunters who could be a major force.

After finishing the meal quickly, we immediately arrived at the Gangwon Provincial Office in Chuncheon.

“Soldiers, I see.”

Soldiers and police were guarding the provincial office as one.

“You there, stop for a moment!”

They pointed their guns openly. It was a vibe where they would pull the trigger immediately if I hesitated even a little. I rolled down the window and poked my face out.

“I came because I was told to come.”

The soldier who confirmed my face immediately retracted his gun with a surprised expression.

“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?”

“I received the mobilization text. It is Yoo Chan-seok and two other hunters.”

After quickly having our identities verified, we passed the inspection and arrived at the Gangwon Provincial Office. Normally, people would have come to try and say hello, but in the current situation, there was no fool attempting to build friendships while exchanging greetings.

“Headhunters, it is a pleasure to meet you. First, we will explain the situation while moving by helicopter.”

We took a helicopter toward Incheon Airport. Once we arrived at the airport, we would immediately take a transport plane to Wusu International Airport in Nanning.

“What is the scale of the participating hunters?”

“It is approximately 48,000.”

They mobilized an enormous number. However, even that number consisted of South Korean hunters who were selected in their own way.

If they did not select and just mobilized everyone, exactly how many hunters could they call up? Just imagining that alone showed what a thuggish nation Korea was right now.

“The three of you will be traveling via a private jet.”

Hunters who ranked high on the List of Hope were scheduled to be transported separately via private jets. It was probably a kind of courtesy.

The rest of the hunters moved via 50 transport planes that could carry 200 people each.

“Can Nanning International Airport withstand that?”

It was called an international airport, but I did not think the airport located in Nanning could accept 50 of those large transport planes.

The soldier gave a refreshing answer to my question.

“They just have to jump.”

“Ah.”

I suppose so. They were hunters selected in their own way. If they were the type to die from falling from the sky, they would not have been qualified to receive the Korean government's mobilization text in the first place.

We immediately boarded the helicopter and headed toward Incheon Airport. A voice came through the radio.

— From the South Korean Forces Command in China to the Headhunters. The three of you were the first to respond to the request. As soon as you arrive at Incheon Airport, you will head to Nanning via a designated private jet.

“What is the task we must do there?”

I could roughly guess what had to be done. An answer returned immediately via the radio.

— The three of you are core forces. Once you arrive, you must first attend a meeting on future countermeasures at the Central Command Center established in Nanning.

“Understood.”

And after a brief pause, the radio returned. The voice on the radio had changed. The voice I heard was quite deep, giving a sense of experience.

— Of course, we understand on our side that it will be awkward for the three of you to operate under organized command and operational plans. However, we ask for your maximum cooperation.

Surely, they were already starting a fight over command at this point? There was something I had to check first. I answered in a soft tone.

“If I may, is it alright to ask who the current listener is?”

— I am Lieutenant General Woo Il-seop, Commander of the South Korean Forces in China.

The South Korean Forces in China. It seemed that while we were resting, the Korean government had already dispatched a certain amount of troops to Nanning.

I was starting to not want to fight. Because the role that this Lieutenant General Woo Il-seop bastard would play was obvious.

China was not Korea. Like other countries, it would be overflowing with dirt-poor paupers.

Seeing the supplies distributed from Korea for the hunters, their eyes would surely roll, and the military would perform the role of protecting the supplies intended for the hunters from those paupers.

If the relationship went sour already, there was no telling what they might do to the supplies delivered to us.

“It is an honor to speak with you like this, Commander Woo Il-seop. For now, let us finish the detailed talk after arrival.”

— Let us do that.

After finishing the contact, I clicked my tongue slightly. When such a large number of people moved, one definitely had to fight for leadership, whether they liked it or not.

“Can we not just do what we are told?”

I shook my head at Jung Oh-hoon’s words.

“Not just the Korean government, but a significant number of the hunters who rank high on the List of Hope will not want us to achieve merit in the subjugation of Gonsalok.”

In an unavoidable situation, they would obviously entrust us with an important role, but before reaching that point, our turn would be pushed all the way to the back.

“If the Gonsalok subjugation ends without us having performed properly, the Korean government will immediately point to us as the cause of this incident.”

Without a decent achievement, we could not block the arrows of criticism pouring toward us.

“Doing only what we are told will not be enough. All three of us will end up in handcuffs side by side. Ah, Han Sang-ah, you might be an exception.”

“Right. I will probably be an exception.”

Must be nice being rich. Anyway, Jung Oh-hoon and I did not have a reliable family like Han Sang-ah. Jung Oh-hoon wore a troubled expression.

“Will it be easy to get along? If someone is in the position of a Lieutenant General, the government must have already given them a heads-up.”

That was a good point. A Lieutenant General had three stars. He was a person in such a key position and concurrently held the post of Commander of the South Korean Forces in China. There must have been a word about our treatment.

“Just in case, I should fill your sub-space with something.”

At my words, Jung Oh-hoon looked at me.

“What does that mean?”

“The only thing the Korean military can interfere with is supplies anyway.”

The importance of supplies in war did not even need explaining. We could not advance while eating grass. Were we the Japanese military?

But that did not mean supplies were everything in war. If we could be free from the supplies provided by the Korean government, the Korean military had no way to stop our movements.

“Let us pack the remaining space with food, aside from the equipment you need.”

With the size of the interior of the sub-space we secured this time, we could pack enough food that we would fail even if we tried to eat until we died for several months.

“Of course, for now, it will be more important to maintain a relationship that is not discordant with Commander Woo Il-seop.”

“Even if we maintain a non-discordant relationship, I don't think a soldier would go against the President's instructions.”

Han Sang-ah’s judgment was cold but accurate. A soldier ignoring the President's instructions? The Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces was the President, and the military was an organization of absolute obedience to superiors.

“The grand principle that a soldier must absolutely protect is actually not the President's order, but the protection of their own territory and citizens.”

The principle of absolute obedience was merely created to protect that grand principle.

When a President told a soldier to fire at their own innocent citizens, could a soldier who obeyed that order be called a true soldier?

If he were a real soldier, in this situation where Gonsalok was threatening Korea, he should value the removal of Gonsalok more than the President's order.

“Let us see. We don't even know what kind of person this Woo Il-seop is yet.”

There were so many things to think about. While I was considering various possibilities, we were able to arrive at the international airport in Nanning.

“I am Woo Il-seop, Commander of the South Korean Forces in China.”

When we got off the plane, a middle-aged man in a military uniform was standing with his attendants.

“I am Yoo Chan-seok.”

The first impression of meeting Woo Il-seop was slightly different from the worst I had been assuming. Like most soldiers wearing the Lieutenant General rank, his appearance looked over sixty at a glance.

However, his body was still solid, not matching that age. He looked to be in better shape than most young people.

“I am well aware of your activities. I would like to hear more at length, but the situation is what it is, is it not?”

His voice felt like steel that had just been hammered, and his gaze was vividly alive.

“I agree. It would be better to move immediately.”

At my words, Woo Il-seop nodded.

“We will move to the Central Command Center.”

While heading to the Central Command Center with Woo Il-seop, he opened his mouth.

“I have already heard about the circumstances of how Gonsalok came to threaten Korea.”

His gaze turned toward me.

“Truthfully, I don't have good feelings toward the Headhunters.”

Because we were the ones who drove Korea into this situation. Woo Il-seop took off the military cap he was wearing and then spoke while staring at it quietly.

“His Excellency the President gave an instruction. The gist of it is not to use the Headhunters significantly in the process of carrying out this operation.”

I stared blankly at Woo Il-seop at his words. You are bringing that story up first? At this point? Just what on earth are you thinking?