“The Shooting Unit Captain... It’s Ji Han.”
“Why is... an Association executive here?”
“N-no, wait. More importantly.”
One of only five executives in the large guild known as the [Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association].
“You’re saying... Mr. Ji Han was the enemy commander?”
When I dropped that man and called him the enemy commander,
I could feel the bewilderment filling people’s eyes.
‘Still, I didn’t think this guy would actually be the one commanding the monsters.’
I’d only grabbed him and brought him back thinking, let’s at least secure the traitor.
I hadn’t known he was actually playing the role of commander.
‘No wonder they had so many defensive troops concentrated around him.’
Only after I subdued this guy and knocked him out,
and then saw the monsters panic and retreat,
did I realize—
Oh, so he was the commander?
‘Well, these guys seem to have vision that lets them see through the blizzard like it’s nothing.’
A man who can see the entire battlefield at a glance from that high-rise beyond the blizzard—
he’d certainly be fitting for a commander.
“So the one commanding those bastards... was Mr. Ji Han?”
And.
The reason I asked Yunseong for this guy’s position—
and the reason I could pinpoint the exact floor he was on in the building Yunseong indicated—was simple.
‘An Awakener who reaches a certain level can sense traces of magic power.’
With my overwhelming stats, my senses are especially sharp, and I’m particularly good at detecting such traces.
There were a considerable number of monsters inside that building,
and according to the results I saw on the [Combat Power Gauge], there were several monsters strong enough to annoy even me clustered near the building to guard him.
But there was one single spot
where a decently strong magic power could be felt, and yet at the same time......
‘A place where I couldn’t see the color of magic power from the [Combat Power Gauge].’
The [Combat Power Gauge] is an ability that shows the color of another race’s magic power.
In other words.
There is only one kind of being that doesn’t show up on this ability.
‘Same race.’
That’s why.
I was able to head straight for the top floor where he was staying,
and why I could subdue him and bring him back as quickly as possible.
“Urgh......”
“!?”
“W-what, he’s still alive!?”
When a groan leaks out of Jang Ji Han’s mouth where he lies collapsed,
the people who had been only watching react in shock.
“Kim Jinkyung!”
For the moment I’ve knocked him out,
but if he regains consciousness right away, he’ll just be a nuisance.
So I call over [Poison Master] Kim Jinkyung.
“......Yes.”
She looks like the idea of taking my orders doesn’t sit well with her at all,
making an awkward face, but even so, she comes over when I call.
“Put him to sleep. As deeply as possible.”
“Put him to sleep... Wouldn’t it be better to have someone else do that instead of me?”
At those words,
I look steadily at her face and speak.
[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]
[Kim Jinkyung]
[Intermediate Poison Master Lv.26]
[Skill – Sleep Poison Manufacture]
“I already know you can do it, so don’t dodge it.”
“......!”
At that,
Kim Jinkyung’s face turns pale.
“That was one of the techniques I kept hidden just in case...!”
“Good. Then this is a perfect chance to use it.”
“You really do expose other people’s secrets so easily, don’t you. How did you even figure that out...?”
Kim Jinkyung scowls like ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) she can’t believe this,
then nods and says,
“Haaah... Fine. As long as I don’t kill him, just keep him sleeping, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you when to wake him.”
“...Anyway.”
She looks down at the man lying there in a miserable state.
There’s anger in her expression.
“So the traitor you talked about... was this bastard.”
“......”
“Jang Ji Han, that son of a bitch!”
At those words,
I turn my body away and quietly say,
“To be exact... that’s not quite right.”
“...What?”
“I’ll tell you the exact details soon enough. For now, just keep him asleep. And if anyone tries to mess with him, stop them.”
Kim Jinkyung looks puzzled,
but I turn my back and head farther inside.
Even if the battle is technically over,
these people are still under my command.
Which means I
still have to carry out my duties as their commander.
“You there.”
“Y-yes...? Oh, me... I mean, sir, me?”
“Yeah, you. You were recording the damage status just now, right?”
“Y-yeah... I mean. Yes, sir. That’s right.”
I point to a man walking around with something like a notebook in his hand.
He looks unsure how he’s supposed to act around me, but he answers my questions clearly.
“Come here and give me a status report.”
“......Yessir.”
Soon enough,
the man starts reporting without complaint under my orders.
“The damage is smaller than expected. That’s a relief. Next, Park Junggu!”
“......Huh? Me?”
When I call him,
Park Junggu approaches with a dazed expression.
“We forced them to retreat by subduing their commander, but they still have a lot of troops left. They could come charging back at any time, so order the battle units to regain the line of sight we lost, increase the squad size of the recon units, and send them out to scout the surrounding area. We can’t let the recon squads get wiped out so easily like this again.”
“Got it...... No, wait.”
At those words,
Junggu’s face goes blank for a moment as he thinks,
then—
he breaks into a wide grin.
What is he so happy about?
He laughs broadly and says,
“Understood!”
“Next... You!”
I keep calling out people’s names,
taking charge of the cleanup work after the battle.
And.
As I walk through the inside of the encampment like that—
“Make way for him!”
People
step aside to clear a path so they don’t get in my way.
“...You’ve come.”
There are even those
who bow their heads.
“......Me— I mean. What should I say. Are you talking to me?”
At first, people seem a little dazed,
hesitant about how they should treat me.
“Yes, we’ll do that.”
But before long, as if they’ve made up their minds,
they carry out my orders faithfully.
Well, whatever.
“If the post-battle cleanup is about done with this...”
Having finished all the urgent tasks,
there’s one last thing I have to do as commander.
“Where are the wounded being taken care of?”
“Yes, sir! I’ll guide you.”
The wounded created by the battle.
To check how their treatment is going, I head for the improvised field hospital that’s been hastily set up in the center of the Wall.
*****
FLAP!
I pull open the tent of the field hospital and step inside.
The healers working inside all turn their eyes toward me.
“Ah... Um, Commander... sir?”
And.
When one of them looks at me and calls me that—
Poke!
“Hey, you... ‘Commander,’ really?”
“Ah, it’s just... I don’t know his name, so I didn’t know what else to call him...”
The healer right next to him jabs him in the side with an elbow,
calling out the way he addressed me.
Even so—
“It’s okay to call you... Mr. Youngjun, right...?”
“Do what you want.”
Even the one giving him that look
keeps sneaking glances at me as he speaks.
“S-so, what brings you here...?”
“I came to check on the condition of the wounded. What’s the status?”
When I ask for a status report on the wounded—
the Expedition’s Awakeners outside might have been a little dazed at first,
but they quickly started reporting properly when I gave them orders.
“Ah... well...”
The healer in front of me doesn’t know what to do,
his gaze flickering between me and someone else.
“...I’ll make that report.”
And.
I find out very quickly why she was so hesitant.
“The majority of the wounded are only lightly injured.”
“......”
“There is one severely wounded patient... but for now, at least, it looks like his life is no longer in immediate danger.”
The old man who had been stationed next to these healers throughout the entire battle.
“It’s thanks to you. You have my gratitude.”
The Expedition Force’s ‘real’ commander.
Jo Beomseok is here.
*****
“...At least it looks like his life is no longer in immediate danger. It’s thanks to you. You have my gratitude.”
Jo Beomseok and Shin Youngjun.
The old man who has long wielded influence within the Association,
and the young man who has only just recently joined it.
In terms of standing or the timing of their joining,
the two should be beyond comparison.
But when they lock eyes—
“......”
“......”
everyone around them
holds their breath, watching the two of them.
The reason is simple.
‘Lieutenant General Jo Beomseok... is the Expedition Force commander recognized by all the group leaders.’
At the same time,
he’s the man who made a massive mistake and drove the entire Expedition to the brink of annihilation......
the original commander.
‘And then... there’s that man, Shin Youngjun, who was only known to be strong and had never been officially given any position.’
At the same time,
he’s the “new” commander who, with overwhelming ability, resolved the crisis caused by that commander’s mistake......
and saved the Expedition.
Youngjun had claimed that he had legitimately received command authority from Jo Beomseok,
but the Awakeners here had all seen with their own eyes how Jo Beomseok acted
right after Jo Jun’s crisis.
No one here is dumb enough to believe that story at face value.
‘That was a lie to get them through the situation.’
When Jo Beomseok lost his ability to command,
this man named Shin Youngjun seized Jo Beomseok’s command on his own initiative
and used it to overcome the crisis.
‘He’s been racking up undeniable results the whole way too.’
During all the previous battles,
whenever word came in that another monster pack was approaching,
he always went to intercept alone and slaughtered countless monsters single-handedly.
The reason the Expedition Force has been able to advance this quickly
could be said to be, at least thirty percent, thanks to his influence.
And.
‘In this battle, he went beyond just “fighting well”......’
In a situation where a sudden enemy assault had neutralized the command structure—
not only did he quickly seize command and reorganize his troops,
he provided buffs to the allies that were in no way inferior to Jo Beomseok’s,
showered debuffs on the enemy that even Jo Beomseok couldn’t manage,
and achieved something no one in the Expedition could have pulled off.
He penetrated deep into the enemy lines alone—
subdued the enemy commander and came back with him alive.
‘Somebody actually said that guy is weaker than the Chair.’
‘Who the hell said that, seriously?’
When it comes to this battle’s victory,
Jo Beomseok’s contribution is so far below zero it’s like he’s drilling straight through the floor,
whereas this young man with the grim, fierce aura
pretty much brought victory single-handedly with overwhelming ability.
‘And that’s not all.’
He swiftly sorted out the confusion after the battle.
In that process,
even though Shin Youngjun isn’t technically their commander,
the Expedition’s Awakeners, without exception, accepted his orders—
‘Not a single person... refused the command of that young man.’
Refused? That’s not even the right word.
By the end, some of them were actually rushing ahead of him to report in.
Right.
At least in this moment,
the person seen as the Expedition Force commander is not Jo Beomseok, but Shin Youngjun.
And the disparity between what the two of them showed in this battle......
‘Is more than enough......’
‘To justify changing who commands the Expedition Force!’
*****
All eyes turn to Shin Youngjun.
Because of the battle just now,
his influence has ballooned to an overwhelming degree.
Awakeners, though there are differences from person to person,
are mostly people who follow the logic of strength.
In terms of command ability and wide-area buffs, he’s on par with or slightly ahead of Jo Beomseok.
In terms of combat ability, there’s no comparison.
Everyone senses it.
‘If that man wanted to become the Expedition Force commander......’
‘Then that’s exactly... what would happen.’
If he turned to Jo Beomseok
and declared that he would continue commanding the Expedition Force—
even though he’s not even officially a member of the Association—
no one would be able to object to that declaration.
There would probably be more people who would welcome it instead.
‘No......’
And.
Watching this scene,
one man—
Park Junggu—feels a strange thrill as he thinks.
‘It might go even further than that.’
Junggu recalls the words he said to that man,
to Shin Youngjun,
when they came to the Central Branch together not long ago.
—There’s only one virtue a man who can become a rallying point needs to have.
—Overwhelming strength... enough to convince every last person.
The Chair.
He used that strength to forcibly unify Gyeonggi Province and take the position of Chair.
And.
That Chair has now gone missing.
That seat has been left vacant for quite a long time.
Junggu has never thought that this situation is in any way desirable.
A group this large needs a single leader—he’s always believed that.
That’s why.
Park Junggu had repeatedly, indirectly asked that Shin Youngjun for a favor.
Overwhelm the Association’s leaders.
Become...
the new leader of the Association.
‘A new king......!’
At the time, Shin Youngjun had made a reluctant face and politely refused.
But maybe, now, things are different.
And so—
Junggu can’t help but feel a surge of exhilaration.
‘A new [Chair] might be born......!’
The king of Gyeonggi Province
might be on the verge of being born anew.
