41. Hellgate

I felt something was off.

Was I about to experience something terrible?

Feeling uneasy, I turned around, and

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Urgent news, -nim. The United States has entered into an emergency military alliance with Russia.”

 

 

 

 

Thankfully, it wasn’t an assassination attempt.

The person who called him was a loyal confidant who had been assisting him since his days as a mere assemblyman.

 

 

‘I must be under too much stress these days.’

 

 

“The United States and Russia?”

“Yes, -nim. It seems to be aimed at checking the Galactic Empire.”

“So, they’re finally going to resist. Even after seeing their power.”

 

I had just put out my cigarette, but I already missed its bitter taste.

To think I’d be in a situation that makes me sigh like this.

 

 

“Do they have no learning ability?”

“It must be pride. The United States alone accounts for well over half of the Earth’s total military power. The same goes for adventurer strength. Of course, that’s excluding the Galactic Empire, but… anyway, with that kind of power, they won’t accept lowering themselves without any resistance.”

“It’s meaningless.”

 

The President shook his head.

Of course, it was true that the United States and Russia had tremendous power. If it weren’t for the Galactic Empire, even if all the other countries ganged up on them, the United States and Russia would probably win. They possessed that overwhelming military force.

 

 

But that didn’t work against the Galactic Empire.

There was no need to even consider Yu-Eun or the maids’ ridiculous stats. Even before they participated in the war, over a billion Bojinnians would wipe out the entire population of Earth, or they might use the Great Earth Weapon that eliminated the zombies to end it all in an instant.

 

 

And yet, they were going to confront them.

 

 

“Actually, quite a few countries are joining the alliance.”

“It’s not just the two of them?”

“Yes, -nim. It started as a mutual protection system between the United States and Russia, but as news spread, many countries participated, and the number quickly grew.”

“Hmm… judging by your expression, it seems they’ve asked us to join as well?”

“That’s right, -nim. After all, we’re in contact with the Galactic Empire’s mainland, and more than anything, Yu-Eun lives in Gangnam, which is in Seoul. Our assistance will be essential.”

 

Hoo.

 

 

I sighed.

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one answer.

Even if the whole world united, even if we poured all our forces, including the D10, we wouldn’t have any means to counter the Galactic Empire, which was bombing us from the moon. It was a war we had already lost before it even started.

 

 

“Why can’t this land ever have a peaceful day? Dangun must have chosen the wrong location.”

“…Blaming this on Dangun is a bit much…”

“Anyway, I understand.”

“What are you going to do, -nim?”

“What else can I do? The die is already cast, isn’t it? Even you must think that antagonizing the Galactic Empire from this position is too much of a stretch, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

 

 

The aide couldn’t easily continue.

Simply put, since we were surrounded by the Galactic Empire both internally and externally, it would be wise to side with them. However, in that case, the country itself would be placed in a subordinate position. Since Yu-Eun was Korean, it was hard to imagine that they would do something as outrageous as what happened in old Japan (now the Mount Fuji Autonomous Region), but even so, a fairly backward system in terms of human rights would be introduced.

 

 

“In the end, we have no choice… no, wait a minute.”

 

 

Then, a sudden flash of thought.

 

“The Galactic Empire is, after all, a federal state, isn’t it?”

“That’s right, -nim. To be precise, it’s a federation of federal states. The Bojinnian Federal Empire, the Mount Fuji Autonomous Region, and the Harem Palace have merged to finally form the Galactic Empire, so it is a federal state in any case.”

 

In the end, Yu-Eun was the leader, but even formally, the Federal Emperor of the Bojinnian Federal Empire was Isonia, and the Governor-General of the Mount Fuji Autonomous Region was Im Seo-hyun, with the heads of each faction divided in this way.

 

 

“Are you perhaps thinking of including the Republic of Korea as one of the pillars of the Galactic Empire Federation? I don’t think they want that. More than anything, Mr. President is…”

 

 

…a man.

He couldn’t bring himself to say those words.

But the meaning was clear. And the President knew it as well.

 

 

“That’s right. I am the President now.”

 

 

He had an idea.

A way to overcome this situation and raise the status of the Korean people, even if only a little, with minimal bloodshed.

Of course, he couldn’t do it alone, and he needed the help of an outsider.

 

 

More precisely, the help of someone who had ‘become an outsider.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Han Sarang… if she becomes the leader of the Republic of Korea… wouldn’t she be able to become one of the pillars of the Galactic Empire?”

“!!”

 

The same conclusion as before. Han Sarang had clearly rejected the previous plan and cut ties.

But what about this? The reason Han Sarang betrayed them in the first place was because she wanted to create her own independent force and be on the same level as Yu-Eun.

If she became part of the Galactic Empire Federation, she wouldn’t be able to stand on the same level, but at least she would be able to have the same status as Isonia currently enjoyed.

 

 

“But… will she accept? Fundamentally, there’s not much difference from the previous plan, is there?”

“There is. Back then, the Galactic Empire didn’t exist, and we didn’t know exactly what Yu-Eun was thinking. But now, they’re definitely forming a federation and aiming for Earth integration. The situation is very different from then. From the Galactic Empire’s point of view, it would be easier to disperse the anger by using that woman rather than getting their own hands directly dirty.”

 

 

In other words, the timing is on a different level now than it was then. It didn’t work then, but it might work now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Korean Empire, located in the first discovered otherworld.

Having obtained the Family class of , she was able to form her own independent force (the third in Earth’s history) and crossed over to this otherworld for growth.

 

 

Initially, she followed the President’s plan to raise an army, swallow up the Republic of Korea, control the media through military dictatorship, and suppress the people so that they would not rise up no matter what Yu-Eun did, ultimately bringing about the permanent stability and prosperity of the Korean people with minimal bloodshed. However, she later realized that her actions were driven by an extremely personal desire to be with Yu-Eun and transformed, becoming someone who cared only for herself and Yu-Eun, not a woman for the country and the nation.

 

 

Therefore, her actions also changed. She declared her separation from the President, cut off contact, and expanded her power by any means necessary.

She didn’t touch the Reisel Kingdom, where Yu-Eun’s direct influence was felt, but she fearlessly pushed into the other countries of the Western Continent, carrying out massacres and looting under the guise of growth. Later, she went beyond the Western Continent and swallowed up the Vulcan Empire, the strongest country in the otherworld.

 

 

 

After the fall of Vulcan, the countries of the Eastern Continent, finally feeling a sense of crisis, united to strike at Han Sarang’s Korean Empire. However, she received information beforehand and launched a blitzkrieg, cutting the alliance in half as she traversed the Eastern Continent from north to south. After that, she repeated occupations and conquests using various advanced weapons and high-tier soldiers that could not be bridged.

She consolidated the internal affairs of the Western Continent, which she had already occupied long ago, and spurred stabilization, while constantly supplying experience points and various resources through massacres and looting in the Eastern Continent.

 

 

 

Only a few months ago, she was just a small(?) force located in the Western Continent, but in that short time, she swallowed up almost the entire continent through a tremendous blitzkrieg.

Thanks to this, Princess Ludmilla, who had been trying to obtain the hegemony of the otherworld by trading with Yu-Eun, was left in an absurd situation.

 

 

Of course, Han Sarang’s advance was something that she, Yu-Eun, had also allowed. She just didn’t know that her power would grow so uncontrollably in just a few months…

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, Han Sarang’s Korean Empire planted the Samjok-o flag all over the continent, declaring the full-scale rise of a great empire. And finally…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Congratulations on reaching Headquarters Level 40.]

[Unlocked Buildings: Space Dock, Orbital Elevator, Space Station, Degenerate Furnace, Interplanetary Travel Route, etc.]

[Unlocked Technologies: Quantum Jump, Entanglement Communication, Satellite Science, etc.]

 

 

Before the Yu-Eun incident, she knew nothing about science. Even after Yu-Eun came and went, there was no word for ‘science’ itself on this planet except in the Reisel Kingdom. But now, she had pioneered space civilization.

 

 

Of course, it didn’t just happen. It was literally researched by grinding people’s blood, flesh, and bones, and the hundreds of thousands of troops, tens of thousands of land weapons, and thousands of aircraft currently in operation in the Korean Empire were all using resources extracted from looting.

 

 

 

 

In fact, Han Sarang herself didn’t know that she would grow so quickly. No, no one knew. Even her aide Shirley, who could be said to be a product of the system, didn’t know. She insisted that they should focus on internal affairs for at least 10 years, and Han Sarang also intended to focus on internal affairs for about a year.

 

However, things went wrong when the Eastern Continent countries began to unite after the fall of Vulcan, and she thought that if she left it alone, it could cause great damage in the future, so she pushed it away, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

 

 

 

“In the end, looting was the answer.”

“I guess so.”

 

 

Expansion generates enormous maintenance costs, but by focusing on looting and pushing away one continent, it was simply solved. An unexpectedly enormous amount of resources was looted. Now I think I understand why so many great powers in history were so enthusiastic about looting.

 

 

“I got here by accident, but it’s still not enough. I need to make it possible to travel between dimensions at least.”

 

 

Even now, it’s already over-technology compared to Earth. Research is being conducted at a tremendous speed through a particle accelerator dozens of times larger than that of Earth, and if there are enough resources, space facilities such as space docks and orbital elevators can be built at any time.

 

 

And there is plenty of land for that.

 

 

The only problem is that the vast majority of the people are absolutely stupid, but this can only be relied on time.

 

 

 

“Or, one way is to kill them all and fill them with soldiers.”

“That’s a terrible thought, -nim.”

 

Shirley shook her head.

It’s like she’s become more violent and less hesitant since realizing her true nature. She was already a woman far from normal, but she used to have some kindness, but now it feels like even that is gone.

 

 

“But now, it would cost too much and take too much time to educate all the more than a billion people.”

“Is massacre cheap? Excluding naturally generated troops anyway, it’s not that cheap, is it?”

“Hmm.”

“And now that we’ve almost achieved unification, there’s no need to increase military power.”

“No. We have to keep looting. We need military power to do that.”

“Where are you going to loot, -nim?”

 

 

At Shirley’s question, Han Sarang quietly raised her head.

Beyond the wide window, the clear sky was visible.

 

 

“There must be planets like this scattered throughout the universe.”

“…How are you going to be recorded in the history of the universe, -nim?”