Ch.266266. Powder Keg of the World (1)

Yamato Union’s participation in the war was essentially a given from the start.

As an ally bound by a mutual defense treaty who had received help from Serabal, if the Yamato Union had remained silent and refused to send troops to Serabal, Serabal would have questioned their intentions.

However, the Yamato Union declared their participation at the appropriate time, landing at Ulsan and POSCO, and joined Serabal’s front lines.

While North Korea was claiming this was all imperialist behavior reminiscent of Japanese imperialism, no country was receptive to North Korea’s claims that Serabal—which had already been recognized as a nation at the International Organization Reconstruction Conference—was an unrecognized state.

“Bahamut coins are only produced in Serabal. If you become hostile with Serabal, the coin supply will be disrupted!”

“We use those coins to control our high-level Awakened!”

Frankly speaking, Bahamut coins were truly attractive commodities for Awakened individuals abroad.

As Awakened grew stronger, they inevitably desired powerful weapons to make leveling up easier, and Bahamut coins were materials that satisfied those desires.

For countries importing Bahamut bullets and coins to control their high-level Awakened, there was nothing to gain by becoming hostile toward Serabal. Rather, they risked losing control over their high-level Awakened.

So North Korea’s proclamations to the world weren’t worth listening to, and countries instead moved toward supporting Serabal.

“Even if they want to criticize, it’s a deployment with legitimate grounds, isn’t it? Do we have any reason or power to stop them?”

“That’s right.”

Even if some factions were envious of the Yamato Union’s advancement, they couldn’t possibly support North Korea’s claims because the Yamato Union had a legitimate reason—the mutual defense treaty.

They had joined the war according to their treaty obligations and had coordinated with Serabal. How could anyone tell the Yamato Union not to land on the Korean Peninsula?

From the perspective of hostile forces, they had no grounds to do so, and once the other side had secured clear justification, no one could stop the Yamato Union. And Serabal, the only entity that could potentially stop the Yamato Union…

“Why would we need to?”

“If we set aside the fact that the Yamato Union is the successor to Japan, they’re not bad as allies, right?”

Realistically speaking, Serabal had no reason to view the Yamato Union negatively when they were fulfilling their obligations.

Of course, the fact that the Yamato Union was the successor to Japan might bring up historical issues.

However, from Serabal’s perspective, needing to commit soldiers and maintain supply lines, the Yamato Union’s troops were extremely desirable.

Of course, there was the possibility that the Yamato Union could land on the Korean Peninsula, break the treaty, and launch a surprise invasion of Serabal.

But there was no need to worry about that because:

“As long as Takashima Shiro is there, there’s no need to worry.”

“He’s pro-Serabal. And there’s no reason for the Yamato Union to betray Serabal right now.”

Takashima Shiro, the current leader of the Yamato Union, was himself pro-Serabal and had risen to his position by cooperating with Serabal.

Such a person had no reason to betray a strong ally like Serabal, and betrayal wouldn’t benefit the Yamato Union anyway.

Even now, they were receiving support from mages dispatched from Serabal to purify their land and develop their territory. The Yamato Union was selling rice harvested in their territory to Serabal for money, which they used to purchase necessary magical tools and weapons. Trade with Serabal was essentially an important source of profit for the Yamato Union.

Given the leader’s inclinations and the Yamato Union’s internal circumstances that made betraying Serabal impossible, Serabal could confidently allow the Yamato Union’s army to land and deploy to the front lines.

“But the fact that America has remained silent is questionable.”

“That’s exactly it.”

Rather than the Yamato Union, it was America’s silence that was puzzling, considering the Pacific was also their sphere of interest.

With war breaking out across the Korean Peninsula and even North Korea acting up, America should have intervened on the Korean Peninsula to protect its interests in the Pacific. Yet only the Yamato Union was participating, and America’s presence had been conspicuously absent since the start of the war.

“The United States will support Serabal as an ally.”

However, they had fulfilled their minimum obligations.

When war broke out across the Korean Peninsula and the conflict with the Cult of Immortality began in earnest, Steven had met with Baek Seol-hwa and declared that the United States would support Serabal.

“Ambassador Steven. Will there be any support troops?”

“About that… Due to domestic issues, sending troops is difficult. But we can provide material support.”

While American support was good, Seol-hwa, who needed more soldiers, requested troops from Special Ambassador Steven, but unfortunately, the American side refused.

In reality, although the federal government had regained control over state governments through diplomatic victories, as time passed, individual Awakened were growing stronger, and the emergence of powerful monsters was gradually physically severing the connections between the federal government and state governments. Taking advantage of this, state governments seeking to declare independence were emerging again.

To maintain a unified America, the struggle between the central government and states declaring independence had begun again, and the federal government wasn’t in a position to meddle in others’ wars when their own domestic politics were urgent.

“Instead, I’ll do my best to secure the supplies Serabal needs for conducting the war.”

Steven wanted to wrap things up with just a perfunctory declaration of support and material aid. When such instructions came from his home country, he had to use all the authority at his disposal to do his best to prevent any cracks in the alliance with Serabal.

After all, war doesn’t just require people; it also needs supplies for its conduct.

It was difficult to secure all those supplies within Serabal, and if America could provide the materials needed for conducting the war, Serabal could save a significant portion of its budget.

“That’s fine. If America helps, it would be a tremendous support.”

“Please let me know what supplies you need. I’ll contact my country and place the order immediately.”

This became the driving force that allowed Lee Hyeon-a to distribute weapons to militia resistance forces across the Korean Peninsula.

As Serabal’s allies supported it in their own ways, Serabal’s victory began to solidify, but the Cult of Immortality wasn’t sitting idle either.

“The moment Serabal pushes us out of the Korean Peninsula, you’re finished too.”

“Damn it!”

First, they contacted the Hayabusa Group, which controlled the South China Sea, and emphasized the crisis.

The reason the Hayabusa Group had been able to continue their piracy while disregarding both Serabal and the Yamato Union was because the current world was in an apocalyptic state, and the Cult of Immortality was rampaging as a clear enemy of humanity.

However, the moment Serabal, the Yamato Union, and the United States formed an alliance, the defeat of the Cult of Immortality was logically confirmed, and would this victorious alliance forgive the Hayabusa Group, the pirate kings of the South China Sea?

“The moment those bastards win, we’ll be swept away! Can we forget past grudges?”

Rather, they would issue a bold eradication order to normalize the South China Sea.

Moreover, the Yamato Union had long wanted to eradicate the Hayabusa Group, and there were countries that would strongly advocate for eradicating the pirates in the South China Sea once they defeated the Cult of Immortality.

From the perspective of Serabal and the United States, the South China Sea had been a longstanding international problem, and if the Yamato Union made such a proposal, they would have no grounds to refuse, nor any intention to do so.

In other words, if the Cult of Immortality suffered a major defeat, the Hayabusa Group would also face significant trouble. Setting aside the fact that the Cult of Immortality had deceived the Hayabusa Group in the past…

“We will stand with the Cult of Immortality!”

They declared their support for the Cult of Immortality and simultaneously declared war on the Yamato Union, which was helping Serabal.

This meant the South China Sea was intervening in the Korean Peninsula war, and consequently, the Yamato Union’s attention naturally turned southward.

“Let our navy help as well.”

“We appreciate it.”

When the Yamato Union received the declaration of war, Serabal also redirected its navy, which had been protecting the East Sea, to join the Yamato Union and form a combined fleet. The Yamato Union had no reason to refuse when they needed one more fleet.

Thus, the combined fleet was formed and began to confront the pirate king who ruled the South China Sea.

One might think this concludes the explanation of all forces involved in the Korean Peninsula, but unfortunately, this Korean Peninsula war functioned as a global powder keg.

“We, England, will support the Cult of Immortality.”

“What? I didn’t authorize that!”

The Lord Protector, who had been secretly in contact with the Cult of Immortality to plot his path to the throne, officially declared support for the Cult of Immortality and announced to the world that this was England’s strong will.

In response, Alicia, the Queen of England and Dragon Priestess, was shocked by the Lord Protector’s declaration and loudly proclaimed to the world that she had not authorized it.

But unfortunately…

“If the Lord Protector says so, does England really intend to side with the Cult of Immortality?”

“Could the Korean Peninsula war be escalating into a world war?”

Officially, the Queen of England was the head of state, and her words should have carried more weight, but from the public’s perspective, the current Queen was too young to oversee state affairs, her actual power was limited, and the Lord Protector was perceived as the true ruler of England.

This created a sense of crisis in Europe that this war could escalate into a Third World War, and the Lord Protector, as if to fuel European anxiety, devoted all his efforts to spreading this news throughout Europe.

“Since the Lord Protector claims so, it seems England intends to participate in this war.”

For those unaware of the actual situation, the Lord Protector’s claims were quickly accepted as England’s official position, but for those who knew the truth…

“Could it be civil war?”

They understood that the Queen and the Lord Protector were clashing to an extreme degree, to the point of considering civil war.

“This time, become a pitiful puppet.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have no intention of becoming a puppet. The British Royal Family promises full support to Serabal and its allies! We will never side with the Cult of Immortality!”

When the Lord Protector blatantly mentioned “puppet” to her face, Alicia firmly refused and simultaneously promised full support to Serabal in the name of the royal family, actively using the power held by the British royal family.

Of course, the Queen, with her limited actual power, couldn’t dispatch troops or provide material support like the United States or the Yamato Union.

However, her current role was…

“Summon the Royal Guard. We need to check that garbage Lord Protector.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Her role was to prevent the Lord Protector from participating in the war or dispatching his personal guard for the Cult of Immortality.

As the Queen summoned the Royal Guard and began to actively resist, the Lord Protector watched the Royal Guard assembling at the Queen’s command with an annoyed expression and sighed.

He had thought it wouldn’t be easy to dispatch troops, but he hadn’t expected such fierce resistance.

“No, this is evidence that when Serabal falls, the Queen will fall too.”

Conversely, Serabal’s existence could be the basis for the Queen to take such a stand.

The Lord Protector immediately appeared before the public and explained why he was cooperating with the Cult of Immortality.

“The Dragon Priestess is merely a puppet of a false god! Serabal worships dragons and suppresses human freedom! Citizens! Can you trust Serabal? I believe that mages who study death are more trustworthy allies! They are more progressive than anyone and are overcoming death, the limit of humanity!”

The public’s reaction to the Lord Protector’s declaration was mixed.

Some questioned how they could cooperate with those who controlled the undead, while others argued that the Cult of Immortality was a school of thought trying to overcome the limit of death in human history.

While in Asia and other regions, the Cult of Immortality was perceived as an absolute evil and a garbage group that should never be associated with, from the perspective of European countries that had little or no connection with the Cult of Immortality or had suffered minimal damage, the Cult of Immortality was merely perceived as a villain organization, and few seriously considered its dangers.

Therefore, the Lord Protector’s instigation could be quite effective.

“The Cult of Immortality is not evil! They are revolutionaries creating a new order!”

It was also too easy to portray the evil cult group, the Cult of Immortality, as revolutionaries.

After all, the media would be censored by the Lord Protector, and the truth circulating on the internet would be deleted before long.