Ch.301301. The Japanese Unification War (2)

# [Yamato Alliance Declares War to Unify the Japanese Archipelago!]

Within a day, the Yamato Alliance’s declaration spread throughout Asia, and naturally, the news reached Seorabeol, their largest trading partner.

Awakened groups established across Seorabeol began reacting to this news with varying perspectives.

Most Awakened welcomed the Japanese archipelago unification war initiated by the Yamato Alliance.

Despite wars being common in this apocalyptic era, considering that war itself was a life-threatening endeavor, it seemed strange that people would welcome it.

“This is our opportunity!”

Most of those welcoming the war were wandering Awakened who didn’t belong to any guild and roamed the country.

Among them were former raiders and villains who had escaped punishment because Seorabeol’s authority hadn’t reached them.

Though they hadn’t been legally punished, many people remembered their past actions, preventing them from rejoining society or joining proper guilds. Instead, they survived by parasitically living in dark alleys of Seorabeol.

They had fallen from the massive power and wealth they’d accumulated during the Cult of Immortality war, collapsing instantly and dropping to the lowest social class, but that wasn’t important now.

“South Korea is almost pacified now, and Seoul is being rebuilt. There’s no room for us in Seorabeol. But Japan… that’s different.”

War always gives Awakened new opportunities.

They viewed the Japanese archipelago unification war as their chance for a comeback, and the Yamato Alliance was indeed recruiting Awakened to participate in the war.

Some believed that if they distinguished themselves as Awakened there, they could restart with a new identity in Japan, and many boarded ships heading to the Yamato Alliance with this belief.

In such cases, they were abandoning their foundations in South Korea to make a fresh start in the Yamato Alliance, which was understandable for certain reasons.

“We can’t compete with the officially recognized guilds of the Seorabeol government!”

From the beginning, Seorabeol had been too busy rebuilding Seoul to punish them, but was now developing policies to weaken these forces.

First, they ensured that large guilds loyal to Seorabeol, like the three major guilds—Hwacheon Sword Tower, Cheongi Chamber, and Seomyeong Office—established central control, and provided them with support.

With government permission and support, the three major guilds pursued aggressive expansion as Seorabeol intended, and existing powers couldn’t withstand this aggressive expansion.

In other words, these people could be seen as losers who fled to the Yamato Alliance after being defeated in competition to survive.

“It’s chaotic there. They’re not unified yet, and there are still undead remnants, right? Territory and power are undetermined. Perfect for people like us to grab a piece of the pie!”

They were like moths drawn to a new land, seeking any opportunity for a fresh start.

For those who couldn’t establish themselves in Seorabeol, the archipelago war represented their last stage and ladder for a life-changing reversal of fortune.

And then there were…

“Why bother? Us participating in a war? Without even properly enjoying peace for once?”

Those already recognized as individual Awakened or officially acknowledged by Seorabeol didn’t attach much significance to this war.

They were mid-tier Awakened who had already established stable homes and foundations in Seorabeol, benefiting from the government and reconstruction projects.

Most were moderately involved in various government-sponsored events, real estate, trade, and guild interests, enjoying realistic lives. They had neither reason nor motivation to participate in the perilous archipelago war.

Some Seoul Awakened who had received favors from the Yamato Alliance showed interest in the war and held meetings, but…

“Exactly. Why should we go? Japan? That’s a country where it’s hard to preserve even our own lives. And even if we don’t step up, the Seorabeol government will handle it.”

The prevailing opinion was almost optimistic—that the government would resolve everything without their involvement.

Indeed, as soon as the Yamato Alliance made its declaration, Seorabeol announced the deployment of the Hwarang, fulfilling its alliance obligations just as the Yamato Alliance had done previously, even bringing out its strongest Awakened unit.

In this situation, what impact could mid-tier Awakened, mostly around level 15, possibly make?

“Takashima will handle things there. Actually, once Seoul stabilizes, our positions will improve too.”

“…Still, this is a major war. When it ends, there will definitely be differences, right? This might be our chance to rise from mid-tier Awakened to the realm of superhumans.”

Practical opinions emerged, with some suggesting that the Japanese archipelago unification war could be an opportunity to change their futures.

They understood well that in this apocalypse, war offered Awakened a chance to reach new heights.

But realistically, did they need to risk their lives and shed blood to participate?

“Seorabeol has already pacified South Korea, right? There are no more catastrophic anomalies. Can’t we just enjoy a stable life?”

“That’s right. Just hunting monsters across the country… the three major guilds will make a living.”

Seorabeol had already stabilized South Korea, and this stabilized land offered numerous opportunities.

Just hunting monsters spread throughout the country would allow them to live well for generations, including their children’s generation. They couldn’t think of any reason to risk their lives on the battlefield.

A very small minority resolved to join the Yamato Alliance that had helped Seorabeol, but most chose to remain in Seorabeol, recognizing reality with neither greed nor solemnity.

And finally…

“Hwacheon Sword Tower, Cheongi Chamber, and Seomyeong Office remain silent.”

The three major guilds of Seorabeol maintained their silence.

They had already established themselves in Seorabeol’s Awakened system, and with their foundation in Seorabeol, they were overwhelmed with work connected to the state—South Korean reconstruction projects, various commercial rights, and administrative consultation related to Awakened.

They could become the new privileged class without needing to participate in war, and the Japanese archipelago unification war was essentially someone else’s conflict.

“Our Hwacheon Sword Tower guild is focusing on the Seoul reconstruction project.”

“Cheongi Chamber urgently needs to deploy intelligence agents throughout the country!”

“Seomyeong Office wishes for the victory of our friend, the Yamato Alliance. Don’t worry. We will continue the exchange meetings!”

Going to Japan to shed blood and becoming entangled in the interests of Takashima Shiro and the Yamato Alliance guild forces was itself a risk.

They were already under suspicion from the Seorabeol cabinet, and if they made more suspicious moves, they would have to worry not about guild interests but about the guild being destroyed.

As always, the three major guilds proclaimed non-interference between government and guilds, but in this Korean peninsula, government power was supreme. If the government ordered a guild to die, they would have to at least pretend to die on the spot—that was reality.

“I see some suspicious movements lately. Are you claiming non-interference between government and guilds?”

“No! It’s just the usual WWE, sir!”

“Watch your behavior.”

Would a Korean state ever allow local forces to grow large enough to challenge the government?

Seorabeol would also ruthlessly move to eliminate any guild showing signs of challenging government authority, regardless of political affiliation.

Thus, facing the same war, Seorabeol’s Awakened were divided into three branches of desire and interests.

Seeing Seorabeol’s internal situation, Takashima Shiro, the leader of the Yamato Alliance stationed across the sea on the Korean peninsula, could only express disappointment.

“As expected, fewer than I hoped. The real ones aren’t coming, only riffraff.”

The response from Seorabeol’s civilian sector was less than expected.

While lower-tier Awakened, former raiders, and remnants of warlords were blinded by the prospect of a Japanese expedition, mid-tier Awakened who could immediately contribute to combat power showed lukewarm reactions, and the three major guilds had no intention of moving at all.

Forces that could serve as soldiers were sufficient, but those who could guarantee their quality weren’t coming, which ultimately disappointed Shiro.

If the Yamato Alliance had grown attached, he would have considered immediate recruitment, as he had made the political judgment that this war would present many opportunities for Awakened established throughout Seorabeol.

“Still, I should express gratitude that Seorabeol is mobilizing the Hwarang.”

The fortunate aspect was that Seorabeol was fulfilling its obligations as an ally.

Through diplomatic channels, they were already considering deploying the Hwarang, and even Baek Seol-hwa, the Dragon Priestess, had expressed her intention to participate in this war.

That alone could be a great strength for the Yamato Alliance, and supplies from Seorabeol to support the war were already arriving at ports one by one.

“Seorabeol seems genuinely prepared to participate in the war.”

Seeing this, Shiro’s adjutant swallowed hard, judging that Seorabeol was sincerely committed to participating in the war.

While Shiro had volunteered for the most dangerous frontlines to achieve superhuman awakening, Seorabeol, with its many superhuman Awakened, had no reason to engage in dangerous warfare.

Given their current focus on Seoul reconstruction, if they had asked the Yamato Alliance to understand their inability to participate, the Yamato Alliance would have been disappointed but could have accepted Seorabeol’s non-participation. Despite this, Seorabeol was seriously showing its intention to participate in the archipelago unification war to fulfill its alliance obligations.

“It’s an action to enhance their international diplomatic power. Telling the watching world that this is Seorabeol’s trustworthiness.”

Of course, Seorabeol wasn’t participating for free.

Through this participation, the country of Seorabeol would loudly claim that it had credibility and its trustworthiness could be relied upon.

And the Yamato Alliance, benefiting from this trustworthiness, couldn’t refute Seorabeol’s claim and would have to respond positively.

However, considering the upcoming war, they were essentially living in both the present and future simultaneously, so from the Yamato Alliance’s perspective, there was no reason to prevent Seorabeol’s participation.

Rather, if they wanted to maintain the alliance with Seorabeol in the future, they needed to prove here that Seorabeol’s trustworthiness was reliable.

“It may not matter right now, but it could be a significant asset in the future.”

Shiro slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, convincing himself of this.

He felt impatient at the thought of Seorabeol once again moving ahead of the Yamato Alliance, but nevertheless, with superhuman-like patience, he restrained himself and began to deeply consider the official joint operations to come.

“Which Dragon Priestess did you say would be participating?”

“Lady Baek Seol-hwa is likely, sir.”

First, he inquired about the Dragon Priestess who would participate in this war, and the answer was that Seol-hwa, who currently governed Gyeongju, was highly likely to step forward.

Shiro was somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t Yu-na, but conversely, if Yu-na had participated, it would have appeared as if Seorabeol was committing its full strength to the archipelago war, so this could be seen as a reasonable compromise.

And Seol-hwa was a Dragon Priestess comparable to Yu-na, and considering that she was also a chosen Awakened who could summon the dragon god Bahamut…

“So the dragon god could be summoned on this archipelago.”

“Are you referring to Lord Bahamut?”

“Yes. Although Lady Baek Seol-hwa has never officially summoned the dragon god, they say she also possesses the power to summon it.”

This meant the dragon god Bahamut could be summoned on this archipelago.

If the dragon god were summoned, victory in that war could be guaranteed, and he secretly hoped they might easily complete the archipelago unification.

But the dragon god wasn’t so easily summoned, and there would certainly be a price to pay, so he also self-deprecatingly thought it wouldn’t be summoned so easily.

“The Seorabeol government forces are the Hwarang. So how many will participate? About 20, I suppose?”

“One hundred Hwarang and 500 auxiliary troops to support them will participate in this war.”

“One hundred Hwarang? Isn’t that essentially saying the Dragon Priestess’s direct guard is participating?”

“That’s correct.”

Seorabeol showed serious intent to participate in the Japanese archipelago issue to enhance its international status.

But Shiro thought this serious approach from Seorabeol wasn’t bad either.

“What we need now is… a coalition with a name. The flags of Seorabeol, the dragon god, and Yamato. If those three stand side by side…”

As he imagined that moment, his eyes sharpened again.

With that, they could leave a powerful impression not only on the entire Japanese archipelago but also on the international community.

“That should be enough.”

Despite some disappointment, the Yamato Alliance would ultimately reach its ultimate goal.

“The Yamato Alliance may not become number one in this era, but it must at least remain number two, following number one.”

That was the conclusion he reached as the leader of the Yamato Alliance.