Ch.315315. Asia (3)

As the United States found itself unable to intervene in Asia, the momentum of the Chu, Wu, and Yue states naturally began to rise.

Without the threat of American intervention, which posed the greatest danger, they grew confident that Asia would be theirs. In fact, the arrogant warlord who called himself the King of Chu proclaimed himself to be Xiang Yu incarnate, claiming to be the reincarnation of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

“The conquest of Japan is the first step in my path of domination and the first step toward unifying the world!”

He had ambitions to unify China just as the Hegemon-King of Western Chu had done in the past. However, as everyone well knew, Xiang Yu was merely good at fighting and was an incompetent ruler with no political ability whatsoever.

In reality, the path he had chosen was filled with questionable decisions that would hardly help unify the world. Even if he had joined forces with the anti-Yamato faction and achieved victory against the Yamato-Seorabeol alliance, that wouldn’t lead to world unification—it would only benefit others.

To put it bluntly, he was fighting an unnecessary war in lands unrelated to Chu. Even though Awakened ones grew stronger through battle, they still needed rest to recover from wounds. To restore a continent devastated by the apocalypse, peace should have been pursued rather than war.

“The prestige of Chu has reached all across Asia! Citizens of Chu, rest assured! Our Chu will save the chaotic Middle Kingdom and achieve world unification!”

Despite the King of Chu’s claims, public sentiment in Chu was not favorable.

Why talk of war when they had just begun to catch their breath?

In Seorabeol’s case, the Yamato alliance had acted first to protect Seorabeol and Seoul, with their leader personally taking the field due to their mutual defense treaty. This gave Seorabeol citizens a justifiable cause—they weren’t fighting an unnecessary war but rather repaying a debt of gratitude.

The people of Chu, however, felt forced to participate in a completely irrelevant conflict solely for the sake of their king’s prestige, and public sentiment in Chu was growing increasingly turbulent.

“Taiwan! Oh, Taiwan! Our ancestral land that we must reclaim!”

Next was the Wu state, which controlled the East China Sea coast. Being culturally close to Taiwan, they planned to invade Taiwan during this war.

On the surface, they appeared to be standing with other neighboring countries against Seorabeol’s hegemony, but Wu was more interested in dominating the East China Sea than controlling all of Asia. They desperately hoped that Taiwan would go to war with Seorabeol.

If Taiwan’s leadership or citizens were to rashly declare war on the Yamato-Seorabeol alliance, Wu planned to simultaneously declare war on Taiwan, forcing them to fight on two fronts while raising Wu’s profile across Asia.

“Why should we fight?”

“We want peace!”

Despite being the ones who wanted war more than anyone, public sentiment in Wu was not favorable either.

The situation in Yue was similar and needs little explanation.

Each had their own hidden agenda and wanted war for their own benefit.

“The moment Wu attacks Taiwan, we’ll strike Wu!”

The saying “Wu and Yue share the same boat” seemed to have disappeared, as Yue was planning to stab Wu in the back the moment they attacked Taiwan.

The three southern Chinese states were in complete disarray with no unified opinion. Given the state of these major southern powers, the other countries were in similarly chaotic situations.

However, they did share one common belief:

“If we can achieve victory in this war, fragmented China will kneel before me!”

Yes, they believed that if they were lucky enough to win, they would gain the prestige needed to unify China.

This was a logical argument, as it would effectively end the peace led by Seorabeol. Defeating Seorabeol, currently the strongest nation in Asia, would mean they could subdue and absorb other countries as well.

This meant they could complete the unification of the world and become the Emperor… the Son of Heaven. At the mention of these two words—Son of Heaven—the Kings of Chu, Wu, and Yue began to lose their minds.

“Yes. Let’s expand this situation further!”

“Indeed. We’re only fighting for the sake of our alliance!”

“Chu and Wu have stepped forward! Then we, Yue, must also join.”

Thus, at the prospect of becoming the Son of Heaven, the scale of the war continued to grow, and they viewed this war as one for prestige that would lead to world unification.

It was meant to be a powerful symbolic war to unite the numerous warlords of the divided continent, but as mentioned earlier, from the perspective of soldiers on the front lines, it was a meaningless war fought only for someone’s imperial ambitions.

The voices of the powerless masses went unheard, and nameless citizens and soldiers would simply die under the banner of prestige for someone else’s imperial title.

“They are not fighting for any noble cause or justification! They’re merely trying to prevent Japan’s unification while elevating their own status!”

The Yamato alliance condemned such despicable behavior, with Takashima Shiro, the alliance leader, personally denouncing it. However, the three Chinese states merely scoffed, not even offering diplomatic regrets.

Their only concern was how to win the war and claim the position of Son of Heaven for themselves.

“Even if there are sacrifices, let’s end this war quickly.”

The Yamato alliance and Seorabeol, unwilling to see the Japanese archipelago reduced further to ashes, finally reached a conclusion.

If unwelcome visitors from China were intervening under the pretext of alliance with the anti-Yamato forces and fueling the flames of war, they needed to stop it at its source.

Of course, they couldn’t attack mainland China with their current forces, and doing so might provoke backlash from other nations in China, so they had to be cautious. However, if they thoroughly destroyed the anti-Yamato alliance, which was the pretext for intervention, there would be no more justification for involvement. Even if others tried to intervene without the anti-Yamato alliance, the Yamato-Seorabeol naval forces would have an overwhelming advantage.

“So, the complete destruction of the anti-Yamato alliance. Does this mean essentially scorching eastern Japan?”

“Yes. If there’s another way, I’m all ears.”

“There isn’t. From now on, I authorize the use of high-powered magic against the enemy and the use of lethal Bahamut Bullets. But before that, let’s offer them a chance to surrender.”

However, there was still some humanity left.

Takashima Shiro felt compassion and mercy toward the anti-Yamato forces, as they were still Japanese, and decided to give them one last chance.

Even Baek Seol-hwa, who had been advocating for ending the war with one powerful strike to avoid the anticipated massacre, agreed.

“As the leader wishes.”

She accepted Shiro’s opinion, and so Shiro prepared to demand surrender from the anti-Yamato forces.

The battlefield was already filled with tension and the smell of gunpowder, as if news of East Asia’s chaotic state had spread.

Trenches filled the front lines with gun barrels targeting them, and Shiro could only sigh at the horrific war situation.

How many Awakened would have to be sacrificed in this meaningless civil war?

‘Please accept this last chance.’

This was essentially the last chance for the anti-Yamato forces to survive.

To convince them, Shiro took the risk of climbing onto a podium at the most visible location on the battlefield. As Takashima Shiro, the leader of the Yamato alliance, stood on the podium despite the danger, all eyes—both from the Yamato alliance and the anti-Yamato forces—naturally turned toward him.

With all attention on him, Shiro took a deep breath to calm his nerves and began to speak.

“I address the anti-Yamato alliance!”

His voice, infused with magical power, spread across the entire battlefield, and Takashima Shiro’s loud, clear voice definitely reached the ears of the soldiers.

“We, the Yamato alliance, do not deny your way of life. We know that you don’t truly want this war! You know it too. This is a meaningless civil war between people of the same nation!”

He emphasized that they were of the same ethnicity and that this fight was a meaningless civil war.

His words caused some soldiers to waver.

After all, not all of them were looters or criminals; some were civilians who had been forced to join against their will.

For such people, Shiro’s words were quite relatable.

“You also know that there are external forces trying to exploit this war. The Hayabusa Group, which has established a pirate kingdom in the South China Sea, is a prime example! China is also taking pleasure in our civil war! Chu, Wu, and Yue are planning to unify China through our civil war and are ready to fuel this conflict further to announce their prestige across Asia. Citizens, you don’t want this war. You all know that this war will never overcome the crisis in the Japanese archipelago.”

He also mentioned external invasions to heighten the sense of crisis.

Both the anti-Yamato forces and the Yamato forces expressed anger and condemned China for trying to intervene in this war, cursing them and praying that their plans would not come to fruition.

To those with such desperate wishes, Shiro made a heartfelt appeal.

“We must stop this meaningless war. We must prevent further bloodshed! So I appeal to you! Drop your weapons now and leave the battlefield! If you need protection, we, the Yamato alliance, will protect you! We will always welcome righteous surrender!”

In response to this desperate surrender demand, the anti-Yamato forces began to waver.

Unlike the Yamato alliance and Seorabeol, which had started the war with public support, the anti-Yamato alliance was inherently a warlord group and had failed to provide a proper justification for the war to convince citizens.

It seemed they had calculated that they could control the masses if they controlled just a few Awakened, and it had worked initially.

“This is not mercy! It’s the final option and warning given to you!”

However, in a war where numerous Awakened were fighting, even powerful Awakened could only fight on limited fronts, and the contributions of these powerless soldiers were needed on fronts where the Awakened couldn’t fight.

Despite knowing this, they had dealt with it carelessly out of fear of rebellion, and as a result…

“I can’t fight anymore! Why should I fight against the Yamato alliance when my family is there!”

“We’ve been completely deceived! They said the others were tyrants! What nonsense!”

In an instant, the formation collapsed, and the forces responsible for one section of the front line disappeared.

It was difficult to stop them because, while they were currently just blaming the command for surrendering, if the leadership tried to execute them on the spot to prevent desertion, there was a risk that the large anti-Yamato force would instantly transform into rebels targeting the command, overwhelming them with superior numbers.

So the command essentially remained silent, and the number of soldiers wanting to surrender to the Yamato alliance continued to grow.

“Once this moment passes, our blades can never be sheathed again. Please surrender and find salvation.”

And the leader of the Yamato alliance was desperately demanding their surrender to save even one more life.