Ch.614Chapter 23. Patriotic General Do Ji-hwan (18)

In truth.

It’s the same for me, Kim Yoon-ji, and Yoon Yi-seon.

‘All three of us could handle a 1:3 fight.’

No matter how strong those three physically enhanced ability users are, even if they move as one body, they’re no match for us.

It’s only natural.

They may be S-class by the Chinese Hero Association’s international standards, but Korean S-class is qualitatively different.

It would be over if Yoon Yi-seon just created a pillar of fire large enough to cover an entire World Cup stadium.

It would be over if Kim Yoon-ji unleashed her maximum magical power in an electric strike with her sword.

For me, I wouldn’t even need to use anything else—just use time acceleration to run over and plant bombs on their mana shields until I can perform Zenros.

Yet there are two reasons why we specifically fought these physically enhanced ability users.

One was to test our skills.

[How well can we subdue opponents without injuring them? Regrettably, such a sweet reality doesn’t exist.]

We inflicted quite a few injuries on the three of them.

Stab wounds, burns, and contusions.

We caused injuries deep enough to leave significant marks on women’s bodies, penetrating through S-class physical barriers.

‘It’s paradoxical.’

How difficult it is to subdue someone without causing injury.

Even for me who subdues through strikes, whenever I hit the skull to cause a concussion, I often risk actually cracking the back of their head. When attacking someone with abilities, injuries are inevitable.

[So, both of you, how was it? Trying different styles?]

“I still prefer slashing with my sword from the front.”

“And I prefer ranged attacks….”

They tried fighting with each other’s combat styles, but ultimately both chose what suited them best.

“Learning close-combat weapon techniques from now would take too much time. I’ll learn if you tell me to… but I think it’s better to refine my ranged attacks instead.”

“I’m the opposite. It would be a waste to switch to a ranged attacker now after all the swordsmanship I’ve mastered. Unlike Yi-seon, when I shoot electricity from a distance, there’s power loss due to discharge.”

[Then let’s consider duplicate sub-characters that match your preferences.]

Fire swordsmen and ranged electric attackers are already common cases.

The opposite isn’t unheard of either, but what can we do if they dislike those styles?

Everyone has clothes that suit them.

Just as villain’s clothes don’t suit these people, copying each other’s combat styles doesn’t suit them either.

“What about you, teacher?”

[Me?]

“Do you prefer ranged or close combat?”

[I like ranged because it’s not troublesome, and I like close combat because it feels good.]

I like both.

[Still, since I need to fight efficiently, I prefer attacking from a distance.]

“…That’s surprising.”

[What is?]

“Well, you always execute with strikes using your Goblin club. I thought you preferred smashing things directly.”

[I do like it. It’s just….]

“Just?”

[Even the strongest person can be sent to the afterlife with a single bullet in modern times. Like how Hitler was killed by a single shot from Adolf’s Walther.]

The age of abilities.

When else would I get to fire guns so freely?

Baseball bat swinging can be done anytime with just a sandbag in real life, but guns are different.

[If I could take everyone out with a single shot, I’d probably be carrying a pistol instead of being a Goblin, shooting everyone.]

“Usually… even if you fire shots, they block them like these three women did.”

[Usually, yes.]

I pointed at the magical bullets still circling above the heads of the three Chinese women.

[Look at this too. If these were regular bullets, they should have pierced through their bodies, but in the end, I fired bullets and remotely controlled them to knock them unconscious.]

I shot and hit.

Between those words, there should be the phrase “manipulated the magical bullets fired into the air to avoid the opponent’s attack, and controlled them to fly into their blind spots and hit the back of their heads.”

But ultimately, I shot and hit, so I subdued Yoo-hyun with magical gunfire.

[If you can easily take down an opponent with ranged attacks, that’s the best way. The problem is that it’s usually impossible.]

That’s how most villains in this world are.

Even if I shoot magical bullets from a distance with my Goblin sniper rifle, unless those bullets have enough power to instantly penetrate the opponent’s barrier and shake their brain or crack their skull, it’s rarely possible to take them down easily.

[As villains increase, you start thinking about the most efficient and quickest ways to deal with them. When I intercepted all those villains coming to Jeju Island for the evil spirit’s bone powder and the phoenix feathers, I knocked out enemies from a distance with bullets containing just enough mana to take them down.]

“And the opposite is that you knocked them out by hitting their heads directly, right?”

[That’s right. Like now.]

Thud!

The magical bullet, the golden sphere, drops down.

At the same time, Yoo-hyun, who was just trying to lift her head, slammed it back down and lost consciousness again.

“…What I just heard was.”

[Nothing. She just regained consciousness unconsciously. And we don’t need to attack anymore. Let’s recover the radioactive material first.]

Through my Goblin club, I created a wide box made of mana, then collected the radioactive-contaminated soil they had taken out of the case and were about to scatter, putting it into the black box.

[Recovery complete. Now, the remaining question is how to deal with these three villains.]

“Are you really going to Zenros them?”

[I’m considering it.]

If I use Zenros, China loses three S-class ability users.

[If there’s more value in not using Zenros, if they’re not bad enough to warrant execution, well, it’s something to think about.]

There are still many undeclared S-class ability users in China, and while not all of them will appear in the Ability User World Cup, these three being Zenrosed would certainly make them wary.

[Is it bad enough to warrant Zenros? The standard is ambiguous in many ways. It’s not evil enough for the Goblin to execute.]

The Goblin focuses on how much direct harm was done to humans.

[Is causing a radioactive terror attack worthy of Zenros? This is where it gets ambiguous.]

Thinking normally, Zenros would be appropriate, or at least punishment according to law for the act of radioactive material release.

However, even though it’s radioactive contamination, it’s not a major problem since I’ve been suppressing the entire battlefield with magical power.

We responded immediately, and there was no danger.

“So we’re just letting them go?”

[No, no. It’s one of three options.]

“Either Zenros them and turn them into ordinary people, execute them on the spot, or….”

Yoon Yi-seon swallowed hard and gestured with her eyes toward the three collapsed below.

“Recycle them and make them join the Syndicate.”

[That’s it.]

They may be villains, but their magical power and physical enhancement abilities are certainly powerful.

Above all, they’re S-class ability users.

[Chairman Choi Ho-jung once said something like this. Not in public, but in private. When only the Choi family was present.]

“If Haeguneul is being mentioned, I don’t think it’s going to be a good story.”

[Of course it’s not a good story. It’s a glimpse into humans’ wretched way of thinking. Namely….]

Tap, tap tap.

[The domestication of ability users.]

I lightly tapped the collapsed Yoo-hyun’s back with my foot, adjusting her position from an unsightly sprawl to lying properly.

[Regardless of rank, make female ability users into ‘ability user factories’ by impregnating them and having them bear children. It was said during a drinking session, but it’s an absolutely horrific idea.]

“…Makes me want to kill the chairman.”

“He’s already dead though.”

Both of them began to show anger with stiffened faces.

[The problem is that it’s ‘more convincing’ than you might think. It’s a point where even our Syndicate executives have differing opinions.]

“What?”

“What could possibly be…”

[Is it right to kill S-class born ability users, either as ability users or as humans, or is it right to let them live and have children?]

It’s a dilemma.

If they were clearly evil, Zenros or execution would be the answer, but truly ambiguous cases can be very troublesome.

[So we reached a conclusion. If they’re not evil enough to kill, let’s keep them alive for now.]

Everyone backed down.

They had to, because even though they’re executives of an evil organization, they all lived as ‘heroes’ before they died.

Since I’m the most ruthless and vicious person among the four executives and the Goblin, no one carelessly says “Let’s just kill them!”

[And instead of just keeping them alive, let’s recycle them according to the Syndicate’s needs.]

“By recycling, you mean…”

[Ability user makers.]

From the perspective of being a ‘womb’ that gives birth to ability users, these people are too valuable to kill carelessly.

“…Isn’t that no different from what Haeguneul wanted to do?”

[The result is the same, but the process is completely different.]

Haeguneul dreamed of domestication, but what the Syndicate dreams of is ‘familiarization.’

[It’s always the same, Yoon Yi-seon. As I always say, what do you think is the answer?]

“Um… patriotism is the answer?”

[That’s right. Unlike Haeguneul forcing them to have children, we make them fall in love with Korean men and have children voluntarily.]

“Are, are you saying to force them to fall in love…?”

[No, no. There’s no ‘force’ here. Just introduce them to men so excellent that even they would fall for them, creating love that transcends nationality. Just like you two are pregnant with Do Ji-hwan’s children, they too would become pregnant with some Korean’s child.]

In other words.

[The so-called ‘Samshin Halmi Project.’]

“……”

[They fall in love with Korean men and have mixed-race children. If they themselves fall for Korean men and wish to become their women, there’s no better rehabilitation. Our Syndicate just becomes the birth goddess.]

Love and peace.

[Love is invincible.]

And patriotism is divine.