Chapter 12: Follow Up

“Younghak Hyung!!”

Seeing Younghak descending from the sky, we finally let out a sigh of relief.

We also saw hunters being re-drafted, descending from the basket carried by the wyvern.

While they exchanged greetings with the other comrades, I hurriedly ran to Hyung.

“Why are you so late? Did something happen?”

“Let’s talk inside first.”

He hurriedly dragged me inside the building.

He sat down and started smoking a cigarette.

I waited patiently for him to speak.

“I messed up.”

“What kind of mess?”

Hyung calmly recounted what he did at the South Korean base.

As I listened, I felt my expression hardening.

“Hyung, weren’t you supposed to just bring back the re-drafted hunters? Burning down the military base and destroying the stronghold is crossing the line too much. Do you think South Korea will just sit back and do nothing?”

“I have an excuse ready. I’ll say that mutated wyverns attacked the South Korean base while I happened to be passing by, and I carried out a humanitarian rescue. And I’ll claim the mutated wyverns burned down the base.”

“It’s not about having an excuse. South Korea will definitely not stay silent. They might join forces with other countries to pressure the U.S. Even with high-level mana stones and wyverns, this is a major incident that’s hard to brush off.”

Younghak stared at me blankly.

I lit a cigarette too.

There was a moment of silence as smoke drifted into the air.

“I couldn’t just sit back.”

“I understand. If anyone understands that, it’s me. But cleaning up this mess is another story. Hyung, the U.S. might use this incident to pressure us. We have to do something. If this continues, we’re in trouble.”

“Isn’t there some way?”

It’s absurd.

Common sense dictates that I should be angry.

Damn it, Younghak Hyung!!

I should be shouting and telling him never to do something like this again…

But I wasn’t angry.

Hearing that that pitiful bastard Seo Youngchul went out like that, I felt more relieved than angry.

Yeah.

Since it’s already done.

Let’s clean this up somehow.

Thinking of it as a satisfying retaliation for Seo Youngchul’s death, it didn’t feel as terrible.

I racked my brain.

I thought and thought again.

“Do you have any ideas?”

After smoking three cigarettes in a row, my eyes, which had been staring blankly into the air, focused.

Hyung cautiously asked.

“There is one. With this, we can persuade Volkov, the chairman of the association.”

“Really? What’s the plan?”

Instead of answering, I stared at Hyung.

“I’ll handle the cleanup. But, Hyung, promise me one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Never act without consulting me again. This time we can clean up the mess, but it could have been fatal. Our relationship with the U.S. almost fell apart. There’s no guarantee we can fix it next time.”

Hyung nodded immediately.

“I understand. I’m sorry. I was emotional.”

“I don’t misunderstand your actions. I even feel relieved. But we can’t act on emotions alone. Promise me. Never act without consulting me.”

“I will. I’m sorry, Sungho.”

I nodded.

Hyung looked at me with a curious expression.

“So, how will you handle this?”

“We’ll isolate South Korea internationally.”

“Is that possible?”

“With my plan, it’s definitely possible.”

Two hundred wyverns.

And we also had personnel to pilot those two hundred wyverns.

I smiled with satisfaction.

“Watch. Soon, you’ll see South Korea kneeling before us.”

As expected, Volkov, the chairman of the association, was furious.

“Look at this! Look at this!!”

He showed me the video of the gate garrison in Daejeon on TV.

A wyvern appeared, spewing fire, causing vehicles and buildings to explode and melt.

Injured officers were being transported urgently.

The news anchor reported the destruction of the stronghold inside the gate.

Then, there was a scene of the president holding an emergency press conference.

For nearly three minutes, the video showed monster spewing fire in the middle of South Korea’s territory, captured by numerous phones and vehicle black boxes.

It was now impossible to hide the fact that the stronghold was compromised.

The president’s expression was visibly sour, and he assured the nation that there were no security issues and that the main gate outpost problem would be resolved swiftly.

Seeing his expression, Younghak hyung and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is this funny to you? Korea has lodged a formal protest! The president summoned the US ambassador and caused a scene! They think you’re responsible for this!”

“That’s not true. We didn’t do such a thing.”

At Younghak hyung’s words, Chairman Volkov slammed the table.

“Don’t think of lying to me. I’ve seen your wyverns myself! Do you think I wouldn’t know that the wyverns currently burning the Korean military bases are among the three you’ve been riding around? All the US wanted was one thing. Just one simple thing! To supply us with stable mana stones!”

Younghak hyung closed his mouth quietly and looked at me.

What could I do?

I had to handle it.

Hyung was the muscle, and I was the brains.

That was our division of roles.

“Have you seen the 900-level mana stones we brought? It was about 400 kilograms worth.”

As I spoke, Chairman Volkov lit a cigarette.

“I’ve seen them. The purity of the mana was very high. The researchers were ecstatic. I couldn’t be so pleased, though.”

A long plume of smoke escaped, filled with a sense of frustration.

“I hate variables, Mister Kim. I admit it. The US cannot abandon you. You are capable and currently the only ones in the world who can hunt high-level monsters and supply mana stones.”

“We will continue to supply mana stones.”

“If incidents like this happen every time you bring mana stones, the US won’t look favorably upon you. This is a warning, Mister Kim! Korea will never stand still. Neither will the international community. They will condemn you as thugs trying to disrupt international order with your power! Will you handle the pressure from Korea leading the international community?”

After listening to Chairman Volkov’s outburst, I silently stood up.

“Let’s go into the gate for a moment. There’s something I want to show you.”

I took Younghak hyung, Chairman Volkov, and the interpreter into the gate.

As soon as we entered, I commanded,

“Summon.”

[Summoning all contracted monsters from the subspace!]

I summoned 200 wyverns and one ancient dragon into the air.

As soon as Chairman Volkov, who was filled with rage, saw the spectacle, his anger disappeared and his face showed surprise.

“You succeeded?”

“200 wyverns with an average level of 900. Their defense, attack, and mobility are all excellent. They are capable of transport, troop movement, and air support. I plan to train my party members into a specialized air force with these wyverns. Naturally, we will also support the rift issues within US territory.”

Chairman Volkov, who should have been clapping in joy, scratched the back of his head in frustration.

Yes, I understood.

He couldn’t give up an air force commanding 200 wyverns.

But if we continued to cause incidents, the burden would fall entirely on the US and him, the Hunter Association Chairman.

His worries were clear.

“Chairman.”

“Yes?”

“About the international pressure led by Korea that you mentioned earlier.”

“We’ll handle it for you. After seeing this, there’s no way we can abandon you, right?”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to go to such trouble. That international pressure—we’ll handle it.”

Chairman Volkov’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?”

“Wyverns are strong monsters. And we have a sufficiently strong land force, led by Younghak hyung. With the support of five or six wyverns, the success rate of hunts and the reduction in injuries and fatalities would be exponential. In other words, we’ll have wyverns to spare, even covering the entire US territory.”

“Wouldn’t the remaining forces be needed for hunting high-level monsters’ mana stones?”

“Of course, we will hunt for mana stones. But even then, we’ll have about 50 to 60 wyverns left. We plan to use them to persuade the international community.”

“How… no, wait a minute.”

It seemed like a light bulb went off over Volkov’s head at my words.

He quickly calculated something in his head and then his face lit up with a smile.

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll secure air supremacy for us.”

“Securing air supremacy. Transporting large quantities of supplies. Troop movements. If we handle all of this, the international community will have no reason to refuse. In other words, we’re mercenaries. A special mercenary service available only to countries that listen well to the United States. Do you think any country would still side with Korea to pressure the U.S. in this situation?”

Volkov burst into hearty laughter.

“That sounds neat! But even if other countries might accept it, Korea, which has been directly harmed, won’t easily accept this mercenary service. They’ll keep hounding you to the end. How do you plan to handle that?”

“We’ll make it so they can’t hound us.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“Korea was a country with only one base. And that base is now gone. They don’t have much time. They desperately need our mercenary service. And in exchange for that service, I will demand their silence. While charging them an exorbitant fee for handling the rifts.”

“…I don’t quite understand. Are you saying you plan to threaten your own country?”

“Yes. That’s exactly it. A threat.”

I lit a cigarette and blew out the smoke.

“I will threaten them with security. Korea doesn’t have much time. They never know when the monsters within their territory will try to open rifts again. Building a new base in the meantime is impossible. For other countries, it would simply mean more efficient battles within the gates, but for Korea, it’s different.”

“For Korea, your help is directly tied to their survival.”

I nodded.

Volkov paused for a moment and stared at me and Younghak hyung with a puzzled look.

“Why? Why go to such lengths? It’s still your homeland, isn’t it? Why are you treating the people of the land where you were born and raised so harshly?”

At his words, I burst into laughter.

“We didn’t want to abandon our homeland either.”

The cigarette I was smoking was all burned up, leaving only the butt.

Just like our patriotism.

I threw the burnt butt on the ground.

“But the homeland abandoned us first.”