Chapter 137: New Goal

“Ah, I should have gone first.”

Neiphir grumbled.

It seemed like even a 500-year-old being like him could get sulky.

Honestly, maybe that’s why he got banished by the gods in the first place.

“Priscilla or whatever can’t even descend directly, right?”

“What? Priscilla or whatever?”

Does Priscilla even matter?

“Heh. What I mean is, our goddess is on a whole different level.”

“You damn demon goddess! Ugh…”

The time had come.

I approached the sulking Neiphir and pulled out an item I had prepared in advance—an umbrella.

An umbrella with a tongue and eyes.

As I brought it close, the umbrella extended its tongue and licked Neiphir’s face with its rough texture.

With a schlurrrp sound, the force was enough to push his cheek back.

Neiphir stared at the umbrella in shock.

“What the… what the hell is this?! What the fuck?!”

“Oh, uh… I forgot the name, but it’s called an umbrella yokai.”

A one-of-a-kind item.

“Wow, as expected of Japan. They make weird stuff.”

“That’s actually a real yokai. I picked it up in a dungeon, but it’s already been tamed, so don’t worry.”

Zashiki-warashi left this behind.

There’s only one of these in existence.

Since I have my mace, I might as well give this special umbrella away.

Half of it was just for fun, but Neiphir seemed strangely interested.

If this went well, I could just play it off as a gift and move on.

It’d be annoying if he sulked and ran off somewhere else.

Neiphir examined the umbrella yokai in his hands and spoke.

“Hoh. A real yokai, huh? This thing? Shit, even the handle feels weird.”

“Consider it a souvenir. Be grateful to me. I killed everything else, but I kept this one alive just for you.”

“Yeah, thanks?”

Simple-minded angel.

What’s there to be thankful for?

I kept the zashiki-warashi for myself, so this was basically just garbage disposal.

I planned on giving it to him anyway, but compared to my new zashiki-warashi, it didn’t feel that valuable.

Anyway, Neiphir seemed satisfied with his foot-smelling yokai.

I turned my attention toward Slime.

As expected of the real power in the Returner’s Guild, someone had to keep things in check.

“So, what’s Slime doing?”

Now that I looked, there was one more Slime than before.

And it was furiously typing away on a computer.

What was it up to?

Probably writing propaganda for the Kanora Church.

I only told it to write novels, not double its workload.

“I came up with a good idea. I’m a writer, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And since I’m a Slime, I can stretch my body.”

“Wait, does that mean Slimes can duplicate?”

Slime nodded.

“If I have two bodies, I can write two novels at the same time. If I have three, then three novels.”

“Oh…”

“And if I publish them all, my earnings will multiply!”

“Uh, that makes sense.”

A single dungeon raid would probably make more money than this Slime duplicating itself to write.

I didn’t get why it was going through all this trouble.

If it was going to do something, it might as well focus on online propaganda.

Eh, whatever.

Everyone has their own interests.

“By the way, where’s Sollinderman?”

“He went to take care of some kids.”

The one who answered was the agitator leader.

“Wow. Our guild sure is diverse in age range.”

“Doesn’t everyone here have unknown ages anyway?”

Still, I never would have imagined Sollinderman had kids.

With his body…

I couldn’t picture it.

Anyway, I might as well let them in on this.

“More importantly, our next objective has been decided.”

“Next objective? What is it?”

“Our next target for spreading the Kanora Church is China.”

It was already a settled matter.

After Korea and Japan, China was next.

And in China…

I might have to smash some skulls.

“China? What, are you trying to create some kind of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere?”

“Nah, nothing that grand. The President wants to push north.”

Come to think of it…

If things went well, it might sound a bit extreme, but uniting Northeast Asia under the Kanora Church could be possible.

“Wait… push north? North? What?”

“Yeah, advancing north. Moving forward.”

“Why the hell would anyone do that in this day and age?”

I was shocked at first, too.

But from the Korean President’s perspective, it made sense.

If he could unify the entire Korean Peninsula right after regaining his authority, public support would skyrocket.

Especially among those who always dreamed of reunification.

They’d go nuts.

Unless something went terribly wrong, Ha Sang-jae could set up a structure for long-term rule.

“Anyway, Japan’s rear is secure thanks to us, but there are a lot of illegal Chinese immigrants coming in. So he wants to block that off and prepare first.”

“Hmm… So the President’s real goal is securing the entire Korean Peninsula.
Now that China is weakened, this is the perfect chance. And on top of that, he can get resources from the Baekdu Daegan mountain range.”

As expected of the Revolutionary leader.

He put the pieces together pretty quickly.

Well, that saved me the trouble of explaining it.

“Yes. It seems like they want to take on various challenges through the dungeons in Baekdu Daegan. I heard there are a lot of new resources there, including magic stones.”

“Come to think of it, wasn’t Lee Si-yeon there around this time?”

“Lee Si-yeon? She went to Baekdu Daegan?”

“She went to hunt the aberrant beasts in Baekdu Daegan.”

“Hm. Smart move. Even though the Guild Alliance released her, she’s making it clear she won’t be played with. Plus, Baekdu Daegan is a region where everyone has just been watching and waiting.”

After looking into it, that place really is high-difficulty.

It wasn’t included among the dungeons the Guild Alliance blocked off.

If Lee Si-yeon were a weak hunter, it would be a different story, but if she’s targeting that place, it means she can cause even more trouble for the Guild Alliance.

With her skills, she won’t struggle even in the Kaema Plateau.

She’s not the type to get arrogant, either.

“But how are we supposed to get to China?”

“Well, it’s not like we can’t go.”

“How do you plan on going?”

“Before that, what’s the current situation in China?”

Depending on China’s status, we might need to adjust our plans.

The president already seems to know China’s situation well, but we can’t just be led around by him.

“China is currently divided into three factions. First, Taiwan, which outwardly claims to be the ‘Republic of China.’ Then, South China, which was formed after various local governments in the south united under a Hunter system when Beijing collapsed due to the Great Cataclysm. Lastly, there’s the remnants of the Communist Party, which barely managed to reestablish control under the name of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC.”

The propaganda leader explained in detail.

So Taiwan took advantage of China’s fragmentation to assert itself.

I heard it turned into a relatively safe zone during the Great Cataclysm. That makes sense.

“What about Manchuria?”

“It was abandoned. After the Great Cataclysm, the terrain there became even more chaotic, and the population was already small. With China itself divided, they can’t afford to care about it.”

“Then, wouldn’t that be a good target for us as well?”

That place probably has plenty of magic stone resources too.

“But how do you plan to get there?”

“In your opinion, which of the three factions is currently the strongest?”

I should analyze all three factions before deciding.

Taiwan is an island nation like Japan, but unlike Japan, it lacks global recognition and is generally more closed-off.

They probably won’t be easy to approach.

The world is already diving into the dungeon and magic stone markets, so I doubt Taiwan is prioritizing reclaiming the mainland.

That means it’s down to the PRC and South China.

“Both are unstable, but we can’t exactly side with the communists, can we?”

What is this propaganda leader saying?

“That’s not a problem. Do you think communism will survive once they fall under the Kano-ra faith? It’ll turn into Kano-ra-ism. This isn’t about choosing sides—it’s about starting a new revolution. Just like Lenin and Trotsky did in the past. But this time, it’ll be based on an actual god. With Korea as the faith’s headquarters, it won’t be a pure theocracy, but we can transform it into a religious state.”

That would ultimately dismantle communism.

Now that I think about it, this could actually work.

If we reshape South China this way and pit them against the communists, it would be interesting to see the outcome.

A battle between communists and Kano-ra believers—who would win?

“Wow. If that actually happens, it’d be horrifying. Wouldn’t that basically be Taiping Rebellion 2.0, but successful this time?”

“Well, since the Kano-ra goddess is real, it’s a different story.”

Don’t lump this in with some random failed rebellion.

“What about Lee Si-yeon? Are you planning to take her to China?”

“I think it’s best to keep working her hard where she is.”

“So you have no intention of forgiving her, huh?”

Forgiveness? I have no particular thoughts on that.

“Not really? She already feels guilty, so I’m just taking advantage of it.”

Surprisingly, I’m quite cold-hearted.

Ever since I ascended to an angel, my relationship with Lee Si-yeon has been clearly defined—just an angel and a human. Nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, if I get stressed, I might treat her a bit harshly, but for now, I have no intention of touching her.

“You really have a messed-up personality. Can’t you just forgive her?”

“If I forgive her, she’ll cling to me. That’s just the kind of person she is. It’s easier to keep using her as long as she feels guilty.”

If she’s willing, I’ll work her to the bone until she dies.

If she refuses, I’ll just squeeze her dry in another way.

“So, you’ll keep pushing her until she decides to quit?”

“Yes.”

Maybe, if I ever get really pissed off, I’ll use the past as an excuse to get some payback on her.