Chapter 111. Subjugating Phenex (1)
After Hector’s defeat, Bradamante, who had been one of his closest subordinates, was now cooperating with me.
Hector himself had ordered her to help me, since I had taken over the role of fighting against Pandemonium.
It was true that I had cornered Hector until he had nowhere left to run.
Even so, Bradamante didn’t seem to hold any particular grudge against me.
It was probably partly because, while she was my prisoner, I had showered her with all kinds of flattering words and praised her excessively.
She also seemed to feel guilty about ambushing me in the first place.
Whatever the reason, Bradamante was cooperating without complaint.
“What’s the situation now?”
The task I had given her was mainly information gathering.
Number 49 had gone into Pandemonium for the live broadcast, while I was also focused heavily on that side.
“We’ve continued monitoring Pandemonium forces throughout the world, but there haven’t been any unusual movements. They don’t appear to be preparing any major military action.”
“What about Japan?”
“The same there as well.”
The forces behind Hector had planned to mobilize Japanese Contractors and create a powerful military bloc in East Asia.
That plan had lost much of its value now that Hector had withdrawn and I had stepped forward.
Even so, it was something that still required caution.
“I’ve asked my Contractors and several other Constellations to keep observing them. I don’t think you’ll need to worry for a while.”
“Understood. Keep monitoring the various regions.”
“Yes!”
With Bradamante’s crisp answer, the communication ended.
There’s no unusual movement not only in East Asia, but anywhere else either. This is exactly when we need to shake up the northern region.
If we could eliminate Phenex as well as Arioc, Pandemonium’s forces in North Korea would be badly weakened.
And if the Contractors in the Capital Region can properly unite...
If things continued going this well, we might be able to attempt something Contractors across the Korean Peninsula had dreamed about for years.
A northern campaign.
The recovery of the northern territories that everyone wanted, yet no one had ever managed to achieve.
It could become reality.
“It’s more developed than I expected.”
Lee Jukheon muttered while looking out the window.
“Was Sariwon considered a large city even back in North Korea?”
“Yes. It developed as a major transportation hub. Its role was similar to Cheonan, where we stopped before.”
The group was currently hiding inside an abandoned house on the outskirts of Sariwon.
They were recovering from the fight against Arioc and preparing for the final battle against Phenex.
“Outside almost feels like some foreign tourist destination. The only problem is that the things walking around aren’t humans. They’re demons.”
“It looks like there are other races too, not just demons. I can see Fallen Demons like the ones we fought before.”
“Yeah.”
Hearing Seok Taejun, Kang Yujin leaned closer to the window and looked outside.
Sure enough, there were Fallen Demons walking around, the same race they had fought during the battle against Baphomet.
“What are those dwarves?”
“Dwarf-demons. Basically dwarves.”
“So those dwarves are the ones making the high-quality equipment produced in Pandemonium?”
“That’s right. Even in Norse mythology, dwarves were described as living in dark lands and serving as exceptionally skilled craftsmen.”
Listening to Joo Minha’s explanation, Kang Yujin kept watching the street outside.
Among the various races walking through the city, there were also some who looked human.
He had heard before that quite a few humans had betrayed humanity entirely and surrendered to Pandemonium.
“Just looking at the surface, Pandemonium is a genuinely multicultural society where many races live together.”
“A society they built after massacring and driving out the humans who originally lived here.”
Kang Yujin watched outside for some time as his companions talked.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
Everyone turned toward him.
“Why did Pandemonium invade the human world in the first place?”
“What?”
“They had somewhere they originally lived, didn’t they? Why leave that place and invade ours?”
“That is...”
“Pandemonium was originally the great hall of demons in Hell.”
Joo Minha answered calmly.
“According to Milton’s Paradise Lost, demons who rebelled against God and fell into Hell built Pandemonium there. Hell was a painful place even for demons, but they endured because they believed they would eventually become accustomed to its harsh environment.”
“So basically, it was a terrible place to live.”
“That’s right.”
Joo Minha nodded at Lee Jukheon’s words.
“In the end, the demons sought to leave the harsh environment of Hell and find better land.”
“Is that really all?”
“What?”
“From what I’ve seen, demons don’t seem to have that large a population. Even including Fallen Demons, dwarf-demons, and the others.”
As they had traveled from the port to Sariwon, the population density had seemed quite low.
Sariwon itself was a developed city and relatively busy, but even here, the total population was still much smaller than in human cities.
“If they only wanted to migrate somewhere with a better environment, I don’t think they needed to conquer such a huge amount of territory.”
“That’s true.”
“Kang Yujin has a point.”
Joo Minha nodded.
“I also noticed earlier that there were very few children. That means their population likely isn’t expected to grow rapidly either.”
“From a practical standpoint, maintaining such a vast territory with such a small population is inefficient.”
“Exactly.”
If they had conquered humans and turned them into subjects or colonial labor, that would at least make sense.
They could use humanity as a subordinate class and increase the strength of their nation.
But instead, the demons simply drove the local humans out and took the land for themselves.
And it wasn’t as though they were heavily exploiting the vast territory for resources or industrial development either.
“What exactly is Pandemonium thinking?”
“It certainly doesn’t seem efficient to restart a war under these circumstances.”
Joo Minha placed a hand on her chin and fell into thought.
“If they expand any farther, maintaining their territory will become even more difficult. Yet they still want another war... Why?”
“Maybe they just hate humans so much they want to wipe us all out.”
“If it were really that simple, it would be easier to understand.”
Joo Minha sighed at Lee Jukheon’s comment.
“It is certainly something worth thinking about. They are humanity’s greatest enemy, yet we know surprisingly little about them.”
“Hey, but is there any point in us thinking about that?”
“Of course there is, Lee Jukheon.”
Joo Minha answered confidently.
“There is a saying: know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. Someday, shouldn’t we drive Pandemonium out with our own strength?”
“Big dream.”
“Whether it is too ambitious or not will probably become clear before long.”
Joo Minha looked at Kang Yujin.
“Wouldn’t you agree, Kang Yujin?”
“I don’t know. I’m just going to do what I have to do.”
The battle with Phenex would begin soon.
Defeating Phenex wouldn’t deal a fatal blow to Pandemonium as a whole.
But it would at least create a crack in Pandemonium’s overwhelming power.
“If we keep fighting, maybe one day we’ll bring down Pandemonium itself. But right now, I want to focus on Phenex.”
“That is the correct approach.”
“Yeah. I agree.”
“Tch. Everyone already knows that.”
As they talked, Kang Yujin sat down.
There was still a long time before he could use his Awakening Skill again.
However, according to the words of the Nameless King that Number 49 had delivered, measures had already been taken so they wouldn’t have to fight Phenex immediately after Arioc.
In that case, Kang Yujin would trust him and use the time to prepare.
Eliminate Phenex, commander of the Second Far Eastern Region.
That was what Kang Yujin had to do now.
