Chapter 124. Kaesong Reclamation Operation (1)
The demon Armaros.
A fallen angel entrusted with managing the Kaesong Special District in Pandemonium’s Far Eastern territory.
Because Kaesong was a city located close to human territory, it had been heavily fortified.
Its defenses were especially strong.
After hearing that Phenex and Arioc had been killed, Armaros hurriedly inspected the defensive system.
It would take time for a new commander to be appointed in Phenex’s place with the approval of the Demon God Assembly.
If humans invaded during that gap, things could become troublesome.
“Lord Armaros.”
“What is it?”
Armaros was reviewing troop deployments in his office when his adjutant approached to report.
“We’ve detected suspicious activity.”
“What happened?”
“It seems the humans are trying to infiltrate through the underground passages.”
“Underground passages?”
There had been underground facilities around this area for a long time.
They had been built by humans, apparently mostly for military purposes.
There were arsenals for storing weapons and shelters prepared for emergencies.
There were also passages extending south.
According to rumors, they were tunnels originally built to secretly send troops southward.
“Could they be planning to use the underground passages to launch a surprise attack on Kaesong?”
“That seems highly likely.”
“Fools. Do they not realize that Pandemonium has completely mapped the underground network?”
The demons of Pandemonium were naturally skilled at digging.
The dwarf-demons under their rule also preferred caves and underground spaces.
Because of that, Pandemonium had already fully mapped the complicated underground passages beneath Kaesong.
“If they intend to invade this city... they’ll probably advance along a route like this.”
Armaros spoke while examining a map.
“In that case, we place ambush forces here, here, and here. Then if we circle around this side and cut off their retreat, we can annihilate them underground.”
“A perfect plan, Lord Armaros.”
“Just in case, we should deploy defensive forces aboveground as well.”
Armaros summoned his subordinates and gave them their orders.
Once all preparations were complete, he sat back in his chair with a confident smile.
“They must think that because their previous surprise attack succeeded, the same trick will work again. Idiots.”
“Unlucky fools. They probably assumed they were the only ones who knew about the underground passages.”
“They underestimated Pandemonium.”
“Lord Armaros, if these intruders are the same people who attacked Sariwon before... capturing them would be an enormous achievement, wouldn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Perhaps command over this entire region could even be granted to you.”
“Haha. Who knows?”
Power within Pandemonium was concentrated among the Seventy-Two Demons.
With Phenex dead, the next commander would normally be selected from among them.
However, if Armaros earned enough merit to be elevated into the ranks of the Seventy-Two Demons, he himself might be entrusted with the northern region.
Phenex had been annihilated, leaving a vacancy.
It was entirely possible.
If that happens... then leading the renewed invasion south will become my responsibility.
Armaros smiled.
Defeat the intruders and avenge Phenex.
Rise into the ranks of the Seventy-Two Demons.
Become commander of the Second Far Eastern Region.
Then march south and sweep away the humans.
Just imagining it made his heart race.
“Is that so? Understood.”
“How is it going?”
“Yes, Lord Armaros.”
The adjutant, who had been communicating with the underground forces through a crystal sphere, looked delighted.
“They have discovered approximately six human intruders. They are entering along the route we predicted. Our troops say they will surround and subdue them shortly.”
“Six? That’s quite a small number.”
“They’re probably highly skilled.”
“True. The previous group only had four people as well... Still, there may be more intruders, so tell them not to lower their guard.”
“Understood, Lord Armaros.”
The adjutant immediately relayed the order through the crystal sphere.
But a short while later, he raised his voice.
“L-Lord Armaros!”
“What is it?”
“The intruders... suddenly disappeared!”
“What?”
Armaros shot to his feet.
“What happened?!”
“We don’t know. They were under constant observation, but at some point they all suddenly vanished...”
“Order them to search every inch! The humans may possess concealment skills!”
“Y-Yes!”
“Send more of the reserve forces underground! And seal every entrance and exit!”
“Understood!”
“Do not allow even one of them to infiltrate! Not a single one!”
Armaros shouted and rose fully from his chair.
“I’m going underground too! Move!”
“Yes!”
“At least we noticed them early...!”
Even if the humans were using concealment skills or items, there were plenty of ways to deal with them.
As long as enough troops were deployed and searched thoroughly, it wouldn’t be a problem.
That was what Armaros thought as he stepped out of his office.
Then...
A deafening roar shook the entire fortress.
“What?!”
“A-An earthquake?!”
Armaros rushed outside to understand what was happening.
Then he looked out through a window and gasped.
“W-What is happening?”
“Is it really an earthquake?!”
Outside was complete chaos.
Buildings were collapsing.
The ground was caving in.
Everything was in disarray, as if a true earthquake had struck.
“L-Lord Armaros!”
A subordinate came sprinting down the corridor.
“The underground facilities are collapsing due to unexplained explosions! The troops we deployed below have been buried alive...!”
"...!"
“The defensive forces aboveground were caught in it too, and the casualties are enormous! What should we do?!”
Armaros sucked in a breath.
He had no idea what was happening.
“Am I... dreaming?”
“Lord Armaros! Humans! The human attack has begun!”
“Kuh...!”
The new shout snapped him back to reality.
“C-Call back every scattered unit! Regroup and stop the humans!”
“Y-Yes...!”
“Do not panic! As long as we stay calm, there is no problem! They are merely humans!”
Armaros kept shouting in a voice that had completely lost its composure.
─ Wow, that’s incredible!
─ Did they just collapse the entire underground area?
─ There were tons of demons underground right now, weren’t there?
─ The casualties are going to be huge.
─ Looks like the troops aboveground took serious damage too.
─ Wait, what just exploded over there?
─ Looks like oil or chemicals in the abandoned factory district went up.
─ All the demons over there must be roasted.
─ Did Ma Taesu really obtain all this information? That’s hard to believe.
─ Seriously. He figured out the entire underground structure and exactly where they needed to blow it up to collapse everything.
─ He even predicted how Armaros would move.
─ This doesn’t feel like a plan made by humans.
[B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Children’ sponsors 2,000,000 Origin Power.]
[Comment: Was all of this designed by the ‘Nameless King’ too?]
“Haha, it would be a little awkward for me to answer that directly, wouldn’t it? I’ll leave it to your imagination!”
Number 49 shouted while running across the battlefield.
Just like during the Phenex subjugation, today’s Kaesong reclamation operation was being broadcast live through Constellation Tube.
This time, however, Kang Yujin’s group wasn’t the only one participating.
Other Contractors had joined the operation, so their Apostles were also conducting their own broadcasts in different ways.
Some of them were probably using Constellation Tube just like Number 49.
Even so, Number 49 was confident that most Constellations would be watching the situation through this channel.
“All right, everyone! Just as I hinted beforehand, the plan to turn Kaesong’s underground facilities against the defenders and collapse their defensive formation has succeeded completely!”
Number 49 continued talking as he climbed to a higher position.
“From this point onward, the allied forces begin their full-scale advance!”
He brought up material he had prepared in advance.
The Constellation Tube screen now displayed a map of Kaesong, along with the routes each party was advancing along.
“The Contractors participating in the allied force have divided into parties of around four or five and are charging from several directions!”
Number 49 grinned.
“You’re asking whether it wouldn’t be better for everyone to gather together and attack as one force? Of course not! The Contractors participating here are all monsters capable of fighting a hundred enemies each! Warriors worth a thousand men!”
His voice became more animated.
“If they all crowded together, they wouldn’t even be able to show their full abilities. It would actually be less efficient!”
─ Oh, that’s easy to understand.
─ This Apostle is good at his job.
─ So around ten parties are attacking simultaneously from different directions?
[A-rank Constellation ‘Third Son of the War God’ sponsors 1,000,000 Origin Power.]
[Comment: It might be entertaining to predict who breaks through the enemy lines first, or who takes the enemy commander’s head first.]
─ Oh, that’s true!
─ That gives us something to watch for.
─ This kind of thing would be more fun with betting.
─ Apostle, next time you do something like this, prepare a system where we can wager Origin Power.
─ These people are trying to turn sacred Constellation Tube into a gambling den. I support it.
─ I think Lee Hyeonje will perform best.
─ Don’t underestimate Shin Minyu. Among the Contractors of the ‘Warrior of the Fierce Hound,’ he ranks within the top five in the entire world.
─ Personally, I think Saionji Keito from Japan deserves the most attention.
─ Honestly, I was staying quiet because the answer was too obvious, but everyone keeps saying nonsense.
─ Exactly. In a situation like this, it’s obvious who will take the lead first.
“Yes! The people you’ve all been waiting for are now charging through the dust!”
Number 49 raised his voice.
“Kang Yujin and his companions smash the confused demons aside with a flail and break into the enemy formation...!”
Everything’s going well.
Listening to Number 49’s noisy commentary, I leaned back in my chair.
There were various underground structures around Kaesong, including old tunnels dug by North Korea.
The key to overcoming the overwhelming difference in troop numbers was to lure the demons underground and then collapse the tunnels on top of them.
Of course, the only reason a plan like this had been possible...
was because I had formed an alliance with Belial.
Belial really does have access to all kinds of Pandemonium secrets.
The information Belial provided had been accurate again.
Strictly speaking, now that Phenex had already been defeated, Belial had no particular reason to help with the Kaesong reclamation operation.
But he had passed the intelligence to me anyway.
Partly because I was his ally.
And partly because he wanted to keep Saionji Keito, another Vessel, in check.
Belial didn’t possess much information about Japan.
That was why he needed my help...
or more precisely, the help of the ‘Nameless King.’
You use every card available to you. That’s why I used Matsushita too.
While preparing this operation, I had decided to make use of the Japanese Contractor Matsushita Soichiro.
As shown by the way he had caught Kang Yujin off guard before, Matsushita was highly skilled in concealment and disruption using ninpo.
In that area, he’s almost as capable as Daji.
The ones who lured the demons underground and triggered the collapse this time were Matsushita and Daji.
Matsushita used ninja arts.
Daji used her sorcery.
Both created clones and sent them into the underground passages.
As a side note, Matsushita flinched every time he saw Daji.
Probably because she had tortured him before.
His mind might not remember it anymore...
but apparently, his body did.
Anyway...
I reached out and adjusted the Observer screens projected in midair.
The largest screen displayed Number 49’s Constellation Tube broadcast.
But the smaller screens showed footage being relayed by other Apostles as well.
Saionji Keito...
One of those screens showed Saionji Keito.
For this operation, Keito had formed a party with the Four Heavenly Kings.
Sakuma Hajime.
Narukami Kaoru.
Yuuki Hina.
Matsushita Soichiro.
However, they had started a little late because they had needed to rendezvous with Matsushita.
Because of that, they were far behind not only Kang Yujin’s group, but also Lee Hyeonje, Shin Minyu, and the others.
What is he doing?
Then Keito began acting strangely.
He seemed to give some instruction to the Four Heavenly Kings.
After that...
he started moving ahead by himself.
He advanced alone, mercilessly smashing apart every demon that blocked his way.
He looked almost exactly like Kang Yujin.
Don’t tell me...
Is that bastard trying to catch up to Kang Yujin?
