Chapter 167. Request for Support (1)
“The damage is severe.”
The throne of the S-rank Constellation ‘Taoist of Transformation,’ Yang Jian.
We were holding a meeting inside an elegant Chinese-style pavilion.
“Most of the Orthodox Faction’s major strongholds, including the White Forest Alliance headquarters, have already been destroyed.”
Yang Jian continued.
“The only fortunate thing is that White Forest Alliance Leader Yang Weizheng is still alive.”
"..."
Yang Jian, the owner of this throne, was explaining the situation while displaying a map of China on a massive screen.
After submitting to me last time...
or, more precisely, submitting to ‘Kim Nameless’...
Yang Jian had completely fallen under my command and was now acting as my strategist.
“The Unorthodox Faction hasn’t escaped unharmed either.”
“Many organizations have lost their headquarters.”
“The only fortunate thing there is that the Orthodox-Unorthodox War caused a large number of Contractors to gather in Shanghai.”
During the Orthodox-Unorthodox War, Unorthodox Contractors had gathered in Shanghai, where the Black Dragon Society headquarters was located.
Most of them had remained there even after the war ended.
That was why they had managed to escape disaster.
“Until now, Asmodeus avoided approaching Shanghai.”
“But this time, he attacked Nanjing, which is very close to Shanghai.”
"..."
“It appears Asmodeus intends to destroy the remaining major strongholds one by one, then capture Shanghai last.”
Yang Jian’s assessment matched my own.
The Black Dragon Society headquarters was in Shanghai.
White Forest Alliance Leader Yang Weizheng was currently staying there as well.
In other words...
Shanghai was the final stronghold of China’s Contractor forces.
Once Shanghai fell, there would be no force left in China capable of resisting Pandemonium.
This is... similar to what Kang Yujin used to do.
Kang Yujin and his companions had often used tactics where a small number of people infiltrated deep into enemy territory.
They used individual combat power to strike key figures or important strongholds and overturn the entire flow of battle.
But now...
Pandemonium was using that exact tactic against humanity.
“Asmodeus is simply too powerful.”
"..."
“As you said before... we should assume he has been modified by Ha Mina.”
Yang Jian let out a small sigh.
“Asmodeus was already powerful before.”
“Now that Ha Mina has modified him on top of that... he’s become something no one can stop.”
Of course...
being modified didn’t necessarily mean someone would always become stronger.
Compatibility issues could exist.
The failure rate was probably high too.
But somehow...
the ‘synergy’ between Asmodeus and Ha Mina’s modifications was enormous.
I didn’t know whether Asmodeus himself had exceptional aptitude...
or whether Ha Mina had put special effort into modifying him.
Either way...
he had gained strength beyond anyone’s imagination.
Even China’s strongest Contractors were being crushed without being able to resist.
“At this point, stopping Pandemonium’s massive army has become a secondary issue.”
“Yeah.”
At first, the thing we had been most wary of was Asmodeus’s military strength.
As commander of the Eastern Region First Command, Asmodeus held authority over seventy-two legions.
He commanded more troops than any other demon in Asia.
And Asmodeus wasn’t alone.
Deputy Commander Sabnock also commanded fifty legions.
That was why uniting the Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions to stop their armies had originally been so important.
But now...
that had become something we could worry about later.
“We had already prepared many operational plans for when Pandemonium’s main army advanced.”
"..."
“But they’ve all become useless.”
Pandemonium’s current strategy was simple.
First, Asmodeus would suddenly appear at an important stronghold without warning.
There was no way to predict when or where he would appear.
That made preparation effectively impossible.
Asmodeus would annihilate every Contractor there...
then leisurely disappear.
Once that happened, the entire region would be left with a massive gap in its defenses.
Even if Pandemonium’s army advanced afterward, there would be no one left to resist.
“One fortunate thing is that relatively little territory has actually been occupied so far.”
“Asmodeus probably plans to wipe out all the Contractor organizations in China first, then begin the real occupation.”
“Yes. I think so too.”
“Then... Shanghai really will be the last target.”
Asmodeus would eventually appear in Shanghai.
He would eliminate the remaining Contractors there...
and once no one capable of resisting remained anywhere in China, his legions would advance across the country and begin occupying it at their leisure.
If Belial and I are right, and Asmodeus intends to succeed Lucifer...
Then there was no way he would stop after conquering China.
If he intended to become the next Demon King after Lucifer...
he would expand into other regions once China was under his control.
And the Korean Peninsula would likely be his first target.
The Eight Guardians in Korea can’t stop an Asmodeus who has already conquered China.
Seok Taejun and the others were working nonstop in Korea to strengthen their forces.
But facing Asmodeus and his legions...
would still be extremely difficult.
We have to stop him in China.
No. We have to stop him in Shanghai.
With that thought, I stared at the map on the screen.
Sabnock, deputy commander of the Eastern Region First Command, had occupied the Shandong Peninsula and then gone quiet.
He seemed to be watching Asmodeus’s movements.
Meanwhile, Gremory, the other deputy commander, was hesitating in the west.
As a member of the peace faction, she was probably deeply concerned about Asmodeus’s rampage.
But she likely had no real way to stop him.
“In the end, we have no choice but to stop Asmodeus when he appears in Shanghai.”
Yang Jian seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
He spoke with determination.
“A large number of Contractors are currently gathered in Shanghai.”
“We have experts like Jin Gahui of the Black Dragon Society and Yang Weizheng of the White Forest Alliance.”
“We’ll need to mobilize all of them.”
“But... will that be enough?”
“Of course... probably not.”
Yang Jian’s expression darkened.
