Chapter 1181. Annihilated (1)

Chapter 1181. Annihilated (1)

“Yes, this way, please. This way.”

“...Just what is going on here? In the middle of the dawn, no less?”

The police officer, Jo Han-Bong, bowed apologetically and tried to explain. “My sincerest apologies, ma’am. Apparently, someone discovered some kind of hazardous material nearby. We also don’t know the specifics as we’re merely following orders.”

“Well, I’ll be. Why do we have to go through with this inconvenience, young man?”

“My apologies, ma’am.”

“No, no. Don’t apologize, officer. You haven’t done anything wrong, after all. You’re just doing your job, anyway. Okay, so... We’re supposed to get on this thing?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jo Han-Bong.

“Really? Where will this bus take us, though?”

“A temporary shelter has been set up inside the Wolmyeong Gymnasium, ma’am. More temporary shelters are being prepared in nearby elemental schools as well. You will be taken to one of those places.”

“Really...? You aren’t taking us to some other weird place? Like a secret lab?”

Jo Han-Bong could only smile weakly at that. “

E-eii

, ma’am. Please don’t joke about things like that.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll believe you.”

People climbing into the evacuation buses stole several glances in Jo Han-Bong’s direction. They looked anxious, which was understandable.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Unfortunately, Jo Han-Bong didn’t know what to say that might assuage their anxiety. He also had no idea what was going on, after all!

He was told to evacuate the residents because a problem occurred in the vicinity. That was all.

‘Hazardous material...? Did radioactive stuff get leaked somewhere?’

But, that couldn’t be? Gunsan didn’t have any nuclear-related facilities, after all.

Not too long ago, there was that whole uproar with hydrogen fluoride leakage, but this area didn’t even have facilities handling such chemicals, either.

One of the passengers suddenly asked, “Wait, maybe the Commies have come down from the North?”

Another passenger replied, “...If that’s what happened, where’s the army?”

“Oh. You have a point there.”

The bus passengers tried to exchange jokes, but it didn’t sound like they were succeeding.

Once the bus was filled up with the evacuees, Jo Han Bong lightly pounded on the side of the bus, prompting the bus door to close shut. The bus rumbled into life and began lumbering away.

“

Fuu-woo

...”

Jo Han-Bong wiped the sweat off his forehead.

Evacuating residents at this late hour was never going to be a cakewalk. Getting rudely woken up in the middle of the night tended to make people cranky, after all! Unsurprisingly, Jo Han-Bong had to deal with all sorts of complaints and dissatisfaction raining down on him.

Residents obviously didn’t have the power to order around the police officers doing their job. However, how many of them would care about that?

At least this batch of residents had been pretty considerate, so that was something. Other than a few moments of grumbling, they were kind enough not to hurl degrading insults around, after all!

Jo Han-Bong wiped his forehead again. The weather had gotten chilly enough for him to consider wearing a padded jacket. But here he was, sweating profusely.

‘Could it really be a war breaking out?’

Of course he knew that was impossible.

If there really was a war, why would Gunsan receive an evacuation order? When it was so far away from the demilitarized zone separating North Korea from the south? Besides, he couldn’t see a single soldier or army vehicle in the vicinity, anyway.

Jo Han-Bong sneakily looked around, just in case. If that theory from the uncle on the bus about the Commies sending a special forces unit was true, shouldn’t there be some soldiers running around in this area? But there were none around here.

In that case, maybe the story about hazardous material was real, after all?

Jo Han-Bong tilted his head before glancing in the direction of the ocean in the distance. It was too far for naked eyes to see anything, but maybe...

Boom!

“...Eh?”

Jo Han-Bong narrowed his eyes. Wasn’t there some kind of noise coming from that direction?

“Officer Jo, what are you doing?”

Jo Han-Bong tore his gaze away when his superior officer called out to him. “S-sir?”

“I said, what are you doing, man? When we’re so damn busy?! Hurry up and load the buses with residents already! Once we finish loading up everyone, we gotta head to the gymnasium next! I heard that it’s utter chaos over there.”

“But, sir? Didn’t you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Jo Han-Bong pointed toward the shore. “It was like a bomb going off, sir. A loud bang! And it...”

“Stop talking nonsense, man.”

“N-no, I’m being serious, sir. I did hear something exploding over there.”

“Keep this up, and my temper might explode, too! Get back to work, okay? Even the mayor is losing his sh*t right now. If you keep wasting time here, what do you think will explode next, my patience or your brain?”

“...Sorry, sir.”

Jo Han-Bong sheepishly looked down. However, even as he walked away, he still couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the distant shore. Eventually, though, he had to shake his head.

‘Did I hallucinate it or something?’

Jo Han-Bong dug into his ear while rushing toward the next bus.

***

His determination, his resolve... had been absolute.[1]

Even though his fate was to obey his

gumi’s

orders, stepping into the enemy territory to wage war still required great resolve on his part.

Of course, he was ready to sacrifice his life for the glory of his

gumi

. He wouldn’t be the only one feeling this way, though. Even those unwilling warriors who got pushed into this war would’ve had to resolve themselves for death while in transit to South Korea.

Because that was how the mob mentality worked.

Were soldiers who entered enemy countries to slaughter people as if they were in a video game all murderers outside of combat? Of course not.

Unfortunately, this was a part of human nature.

Even the most kind, gentlest folks who respected human life would no longer feel repulsed by the idea of murdering another ‘person’ before their eyes when they become a part of a group and get swept up in the dreaded mob mentality.

This was the power of ‘belonging’ to a group.

The moment humans become a part of a larger group, they’d start having this sense of unity. At the same time, they’d use the excuse of merely following orders to stop feeling guilty. What followed after that was humans obeying the ‘orders’ and rampaging around to their hearts’ content.

Even the justification was on their side.

Who invaded first didn’t matter. No, what truly mattered was who was stronger.

If South Korea and the Martial Assembly grew stronger without encountering any obstacles until their strength surpassed Japan... Would they have respected Japan’s independence? Its right to self-govern?

Of course not!

Throughout its history, the human race never once stopped playing by the rules of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.

Without a doubt, the Koreans would’ve targeted Japan once their strength had grown past a certain level. Both the Korean and Japanese martial societies were acutely aware of this possibility.

Besides, Japan had pulled the trigger first, anyway. Which meant Koreans would never want to stay on friendly terms with the Japanese martial society. So, a war was an inevitability, the only question being who’d attack first.

In that case, what was there to hesitate? His determination was unbreakable, and the justification favored them. Since that was the case, he should just obey and do his best.

However...

It took less than one minute for his determination to get utterly obliterated.

***

“You lowly bastards dare!”

Vator’s massive fist viciously punched the space before him like a cannon shell.

KA-BOOOOOM!

That punch landed on a human body, but the sound it produced was closer to a bomb going off.

As for the poor victim receiving Vator’s punch, he obviously wasn’t going to emerge unscathed from the ordeal. His body was ripped apart into bloody chunks and scattered in all directions.

Japanese warriors behind the victim screamed as the shattered body pieces slammed and stabbed into their torsos.

“

U-uwaaaaaaaahk

?!”

“

Aaaaaahk

!”

“M-monster!”

Crimson light gushed out of Vator’s eyes. Even his skin had turned crimson by now. The giant roared like a beast as steam gushed out from his pores.

It wasn’t as if he had mastered a technique that allowed him to emit steam, though. All that steam was the result of his sweat rapidly vaporizing from the heat emitted by his body.

With how massive he was, the sight of all that sweat vaporizing had the same visual impact as dry ice being scattered around on his body.

Obviously, there was no need to explain how Vator currently looked to the Japanese warriors.

From the get-go, Vator was a totally different beast from ordinary martial artists.

‘Regular’ martial arts these ordinary martial artists mastered were centered on nurturing one’s internal energy. This increased their strength to an absurd level, but still left them surprisingly ‘frail’.

Mastering internal energy allowed one to boast incredible attack power but comparatively poorer defenses. As such, experts usually focused on improving their reflexes and speed with internal energy to either avoid or deflect incoming attacks.

Simply put... Even a random weakling could easily kill a much-stronger expert with a lucky stab of a knife to the vitals. Even if that expert happened to possess a qi reserve double the size of yours!

Of course, eking out a victory in such a situation would be terrifyingly difficult, but as long as Lady Luck was singing for you, not all was lost.

Not even Kang Jin-Ho was free from this absolute rule of life. Mastering demonic cultivation as his main cultivation technique meant it was difficult to compare him to orthodox cultivators, but he’d still obviously die if his head got cut off.

However, Vator’s story was different. His martial arts of choice had always been external arts.

As no one mastered it these days, external arts were almost completely lost to time, but Vator had somehow managed to reach the absolute zenith of this branch of martial arts.

While those mastering internal arts enjoyed the improved attack power, external arts were meant to improve the cultivator’s defenses. In a way, one could say internal arts were like spears and swords, while external arts were sturdy shields.

...And a cultivator on the level of Vator would possess the physical sturdiness that even surpassed the strength of forged steel!

Pooooooow!

Another victim flew up into the air after being struck by Vator’s fist. This poor man flew away seemingly for an eternity before crash-landing on the hard, unforgiving ground.

“Aaaaaahk?!”

Another Japanese warrior, clearly terrified out of his mind, urgently swung his sword in Vator’s direction. The sharp blade gleaming in an eerie blue hue rapidly closed in on the big man’s neck. Unfortunately for the warrior, though...

Clang!

The sword simply shattered upon contact with Vator’s neck.

Even though this sword was laden with so much internal energy that it could’ve sliced clean through a steel plate! How could it shatter as if it was made of straw?!

“...

Eh

?”

The Japanese warrior’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets from this unbelievable development.

“Why, you...!”

Vator gritted his teeth before grabbing the Japanese warrior’s head.

Grab!

Logically speaking, a man grabbing another man’s head and lifting the latter clean off the ground shouldn’t have been possible. But Vator’s stupendous physique made it logically possible.

Cruuuunch!

The Japanese warrior’s head got crushed in an instant. The victim’s body dangling in the air spasmed and thrashed about violently before going limp.

Everyone watching this spectacle paled in sheer terror.

Their blades weren’t working! Even though that Japanese warrior had swung his weapon with all his might!

Rather than cutting through the giant’s neck, the sword shattered instead. How were they supposed to fight such a monster, then?!

The idea of ordinary martial artists fighting against Vator was the same as using pistols to fend off a tank. Maybe one could’ve had an outside chance, a futile hope, if they carried a powerful explosive.

But what they had in hand was a pathetic little pistol that wouldn’t even be able to nick the tank’s tracks, never mind its armor plating?

Weren’t these Japanese warriors determined to sacrifice their lives, though?

Such determination would only mean something if there was hope.

One could throw their life away when there was a hope of achieving their goal through their sacrifice. Or they believed that their death, as meaningless as it might seem now, could become the necessary catalyst in the future.

However, what if there was no hope?

Then, your sacrifice would be nothing more than a dog’s death! And who would want to die like a dog in a foreign land?

Even though the Japanese warriors came to Korea fully prepared to die, Vator’s mere presence alone was enough to take their fighting spirit and ground it to fine dust.

“

Fuu-woooo

...!”

Vator exhaled a deep breath. The hot breath escaping his mouth scattered like gray fog after coming in contact with the dawn’s cold air.

“This is my master’s land!”

The voice of Vator, a man who resembled a general of the underworld’s army, eerily echoed in the air.

“Those who dare intrude into my master’s land without permission... will not return home alive!”

Blood-colored fog-like mist gushed out from Vator’s body next.

Despite the cover of darkness over the wharf, the Japanese warriors could vividly see the crimson mist gushing out from the giant!

“Kill them all! Do not let a single one escape alive!”

“

Ooooooooh

!”

Vator charged forward again. At the same time, his disciples also roared at the top of their lungs and pounced forward at their next victims.

Ka-boom! Bang, boom!

Human bodies flew toward the distant ocean like baseballs being punted around by metal bats.

Like a herd of crazed water buffaloes madly charging forward, the group of giants with Vator at the front dove straight into the formation of Yamashiro-gumi.

This overwhelming destructive power! Who would dare oppose such a terrifying, unstoppable rampage?

“N-no! Stop them! Stop them!”

“D-do not back down!”

“D-damn it! Stop pushing me back! There’s no more room behind us!”

Indeed, behind them was the ocean. Not just any ocean, either, but the Yellow Sea, no less!

Jumping into the ocean would not open a pathway to their survival. Maybe, one could keep their life for a little while longer. However, fleeing from the enemy territory without a way to reach dry land until you got completely cut-off was no different from killing yourself.

Even though the Japanese warriors were caught between a rock and a hard place, Vator still roared and mercilessly pounced on them.

1. The raw does not state who is narrating this section. As such, I tried to make it as ambiguous as possible, too. ☜