Chapter 1215. Finishing Touches (5)

Chapter 1215. Finishing Touches (5)

“We can’t contact them?”

“...”

Furuta Akinori’s expression crumpled in anger.

“Are you saying we can’t contact the first and the second wave?!”

“My apologies, sir, but...”

“What is it?!”

“We also can’t contact the base, as well...”

“...!”

Akinori’s expression now became flabbergasted.

“What was that? The base? As in, Shinichi-kai?!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Could it be a problem with our communication equipment?”

Ogawa Gohei bowed deeply while swallowing his saliva down his dry throat. “Sir. As we couldn’t entirely exclude that possibility, we contacted other locations using our equipment, and all of our attempts have been successful. Even if our equipment is faulty, it only acting up when trying to contact our allies is...”

Akinori didn’t need to hear it. He already knew, anyway. The odds of having communication issues with three different parties at the same time should be worse than getting struck by three consecutive lightning bolts during a clear day.

The situation seemed rather clear at this point. That didn’t mean Furuta Akinori could comprehend it, though.

‘I can accept the possibility of the first and second wave falling.’

The enemy forces could be stronger than expected, and the Japanese warriors could have been slaughtered as soon as they stepped foot on Korean soil. The odds of that happening were low, but not enough to guarantee that it’d never happen in a million years.

However...!

‘But why can’t we contact our base back in Japan? How am I supposed to explain that?’

Could it be that the Martial Assembly had split its forces to fight off the two waves of enemies and attack Japan at the same time?

“No! That’s inconceivable!”

Akinori reflexively cried out. There was simply no way that could happen.

Even if the Koreans had been preparing to defend their country, counterattacking the Japanese mainland would be beyond their capabilities. But that story wouldn’t just apply to the Koreans; even the mighty Three Kings and their factions in China wouldn’t be able to counterattack Japan in less than a day after the war had started.

Since that was the case, what could be the explanation for this development?

Gohei cautiously called out. “Commissioner, sir.”

“M-mm...!”

Akinori let out a grunt.

‘This is bad.’

A war wasn’t fought with combat strength alone. No, what decided a war’s outcome was usually information, not the firepower of the army. One must know the movement of the enemy first.

Know your enemy and know yourself; then, you’d win a hundred times out of a hundred. That saying was widely accepted for a good reason. Unfortunately, Akinori had no information on the enemy, and he had even less information on his own allies!

With zero information to support his decision-making, the only thing staring at him was defeat.

“According to our schedule, we should’ve already landed on the shore, sir...” Gohei spoke, his voice sounding a little more subdued than before.

But Akinori didn’t even spare his subordinate a glance. His mind was too much of a jumbled mess to care about that.

‘What am I supposed to do now?’

If they had stuck to the plan, Akinori and his men must not waste any more time and attempt to land right now. Delaying it any further ran the risk of the first and second waves getting isolated, or worse, get annihilated.

If Akinori’s error in judgment harmed the allies already in Korea somehow, he’d not be able to avoid punishment post-war.

However, what if...

What if his allies in the first and second waves were already dead? What if that one in a thousand, no, one in a million chance happened for real, and the Koreans had attacked Shinichi-kai back in Japan?

‘Then... That land over there will be our grave.’

The distant shore of South Korea seemed so ominous to Akinori’s eyes right now. He let out a deep groan.

He was in charge of the third wave of the invasion. And this army could justifiably be called the main force of the Japanese invasion in terms of its size.

However, that didn’t mean its overall combat strength was noticeably better than the first two waves. No, it just had more fighters. That was all.

The third wave mostly consisted of the remnants after most of the elites had been assigned to the first and second waves. As such, its power would never rival the Shinichi-kai’s first wave or Yamashiro-gumi’s second wave.

Of course, having a lot of fighters was a strength in itself. Their aim was to conquer and occupy, after all.

One powerful expert was much more effective than ten weaker warriors when fighting a war. But those ten warriors were many times better than one powerful expert when trying to occupy an area.

Despite the advancement in weapons technology in the modern era, armies around the world still couldn’t let go of the concept of infantry simply because only soldiers could occupy the conquered territory.

That was all well and good, but...

‘But that story only applies when the first and second waves have done their job.’

Akinori’s expression darkened more and more.

“Commissioner, sir. You must decide what to do next,” said Gohei.

“

Mm

...!”

Akinori nodded, then subtly chewed on his lip.

‘Let’s stop thinking about my situation.’

Now wasn’t the right time to worry about which decision would be better for self-preservation. He must look at the bigger picture and base his decisions on that.

Akinori began chewing on his lips harder.

He looked beyond the ocean still blanketed by the darkness and at the distant peninsula.

“We... proceed with the plan and invade Korea!”

“Yes, sir!”

Akinori sucked in a deep breath. Landing on the shore would be the point of no return for them. Either they conquered Korea, or everyone in the third wave would die. It’d be one of these two outcomes.

The situation now was different from the war in the past. In that war hundreds of years ago, the Japanese invaders could moor their ships safely and had the option of retreating to Japan at any time they wanted. Even though a terrifying monster was lying in wait somewhere on that ocean, the Japanese could still flee in case of defeat.[1]

But that story didn’t apply this time.

Since the Japanese couldn’t openly take over a port, mooring their ships was now out of the question. There was the option of leaving their ships in the international waters and calling them in when necessary, but the enemy wouldn’t sit back and watch that happen since they weren’t morons.

That left Akinori with only two opposing options. Either it was a total annihilation or a glorious victory!

Akinori resumed chewing on his lip while glaring sharply at the distant peninsula. With this decision, he and his...

“...

Mm

?”

Akinori’s eyes narrowed after he spotted something.

‘What... is that?’

That something was... rapidly closing the distance to Akinori’s ship?

“Gohei!”

“Yes, Commissioner!”

“Look ahead! A boat is approaching us! Find out what’s going on!”

“Huh? U-understood, sir!”

Gohei replied loudly, then rushed to the ship’s bow.

‘Could it be a Coast Guard vessel?’

Akinori’s eyes narrowed once more. Even if the Coast Guard had discovered this ship, they wouldn’t approach it so carelessly. Despite knowing this, Akinori still suspected that the boat belonged to the Korean Coast Guard.

He had two reasons for thinking this way. One, the approaching boat was only large enough to carry a handful of people. And the fact that it was closing the distance in a straight line as rapidly as it could possibly move.

“Sir! It’s a small vessel, but we can’t confirm who’s currently riding on it.”

Akinori glanced at Gohei. “Is it the Coast Guard, then?”

“...Although we can’t tell for sure from this distance, I don’t think it’s the Coast Guard, sir.”

“

Mm

?”

Not the Korean Coast Guard? Then, who?

Akinori strengthened his eyesight. Sure enough, he couldn’t see any exterior speakers or sirens typical of a Coast Guard vessel. In that case, why was that boat approaching the Japanese at such a high speed?

Gohei worriedly asked, “Sir, should we sink that boat?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Akinori replied in irritation.

The Japanese were trying to land. He didn’t want to create any variables that could lead to a problem right now.

“Be on standby.”

“But, sir...”

“The smart thing to do is reduce the variables as much as possible. Be on standby! However, I want you to summon the warriors and have them line up on deck!”

“Sir? We can’t bring everyone up. It’s too cramped up here.”

“Are you that useless, Gohei?! Do I have to tell you what you should do every single time?! Can’t you think on your feet?!”

“...! M-my apologies!”

Gohei flinched nastily in shock before rushing into the ship’s cabin.

Akinori gritted his teeth at this sight.

‘Bloody hell! Why couldn’t you give me subordinates that I can work with?’

With all the core warriors assigned to the first and second waves, Akinori was left with a bunch of riff-raffs who couldn’t even do one thing properly. If Akinori had also been assigned to the first wave, these idiots might have gotten lost on this endless stretch of the ocean, going nowhere fast!

Akinori discarded all the useless thoughts swimming in his head and focused his attention on the approaching boat. It had already gotten close enough for him to get a good look at it by now.

‘Hmm?’

To his surprise, the other boat’s deck was almost completely deserted. Even if the boat was small, there should have been enough people to fill up its deck, but all Akinori could see was a handful of individuals.

‘Just who... are those people?’

Once the boat had gotten even closer, its occupants became easier to see.

This handful of individuals were sitting on the boat’s deck. The most eye-catching individual among them was a giant sitting cross-legged by the bow.

‘What the... Am I seeing a hallucination or something?’

It felt like Akinori’s depth perception had gone out of whack just then. That giant’s figure instantly turned the small boat into a miniature one, instead. But that was how huge that man was.

“A giant... Hold on. A giant?!”

Akinori’s expression crumpled in an instant. As far as he knew, only one individual in South Korea was that huge.

‘Vator?!’

Akinori finally figured out who that was. But that didn’t mean he could comprehend this development. That giant was definitely Vator, but why was he riding on the boat heading this way?

Besides, how did Vator, and by extension, the Koreans, find out where Akinori and his men were? Why was he on that boat? What were the Koreans thinking?!

‘What does it mean for Vator to be here?’

Akinori’s eyes powerfully quaked in confusion. He peered even deeper at the group sitting on the small boat’s deck.

That man must be there, too. He must be!

“...!

Ah

...!”

Akinori’s gaze became fixed on one spot, right behind Vator. A young-looking man was sitting there, his posture slightly slack, perhaps from disinterest.

His hair and cigarette smoke danced in the winds blowing past him.

“Kang...!”

Akinori instantly figured out who that was. That was him!

It became so much clearer once the small boat had gotten next to Akinori’s ship. And that was how powerful the people on that small boat were! Merely looking at them was enough to sense their stupendous strength on his skin.

But that young-looking man stood out even more. The air around was noticeably different.

“Kang Jin-Ho...!”

A gasp-like voice leaked out of Akinori’s mouth.

That was when Kang Jin-Ho abruptly raised his head and stared directly into Akinori’s eyes. Despite the distance, their gazes still collided accurately in mid-air.

Shudder!

Akinori shivered as goosebumps broke out on his skin. Despite the considerable distance between the two men, the Japanese felt his entire body freeze on the spot as if Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze was colder than ice.

There was no room for doubt now. That man was Kang Jin-Ho.

But why was he here?

“We’re ready now, Commissioner!”

Gohei shouted, prompting Akinori to bite his lower lip. Should they... sink that boat?

Although it was unbecoming of a warrior to rescind his own commands, that seemed like an excellent choice right about now.

However, Akinori wiped that thought out of his mind. He could tell that their boat sinking wouldn’t be enough to put Kang Jin-Ho and his group in peril. Actually, they’d probably run on water and reach this ship even faster if that happened!

“Gohei, tell everyone to get ready for combat!”

Gohei looked surprised. “Sir?”

“Goddamn it! Don’t make me repeat myself, Gohei! Get ready to fight, you dipsh*t!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Gohei rushed back, clearly flustered.

“Bloody hell...!”

Akinori cursed quietly while gripping his spear tightly.

‘Those crazy Assembly bastards!’

Just what were they scheming now? Also, what were the first and second waves of invaders doing, allowing those people to come here unimpeded?

Did they really get annihilated? In less than a day?

Akinori wasn’t given enough time to organize his chaotic thoughts. That was because Kang Jin-Ho’s boat had reached the side of the Japanese ship. All those on the small boat lightly leaped up and landed on the larger ship’s deck.

All Akinori could do was silently and closely observe the ones landing on the ship’s bow. He reflexively swallowed his saliva down his parched throat, however.

Every one of the Assembly’s people emanated an extraordinary air. Merely being in their presence was enough to nearly crush Akinori through sheer mental pressure alone.

However...!

Clomp. Clomp...!

Compared to the dreadful chill he could feel while looking at the young-looking man leisurely walking past the others to stand in front... That pressure was like child’s play!

The leisurely walking man, Kang Jin-Ho, glanced at Akinori. “So, are you the representative of this group?”

Akinori didn’t have any spit left in his dry mouth to swallow now.

The stiff winds of the icy ocean continued to whip past Akinori’s body mercilessly.

1. I’m not 100% sure what ‘monster’ the author is referring to in this line. Maybe General Yi Sun-Sin? ☜