The First Hunter

Chapter 32. The Moon of Seoul, Part III

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

7.

It was late enough to call it dawn. People came over to Colonel Jang So-gook, who was waiting for someone with his eyes shining, even though it was time for everyone to be asleep. But they were not the ones he was waiting for.

“Colonel Jang So-gook, you are under arrest for rebellion.”

It was soldiers who came to Colonel Jang, and they showed a killing spirit to him. However, he did not resist in front of them, but not because he was afraid of the soldiers.

“… Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Dae-hyun, you are a traitor.”

The fact that it was Lieutenant Colonel Yoo, not anyone else, who came to arrest him, was what rendered Colonel Jang immobile.

“You’re with Kim Tae-hoon…”

Colonel Jang knew the role Lieutenant Colonel Yoo had served as a moving bridge between the Mac Guild and the Capital Defense Command. He could easily see that Lieutenant Colonel Yoo had betrayed them. In other words, he was attached to Kim Tae-hoon.

“You have talked a lot for a man who tried to sell the country to Japan,” Lieutenant Colonel Yoo remarked without any mercy.

There was no reason to be merciful. His opponent was the one who wanted to sell the country out and pursue his own interests, and from now on he would be punished for it. It would be Lieutenant Colonel Yoo who would carry out the punishment.

“Major General Lee Ki-soo and Major Oh Se-bum are dead, and Colonel Jang So-gook will be punished as a warning to others.”

That was the mission Kim Tae-hoon had given him.

‘No, he must be punished as a warning to others. The chaos will be reduced as he is cruelly treated.’

Kim Tae-hoon gave Lieutenant Colonel Yoo the authority after the death of Lee Ki-soo: to find the traitors, and to punish them. Kim Tae-hoon, who was entrusted with the full authority of the Capital Defense Command, gave the right to Lieutenant Colonel Yoo, and in fact, he was like the Grim Reaper.

“Take him out.”

To Lieutenant Colonel Yoo, the Grim Reaper was not a handsome man with a black hat and a wet eye, but a man who could take someone’s life without hesitation.

“If he resists, kill him.”

At that terrifying order, Colonel Jang was dragged out and saw the sky. The moon of Seoul was as bright as the sun.

8.

The fireworks in the sky near Namsan Tower woke up those living near Seoul from their hard-earned sleep.

“Mom, what is that?” Even the children rubbed their eyes and woke up.

“Is it fireworks, huh?”

At the words of a child, a woman looked up at the sky with her daughter in her arms. Their faces were haggard, their eyes dark. That was the reality of Seoul.

The land of Seoul, which had the highest population density in Korea, had no room to satisfy the survivors. Food had run out of for a long time, and there was nothing good to eat, just a lump of calories that could fill the stomach. Sometimes they filled the calories with cooking oil. But the worst was that they did not have any expectations for the future.

Hope for the future meant that they would have food that would eventually make their stomachs full. But around the Han River, it was too terrible to farm. It was not easy to break down and clear away the expensive apartments set up by the Han River, so no one could imagine seeing golden rice fields in the land of Seoul. This meant that the future of Seoul was very bleak.

Then, trucks began to enter Seoul.

Br-br-br-! The trucks carrying the huge trailers woke up the night of Seoul with the roar of their engines.

People could see a fantasy animal called a Mac, which they had never seen before, drawn on every trailer of the rumbling trucks.

“This design was well drawn, right? I did it myself.” It was the mascot design of the Mac Guild by Jang Sung-hoon. Jang had drawn the design on the trailers of all the trucks entering Seoul carrying food.

“They’ll never forget it once they see it, and they’ll probably dream of it.”

It was done to completely rule Seoul.

The Capital Defense Command was guarding Seoul, but it was not completely dominating. The truth was that they were taking control of Seoul through fear and violence.

Although the Mac Guild was entrusted with the full authority of the Capital Defense Command, the minds of the citizens of Seoul would not change by themselves. Therefore, a new approach was needed.

“I actually wanted to write Messiah down, but I quit because I would be crushed by the boss. Boss and Messiah don’t get along very well, no matter how hard I thought about it.”

The Mac Guild needed to let Seoul know that it was an organization to bring hope for the future. They needed to make an image, and the Mac Guild’s mascot was the beginning of the image making.

“We’ll run the food trucks that we’ve modified right after we’ve supplied food. There’s a design that made the Mac Guild’s mascot cute, and we are going to make a fish-shaped bun in the food truck and give them to kids all over Seoul, and for reference, copyright and trademark rights are mine. In a decade, it’ll be more popular in Korea than Mickey Mouse.”

Jang had prepared a lot of image making. He wasn’t alone in preparing them.

The Mac Guild did not just leave the survivors as survivors; they made a list to help them use their abilities and skills. They had given a role to each engineer and technician.

Some of them were famous in the marketing department of companies. It was easy to organize a team for image making, and it was not hard to make them work hard. Everyone had done his best to demonstrate his ability in a world where he was more likely to live by revealing his value.

“If I build a company, it’ll be the Mac Company. I’ll give you a share, so let’s do it well together.”

Kim did not have much to say to Jang. He was fiddling with the jade piece in his hand, looking at the sky where dawn had begun to look smudged. At this moment, he was worried.

‘They have secretly built a base area in Daegu and Busan.’

He had gotten new information that Lee Ki-soo has secured a base in Busan and Daegu. It was possible, but it was thanks to the many relics filling the Gyeongju.

The Tripitaka Koreana of Haein Temple played a very important role. Haein Temple in Hapcheon, where the invincible relic, Tripitaka Koreana, was sealed, defeated the monsters.

Even though monsters were swirling around the Sobaek mountain range, there were no monsters identified by the Daedongyeojido in Kaya Mountain, a stem of the Sobaek mountain range.

‘The relic has an effect from the starting point of Haein Temple to Daegu… The power is far beyond the silver cross that the priest had, and the influenced area is much larger than the Sunsubi of King Jinheung.’

Furthermore, the influence of the Tripitaka Koreana was also affecting the adjacent Daegu Metropolitan City. This range was wider than any other relic, and its power was great.

‘Daegu… I’m in trouble.’

For Daegu City, it was simply a blessing from the heavens. The fact that there was little interference from monsters meant that most of the infrastructure was the same. Moreover, Daegu City had some powerful merits that could not be compared with other cities.

‘The Second Operations Command in Daegu; without any fighting, the outcome would have been easier than I thought.’

‘Once in Daegu, there is the Second Operations Command. The scary thing about monsters is that in front of their fear, the general armed forces are useless and their appearance is sudden. No matter how great an army is, there’s no way to deal with the sudden rise of a monster from the inside. Conversely, if there is some security guarantee from monsters appearing, then the situation is totally different if there is room to prepare.’

If the appearance of monsters in Daegu was not great, especially monsters with strong fear, the Second Operations Command would have been able to perform far better than expected.

‘The armaments and artillery of the Second Operations Command were so small that it would have been easy for the Capital Defense Command to win them to their side.’

‘Of course, there are weaknesses in the Second Operations Command. There are no armor or artillery units among the troops under the Second Operations Command. Most of them are infantry units.’

‘Surviving from monsters requires powerful firepower to regain the land that has been taken away, even though it is with the help of relics. With its firepower, the presence of armored units and artillery units is absolute beyond the crucial level.’

Therefore, the proposal to the Second Operations Command, sent by Major General Lee Ki-soo of the Capital Defense Command, would have been undeniable. It would not have been difficult for Lee Ki-soo to make it a base area.

‘Gyeongju and Busan are already their territories.’ And Lee Ki-soo took Gyeongju as the next target after using it as a base area.

They expanded their activity area with the strong relics of Gyeongju, and they were in the process of exerting influence on Busan City.

‘The good news is that they have not found Manpasikjeok and Geumchuk yet.’

Lee Ki-soo was still looking for the legendary relics, the Geumchuk of Park Hyuk-geo-se and the Manpasikjeok of King Sinmun.

‘When I appeared and the stage was twisted, they brought Japan to this stage.’

For that, they had received support from the outside forces of Japan.

“Hey, boss.” Jang said to Kim, worried about his silence. “What are you so worried about?”

Jang had made many plans for his future: after establishing the Mac Company, he would be a big success and buy a lot of expensive artwork at Sotheby’s auction on the Internet from a mansion in Miami.

However, Kim did not listen to Jang, and Jang gave Kim a pretty upset look since he had not heard his future plans.

“You didn’t hear me, did you?”

“Manpasikjeok and Geumchuk.” Kim turned Jang’s pouting mouth back to its original shape with two words.

“The Gyeongju Samgi (three wonderful treasures)? Why?”

“They really exist.”

“Yes?”

Jang looked puzzled.

” Manpasikjeok and Geumchuk are somewhere beyond the Sobaek Mountains. Lee Ki-soo was looking for them.”

However, the expression of Jang, who understood the situation, soon hardened.

“So, did they find them?”

‘Gyeongju Samgi refers to three relics representing the history of Silla; the Geumchuk of Park Hyuk-geo-se, the Manpasikjeok of King Sinmun, and the Bell of King Seongdeok. Of course, the two things in front are literally a story, and only the Bell of King Seongdeok really exists.’

But the world had changed. There was no surprise that they were real. Jang also learned that lesson from Kim Tae-hoon’s death. So, their surprise was not the fact that the relics existed.

“They didn’t find them, did they? When they fell into their hands…”

The power of the relics was the power of surprise.

Even in case Kim Tae-hoon’s first-grade relic, the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje, its power was creepy.

It was fortunate that Kim Tae-hoon used his wits and robbed it before the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje was in use. If Kim Tae-hoon had to face the monsters created by the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje, he would not have been guaranteed victory.

That was the value of a real relic.

How great would the power of Manpasikjeok and Geumchuk, mentioned in the legends, would be?

It was true that no one could even measure their power. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they would be a game changer, if they were relics of such power.

“Ah.” Jang was able to draw the same picture as Kim was painting.

“The Six Snakes’ current goal is not just to secure a base, but to collect legendary relics!”

‘It is not easy to obtain real relics. No, to tell the truth, at this point, half a year after the monsters appeared, the famous relics are already owned, and the fast-paced searchers would not have left the relics behind. But it will be different if it is an unrealistic relic.’

‘The owner is whoever finds it first.’

“If it is a relic of legend… it’ll be necessary for a powerful monster hunt, to kill the monster. Those who search for it first can take the lead in the upcoming monster stone battle.”

“Not everyone is like you.”

‘That’s the answer. If all the Awakeners in the world are like Kim Tae-hoon, they can concentrate on hunting monsters rather than doing such things. But there are not many people like Kim Tae-hoon.’

‘No, not many, but no one has become stronger like Kim Tae-hoon in the world. If so, it is rather ridiculous. Even Kim Tae-hoon is not able to give a proper answer to the dark-blue grade monster right away.’

‘What about others?’

‘Legendary relics are the least tools needed for Awakeners to kill more powerful monsters.’

“If they monopolize the legendary relics that are essential for hunting monsters… in fact, except for the nukes, weapons to hunt monsters are gone, so the Six Snakes could rule the world. If a group monopolizes the tools, they will be kings of the world.”

“These guys are not kidding. It is not strange that the Six Snakes did this.”

“The Japanese Awakeners are in Korea now. And no matter what they are doing it, it’s easy to understand.”

“Japan? What do you mean?”

“Ninjas were here.”

“Yes?”

“He said he was a ninja of Iga.”

“Is he from the Leaf Village?”

“What’s the Leaf Village?”

“Nevermind. So… explain it to me.”

During the cross-questions from Jang, Kim told him what he had obtained and the information he had got from Kazami Hayato.

Jang’s face hardened when he heard the information.

“Oh, my God, no matter how many times history repeats itself, there are still fucking guys selling the country to Japan.”

Jang was angry. They had sold their country from the moment they were supported by the Six Snakes. But getting Japanese support was quite different; at least for Koreans, Japan had been a terrible thing.

But Kim Tae-hoon was not angry.

‘They sell out their country?’

Kim had already seen too many of them. That was not what he was surprised about.

‘There is no time.’

According to the information obtained from Hayato, Japan did not intend to save Lee Ki-soo in the first place.

‘Musashi, he is aiming to make Korea a base and advance into the continent.’

By killing Lee Ki-soo, the goal was to make Korea a public enemy, not a target of cooperation with the Six Snakes. It was their plan that Japan would become the tip of the sword, pierce Korea first and get everything about Korea. The plan had already begun.

The death of Lee Ki-soo had already been passed on to them. Lee Ki-soo was dead, and the news was delivered to the mainland of Japan.

‘Spells… they are a cause of anxiety.’

Kim heard that they could use a spell to tell if a person was living or dead from a distance.

‘Of course, Japan will move to advance into the Korean Peninsula. Their starting point will be Busan, of course. There is already a facility in Tsushima Island to support maritime movement between Japan and Busan. Above all, Japan’s maritime power is so powerful that it can not be compared with their land power.’

‘Once Japan is in Busan, it is almost impossible for Korea to prevent Japan from entering.’

‘In that state, we will be dealing with those who have settled in the Gyeongsang area with the Tripitaka Koreana and Gyeongju relics, and with monsters filling the Sobaek mountain ranges!’

‘It is not easy. The damage will be immeasurable if we are to win. Of course, we have to stop their attempts right now. We must root out the Japanese forces that have entered Korea now, and build a front line to prevent them from landing on the Korean mainland.’

‘It’s hard to get our men over the Sobaek Mountains right now. The problem is that it is not easy for us to cross the Sobaek mountain range with the power of the Mac Guild. Monsters in the Sobaek Mountains are not laughable opponents.’

‘Eventually, by the time the troops leave the Sobaek mountain range, Japan will have at least occupied Busan. Then it will be war. It’s not just a war, it’s a civil war. Korea will begin to engage in a fratricidal war of its own again, with the land divided in half.’

‘In the meantime, Japan will take over the remains of Korea again, and will never leave, because Japan will never consider the future of Korea.’

‘The blood is worth for the Gamecock, and we don’t need that lesson anymore.’

So, Kim did not hesitate at this moment.

“I can’t forgive them this time. A lot of art has been leaked out to Japan by pro-Japanese groups! Why should we go to Japan to see the Mongyudowondo, our own painting? Boss, leave it to me, and if you give me the authority, I’ll remove them-”

“Jang Sung-hoon, I will delegate all the authority I have to you at this time.”

“Yes?”

“You have all the authority, including the right to command and the power to appoint the Mac Guild and the Capital Defense Command.”

“Wait, what-”

“I will cross the Sobaek Mountains alone.”

At that moment, Kim looked up. Now he saw the dawn, which indicated that the night had passed.

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Mongyudowondo: In the Joseon Dynasty, in 1447 (the 29th year of King Sejong’s reign), this Shan Shui was painted with ink and colors on the silk background by An Gyeon. It contains a scene where Grand Prince Anpyeong walked through the peach garden in a dream.