Chapter 284
Chapter 284 : Kang Chul-In, the One-Man Army! (1)
“W-who are you? Where are you from? Huh?”
A soldier growled at the applauding stranger .
“Get lost . ”
“What? Get lost? You bastard . . . ”
However,
Bam! The soldier was sent flying like a bloody rag doll before he could complete his sentence .
“How dare a small fry like you address me directly?”
Kang Chul-In snickered and entered the Lord’s hall .
“I’m leagues above you bastards . ” magic
He was right . There was a huge difference in ranks . How could an enemy soldier casually talk to Kang Chul-In, the king of Valhalla?
“O-oppa!”
Lily Sephardi recognized Kang Chul-In and exclaimed .
“Y-you came… you really… came… sob!”
Lily couldn’t control her burst of tears . She definitely longed for her oppa! In fact, Lily could only endure until now thanks to her hope that Kang Chul-In would arrive to help her . Without that, Zolushka would have fallen long ago .
Why the hell am I her oppa?
For a moment, Kang Chul-In didn’t like how Lily was addressing him, but he let it slide in the end .
Heh . Well, she is a kid after all… kinda commendable .
This girl . She had risen up to a high rank despite her young age, which was already praiseworthy . Moreover, it was a miracle that she managed to hold her grounds this long against the Shatyameba army . And to think she displayed an unbreakable fighting spirit even on the brink of death? She was truly a talent to behold in the future .
“Well done, kid . ”
Kang Chul-In smiled at Lily .
“O-Oppa . . . ”
“I came here as fast as I could, but it seems like the fortress fell much earlier than I expected . ”
“Well that… that is… sob . . . ”
“It’s alright . ”
Kang Chul-In patted Lily’s head gently .
“Now that I’m here, that’s nothing to worry about . ”
“Sob… sob sob . . . ”
Lily couldn’t speak a word . Only tears continued to roll down her cheeks .
“Oi, you there . ”
Kang Chul-In pointed at Rooibos .
“Yes, Supreme King of the West . ”
“Protect your Lord with your life . ”
“Certainly . However, your Majesty… we’ve already lost . . . ”
“First time I’m hearing that . ”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“We haven’t lost yet . ”
“H-however!”
Rooibos was about to say something totally logical and objective about the current war situation . They had already lost . The inner castle had been infiltrated, and even the Lord’s hall was about to be conquered . Kang Chul-In’s claims seemed too idealistic .
“Didn’t I tell you?”
Kang Chul-In said coldly .
“We haven’t lost . ”
“Y-your Majesty!”
“Who gave you the permission to decide whether the battle has been lost or not?”
“ . . . !”
“Don’t decide that on your own . ”
“Your Majesty . . . ”
“Before I acknowledge our loss, this war is still anyone’s game . ”
Thump!
Rooibos could feel his heart sink .
Brrrr!
His body trembled as well .
What confidence! As to be expected from the strongest man in Pangaea!
Kang Chul-In was the Supreme King of the West, indeed .
Only he, who was literally a one-man army, could say such things .
“What, did he just say the Supreme King of the West?”
“That guy is Kang Chul-In? That Kang Chul-In?”Lily tried her best to explain, but she had already lost her mind due to witnessing the prior massacre . It was difficult to tell what she was mumbling .
“I will speak on her behalf . ”
Rooibos volunteered .
“Actually . . . ”
In essence, his explanation was as follows:
Not long after the Great Summoning, Zolushka was a war-torn territory due to the constant ongoing battles with neighboring territories . However, it was able to subjugate the other territories and regain peace thanks to the work of Sumire, Lily’s trusted secretary .
“Her Majesty wished to soothe the pain of the people who had been devastated by the war . ”
The story that followed was a typical case of the tail wagging the dog . It also had the cliché story plot of how she did her people a favor and it became her job . Lily established too generous of a welfare system . She gave greater rewards and pensions to her people, lowered their taxes and distributed more supplies . The problem was that the territory didn’t earn enough money to sustain this act .
That wasn’t all . Lily decreased the size of her army to 40% after the war had ended .
“You’ve got some guts . ”
Kang Chul-In, who was listening quietly, even mentioned the word ‘guts’ .
“Why did you downsize the army?”
“As for that… after the end of the battle in which Sumire died . . . ”
“There weren’t any noticeable danger factors around, looking at the neighboring territories and geography?”
Kang Chul-In intruded .
“Ah, yes… that’s why . . . ”
“You trusted Itaracia and downsized your army?”
“Yes . . . ”
“Ridiculous . ”
Kang Chul-In was dumbstruck .
“Now I know why you failed . ”
This was why he wasn’t aware of Lily Sephardi’s existence in the past . In the past, Atal Ramanujan formed the Baldur Alliance together with Alex Rothschild, and was responsible for the large number of soldiers . In other words, he could cross the Chamonix mountains with Rothschild’s help, conquer Itaracia and then participate in the Ragnarök .
Lily’s territory was probably trampled down in the process .
“Kid… you are the definition of a pacifist . ”
Kang Chul-In stood aghast .
“To think you chose to be a eunuch . . . ”
It was a crude, but not totally wrong expression . An army constituted the foundation of national defense . It did exacerbate war sometimes, but at the same time, it was a source of deterrence .
There was a saying that without an army, there wouldn’t be war .
Kang Chul-In begged to differ .
That’s total bullshit coming from an ignorant shit .
Bullshit, indeed . No army, no war? Even if the nation without an army could be a peace-lover, would the neighboring countries share the same consensus?
Not in a million years! In fact, they would immediately gather an army to swallow the defenseless nation up whole . In this world where fraud and murder were frequent even between family members, who in the right mind would trust another nation?
“Kiddo . ”
“Yes, oppa . . . ”
“Look . ”
Kang Chul-In pointed at the Lord’s hall, which was now in a mess . Corpses, corpses and more corpses . Crimson-red blood pooled on the floor of the Lord’s hall . Fresh corpses were scattered everywhere, some with their eyes still wide open .
“This is the consequence of you downsizing your army . ”
“ . . . ”
“The people that you loved so much? Where are they? Both your soldiers and people are cowards who ran for their lives, instead of fighting back . ”
Lily couldn’t rebut Kang Chul-In .
“Sob . . . ”
“So what if you treat them well? Did the people repay your benevolence in any way? Managing a territory is no child’s play . There needs to be a give and take . You have to receive something from your people if you treat them well . War is not just limited to fighting an external enemy . In fact, domestic administration is a constant battle with your own people . ”
This was Kang Chul-In’s philosophy in managing a territory . He treated even politics as war .
“I… I… was wrong . . . ”
Lily’s head drooped .
“Because of my poor judgment… sob… the territory has fallen… people died… sob sob . . . ”
“No . ”
Kang Chul-In shook his head .
“People did die, but your territory can still be salvaged . ”
“ . . . !”
“There’s still some hope . Considering that talisman’s value… it’s worth rescuing an almost-devastated territory . ”
“R-really?”
“Of course . ”
“O-Oppa!”
“However… don’t you ever downsize your army again . You hear me?”
“Yes!”
Lily gave him a bright smile .
“I trust you… oppa!”
He didn’t have to ask for anything to gain her trust . That was Kang Chul-In, the trustworthy man!