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[Chapter 196]
[Recapture Plan (2)]
Whether before or after the regression, the confidence that Uijeongbu could be recaptured had been slowly creeping up since 5 years ago, starting from the Seoul Disaster.
The Seoul Disaster clearly engraved an incurable wound in people's hearts, but it also produced many heroes.
Especially the emergence of <Crimson Wing> No Eun-ha became the catalyst for establishing the term Golden Generation.
"─Then Controller Mo Ra-yul, please brief us on the current situation in Uijeongbu."
"Yes, Fairy."
Nevertheless, the Fairy government was hesitant to recapture Uijeongbu for various reasons.
While Seoul reconstruction and economic revival were priority tasks, the most reluctant reason was because of northern Uijeongbu.
In the 1st Recapture War, the 3rd rank monster Ishimi invaded from Yangju.
Besides that, monster forces rushed in from Yangju, Dongducheon, Yeoncheon County, etc.
It was said that when players approached Uijeongbu, monsters inhabiting northern Uijeongbu would somehow sense their presence and come down.
"Until now, Uijeongbu has acted as a buffer zone, playing the role of a psychological Maginot Line between our country and the monsters. We were using Uijeongbu as a foothold for advancing north, and the monsters knew that and tried not to lose Uijeongbu which could become a foothold for advancing north."
""""...""""
Twelve Seats <Big Data> Mo Ra-yul.
She explained the contents appearing on the screen with eyes darkened by heavy dark circles.
A tone naturally oozing exhaustion.
But the content she was briefing couldn't be heard with a mind not fully awake from sleep.
"Therefore, unlike the 1st Uijeongbu Recapture War, the Mana Management Organization judged it would be better to attack Uijeongbu along with the surrounding northern areas. While clearing the surrounding northern areas like Yangju, Dongducheon, Yeoncheon County to some extent, we'll block the path for monsters to come down from the north."
Recapturing Uijeongbu.
And pacifying the surrounding northern region.
This could be said to be the goal of the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War.
The battlefield was quite wide.
Nevertheless, the Fairy government judged it was possible.
There had been many changes from the 1st Uijeongbu Recapture War until now to that extent.
"─The fortunate point is that with the 3rd rank over-rank White Face being subjugated, leeway has been created for this operation."
""""...""""
Though Mo Ra-yul's gaze didn't move.
People simultaneously looked at Eun-ha, Kang Hyeon-cheol, and Pricis Memory at the mention of White Face.
It was true that the difficulty of recapturing Uijeongbu went down as they subjugated White Face.
So I thought this life's recapture war would end easily too.
Eun-ha shrugged at receiving people's gazes.
As Mo Ra-yul said, some leeway was created.
But though they say leeway was created because the 3rd rank over-rank disappeared, in reality the difficulty was the same as the previous life.
After all─
"─Currently, a total of three corps commanders are confirmed to exist in Uijeongbu. Besides the 3rd rank over-rank Goeshini, the existence of two 3rd rank monsters was detected in the direction of Jageum-dong and Millak-dong this time."
New corps commanders appeared.
Uijeongbu untouched by human hands was such a place.
Even if high-rank monsters disappear, if that place isn't completely pioneered, monsters fight for territory among themselves.
And monsters that come to dominate new territories are elevated to corps commanders.
Corps commanders appeared to replace White Face's vacant position.
Therefore, a total of 3 corps commanders inhabit Uijeongbu city.
Mo Ra-yul said.
"Currently, not much information is known about the two corps commanders. What's known is that the two corps commanders don't head towards Uijeongbu Station where Goeshini roams, and don't move much from the areas they made their base. And that the two corps commanders have the same outward appearance, but wear armor of different colors."
The information officer flipped the screen.
A blurry photo appeared as if taken from far away.
Photos presumed to be of the corps commanders.
One was wearing red armor, and the other was a monster wearing blue armor.
Those guys had their hands placed on swords planted in the ground.
It seemed to be estimated at 10m.
"...To this, Twelve Seats <Index > decided to name the red armored knight Crimson Knight, and the blue armored knight Cobalt Knight."
People nodded.
Though they were 3rd rank monsters, they weren't very worried.
Those attending this meeting who were veterans in the industry could roughly guess just from the photos.
With 10m bodies wearing armor, their movements would undoubtedly be slow.
When swinging the swords planted in the ground, many openings would be revealed.
The part to be wary of is the armor those guys are wearing, but it should be a level that can be dealt with through combat.
And the weakness of knight-type monsters is that their power is concentrated in physical defense and attack power.
If we just respond well utilizing that point, we should be able to attack without much difficulty.
Though their defense will be high...
If we bind their feet at close range, then pour firepower from long range, those guys won't be able to do anything.
Including KK Clan Lord Hwang San-gun.
The people present thought.
So their attention was focused on Mo Ra-yul's next explanation.
"Next is the core of the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War operation. The recapture force can be largely divided into three units: supply, communication, and attack. First, the recapture force will advance to where the old outer circular road comes out. Afterwards, the battalion divides into supply, communication and attack units there. The supply unit will move north along the circular road while maintaining close contact with the other two units."
The information officer displayed a map on the screen.
Eun-ha examined the map showing Uijeongbu and northern Gyeonggi.
The old outer circular road cutting straight from between Dobongsan Station and Mangwolsa Station to Uijeongbu Arts Center.
In the previous regression, the recapture force also utilized that road as a supply line.
It was wide for transporting supplies, and the road was relatively well-maintained even after decades.
But back then, there were many opinions opposing that operation.
The safety was doubted at the time.
But in this life, people who participated in the cocoon retrieval operation a few years ago proved the safety of the supply route.
The Mana Management Organization even additionally verified the safety.
So there was no opposition.
"The communication unit will deploy platoons starting from Dobong Station, to Dobongsan Station, to Mangwolsa Station. We'll call them the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd platoons respectively. The role of each platoon is to relay information between Seoul and Uijeongbu up and down."
""""...""""
"And the attack unit will advance together with the communication unit to Mangwolsa. Considering the time for the three units to move, they will probably arrive near Shinhan University close to Mangwolsa Station by evening. The recapture force will rest until morning using Shinhan University as a base."
Supply unit and communication, attack units.
Shinhan University was between each unit's routes.
As it was a university, it had an environment suitable for accommodating many people.
"The day that becomes the starting point of recapture is the very next day. As soon as day breaks, the three units move north to Uijeongbu. The attack unit quickly pacifies Hoeryong Station, and the communication unit establishes a communication base there to lead the Uijeongbu recapture from the front. And the attack unit leaves the 1st platoon, entrusting them to manage Uijeongbu residents. We must strictly manage so that Uijeongbu residents absolutely do not become variables in the recapture war."
Though White Face was subjugated.
Uijeongbu residents still couldn't be trusted.
They will be under players' strict surveillance until Uijeongbu is recaptured.
People generally agreed.
It made sense since they threw the recapture force into confusion in the 1st Uijeongbu Recapture War.
Still, they'll receive slightly better treatment than in the previous regression this time.
Eun-ha recalled the previous regression.
Back then, since White Face was still alive, wariness towards Uijeongbu residents was quite tense.
So it should be better compared to then.
If Uijeongbu residents don't resist, nothing special will happen.
"The supply unit moves north to Uijeongbu matching pace with the attack unit. We plan to establish the supply base at Uijeongbu Arts Center located on the old outer circular road. This supply base will become the starting point for advancing to the surrounding north later. But before that, we must first subjugate the 3rd rank over-rank Goeshini active between the Arts Center and Uijeongbu Station."
""""...""""
"Therefore, the supply unit advancing north to the Arts Center and the attack unit advancing north to Uijeongbu Station will subjugate Goeshini while attacking from both sides."
How can the supply unit just do supply, when it's a supply unit composed of players?
Mo Ra-yul snorted representing Im Ga-eul's thoughts.
People nodded.
☆
The operation explanation continued afterwards.
After subjugating Goeshini, the supply unit completely turns the Arts Center into a supply base.
The communication unit that made the 3rd communication platoon at Mangwolsa Station also moves to the supply base.
Meanwhile, the attack unit divides into 8 platoons.
The 2nd platoon remains at Uijeongbu Station, while other platoons advance to designated positions matching pace with the communication unit.
At this time, the 6th platoon's mission is to subjugate the 3rd rank monster Ishimi who will be occupying Yangju as its territory.
The 6th platoon subjugates Ishimi and plays the role of blocking monsters' path down to Uijeongbu.
And the 3rd and 4th platoons subjugate Crimson and Cobalt Knight respectively...
To express the operation in one word, it would be lightning warfare.
Maximum 5 days from operation start.
By then, they completely eliminate factors that would become the greatest threat if Uijeongbu is recaptured.
And if they subjugate all the corps commanders in Uijeongbu, and the 6th attack platoon safely blocks northern Gyeonggi─
"─At that time, the Fairy plans to head to Uijeongbu with the cocoon. And by activating the cocoon at the Arts Center, we'll weaken the remaining forces left in Uijeongbu. We'll subjugate the 2nd rank monster Maegu at the Gyeonggi Northern Government Complex afterwards."
One of the mistakes of the 1st Uijeongbu Recapture War was trying to completely drive out monsters before activating the cocoon.
Because of that, the recapture force ended up giving corps commanders room to gather forces and come down south.
Another mistake was that the recapture force at the time didn't know about the existence of the 2nd rank monster Maegu inhabiting the red dungeon Gyeonggi Northern Government Complex.
So in the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War, they activate the cocoon right away as soon as they defeat the corps commanders.
They also postpone subjugating Maegu.
Anyway, the one inhabiting the red dungeon couldn't leave the Gyeonggi Northern Government Complex.
We can subjugate Maegu after activating the cocoon, when players replenish their strength again.
Actually, the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War was almost half-baked.
There were two symbols of the Fairy government recapturing Uijeongbu.
Activating the cocoon.
And subjugating Maegu.
But in the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture War, it's carried out excluding Maegu's existence itself.
So what if it's half-baked.
Success is success.
Eun-ha thought like that.
Others were the same.
They liked the operation.
With that, Mo Ra-yul finished her explanation.
Then at that time─
"─There's one thing I didn't mention."
Im Ga-eul opened her mouth.
She sent a gaze to Mo Ra-yul.
As Mo Ra-yul returned to her seat.
Im Ga-eul continued speaking.
"Though it probably won't happen, we can't fail to recapture Uijeongbu again this time so I'm thinking of mobilizing the military too. The military will be on standby at Mangwolsa Station, and plans to push up to Uijeongbu right away if things go wrong."
""""...!!""""
To Im Ga-eul's words.
People who had just been nodding showed surprised expressions.
The military's scale had been continuously reduced since <End of Century Destruction>.
It couldn't be helped, as at that time many personnel who could command them lost their lives.
Moreover, monarchs rushed in from various places claiming to be the country's owner, and reduced the military forces that could become the greatest threat.
From the start, most military forces weren't easy to deploy in urban combat. They were reduced according to need too.
Later when the chaos was somewhat settled, <Iron Fortress> even disbanded the military to raise players' standing...
There were many reasons.
And today's military was perceived as an armed group that deploys even if cities are destroyed when monsters cannot be subjugated.
To that extent, saying she would mobilize the military meant Im Ga-eul's will to recapture Uijeongbu was strong.
Artifacts transformed from goods or rare elixirs are hidden in Uijeongbu where large amounts of mana are dissolved in the atmosphere.
Above all, what people want is to reclaim Uijeongbu as close to its past state as possible.
So mobilizing the military to push Uijeongbu into wasteland could be called the worst-case scenario.
Eun-ha recalled the previous regression.
In the previous regression, the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture Force successfully completed the operation.
But there was confusion in communications, and the military ended up bombarding Uijeongbu where players were.
Because of that, players had to flee to survive the bombardment, and due to this incident players came to distrust the Fairy.
The person who ordered the bombardment then ended up getting beheaded by <Abyss > Seon U Hwa-ryeong.
Im Ga-eul took all responsibility, and even though she apologized to players, their support didn't return.
"─M48 Patton series tanks with effective range of about 700-2km are planned to be used in the recapture war. Bombardment will be carried out after all players in Uijeongbu evacuate, so don't worry too much."
""""...""""
"I hope there won't be a need to mobilize the military. I'll trust you."
So along with recapturing Uijeongbu.
We must prevent the military's bombardment that could happen even in this life.
Eun-ha clenched his fist.
☆
There weren't many parts that needed special modification in the operation.
At most, there was debate on whether to dispatch the Intelligence Bureau Director to Mangwolsa Station or the Arts Center.
And Im Ga-eul who was watching that lent strength to the argument to modify it to the Arts Center.
Sighing was a bonus.
"─Then now we will organize the recapture force."
After taking a short break.
The operation meeting resumed.
Clan Lords who spent half a day just on the operation meeting had shining eyes.
The matter they had been waiting for was being discussed now.
What role they take in the recapture war is related to reflecting merits later, and related to how much profit they can gain.
The gains players can obtain from the Uijeongbu Recapture War are largely three things.
One is mana stones, skill stones, and other byproducts that will come from high-rank monsters.
Another is national treasures they will receive according to merits.
And the last one is the opportunity to farm artifacts sleeping without owners in Uijeongbu.
So the Clan Lords gathered here were desperate to command good platoons somehow.
"The recapture force will be directly commanded by Minister Baek Seo-jin. Also, the supply, attack, and communication units will be commanded by the directors of the Management Bureau, Special Affairs Bureau, and Surveillance Bureau respectively."
The Intelligence Bureau Director explained.
Everyone understood.
The important thing was the authority to command platoons.
"First we will select clans to command attack platoons. The attack platoons will be composed of 8 platoons total including platoons commanding blocking the path in northern Gyeonggi. Starting with the 1st platoon..."
""""We'll do it!!""""
""""...""""
The attackers of the Uijeongbu Recapture War.
In other words, the platoons with the most opportunity to establish merits.
Even just for the 1st attack platoon that seemed unlikely to leave Hoeryong Station, the competition was fierce.
But the formation wasn't difficult.
Because they just had to evaluate the scale and capabilities of clans suitable for those roles.
The recognition of affiliated players was important too.
Above all─
"─The 6th attack platoon's mission is aimed at subjugating the 3rd rank Ishimi. Therefore, Silla Clan where Twelve Seats <Thunder Emperor> Lee Do-jin player who will participate in subjugating Ishimi is affiliated will be in charge of platoon command."
The most important factor in platoon formation could be said to be the presence of Twelve Seats.
There are 11 Twelve Seats participating in the recapture war excluding <Index >.
9 of them excluding <King of Darkness> Baek Seo-jin who will overall command the recapture force and <Big Data> Mo Ra-yul who will grasp the situation in real-time.
They were all scheduled to be deployed to the Uijeongbu Recapture War site.
<First Sword> Ji Yong-hyeon to the mission of subjugating corps commander Crimson Knight.
<Beast Tamer> Hwang San-gun to the mission of subjugating corps commander Cobalt Knight.
<Yama > Kang Hyeon-cheol and <Holy Mother> Park Hye-rim to the mission of subjugating corps commander Goeshini.
<Thunder Emperor> Lee Do-jin and <Witch of Time> Pricis Memory to the mission of subjugating corps commander Ishimi.
<Phantom Vision> Do Wan-jun, <Great Tree> Seon Gi-jun, <Silent > Yu Su-jin were scheduled to take on missions blocking surrounding northern Gyeonggi.
Therefore, clans they were affiliated with had a high possibility of commanding platoons related to those missions.
Thus─
1st Attack Platoon - Cheonho Clan
2nd Attack Platoon - Blaze Clan
3rd Attack Platoon - Zenith Clan
4th Attack Platoon - KK Clan
5th Attack Platoon - Donghae Clan
6th Attack Platoon - Silla Clan
7th Attack Platoon - Myeongwang Clan
8th Attack Platoon - Tempest Clan
The attack platoons were easily decided.
In reality, only the 1st attack platoon had fierce competition.
7 out of 8 S-rank clans ended up being deployed to attack platoons.
Eun-ha clicked his tongue watching A-rank Clan Lords who applied with some expectation.
The attack platoons were practically decided except for the 1st platoon.
It was natural for them to be eliminated.
However, thanks to strong competitors like S-rank clans being deployed to attack platoons, opportunities went to A-rank clans for the remaining platoons.
"...we will select clans to command communication platoons. Communication platoons will be composed of 12 platoons."
Communication platoons were platoons in charge of communication roles by safely securing pacified areas.
Opportunities to accumulate merits were open to them as much as following attack platoons.
To this, A-rank Clan Lords even took time to appeal their clans to an embarrassing degree.
The only clan that got to command a platoon without self-promotion was Regulus which received S-rank again this year.
5th Communication Platoon - Regulus Clan
8th Communication Platoon - Samra Clan
Eun-ha decided to just memorize the faces of clans commanding the other communication platoons.
Jeong Ha-yang or other clan members would tell him later.
Anyway, after communication platoons ended─
"─Lastly we will select clans to command supply platoons. Supply platoons will be composed of 4 platoons total..."
Compared to attack and communication platoons.
Only supply platoons with relatively less opportunity to accumulate merits remained.
Because they won't have much chance to move around.
Nevertheless, A-rank Clan Lords tried to obtain even just that.
And Eun-ha who had been receiving people's suspicious gazes until now also suddenly raised his hand.
"─Us. We'll do it."
"Um, Pandora Clan Lord, the explanation isn't finished yet..."
""""...""""
"Why repeat explanations already given so tediously?"
The Intelligence Bureau Director looked troubled.
People's gazes focused.
Eun-ha didn't care.
He spoke while giggling.
"Didn't you say the 2nd supply platoon will play the role of taking down Goeshini too? Our clan will do it. We have many skilled supporters who can counter Goeshini's abilities. I think I can counter it too."
""""...""""
What are you thinking?
What on earth is your intention wanting to command a supply platoon with limited opportunities to accumulate merits?
Why on earth?
Suspicion was loaded in people's gazes.
Eun-ha had no intention of answering.
During the 1st Uijeongbu Recapture War, didn't the recapture force completely sweep the Uijeongbu Station and Arts Center areas?
Most went missing or were destroyed as monsters came down south then...
But what does that matter?
The artifacts I'm expecting should be intact since they're hidden very well.
His reason for wanting to subjugate Goeshini wasn't much.
Because he was confident in attacking since he subjugated Goeshini in the previous life.
Because he judged it wouldn't be difficult to attack with skilled supporters.
Because he planned to acquire decent artifacts nearby.
Especially the treasures On Tae-yang's party members accidentally discovered in the previous regression.
Eun-ha dismissed that intention─
"─Supply is originally the strongest, right?"
""""...""""
With just one sentence.