Resident Relief

~The northern part of the Korean Peninsula~

Koo Dae-sung and the Man at Arms made it south with surprising smoothness.

"Yeah, the North Koreans over here are really just a formality. Yes, let's continue south."

After reporting to Yappy via comms, Koo Dae-sung soon made his way to where Kim Dohan and his men were.

"What's the situation in the south?"

"They've taken the city of Kaesong. There was a hostage situation at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, but they say it went well."

"I thought they'd start hostage-taking there after the war, eh? Spending all that money to build a factory in a place that's not worth it."

When Kim Dohan heard about the hostage situation in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, he clicked his tongue and blamed the government.

"By the way, if they've eaten Kaesong, is Pyongyang next?"

Koo Dae-sung shook his head.

"They'll attack Pyongyang, but I think they'll take over the surrounding area first. They're wary of the legions of demons that might be lurking in Pyongyang."

"Really? I thought they would just charge in and kill the demons."

Kim Dohan tilted his head in surprise.

Koo Dae-sung had a similar thought, but he felt a strange chill down his spine and realized that he was glad Leon had taken this course of action.

He had a strange feeling ever since he entered North Korea. It was a vague sensation that made Koo uneasy.

"He wants us to circle the perimeter and do a civilian support mission."

"Well, if you've come in by this point, you've gone quite deep."

Koo Dae-sung and the Man-At-Arms have pushed far inland without a fight. The GPS says Handong, but it's a place they don't recognize. They thought about continuing on, but there was a problem.

"I, South Korean Hunters------"

A girl approaches Koo Dae-sung and the Man at Arms. Even though she knew they were South Koreans, she didn't hesitate to approach them.

The fact that South Korea sends hunters is known, but it's not the only reason.

The girl was thin, her flesh bare to the bone, her eyes deeply sunken and hollow.

The girl, who was at an age when her dimples were in full bloom but whose flowery beauty was nowhere to be seen, spread her hands as if she did not know any shame.

"Mmm, something to eat--something to eat, please, I've been starving for so long."

"------"

Koo Dae-sung couldn't hide his sympathy for the girl's desperate begging. She wasn't the only one. Every village we passed was filled with people on the brink of starvation.

He had heard about the food situation in North Korea, but he never expected it to be this bad.

"It's a little early, but-- Shall we have a meal?"

"Let's do it."

Captain Kim Dohan chuckled at Koo Dae-sung's words. With a smug look in his eyes, Koo Dae-sung headed for the village clearing.

As he approaches, armed with swords, spears, shields, and armor, the grim villagers begin to gather, expecting the foreign hunters from the South to give them something to eat.

Unfortunately, Koo Dae-sung and the Man at Arms don't have much in the way of battle rations. They've fought as hard as they can with the conflict zone in mind, but it's only so much.

"Captain Kim Dohan, please give me some seeds."

"Oh, here they are, sir."

Instead, Koo Dae-sung took out a handful of crested seeds. He looked at the barren land of the village and made a bitter face.

'Barren land.'

The basic soil is not bad but it's too exhausting.

This is because in North Korea, where food self-sufficiency is miserable, corn, which consumes a lot of land energy, was planted in heaps, greatly reducing the vitality of the land.

The exhausted land should have been allowed to rest, but North Korea, which doesn't have enough food to feed itself, would have continued to plant corn, and the vicious cycle would have continued.

"Huh------"

Koo Dae-sung began scattering the seeds on the parched land as the villagers looked at him in disbelief.

"You're just scattering seeds without proper water, and in the middle of winter?"

"Goddess Demera."

But something amazing soon happened. Koo Dae-sung kissed the ground where he had sown the seeds and recited a prayer, and sprouts began to grow from them.

"------!"

While the villagers were stunned beyond belief, the Man at Arms crew acted as if they were used to it, reciting their own prayers.

"Thank you, Goddess of Life and Abundance."

After the events of the last Hoeryong camp, Koo Dae-sung was allowed to use the Holy Law.

This was thanks to the spread of the pantheon belief in Yanbian, the continuous knight training, and the reverence for the Goddess Demera, which was firmly established in Koo Dae-sung's beliefs.

"Okay, the sprouts are sprouting faster than last time, you'll have enough to eat in a couple hours."

The holy law that Koo Dae-sung awakened was a prayer that the priests of the goddess Demera would say to bless the land and make crops grow.

Although he could not completely transform the land into the goddess's fertile soil like Leon, he was able to restore the land's strength in the long term and make blessed crops grow, even if only slightly.

"Huh, but I still wish it was a holy law that would help me in battle, so I can get my knighthood------"

"Hahaha, let's not be in too much of a hurry. At least we don't have to worry about food wherever we go, right?"

That was true. Ever since Koo Dae-sung had awakened to this holy law, the Men at Arms had packed their battle rations mainly with staple foods.

Koo Dae-sung could grow crops like rice and beans on the spot.

"It's good for morale to have a variety of meals. Why have pound cake in your battle rations?"

"That's true, but------."

"Besides, Mr. Koo is starting to give us the 'Guardian Buff' now, so that's pretty helpful."

That's not the only power Koo Dae-sung has gained from awakening to the Holy Law.

<Blessing of the Knight Life>

This is a supportive trait that continuously regenerates battle damage and restores energy.

He's not a monster like Leon or the Holy Knights, who can bludgeon entire armies with ridiculous buffs, but like other Knights of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms, he has a treasure trove of buffs for his troops.

This was not enough to help him in battle, so Captain Kim patted Koo Dae-sung on the shoulder.

A couple hours later, as the whole village gathered cauldrons and fired up the fire, they marveled at the rice that had grown.

"Real rice has grown!" they exclaimed.

"Come on, let's put the rice in the cauldron, soak it, and keep the fire going! We have ramen noodles, so let's make some noodle soup!"

Koo Dae-sung and his colleagues skillfully prepared the meal and distributed the rice to the residents. The residents salivated at the sight of the puffed white rice.

"Can we eat this rice?"

"Is this really rice? There is no corn mixed in?

In North Korea, white rice was a symbol of the wealthy class. Eating beef soup with white rice is paradise on earth.

It's a rare dish that North Korea has been brainwashing its citizens for 80 years.

Excluding those of Baekdu descent, even Pyongyang citizens could eat meat soup made with one or two pieces of pork over white rice only on special days.

Even the ramen soup, which the Man at Arms said would be boring if they ate only white rice, had a spicy flavor that they had never tasted in their lives.

"Do South Korean hunters have Baekdu bloodline?"

"What?"

"If you are of Baekdu bloodline, then the Kim clan is a pig—well, should I refrain from living in this neighborhood?"

Captain Kim Dohan, vaguely recalling the old North Korean indoctrination, was careful with his words.

"It's not like that, we're just ordinary people."

Koo Dae-sung also showed off his evangelism skills to the North Koreans.

They were intrigued by the South Korean hunter's ability to make rice grow in a couple of hours, and eager to hear about the emerging faith in the South.

"Oh, I will become a follower of Goddess Demera from today! Ah---!"

The villager is surprised to hear herself say this. In North Korea, religion was the opiate of the people, and communism persecuted and executed people of faith.

For them, the world was still the world of the Kims, so they cringed at her hasty remark.

Koo Dae-sung didn't force faith on them straight away. The war had already been fought, and the destruction of North Korea was a foregone conclusion.

The Lionheart King is not going to let the ruthless Kim family rule alone.

Moreover, there is no way that this regime can be sustained when North Korea is infested with demons.

"Comrade South Korea------"

Just then, an old man who appeared to be the village chief approached him, and he grabbed Koo Dae-sung's hand, which was full of life.

"This old man wants to believe in you from now on. Even if the party doesn't allow it---!"

"Village chief---!"

"That's a dangerous thing to say!"

But the chief's will was steadfast. He had been dying of an illness, and he had just eaten the crops and felt a great improvement in his health.

Ten years ago, the Red Cross had visited him and told him that he would not be cured without consistent treatment, but it was possible for him to be cured just by eating some rice.

The village chief had no fear as he intuitively realized that the divine power contained in the rice would heal him.

"Comrade South Korean--- There's something you should know."

The villagers couldn't hide their fear at his tone. They didn't know what he was going to say in this situation.

But no one could stop him. They too felt the blessing of the benevolent gods on the rice, and were in awe of the miracle.

"A few months ago, the People's Army set up a strange facility nearby, and many of our comrades were taken there."

The testimony of the village chief astonished Koo Dae-sung and his companions.

* * * * *

The South Korean army quickly captured Kaesong, but its advance on Pyongyang was slowed.

"Missiles were swallowed?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Guided Missile Command of our national army fired hundreds of missiles at Pyongyang, but they were all intercepted by some force."

It was due to some great force surrounding Pyongyang.

A force large enough to envelop the city, swallowing up all the missiles the South Korean military had launched at Pyongyang since the beginning of the war.

"Hmm------"

Leon looked around at the dense mass of South Korean troops in front of Pyongyang.

Knights had been assigned to each unit and long-range defenses had been deployed in anticipation of artillery fire from Pyongyang's defenses, but there was no counterattack from the enemy, just a waiting game.

'A trap.'

So blatant. We won't know what they've got in store until we run into them.

"Lord Tarhan."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

Leon barked orders to the Knights of the Burning Sword.

"The newly captured serfs. Have you fed them well?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, they're just fine, with half the sugar and salt they're supposed to have!"

"It's time for the serfs to pay for their meals."

Sir Tarhan of the Knights of the Burning Sword understood the intent with just a glance from Leon.

"Serf recruits forward!"

At Tarhan's command, a group of men moved from somewhere in the distance. They wore the uniforms of the People's Army, and as they moved in unison, even the national army took notice.

"Your Majesty, what do you intend to do------?"

"We must see how the enemy's fortress is defended."

The general, realizing the intent of his words, was stunned.

"You mean you're just going to let them do a suicide bombing run?!

Leon, reading his consternation, grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't feel too sorry for them. They're the worst of the serf soldiers, the ones who plunder and murder the people they're supposed to protect."

Brought to heel by the power of Tatar, the God of Sun and Judgment, the serfs confessed to all their sins and received the punishment they deserved.

Leon had gathered the worst of the worst among the People's Army serfs acquired in this war, and in his opinion, they were only slightly less craven than the demon followers.

"Lord Tarhan. Let fifty of them charge as a test."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Lord Tarhan ordered the serfs in a gravelly voice.

"One through fifty, advance until dead!"

-Uh, uh?

-See, no! I'm not going- -Mo, body!

-Ahhhhh!

The serfs under Tatar law, had no right to refuse the order.

Thanks to the merciful consideration of the Lionheart King, they were able to clutch a rifle and run toward Peking.

-Yes, yes, I'd rather surrender to Pyongyang and be protected!

-It's better than being stuck with those crazy South Koreans!

Some raced toward Pyongyang with such hopes, but they had to read between the lines of their orders.

'Forward to the death'

In other words, the 'order' was planted that no matter what was or wasn't in Pyongyang, no matter if there was a cliff or an ocean at the end of the run, they had to keep moving forward.

'If you look at them, they are more evil than the demons------'

The general of the national army suddenly remembered a saying.

'When I look into the abyss, the abyss looks into me------'

He wondered if dealing with demons has made them evolve to be more like them? The knights of the Lionheart are------

-Kwasasak!

-Khhhhhhhhh!

It was then. The People's Army serf soldiers nearing Pyongyang suddenly burst into flames and scattered like black ink.

"Look, look!"

A Korean soldier watching the scene through a telescope exclaimed. The knights of the TTG Temple also saw it with the naked eye.

The black ink of the People's Army's remains had mutated into something strange.

It was like a monster without any biological features.

"There."

Leon gestured to the exact spot where the People's Army serfs had mutated.

-Thump---!

The wrath of the gods descended upon Pyongyang.