8. Red Alert Orbital Strike Alert (6) – End of Volume 2
8. Red Alert Orbital Strike Alert (6) – Song of Destruction
In this episode, there is a notice of completion of the second volume, as well as answers to the points raised so far.>
Beep.
– From the First Executive to the Committee. Urgent report. Multiple interplanetary warp missile silos have been confirmed among the planetary facilities. Large-scale outbursts of illegally modified droids have been confirmed. Change from Operation Plan 3 to Operation Plan 6-Alt is notified.
– From the Council to the First Executive Officer. Confirmed. Destruction of interplanetary warp missile silos is to be given top priority. Per Operation Plan 6-Alt, use of localized orbital bombardment is authorized, in accordance with Emergency Track regulations. Further operations are left to the discretion of the field commander.
When Mokjin arrived at Athena’s spaceship, she was already ready to depart and was giving various instructions to the spaceship’s co-pilot.
“Report to the main team that mission B has been completed. Have you secured target number 2?”
“Yes. There was some resistance, but they say it was secured without any damage.”
“Okay. I guess I just need to execute it. What’s the situation?”
“Sixty-five percent of the city has been taken down by rampage droids. Damage to residential areas is well above operational thresholds.”
“Really? Have you completed the evacuation of the civilians?”
“I will check. 94% of the civilians have been evacuated from the rescue ship compared to the number of survivors. This is within the operational execution criteria.”
“94 percent isn’t bad. What about the people who haven’t been evacuated yet?”
“This is a case where life or death is unknown or location is difficult to determine. All survivors whose locations have been confirmed have been rescued.”
“Are there any chances of further rescue?”
“It’s thin.”
“Tsk. Can’t help it.”
Athena scratched her head and muttered. Now that the Executive Committee had made a decision, it was impossible to take care of each of the remaining people with limited resources.
Mokjin frowned as he listened to the conversation between the two. He couldn’t understand exactly what they were saying, but he felt like he could guess what they meant.
They were now weighing the lives of countless civilians in this city, and doing so very calculatedly.
It was a very bizarre sight. Mokjin felt a discomfort crawling under his skin.
The killer who kills people without emotion has killed his emotions through severe training.
The mine that slaughters the powerless is simply crazy and out of his mind.
A skilled murderer is accustomed to his job.
But they were different.
An attitude that seemed to lack something as a human being, as if they were treating people like objects like rocks on the street rather than seeing them as people. Trying to suppress the unpleasant feeling that their idealism brought about, Mok-jin asked Yong-jeok-san, who was standing next to him, in a voice.
– Their minds are so creepy and strange. Are all those who come from the so-called human government like that?
Yongjeoksan blinked at Mokjin’s voice. It was a reaction as if he had encountered an unexpected situation. For some reason, he hesitated for a moment, then answered awkwardly as if it was his first time.
– Government executives are fundamentally different from ordinary people like us. They must exercise public power without being entangled in personal feelings.
‘Personal feelings, Ira······.’
How did someone come to be considered a private emotion to worry about someone’s life or death? It was a story that Mokjin, who had read the basic Four Books and Three Classics even though he had not studied, could not understand at all. It would be understandable for a martial artist, where sword and power determine everything, but how could those who are in charge of the country say such things?
Athena, not knowing whether she knew Mokjin’s thoughts or not, did not even glance at them after the spaceship rose and was busy giving instructions.
“Check interplanetary communication shielding.”
“I’m sure. I double-checked.”
“Okay. Report when you reach a safe altitude.”
“yes.”
Whee. Athena let out a light sigh and then looked back at Mokjin and his group.
“Oh, you were just standing there? Sorry, as you can see, this isn’t such a leisurely task.”
“It’s for official business, so don’t worry about it. But if it’s an operation, then surely······.”
Yongjeoksan trailed off with a stern expression. Seolyeong’s face turned even paler.
Yongjeoksan has been through many incidents and accidents in the world of martial arts for quite some time and has seen the work of the executive officer of the martial arts exchange department. It is impossible for him not to have guessed what the current situation means.
“Well, I guess that’s what I’m guessing.”
Athena nodded slightly.
“oh my god······.”
Yongjeoksan Mountain shed its silence.
Orbital Strike. The absolute power wielded by the Martial Arts Exchange Department and the human government that controls it.
It’s something you’ll rarely see in real life, but its mere existence is enough to overwhelm a single person. Even Se-ryeong, who has experienced it firsthand, was almost in shock, as if she had suffered a relapse of PTSD.
Athena said in a calm tone.
“As we discovered during our investigation, Richel Arcamond had been hiding under the surface of the planet for decades, hiding from the eyes of the human government under the protection of former Major General Bernardo, remodeling it into an anthill.”
“But hasn’t orbital bombardment been carried out for the past dozen years?”
“A small interplanetary warp missile silo has been discovered.”
Yongjeoksan fell silent at Athena’s words. Perhaps they were intended to load the corpses onto missiles and launch them like they did when they descended upon this planet, but the interplanetary warp missile silo was not a problem that could be easily overlooked.
Interplanetary warp missiles are a means of direct attack on other planets through warp, and are a very sensitive military technology that even the human government would turn a blind eye to. The technology itself is not that difficult, but if it were actually implemented, it would be a first-class management technology that would be thoroughly managed to the point that all means would be mobilized to destroy it as soon as it was caught in the human government’s surveillance network.
Perhaps Richel, relying on Major General Bernardo’s influence, had claimed that the purpose of the weapon was not to launch missiles but simply to directly assault each sect with the Jiangshi Army, but there was absolutely no room for consideration, as with just a little modification, it could be used as a launching pad for a weapon of mass genocide that was incomparable to the Jiangshi Army.
Perhaps the reason the human government ordered an orbital bombardment, even at the risk of civilian casualties, was because they knew about the existence of this warp missile silo.
“The discovered silos are under surveillance, but there’s no telling when another hidden silo might pop up. That means there’s no time to leisurely investigate. The only good thing is that this isn’t a habitable planet, but a junkyard planet. It’s more efficient to just wipe it out once than to spend a long time and resources cleaning it up.”
The vast underground facilities that may contain some kind of danger would take decades to safely dismantle, and since they involve military technology, they could not be left to just anyone. It would have been much more economical to destroy all the visible facilities and then rebuild the city.
It’s a minor problem, but the zombies are also a problem, she added.
“All the droids that were deemed obsolete have been modified, and there are over a million of them. They’ve been coated with anti-EMP so EMP won’t work on them, and their root access has been permanently blocked so hacking won’t work either. What other method is there?”
Her words were extremely effective and extremely cool. She glanced at Seryeong.
“It would be best if you didn’t see the lady there. I’ll lend you a cabin where you can’t see outside, so go in there.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Sunja bowed her head on Seolyeong’s behalf. After receiving the route and password from the operator, she grabbed Seolyeong’s sleeve and pulled her.
“Sister Wang, let’s go.”
“Phew······.”
The situation was so serious that she couldn’t even answer properly. Mokjin clicked his tongue lightly and placed his hand on the Myeongmun point on her back and lightly blew energy into her.
“It’s a matter of the heart, so there’s not much I can do for you. Still, it will be enough to provide basic care. Take good care of it so that it doesn’t fall into the trap of obsession with money.”
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“Thank you, Mokjin.”
She bowed her head to Mokjin in gratitude and slowly left the bridge while supporting Seolyeong.
Athena, who had been looking at Seolyeong’s back with an incomprehensible gaze, turned her gaze to Mokjin and Yongjeoksan.
“Hmm, are you two okay? It might be a bit noisy.”
“I’ve seen orbital bombardment before. And it would be better for So-Jeong Yeomhwa-Kwai-Geom to be alone with So-Jeong Sun-Ja.”
This time, the two people’s gazes turned to Mokjin. Mokjin said.
“I’d like to see what orbital bombardment is that makes that kid so afraid of it.”
“Well, I guess you’re curious. It might be a bit shocking by ancient standards, so prepare yourself mentally.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
It won’t be to that extent. Athena’s lips twitched slightly at Mokjin’s calm answer.
But she didn’t bother to add anything.
An ancient man with great martial arts skills who could easily defeat the Sword Master of the West as if he were a child, and who had nothing to fear in the world. There was no better way to impress upon him the great power of the human government than an orbital bombardment.
“Executive, we have confirmed that we have reached a safe altitude.”
The co-pilot’s voice was heard behind her. Athena turned her head towards him and asked.
“Are you done with the preparations?”
“Yes. The Executive Committee has approved it. All that remains is for the on-site commander, the Executive Officer, to give his approval.”
Athena headed to the center of the bridge with a stiff face, unlike a moment ago. Her expression was surprisingly serious, unlike a moment ago. Mokjin looked outside the bridge through the cockpit without hiding his curious face.
‘What exactly does orbital bombardment mean?’
Since it contains the word “explosion”, it is highly likely that it is a type of fire bomb like the wall-blasting bullet from the era he lived in. But how great must the explosion be for it to be a solution to a situation where even raising an army would not be enough? In the past, Mok-jin, who had been proud that no matter how many wall-blasting bullets there were, they could not even touch his hair, could not help but feel curious.
But he, the ancient people who had only lived in the agricultural era, could not even guess. How far the technological development of mankind, who had been soaking up the madness of war, had reached.
Athena, standing in the center of the bridge, opened the communication. It was the face and voice of a judge, completely devoid of any personal human emotion, befitting the name of an executor.
“On-site commander, First Class Athena Kapur, announces from the temporary command center. With the permission of the Executive Committee and the Central Administration of the Human Government, we will now conduct a localized orbital bombardment of this planet according to the assigned objectives. The warheads will be Typhoon type. The bombing time and phase will be adjusted to Class B. Only areas with deep underground facilities will be set to Meteor type, Class A.”
– All ships are ready.
The final report comes from the screen showing the warhead loading complete and the communication.
Finally, her mouth pronounced the end.
Execution in progress.
The heaven and earth are transformed.
There was no other way to explain it.
If God were to send down a punishment on Earth, it would be like this. The great pillar of light that cut through the sea of reddish-brown clouds that covered the planet’s atmosphere was beyond majestic, and even felt like a divine hammer. All the more so when it was not just one, but several.
The pillar, so gigantic that it was almost impossible to imagine, extended from the space above and pierced the center of the city.
The ion cannon, which contains the enormous energy generated by the battleship’s degenerate core, engulfs the building in the center of the city and the surrounding buildings, which are engulfed in a pillar of light, and begin to melt as they turn red hot.
It was more like a natural disaster like an earthquake or a typhoon. A natural disaster that neither humans nor ants can resist, and can only be avoided by the will of heaven.
But that was just the beginning.
Numerous, massive steel warheads split the pillars of light and fell to the ground. After the preparatory work was completed, the true orbital bombardment began.
Gugugugu-.
The explosion was so large that the shockwaves could be felt all the way to the spaceship floating in the sky tens of thousands of feet above. The ship lurched once as a series of shock waves pierced through its shields.
The warheads that reach the ground while enduring the immense heat and pressure of the ion cannon undergo nuclear fusion reactions, creating a huge firestorm, and the warheads that follow into the explosion cause chain explosions, doubling the scale of the explosion.
A gigantic firestorm that swallowed up the entire city and greedily grew in size. A greedy red monster that devoured the city, the land, and even the sky, was devouring the world like a devil that knew no end.
Literally, the world was screaming. It was a sight I had never seen before, even as a hermit.
But the steel ships that humans had created were constantly and silently pouring out firebombs of destruction into the storm, as if this were not enough.
The stars, the world are dying.
Mokjin’s hands trembled slightly as he looked down at the earth that had turned into a hell. Only then did he realize why the world he had lived on, the Earth, had turned into such a desolate ruin.
After he sealed himself, people not only found the power to destroy the world, but eventually took it for themselves.
Mokjin seemed to have a little idea why Seolyeong was so afraid of the human government. Regardless of whether he had martial arts skills or not, it was not something that could be fought with human strength.
That is not the kind of weapon used against an individual. It is a weapon aimed not at people, but at the world itself.
For the first time since ascending to the throne of the Heavenly Horse, Mok-jin felt fear and looked at the burning world with his eyes.
It was clearly an execution for the world.
End of volume 2
2020.08.01 Modification completed
The second volume, Volcano – Million Strong Poems, which had mixed reviews, has ended. The next episode will be a relatively small-scale episode, unlike this one.
Below are some minor announcements about this and future series.
1. About this episode.
This episode was personally disappointing. I could have done better, but I feel like I made a bad decision and disappointed the readers, so I apologize.
In fact, as readers may have guessed by the time we entered this episode, this episode was originally planned to be a 3-volume episode. Originally, the episode about the Demonic Cult branch and the leader of the Cheonryong Sangdan was planned to be a 2-volume episode, and it was also an episode to strengthen the bond between Mokjin and Nachael.
After seeing the reactions from the comments, I felt that the episode in question would be somewhat boring (without Mok-jin being very active) and would get a poor response compared to the high tension of Volume 1, so I boldly excluded the originally planned episode and brought this episode, which is larger in scale and includes the internal energy drive setting that many people had pointed out, into Volume 2.
But because I forcibly took from the original story concept, I was unable to fix the problems that arose in the character relationships, plausibility, and development. Since the series had already started, I couldn’t change it back to the original story……. It’s my fault for making irreversible mistakes with a short-sighted mindset without considering my lack of storytelling skills.
I will gladly accept and reflect on the reasonable criticism regarding the unreasonable development of this episode. From now on, I will not be swayed by the results in front of me and will walk straight ahead according to the tempo I originally planned. However, since it is something I have written, I will make small revisions and polish it more smoothly as I continue to write.
2. About the main character’s munchkin nature and personality.
This is something that many readers have pointed out.
To cut to the chase and get to the point, I have no intention of changing the current policy.
First, there is the part about the protagonist’s munchkin nature. There were many reactions such as, “He’s too weak for a life-and-death mirror to be in the Heavenly Horse.”, “After all, he’s weaker than the Space Government, so what’s the point of a life-and-death mirror?”, and “The protagonist is a martial arts master, but he just gets beaten.”
To explain this, the main character is clearly the best (in fact, the strongest) unmanned person in the universe according to the setting. In terms of the setting, this means that he is a munchkin. However, that does not mean that this article is a munchkin-oriented article. In this article, the main character is clearly strong, and sometimes ends the situation with great martial arts at a critical moment, but that does not mean that he leads all situations and solves everything only with strong martial arts. In short, I cannot give you much of the cider development that the readers want unless it is absolutely necessary.
Of course, you can write a story that solves all the problems in a refreshing way, and in fact, the results might be better. However, when I was planning this universe, I didn’t plan it that way, and that idea won’t change in the future. If I have to give a reason why I do it that way, it’s because I don’t find it fun to plan the story.
Regarding the issue of power balance with the space government, let me say this in advance. In most cases in the past, public power was stronger in martial arts. It’s just that it wasn’t revealed openly. In this story, except for some episodes like this one, the direct military force of the human government will not appear. Since this setting is related to the foundation of this story, I have no intention of changing it, and I can’t change it. Therefore, in my story, there will not be a scene where the main character splits the sun and destroys stars to wipe out space battleships.
In addition, I don’t want to include a development where the main character, who is a top-level martial arts master and the leader of a demonic cult, sees through and solves all of the enemy’s schemes. Likewise, I don’t find it fun.
Even in ancient times, you would sometimes fall for tricks, but this is the 31st century, where even a five-year-old child can use techniques that were unimaginable at the time. Of course, you will gradually become accustomed to them as you gain common sense. However, there is no development that allows you to see through tricks used in the 31st century martial arts world in advance, unless you deal with them after being hit.
Second, the main character’s disposition is usually described as ‘He is a Heavenly Demon, but he is not like a Heavenly Demon.’ I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t set the standard for ‘being like a Heavenly Demon’ as ‘the arrogance of suppressing with force everything he doesn’t like,’ but as ‘the strongest martial arts and the arrogant pride in his own martial arts.’ Therefore, I don’t want to borrow the familiar image of a Heavenly Demon who solves everything with force just because there is something he doesn’t like. In this article, the Demonic Cult is closer to ‘a strong, violent, and violent martial arts sect that is not a bunch of bastards, but rather a group of ‘bad guys who are heartless and will use any evil means to win,’ even in the era of Mokjin.
In addition, the protagonist doesn’t know anything about witchcraft. Instead of using the catch technique, the protagonist was busy learning the Heavenly Demonic Skill.
The main character has learned the martial arts of the Demonic Cult, but it was mentioned that he is a Heavenly Demon of foreign origin, not originally a member of the Demonic Cult, and that he has overcome the demonic nature of the Demonic Cult by ascending to the realm of life and death. Therefore, the current personality of the main character is not particularly unlike that of a Heavenly Demon in my writing, and therefore the personality of the main character will not change.
There were also comments about each realm and the martial arts that go with it, but I won’t mention those separately. Since the description of the martial arts realms is different for each work, I would appreciate it if you could just say, “Oh, that’s how it’s set up.” and move on.
3. About the serialization cycle
This is something I apologize to the readers for. Neither I, who plans the story, nor my brother, who writes, have the time to fully focus on the writing, so it’s hard to keep the serialization frequency to 5 times a week. The writing that started lightly has been given an inordinate amount of opportunities… This week in particular, for various reasons, it was a bit more difficult to serialize.
I’ve thought about breaking it up into volumes and releasing them all at once… but once you sign the contract, wouldn’t that be difficult? In the first place, it would be like releasing them all over the year for almost 1-2 months. I’ve also thought about sending out a full note every time an episode ends, but I think readers might find that annoying.
I don’t think I can answer the question of the serialization cycle. However, I think the best I can do is promise that I will write steadily, even if slowly, without any interruption.
information)
The criteria for implementing an orbital bombardment operation are a city damage rate of 40% and a civilian evacuation rate of 80% or more. The executive officer of the Murim Exchange Department prioritizes the protection of civilians as much as possible, but if the risk exceeds a certain level, civilian sacrifices will be accepted.
The martial artists of this world, including Yongjeoksan, do not know how to use telecommunications. They say, “Why use it when you have a communicator?” However, telecommunications is not a particularly difficult divine skill, so even someone like Yongjeoksan can follow along without much difficulty.
Agents of the executive branch, including Athena, basically use genetic manipulation and thorough brainwashing to sterilize people’s compassion so that they view human lives as numbers. This is because sometimes human dignity must be ignored for the sake of a greater cause.
In the case of orbital bombardment, interplanetary communication shielding is installed to control information. It is a well-known fact that the executive branch of the human government tolerates civilian casualties to some extent, but it would be a great blow to the image of the human government if it were directly released through video, etc.
Yongjeoksan has witnessed two past orbital bombardments. One was a small bombardment seen from a distance, and the other was a large bombardment seen from space.
Interplanetary warp missiles are a very sensitive military technology, similar to the ICBMs of the 21st century.
Athena has no sympathy for civilians, but she is considerate enough to escort Serin to solitary confinement.
As her last name suggests, Executive Officer Athena Kapoor is of Indian descent.
The Typhoon-type orbital bombardment warhead is a warhead that uses a mechanism similar to a hydrogen bomb to clear the ground with heat and blast. The Meteor-type warhead has the same principle, but is a warhead that has a penetrating module attached to the end of the warhead to penetrate the ground and cause an explosion, destroying underground facilities.
The bombing time and phase are divided into C to A classes depending on the tactical purpose. The Ex class corresponds to an all-out attack that pours out all the projectiles the battleship has.
The mechanism of orbital bombardment is to secure visibility by firing ion cannons using the core of a battleship, remove obstacles in the middle, and then drop specially-made warheads in the middle one after another. The specially-made warheads withstand the heat and pressure of the ion cannon and reach the ground, and explode just above the ground or underground according to the calculated results. At this time, a nuclear fusion reaction occurs due to the heat and pressure of the ion cannon, and the warheads explode. In addition, the warheads that are added cause a chain explosion in the heat and pressure, creating a firestorm that sweeps away everything around the epicenter.
Even if Mokjin is on the brink of life and death, he will not be able to survive if he receives an orbital bombardment from the ‘front’.
