Chapter 104: Episode 104 – Any Room, Part III
Chapter 36. Any Room, Part III
Translator: Khan
Editor: RED
7.
The Golden Horn Spider had eight golden legs and was ten meters long. With a huge body and head that fit such legs, it had never hidden itself. No, it couldn’t hide itself.
The huge body was the second. The eight blue eyes on its head made the legs of its prey numb with fright hundreds of meters or even kilometers away. It didn’t have to hide itself.
Unlike other monsters, the Golden Horn Spider did not have to work hard to hunt.
The Golden Horn Spider had only two things to do: to widen the area of its web when it was in a good mood and to punish those who dared to live in its own territory. In fact, so far, it had only done those two things. It had no experience doing anything else. Therefore, it was confused.
Rumbling!
The Golden Horn Spider could hear dimly the rolls of thunder from a long distance away. Even the thunderstorm came not from one direction, but all directions, dozens of rolls of thunder in sequence.
Cheee? This was a situation it had never experienced and never thought of before.
Cheee! The power of the rolls of thunder, however, was beyond imagination. Whenever a shot hit the ground, the ground turned upside down and soared like a fountain.
Cheeeeee! Dozens of thunderstorms arriving in a single breath left indelible scars on the body of the Golden Horn Spider. Two of its legs were ripped off, creating terrible scars on the huge body.
Cheee! Cheeeee! A painful cry burst out to the Golden Horn Spider.
But this was not the end.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was a small noise compared to the preceding thunder, but still powerful little bolts of lightning began to shower down on the Golden Horn Spider.
Chee…! By that time, there was no longer a faint cry from the Golden Horn Spider.
Doo-woo-woong! Instead, a sad and heartrending sound was heard.
8.
The power of a 155mm shell transcended common sense. The sight of the earth rising up like a fountain at the moment of the bomb blasts was amazing that humans made such weapons to kill humans.
When hundreds of 60mm, 81mm, and 4.2-inch mortars began to fill the gaps between the spouting shells in a separate sequence from the 155mm towed artillery guns, the destructive power generated by the concentrated saturation would have crushed the giant mountain, Jirisan.
The figure of the Golden Horn Spider, who had received such an absurdly intensive bombardment, looked terrible.
Doo-woo-woong! Above all, the peal of the Bell of King Seongdeok, which was being run steadily, made the Golden Horn Spider vulnerable. It was the most fatal thing. Even with its natural armor, it could not hold on under the intensive bombardment, but it was shot naked.
Doo-woo-woong!
In the end, even when there was no further bombardment, the Golden Horn Spider was weak enough to shudder at the Bell of King Seongdeok.
Of the eight eyes, only two were fine, and only three of its eight legs were left.
However, the Golden Horn Spider had still survived after this absurd intensive bombardment. They were not just the shells, but it was a bombard made out of a Bronze Sword third-grade relic, being exposed to the Bell of King Seongdeok. It was a certain proof that this monster was far beyond the common sense of a human being.
Kim Tae-hoon stood in front of the Golden Horn Spider. He was holding three Swords on his back, carrying a bag, and looking at it with his black Eyes.
‘This is the first time.’
At the same time, the past image of the monster with the blue eyes that he was now looking at, was passing by.
‘When I face a monster that has become a rag…’
The first was the Gamecock. The first meeting with the Gamecock was the peak of his desperation. Kim had to fight it without preparing at all.
Then it was the Freezer. He was not very pleased to see it. If there had been no Bell of King Seongdeok and without a missile usually mounted on a fighter, he would have had to step down, with hundreds of thousands of survivors still left in Daegu City.
To the two monsters that he had faced like that, Kim was an insignificant being.
As evidence, there was no vigilance or fear in the blue eyes of those who had looked at him. There was only the ferocity of a hungry beast in front of their prey.
‘And even when I see this so scared.’
But now the blue eyes of the Golden Horn Spider were embarrassed, frightened, and afraid. That was the obvious evidence. At this moment, the Golden Horn Spider was game. Now it was time to finish the hunt. As always, it was time to stab the monster’s heart and take the monster stone out of its heart. But Kim Tae-hoon waited for it.
Toot-toot! He waited for those who were coming to this place where the Fear of the Golden Horn Spider still remained, with the help of the power of all kinds of musical instruments, including the large flute heard from far away, and the instruments that became relics.
Trembling! He waited for the crowd shaking all over who wanted to come here, trembling in front of the fear that they could not control even though they were helped by the relics. In that manner, Kim waited for the comrades who willingly risked his or her life for this hunting.
“There, there!”
“Oh, my God…”
And when the comrades gathered, Kim finally finished the hunt.
Tsreung! The Sword of the Imperator in the sheath flew like a lightning bolt toward the heart of the already weak Golden Horn Spider.
Thunk! The Sword of the Imperator brought an end, and at the same time, the trembling of those who flocked around the Golden Horn Spider began to stop. Everyone felt the hunt was over, and they were free now.
“Whooooooooooooooooooo!” It was a freedom to make the biggest shout that could be used by those who had stopped shaking. “Whooooooooooooooooooo!”
Kim had confidence in the situation where everyone was shouting like thunder.
‘There is no room now.’
There was no room left. So now Kim no longer hesitated.
‘Tonight, I will attack Japan.’
9.
Yeosu Port.
It was a dark night, and the night sea of Yeosu was visible. However, unfortunately, there was no light that could have shown a beautiful sight.
There was a man instead. Colonel Lim Hyun Joon was looking at night sea of Yeosu. He still had a strong figure and a burning look.
Thud! And now there were two men.
“Here you are.”
Kim had landed from the sky, and Colonel Lim immediately spoke to him, “What happened with the hunt?”
“The Armored Hunting Battalion has done well.”
At the response, Colonel Lim smiled with satisfaction. “I’m glad to hear that they helped you.”
The Armored Hunting Battalion was the Unit that Colonel Lim had created. He was the most confident with the Unit. Its value was recognized by Kim, not just anyone else. It was like getting the highest praise for Colonel Lim as a commander.
“The Armored Hunting Battalion may take a more active part in the future war.”
“I suppose so. Special forces with the firepower of the tank will actually be the masters of the battlefield. Above all, if a person who has the Eyes of a Black Snake or the Hearing of a Bell-tailed Rat like you becomes a commander, the deeds of the Armored Hunting Battalion will be even more powerful.”
“I think we need to increase the size of the Armored Hunting Battalion. In addition, we need training for mountainous terrain, for desert terrain, and for street fighting.”
“I’ll apply it to the training soon.”
“This time, I think we need to organize the troops in detail. Based on the ability of the soldiers who handled the 4.2-inch mortar, the 4.2-inch mortar can be operated by two people, not a group of three. The 60mm mortar including artillery shells can be operated by an individual, if they are trained properly.”
If the members of the Armored Hunting Battalion heard this, the contents of the conversation might have made them dizzy. Fortunately, the story ended there.
“Did you send them a warning note?”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen during the delivery, but I did. We sent five of the ninjas we captured, and one of them should arrive.”
It was an order given to Colonel Lim before Kim went on hunting for the Golden Horn Spider: deliver the letter to Japan using the captured ninjas. The message was, of course, a warning note.
“But what was your intention in doing so?”
“I threw a stone, so they are going to react anyway. And there will be some kind of gap.”
“That’s great.”
The reason for sending the warning note was to make a gap.
Colonel Lim admired Kim’s move. No matter how ambitious, capable, and qualified Colonel Lim was, he could not have had more experience in war than Kim. Kim showed lessons that he wanted to buy, even if he had to pay a billion dollars.
Kim did not respond to Colonel Lim’s admiration. Rather, he made his cold face colder.
‘It’s war now.’ The dice had been thrown.
For Kim, the Korean Strait between Korea and Japan had become the Rubicon River. The difference was that Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army instead of crossing it with a single body, while Kim crossed the Korean Strait as a single body. That was all.
“In thirty-six hours, send troops to Tsushima Island and take it over.”
The result of Kim who would cross the Korean Strait and of Caesar who had crossed the Rubicon would be the same. Just as Caesar had made a new Roman history, Kim would rewrite Japanese history.
( )
Colonel Lim read Kim’s intention, and did not make any more admiring remarks. He breathed out a long sigh.
‘Now it’s a real war.
‘War is a word of fate, for soldiers. Someone wants to avoid it, and someone wants it to come.’
Colonel Lim was the latter. He was an ambitious man, and he wanted a historic war to happen in his heart. Now the war he wanted was coming. It was not just a war.
‘I’m not going to be at the center of this war.’
Korea’s Conquest War of Japan!
It was a war that was hard to find even in the long history that had existed between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese islands. So far, there has been no war in their history in which the nations of the Korean Peninsula had fought against Japan on the mainland of Japan. The target of the invasion was always the Korean Peninsula, and the battlefield was also on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim’s war was inevitably a historic war in many ways.
“Hoo!” Colonel Lim, who was just realizing the fact, felt his heart shaking with all kinds of emotions.
Kim briefly told him, “Don’t get emotional and don’t get sentimental. All you can appreciate is those who haven’t experienced war.”
Kim finished the warning and immediately flew out to a fishing boat that had already sailed out into Yeosu Port.
Colonel Lim looked after it and rubbed his face, erasing the expression on his face.
‘I almost made the same mistake as Lieutenant General Lee Hyuk.’
Kim was right.
‘War is nothing but war. Evaluation of the war, or mourning or reverence of the war, emotion and appreciation, criticism and blame, are the responsibility of those who have not experienced it; for those who have experienced it, war is nothing more than war.’
The act of making an emotional face was not something a commander should do to lead a war and shed the blood of others. Colonel Lim removed his expression, straightened his right hand and put it to his temple. He waited that way until the fishing boat disappeared from his sight.
10.
Tsushima Island.
The island, which was called Tsushima Island in Japan, was the closest island to both Korea and Japan.
Therefore, it was a place for tourists and passenger ships, rather than tension, guns, or a warship at the island.
Although Korea and Japan were anxious because they could not take over each other politically and diplomatically, it was evident that they were in harmony on military matters.
On the other hand, the fact that the military had come into Tsushima Island was evidence that Japan was blatantly revealing its intentions to invade the Korean Peninsula.
“How long do we have to wait here?”
“How could I know that?”
And now there were warships, not a few soldiers, and Awakeners with marks on their hands.
“Someday the order will come.”
The time they were waiting for was, of course, the time of the invasion. As soon as the order came down, everyone on Tsushima Island would immediately move for Busan. The moment they arrived in Busan, they would acquire Busan according to a set plan, and then, a powerful force from the Japanese Archipelago, settled in Busan, would take over the Korean Peninsula.
It was their role to be the advance guards of the war. In that situation, the days of doing nothing to those on Tsushima Island with all their resolutions were not free, and they were feeling itchy all over.
“Goddammit, if they’re going to do this, just leave us on the mainland! There is no water to drink, and it’s hard to take a shower here! What a hard time!”
“My words too!”
There was nothing to do but complain.
It was a minor disturbance that silenced their complaints.
The whine of sirens! The noise of the warning began to spread rapidly in the dark of the Tsushima Island.
“What’s going on?”
“A boat is coming here!”
The main culprit of the disturbance was a boat heading for Tsushima Island. The incoming boat made a faint sound and it did not show any threat to them.
But those who looked at the boat didn’t relax at all.
“Who’s on the boat?”
“I can’t see anyone.”
Nothing was on the fishing boat. Then, the answer was one of two: it was a ghost boat, or some people were hiding themselves inside the boat.
Either way was nothing good for Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force nestled on Tsushima Island. They didn’t hesitate.
“Sink the boat!” Major Szuki ordered immediately, and soon the machine guns on the tower on Tsushima Island fired, quickly turning the fishing boat into a hole-ridden wreck. The fishing boat sank with bubbles.
After that, the people with telescopes looked at the area the fishing boat had been.
Situation Terminated. But at this moment, no one felt like the situation was over.
“Is it over?”
“It’s weird.”
“I feel weird, too. I don’t think it’s over.”
It was because of the feelings of the Japanese.
‘Japan is a country full of earthquakes which can occur daily. If such happened in another country, it might be a national disaster. It is natural that people living in such a country have the ability to sense an inevitable disaster.’
At this moment, they could feel it. An overwhelming disaster that they could not dare to face was coming to Tsushima Island!