TTOA Chapter 143

#143

General Choi’s hologram flickered, his roar threatening to burst the speakers.

“We have no power to waste. If the second wave begins, we must send Seo Eui-woo to the front lines to fight.”

“If that’s the case, we just need to issue an sortie order to Captain Seo…”

“Can you be sure that Captain Seo, with Kwon Jae-jin excluded, will obediently follow the military’s orders?”

“Well…”

“What if, instead, with the entire army mobilized, he tries to raid the Center? If he seizes the empty Central Building and attempts to cut the throats of the generals sitting here, would there be any way to stop him?”

“…”

“I became convinced during the last large-scale battle. If Captain Seo and Kwon Jae-jin had different intentions, this headquarters would already be in ruins. However, instead of attacking the Center during that golden opportunity, they went to the front lines to fight creatures. Do I need to say more?”

General Choi sighed, his expression icy.

A fierce wind passed through his heart. A futile and bitter headwind.

A lifetime of loyalty to the military, a journey following the military’s discipline, was being shaken to its core, threatening to overturn everything. General Choi’s eyes were already fixed on the distant horizon, anticipating the end of the path he had walked for so long.

“Humans may die, but humanity must not… If this is the result of making the best choices repeatedly, then we must accept it.”

There’s no immediate solution. Except to grant Kwon Jae-jin affiliation and employ him prominently.

“Time has passed. The era has changed. It’s time for us all to die. Tch.”

*

“Seriously, is that old man senile?”

After the strategy meeting ended without a clear resolution and General Choi’s communication was cut off, his hologram disappearing, Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon threw down the pen he was holding.

“He’s spouting nonsense. Is he saying he’s sat in the General’s seat and profited as much as he can?”

The generals remaining in the headquarters gave wry smiles. Brigadier General Hwangbo scratched his temple with his index finger.

“Right, he doesn’t want to cause unnecessary strife during his tenure. Rather than raise an army to catch one hornet and turn the house upside down, he’d rather turn a blind eye and sweep it under the rug. And then that old man will take his clean record and slip into the political world, taking a position in the Ministry of National Defense, isn’t that what he’s saying now?”

“That’s right. General Choi is making the mess, and we’re stuck cleaning it up.”

“So, w-what are we going to do? Just leave Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin alone?”

“Hey… we can’t do that. That’s absurd.”

The generals murmured among themselves, each harboring different thoughts. Those belonging to the progressive faction, although dissatisfied with the decision, didn’t seem to have a strong will to protest. But the conservative generals looked quite dumbfounded.

The military leadership had long been divided into conservative and progressive factions. However, the conservative faction had always been dominant. Even if fierce debates took place, the result was always a victory for the conservatives. Because General Choi was on the conservative side.

That’s why, even when the R&D Department secretly reported warnings about the Creature Wave, the decision was made to maintain the current system due to insufficient evidence.

Now that General Choi was showing signs of turning to the progressive side, the conservative generals were bound to be bewildered. It was as if the leader they had trusted and followed had suddenly turned his back on them.

Especially Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon, the Central Military Commander who had been in General Choi’s camp, was even more dumbfounded. He had believed without a doubt that he would succeed General Choi as the Chief of the Central Military Command, but if General Choi suddenly abandoned the conservatives and turned to the progressives, he might become as worthless as a discarded tissue.

‘Could it be that Lieutenant General Hyeon Woo-joong, that fellow from the Central Military, has been up to something behind the scenes…?’

No, even if there’s always been competition for positions, the real problem wasn’t that. Seo Eui-woo, Kwon Jae-jin. The problem is how to deal with them.

Whether it’s the conservative Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon or the progressive Lieutenant General Hyeon Woo-joong who gets promoted to the next General and leads the Center, neither of them can afford to take on tainted Espers and Late-Blooming Espers.

“In reality, the problem lies with Seo Eui-woo… As for Kwon Jae-jin, it would be easy to capture him if Seo Eui-woo wasn’t around… After that, we can hand him over to the R&D Department.”

Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon cautiously opened the conversation, observing Lieutenant General Hyeon next to him. The Central Military Commander, Hyeon, smiled affably and ended the communication.

“That’s right… Well, let’s keep an eye on them for the time being. We also have General Choi’s orders. And wouldn’t it be nice to have one of them in the military? An S-rank Guide from Late-Blooming lineage. Wow, extraordinary. It’s like a drama.”

Watching the hologram disappear without a trace of regret, Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon clicked his tongue. Seeing him rush off with such glee, it was clear that he was telling someone else to clean up the mess.

“T-that… Lucky him. Lucky him.”

After Lieutenant General Hyeon left, the progressive generals also cautiously left their seats one by one. Only the conservative generals remained in the headquarters.

Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon struck the table with his clenched fist. The Major Generals and Brigadier Generals of lower ranks who understood immediately suggested ideas one by one.

“Shouldn’t we discipline them with sanctions…”

“Should we apply military law and put them on trial in a military court…”

“Are you suggesting we send Captain Seo to the brig? I doubt he’ll obey willingly.”

“No, if we’re going to dispose of them, we need to do it decisively. We can’t afford to be lukewarm. We’ve already passed that point.”

At that moment, Brigadier General Oh Seong-hwa, who had been sitting quietly at the end of the table, subtly raised his eyebrows. He knew that this was the perfect opportunity to get in with Lieutenant General Hwangbo Gi-cheon.

“Well, instead of that, wouldn’t it be perfect if we could arrange a suitable accidental death?”

Brigadier General Oh leaned his body forward to the desk, receiving the gazes directed at him. Oh Seong-hwa was in charge of the Kwon Jae-jin search unit, and he also commanded the capture mission. Both missions had failed miserably, so he had to shut his mouth and lie low for a while, but he couldn’t miss this opportunity to make a comeback.

He couldn’t end his military career as a one-star Brigadier General. He knew he wasn’t the type of person to rise to the top. But even if he couldn’t become a General, shouldn’t he at least be able to look forward to becoming a two-star Major General?

“If Captain Seo were to die in battle inside the Gate, that would be the best outcome… Don’t you all think so? We can manipulate it that way.”

“Die in battle…?”

“That’s right. If the second wave of the Creature Wave starts soon as predicted, and Captain Seo is deployed… An Esper dying in battle is a perfectly natural occurrence. And the current chaos will soon subside.”

Brigadier General Oh lowered his voice as much as possible and made a secret gamble.

“All sorts of tragedies happen during wartime. If the R&D Department’s predictions are correct and we face Alpha Creatures, the number of deaths won’t be small. There won’t be any suspicion.”

“Hmm…”

“I’ll wait until the end of the battle, when Captain Seo has exhausted his abilities and is tired, and then target the Core. It’s possible.”

Everyone would be so focused on the battle that it would be difficult to tell whether Seo Eui-woo was killed by a Creature or by friendly fire.

“Um, yes, that’s right. If we eliminate Seo Eui-woo, we can control Kwon Jae-jin as we please.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Good. It’s not a bad plan… But can Brigadier General Oh pull it off?”

“If you entrust it to me, I’ll make it look plausible.”

“I hope you don’t just stir things up and then end up with nothing. This guy, he always creates a lot of smoke, but there are no results. Huh?”

“No, General. I’ll make a real masterpiece this time. This is Oh Seong-hwa! Please trust me just this once.”

“As you know, this is a top-secret mission. If you get caught, it will be difficult for me to cover it up. You’re saying you can do it without getting caught?”

“Yes. To maintain security, if you could pull out a small number of personnel from the personal guard standby force, rather than regular special task force members, I’ll handle it cleanly.”

“Hmm… Alright, then Brigadier General Oh, go ahead and pursue the hornet hunt. I’ll be watching you one last time this time.”

Brigadier General Oh clenched his fist under the table.

Yes. He had grabbed onto the fallen promotion ladder again. No, not a ladder, a rope… a half-rotten rope, but still, he had grabbed onto something that extended upwards.

“Yes, General! Thank you for giving me another chance!”

The hand that hurriedly raised to salute was trembling.