Chapter 823: The Last (56)

-Sigh…

“Don’t worry too much about it, Hyejin.”

-How could I not worry? This is not just a game. This…

“Well… It’s the same with war. Why are you acting like you’ve never commanded a military force? Responsibility always follows… It’s no different this time around.”

-This and that are different.

“Gosh…”

-I don’t like to lead the field even in war, but I will feel even more out of place in this case. It is not something I can do sanely since just moving a piece might blow someone’s life away. This is the first time I’m going to say this, but I instinctively reject playing with human lives…

‘Look at her saying famous lines again.’

“But what can I do? The only person I can think of right now is you.”

‘Well… It’s pretty understandable.’

-Sigh…

She still looked like she didn’t want to do it.

As she said, her intuition declined such drastic notions.

In fact, she seemed to be afraid of the act of betting people’s lives rather than the burden itself.

Perhaps, if the war had actually happened, she wouldn’t have felt a sense of repulsion to this extent.

‘Gosh…’

Typical psychopathic commanders like Jin Qing and Jihye would probably not understand Cho Hyejin even for the rest of their lives.

‘I understand because I’m the same. I’m just being honest. How can anyone play a game where they use people as chess pieces? What kind of crazy people came up with this idea?’

I felt somewhat proud of the fact that I was closer to her than those two.

She and I got along well for a reason.

I didn’t want to send her on such a painful mission at all, but I couldn’t think of anyone other than her who was suitable for it.

I wondered if it would be good to send Song Sookyung, but he was out since he had work to do while Jung Hayan was tied up, and Kim Hyunsung also had to spend time with the angels in the north. More than anything…

‘It suits her disposition.’

If not satisfied, she had to fight with defeat in mind. She wouldn’t start intending to lose, but she’d most likely start a fight that preserved as many troops as possible as a precaution.

Of course, I highly appreciated her ability, but perhaps she would play that game more carefully than anyone else if it were her.

After a while, she slowly nodded, opened the door, and began to move. Park Deokgu and Han Sora, waiting for her, looked relieved.

-Well… You finally arrived!

—…

“This is obvious, but you have to hide that you can talk to me.”

She didn’t say anything, but she was probably listening.

—If you are ready, please let me know.

‘I hate to see him pretending to be relaxed.’

-Hey, Hyejin, has Hayan given you a brief explanation?

-Cho Hyejin.

-Yes. Yes. I know the gist of it. The information that Sora gathered was very helpful.

For a brief moment, the people surrounded Cho Hyejin.

—It’s you.

-It will be convenient for you to think that I’m the one who has the final decision-making power. I heard that it doesn’t matter if many people play…

—Yes. I don’t mind.

-There are several requirements.

—I’ll consider it.

-We need some time to understand the troops and the rules before starting this event. The information you gave us is insufficient. I need to know in detail what roles my troops can perform and whether they are affected by stats, supply status, morale, or other aspects. With you, who knows everything, as an opponent, it’s difficult to proceed with this quest…

—I will allow it.

-I’m telling you to stop the magic that’s expanding on Laios.

—…

-…

—Yes. I’ll do that.

-I will also ask you for a minimum amount of information about the troops you will be operating.

That was appropriate. With such knowledge, there would be room for communication. We should know about his soldiers as much as he knew about ours.

Of course, there was a possibility that he didn’t know about the composition of our army, but the chances were slim.

No, even if he said he didn’t know, we wouldn’t believe him, considering he was a member of the Republic.

-I’ll ask for at least equal to what you know about our forces. Where is the enemy I have to fight with my troops?

—It’s better to assume that the rangers from both sides have been asking for information as if they were actually at war.

[A letter from the Black Swan Guild’s Information Department has arrived. Overall key information is displayed, including the detailed military strength of the Demon Summoner.]

-We cannot rule out the possibility that the letter you sent us contains incorrect information. I will refuse.

It had to have been around this time that he started to look interested.

—Everything in it is factual. You may find it convenient to think of it as just a device for entertainment. Rather… How about having a cup of tea?

It was entertaining to see him being friendly. Watching the guy who might be just a bunch of programs doing something like that was funny, but if he was well made, he should be able to do that with ease.

Basically, he enjoyed socializing with capable people. In particular, he probably especially liked smart ones. When he heard the rumor that I was a genius, he immediately tried to test me out. It was as if he felt a sense of kinship with those he thought to be elite.

Of course, that expression wouldn’t be able to define his psychology.

His sense of kinship was based on his superiority over others.

‘I think it would be more appropriate to call it a simple interest.’

Yes. Interest. That was all it was. He looked like he found something interesting and entertaining.

-I will decline.

—That’s a shame.

Cho Hyejin slowly read the information the ranger gave her.

Of course, she wasn’t just still. She was putting all the information in her head and delivering it to the situation room.

The command infrastructure that the Blue Guild had wasn’t lacking.

Hwang Jeong-yeon, who had long-term memory, and manager Kim Mi-young who helped in areas other than combat, were the same. In fact, some of the command staff of the Continental Protection and Management Committee had transferred to the Blue Guild.

Considering that he was short-lived, I thought the possibility wasn’t too low.

Watching the series of events, the Demon Summoner looked to be in a good mood rather than offended.

-Yes, manager. I would like the power analysis team to compare the powers of both sides.

—You have too many suspicions.

-It’s just a necessary procedure.

—Perhaps it truly is.

The game had to start fairly, after all. That was just a means to prevent the possibility that the troops’ quality Jin Qing was equipped with would be far stronger.

He didn’t even have to say anything else, but he seemed to want to speak, so he took a sip of his tea and talked to Hyejin.

—The power you have will be more dominant. Although our special forces have different expertise, you can counter or offset them sufficiently with your resources. For example, in the case of the undead soldiers I have, they will show a weak side to the priests and paladins of the State. The undeads do not need supplies, but their equipment is poor. If they don’t win the battle, their effectiveness will be reduced, and their dependence on the black wizard will be high.

-…

—Black wizards have high firepower by default, but they are easily exposed to assassins, and the basic attack method will not be much different from reality. I have more troops, but the quality of your pieces will be slightly higher than mine.

[A letter from the Republic Power Analysis Team has arrived. Analyzing and displaying the power of the Demon Summoner’s army and the player’s army.]

-Please check if there are any errors, Jeong-yeon. Yes. Yes. I confirmed.

Of course, there was no error.

Jin Qing wasn’t the kind of person who would play around with things like that, but rather, he had enough room to impose a handicap on himself.

-What about the existence of citizens? While my troops and I have citizens to protect…

—There are power supplies that supply power to black wizards and demons. Of course, my pieces won’t protect them first, but in the broadest sense, they’re no different than yours. In the case of named pieces…

-Wait.

“Don’t say anything useless, Hyejin.”

-I don’t want you to call them pieces.

“No…”

-Please don’t call this a game or describe them as pieces.

“Why are you arguing about that? Seriously, what’s up with you?”

—Hahaha…

He laughed spectacularly. That showed that he had figured out what kind of person Cho Hyejin was.

“Why are you trying to lose the battle before it even starts? Where’s the advantage in saying something like that?”

—I see.

-A person’s life is not a chess piece. I didn’t agree to this nonsense to get along with you. I don’t know about your trashy values, but I hope you don’t spit those dirty thoughts at me, Demon Summoner.

—What would you do if I said no?

-I’m. Asking. A favor.

—I’ll give you an important tip. Your thoughts will hinder the smooth progress of this quest. Don’t you know better? It is a virtue to distinguish between the forces that should be discarded and those that should be saved, and demanding sacrifices is also necessary as a commander. Wouldn’t that be easier in the case of this game?

-…

—If you win, no one will actually lose their lives. What is that if not a game…

“Tell him that he doesn’t even know anything about honor.”

-Shut up, you bastard. You know nothing about honor.

—…

-They’re those who risk their lives regardless of their will. If you have even the slightest bit of honor left, if you were once a soldier of the Republic, it is right to respect them, no matter what.

—…

Our Qing hyung got hit at the right spot.

—This… Okay. You got me. I will accept your request.

-…

—So. It’ll start to get boring for you… why don’t you try doing the event quest? I think I gave you enough time to think, but…

-…

—Oh! And I haven’t been able to tell you before, but… this is information about the named ones.

Cho Hyejin seemingly couldn’t believe the words that came out of him.

—Yes. Rather than explaining myself… it’s probably faster to see for yourself.

I looked at the pieces placed in his camp.

“…”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Absurdly, it was people I had seen before.

I could see members of the Demon Order, including Mikhail.

Lee Seolho, the demon informant.

Demon worshipper Ito Souta.

Jung Jinho, the psychopath killer.

“They’re all familiar faces.”

He smiled.

—Then… Let the war begin.