Goblin Workshop In Me

114. Tax Increase

‘South Korea only has four months?’

Ko Byeong-gap was lost in thought because he heard it from the hunter from Illumination last night. According to what he heard, the Korean Peninsula was destined to suffer from massive Monster Waves like Africa and South America. If that happened, a catastrophe would follow naturally.

The land was narrow, and the sea covered it on three sides, so there weren’t many places to escape. The population was concentrated in several large cities, and the number of Awakeners relative to the population was far smaller. Of the 60 million people, 23,000 were Awakeners. It wasn’t even about 0.04% in terms of proportion. Also, even among the humans, they had enemies… in short, it was a total mess.

‘If half of the crack in the North burst, would we all die?’

From October last year to the present, the expedition to the North had continued, but the cracks were still full, and those that had occurred over the past 20 years had piled up like sediment. It seemed that they experienced difficulties even though they put up all their power in a hurry. Looking at the news that day, one of the military belts that blocked the monster’s southward movement collapsed overnight. Two S-class hunters were missing.

“What do you mean missing? You just don’t want to admit they’re dead.”

The crack where S-class hunters Lee So-ri and Heo Gil-nam were designated was in that Monster Wave. However, traces of the two were nowhere to be found. It was reasonable to say that they disappeared, but they were probably dead.

Whoosh!

“Oh, you bastards… you send it all the time.”

He received a text from the association. The sender was the Hunter Association, and it was their fourth message that day. It was obvious even if he didn’t look at it. They told him to hurry up and come to the association and write his application for North Korea. Somehow, it was useless to block the reception.

“Who are they going to send to the Jordan River? If it’s that urgent, take Illumination… huh?”

Ko Byeong-gap felt something click. However, it was vague, as if it was hidden in a thick fog. He had to grunt for a few seconds to materialize the idea that scattered like smoke. As time passed, he finally realized what he was thinking of. At the same time, a faint groan escaped between his lips.

‘…Is the association in cahoots with Illumination?’

In retrospect, it was the result of a perfectly natural accident. Currently, what could be considered the total power of the Republic of Korea was concentrated in the North. An army of non-awakeners and groups of hunters made up of Awakeners were gathered in the most dangerous places on this narrow peninsula.

In good light, it could be seen as offsetting the danger by confronting power with power. However, a little twist of the eye could catch the terrible ulterior motive behind it.

‘It’s about creating Monster Waves in the northern land to capture the army and hunters in one go.’

Wouldn’t it be easier to deal with one’s enemies in one place rather than to have them scattered? Of course, it was hard to tell what the savages were doing to create the Monster Waves. However, it was clear that there was something wrong with the fact that only Illumination cleverly escaped the battlefield.

“For Christ’s sake, I need to tell you this right now….”

Ko Byeong-gap acted as if he was about to run away, then stopped. How was he supposed to tell anyone about this outrageous plan? It would be nice to convince people on the street and complain without being treated like he was crazy. If he were lucky, maybe one or two people would take him seriously. However, that alone couldn’t change the public’s opinion. They weren’t Goblins who would say ‘Lord!’ whenever he said anything.

‘This is perfect. There’s no way out.’

It was a problem even if God’s grace led to the withdrawal of troops that had gathered on the southern border. If that happened, there was no way to stop the monsters from going south. Regardless if they fought somewhere further, people would die all the same. There would only be the difference between it happening later or sooner.

“This is a disaster.”

If people weren’t believers, they would die early. If the Six-rays Bridge targeted them, they would have to deal with assassins day and night. Perhaps Seo Si-hee faced the situation more realistically. Perhaps it was through her two deaths that she realized it. So, she made a basic and simple plan to assassinate Go Geon-ryong.

Should he at least see the president and let him know? He thought about it and soon gave up. Could he use his power as a president in this situation? In the first place, it was unclear whether the president was an enemy or an ally. Every scenario felt like they were hanging on the edge of a cliff.

Was that so? Rather, the answer came with clarity.

“What’s there to worry about? I just need to raise my taxes.”

Ko Byeong-gap packed his bags. After that, he drove to the North, to the land of war where blood and wind blew.

***

The situation on the front lines wasn’t good. A few days ago, one of the main strongholds of the military belt had collapsed. The army was powerful. Personal firearms didn’t do much damage to B-class or higher monsters, but the powerful firepower of tanks and heavy weapons was enough to turn even A-class monsters into pieces.

However, fighting monsters was different from modern warfare, which was determined by firepower. The monsters penetrated deep into their depths in a short time with their unique mobility. The army inevitably had to engage in close combat, which was much more difficult than fighting from 40 kilometers away. Unless each enlisted soldier was wearing an Iron Man suit, there was no way they could win a hand-to-hand battle with the monsters.

The generals gathered at the round table and wrapped their heads around it. They were determining whether to restore the collapsed front or retreat the defense line. In any case, Ko Byeong-gap didn’t know such details. He didn’t even want to know and just took advantage of the chaos to climb the hill and cross the military belt.

It was clear why he acted secretly like a thief, and that was because he didn’t want anyone to interfere. Three days ago, they entered North Korea through Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do. As he passed through Tongcheon and Wonsan and reached the vicinity of South Hamgyong Province, he no longer saw any soldiers around. The reason was also clear. The Hamgyeong-do and Pyeongan-do areas were still filled with cracks.

An army whose members were mostly non-awakeners couldn’t advance to a place full of cracks. Therefore, the line of defense was established early on in a distant area. Having returned to Earth after breakfast in Ashvilam, he spotted about a dozen people far away. They were hunters.

‘It must be an attack squad.’

In the past, when he was on the expedition, he was in a group called Group C. Suddenly, he was curious about the status of the hunters he worked with. Since the expedition ended, he had only been in touch with Jeong Seon-kyung, but he didn’t have any exchanges with anyone else.

‘They’re all S-class, so they’re probably alive.’

He watched the people for some time before he got out of the road. Ko Byeong-gap confronted a monster halfway through the mountain. They behaved naturally as if they were any wild animal. None attacked him, however, thanks to the ring he stole from the Illumination hunter.

“Kooo…”

It was like that again, this time. The Sharp Deer, a B-class monster, stared his way, and then it snorted once, turned around, and left. Ko Byeong-gap secretly pulled out his sword and cut down the Sharp Deer from behind.

“Keeek!”

The Sharp Deer spat out a terrifying scream and died. Its face was full of confusion. If translated into human language, it could be interpreted as, ‘No! Why are you attacking me?!’ Unaware of the Sharp Deer’s wailing heart, Ko Byeong-gap took out a cigarette and wondered.

“Whoa… no Goblins came out.”

It was none other than the Goblins that he was looking for over the past three days. With large-scale Monster Waves, he thought the probability of encountering Goblins would be decent. However, not a single Goblin showed up. Ko Byeong-gap could guess the reason, and his taste buds became bitter.

“Damn, have you already eaten them all?”

The monsters that came out of the crack were hungry, and their prey was usually monsters that were weaker than them. Low-level monsters like Goblins were perfect to be eaten. Ashvilam’s Goblins were particularly strong, but wild Goblins were weak except for a few individuals.

Ko Byeong-gap took a short break and moved again. As he headed north, he felt an increasing presence, so he hoped there were Goblins among them. With the help of heaven, his wish was soon fulfilled. As he looked down halfway up the hillside, he discovered what he believed to be a Goblin colony a kilometer away.

Ko Byeong-gap ran there, feeling glad. It was around that time that he felt extraordinary energy.

“Hm?”

His head turned to the side. Something causing a cloud of dust was charging toward the Goblin colony. At first glance, he thought it was a beast-type monster. Seeing that the mass of the presence was quite large, it would be at least a B-class monster.

He felt uneasy. He might see the Goblins being eaten right under his nose.

“You… hey, you!”

He ran like a storm. He had to reach the Goblins first.

‘I’m going to be late.’

It wasn’t easy to beat beast-type monsters when it came to speed. Ko Byeong-gap thought it was unfair to run on two feet while they ran on four. If they were going to compete for the same target, shouldn’t they have the same number of legs?

“Crazy, I’m getting weird too.”

Ko Byeong-gap snorted as he opened the door to Ashvilam.

“Kiriyan! Dorma! Anyone, come out!”

He ran without stopping and shouted. How many seconds passed? Kiriyan and Dorma came out the door at the same time.

“Lord! May I help you?”

“Huh? Do we have to run?”

They ran in a hurry, matching Ko Byeong-gap’s speed. Ko Byeong-gap pointed his eyes in one direction.

“Look over there!”

“Are they monsters?”

“Right, and over there.”

Ko Byeong-gap pointed in a different direction.

“Our kin?!”

“Can you guess?”

“Alright!”

“As expected, you’re good at this.”

Kiriyan and Dorma exchanged glances with each other and drew their strength. Soon, spears of lightning and dark projectiles arose in the air. Even Ko Byeong-gap drew his sword. However, its range wasn’t that long. His two allies were perfect for intercepting enemies at this distance.

“Hah!”

Dozens of attacks spread out with a loud shout. The ground splashed among the monsters, and the front row of the herd naturally collapsed. Ko Byeong-gap accelerated further and went ahead. After a while, he grew close enough to the Goblin group to see their faces. They seemed to be aware of the monsters coming their way. It was pitiful to see them holding their clumsy weapons with frightened faces.

“Lord? Lord?!”

“It’s the Lord?!”

The Goblins, who saw Ko Byeong-gap, responded dramatically. Some even sat down as if their legs had lost their strength. They even offered greetings as if they were happy to meet him. One other issue was urgent, however. The firepower of both Dorma and Kiriyan couldn’t stop all the monsters.

The monster that ran in the lead was already close to them.

“Get back! Everybody get back!”

Ko Byeong-gap shouted. The Goblins were in a state of limbo, but they were aware enough to follow that simple order. He opened the door to Ashvilam and continued to shout.

“Doran, bring your men out!”

An echo spread in the desolate fields. The very next moment, 100 soldiers poured out as they crossed the door, all armed with neat armor and spears. At the forefront was Doran with a sword the same size as her. She stared at the group of monsters and figured it out at once.

“Get ready for battle! Get information!”

The Goblins stood wide as she shouted. A hundred soldiers protected their fellow people behind them with spears and shields.

“Lord, do we have to kill those?”

“Yeah, sweep them all away.”

“Yes! Let’s go!”

A group of monsters clashed with the Goblin army.