Heroine Hunts Heroines-Chapter 132

“Secretary-General.”

“Yes, sir.”

If the opponent was brandishing nukes, countermeasures had to be prepared.

“How many missiles do we currently have? Didn’t I instruct you to maintain a tight grip on our military contacts? You should know this.”

“At best, we have fewer than 400 Hyunmoo missiles left. Most of them are outdated models and no match for China, which has been secretly preparing nuclear weapons.”

"Not even a fair fight, huh."

After all, their trump card was nuclear warheads. Even if their missiles could reach Chinese soil, China’s vast size rendered such an assault ineffective compared to Korea. Yet bowing to their threats was a bitter pill to swallow.

Just then, a voice echoed in his mind.

"After all this destruction, can’t you do something for the country, just once?"

It was something Baekhwa, a villain, had once said. Just once, she had asked him to act for the nation.

Until now, Ha Jung-seok had lived solely to consolidate power in Korea. To him, Korea itself was an extension of his being. Yielding to such threats would mean the death of Korea—and of Ha Jung-seok.

"Fine. We took down Hwangryong, didn’t we? Now it’s my turn to act."

What would have been seen as arrogance before now felt like courage. Ha Jung-seok picked up the magitech communicator again.

["If you don’t want to be nuked, surrender immediately—"]

“Zhang Hachae, have you grown bold after getting beaten up by me? You were a lackey under me once. Didn’t you learn anything while groveling at my feet?”

["You dare bring up the past?!"]

“You’re Zhang Hachae, and I’m Ha Jung-seok. What’s the difference? Nukes? Go ahead and fire, you thick-headed fool. Do you think I haven’t hoarded anything myself? We’ve got thousands of missiles stashed away from before the Great Cataclysm and from the covert operations in North Korea during the Pyongyang crisis!”

["What did you just say?"]

His voice, as furious as it was incredulous, was the same as during their cadet days. Nothing had changed. Becoming the chairman hadn’t made him any smarter.

“Even an idiot like you should understand. Thousands of missiles, all pointed at China. And since the Great Cataclysm shrank your territories, it’s even easier to hammer you into oblivion.”

["You bastard!"]

“So go ahead and launch your nukes! Even if Korea falls, we’ll make sure China is obliterated to the point of no return. Or should I fire first?”

["How dare you threaten me?!"]

Ah, the hypocrisy.

“Threats? Coming from the guy so scared of losing that he’s waving nukes around after Hwangryong’s death? Listen, Zhang Hachae! Do you think hiding in the Chairman’s Palace makes you an emperor? Let me give you a choice: should I leave China as a half-dead corpse, or will you settle for an end to the war with hunters? If you retaliate with nukes, the world will eradicate China in revenge. In the end, if Korea dies, so does China!”

["You piece of shit!"]

["Chairman! Please, calm down!"]

The sound of other voices trying to reason with Zhang Hachae came through the communicator.

“What were you thinking? We don’t have nearly that many missiles! You should’ve threatened them with hunters instead!”

“Choi Ji-soo, you’ve still got a lot to learn.”

“Sir?”

“In international diplomacy, sometimes bluffs are necessary. You downplay the big things and amplify the small ones. Who do they think they’re dealing with? They won’t dare use nukes.”

As it turned out, Ha Jung-seok was right. Not long after, the Hunter Public Security Bureau of the Chairman’s Palace sent an official email proposing that the war be decided through a final battle in Pyongyang.

As President, Ha Jung-seok had done his part.

***

The Battle of Pyongyang, fought valiantly by Korean hunters and the Villain Alliance's extraordinary defense, successfully thwarted the advance of China's Sin Hunter Corps.

Eventually, the Chinese forces retreated from Pyongyang, granting the Guild Alliance leadership some breathing room to plan their next move.

As a former cadet, I was naturally included in these discussions, given my role in rescuing Seo Ji-yeon and using Baekyeom to block the Hunter Alliance.

Seo Ji-yeon, on the other hand, excused herself, leaving everything to me, saying it was too bothersome to deal with. She was likely embarrassed about our relationship being revealed, now that we were officially recognized as a couple.

“We should counterattack before they regroup. If their numbers swell to a million again, we’ll have an even harder time reducing them,” I suggested.

“A counterattack?”

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

Yoo Jin-seok, startled by my words, gave me a look of disbelief.

Honestly, considering the rumors he'd heard, it probably never occurred to him that his little sister, who once hid at home all the time, had transformed so drastically. Seeing me on the battlefield earlier, his jaw practically hit the floor.

“Yes.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. We took down Hwangryong, but if those bastards regroup and return in full force, we’ll struggle. It’s best to take them down now,” Shin Ji-woon chimed in, supporting my proposal.

With the decision for a counterattack made, the Guild Alliance turned their gaze to Elize, commander of the Villain Army.

“Then shouldn’t Baekhwa be here?”

Cha Ji-eun sounded disappointed at Baekhwa’s absence, though perhaps she was trying to test me.

Not that I had any intention of falling for it.

“Baekhwa entrusted me with the command,” Elize declared.

To my surprise, she was proving quite adept at leadership, despite originally being an American. She commanded the Villain Army with remarkable skill.

“And where is Baekhwa?”

“She’s recovering from injuries and unable to participate in the battlefield for the time being.”

Elize made a plausible excuse. Of course, it wasn’t as if Baekhwa and I could coexist in this space anyway.

“With our national forces intact and Baekhwa Church’s battle golems in our arsenal, a surprise assault could indeed succeed. What’s their current position?”

“They’ve retreated to Pyeongseong.”

Pyeongseong, located just above Pyongyang on the map, marked their fallback point. After suffering relentless attacks, even the Chinese forces must have realized they couldn’t win this war easily.

“Are Baekhwa Church’s magical weapons still operational?”

“Yes. What about the Guild Alliance’s hunters? Is their mana reserve sufficient?”

“It’s adequate. Then let’s head north immediately.”

With Baekhwa Church’s weapons and the Guild Alliance hunters at full strength, the decision to push northward was finalized.

As I stepped out of the command room, Yoo Jin-seok called me aside.

“Eun-ha.”

“Brother?”

“What the hell are you doing in this war… sigh.”

For a moment, I thought I saw more wrinkles on his face.

I must look like a hopeless sister to him—one he tried so hard to protect, only for her to end up on the battlefield.

And on top of that, this sister was dating a woman. It must have been a shock.

“For the woman I love, there’s nothing I can’t do. You’re okay with me being with Ji-yeon, right?”

“If it makes you happy, it doesn’t matter. Just take care of yourself. I barely managed to talk them out of conscripting the cadets from Hunter Academy.”

Oh, he really put in some effort. How sweet.

“Aww, you’re finally acting like a proper older brother. But honestly, isn’t it my job to protect my girl?”

“Ha… to think my sister’s a lesbian…”

Yoo Jin-seok rubbed his forehead, deep in thought, before shaking his head.

“So, would you prefer I date a guy instead?”

At my question, his face twisted in disgust.

Was he imagining me holding hands with a boyfriend? Don’t worry, big brother, that’s not happening.

“That’s even worse. A girl is better. Ji-yeon’s not a bad kid anyway. So, are you going all the way to Pyeongseong with us?”

“Yep.”

“When did you even get this strong?”

“Just kind of happened.”

No need to explain further.

He’s the type of brother who doesn’t pry into his sister’s affairs.

“Wait, does this mean your patron constellation is the Martial God?”

“Yep.”

“If it’s the Martial God… poor Park Jun-hyuk. That guy’s down on his luck, huh.”

Yoo Jin-seok shook his head at the loss of such talent.

“Falling into sin was his mistake.”

On June 30, the national military, hunters, and the Villain Alliance began their northward advance.

Thanks to China’s massive offensive wiping out most of North Korea’s monsters, there was no monster interference along the way.

Foreign war correspondents even joined in, believing that Korea’s situation had improved significantly.

“Alright, let’s crush every last one of those damned invaders!”

Even with Sin Fragments empowering them, China’s hunters were woefully underpowered. The combined forces of hunters and Villains, supported by golems, slaughtered them mercilessly.

At Pyeongseong, the battle lines were drawn: the Alliance attacked while the Chinese defended.

However, the arrival of Choi Si-woo in disguise, the dark elf Reyna, and the evil dragon Magnute turned the tide. Pyeongseong was devastated by dragon breath.

The amusing part?

“Bbmipower is amazing!”

“Bbmimoon, could you please fight somewhere else? You’re embarrassing us.”

“Hawawa! That’s so mean, Geum Taeyang! If you keep this up, I won’t give you soup!”

“Ugh…”

Bbmimoon and Geum Taeyang had joined forces, causing a scene.

After some brief banter, I took the opportunity to strike.

Using Baekyeom, I disrupted the Chinese hunters, then entered the battlefield as Baekhwa amidst the chaos.

“The one and only idol, Baekhwa, has arrived!”

Appearing in my Fallen Nun Baekhwa persona, I was greeted by an eruption of cheers.

“It’s Baekhwa!”

“Baekhwa-sama!”

“Haaah… I want to lick Baekhwa’s feet!”

The last one was disgusting, but thanks to Baekhwa Church repelling Hwangryong and decimating the Chinese forces, my popularity had skyrocketed among Koreans.

“Party time~!”

Snapping my fingers with a playful tone, I unleashed my power.

Snap!

Even Sin Fragments couldn’t withstand my chaos. Those who tried to resist my mental assault turned on each other.

“Gaaaah!”

“You lunatics! What are you—ugh!”

The Chinese forces, pushed out of Pyeongseong, were utterly annihilated, driven further north.

By July 1, a large-scale assault by the Alliance pushed the Chinese forces back to the Yalu River.

Barely 100 of them remained when they crossed the river.

On July 3, the Alliance reclaimed the Tumen River.

At the Blue House, Ha Jung-seok declared that the Korean Peninsula had been fully reclaimed for the first time in 105 years.

Doesn’t it make your heart swell with pride just hearing that?

But it was too early to celebrate victory.

The Sins and their endless waves of minions still loomed ahead.