Chapter 108: Crossing the Line with Korea
The Iranian navy suffered a devastating blow in the Hormuz naval battle that lasted all night.
It would be recorded as a battle, but if one looked at the details, it was nothing more than a one-sided beating.
Compared to Korea, which only deployed one Daemado-class ship and a dozen special forces members, Iran exhausted most of its South Sea Fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf.
The entire fleet was not destroyed, but it would take at least a few years to resume operation.
This meant that Iran’s control over the Hormuz Strait was weakened.
As if to drive the nail in, the Daemado ship safely escorted two oil tankers to the open sea and returned to the Hormuz Strait.
Then it started to guide the oil tankers of various shipping companies that were waiting while cruising through the calm waves.
―This strait is now securely secured by the Korean navy. You can pass through without worry.
If an Iranian navy official heard this broadcast, he would have collapsed while clutching his neck.
The Hormuz Strait included Iran’s territorial waters, but a foreign country’s warship came and said it was okay to pass through.
As for the oil tankers, resuming operation was a welcome thing.
They sent a signal of gratitude with a long horn sound.
―We express our respect for your victory and bravery.
Among the oil tankers that were stuck in the strait, there were two belonging to Japanese shipping companies.
The captain was very nervous that the Daemado ship would stop them, but there was no interference.
When an article with photos of the scene was posted on a Japanese portal site, a fierce debate ensued.
―Korea can now project its military power to the Hormuz Strait…
―It seems they don’t care much about us when they let the oil tankers pass.
―Isn’t it basic not to touch the merchant ships?
―We did that when we inspected the United Humanity’s merchant ships heading to Terra Island. We failed miserably though.
―Only Japanese media are desperate to hide the name of the warship…
―What’s the name of the warship?
―Daemado (Korean name for Tsushima)
At this point, Japanese netizens exploded.
They had taken over the island without any justification, and they named their newly built ship after it. It was infuriating.
They looked for the government, but realized that there was no one to take responsibility and felt frustrated.
―What is Matsuda of Yushinkai doing?
―As always, he is desperately trying to avoid responsibility.
―Japan is seriously doomed. It’s better to just surrender all of Kyushu to their master.
―If we stay like this, Japan will sink soon. We have no choice but to rely on America.
―Don’t you have any option to get along with Korea? Give them Tsushima and recognize Takeshima as Korean territory. Then everything will be fine.
―I’d rather go to war than kneel before Korea.
―We can’t even say that our military power is better than theirs. Especially the naval blockade that the net-uyoku claim is more likely to happen to us than them.
―And Korea has a nuclear bomb without radiation. It would be fun to detonate it in Tokyo.
―A nuclear bomb without radiation? We can just deploy America’s nukes. Attacking Kyushu is equivalent to attacking America.
―You’re going back to your old master (laughter)
―But who’s losing by breaking off diplomatic relations?
―After breaking off diplomatic relations, Nikkei index fell back 10 years and Korea’s stock market is relaxed. The winner is clear from this alone.
―How about reviving the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere? Of course Japan will be under Korea.
―Korea doesn’t seem very interested in that though.
―How far are you going to delude yourself with Korea letting Japanese ships pass?
The actual subject who let them pass was an artificial intelligence, and it was a small incident that was not even mentioned in Korea.
What was revealed in this situation was that the gap between the two countries’ national power was more serious than expected.
Japan still had an advantage in economic power, but Korea was above them in total power including military and influence.
Many Japanese realized this clearly and thought it was dangerous as it was.
So they started lobbying for the Democratic Party, which was expected to produce the next president of America.
As always, Korea had little interest in Japan’s movements.
They just quietly beat up Iran.
***
At that time when Daemado ship was acting like an owner in Iranian waters,
In a secret room of Sabadad Palace north of Tehran, psychics who took Suleiman as hostage were having a fierce argument with government officials.
“How can there be any military action against Korea when our South Sea Fleet was completely disabled?”
“Military experts are skeptical that we can catch that ship even if we mobilize all the republic’s military power.”
“I think we need to devise an exit strategy at this point. Saudi Arabia will act as a mediator.”
The two countries had Islam as their state religion, but their sects were different and their relations were extremely bad.
No one knew that better than the government officials who judged that their mediation was necessary.
After all, Iran’s waters became empty.
If they lost control over the Hormuz Strait, the interference of pirates and other countries would increase.
Saudi Arabia had a close relationship with Yu Ji-ha, because Crown Prince Muhammad invested a lot in the process of importing drones.
Iran would hate this, but anyway they needed their mediation at the moment.
But the psychics who took Suleiman as hostage were completely blind to the international situation.
“What we need is the complete surrender of heretics and infidels. Nothing else.”
“It’s hard to block ten hands with one hand. The enemy is strong, but it’s only one ship, so we should be able to deal with it enough.”
“Then what is your way of dealing with it?”
When the frustrated defense official asked, the psychic smiled slyly and said.
“Nuclear.”
“…Absolutely not.”
“God has given us and Muhammad has guided us this holy land that has been attacked. There is no absolute.”
“Suleiman said that. Our nuclear development has finally borne fruit. We just want to eat that fruit.”
The psychics insisted stubbornly and the government officials shook their heads in unison.
“Damn it, Korea has an anttron warhead. They used it to neutralize North Korea’s nuclear weapons! We can’t waste our newly developed nuclear weapons on that!”
“Then we have no choice but to use that method. There are quite a few Koreans living in the republic’s territory.”
The officials’ faces hardened when they realized their intention.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Civilians are not allowed. If you touch even one, the international community will not sit still.”
“What if we execute one by one? What will the devil of the East choose then? His countrymen or his ship. It will be a very interesting scene.”
Before Daemado ship entered, Korea evacuated its citizens using the presidential plane.
Iran’s situation was so chaotic that they didn’t stop them.
But there were still about 20 Koreans left in Iran, voluntarily or involuntarily.
They were people who could not leave because their economic base was in Iran.
Taking them hostage might have been effective, but ultimately it would only worsen Iran’s position.
“You’re taking civilians hostage because you lack Rahbar? How do you think the international community will see us?”
“The international community is frustrated that they can’t sanction us! And you haven’t come up with any countermeasures!”
“Good. Let’s take this opportunity to drive out the infidels from the holy land and build a true Islamic kingdom.”
The leader of the psychics, Mehdi Azmun, flashed his yellow eyes.
“When you fight the infidels, kill them instantly, but if their military collapses, take prisoners.”
The government officials closed their eyes at the verse from the Quran.
Taking prisoners meant treating those who surrendered generously, not holding civilians captive.
But as always, these fundamentalists interpreted the Quran as they pleased.
Azmun lightly pressed the table with his finger.
Surprisingly, the solid surface began to sink.
The officials’ jaws dropped.
If a human head was between those fingers…
He opened his mouth.
“It is our duty to help the infidels embrace Allah. So capture them and bring them here. Even if that devil uses his evil machines, we can stop them.”
The psychics were physically strong enough to withstand bullets and grenades from drones.
And no matter how strong Korea was, it was foolish to deploy ground troops on Iranian soil.
‘He won’t use that bomb, will he?’
He didn’t drop a bomb on the South Sea Fleet above his head because he was conscious of the backlash from the Muslim society.
He was already called the devil of the east, the merchant of death. He must have decided that it would be troublesome to increase his enemies.
But the officials who turned on the TV were stunned by an unexpected situation.
It was Yu Ji-ha who held a press conference and declared in fluent Persian.
“I have a message for the Iranian psychics who caused this incident. The moment you touch a single finger of a Korean, your life is over. I promise you the most horrible death in the world. I will make sure of it.”
After that, questions from reporters poured in about whether it was not difficult to deploy ground troops to Iran, which was far away.
The psychics were tense for a moment, but soon sneered.
“Do you intend to wage war with the entire republic?”
“You seem to be intoxicated by your small victory at sea. We’ll have to break your nose.”
They were relaxed because there was a limit to the firepower that Korea’s ground forces could deploy.
They couldn’t use that bomb on land, so they would have to use drones and androids, which the psychics and revolutionary guards could easily counter.
Azmun reassured his brothers by emphasizing this point.
“If they step in, they will have to fight with 90 million Muslim brothers. The war is not over yet.”
Even the United States failed to subdue Afghanistan after spending nearly 20 years and over 1.5 trillion dollars.
Drones and androids were certainly threatening, but they alone could not make Iran surrender.
The psychics used their vast land and large population as shields and went out to capture Koreans.
And an armed pod ejected from Siviri satellite landed in Tehran south where Koreans gathered.
There was only one android in this pod.
It was a mass-produced terminal of Arma.
This android boasted a combat power that was different from what was sold on the market.
It could search the surroundings with gravity radar data from Settlerho and fire ether lasers with abundant output from power cells.
Most importantly, it was designed to fight while receiving direct support from Siviri satellite.
It was an infantry support tank Taranthula that was reverse-engineered and transplanted into an android.
The purpose of this android was one thing.
The annihilation of psychics who were hostile to the human alliance.
Yu Ji-ha had pledged to President McKinley that he would only deploy limited ground forces, and this was the result.
It was still a limited force anyway since he only deployed one unit, right?
「Assassin type android, deployed.」
As the armed pod opened, Arma wearing chador separated with ion thrusters.
It was a place where Muslims lived, so he had to show at least some courtesy.
***
In a secret room of Baghdad Palace, Suleiman, the de facto leader of Iran and religious leader, was confined.
He was not treated badly, but he was completely cut off from the outside world and communication was only possible with Azmun and his subordinate psychics.
It was part of the psychics’ plan to make the government a puppet by using the religious leader as a frontman.
The Iranian public sentiment had exploded, and the government officials could not rashly mobilize troops.
In addition, the government was in a severe chaos due to the aftermath of the incident that occurred at the Strait of Hormuz.
The South Sea Fleet was disabled and the international community, including the UN, demanded that they release the religious leader and come to the assembly.
And the warships sent by Korea passed through the oil tankers as if it was their own backyard.
Such information and rumors gathered in Baghdad Palace.
The psychics chose one person as a means to overcome the extreme pressure.
The leader Mehdi Azmun sat face to face with the religious leader Suleiman.
“Choose martyrdom. Then we won’t kill the government officials.”
“…So you finally came up with passing the buck. It’s pathetic for someone who shouted jihad.”
Suleiman narrowed his eyes and scolded sternly, but all he got back was a sneer.
“It was you, Rahbar, who planned to hijack the oil tankers in the first place.”
“That wasn’t such a reckless plan. I intended to negotiate with Korea properly.”
“People call that collusion. Isn’t this situation a result of God not being able to see that?”
“…”
It was a parallel line anyway, and as if to prove it, silence followed.
Suleiman broke the silence first.
“They won’t believe you even if you use me as a front.”
“We have to show some sincerity. If there is an apology from Rahbar and some compensation, they will back off.”
“And then the republic will be occupied by you guys.”
“Man plans and God laughs. This is all God’s will.”
Then a loud gunshot was heard outside.
Azmun got up with a stiff face and as soon as he opened the security door, he heard screams.
‘What, what is it?’
Judging by the explosions, it was clear that a battle was taking place.
Something was wrong.
This was Baghdad Palace, and the Revolutionary Guards were guarding it without any gaps.
Many armored vehicles were mobilized, and even MANPADS were equipped, making it hard to touch with any ordinary force.
And a battle broke out in such a place, which meant that the government troops were mobilized.
Azmun gritted his teeth.
“Who dares to bare their teeth at me, the one who will soon be the ruler of Iran!”
He walked briskly between the pillars and faced an unexpected sight.
A woman in chador was killing psychics with a blank expression.
“…”
It was such an unrealistic scene that he couldn’t believe it.
My men are being pierced in the chest and screaming?
She killed several of them and then ran straight at him?
“Ah!”
Azmun came to his senses late and put strength into his whole body.
Like any other psychic, he had a special ability called physical enhancement.
A golden light wrapped around the man’s body, and now he was complete with a body that bullets couldn’t penetrate.
The woman in chador didn’t seem to care about that and reached out her arm.
“Get away!”
Azmun rushed in, but Arma’s goal was not close combat.
Her long fingers opened and a high-output ether laser spewed out.
The golden light narrowed the distance of ten meters in an instant and swept over Azmun’s body.
“…”
That was the end.
The psychic’s head and body separated and rolled around, and Arma looked around the devastated surroundings.
“Situation over. There are no witnesses.”
“Good job. Erase the evidence and return.”
“What about Suleiman?”
“Well, it would be more helpful to us if he died.”
It would be better to keep it chaotic if they wanted to get rid of Afghanistan.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Arma found Suleiman with gravity radar and killed him, then burned the evidence completely.
The psychics who had gone out to use civilians as hostages had been dead for a long time.
Finally, she looked up at the sky.
The reconnaissance satellite had just finished its attitude control and flashed its lens.
***
“It seems something happened in Iran. Baghdad Palace is on fire.”
“…”
President McKinley was looking at the scene captured by the reconnaissance satellite.
There were many psychics and revolutionary guards who had been guarding the kidnapped Suleiman.
That meant that the guard was strict and it was hard to cope with any ordinary force.
“…Is this Korea’s doing?”
“There is no evidence, but the probability is very high. They precisely timed it when our satellite was controlling its attitude.”
The reconnaissance satellite in low orbit would lose altitude over time, so it had to operate an attitude control motor to prevent it.
At that time, shooting was impossible, and there were not enough reconnaissance satellites to switch missions arbitrarily.
The problem here was how Korea knew this.
The time when the reconnaissance satellite controlled its attitude was top secret and not very long.
President McKinley loosened his tie nervously.
“Is there something wrong with our security? Or is President Yu’s technology out of this world.”
Korea had been producing things that were hard to understand even with our technology, such as new railgun ships. They were using them defensively for now, but…
“There’s no guarantee they’ll keep doing that. There must be some meaning behind this Iran attack.”
“Probably Afghanistan.”
Yu Ji-ha’s real goal was Afghanistan, which had already been obtained through intelligence agencies.
They also found out that he had asked for cooperation from Tajikistan, but they didn’t know why.
“It’s strange. Why does a dictator from East Asia care about Afghanistan…”
Afghanistan had become a forsaken land since the United States withdrew nine years ago.
The Taliban and the resistance fought on, but no one in the international community cared.
It was pointless to sacrifice soldiers and pour huge amounts of money into the grave of empires that even the United States failed to conquer.
The aides shuffled through their papers and said,
“According to recent intelligence, the resistance in the north is operating a few drones. They probably got them from Korea.”
“The Taliban’s activity has also been greatly reduced lately. There’s definitely something we don’t know.”
“He’s a real headache.”
Yu Ji-ha’s recent series of incidents clearly crossed the line set by the United States.
He used a new bomb to destroy Iran’s navy, and now he attacked the top brass while avoiding the eyes of reconnaissance satellites.
There was no reported damage, but judging by the fact that the entire presidential palace was burning, it was hard to expect the survival of the top brass.
No matter how much the embassy burned down, this kind of recklessness…
Of course, there was no harm to the United States.
Iran was a country that raised anti-Americanism as its banner and had several conflicts with the United States.
Now that they were in chaos, there was room for the United States to intervene.
But in President McKinley’s eyes, such actions were annoying.
It was like watching a mad dog that bit anyone.
“The Democrats are right to tighten the leash…”
Their argument was to not repeat the mistake of watching China expand and letting Japan retreat.
The Republicans’ mainstream position was that there was no need to restrain an ally so much.
Then the secretary came in and reported.
“Mr. President, the Democratic senators have requested a meeting.”
The attack on Iran’s Baghdad Palace had already been reported by the media.
President McKinley tightened his tie again.
“Meet them right away. Tell them to come in.”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺