Chapter 176: Taking Control of Taiwan
“Your Excellency. Dinner.”
If you were to ask the president what he usually eats, you’d probably think of lavish nightspots and sumptuous meals, as tycoons do, but surprisingly, that’s not the case.
“Whoo! Whoo!”
The noodles are cooled by his breath.
The noodles are shaved, which is no different from regular ramen except that it’s done by a highly paid chef.
“Is it ramen? I have low blood sugar these days.”
“Eat it without the kimchi.”
“I’d rather drink less broth.”
Chairman of a task force meeting in Yongsan served a late dinner after a long battle with the opposition.
President Ahn and other ruling party lawmakers didn’t have time to go to the cafeteria because of a hearing that was scheduled to begin an hour later.
“I’m relieved.”
President Ahn Dong-il is an ordinary man.
Of course, he doesn’t lack the skills and background to be president, but he’s a far cry from the conspiracy theories of evil powers that are often portrayed in the media.
He’s just an average guy with normal common sense and sensitivity.
He’s the epitome of normalcy, and if there’s one thing that’s brought him to this latest crisis, it’s a group of superhumans who are far from normal.
“More than that, Mr. President, what do you think of the opposition’s agenda?”
“In this day and age, that nonsense——.”
One of the things that came up in today’s hearing was the issue of government officials joining the TTG Temple.
While otherworldly religions are hot all over the world, it’s no exaggeration to say that Korea, the headquarters of the world’s most popular religion, is a little exaggerated and the whole country is crazy about the TTG Temple.
-Kyaa~ His Majesty earned one victory today.
-Long live the goddess of light and justice.
-Eating rice cured my cancer!
The direct blessing and repose of the gods and the absolute power of Leon had a big impact.
Their code is somewhat bizarre, but the presence of real gods and superhumans acting on their behalf is so influential.
Leon is the mastermind, but the knights and soldiers of TTG Temple, whom he nurtures with the power of the gods, have grown into the largest hunter’s guild in Korea.
In such an atmosphere, the idea that politicians should serve the goddess of justice is more common than you might think.
‘If you serve the goddess of justice, all of you in this room will be punished and searched.’
Everybody got their share.
“Ugh, Leon, he’s the reason I’m here——”
Korea was going crazy for superhumans, let alone a perfect saint with transcendent strength and a noble spirit.
Superhumans were gathering around him, and newspapers were writing about him.
Leon and TTG Temple were shaking up Korea, and it was a foregone conclusion that this would lead to a cataclysmic period.
What worries those in high places is the existence of the gods and the integrity they demand.
What about Arianna, the Goddess of Light and Justice?
Her code of conduct for her followers is nothing spectacular.
Don’t kill, don’t steal, and believe in inner justice.
For the average person, these are social and moral codes that come naturally. But they were also problematic for certain classes.
The code’s standards for ‘commoners’ and ‘nobles’ were completely different.
“What happened to Rep. Park Chan-sung?”
“He was hit in a bad place——”
“Eh~ That was his downfall.”
There was a member of the ruling party who tried to borrow the power of TTG Temple.
He planned to convince them that he believed in the Goddess of Justice and was therefore a moral man, but the moment he stood on the platform and announced it──
“A thunderbolt in a dry sky——”
A bolt of lightning struck and pierced him from the crown of his head.
President Ahn Dong-gil asked Leon about the case of Representative Park Chan-sung, who barely escaped with his life, and the answer was a warning.
“I’ll give you a pass for the first time, but you’ll have to be careful in the future. There will be heavenly punishment for those who use God’s name in disgrace.”
In a way, he should be thankful that he was only struck by lightning and made a snitch.
Anyway, because of this instant judgment, the citizens were enthusiastic about the temple.
-Politicians sprouting up, converting to the statue!
-Let’s see if it fits or not!
-Long live Arianna! Long live the TTG Temple!
Whenever there are major hearings and scandals, they say, “If you’re so confident, why don’t you say you believe in Goddess Arianna!”
Of course, the same demand was coming from the incumbent president, President Ahn Dong-gil.
‘Yeah, my term is coming to an end, I’ll just retire.’
If you beat the president, you should build a cottage in the mountains somewhere.
They say that even farmhouses don’t mean anything these days if you don’t believe in the goddess Demera, so I’m going to do something about it.
“Mr. President!”
It was then. I was drying the white rice with some ramen noodles leftover, when the chief of staff rushed in.
“What’s going on?”
“TTG Temple—! His Majesty King Leon is—!”
It’s him again. Why does he get into trouble every day?
“No, I heard you went sightseeing in Taiwan. He’s a luxury passenger on a yacht of the Hanbit Palace.”
A few days ago, he saw him shaking hands with Taiwanese President and he thought it would be quiet for a while, but——
He might be a hero to the common people, but to himself, who had to watch his every move, he was a terrible mess.
“Prepare to call Taiwan’s President. What should I apologize for——?”
“Well, it’s nothing of that magnitude, His Majesty Leon—The Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods——”
President Ahn felt a little uneasy as he watched the chief of staff’s flutter.
“It can’t be—what, he didn’t kill anyone, did he?”
“They are currently engaged with Taiwanese forces!”
“——.”
“——.”
The ramen noodles rattled in the air.
Unable to resist the temptation, the hypoglycemic congressman gulped down the noodles, unaware of the ramen broth gushing down his throat.
“What?”
He asks in disbelief.
“TTG Temple has invaded Taiwan!”
* * * *
The battle is over.
The clash between the Demon Legion and TTG Temple in the city of Taipei ended in a victory for the Temple as Leon and Beatrice joined them.
As the dawn breaks and the evil energy that had engulfed the streets is driven away, the citizens come out into the streets one by one.
“Wow——”
What they saw was the Iron Knights shining with the first light of dawn on a mountain of demonic corpses.
They are majestic beings, resting after a great victory.
“The demons are all dead——.”
“It’s the knights, they saved Taipei.”
“No, they saved Taiwan.”
The aftermath of the gas attack was also widespread among Taiwanese citizens.
The internet, which had been disrupted by the attack but was soon restored, revealed a familiar picture of the corruption of Taiwan’s upper echelons and the demons that had taken over.
Crucially, a Demon Gate and the Archdemons have been summoned to the center of Taipei, and the corrupt Taiwanese army is on their side.
Taiwan is doomed. After decades of defending its independence from the threat of the mainland, the island was about to be destroyed by the demons.
Then the knights appeared.
-I can’t believe the commander-in-chief was a demon!
-Well done! Bastards!
-Here we are, in front of an army, and there’s no commotion! There are knights! The Knights of the Flaming Sword!
The battle lasted until dawn, before the bombardment and artillery fire died down, and victory toasts were heard.
“Long live the TTG Temple! Long live King Leon!”
“Long live TTG! Long live Lionheart!”
The Hunters of the Hanbit Palace who had fought alongside them, the Kikiruk warriors, and the Taiwanese soldiers who had risked treason to march began the final phase of the battle amidst the cheers of the citizens.
* * * * *
“Heh, heh, heh! Now, wait! No, no, no, I’m innocent!”
After Taiwan was turned upside down, President Chiang was dragged through the streets by angry citizens, many of them high-ranking officials who, like him, had been caught serving the demons.
“This bastard sold us to the demons!” they shouted.
“Judge him! Judge him!”
“Lord Laihar, please!”
The citizens approached Laihar Dever, a high ranking member of the Knights of the Flaming Sword who had been watching the protests, and brought him a primitive torch.
“Hmph! Have it your way.”
Laihar ignited the torch with divine flame, and the citizens held it aloft, sharing the fire with each other.
“Let’s burn the Fallen with divine flame!”
It’s no secret that the TTG Temple judged the UN inspectors with fire and the fact that it doesn’t hurt ordinary people in the slightest, only demons.
“Behold, this is the flame of the War God!”
There was even a man who took the divine flame given to him by Laihar and attached it to his body to become a human torch. Of course, he didn’t get burned in the slightest.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“That’s awesome!”
The man, cheered on by the crowd, exclaimed as he waved the flame attached to his entire body.
“If the President is innocent, he won’t be burned by these flames!”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The man continued to push through the crowd of protesters and stood in front of President Chiang, who was stunned by the intense heat.
“Stop, stop! You, with this barbaric act, you dare to insult me, the head of the government──”
“Shut up, you devil!”
The man continued to pounce on Chiang. The flames that were burning from his body were immediately transferred to Chiang, and──
“Extinguish!!!”
President Chiang was judged by God.
“Hao~ Such a divine execution method?”
Lord Laihar watched in admiration. Wasn’t judging a sinner by fire mixed with the humanity of letting them be warm at the end, even if they were a capital criminal?
It was a humane judgment that even a seizure-prone knight of the realm could not imitate.
“Hmm, that’s enough for now.”
Lord Laihar watched the sinners burning in the center of Taipei, then turned to the Taiwan House where Leon was.
“Wahahahahaha!”
“Cheers to victory!”
There, Leon and his minions were having a victory party in the Taiwanese government building.
“Your Majesty, would you like to try this?”
“Heh heh, what a grape.”
Leon sat at the head of the table and accepted the grapes from Beatrice.
It was a strange scene, but everyone gets excited at a party and in the Lionheart Kingdom, it was customary to celebrate with great fanfare after a victory.
“Lord Laihar is here, I suppose things have gone well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, the citizens are out in full force, hunting down demons all over the city!”
“Angry citizens often hurt the wrong people. We’ll have to make sure that no one is wronged by giving them the proper amount of God Petos’ flame.”
“Of course!”
The first thing the TTG Temple did after taking control of the Taiwanese government building was to purge.
Those who had served the demons were purged, and the proper order of things was established.
Until a new administration takes over, they’ll teach the code of the gods in the name of post-war management and keep the place safe.
-Yuck!
That role will be filled by the Kikiruk, who were the main force in this war.
“With this victory, we were able to slay three Archdemons, and their legions alone must have numbered over ten thousand.”
“All of this is in addition to His Majesty’s glory, praise be!”
“It’s just a pity we didn’t catch that Demon Archduke, Quai.”
The Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods had defeated most of the demons and their followers in Taiwan.
However, it failed to capture the Corruption Archduke Quai, who had used the essence of corruption within Beatrice to trap Leon and her.
“Your Majesty, if I ever encounter him again, I’ll be sure to——.”
“You have nothing to worry about. This king knows how to deal with him now, and we have a new power.”
“New powers? Ah—!”
In retrospect, this was the first time that Beatrice was able to use the Holy Law freely. She had truly become a priestess of Fle, the Goddess of Dreams and Death.
“The realm of illusion is the domain of the Goddess Fle, and now that you have full control over its power, his tricks will not work against you again.”
The Fallen Archduke Quai is no longer a threatening foe. A creature characterized by its ability to take advantage of people’s weaknesses is not much of a force to be reckoned with if that trait has been rendered irrelevant.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“It’s because you stood up for yourself.”
Thus, the Taiwan situation was resolved. Since the TTG Temple never intended to leave Taiwanese soil unattended, traffic will be cleared sooner or later.
It’ll be up to Yakt Spinner and the Kikiruks to help the next administration, but with Yappy at the helm, it’ll all work out.
-They’re all dead.
It has the potential to become a slightly dystopian state, but as long as Leon is there, Yappy won’t go too far.
Of course, after Leon, you never know.
Anyway, in early November, after a month-long stay in Taiwan, the weather was turning chilly, and waiting for Leon at the port of Incheon was Oh Kang-hyuk, head of the Korean Hunter Association.
“Your Majesty, congratulations on your safe return.”
They had already exchanged greetings over the phone, but now that he was on Korean soil, Oh Kang-hyuk greeted him in person.
“You have done an excellent job, and I must cut you a break for your return—as I said before.”
“I know.”
Behind Oh Kang-hyuk was the Minister of Defense and his entourage, sent by the Korean government, who were nervously watching Leon and TTG Temple.
“Your Majesty—we need you to accompany us for a while.”
TTG Temple hearing was scheduled to begin today.
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