Chapter 230
post-processing
It's a historic moment.
Against the background of the ruins of Pyongyang President Andong-gil stood on the podium.
80 years ago since the national tragedy began—
Even as President Andong-gil recited his prepared speech his heart was filled with excitement.
And Dong-gil the first president of North-South reunification!
How good is this sound?
President Ahn became the president who achieved the long-cherished desire of the nation the reunification of the two Koreas.
There were many sacrifices.
During the war hundreds of thousands of North Korean soldiers including 3 million citizens of Pyongyang turned into monsters and perished.
We must not forget their sacrifice. Having finally achieved unification after a long history of division we are on the road to reconciliation—
It was a problem from now on. The problem of assimilation of North Korean people and regional stabilization. Above all we need to recover from the annihilated satellite.
But don't worry. We are the people who achieved the Miracle on the Han River and we have eternal friends by our side.
Well the pantheon will do everything.
The protagonists of this war! Introducing our eternal companions who will continue to be with our unified Korea!
President Ahn thought it was fortunate that there was a pantheon.
* * * *
Good work on your speech President Ahn.
Ha ha just thank you for coming to the podium.
The speech declaring a unified Korea was held in occupied Pyongyang under the strong will of President Ahn.
No matter how much Pyongyang was occupied with communism the proclamation of a unified Korea in Pyongyang where remnants of demons may remain is dangerous.
The Presidential Security Service asked not only its own security personnel but also the Pantheon Shrine to join them and treated them as the protagonists of this proclamation ceremony. freeweb novel.co m
There are Lion Heart King and knights but who can harm the president?
By the way President Ahn. What are you planning to do next?
At Leon's question President Ahn let out a light sigh and recalled the problems he was facing.
It was necessary to wipe out and absorb the remaining remnants of the North Korean army and it was necessary to dispatch South Korean troops to each region to occupy actual territories.
Although the post-processing was easy thanks to the Baekdu lineage of the North Korean Kim family and high-ranking officials there are still several forces that have not accepted the fall of the republic.
Specifically the warlords who watched the situation with bated breath as the devil took over North Korea.
‘The resistance forces who fought against the demons are on the better side but they're not on our side.'
Partisans were still active in Hamgyeong-do and they would act as a nuisance to the Armed Forces for a while.
First of all the appeasement of the remaining people in North Korea must be accomplished. The reason why the declaration of unification was brought forward today was also to show them the reality.
I see there's no point in resisting anymore so you're telling me to hurry up and find the light.
To put it bluntly it is. Anyway they will also become Korean citizens now.
President Ahn quietly suggested the most important thing to Leon.
Your Majesty and the Mansinjeon can be of great help to our nation's long-cherished business.
I guess so.
Leon understood President Ahn's intentions. After unification the biggest problem is the absorption of North Koreans and the stabilization of the new territory.
The immediate problems are food and security.
Yes of course our government will do everything possible...
Don't worry President Ahn. I will do my best to help.
your majesty···!
President Ahn had a bright face as if he was thrilled. But he knows too.
In the story of kings and kings there is never a free exchange.
If something is received from this side giving something back is also the basis of political dynamics. Lionheart-style court politics is more dignified but fundamentally it is not much different from modern politics.
We will actively support the missionary work of the Mansinjeon in the occupied territory.
Huh wasn't the government supposed to maintain religious neutrality?
If you put Goddess Demera's doctrine or Ariana's doctrine first you can crush them moderately. Security education and food self-rescue measures are important.
South Korea is a wealthy country but that doesn't mean it can feed over 20 million poor North Koreans for free.
By applying the doctrine of Goddess Demera each region can produce its own food and if terrible malnutrition and chronic diseases are cured even medical problems can be solved.
Above all if we teach them well the principles of Ariana the goddess of light and justice we will be able to greatly reduce future conflicts between North and South Koreans.
I don't mean to say that North Koreans are evil beings from birth but the more backward the country the poorer the education environment the more general morality is lacking in many cases.
Aren't the majority of North Koreans living on a North Korean drug called ‘Bingdu' right now? Only when this is resolved will future exchanges be smooth.
“There is one more thing. This will require a somewhat bold decision for President Ahn.”
What is that...?
Give Pyongyang to Jim.
Give up Pyongyang. At that even President Ahn was at a loss for words.
Even though it is an empty city where 3 million Pyongyang citizens and leaders were massacred the meaning of Pyongyang in North Korea is great.
For the past 80 years North Korea has developed only Pyongyang and its neighboring cities amid poor economic power and all facilities and infrastructure were concentrated in Pyongyang.
The reason President Ahn dared to come all the way to Pyongyang to hold the proclamation of a unified Korea is because this is such a symbolic city.
I can't believe it...
Are you planning on establishing your own kingdom here? At President Ahn’s gaze Leon smiled and shook his head.
I recognize the legitimate territory of the Republic of Korea. I have no intention of usurping the territory of a sovereign country.
The reason Leon asked for Pyongyang to be handed over was surprisingly simple.
The world tree has been planted here. As long as the goddess of forests and trees dwells there I must take care of this place and assist her in her work.
Ah the world tree...
President Ahn looked at the World Tree which was the background of the unification proclamation ceremony just before.
The world tree that grew tall on behalf of the Ryugyong Hotel was as tall as the universe.
And it's still growing to the point where I'm wondering if humanity develops an orbital elevator and it won't grow to that size.
In the past when I committed a mortal sin to serve the Moon Goddess I moved the cornerstone of the temple to the moon by climbing up and down the World Tree. Irmin personally spread the branches to the moon for me.
Did you reach the moon?
Yes. It may be difficult now but we need to create an environment for him.
It was a great story.
According to Leon doesn't it mean that a huge structure with the possibility of an orbital elevator will be created in Korea on this Korean peninsula?
-gulp!
Even President Ahn a non-expert thought about it for a moment.
That Your Majesty... The Special Self-Governing City is not something we can just give permission to if we want...
Such an enormous facility must be placed under the administration of the government. I want to maintain a friendly relationship with the Pantheon but even if that's not necessarily a plan to allow the Autonomous City——
Will Irmin be managed by the government?
Umm...!
President Ahn is speechless at Leon's words who immediately understood his intentions.
It's okay to put an example like Vatican City. It's a little bigger than that but the goddesses and forest sages who rule the autonomous city will respect you.
Yes? Isn't His Majesty the head of state?
Leon responded with a chuckle.
I am the Lionheart of Lionheart. The World Tree and its sages have been my strongest allies but they are not in a vertical relationship.
Of course since there are no tree men and fairies to take care of and rule this place right now Leon will have to take the place.
Geemm... First of all we'll prepare to convince public opinion with the meeting. Maybe it won't be too difficult if it's public opinion about the pantheon.
I'd rather cheer Leon to the National Assembly right now! It is a situation that cries out and even though Leon will not rule it directly a landlocked country with a close commission to Leon will be created.
Considering that this war was not simply a South Korean security issue but a global crisis this level of demand was not excessive.
That's right Your Majesty. I have information to give to Your Majesty regarding post-war issues.
Something?
“It’s the story of ‘The Resistance.’”
President Ahn immediately told him the story he had heard through Cheon Jin-soo and Kang Jin-seong.
Would you like to go see them now?
President Ahn secretly guided Leon expecting the treatment he would receive.
* * * *
The inside story of the war was revealed through the testimonies of the North Korean hunters who joined the armed forces the New Sword Guild and the Cheongseong Guild.
They hijacked two guilds from a special envoy plane fired missiles at Mansinjeon charter planes and sent a number of air force units to South Korea to defect to South Korea.
These seemingly contradictory acts were desperate maneuvers of their own.
“On the day the Republic fell the demons told the remaining generals.”
Come under the command of the devil and live an immortal life.
In the midst of that chaos the remaining North Korean soldiers made their own choices. Most of them chose subservience——
You guys chose to resist?
The old man answered the military inspector's question with a strong gaze.
Even though I've eaten people in the past I couldn't sell my own people to demons. Is that what people do?
Listed by Ri Cheol-ung deputy commander of North Korea's General Guard.
He was a member of the bodyguard who was loyal to the Kim pigs who sucked the people's blood while doing all sorts of dirty work.
Even he saw that this was not the case.
The evil act of corrupting people's souls and selling their own people to the devil was an atrocity that even those who did not believe in God could not do.
He chose resistance by mobilizing a considerable number of North Korean troops including the Guard General Bureau Reconnaissance General Bureau 5 Corps and 6 Corps but most of the People's Army had already chosen to submit to North Korea.
They made an extreme choice because they couldn't afford to deal with even the demons in a situation where even they were difficult to deal with.
We brought in South Korea out of curiosity. If we attack South Korea South Korea will have no choice but to go to war with the Republic.
As long as the charter plane is attacked South Korea has no choice but to start a war with North Korea.
Thanks to that the demons had no choice but to start a war with South Korea earlier than they planned.
In a way it was no exaggeration to say that he was the number one contributor to this war.
Just one thing.
It took just one thing.
The military inspector glanced over the glass tube of the investigation room while organizing the testimony of the head of the resistance.
You can't see it from here but you can see it from there. Indeed what kind of judgment will he make...
So what are we going to do now?
Lee Cheol-woong wanted to know his place in a unified Korea.
He is the leader of the remaining North Korean forces and the number one contributor to this war.
I hope that if I appeal to that point I will be able to preoccupy my own position in a unified Korea.
Of course it will not be possible to wield absolute power like before but the fact that South Korea is a democratic country can also be used.
He who oversaw the remaining North Korean troops and carried out resistance activities represents North Korea... No he is the only Linmin hero.
In a unified Korea the people of North Korea should also be given the right to vote and of course there is no choice but to elect members governors and mayors to represent North Korean regions.
If he put himself the hero of Linmin and his subordinates in that place... he would be able to enjoy enough power though not as much as in the past.
He is a man who has the courage to refuse a terrible option that is completely incomprehensible but he is a senile politician who has risen to the rank of deputy commander of the General Guard in the North Korean political world where a slight movement can blow his throat.
He was a man with the ability to expand his power even in the midst of this chaotic post-war process.
That doesn't seem to be a matter for us to decide.
What is that...
It was then. The door to the investigation room opens and a bunch of people enter.
A Yankee in a bluish suit and a mass of armor exhaling a strange breath of flame behind him. Even a boy who just got out of his boyish tee who doesn't fit at all in this place.
Leon and Vulcanus and Kim Jae-hyeok.
The Pantheonists who watched them through the mirror looked down at the aging leader of the resistance.
“You are the famous pantheon——”
I'm sorry! Can't I get down on my knees right now!
Turn it off?!
A loud voice resounds in an enclosed space. After a little more it wouldn't be strange if his eardrums burst. After the lion the old general's knees gave way.
Your Majesty will command you! Be polite and accept it wholeheartedly!
That what is that...
Leon looked down at Ri Cheol-woong ignoring the protests that were not his.
According to the laws of the kingdom the crime of trying to damage the body. It is appropriate to destroy the soul... but since it has its own merits it is not unheard of to mitigate the crime.
Yes Your Majesty! Then should I slit your throat!?
Mere death instead of soul annihilation. It was a very lenient treatment for Lionheart's high treason.
But Leon shook his head and decided to be more lenient.
They are not believers. There is no God who will accept their souls when they die. Earthlings need to be considerate of their position.
Hmm so is he!
So I will find out the connection with this so-and-so and the soldiers under his command in the crime of injuring Ok-che and decide the severity of the punishment.
So lenient treatment of mere worm serf candidates...! You Vulcanus I am thrilled!
No what the heck are these things?
First of all this so-and-so and the generals in charge are sentenced to 5 years in prison as freed people and scheduled serfs. Jim himself ordered lenient treatment so we should not die.
I will order the knights!
When Ri Cheol-woong who could not keep up with the conversation between the two made a dumbfounded face Kim Jae-hyuk who followed as an assistant... more precisely as an interpreter whispered in his ear.
“You are now a serf.”
There was also Kim Jae-hyeok on the charter plane that the missile dropped.