“I’m ashamed things turned out like this the moment you returned, Corporal Shin.”

As soon as I boarded the vehicle.

The soldier riding with me bowed his head as he spoke.

A guy calling me Corporal Shin.

He was one of the juniors who had been with me since the days of the 423rd Battalion.

“There’s no need to apologize....”

It was good to see a familiar face.

But at the same time.

I could not help finding it strange.

The soldiers from the battalion days are the Legion’s core personnel now.

The men who had survived alongside me since the earliest days of the apocalypse.

Every last one of them was monstrously capable.

Naturally, ours was not a unit that would leave people like that sitting around idle. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

And yet.

They stationed someone of this level here just to move me quickly?

This guy.

Had been guarding that transfer gate for one reason alone.

To wait for me.

And not by himself, either, but alongside numerous soldiers.

There was no way that was not strange.

The Legion’s headquarters was located at the northern edge of South Korea, in Gangwon Province.

And if the Legion was still carrying out conquest wars, then the fiercest battlefield right now should have been somewhere in the south.

Seoul might have once been the capital of South Korea.

But it had already suffered collapse, and Luca’s body had rampaged through it, destroying it beyond recognition.

There was little reason for the Legion to commit major forces here immediately.

Which meant.

What this situation probably implied was.

“...Things must be pretty serious.”

“Yes.”

The guy nodded with a heavy expression.

“We tried to resolve it ourselves somehow... but in the end, we failed. We had no choice but to wait for your return.”

I had deliberately never reported what had happened in China to them.

That place had been such a complete nightmare.

That if they learned about it, they would obviously try to send reinforcements to me somehow.

Which also meant.

They probably had not even known when I would return.

And yet they had still been forced to wait for my arrival.

“...We are at war right now.”

“A war? Did some massive monster horde appear? Something like the Green Mane tribe?”

“No.”

Naturally.

I had assumed it was because some powerful monster had appeared.

...but I was wrong.

“Our enemy is human.”

“What?”

Even while I had been gone.

The Legion had steadily continued carrying out conquest wars.

It must have faithfully performed the mission the system had assigned us while expanding territory southward.

“Corporal Jeon Gwangil and Corporal Seo Suhyeok said you had already met them before, Corporal Shin.”

And.

That mission was one the system had given to us....

More precisely, to all awakened.

“We are currently facing a faction calling itself the Church.”

Meaning.

We were not the only humans carrying out conquest wars.

***

The vehicle continued moving after that.

However.

The direction it was heading was somewhat different from when I had first boarded it.

South, not north.

Not toward the Legion.

But rather in the exact opposite direction.

I stared blankly out at the devastated landscape and thought.

The Church, huh.

Back in the past.

There had been a call sent out in Seoul to the survivor groups scattered across each region.

Some groups had ignored the call, but many had answered it.

The Church had been one of them.

Thinking back on those memories.

Among the people I had met in Seoul.

There had only been two groups besides us that had managed to form proper large-scale factions.

One was Seoul’s provisional government.

The other was the Church.

Though that provisional government itself had been an illusion born from Jang Youngwoong’s regret.

Meaning.

Aside from us, they were the only ones who had successfully built a major force.

...But.

I had never imagined we would end up fighting them.

After all.

*Back then, they were clearly cooperative toward us.... *

When we had stormed out of the meeting with Seoul’s side.

The Church had listened to our arguments and sided with us.

And after we shattered all those illusions.

When we met them again in the real Seoul, it had been the same.

-We will follow your will... mighty one....

Throughout all the repetitions in Seoul.

And until the very end of those repetitions.

They had shown goodwill toward me.

Even when I was dropped into China, I left instructions that they should cooperate with them if necessary.

That was how genuine the goodwill they showed me had seemed.

And yet somehow.

We were now at war with those very people.

That thought made my head ache, and as I rubbed my forehead.

“...You’ve arrived!”

Soon.

The vehicle reached its destination, and the door opened.

The moment I stepped outside and looked at the nearby sign.

I understood where we were.

Chungcheongnam-do.

The region where the Church had supposedly established itself.

South Chungcheong Province.

“Sorry for dragging you into work the moment you returned, Commander.”

The instant I stepped out of the vehicle.

Soldiers in military uniforms immediately approached me.

“Squad Leader Lee Sanga?”

And.

After seeing who represented them, I spoke in surprise.

“Even you’re here, Squad Leader Lee Sanga?”

“That’s how things turned out.”

She let out a sigh at my words.

Squad Leader Lee Sanga was definitely one of our unit’s senior officers.

One of the earliest survivors to join our unit.

And now one of the key figures overseeing the Legion’s production personnel.

The problem was.

She was, quite literally, production personnel.

Her own combat ability was considerable as well.

But as the person overseeing the production divisions.

She normally remained in Bimana even during wartime.

“It’s not just me.”

And.

The moment she said that.

“Corporal Shin is here!”

Hearing the shout from afar, I turned my head.

I could see soldiers approaching this way.

“Corporal Shin!!!”

“Gwangil?”

“You’ve finally returned!”

An enormous warrior of a man.

Corporal Jeon Gwangil strode toward me.

And behind him.

“...You’ve finally come back.”

“Youngjun, what the hell happened to you for it to take this long...?”

Corporal Seo Suhyeok.

And Sergeant Lee Minjae also revealed themselves.

***

These are good faces to see.

Yeah.

If I were being honest, they were familiar faces I wanted to sit around talking with for hours about everything that had happened in that land.

But.

The moment I saw all of them gathered together.

I could not smile easily.

Because.

“...Are you telling me every core officer in the unit except me left Bimana and came here?”

That fact.

Kept me from feeling relieved.

Bimana isn’t a fortress you can just leave unattended.

Maybe before.

But there had been the incident right before we crossed into Gyeonggi Province.

And there were also the questions surrounding the “special privileges” I had learned about while fighting the grand duke.

*They’re lending us their strength for now, but.... *

Maybe.

Leaving Bimana unattended might actually be extremely dangerous.

That realization sent unease washing over me, but.

“As a precaution, only Lieutenant General Kim, who was overseeing overall command, remained behind in Bimana.”

“...Ah!”

At Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s next words.

I could finally let out a sigh of relief.

Maybe not back when he was Lieutenant Kim, but the current Lieutenant General Kim can be trusted.

When he used his skill, Lieutenant General Kim’s capabilities were so exceptional they made someone like me unnecessary.

If he was staying in Bimana.

Then even if something happened, he would be able to handle it.

Which only made things even stranger.

“You’re saying the problem still hasn’t been resolved even with Lieutenant General Kim in command?”

“...Yeah.”

Sergeant Lee Minjae frowned as he spoke.

“Even after you disappeared, the Legion kept carrying out conquest wars.”

The one who had ordered that.

Was me.

Instead of wasting time trying to figure out how to enter another country to rescue me.

They were to continue conquest wars as quickly as possible and save whatever humans might still be alive somewhere.

They had faithfully obeyed those orders.

“There were plenty of crises along the way, but....”

“We also had help from our allies. And with Lieutenant General Kim’s command, we managed to overcome them somehow.”

If the Legion had been alone, that would have been one thing.

But after the incident in Gyeonggi Province.

A considerable number of awakened from that entire region had become our allies.

And on top of that, there was Lieutenant General Kim’s command ability.

With that kind of force, unless something truly catastrophic happened, there’s no way they couldn’t solve it.

And then.

“Because of that, humanity succeeded in reclaiming control over all of South Korea.”

Just as I had expected.

That force had solved most problems.

And succeeded in reclaiming control over all of South Korea....

“...Wait. What did you just say?”

At Squad Leader Lee Sanga’s words.

I could only stare blankly with my mouth hanging open.

“What did you just say?”

“Exactly what I told you. There are still scattered minor nests we haven’t exterminated yet, but.”

As she spoke.

She pulled a map from her coat.

And on that map.

“At least according to the system.”

From the northern tip of Gangwon Province.

All the way down to Jeju Island in the far south.

“All of South Korea has now become humanity’s territory.”

It was colored blue.

...The exact same color.

Used to mark conquered territory.

***

I stared blankly.

At the map before me.

Already?

Quite a bit of time had passed since I had suddenly been thrown into another country.

But even if the density of those days had been insane.

By the calendar, not even three months had passed yet.

And in that time.

They had already succeeded in conquering the entire country.

...How the hell did they manage that?

As the Legion Commander, even I found those results terrifying.

I could not even imagine what they had done to achieve that much in such a short time.

It was beyond comprehension.

Just how absurd had Lieutenant General Kim’s command been...?

“...Corporal Shin, your order was to prioritize conquest wars above all else.”

As I stood there dumbfounded.

Corporal Seo Suhyeok scratched his head and spoke.

“So we figured... if that was the case, then shouldn’t we just finish the conquest war as quickly as possible?”

“......”

“If we completed the conquest war, the barriers between nations would open too. And then we’d be able to send support toward China faster... something like that.”

At those words.

I stared blankly at the soldiers.

Results so fast that even I could not comprehend them.

And the reason they had achieved those results.

Of all things....

Was to send forces to rescue me.

Jesus.

It was such an absurd reason.

And the fact that something this insane had been possible because of that reason made it even more ridiculous.

So.

“Hah. Is that so?”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

“...You look way too happy about this.”

“We practically worked ourselves to death over here.”

“Hah hah, still, isn’t it a good thing you came back safely?”

The unit members looked at me like I was unbelievable.

While Corporal Jeon Gwangil laughed heartily.

“Mm? More importantly.”

Anyway.

Now I understood how they had managed to accomplish all that.

“But I heard we’re at war right now.”

“Haaah, and that’s the problem.”

The problem was.

The current situation did not fit those incredible achievements at all.

“The conquest progressed smoothly, and we managed to finish far faster than expected. There were still problems scattered everywhere, but we were able to fulfill the most important conquest requirements almost instantly.”

“According to the original plan, we should have completed the conquest war weeks ago and already sent forces to rescue you, Corporal Shin.”

The unit members spoke with dark expressions.

“We never imagined it back then. To think that....”

And.

The reason they frowned.

The reason the current situation looked so incompatible with everything they had achieved.

Was actually very simple.

“...One of those allies betrayed us at the very end.”

Betrayal.

One of the Legion’s allies had stabbed the Legion in the back.