Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 293
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 293
62. Crossing the Line (3)
The world Peace Organization possesses its own independent military force, much like the UN of the past.
However, a recently established organization could not possibly have the funds to operate an army, so Adrian secured military power by having some forces seconded from Rondel and Earth's member nations.
The peacekeeping force gathered in this way numbered 50,000.
In Rondel, even a small nation can easily muster 100,000 by combining its royal army and domain forces, so it is an ambiguous number that seems like a lot and yet seems small.
However, the characteristic of this army is that half of its 50,000 troops are composed of vanguard and sky-fortress units.
Of course, Earth's infantry, armored, aerial, and naval forces are also included, but these are merely auxiliary forces the peacekeeping force's main strength was the Vanga and the Heaven-Piercing Fortress.
Currently, the peacekeeping force operates 200 Heaven-Piercing Fortresses.
The Vanga number 10,000.
With this level of power, it was nearly at the level of a mid-tier nation in Rondel.
"Mom, what's that?"
At first, member nations raised questions, saying it was too excessive a military force for an international organization to possess.
Most nations agreed with that sentiment, but Adrian silenced everyone by saying, 'It is a force that I and my close aides could eliminate within 10 minutes.'
It meant that if he ever decided to wield force, it would be easier to just step out alone.
Nevertheless, he stated that the reason for maintaining an army was not for Adrian's sake, but for the member nations.
It was a deterrent to prevent disputes between member nations, and a protective force to defend member nations in unforeseen conflicts with non-member nations.
"W-what? Why is the Heaven-Piercing Fortress?"
"What? What's happening?"
"Could it be an invasion?"
"Damn it! What are those Rondel bastards thinking!"
"Come to think of it, they said they were hunting down terrorists...."
"A-are you insane. All this commotion just to catch terrorists?"
But such a peacekeeping force is being used in the most concerning manner possible.
By Adrian's personal order, its full strength was deployed for an unverified incident.
Heaven-Piercing Fortresses and Vanga units were positioned across Earth as if conducting surveillance.
It was truly a bolt from the blue.
Thanks to this, Earth was in an uproar, and even in Rondel, people called Adrian's actions reckless and expressed concern.
[Wow, the Heaven-Piercing Fortress is huge.]
[Didn't they say that in Rondel, even the weakest nation has at least 100 Heaven-Piercing Fortresses?]
[Even compared to America's supercarriers, the scale is different. Comparison photo here.]
[It's practically an island, a flying island.]
[But some of them look different?]
[Those are probably Grand Duke Lawrence's personal guard. The ones called the Four Heavenly Kings too they're in a different dimension of strength.]
[No brakes, huh. Look at him immediately raising an army when he gets pissed.]
But for some reason, online, the reaction was different.
Seeing Adrian unhesitatingly shake the world according to his will, they felt vicarious satisfaction.
"President Michael! This happened because they look down on Earth! We must never hand over Lady Aa!"
"Hmm...."
"Surely Lady Aa would build even a Heaven-Piercing Fortress for us anytime! Giving him up is like giving up Earth's future! Have you forgotten? The catastrophe that happened at the Miami coast a few days ago!"
And there were people standing at a crossroads of choice hostility or friendship neither supporting nor condemning Adrian.
They were the ones who had formed an alliance with Aa.
America's President George Michael, in the video conference room, leisurely swept back the bangs that had fallen over his face at the sight of England's Prime Minister raising his voice through the monitor, and lifted his head.
However, his composure was only on the surface.
His pupils shook ceaselessly, and sweat beads had formed on his forehead.
It was a natural reaction, having inadvertently been included among the hostile forces that Adrian had declared terrorists.
"But if we are caught by Grand Duke Lawrence while protecting Lady Aa, we could all be judged together. You are saying this with that in mind, I trust?"
"For the sake of future well-being, I would gladly offer my one life."
"It might not be just our lives, which is why you're saying that, isn't it?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"If it were him, he could designate the entire nation as a force supporting terrorists. That would cause enormous damage."
"Even if he is that vicious, would he really go that far? What crime have the people committed?"
"Look at this situation. When he moved his armies, did he ever show anyone consideration? They say this kind of behavior was famous in Rondel in the past as well. In fact, there was even a case where he designated a nation as a demon worshiper-supporting country and launched a surprise attack on its capital."
At least the Adrian of now does not wish to harm these people.
But if they reject this goodwill, then there will be no more consideration or anything else.
They will truly become enemies.
"We cannot bring about technological transformation as quickly as Lady Aa, but I believe maintaining a friendly relationship with Grand Duke Lawrence and gradually adapting to change is also a viable method."
At President George Michael's words, England's Prime Minister's face turned red and blue by turns.
It did not take long for England's Prime Minister's reaction to change, however...
"Huu, so you are saying you will hand over Lady Aa's information?"
Was he not also a person running a nation?
He understood well that his own judgment could bring about an aftermath.
"Of course.... No, wait."
"What is it?"
At England's Prime Minister's question, President Michael, who had been about to nod absently, stopped.
For a good idea had suddenly occurred to him.
"Rather than handing it over right away, it would be better to first take what we can get and then hand it over."
"What do you mean by that?"
"What Grand Duke Lawrence wants is Lady Aa herself, not the technology she possesses, is it not?"
"Ah...."
England's Prime Minister, understanding the American President's thinking, judged that this was certainly the most realistic method.
"I hear that the core of the Earth-type Gigant she created is something called the 'Essence of Sumer'? Did they not say that only she can produce it?"
"We will have to make up for the lacking parts ourselves. And Lady Aa's technology is not limited to Gigants either."
"You mean the small bombs that were used in the terrorism?"
The small bombs that had even pierced through Adrian's barrier.
Of course, that barrier had not been Adrian's own power, but everyone knew that the bomb was the catalyst that had made him so fiercely zealous in pursuing Aa's arrest.
"In some ways, rather than the Gigants made by referencing Rondel's technology, the small yet powerful bombs seem to have better compatibility with Earth's power."
Even if less destructive than Gigants, it was a highly realistic alternative in that it could rapidly elevate military power.
"When do you plan to make contact?"
"Right now would be difficult. The world's attention is too focused, and Grand Duke Lawrence seems to be single-mindedly obsessed with the search."
"Then we will need to observe the situation for now."
"Yes, that seems better. As time passes, Grand Duke Lawrence may calm down."
But they did not know.
That what Adrian possessed was not simply strong power alone.
* * *
I thought.
In the current situation, if I were Aa, how would I act?
Would I approach someone?
The answer came simply.
'I would reach out to those who view Rondel unfavorably. Preferably to a large-scale force or nation.'
On Earth, there were still quite a few non-member countries that regarded Rondel and the goddess Sepia as enemies and had not joined the International Peace Organization.
Most of them were Islam-related nations, and since the place where Aa had been hiding happened to be the Middle East, Iraq, it was plausible she would reach out to them.
But I first excluded Islam-related nations from the list of candidates likely to support Aa.
The reason is simple.
Because I could not see them who deny Sepia and are uncooperative with the World Peace Organization supporting a Sumerian god who dropped out of the sky.
Even in Iraq's case alone, Aa's true identity had not even been made known to the government, so it was only natural.
"Is this about it?"
The circles I had drawn on the map numbered three.
The targets were China, Russia, and America.
China, shattered into dozens of pieces because of me, had no need to speak at length about its desire for revenge, and I judged that America and Russia which had once been the center of the world through military power had a high possibility of joining hands with Aa to elevate their weakened strength.
"If I had to pick just one among these, would it be America?"
The positions of China and Russia were understandable enough, but here I also needed to understand Aa's side.
After all, there would be no place as reliable as America for guaranteeing their own safety.
So I began investigating and monitoring America.
[Relevant information has been acquired.]
The artificial intelligence named 'Sicily,' which Bug had built, succeeded in finding the contact point between Aa and America.
And in the process, I learned that not only America but also the Commonwealth including England and Canada had ties to Aa.
"What do we do about them?"
"We just hide and wait, then round them all up at once when they make contact."
Bug, who had been controlling Sicily, answered my muttering with a sullen expression.
Apparently she was displeased about having been caught while out on an adventure.
Her words were entirely reasonable.
After all, if I demanded accountability from America right away, Aa would only burrow deeper into hiding.
But I shook my head at Bug's suggestion.
"Everyone's just rolling their eyes and watching each other. We should assume there's no chance of contact for a while."
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
"If they won't move, we just make them move on their own."
Bug tilted her head, not understanding.
With a calm expression, I made a phone call to someone.
And a short while later.
[Adrian El Lawrence, Grand Duke. Requests the Sepia Order to use a Holy Relic in order to capture terrorists and their sympathizers.]
[The Holy Relic he requested is the Scales of Justice. The Scales of Justice is an object that distinguishes truth from falsehood, and not a single error has ever been found to this day.]
[Grand Duke Lawrence intends to use these Scales of Justice to ask the leaders of each nation where they stand.]
I looked at Bug and shrugged.
"This will force them to move quickly, won't it?"
"Isn't this rather going to make them distance themselves further from Aa?"
"If I were to investigate America first, that would be the case. But what if I push America's investigation order to the back and give them enough time to move?"
"Well, they'd be conflicted, I guess."
Conflicted?
They'll move 100%.
I let out a bitter laugh and imagined the situation in America, which must be in an uproar by now.
* * *
Earth, thrown into chaos by a few people.
But even amid this uproar, there are people going about their days no differently than usual.
"Seonghyeon! Nice cut!"
"I'll finish it off!"
Major Lee Geunseok of Adrian's Gift experimental unit and his party were like that.
Now fully displaying the appearance of an elite force, they continued to grow by hunting ogres.
"Yes! An OPG dropped! Is there anyone in our party who doesn't have an OPG?"
"I think only Priestess Lydia doesn't have one?"
"I'm rear Support, so I don't particularly need combat items."
"Aw, but you never know it's good to have one just in case. It's unfair if everyone has one and only one person doesn't."
"Ahem, ahem, then I won't decline."
Currently, his party's growth speed was unrivaled even when compared to others.
The reason was the magic sword and magic spear that Adrian had gifted them like candy after clearing dungeons.
Even ogres that would normally require painstaking coordination to barely take down one of were split in two with a single stroke before these two weapons, and thanks to that, growth they'd thought would take one to two years was achieved in just a few months.
Perhaps because of that, they became representative figures who revered Adrian more than anyone.
They believed that even the incidents Adrian was currently causing on Earth were surely unavoidable for the sake of peace.
All they could do was grow stronger.
As an experimental unit personally created by Adrian, their role was to live up to his expectations.
"Let's wrap up for today and head back."
"Yeah."
And so, after spending another fulfilling day, they left the hunting grounds to return to their unit and rest.
"Salute!"
"Yes, good work."
Receiving the salutes of the soldiers managing entry to the ogre hunting grounds, Major Lee Geunseok's party boarded the limousine bus prepared for them.
And the limousine bus began gliding along the road.
"Hm?"
"What's that?"
The people on the bus passed the time during the ride by fiddling with their smartphones and terminal devices...
At Major Lee Geunseok's puzzled exclamation after glancing out the window, everyone's gaze turned outside.
What caught their eyes was a massive object descending with a long flame trailing like a tail.
"Isn't that the Sky Fortress?"
"No way, is it falling?"
"Whoa whoa whoa?"
Just as they said, it was the Heaven-Piercing Fortress, and it was not flying but falling.
The problem was why that sturdy Sky Fortress was falling.
And the fact that the crash site was Seoul, South Korea's largest population center.