Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 345

“No, wait—what are you saying right now? Abandon Dandong City?”

“Just as I said. If this situation reaches its worst-case scenario, the Party has chosen to decisively abandon Dandong City.”

“No, but that’s just—”

Dandong City was by no means a small city.

And yet they were saying they would give it up?

But Wang Qiang, the elite ability unit officer carrying the Party’s orders, remained firm.

“This isn’t a rash decision. I’ve heard that he defeated the Blue King in an instant. The Blue King was level 270, and if he took him down like that, just how powerful do you think he is?”

“Well, that’s...”

“This is a realistic measure. Even Alex Morgan from the United States, one of the world’s top players, hasn’t even reached level 230. No matter how capable our ability forces are, a full-on war with that man is out of the question.”

“......”

The department head had nothing to say.

Every word of it was painfully correct.

Bluntly put, if they deployed the elite ability troops to protect a single city near the Yalu River—Dandong City—and ended up losing those elites, that loss would be truly irrecoverable.

Wang Qiang spoke again, his tone heavy.

“So think on a national scale and accept it. This decision is for everyone.”

“...Understood.”

And just then—

“D-Department Head!”

A panicked voice.

It was another agent from the surveillance team.

The department head asked,

“What is it?”

“The Red King is on the move again! This time it’s Yuanbao District!”

“What?!”

At the agent’s words, both the department head and Wang Qiang rushed over to the surveillance monitors.

Just as the report said.

Only a short while ago, the Lizardmen army had retreated. But now, they had reappeared—this time in the upper district, Yuanbao.

“Son of a bitch!!”

It was the same situation all over again.

The Lizardmen advanced slowly, and the people fled.

In the process, accidents occurred, cars and buildings were destroyed, and district after district fell under Lizardman occupation.

And at the center of it all was the Red King—exuding a force that utterly dwarfed the Blue King.

“......”

“......”

“......”

None of the personnel could say a word as they watched the shocking footage.

Wang Qiang was no exception.

Seeing the Red King and his army in person—it was far beyond what had been reported.

Then Wang Qiang narrowed his eyes and said,

“...Something’s off.”

“What do you mean?”

“That one... doesn’t seem to be intentionally attacking civilians.”

“...What?”

Wang Qiang had sharp perception.

And in truth, Su-ho, under royal edict, was deliberately minimizing civilian casualties.

That tactic—whether coincidental or not—appeared to Wang Qiang, sent on behalf of the Party, as an incredibly strategic maneuver.

Just then—

“Huh?”

“...What?”

“What the hell?”

The agents groaned in confusion.

Because the Red King was staring directly into the surveillance camera.

It wasn’t a coincidence.

The Red King looked straight into the lens, then raised his index and middle fingers and pointed back and forth between his own eyes and the camera.

A clear gesture—I see you.

“...Hah.”

“You’ve got to be kidding...”

The agents let out stunned chuckles at the absurdity.

But it made things certain.

Or rather—Wang Qiang was now completely convinced.

That every move the Red King was making was deliberately calculated—and full of strategic warning.

With a faint laugh, Wang Qiang said,

“What a monster. He’s warning us not to get any funny ideas.”

“A warning?”

“What else would it be? He’s intentionally avoiding casualties. What that tells us is that he’s showing off—celebrating a change in kingship and flaunting his power.”

“I see...”

Everyone nodded at Wang Qiang’s assessment.

And in truth, Su-ho continued his show of force, hitting one district and county after another in full display.

Eventually, after hitting the final city, Su-ho finally withdrew the Lizardmen.

It had taken some time.

Naturally so—he’d attacked every Chinese city bordering the Yalu River.

There hadn’t been zero civilian casualties—but compared to the scale of the attack, it was practically negligible.

'That should be enough.'

This level of showmanship would suffice.

Now, even the Central Military Commission would have a clear understanding of the new Lizardman leader’s power—and wouldn’t dare even think about crossing the Yalu River into North Korea.

For Su-ho, this was just right.

To demonstrate such overwhelming force that they wouldn’t even dream of retaliating.

Because Su-ho had many more things to do—starting in North Korea.

He looked over the excited Lizardmen, now basking in exhilaration from the battle.

'Now then. Time to move on.'

The Yalu River project was a success.

He’d subdued the troublesome Lizardmen under his command—and resolved China’s border aggression through them.

Russia had already been internally wrecked. And everything he had wanted from North Korea—he’d taken.

So now it was time to leave.

The remaining monsters and Gates in North Korea would be dealt with slowly by the domestic guild coalition.

'I’ve done everything I needed to do.'

Sure, Su-ho was still technically a civil servant—but he’d already put systems in place so things would function without him. There was no need to remain.

After all, he hadn’t joined the Grand Hunter Association to serve the country—but to wrap up the Gate phenomenon more quickly and efficiently.

With that in mind, Su-ho decided to assign one final task to the Lizardmen before leaving the Yalu.

He shouted,

'That’s the advantage of being born monsters.'

In other words—they were a perfect army that required no supply lines.

Which is why Su-ho wanted to keep the Lizardmen with him for as long as possible.

He checked the time.

With that, everything he needed to do in North Korea was finished.

No—in both South and North Korea, everything that had to be done on the Korean Peninsula was now complete.

It was time to move internationally.

And the first destination—was without question, Japan.

Su-ho activated his skill.

[Shadow Step is activating.]

*

His [Shadow Step] took him to Seoul.

Back home, Su-ho confirmed that no one was inside, then immediately pulled out his phone and made a call.

“Yes, sir.”

The one who answered was Ion, the Union representative.

Su-ho asked,

“Are you busy, Director?”

“No, it’s fine. What’s going on?”

“The North Korea project is complete. So I wanted to ask for your help with the next step.”

“...Excuse me?”

Ion, who had been working on paperwork, quickly sat up straight.

He grabbed the phone from under his chin and held it properly.

“The North Korea project? You mean the Unification Purification Operation? But that’s still in full swing, isn’t it?”

“Publicly, yes. But I never move publicly, do I? Everything I had to do is done. I just got back from the Yalu River.”

“...Good god.”

He knew Su-ho was insane, but not this insane.

What was even more terrifying was that the man on the other end of the call wasn’t the type to bluff.

Ion asked,

“I’ve said it before, but Director, you really are something else. So—what’s the next step? You’re moving unofficially again, right?”

“Exactly. I’m heading to Japan next. So I wanted to ask—how’s the Japanese corporate registration with Sumiyoshi going?”

“The corporation was registered a while ago, and we’ve started the approval process for the raid operations as you instructed. But...”

“But?”

“Well, as you know, Japan is still very analog when it comes to paperwork. The raid business approval hasn’t gone through yet.”

“Even with Sumiyoshi helping?”

“Yes, it’s still a foreign-based company, after all.”

“...Hmm.”

That’s a problem.

After a moment’s thought, Su-ho responded.

“I’ll go deal with that myself. But before that, there’s something I’d like to request.”

“What is it?”

“I need some meteoric iron and pure gold.”

“Meteoric iron and gold?”

“Yes. A lot of both. I’ll send you the full list—please deliver it to the Cheongdam house. I can depart for Japan immediately. Where are you now?”

Ion blinked rapidly at Su-ho’s words.