The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 139

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#139. Consortium

“What’s the name of this brat who dares interrupt adults in conversation?”
“He is Marcus Kane, Captain of the Elysium Security Force, sir. Young one, if you wish to wag your tongue, do so carefully. Those words might be the last ones you ever speak.”

For safety, I had descended to the Collapsed Plaza alone, bringing no one else to the negotiation site.
Instead, to provide information, I was broadcasting the contents of the negotiation in real-time to the Hive Hornet, so my remaining comrades were watching the discussion between me and the Elysium residents from the Hive Hornet’s Control Tower.

“Marcus Kane!! I heard you retired due to injuries sustained during operations—were you hiding here all this time!?”

At Captain Cooper’s exclamation, which suggested he knew the other party well, the magical projection I had left in the Control Tower turned its head.
My main body piloting Atlas, my magical avatar attending the negotiation, and another projection left in the Control Tower.
It was a complex task requiring me to divide my consciousness into three parts and process three separate streams of thought simultaneously, but for a Mage like myself, it was hardly difficult.

“Do you know him well?”
“Any U.S. Military Awakened would know him. Marcus Kane—one of the rare few warriors capable of facing a Level 8 Corrosion Entity in a one-on-one engagement.”
“Hmm….”

A smile played at the corners of my mouth upon hearing Captain Cooper’s words.
In the current situation where even a modicum of additional strength was needed, the appearance of a powerhouse like Marcus Kane was something to welcome with open arms.
Of course, the persuasion process might require some coercion and violence, but whether I brought him in willingly or beat him into submission, as long as I could utilize his strength, there was no real problem—or so I thought.

“You didn’t flinch even after witnessing a Golem breach the Shelter’s ceiling—you’re quite confident in your abilities, aren’t you? Then allow me to introduce myself as well. My name is Ma Sungjun. I am an Awakened from South Korea, the prized disciple of the great Archmage Minastrias, and a Mage who has slain the Corrosion Entities of apocalyptic grade that appeared in China and Japan.”

Upon hearing my words, Kane’s pupils dilated with shock.
As someone well-versed in the power wielded by apocalyptic-grade Corrosion Entities, he found it utterly unbelievable that the young man before him had defeated not one, but two such entities.
In that instant, a voice echoed from the Hive Hornet hovering at an altitude of 1000 meters, reaching Marcus’s ears as he wrestled with doubts about whether my claims were mere boasting.

[This is General Seth Macfarlane, former Commander of the Western Regional Defense Force and Director of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. As the U.S. Western Regional Defense Authority, I can vouch that everything this young man has stated is the absolute truth.]
“That’s impossible….”
“Yet a 60-meter Steel Golem piercing through the Shelter’s ceiling and an aircraft carrier flying through the sky makes sense?”

Since the situation they currently faced defied common sense to begin with, Kane rapidly accepted the reality.
That the young man before him possessed such tremendous power.
And that his own strength could never possibly overcome such a man.
Ignoring Kane, whose gaze had dimmed with resignation, I continued the conversation.

“In any case, as the supreme commander of the American Continent Reclamation Operation, I’m implementing forced expropriation of resources. I trust you’ll cooperate.”
“Forced expropriation of property?”

The term “forced expropriation” that left Sung-jun’s lips was translated into English by magic and reached Alexander Crawford’s ears.
Understanding the weight of those words all too well, Crawford rose from his chair so violently it toppled backward, and he protested to Sung-jun.

“By what authority?!”
“Wartime authority, naturally. I’m done watching you burrow like moles, waiting for others to clean up your mess. Since I—a non-American—am leading the charge, you’ll cooperate as well.”
“That’s a violation of private property!”

Intimidated by the lethal intensity in Sung-jun’s gaze, Crawford—far his senior in years—responded with formal speech, his voice trembling as he countered.
Sung-jun then pointed to the colossal golem standing behind him and addressed Crawford.

“That was constructed entirely from the Sierra Army Supply Base—U.S. Military property.”

He then gestured toward the Hive Hornet hovering in the sky.

“And that’s an aerial carrier I repurposed from the USS Hornet—government property that was being used as an aerospace museum.”
“What are you implying? That I should surrender without resistance because your military strength is overwhelming?”
“You could interpret it that way, but here’s another interpretation: ‘Does the concept of private property even hold meaning for someone who freely commandeers government assets?’ Consider that.”
“Essentially, you’re saying I should hand over everything without objection?”
“The nuance is different. The nuance matters. I’m no thief, so ‘hand it over’ isn’t the right phrasing. Everything I’m taking from here—all resources and personnel—I’m merely ‘borrowing.'”
“Borrowing? You call it borrowing when someone punches a hole through your ceiling?”
“I knocked politely. Your door was just too fragile.”

With my abilities, finding a proper entrance or summoning phantoms inside the shelter without collapsing the ceiling would have been trivial.
Yet I deliberately punched that massive hole through the shelter’s ceiling, accepting the hostility it would provoke, precisely to shatter the shelter’s unique “security.”
Had I entered negotiations with the ceiling intact, Crawford would have had no reason to listen to me.
But the moment that gaping hole appeared—one through which Corrosion Entities could pass as freely as through their own home—the Consortium and the Western Defense Force became, in essence, bound to a shared fate.
If I failed to eliminate the Apocalypse-class Corrosion Entity that had appeared in New York, they too would lose the safety they currently enjoyed.
Crawford, fully aware of this reality, clenched his jaw and glared at my phantom form.

“Tell me what you want.”
“Right now, what I need most is supplies. I scanned your warehouses with magic, and eighty percent seems about right.”
“You’re taking eighty percent of our current supplies?!”
“And I’ll need to conscript eighty percent of your security personnel as well. The last battle left so many casualties that we’re critically short on soldiers relative to our equipment.”

There had never been a robbery quite like this.
They’d burst through the ceiling without warning, and now they demanded eighty percent of everything we owned—not even offering to cover the repairs.
Alexander Crawford, a prominent businessman before D-day, quickly smiled and proposed a negotiation to Sung-jun.

“Thirty percent, then. Eighty is far too excessive.”
“But you have enough supplies here to feed everyone comfortably for over a decade. Besides, you’ve got a self-sufficient system in place, so taking eighty percent won’t affect your ability to survive, will it?”
“Of course, if we only consider living here, you’re right. But we must think beyond when this crisis ends. We have so many supplies precisely because we spent cash before D-day to purchase them in bulk. In times like these, a single can of food is worth more than paper currency.”
“So you’re saying the supplies in your warehouse are investment capital to use instead of money once everything settles?”
“Exactly. When peace comes, someone must begin reconstruction. That process will require labor. The supplies we’re protecting aren’t merely for our own survival. Eventually, they’ll return to the American people anyway.”
“That sounds remarkably persuasive, but you’re planning to extract labor in return, aren’t you? You’re packaging your scheme to exploit people with goods instead of worthless currency in rather beautiful language.”
“Is it wrong to demand fair compensation for an investment?”
“No, it’s not wrong.”

As I shook my head and spoke, Crawford’s smile brightened.
But my next words instantly wiped that smile from his face.

“But isn’t something odd about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“This idea of compensation for investment. You’re saying you’ll pay for labor after peace comes with the supplies you’ve gathered, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Then who creates that peace?”
“That is… well…”
“Essentially, you’re trying to obtain peace for free—peace that others will bleed to achieve—while refusing to part with a single penny of your own wealth.”

My phantom extended its hand, palm facing upward.
It was a gesture reminiscent of a creditor demanding repayment of a debt.

“So think of it as an investment and hand it over willingly. In exchange for the supplies and personnel you provide, I’ll give you something in return: peace.”

***

After the negotiation concluded, I secured the eighty percent of supplies and personnel I’d demanded.
Though it wasn’t quite outright confiscation—during the talks, Crawford’s tearful insistence that he’d fight to the death rather than surrender had moved me to offer something in return.
In exchange for the vast quantities of supplies capable of feeding one hundred thousand people for nearly a year, I provided Steel Golems—countless ones stacked in the subspace connected to Hive Hornet.

“Five four-meter units and five ten-meter units. That should be fair compensation.”

Sung-jun had requisitioned not just the materials needed for golem construction, but also stripped the shelter of its defensive installations and building materials wholesale. Consequently, the security status of the shelter after the forced requisition had deteriorated severely.
However, the combat power of the Steel Golems that Sung-jun provided overwhelmingly surpassed all the defensive equipment and weapons he had taken combined, so Alexander Crawford found himself reasonably satisfied with this transaction.
Moreover, there was also the promise that after the war ended, he would receive partial ownership of the disarmed Steel Golems.

‘A single one of these can exert the power of dozens or more pieces of heavy equipment. With just one hundred of these massive golems in a disarmed state, I could become fabulously wealthy in an instant.’

No matter how I thought about it, the utility of the Steel Golems created by this Mage named Sung-jun was nearly infinite.
These steel giants, capable of movements similar to humans yet possessing hundreds or thousands of times the strength of a human, would undoubtedly hold immense value in the post-war reconstruction efforts that would unfold after the war against the Corrosion Entities ended.
While the transaction regarding the materials to be provided was concluded, the only problem that arose was the matter of the troops to be deployed to the battlefield.
Originally, the contract concerning the guards originating from Awakened individuals was premised on them taking charge of the shelter’s security, not on their participation in combat.
Naturally, the Awakened individuals who had received residential rights to the Consortium and become guards refused to participate in the battlefield where they might die alongside Sung-jun, but Sung-jun resolved the problem simply by persuading Crawford, his employer.

“Yes. Speaking as the administrative director of the Consortium, you’re fired as of today.”
“What do you mean? Fired?”
“Wasn’t our original contract one where I provided you with residential rights and supplies in exchange for you taking responsibility for the shelter’s safety?”

Crawford, speaking to Kane, pointed his finger toward the sky.
There, through the enormous hole that Sung-jun’s Atlas had torn open, the blue sky shone beautifully.

“From the moment this hole appeared in the shelter’s ceiling, you failed to uphold your contract. Therefore, your residential rights are void. You and all the guards under your command.”
“Are you seriously saying that? That hole itself is a natural disaster beyond anyone’s control, and you’re firing me based on that? That’s unjust!”
“Those terrible insect bastards falling from the sky through the Dimensional Gate was itself a natural disaster. And you swore you would protect the Consortium from all that danger. You failed. So my dismissal is justified. Didn’t I say from the beginning? If you want to remain here, then by any means necessary, protect this place and survive, or else fight and die protecting it.”

As Crawford spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice and grasped Kane’s hand.

“With this, the contract is voided and you are free. Go. Go and follow that man Sung-jun and bring down those monsters. Let them see with their own eyes that Marcus Kane, the man I trusted and believed in, was the finest quality merchandise.”

Crawford’s voice trembled dizzily with the fear and regret of sending his most trusted guard off to the battlefield.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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