The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#076. An Irrefusable Choice

The emergency commission authority mentioned by Takayoshi Hironubu, chairman of the All-Japan Conqueror’s Union, was a special system created by the Japanese Government before D-day to reclaim control over the Awakened from the government side during crisis situations.

Basically, it was a system created to allow the Japanese Government to arbitrarily deploy adventurers during crisis situations like D-day, while allocating the peacetime operation and control authority of the Awakened, called adventurers, to individual clans belonging to civilian organizations.

According to that clause, when the Japanese Government activated the emergency commission authority, it could exercise the right to prioritize deploying any Awakened among those throughout Japan to dangerous areas the government desired.

Even if that Awakened belonged not to an adventurer from the Conqueror’s Union, but to a foreign government’s Awakened.

However, the Japanese Government had never activated that authority even once, either before or after D-day.

Unlike other countries that experienced nationwide large-scale Corrosion Entity invasion incidents along with the appearance of apocalypse-class Corrosion Entities on D-day, Japan’s D-day had passed quietly without any particular damage.

But now, the Japanese Government was trying to activate that defunct authority for the first time since the All-Japan Conqueror’s Union and Awakened-related legislation were created.

“…So you’re saying that when the Japanese Government activates that authority, any Awakened existing on the Japanese Archipelago must respond to the Japanese Government’s request?”

“…That’s correct.”

“What if the person in question refuses?”

According to the explanation, when refusing the emergency commission authority, the Awakened in question would be subject to various penalties including inability to use facilities throughout the Japanese Archipelago and inability to hold legal responsibility when attacked by other Awakened.

Literally meaning they couldn’t receive any legal protection while active in Japan.

Moreover, if someone knowingly provided meals or sold goods to an adventurer who had refused the emergency commission authority, the party providing such services would also be held legally responsible, making the right to refuse the emergency commission authority practically not an option for adventurers wanting to be active in Japan.

A coercive clause that no adventurer living in Japan could refuse, unless they planned to cross the monster-infested seas to be active in other countries.

However, that clause was also evidence that the current Japanese Government was cornered enough to draw such a double-edged sword with that level of coercive power.

“It might be different for Awakened who worked under the government from the beginning, but activating such a clause on an Awakened active as a civilian might lead to the worst possible relationship with the Japanese Government, don’t you think?”

“That’s why it had never been activated even once until now. Generally, the government would place official commissions with the Adventurer’s Guild to receive volunteers.”

“Then why are you specifically activating it on me?”

“Because the severity of this incident is that great.”

Takayoshi informed Sung-jun about the current situation of the Osaka Dungeon as understood by the Japanese Government.

Due to the sudden large-scale discovery of legendary-grade or higher items, an enormous number of Awakened had flocked from across the nation to the deeper layers of the Osaka Dungeon, and suddenly the number of people returning to the surface from that well-functioning dungeon had drastically decreased.

And according to the words of Awakened who returned to the surface, due to conflicts within the sealed dungeon, hundreds of thousands of civilians and low-level Awakened in the lower layers had died en masse from starvation.

The most serious incident among them was that the 4th Base Camp, the only water supply source on the 20th Floor, had been completely destroyed by fierce battles that broke out among adventurers.

“…Then realistically, except for the 15th Floor which is within range to procure water from the 20th Floor, the adventurers who were on the other floors…”

“They could have survived for some time with the water they had when the base camp was destroyed, but surviving more than a month with the amount of water an individual can carry would have been impossible.”

Sung-jun bit his lips after hearing Takayoshi’s explanation.

The scheme the opponent used far exceeded the level of ‘malice’ he had predicted.

The most cruel part among them was the point that ’10 people per day can return to the surface.’

If returning to the surface was completely impossible, that would be one thing, but if there was even a little hope that one could ascend, humans were beings who wouldn’t hesitate to take others’ lives for that tiny hope.

“Fortunately, since 10 people per day could return, we were able to grasp the situation inside the Osaka Dungeon and establish countermeasures. We should consider it fortunate that it wasn’t completely sealed.”

“I actually feel the opponent’s malice in that part…”

“Is that so?”

“If it had been a situation where no one could come up from the beginning, it would have been better. The adventurers in the dungeon would have also assumed the dungeon blockade was a temporary accident and set their goal to endure as long as possible until the situation was resolved. There are harvest sites inside the dungeon that can supply food. If only water could be supplied, even with hundreds of thousands of people inside, they could have endured for quite a long period. But if there’s a way for even a very small number of humans to ascend to the surface, the story becomes quite different.”

Of course, Sung-jun didn’t think all adventurers in the dungeon were humans who would sacrifice others’ lives for their own.

But if the lives that could be saved were not one’s own life but others’ lives, the story became completely different.

There would be ‘comrades’ inside the dungeon who had been active together for long years.

Because the resistance to taking others’ lives ‘to save comrades’ was much lower than the resistance to taking others’ lives ‘to save oneself,’ Sung-jun predicted that large-scale massacres in the Osaka Dungeon would have started occurring earlier than expected.

“So what the Japanese Government wants to request of me now is to go to the Osaka Dungeon and rescue the adventurers who might be trapped in the deeper layers?”

“That’s correct. We haven’t confirmed the situation below the 70th Floor yet, but according to survivors’ reports, the only sealed portal is understood to be the one on the 1st Layer.”

‘Would the guy who deliberately made mythic-grade artifacts appear in the Osaka Dungeon to lure Awakened really have sealed only the portal on the 1st Layer?’

Sung-jun suspected that more than one portal was sealed.

Of course, according to survivors’ reports, all portals except the 1st Layer portal seemed to function normally, but in a situation where the rule of ‘free movement’ was already broken, there was no guarantee anywhere that all other portals would function normally.

Whether Takayoshi knew Sung-jun’s thoughts or not, he carefully opened his mouth while watching Sung-jun’s expression.

“Of course, the Japanese Government side doesn’t intend to make the unreasonable request for Sung-jun to eliminate all monsters in the dungeon and forcibly activate the portal from the 1st Layer to the surface. Currently, all portal researchers in Japan are working together to find a solution to the portal problem, and additional forces to support survivors are being gathered from across the nation. We’d like to make a different request of Sung-jun.”

“What would that be?”

“Transportation of support supplies.”

If Sung-jun stored the large amount of support supplies prepared by the Japanese Government side in subspace and delivered them underground, the adventurers and civilians expected to still remain underground would be able to endure for much longer.

Ultimately, what the Japanese Government wanted was for Sung-jun to quickly descend to the deepest part, bring all the adventurers there, and move to the 1st Layer.

Because from there, they could somehow return even the small number of 10 people per day to the surface.

“…So what you’re saying now is that you want me to buy time by distributing supply materials there until all adventurers in the Osaka Dungeon can return to the surface?”

“…That’s correct.”

“What about civilians?”

“The damage to civilians occurring in emergency situations would be sacrifices the government must bear. Right now, we think the lives of adventurers, each one precious, should take priority.”

“The civilians won’t just stand by and watch adventurers escape first, will they?”

“That’s why 50 government-side adventurers will accompany Sung-jun on this mission, besides yourself. So that we can coordinate without dirtying Sung-jun’s hands and prevent situations where civilians interfere with adventurers’ return.”

Sung-jun wouldn’t need to dirty his hands directly.

They only wanted him to take the support supplies prepared by the government into the dungeon and play the role of ‘savior.’

Takayoshi’s explanation was that if Sung-jun stayed still, those who entered together would handle the dirty work needed for adventurers to escape.

“Even if hundreds of thousands of civilian lives that might remain in the dungeon are sacrificed as the price for that indifference?”

“It’s merely a matter of priorities. Entering the dungeon itself is work that stakes one’s life, and all the civilians who entered there are people who entered after agreeing to that danger. Looking at results only, it’s the same result as losing one’s life to monsters that appeared at harvest sites. Only the agent is different.”

Logically, it was a reasonable point.

In the end, if Sung-jun didn’t enter the Osaka Dungeon, most people except for a very small number would die fighting each other or starve to death inside the dungeon, and most of those victims would be powerless civilians.

Conversely, if Sung-jun entered, at least the ‘adventurers’ remaining in the dungeon could be saved.

“The number of adventurers we estimate to be inside the Osaka Dungeon is within 3,000. What we’d like to ask of Sung-jun is simply to take supplies for 3,000 people to endure for 300 days, descend to the 70th Floor of the Osaka Dungeon, and return all adventurers to the 1st Layer. While Sung-jun descends, the government-affiliated adventurers we deployed will organize the situation and wait. After ascending to the 1st Layer like that, you can leave the supplies you brought on the 1st Layer and return first. You don’t need to wait for all adventurers to return to the surface.”

Takayoshi was confident that Sung-jun wouldn’t refuse the Japanese Government side’s proposal.

That would be natural, since this proposal was designed to minimize the psychological resistance Sung-jun would feel in accepting it.

If Sung-jun didn’t help, more people would die.

Even if Sung-jun helped, he couldn’t save everyone completely, but that didn’t mean situations would arise where Sung-jun would get blood on his hands.

Looking at results only, Sung-jun’s role in this operation was simply carrying supply materials to prevent more casualties from occurring.

Takayoshi even offered as compensation the promise that not only the adventurers rescued in this process, but the Japanese Government would actively step forward to support Sung-jun’s plans as much as possible.

However, while listening to Takayoshi’s proposal that seemed to blatantly force him to choose this option, Sung-jun was feeling malice similar to what he felt when encountering the strange malice emanating from the dungeon that appeared in Japan.

‘Is this the option that seems like the most advantageous solution in the current situation?’

After pondering briefly, Sung-jun looked at Takayoshi and spoke.

“I’ll accept the Japanese Government’s request. As you said, I’ll enter the Osaka Dungeon carrying the supply materials prepared by the Japanese Government side.”

“Really? Thank you sincerely! Then we’ll immediately begin procedures for carrying out the operation…”

“However, there’s one condition.”

Faced with an ‘irrefusable choice’ to prevent greater sacrifice, Sung-jun’s mind was moving intensely to come up with a new strategy to avoid being played by the opponent’s scheme.

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