Chapter 872 – Wind of Change
Fortunately, when Arulil seems to be managing her priests well to prevent them from going berserk according to her orders, her saint nods her head with a satisfied expression.
‘If we drive out the aliens in the future, we should send all non-believers from Eden to Earth and let them live freely.’
Right now, he is relying on faith to survive because of crazy alien fanatics, but since there will be no need to do so once the war is over and freedom is achieved, Seong-il even considers in advance how to run the church in the future.
‘If you’re suffering because of these crazy fanatics, and you follow in the same footsteps as their history, that’s comedy.’
At that time, Seong-il was thinking about the distant future for a moment. Aruril begins to explain about the second force.
“The second, of course, are the talented students that the master first brought in. Hunters.”
Since they declared that they would be at the forefront of the war against aliens and were actually making contributions, Eden often provided enormous benefits to the Hunter Association.
The Hunter Association is involved in Eden’s politics, military, administration, etc. It has the powerful authority to independently elect proportional members to key positions without voting, and has grown into a group that exerts a strong influence on the operation of Eden in a short period of time.
“It could be a problem if privileges continue to be granted, but…”
“There’s nothing we can do. If we don’t give hunters special privileges, they won’t risk their lives fighting with aliens unless they’re idiots.”
It was a system in which side effects were bound to increase as the situation continued, but Seong-il believes there is nothing he can do about it. Because the current situation is no different from war.
“Yes. However, surprisingly, there are more checking forces, so it is well-balanced. You don’t have to worry too much.”
“… There’s more?”
I thought there would be no force that could keep the Hunter Association in check except for his direct force or the priest group, but Seong-il was genuinely surprised when he said that there was a third force.
“Hehe! The awakened hunters trained by our academy professors and others from the martial world are dividing the Hunter Association.”
“… Awakened hunter?”
A strange word I have never heard before. As Seong-il mutters while looking at himself, Elaine smiles and explains their identity.
“Somehow, when hunters had many vested interests and were shown to be socially respected, people were inspired. Although they do not have innate superpowers, there are people who try to overcome their talents by passionately practicing martial arts. .”
Interestingly, Seong-il is intrigued when he says that there are people who want to challenge the existing powers by practicing martial arts.
“Those who have taken the elixir and desperately trained in martial arts to achieve level 3 in the Non-Extreme Heart Method can apply for telekinesis treatment. Those with acquired psychic powers who become qualified through such efforts are called ‘awakened hunters.'”〈 Br〉
“Hoo…”
The desire for respect, self-actualization, and power makes humans powerful. Originally, the awakening of supernatural powers was an area of talent that could never be resisted, but Eden is a place that helps people develop their talents to the extent they can through effort. Therefore, Elaine explains that many people who aspire to social success are passionate about these procedures and martial arts training.
“For your information, there are many people who use the magic accumulated in their bodies based on martial arts training to practice magic as a weapon.”
Awakening of superpowers through magic imprinting has the disadvantage of not knowing when it will be possible, but magic is a field in which awakening to some extent can be achieved through acquired effort if the body has the magic power to unlock the will of the outer universe. Therefore, many people with acquired abilities who wanted to make a contribution to the battlefield against aliens were trying to become hunters by training themselves by any means necessary.
‘It’s amazing…’
Seong-il is thrilled when he hears that tremendous changes are occurring throughout society in just over half a year since he first drew attention to Eden.
“However… The abilities and numbers of the awakened hunters are not at a level that threatens the existing hunters… So they are maintaining a balance with the Hunter Association by forming alliances with other forces.”
“… Is there anything else?”
Just hearing the story about awakened hunters is enough to make your eyes pop out, but upon hearing that there is another fourth force, Seong-il asks Elaine in an urgent tone about their identity.
“Ah, they are not actually a group with such great military power. They are a group of scholars, civil servants, and administrators. Of course, they are very important people outside of battle…”
In fact, not everyone among ordinary people coveted high status, power, or wealth. No, it was correct to think that there were more people who were not like that.
They loved their current Eden, a place where they could escape the horrors of the past and live a moderately prosperous life. Among them, although they did not have fighting talent or courage, there were quite a few intelligent people who engaged in jobs that were not life-threatening, but instead wanted to maintain their social status.
“Did you see them at the Pocket Girls Research Institute? The scientists who help with the research there.”
“!!!”
After hearing Elaine’s words, Seong-il feels his spirit come to his senses. Seeing Seong-il’s reaction, Elaine smiles and continues her explanation.
“Academics, administrative officials, and the leaders who lead them are basically very afraid of the Hunter Association monopolizing power and running wild. Therefore, they are trying to achieve a balance with the Hunter Association by implicitly forming an alliance with the Awakened Hunters. There is.”
Currently, about a quarter of the members leading the Eden Council established by Seong-il are still elected through elections.
‘The Hunter Association, the Awakening Hunter Association, the Intellectual Association, and the Earth Mother Church, which makes political statements according to my will. This is how your forces hold the balance of Eden.’
Due to the division of power, he was no longer able to control Eden like before, but surprisingly, Seong-il did not consider the current situation particularly bad.
‘If power is too monopolized, it will rot, so a minimum safety device that can keep each other in check is not a bad thing.’
In fact, no matter how the power structure within Eden was reorganized, it was also true that since Seongil and the Earth Mother monopolized all the resources here, the appearance of other powers did not pose the slightest threat to Seongil.
‘Except for policies related to the war against aliens on the front line, I will gain the public opinion of the citizens of Eden by taking a wait-and-see approach, but if a serious problem arises, I and the priests will step in to solve the problem.’
Seong-il, who has a rough idea of how Eden will be run in the future, chats lightly with followers he hasn’t seen in a while and moves to the Eden Council.
***
‘Oh… You prepared this in advance…?’
When Seong-il called the key members of each faction he had learned about earlier and told them that they were planning a second counterattack, various proposals unfolded before his eyes.
Interestingly, it seemed like there was a desperate plan centered around the Congress on how to carry out further operations similar to the first counteroffensive.
‘I only hinted that the next surprise attack would be in the direction of the Americas, in the style of Seongdong Attack, but such preparations…’
Tactical progress data that seems to have been created based on intense discussion and research. Since it is a problem with no right answer, it was originally a problem that would have divided opinions among each faction, but fortunately, since Eden has a system called Gaia, a sage without a soul, they succeeded in gathering various opinions and unifying them.
“Hmm… Let’s use my teleportation power, but even if it takes a little more time, let’s proceed with the operation via a small island or reef?”
“That’s right. Our Eden’s strength is that it can stop time, and once in an area it can secretly borrow the power of the World Tree to create a secret portal. If a seeker enters the World Tree via a reef or an island, If we can plant branches of, we will be able to gain a strong base.”
“Hmm…”
A pretty sensible plan. Normally, it would take 20 days to reach the western United States, but this operation had the disadvantage of requiring an additional 15 days. However, the advantage of carrying out this operation instead was that the base established as the executive said could one day be used as a variable.
‘It’s not bad.’
From Eden’s point of view, it is a full month, but if the time-stop power is used properly, the difference in the actual time passing in reality is at most 10 minutes. Therefore, Seong-il feels that the operation makes a lot of sense.
‘I would have worried about it in the past, but Withgrasil upgraded my teleportation power to five times a day while I was sleeping, so it’s worth it.’
Thinking so, Seong-il agrees to the operation plan presented by the executives. Since he does not show any political action on the front line, his presence is less, but in reality, when this seeker, who is no different from the Lord of Eden, expresses his consent, all the executives look satisfied.
“Ready for battle?”
“As there are people training in the artificial dungeon, it will take about a month. However, since the seeker will prepare a base for operations in the meantime, I think it is enough to prepare now.”
After saying that, a council administrator lights up the hologram screen and begins to brief Seong-il on the situation they have prepared.
