Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

082 – Grand Operation

“Director Moon Hee-cheol. Prosecutor Park Min-woo, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, is here to see you.”

Hee-cheol, who was staring out the window with a stern expression, sighed deeply at the assistant’s words that the prosecutor had come to find him from the prosecution.

Then he nodded at the assistant.

“Tell him to come in.”

After a while, a man in a black suit, guided by the assistant, entered the director’s office and extended his hand in greeting.

“I am Park Min-woo, the head of the Defense Procurement Investigation Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office. I’ve come to discuss the execution procedures regarding the Liberal Clan today.”

“Thank you for responding to the request. Of course, managing the Awakener is the unique authority and responsibility of the EDA, but the key to today’s execution is to exert pressure on the Liberal Clan members and their representative, Cha Myung-jun. If they refuse the new executive order, they could become criminals.”

“However, there are conflicting opinions within the prosecutor’s office about today’s grand operation. Some interpret that all activities of the Liberal Clan so far have been legal actions based on the Awakener Management Act.”

“If we only look at the activities of the Awakener themselves, that may be true. However, due to the rushed passage, the Awakener Management Act has many flaws. The interpretation of the law can vary depending on the perspective, isn’t that the nature of the law?”

“In reality, yes. Although, in principle, it shouldn’t be that way, but the Awakener Management Act itself conflicts with many other laws.”

“So, even if an action is considered legal under the Awakener Management Act, if it violates other laws, it is possible to prioritize the interpretation of existing laws and apply the charges. But more importantly, our goal is not to actually make them criminals.”

Hee-cheol intended to use this grand operation as a kind of ‘threatening tool.’

To make Myung-jun accept the government’s proposal willingly, placing the ‘whip’ on the opposite end of the ‘carrot’ he had prepared.

“If they refused during the pre-negotiation process, they probably won’t fight against the Republic of Korea government in a situation where they would actually become criminals.”

Hee-cheol picked up a document from the desk and handed it to Prosecutor Park Min-woo.

“What is this?”

“This is the execution procedure we planned for today. First, when EDA members establish a safe zone in front of the Liberal Clan, the Minister of Justice will read the execution order in front of the journalists. And when the representative of the Liberal Clan comes down…”

“I apologize for interrupting, but may I ask one question?”

“Of course.”

“If Cha Myung-jun attacks the Minister of Justice or EDA members with the Liberal Clan during the grand operation, what will you do? The arrangement here seems to expose the participants in the grand operation to the attack, as shown.”

At this, Hee-cheol let out a sly smile and spoke.

“The Ministry of National Defense will also participate in today’s grand operation. Considering Cha Myung-jun’s abilities revealed during the Amazon incident, we evacuated all civilians within a radius of 10 km and sealed off the area so that only journalists could approach. Please turn to the next page.”

Flipping to the next page revealed a list of numerous military equipment, which looked complex at a glance.

“All the soldiers on the field will be equipped with prototypes of the large Awakener-exclusive ammunition secretly developed by the EDA’s Gate Technology Research Institute. In addition, 40 Black panther tanks, equipped with a variant incapacitation penetrating shell capable of piercing through the thick skin of high-grade monsters in one shot, will surround the area.”

However, Hee-cheol emphasized that the most robust response force was the Awakeners under the EDA.

For this operation, Hee-cheol had exchanged all the crystal stones and resources the government possessed for top-grade equipment from the Liberal Clan.

To avoid attracting Myung-jun’s attention, he deliberately purchased equipment through civilian Awakeners.

All the equipment of EDA members participating in today’s grand operation, including the dolls summoned by Hee-cheol, was made by the Liberal Clan.

‘Because of that, we blew half of this year’s EDA budget, but at least now, with the arms complete, we can suppress Cha Myung-jun and the Liberal Clan.’

However, it was Hee-cheol’s misconception.

Hee-cheol had judged Myung-jun’s strength based on the most recent battle data in Maunus City, but Myung-jun’s actual strength was beyond that.

However, since Myung-jun had evacuated everyone nearby before engaging in a battle with Banara, only a tiny fraction of the Liberal Clan members knew that Myung-jun could unseal the first seal of Cain’s Legacy and summon a 20-meter giant robot.

To conceal this fact, Myung-jun had suffered massive point losses, sending back the summoned Knights to the sub-space, using a massive amount of crystal stone energy.

But because Hee-cheol had no way of knowing this fact, he based the required firepower for suppression solely on Myung-jun’s combat power using the turret. And even under such calculations, Hee-cheol’s estimated chance of success was…

“Less than 40%… assuming Myung-jun refrains from attacking soldiers who are not Awakener, the chance drops to below 10% if he goes all out. But it’s okay. The conditions we’ve prepared from our side are generous, they are by no means unfavorable.”

The expected level of damage in the event of a battle was also written in the document Hee-cheol handed over to Min-woo, so Min-woo asked him, holding the document.

“Even assuming the enemy takes our situation into account, the chance is about 40%. If they go all out, it’s below 10%. It’s a mission where all the forces participating in today’s grand operation could be wiped out. Is there a reason for pushing forward with it?”

Hee-cheol, without saying a word, took out a cigarette and lit it.

Then, exhaling smoke out the open window, he spoke with a determined tone.

“If we don’t do it now, we won’t get another chance.”

====

***

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Three hours after the contact between Park Min-woo, the dispatched prosecutor from the prosecutor’s office, and Moon Hee-cheol, the head of the EDA, at the prosecution office.

Arriving in front of the Liberal Clan headquarters in Sejong City, the two thoroughly checked the situation of on-site agents and ensured there were no loopholes in the encirclement.

With the confidence that no variables would occur, they began the prepared grand operation.

“Let’s go.”

Except for the massive forces and tanks mobilized in the middle of Sejong City, the subsequent procedures followed the legal standard execution process.

First, the police investigator firmly knocked on the closed main gate of the Liberal Clan headquarters. Getting no response, he pulled out his identification and read the contents of the arrest warrant as he descended.

“… Additionally, suspect Cha Myung-jun violated Article 6, Paragraph 1, and Paragraph 2, Clause 1 of the Firearms and Swords Control Act by illegally exporting weapons of military-grade capabilities abroad and using them without prior agreement with the government. With clear evidence to suspect that the accused committed the crime, a warrant is issued to arrest the suspect…”

When the entire process of talking to the wall was finished without any response, the investigator, once again, warned that if there was no compliance with the arrest, they would proceed with forced execution.

However, the main gate of the Liberal Clan headquarters still showed no signs of opening, and the investigator, having completed all notification procedures, retreated to a safe distance.

After a while, Hee-cheol climbed onto the podium with a microphone in hand.

Then, with a force that seemed to pierce through the thick building walls, he shouted through the speaker.

“Respected citizens of the Republic of Korea.”

Hee-cheol’s speech began with formal greetings and continued for quite some time, but summarizing the content revealed the following points:

Despite the reconstruction of the world’s laws and order due to the Gate incident, the citizens of the Republic of Korea must follow the laws of the Republic of Korea.

Leaving such powerful force in the hands of an individual to wield solely at their discretion is neglecting the duty that should be fulfilled by the state, not an individual.

After shouting for quite some time to justify the legitimacy of this grand operation, Hee-cheol received a bottle of water from the side, drank it with a determined look, and then shouted towards the Liberal Clan headquarters.

“From now on, in accordance with the rights granted to the government by the Prosecutor’s Office, we will commence the forced arrest procedure for Cha Myung-jun, the representative of the Liberal Clan, who has refused the lawful arrest procedure to the end!”

The problem arose after that.

Announcing the forced execution was a good start, but what was crucial had been omitted the ‘means to open the door.’

Certainly, the police had mobilized all the resources at their disposal for this grand operation.

From door hammers used to break down doors, oxygen-cutting tools capable of cutting through even thick steel doors, to large building demolition cranes used to destroy entire buildings.

However, all these means were rendered useless in front of the special armor plates designed to withstand intercontinental ballistic missiles, not to mention tactical nuclear-level damage.

The door hammer couldn’t even make a dent, the oxygen-cutting tool didn’t change a thing after 30 minutes, and the large iron ball used for building demolition also caused no damage.

Ultimately, all the means prepared by the police proved futile. The next step was the Ministry of Defense.

“Target, 800 meters ahead.”

“120mm shell, loaded and ready!”

“Confirmed. Cannon aimed!”

“Standby for firing command!”

When a total of 40 Black panther tanks were ready for firing, a tense atmosphere spread across the scene.

The fact that Black panther tanks, not equipment like building demolition cranes, were mobilized meant that the Republic of Korea’s military intended to use military force against a civilian company within the Republic of Korea.

Moreover, the knowledge that the opponent, Myung-jun, possessed the power to easily annihilate the gathered military forces instilled a deep fear in the soldiers inside the tanks.

‘Please, open the door.’

At the moment when the soldier inside the Black panther tank was fervently praying in his heart for the firmly closed main gate of the Liberal Clan to open, a change occurred in the Liberal Clan headquarters building.

– Wooong-Clang-Woong-Clang –

With the sudden movement, some soldiers were so startled that they almost pressed the firing buttons. Fortunately, no accidents occurred. This unexpected event turned out to be a stroke of luck for both the soldiers and the gathered Awakeners.

If any one of them had initiated an attack, the ‘Eye for an Eye’ system designed by Soo-jeong and created by Myung-jun would have accurately returned the received attack to the assailant tenfold.

Fortunately, no soldier made a mistake, so the Liberal Clan headquarters completed its transformation smoothly without facing any attacks.

‘That is…’

‘A monitor?’

While they expected the door to open, what was revealed among the external armors covering the Liberal Clan headquarters was not the main gate but an open armor above the gate.

Inside the opened armor, appearing like a transformation, was a giant screen visible from a distance.

And just as everyone looked up at the screen above the main gate with puzzled expressions, the screen displayed the image of the most famous person in the world right now.

[Isn’t this a bit too aggressive for a knock?]

A young man appeared on the screen through the monitor.

He was the main target of today’s operation, the leader of the Liberal Clan, and the most powerful Awakener in the world, who had become the most notorious criminal in just one day, at risk of violating numerous laws.

It was Cha Myung-jun.

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