Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 132: The War You Wanted

Dictators dream of eternal power.

But that has never been achieved, and there are hardly any dictators who maintained their power until they died.

In that sense, President Putin of Russia was almost close to success.

He still held power even after he turned 80.

But the moment he heard his voice, he sensed that something was wrong with his health.

He tried not to show it, but he confessed when Yu Ji-ha subtly sighed.

Was there something in common between dictators?

“Actually, I had a heart surgery. I thought I had been training my stamina steadily, but it seems that this heart can’t take it anymore.”

As one gets older, the heart naturally weakens, and even the iron-blooded dictator couldn’t escape that.

“But you are still in good shape, aren’t you?”

“Recently, even climbing up and down the stairs is hard. Every night I go to sleep, I wonder if I can wake up tomorrow morning.”

It seemed that he wouldn’t last long.

In a way, it was a relief.

He would d*e without seeing Yu Ji-ha’s betrayal.

He had two successors, but they were inferior versions of Putin in terms of charisma and ability.

Of course, Putin wasn’t perfect in running the state either, but he was much better than the two in terms of seizing opportunities.

He proposed in a mosquito-like voice.

“I heard that you are facing the threat of war. It seems like the last war in East Asia, and I can help you.”

“The US has declared that they will not tolerate any intervention from other countries. Are you sure about this?”

“They always have been like that. As if they are the guardians of peace… They must have completely forgotten how they intervened in Central and South America and brought them to ruin.”

“History belongs to the winners.”

“As always, if we act strongly, the US will offer a compromise. As long as their mainland or Western Europe are not threatened.”

What really mattered to the US were those two, and they didn’t care much about the rest.

Of course, it would be nice to protect their allies, but giving them up boldly was also one of the strategies.

Especially if the opponent was Russia, who had almost equal nuclear power.

“Russia’s help would be reassuring, but I’d like to make an exception this time.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it would be troublesome if China and Japan tasted it and ran away.”

It sounded like he wanted a war, and it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

“Do you have everything planned out for this one too?”

“I don’t know everything about this country. I just hoped that they would act like this.”

“So we shouldn’t intervene to get more out of them… This makes me glad that we gave you the land. Otherwise, you would have taken it by force, wouldn’t you?”

“Against Russia?”

A faint laugh came out, but President Putin could read his inner thoughts.

Confidence that it didn’t matter who the opponent was.

He had Antitron and Hafnium2, which was practically equivalent to being nuclear-armed, and he was confident that he wouldn’t lose to anyone in conventional power.

‘Well, we or the US don’t know what’s in Terra Island either…’

The public predicted that it would take some time to mass-produce the weapon system called Combat Walker, but President Putin’s judgment was different.

As soon as the war started, they would be produced in rows from the smart factory.

And that meant a full-scale war with China and Japan.

The two countries seemed to plan to wage a war centered on naval battles, but the probability of that happening was very low.

Yu Ji-ha wanted a real war.

‘I’m worried about my afterlife now…’

He was clearly fond of Russia, but he couldn’t guarantee that his successors would do the same.

Dmitry and Borchenko.

They were old enough, but they were nothing compared to Yu Ji-ha.

And they were so hot-blooded that they kept saying that they had to reconsider their relationship with Yu Ji-ha.

They didn’t want to cut off ties completely, but they seemed to want to lead a renegotiation.

But he doubted if that would work.

‘I hope the war ends before I d*e…’

He wanted to invite him to Russia and have a serious talk with him, but there was no way that the war involving three East Asian countries would end so easily.

He couldn’t visit Korea now that his health was bad, so he felt like he might leave this world without properly handing over his successorship.

He had no regrets about his life so far, but there was one thing that remained as a deep regret: he couldn’t see the Soviet Union rise again.

“When the war is over… No, when you secure your victory, can you stop by Kremlin before it’s too late? There’s something I really want to talk to you about.”

His earnest feelings were embedded in his voice, and Yu Ji-ha understood them.

‘You don’t have to worry too much. I will fulfill your dream of a unified Russia.’

It would be a unification that included not only the former Soviet satellite states, but also East Asia, but it could be said that Putin’s dream was realized.

In that sense, Yu Ji-ha was a good friend of Russia.

He didn’t know if the Russians who knew his true face would agree.

***

As the clouds of war thickened in East Asia, Korea issued a mobilization order.

They abolished conscription and issued a mobilization order, and many people mocked them for it.

But China and Japan, who had to face Korea, couldn’t laugh.

The plan was to start and end this war with naval battles.

It was understandable considering that the strategic objectives were Tsushima and the Yellow Sea.

In fact, Korea was the only country that waged a true total war in East Asia.

Both China and Japan fought on foreign lands and seas, and there was no real battle on the continent.

Thanks to the bluff that they would have to face a nuclear war if the US attempted a landing, they avoided the worst scenario.

But when Korea reacted sensitively, both countries were shocked.

-Why are they suddenly issuing a mobilization order? Do they want to fight a two-front war?

-We need to calm down the situation first. The surroundings think that we are desperate.

-We planned to end it with naval battles, but a landing operation? The army is not ready at all.

-We need to send a special envoy and explain that we didn’t intend to do that.

-Explain that we only wanted to restrain them with the navy and make them kneel? We’re lucky if they don’t ignore us.

While both countries were struggling to respond, Korea’s mobilization order was proceeding rapidly.

First, martial law was declared and reservists and civil defense gathered.

The military and police occupied the streets, and military trucks drove around in groups.

The Koreans seemed quite familiar with this atmosphere and followed the control well.

In a few days, the war preparations were over, and China and Japan completely missed the timing.

It was too late to explain that they didn’t intend to do that. They wouldn’t listen anyway.

The situation was heading towards a total war regardless of their thoughts, and no one could stop it now.

When things came to this point, there was a claim in Japan that they should request mediation from the US.

—We can’t afford a total war right now. We don’t know about Korea, but we are not ready at all.

—How can we reclaim Tsushima by showing such a weak appearance? Now that it has come to this, we have to force a war anyway.

—Are you all insane? How are we going to stop their ballistic missiles with Anteron warheads? If we miss even one, all industries will stop.

—The prime minister should personally request the US. We don’t want a total war.

—If the US intervenes, Tsushima will be Korea’s territory forever.

That’s why Prime Minister Matsuda couldn’t easily request mediation from the US.

He would decide to freeze the territory in order to prevent the worst situation. Who could deny that?

But he couldn’t handle the consequences of not requesting either.

‘A total war? Don’t joke with me. We are not ready at all!’

There was no manual for a total war in any situation.

Everything was new, and Matsuda knew very well that nothing would work properly.

On the other hand, even China, who had fought the Yang’an War, was greatly alarmed when the 7th Division abandoned their garrison and gathered at their assembly point.

They were tough enough before, but now the 7th Division had become a complete monster.

They had deployed new K3A2 tanks with drone systems and railguns, and Iron Beam took care of air defense.

He doubted if there was any unit that could face them equally.

Of course, a war wasn’t decided by one division that wasn’t even at the level of a group army.

But at the tactical level, China’s military experts warned that confronting the 7th Division head-on was s*****e.

—They may not have many rounds of ammunition due to availability, but each one is fatal. You have to assume that you d*e once you get hit.

—The drone system helps them make quick decisions without any reconnaissance. The opposing unit will probably collapse from the outskirts without even seeing them.

—Their cruising range is enormous. They can march straight to Beijing without supply.

—Air strikes are not easy because of Iron Beam. The only answer is not to face them.

But how could he ignore the 7th Division that would obviously march to Beijing?

Wang Xian Shang Shangjang picked up the phone that connected to Kremlin after much deliberation.

He couldn’t muster up the courage to face that division alone, no matter what unit it was.

But President Putin’s voice was cold.

“You were the ones who wanted this war.”

“We didn’t want a total war like this.”

“That’s an even funnier thing to say. Is there such a thing as a moderate war? Did you think Korea would surrender if you just snatched one sea area and beat them up?”

“…”

He had nothing to say.

The intelligence agencies had judged that Korea’s army was weak and couldn’t withstand a total war.

So they planned to decide the victory with naval battles and blockade Korea’s sea with Japan’s cooperation and force them to surrender.

There was a large-scale maneuver training scheduled on the border, but that was to support Japan’s recapture of Tsushima.

They never considered a head-on collision with a division like the 7th Division.

But President Putin said something unexpected.

“President Yu Ji-ha knew that you would come out like this. He seems to be well prepared, so it won’t be easy to get out.”

Did he know about the war?

Wang Xian Shang clenched the phone and barely said.

“If you help us from Russia this time, we will greatly reward you.”

“Russia will not move.”

The call ended and Wang Xian Shang’s fist slammed the desk.

“Damn it!”

It looked like he really had to fight a total war with Korea.

Of course, he wasn’t confident that he would win.

The Rocket Army still had hundreds of nuclear warheads, and this would be a serious threat to Korea.

But the weapons Korea had were enough to hurt them too.

It would have been a disaster if a warhead loaded with antitron and hafnium-2 had flown into the nuclear power plants that filled the coastal area.

The result would have been annihilation, and that was not what Wang Shian wanted.

The best scenario was for Korea to admit defeat and provide various technologies.

But the situation was getting worse.

The United States had declared that it would not intervene in the current situation, but it did not completely withdraw.

Nuclear submarines prowled the seabed of East Asia, and strategic reconnaissance planes flew diligently.

Using satellites, the intelligence agency noticed that China and Japan were not ready for war at all.

—Unlike Korea, they did not issue a mobilization order. There was no troop movement. They did not anticipate a full-scale war.

—However, the navy was moving diligently, probably thinking of ending the war with a limited war.

President Baldwin could not help but laugh at this point.

‘Do they think they can achieve their strategic goals with a limited war? This is a big mistake.’

However, Korea’s movement was also incomprehensible.

It was good to prepare for a total war, but without a word of dialogue…

By now, there should be all kinds of diplomatic battles at the UN, and he planned to intervene appropriately.

But Korea recalled its diplomats from the UN and ordered the Chinese embassy in Korea to evacuate.

As a result, the Chinese embassy was in chaos, destroying documents.

‘Do they really want a war?’

Against China and Japan?

It was difficult to decide to wage a full-scale war against a nuclear power.

China was not North Korea, and its ballistic missile performance was considerable.

Korea’s interception level was not enough to intercept all hundreds of missiles, as seen in the Second Korean War and the Indian Ocean Battle.

Due to its small territory, it would suffer a hard blow even if one or two missiles fell.

Japan did not have nuclear weapons, but it had hundreds of hypersonic anti-ship missiles that exposed Earth Fleet’s weaknesses.

There was a possibility that they had improved their weaknesses since a few months ago, but they were not perfect.

‘Wait, I’ve seen this picture a lot somewhere…’

President Baldwin looked over Yu Jiha’s file again.

And he was sure.

This was the picture Yu Jiha wanted.

It could be seen from his remarks that he wanted Manchuria and his actions to occupy Tsushima.

Above all, he was suspicious of abolishing conscription and exposing his weaknesses.

Was there a need to abolish it at this time?

‘…Maybe he’s trying to stage a play.’

The US government was convinced that Yu Jiha had been leading the situation with his own play.

But the reason they couldn’t touch him right away was because they didn’t have clear evidence.

Wasn’t there a precedent where semiconductor companies were smashed by imposing sanctions hastily?

The only thing left was war, but that was also cautious for the United States.

If they hit Korea, there was no guarantee that Russia would stay still, and there was a high possibility of escalation.

‘The Third World War must not happen.’

President Baldwin called his aides and asked for measures and confirmed the US stance.

Thanks to that, Prime Minister Matsuda of Japan finally plucked up his courage and called him on the hotline, but he had to hear that he couldn’t help him.

“I’m sorry. We can’t provoke Korea right now.”

“Please help us regain Tsushima. We’ll do anything.”

“Saying you’ll do anything as a politician can be very dangerous depending on the situation.”

“Tsushima is clearly Japan’s territory. Korea’s forcible rule over it is invalid under international law.”

“Then negotiate well diplomatically and get it back.”

“How can we negotiate when we’ve broken off diplomatic relations?”

“If you can’t do that, you can fly there yourself. They won’t treat you so badly as the leader of a country.”

“…That’s impossible.”

“Then you have no choice but to get it back by war. That’s what you wanted.”

“We didn’t want a total war.”

“That’s too bad. President Yu Jiha must have misunderstood. The call was long, so let’s contact you later.”

With this, the United States made it clear that it had no intention of intervening.

Even though a war in East Asia would cause tremendous damage to the world economy.

That might be because they confirmed that the economy eventually recovered after several wars in the past.

The world economy was now heading for the fourth industrial revolution, and some countries were seriously discussing the basic income system.

Yu Jiha led that, and it was now an unstoppable trend.

The United States wanted to maintain a good relationship with Yu Jiha and suck up some sweet honey.

As long as Korea didn’t look over the Pacific and Europe, it would probably be like that.

Prime Minister Matsuda frowned hard as he heard this from his secretaries.

“…Did the United States choose Korea over us?”

“It seems so…”

“That’s impossible. The US forces in Japan are not for decoration.”

“Excuse me, but didn’t a large number of US forces in Japan relocate to Guam? The scale is only 30% compared to last year.”

“Japan and the United States are allies!”

“What benefits do you get from that alliance? For the United States, it would be more convenient for Korea to take over the role that Japan used to play. They will probably try to mediate in the post-war negotiations.”

…Maybe Japan will end up under Korea’s control…

Prime Minister Matsuda dismissed his anxious thoughts and sent out his secretaries.

He contacted Wang Shian immediately, but he also had no clever plan.

“I’m sorry, but Russia says they can’t help either.”

This confirmed that there was no way to stop the war.

The navy was already in a nerve war with the army.

They insisted that the Tsushima recapture operation should be under the navy’s command.

On the other hand, the army said that they couldn’t do anything without them, so there was no progress.

Unlike Japan, where cooperation was not working, Korea had finished preparing for war under Yu Jiha’s orders.

The protests were postponed, and all they had to do was let go.

Matsuda didn’t want to take on the last role himself.

“It would be better to declare a halt now…”

“Now you want to stop? How will the world see us?”

“Is the opinion of other countries important? We are heading for a total war at this rate!”

“And Korea won’t stop either. They will try to secure Manchuria at least.”

Matsuda’s eyes widened.

He had nothing to lose if he declared surrender here.

Of course, Japan’s prestige would fall and it would be harder to get Tsushima back, but that was something he could try later.

Wouldn’t it be better to sneak out after making Korea and China fight?

When both countries’ power was drained, Japan’s voice would be stronger.

Matsuda decided this and lowered his voice.

“Let’s start the war. Let’s attack them all at once and make Korea lose their mind. That’s the only way.”

He planned to send a special envoy to Korea and get out when a naval battle broke out in the West Sea.

But things didn’t go as Prime Minister Matsuda wanted.

Rudely, the door of the prime minister’s office opened wide.

“What is it? Can’t you hear I’m on the hotline…”

“Prime Minister! Korea has declared war!”

“What?”

Prime Minister Matsuda dropped the phone in surprise.

When the secretary hurriedly turned on the monitor, Yu Jiha’s face appeared there.

He calmly declared war on both countries.

“It is clear that they have no intention of stopping the war and wishing for peace with this attitude. China is a nuclear power, and Japan has a tremendous naval force. They are truly formidable opponents.”

“Nevertheless, we cannot back down. We cannot give this land to the enemy and let them abuse us. Therefore, we announce that the Republic of Korea has entered into a war with China and Japan.”

At that moment, the limiters of Kim Gu-ship and Yeo Un-hyung-ship deployed in the West Sea were completely released and automatic combat began.

And in front of the joint fleet training near Tsushima, Earth Fleet’s fleet surfaced.