This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 490

Somehow, humanity succeeded in taking its first step toward the Heogye, but unfortunately, that was about all there was to it.

After all, it was easy to follow the next step when the enormous bill presented right in front of them suggested otherwise.

Of course, everyone had anticipated some level of damage.

I mean, it wasn’t like they were invading just anywhere; they were stepping into the base of the Another Ones. There’s no way there wouldn’t be any damage.

Still, everyone agreed to the headquarters’ proposal. While revenge was certainly a motivating factor, there was actually another reason that weighed a bit more.

That other reason was none other than the greed over the Heogye, which would become a shared territory once the Another Ones were completely taken down.

When the Another Ones existed, it was reasonable for everyone to hold off on disputes due to the threats of potential Rift openings, but let’s be honest—more territory is always better, right?

From that perspective, the Heogye, a land where no one had planted a flag yet, was undeniably an attractive choice for countries with even a hint of territorial ambition.

This was essential because, in reality, expanding one’s territory—even just a little—required navigating numerous obstacles, but that wasn’t the case with the Heogye.

Additionally, the fact that nothing about the Heogye was clearly revealed only added to its appeal.

To put it bluntly, if no one had figured out what might pop out of there, wouldn’t it mean that anything could come out?

Of course, there was a possibility that upon investigation, nothing exciting would be found, but then again, who buys a lottery ticket thinking it will be a dud?

Given that reality, the Heogye was a tempting prospect for most countries, and therefore, many of those that agreed to participate in the exploration were envisioning a rosy future.

Just as everyone was dreaming about such a bright future, the Another Ones launched a surprise attack.

Unlike the previously straightforward methods of exploration (barring the deceptive transportation of Rifts), this time the ambush was initiated from above.

Those unprepared under the assault couldn’t respond effectively and were literally melting away, and once the news reached the Association branches managing the expedition, the nations were thrown into chaos.

Well, naturally, it was to be expected.

From their perspective, those they sent out with light hopes of simply claiming land were crushed down to the point where they couldn’t even leave behind bodies, suffering near-total annihilation.

Countries like China and India, with their massive populations, might have a bit more leeway and could summon up another expedition after the embarrassment of the first, but seriously, how many places even have that kind of capacity?

Thanks to this surprise attack, countries that suffered significant losses were now in a bind, and the desperate reactions that followed usually boiled down to one of two options.

The first was… banding together with similarly afflicted nations.

This trend was mostly seen among European countries.

While it’s largely ineffective now, there was a history of the European Union bringing them together, which made cooperation relatively easier.

Germany was the first to step up, prompting Poland, Denmark, and Austria to quickly align themselves at Germany’s side.

Then, upon hearing news of this four-nation alliance, the UK and France felt the pressure and quickly forged their own separate alliances with Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Additionally, countries in Northern Europe began forming alliances among themselves, causing Europe to naturally move toward pooling resources among the under-resourced.

The problem, however, was that not every country in the world could claim trustworthy neighbors.

Thus, the attention turned toward none other than Korea.

In fact, when the exploration first began, the Korean expedition team was completely off the public radar.

This was to be expected, as everyone thought, “What could Korea—who’s scrambling just to keep the remaining heroes in check—possibly do with a private company that can’t even obtain the name ‘Hero’?”

This perception wasn’t just from foreign countries; domestic opinions were mostly along those lines as well, and it flipped completely after the news about the Another Ones’ attack hit.

It was actually a bit of a no-brainer looking back.

While other countries that deployed their exploration teams were running around trying to deal with the fallout, only the Korean expedition team was functioning just fine without any real damage—which was enough to provoke curiosity.

Thanks to this, people began to wonder who had performed so impressively, but despite this interest, the Association was working hard to maintain confidentiality. Therefore, no information about their expedition team leaked out.

Thus, everyone was left guessing to some extent.

And this ambiguity wasn’t much different for Dogun, who was somewhat of a related party.

“Well, at least that’s a relief.”

“Hmm? What is?”

“The expedition team.”

“Ah…”

“To be honest, I had a lot of worries…”

“Worries? Why?”

“Well… if this failed too, it would be the absolute worst situation for the Association.”

“That’s… true.”

It wasn’t just true; it was certainly going to happen.

Just days ago, people’s faith in the Association had hit an all-time low.

So much so that even the usually reserved media, which rarely touched upon the Association, was throwing around headlines like, “Is the Association okay like this?”

Of course, it was an article from a relatively unknown internet news outlet, but anyone associated with the Association understood it was a kind of groundwork.

‘They were probably just prodding around, gauging the reactions to this point before launching a proper offensive…’

However, with the expedition team sent from here defying all expectations and performing admirably, public opinion toward the Association turned positive, thereby eliminating any chance of a media ambush.

This was also quite favorable for Chae-rim, now seated as the vice chairman of the Association.

This was because if public sentiment swayed this way, someone would inevitably have to take responsibility, and the arrows of blame would most likely fly toward Chae-rim.

Didn’t I mention it earlier?

The current chairman of the Association held a position similar to that of a war hero.

So, even if the media turned hostile toward the Association, attacking the chairman would be a significant burden.

‘If things go wrong, it could backfire in their faces…’

In contrast to that chairman, Chae-rim naturally bore less burden.

While Chae-rim wasn’t a slouch in terms of reputation, when compared to the current chairman, her significance was inevitably diminished.

‘The only reason she could even secure the vice chair position as an active hero was because…’

It was more about her image than her reputation.

So, if she could somehow manage that image…

Kicking her out of the vice chair position wouldn’t be that difficult.

The moment that happens, Chae-rim’s aspirations and dreams of one day becoming the chairman would become utterly unreachable.

Despite that, I had been filled with worries… but who would’ve thought they’d pull off something so significant on that side?

The ones who really stepped up were, after all, the RK Guard, of which my sister was in charge of the operational aspects.

People were already muttering, “As expected of the Lightning Lady!”

Given that people’s sentiments were leaning this way, I suppose I wouldn’t have to worry for a while.

But still, why…

“There’s a saying, ‘You get what you deserve…’ They really were lucky.”

“…True that.”

Was that how my sister was reacting?

She seemed awfully like someone who had something weighing on her mind.