Surviving Restructuring

On the chairman’s side, there were the Management Bureau director, the Sales Bureau director, and the Corporate Relations Bureau director.

On the other side, there were the former Management Bureau director, the Operations Bureau director, the Investigation Bureau director, along with the former chief secretary and the research center director.

It’s five against three, Mu Ah thought.

It wasn’t just a matter of numbers. The tide of the battle, which had seemed decisively lost, had flipped in an instant.

Under the complete mercy of the chairman, the eight directors used to constantly keep each other in check. Now, they were forming a united front. The meaning behind that was enormous.

It’s shaking.

The authority that had been firmly centered around the chairman, the system that had upheld the company until now, and the long-standing power balance had all begun to waver. All because of a handful of inexperienced newcomers.

As the founder’s son, Mu Ah was incompetent. As a master, he had been inadequate, failing to protect his cherished creations.

Thus, he had to ask, “What on earth are you trying to do?”

Eun-Ho’s unwavering gaze met his without hesitation. “Mu Ah.”

Mu Ah had seen Eun-Ho’s eyes countless times in recorded speeches. There was never a trace of doubt in them. In those clear, untainted black eyes, Mu Ah saw his own reflection.

“Don’t you feel it too?” Eun-Ho asked.

Mu Ah was a boy who had struggled desperately to be loved, a young man who had gained everyone’s affection along with their contempt. Now, he was nothing more than a hollow shell, merely continuing to live. He had believed that he would spend eternity just like this, unchanged.

“What are you talking about?” Mu Ah asked.

He had grown sick of his own face. It was a beautiful shell with nothing more.

“It’s time for things to change,” Eun-Ho said.

Why is my heart racing? Mu Ah thought.

“Didn’t you ask how far I intend to go?” Eun-Ho asked

Mu Ah felt as though he was burning all over, like a child who had just discovered a gift box with his name on it.

“If we’ve started this, then we see it through to the end,” Eun-Ho said.

Mu Ah drew in a sharp breath. “The end?”

Then, Eun-Ho’s gaze shifted. “The highest place.”

At the end of that casual yet unmistakably heavy glance stood the primordial skyscraper. It was both the chairman’s residence and the company’s command center.

“The chairman’s office...” Mu Ah murmured.

No one could speak. Even the directors, who commanded both earth and sky, found themselves speechless. They all understood the weight behind those words.

However, the silence did not last long.

Rumble—!

When they blinked, dense greenery had erupted into existence, surging upward like a green dragon rising from beneath the earth.

In an instant, the forest stretched and twisted, forming a mountain range that ran all the way to the horizon.

Kraaaack—!

The problem was that the tail end of that mountain range had reached the defensive dome.

“T-the defensive dome!”

The dome, already dragged down by the sinking sands, was now being rapidly covered by massive tree roots growing out from the mountains.

“I-it’s Mu Deung!”

“Mu Deung?” Eun-Ho echoed.

“It’s the Corporate Relations Bureau director! His unique ability is Mountain Transformation!” Mirabo said.

“Mountain Transformation?”

“He’s trying to cover this entire area with vegetation under his control!”

That wasn’t all. As roots spread like those of a world tree, soil filled the gaps between them. Moments later, it even hardened, becoming as solid as stone.

Mountain Transformation... Eun-Ho thought.

Mu Deung probably intended to envelop everything within his grasp, then either compress the mountain or force it back underground, crushing everything inside. It was a terrifying ability, perfectly suited for siege warfare.

“We have to get out of here! Let’s move, now!” Mirabo shouted as she sprang to her feet.

However, Eun-Ho didn’t look at her. Instead, his gaze turned to the investigation director. “Mr. Mu Jin, I’m counting on you.”

With a troubled look, the young boy gathered the hem of his robe. “My ability controls the atmosphere. It doesn’t counter Mu Deung’s vegetation.”

If anything, the abilities of Mu Jin and Mu Deung complemented each other. If Mu Jin generated life-infused spiritual energy, Mu Deung’s mountains would only grow faster and stronger.

“You don’t need to create more energy.” However, Eun-Ho had already accounted for that and came up with a plan. “Get rid of it.”

“Hmm?” Mu Jin responded.

“Whether it’s oxygen or energy that affects vitality, wipe it all out,” Eun-Ho explained. “If you do that, their vegetation won’t be able to survive.”

Mu-Jin gasped.

A mountain could exist with nothing more than dirt and stone. However, the thousands or even tens of thousands of plant species rooted within it were a different matter. If Mu Jin got rid of the atmosphere, everything growing there would wither into blackened husks and crumble away.

“Countless innocent plants will die, but perhaps this, too, is the will of the heavens,” Mu Jin said quietly.

“I know it won’t sit well with you, but I’m asking anyway,” Eun-Ho replied.

Knowing the consequences, Mu Jin gave a slow nod. Eun-Ho bowed his head in return.

“If it’s Mu Deung, he’d sooner surrender than watch life... his very own life rot and decay before his eyes.”

With that, Mu Jin departed for the battlefield.

As he left, Eun-Ho added one more thing, “If he raises a white flag, accept it. We still have many enemies left.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mu Jin answered.

He wasn’t wrong, because there were far too many enemies remaining. An army was advancing, skirting around the sand swamp and the mountain range. Their numbers alone easily exceeded ten thousand.

“Don’t worry. I’ve brought troops with me.”

“We brought as many as we could too. If we combine forces, we’ll have about half their numbers.”

Guk Ryang of the Management Bureau had brought three thousand. Mu Jin and Ye Ra of the Investigation Bureau had brought two thousand more. Even so, they were still only half the enemy’s size.

“Use the Seduction Mist to throw them into confusion,” Eun-Ho said.

Mu Ah was stunned. “What?!”

Eun-Ho had chosen a way to win without fighting.

“That won’t work on the directors,” Mu Ah began.

“It won’t,” Eun-Ho agreed. “But the regular soldiers will be taken out before the battle even begins.”

“T-that’s true!”

With this, not only would unnecessary deaths be avoided, their numerical disadvantage would also be covered.

“And Guk Ryang, I’d like you to be in charge of the management director,” Eun-Ho said.

“Very well. I can’t promise absolute victory, but I swear I won’t let them take even a single step into this city, even if it costs me everything,” Guk Ryang declared, his spirit surging like a roaring gale.

“There’s no need to go that far.” That wasn’t quite what Eun-Ho had in mind. “Here.”

Then, he handed over a pile of items.

“What’s this?”

“If you solidify the sand using water bombs and fight from the air with Flight Potions, you’ll have the advantage.”

Guk Ryang’s ability revolved around sand. And now, items that directly countered it were being handed over in bulk.

Looking at the assortment piling up before him, Guk Ryang let out a hollow laugh. “Haha.”

They were beings who had spent thousands of years reaching the pinnacle of their own paths, transcending the limits of the material world. They broke through barriers with their own power, not tools.

With this, we have a workaround. No, this is a guaranteed edge, Guk Ryang thought.

It was a strategy that only a fresh, inexperienced newcomer could come up with, and yet it made even these veteran warriors feel a chill run down their spines.

“Did you prepare all of this in advance?” Guk Ryang asked.

Soeju was still in disbelief. “He asked me to make the bombs, so I did. But I had no idea they’d be used like this.”

Eun-Ho simply smiled at their astonishment. “Did you really think I’d gather all of you without making preparations like this?”

That was why Eun-Ho had been so calm. Realizing that, Mu Ah gave up any further doubts or speculation and simply nodded.

“I don’t fight battles I can’t win,” Eun-Ho said. “Trust me this once.”

At this point, there was no other choice.

“Mirabo, I’d like you to take charge of the sales director,” Eun-Ho said.

Mirabo was startled. “Me?”

“You just need to dry up the sea. Simple, right?”

Wait. Dry up the sea? With fire? Is that really simple? Mirabo thought.

“W-wait a second! It’s not a pond but it’s an entire sea! The difference in scale is—” she protested.

“If it’s firepower you’re worried about, Ms. Cheong Ryeon-Hwa will support you. Have confidence.”

“What?!”

Well. Right. If it’s the sea, you just dry it up. Besides, the center director will be backing me up.

“Please stay safe. And I’m counting on you to defend the Wailing Castle,” Eun-Ho said.

Hmm? Wait a second.

A strange sense of unease made Mu Ah pause mid-nod and raise his hand. “Wait. Then what about you?”

Eun-Ho’s lines sounded exactly like the words of a father leaving his family behind to go earn a living.

“Ah,” Eun-Ho said.

Now that Mu Ah thought about it, something felt off. Eun-Ho had been assigning opponents to all the directors, but he had never once included himself in their calculations.

“Who are you fighting then?” Mu Ah asked cautiously, a faint sense of dread creeping down his spine.

Eun-Ho smirked. “I’m going to take down the boss.”

Now that he had joined this insane company, the chairman was his boss. After all, the man had taken their land, erased perfectly normal people, and forced them into killing one another. Truly a boss who deserved to be torn apart.

“It’s not because you’re lacking, Eun-Ho. It’s just restructuring. You know restructuring, right?”

Up until now, Eun-Ho stayed loyal to his superiors and fulfilled his assigned duties.

“Y-you’re okay with this, right? Don’t take it too seriously, Eun-Ho.”

“I have no reason to resent you, Team Leader.”

He didn’t mix emotions into his work, nor crossed the line drawn in front of him. That was how he had lived his entire life, but it was different now.

[Trial: Revolution]

[Rewards: Management and Governing Rights of the Entire Company]

He had found a calling and gained power. There were people who had abandoned their livelihoods, who had wagered their very lives to follow him.

[3] Completion of the Revolution

- Complete the revolution

- He who claims the throne shall grasp the world

He couldn’t tell whether he could complete it, or whether doing so would truly grant him the world. However, one thing at least was certain.

Rumble—!

If this insane battle didn’t end, then no proper world would remain here at all.

Craaaack—!

Explosions tore through the battlefield, streaks of red and blue light flashing violently.

“Kyaaaah!”

Unable to withstand the surging force, shockwaves burst outward like fountains, piercing into the flesh of those who failed to escape in time.

“S-save me! My arm is—”

There, Eun-Ho saw the chairman with his pupils burning a vivid red. Dressed in a gray suit, complete with vest and jacket, a fedora pulled low over his head. By appearance alone, he appeared like a refined old gentleman out for a leisurely game of chess in a park.

“You bastard!” the chairman roared.

The shout commanded the very world, the crushing pressure that followed seized his lungs, freezing his wings mid-flight.

“Still charging in headfirst, I see,” said the chairman.

Thud.

A familiar figure dropped to one knee. His white shirt was torn to shreds, long since soaked in crimson blood. His black slacks were riddled with fragments of energy, stuck into him like the spines of a hedgehog.

So this is it.

Eun-Ho understood the moment he saw it. It was the ability that had reduced a perfectly fine swordsman into a rag in an instant.

Following that, there was the sensation of the world stopping, then starting again.

It must be time stop.

It was a power that activated without even the slightest sign.

What’s the pattern behind it?

It was a horrifying ability, one that could take one’s head off before one even realized it. However, Eun-Ho had to figure it out.

“We’ll have to split up,” Eun-Ho had said.

“Split up?” the assistant instructor had said.

“Even if we use everything we’ve got, we can’t win head-on. One of us has to hold him off while the other finds an opening.”

They were facing something that might as well have been a god or a monster. If Eun-Ho couldn’t figure it out with his head, then he would feel it with his heart. Even the smallest clue or an invisible gap was crucial.

Come on!

Fwoosh—!

The next moment, the sky turned red.

“To think you would waste the life you were given like this...” the chairman’s fury surged, taking form as a blood-red storm. “You’re a fool! I should have erased you back then!”

“You should have. Instead of trapping me in that hell of time,” said the assistant instructor.

“You insolent wretch!”

The instructor’s rage became a dark blue spear, thrusting forward.

Craaaaack—!

The massive spear pierced through the storm.

“I already died a hundred years ago.”

Blades clashed faster than the eye could follow. Red and blue afterimages painted the sky in shades of violet. However, time stopped once more.

“Did you truly think you’d find freedom just by leaving the company?” the chairman asked.

Craaaack—!

The storm devoured the spear, while the raging force tore into the assistant instructor’s bare flesh.

Thud!

He barely managed to retreat before collapsing. Even as his organs spilled out and blood poured freely, his mouth stubbornly moved. “I... I will gain it.”

“You pathetic fool!”

Facing such a god-like being, Eun-Ho said that there was no chance in a direct confrontation, and that they had to last as long as possible to gather information.

“What is Eun-Ho to you? What did he say that moved you so much—”

Right. That’s what I had said, Eun-Ho thought.

“But why does that even matter?” Eun-Ho asked.

Craaaaack—!

“Lee Eun-Ho?!”

The reason Eun-Ho now stood here, blocking the chairman’s storm with a single sword, was simple. Sometimes, there were fights one had to take even if they were bound to lose.

“Does what I said really matter that much?” Eun-Ho said.

“How dare you!”

“Grab my hand,” Eun-Ho said to the assistant instructor.

“Why are you here—” the man who bore his face asked.

If someone had fallen, he would pull them back up, walk forward together, and reclaim what had always been theirs.

“Let’s go,” Eun-Ho said.

It was time to bring down the enemy.