Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

193 – Rock, Paper, Scissors

After assigning roles to the instructors gathered in the Council, Myung-Jun immediately held a second meeting exclusively for the crew members. While the ‘Banara Subjugation Squad,’ consisting of EDA, academy instructors, and trainees, would be blocking the monster army in Seoul, Myung-Jun and the crew members needed to track down the remaining two members of the Twelve Heavenly Lord hiding in other countries.

However, even with the Liberal Clan’s world-class military strength, finding the monsters hiding somewhere on the vast planet without any information was nearly impossible.

“The information we currently have is that one of the remaining two members of the Twelve Heavenly Lord is a tentacle-shaped monster named Hollodeug, the leader of the grotesque faction responsible for this infection incident.”

“Is there any other information that could serve as a hint?”

Ho-Chang asked after hearing Myung-Jun’s words, to which Myung-Jun replied.

“There is one. The opponent’s fighting style involves using brain play to extremely irritate their adversary. I believe this is a hint.”

“Can that really be considered a hint?”

“At the very least, it can serve as a basis for inferring the opponent’s thought process.”

The one who answered Ho-Chang’s question was Lucas Gauthier, the only male trainee specially invited by Soo-Jeong to attend the Council. Believing that Lucas’s strategic abilities would be helpful in tracking the Twelve Heavenly Lord, Soo-Jeong had invited him to the meeting, and he provided ideas that could aid in the search, as she had hoped.

“To predict the opponent’s future moves, you must first examine the moves they have made. Particularly for opponents with exceptional strategic abilities, they are often trapped within their own logic.”

Then Byung-Tae scratched his head and spoke to Lucas.

“Sorry, but could you explain that in simpler terms?”

“It’s not a difficult concept. As a joke, sometimes a complete novice can defeat a master in games like poker or fighting games. For instance, a low kick might come out when a high kick is expected, or a special move might be executed at an absurd timing by randomly spinning the stick.”

Lucas explained that the more cunning a strategist is, the more likely they are to be trapped by their own logic. He shared stories of novices who, by recklessly raising the stakes, made experienced players fold, thinking the novice had a strong hand, only to find out later that the novice had nothing. Conversely, he mentioned cases where novices, unaware of the strength of their own hand, raised the stakes timidly, not realizing they held a straight flush. Through these examples, Lucas illustrated the limitations of brain play.

“If Banara, one of the Twelve Heavenly Lord, were the main actor in this operation, there would be no need to question why South Korea was chosen as the stage. It could be interpreted as Banara returning to avenge the defeat suffered at the hands of the Clan Master in the Amazon by targeting the Clan Master’s homeland. However, if the opponent is indeed a cunning strategist, as the Master suggests, there must be a specific reason for choosing South Korea.”

Lucas explained that all the circumstances seemed to indicate an intention to keep Myung-Jun tied to South Korea.

“In that sense, the Master’s decision not to confront Banara directly was a strategically valid choice. Following the opponent’s intentions is the quickest path to defeat.”

Myung-Jun, listening to Lucas, asked, “So, you’re saying that the current location of the enemy is related to keeping me tied to South Korea?”

“That’s highly likely. However, that alone doesn’t narrow down the range. It’s also possible that they threw a convenient bait nearby just to seal off the Master’s search abilities.”

Byung-Tae, interlacing his fingers behind his head, grumbled to Lucas, “What’s the point? It’s all just possibilities. Can’t it all change depending on the interpretation?”

“That’s true. Ultimately, all strategies can be seen as a kind of rock-paper-scissors. Right now, it’s as if the opponent has declared they will throw rock. We could believe that and throw paper, but the opponent might read that psychology and throw scissors instead of rock. We could anticipate that and throw rock, but the opponent might foresee that and throw paper.”

Lucas explained that how many times one needs to reverse their thinking depends on the opponent’s level. If the opponent is an amateur, a single read might suffice to defeat them. If they are more experienced, two reversals might be necessary. For a master strategist, one might need to reverse their thinking three times or more.

Having heard about the infection incident in the DMZ, Lucas judged that they needed to reverse their thinking at least four times to grasp the opponent’s intentions.

“It might sound complicated, but here’s my interpretation: Hollodeug would not have expected the Master to interrogate the monster. Nor would he have anticipated that the infection incident would be resolved so quickly. According to the original plan, the Master would have become aware of this situation only after Banara’s forces began their invasion of Seoul. Master, if a large-scale invasion occurred in Seoul without any information, what would you do?”

“I would have to step in personally to resolve the situation, given that South Korea is a neighboring country and an asset too valuable to give up.”

“In that scenario, the problem wouldn’t just be Banara’s forces. A massive horde of infected advancing towards Seoul from the north would also need to be dealt with simultaneously. How would you respond to that?”

“I would isolate all approaching forces with a containment field to prevent further infection, and just like this time, I would look for a cure.”

“Would you intervene personally, or would you dispatch clan members?”

“Well, if we had no information on the infected, I think it’s likely I would have intervened personally.”

“Then we must assume that the enemy has read up to that point. Their goal is not simply to eliminate the Master, but to tie down the Master with the treatment of the infected within the containment field while the Master’s clan members, strong enough to stop an enhanced Banara, defend Seoul.”

“So you’re saying they intended to tie down both me and my clan members in South Korea? The advantage the enemy would gain from that is…”

Myung-Jun stopped mid-sentence and looked at Lucas with a surprised expression. Confirming Myung-Jun’s thoughts, Lucas nodded and said to him:

“The enemy’s goal is likely a direct attack on Liberty City while the entire Liberal Clan is absent.”

The implication of Lucas’s words was shocking. It suggested that the remaining two members of the Twelve Heavenly Lord might be lying in wait in Japan, where Liberty City was located.

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“That’s preposterous!!!”

Byung-Tae, unable to contain his disbelief at such an outrageous conclusion, stood up abruptly and shouted.

Then, with an angry tone, he addressed Lucas:

“Attack Liberty City? Why? It’s known to be the most difficult city in the world to attack!”

Byung-Tae’s words were indeed true. Liberty City, meticulously designed by Soo-Jeong, was not just a city but a ‘fortress city’ brimming with countless weapons. Despite Byung-Tae’s threatening tone, Lucas maintained his calm demeanor as he laid out his reasoning.

“Of course, I am well aware that Liberty City’s military power is capable of easily annihilating something like the U.S. 7th Fleet. Targeting such a city might seem like an extremely difficult task. However, there is a reason behind my judgment.”

Lucas explained that the most frustrating opponent in chess is not one who is stronger but one who blocks every path of your planned moves. He believed that this entire situation was Hollodeug’s strategy to dismantle Myung-Jun’s plan to save humanity.

“Liberty City’s defense facilities are undoubtedly top-notch. But are those defenses strong enough to withstand a combined attack from two members of the Twelve Heavenly Lord while the Master and you all are absent?”

Soo-Jeong, who was well-versed in Liberty City’s defense systems, shook her head and replied.

“I’d like to confidently say yes, but honestly, it’s impossible. Liberty City’s defenses are designed to counter typical overflows. For threats beyond that, the help of Liberal Clan members is absolutely necessary.”

“If Liberty City were to be destroyed, what would happen to the Master’s plan?”

“It would be delayed by years. The immense amount of crystals and monster materials accumulated over time have been used to build this city. With crystal prices skyrocketing since the difficulty adjustment, restoring a completely destroyed city would require enormous costs and time. More importantly…”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Myung-Jun spoke in a cold, subdued voice.

“The damage to our image would be greater than the material loss. Even if the clan members were absent, the destruction of the academy headquarters, home to the world’s top-ranked individuals and hundreds of promising talents, would severely tarnish the Liberal Clan’s image.”

The image that the Liberal Clan had built up until now was that, no matter how unreasonable their demands, following the Liberal Clan’s directives ultimately benefited everyone. However, the destruction of Liberty City, the clan’s stronghold and symbol, could lead to the perception that ‘following the Liberal Clan’s decisions could result in unfavorable outcomes.’

This could potentially foster the belief that, in the Gate Era, prioritizing national safety over humanity’s survival was necessary. If that happened, even successfully suppressing the overflow in South Korea might not be enough to recover from the damage caused by the destruction of Liberty City.

“That said, there’s no need to worry too much. As I mentioned earlier, they wouldn’t expect us to have figured out their intentions,” Lucas said.

He explained that the self-defense mechanism of the infected in the DMZ was nearly perfect. Even Hollodeug, one of the Twelve Heavenly Lord, wouldn’t have anticipated that Myung-Jun would torture the infected to extract information about the attack, especially since the infected would commit suicide the moment they were tampered with.

“In other words, it’s as if we’ve secretly read the opponent’s hand. Moreover, we have the capability to change our hand without them noticing. Right now, the opponent is probably feeling confident, holding what they believe is a straight flush.”

“Then we need to change our hand to a royal flush without them realizing,” Myung-Jun said.

“Exactly,” Lucas confirmed.

At that moment, Soo-Bin, who had been quietly listening, spoke up while looking at the two smiling men.

“Wait a minute. If Hollodeug is as smart as you say, isn’t it possible he’s reading this entire situation? What if all our predicted strategies are fake, and his real aim is to tie the captain down in Liberty City?”

“That’s possible too. As I mentioned, strategy is fundamentally like rock-paper-scissors. There’s always a chance of a situation where the opponent says, ‘I knew you’d do that!’”

“Then how do we counter that?”

“We can’t. If we keep trying to predict the opponent’s psychology endlessly, it will never end. Ultimately, everything can only be confirmed by revealing the cards. A strategist bets on the most logically sound outcome.”

“So, it all comes down to whether the opponent’s goal is to tie me down somewhere,” Myung-Jun concluded.

If the opponent’s target was Liberty City, they would try to keep Myung-Jun in South Korea. Conversely, if their target was the annihilation of South Korea, they would try to keep Myung-Jun in Liberty City. There was even the possibility that their goal was to conquer an entirely different place, like Africa or Australia. Myung-Jun processed all the given information and organized the situation in his mind.

Then, fulfilling his duty as the Clan Master, he made the ‘final decision.’

“I’ve made my decision.”

Combining all opinions and information, Myung-Jun announced his decision.

“From this moment, all clan members will begin the search for the two members of the Twelve Heavenly Lord infiltrating Japan.”

This decision accepted the opinion of academy trainee Lucas Gauthier, who believed that Hollodeug’s goal was to destroy Liberty City.