Chapter 144

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the military of the Human Composite State was divided into two major branches.

「Federal Army of the Federal Government of the Human Composite State」

「Planetary Defense Force of the Planetary Autonomous Governments」

This was the difference between what people commonly called the Federal Army and the Planetary Defense Force.

By the modern era, the gap between the two had widened significantly.

However, historically, there had indeed been times when the Planetary Defense Force held the advantage.

In fact, military scholars of the Human Composite State even described the Planetary Defense Force's current weakness as nothing short of miraculous.

Was that really so surprising?

The populations estimated by each planetary autonomous government ranged from one billion to as many as ten billion.

The incident in which they devoted all of their capabilities to their militaries, united, and declared independence.

It had happened.

No...

Rebellions had been frequent during the early days of the Human Composite State.

Unlike the vicinity of the Solar System, where most resources had already been depleted, the star systems they had settled still overflowed with limitless resources.

Countless resources.

A central government whose oversight was bound to grow lax.

Absolute authority within each planet.

Whether driven by reason or by ideals...

Wouldn't those who occupied the highest positions on each planet naturally harbor at least a little ambition?

The possibility certainly existed.

Of course, the Human Composite State had not simply sat idly by.

They tried keeping the planetary governors' families on Earth, the capital planet, as hostages.

They planted Federal spies within the planetary governments, ordering assassinations or sabotage whenever necessary.

Even so...

Such methods could never completely suppress human desire.

―UC. 7: Hilla Planet Rebellion

―UC. 8: Brigadier General Kering Kukenhauzen suppresses the Hilla Planet Rebellion. All ringleaders executed.

……(Omitted)……

―UC. 17: Luo Planet Allied Forces Rebellion

―UC. 21: Mir Planet Rebellion

―UC. 23: Colonel Kim Cheol suppresses the Luo Planet Allied Forces Rebellion. Some ringleaders [TOP SECRET]

―UC. 25: Lieutenant General Kering Kukenhauzen suppresses the Mir Planet Rebellion. All ringleaders executed.

Official records alone documented more than forty rebellions of varying scales.

There was also considerable evidence suggesting that, once omitted records and classified incidents were included, the true number exceeded seventy.

The Kukenhauzen Family had risen to prominence through that very process.

In any case, the Planetary Defense Force had inevitably established its own position while standing in opposition to the Federal Army during those early years.

However, the one thing that brought that wasteful power struggle to an end was none other than the war against the Holy Galactic Empire.

Few people desire division in the midst of a crisis.

The countless defeats suffered during the early stages of the war merely depleted the strength of the Planetary Defense Forces stationed throughout the outer territories.

In less than a year, seven planetary autonomous governments that had pursued independent policies had already been conquered by the Empire.

What more needed to be said?

A united Empire.

A divided Composite State.

Feeling threatened, the citizens demanded reconciliation—or outright reintegration—with the Human Composite State from their planetary governments.

The Federal Government and the Ministry of National Defense seized that opportunity without hesitation to bring the unruly planetary governments under control.

UC. Year 56. The Grand Compromise between the Federation and the Planetary Autonomous Governments.

From that day onward, every Planetary Defense Force returned under the authority of the Ministry of National Defense.

Seventeen years after it had begun, the war finally ended in a ceasefire.

War changed many things.

It did not take long for the planetary autonomous governments and Planetary Defense Forces—having surrendered countless rights in exchange for survival—to face reality.

“This is certainly something new, Instructor.”

In that sense, the contemptuous look Obia sent toward Myo Cheong while smiling sweetly was perhaps only natural.

The Planetary Defense Force was considered qualitatively inferior to the Federal Army.

It was a prejudice that had endured for generations.

A stigma that had solidified into accepted truth.

With such perceptions so deeply rooted...

How could a proper chain of command ever function between Federal Army officers and Planetary Defense Force officers?

“So what shall we do, Instructor?”

Obia smiled brightly as she looked at Jin Crow.

Yet the question already seemed answered, judging from the Gears audibly spinning within her.

Rather than being irritated by Myo Cheong's attitude, Jin Crow sighed from the stress of standing beside a human time bomb who could explode at any moment.

Then he turned his calm gaze toward Captain Lang Wei.

“I'd rather avoid causing unnecessary trouble if possible.”

Judging generously, Myo Cheong's Gear was Triple at best.

Just as Jin Crow unconsciously reached toward the hilt of his sword, he forcibly suppressed the irritation rising within him and, behaving like both a civilized man and a soldier, attempted to pass the responsibility to someone else.

As expected...

Lang Wei seemed to have anticipated this.

Straightening his drooping tail, he scratched his head before approaching Myo Cheong, who continued glaring at them coldly.

Wearing his usual cheerful smile, he leaned close and whispered something into his ear.

“......Tch.”

What exactly had he whispered?

Myo Cheong frowned briefly while staring at him.

Then his black tail shot upright.

Looking at him with an unpleasant expression, he snapped irritably at Lang Wei.

“Handle it yourself. ...Annoying bastard.”

Following him, the soldiers wearing brown uniforms that identified them as members of the Planetary Defense Force departed in a group.

Watching the entire exchange unfold, Jin Crow could only let out a dry chuckle at the utterly dysfunctional chain of command.

The Governor-General's Office belongs to the Federal Army. The local soldiers belong to the Planetary Defense Force. No wonder the Colony Planets are such a mess.

To be fair...

He understood there wasn't really a better alternative.

If every soldier serving under the Governor-General's Office were incorporated into the already bloated Federal Army, the entire system would likely grind to a halt.

Meanwhile, Obia looked at Myo Cheong's retreating figure—who had fled with his tail tucked despite his earlier hostility—and asked Lang Wei,

“How did you manage that, Lang Lang?”

“Well... I just said one thing.”

Apparently having given up correcting how she addressed him, Lang Wei answered with a faint smile.

“I told him to get lost before I killed him.”

“......What?”

For a moment, Jin Crow thought it was a joke.

But after looking at Lang Wei, who smiled without the slightest trace of deception, and Squad A, whose members all nodded as though it were perfectly natural...

He realized the truth.

...The man was insane.

On the other hand, Obia seemed to like his attitude very much.

Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed one of his fluffy hands.

“Want to fight me?”

“Haha. No. I only pick fights I know I'll win.”

Listening to a conversation where everyone seemed to have a screw loose, Jin Crow ultimately shook his head while lighting another cigarette.

It was then.

Just as he lit it and took his first drag...

A woman's gentle voice, somewhat reminiscent of Myo Seol-ah's, drifted into his ears.

“Please try to understand him. He still hasn't gotten over my older sister, and then the man who stole her away showed up. Imagine how bitter he must feel.”

Turning toward the owner of the voice—

Lang Wei welcomed her with eyes and a wagging tail full of genuine delight, unlike before.

“Seol-rin. It's been a while.”

“Yes, Lang Wei.”

Staff Sergeant Myo Seol-rin.

Dressed in a black uniform, her cat ears and tail—distinctive features of the Myo Clan—stood out prominently.

Compared to Myo Seol-ah, her eyes drooped slightly lower.

Returning Lang Wei's friendly greeting with an equally relaxed smile, she said,

“You're just as twisted as ever. You're not even going to stop this?”

“Well, he brought it on himself. Who told him to pursue a woman who already had a fiancé?”

“Uh... I'm the one who got seduced.”

“Don't spout nonsense. Anyway, is this the Federal Army instructor we were told about?”

Ignoring Obia, who had quietly appeared behind him after piecing together the situation and muttered,

“Instructor... this is totally NTR...”

Jin Crow extinguished his half-smoked cigarette in his portable ashtray before answering.

“Major Jin Crow. Instructor at the Central Special-duty Academy.”

“Loyalty. I'm Staff Sergeant Myo Seol-rin of the Ju Planetary Defense Force. Thanks to that loose-lipped brother-in-law of mine, you've probably already guessed, but I'm the younger sister of Captain Myo Seol-ah, commander of Security Division Squad B.”

It wasn't information he had particularly wanted to know.

Even so, he simply nodded politely.

There was no reason to sour the mood of someone who was cooperating willingly.

Whether she realized what he was thinking or not...

Myo Seol-rin glanced at Lang Wei, whose gray tail continued swaying beside her, before speaking.

“Colonel Myo Cheong's attitude was certainly excessive, but please don't hold it against him too much. The engagement arranged between our families was broken off, so he took it rather hard. Well... he genuinely liked her too.”

Her cat ears twitched gently.

She gave him a playful wink before saying,

“I'll guide you personally, Instructor.”

“I'll leave it to you.”

Jin Crow had no reason to refuse.

“......”

Myo Cheong entered the headquarters building with an expression as stiff as stone and shut the door behind him.

After taking a slow, deep breath, he sat down.

His tail remained rigid.

No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, his claws continued extending involuntarily, and his breathing only grew heavier.

Crunch—

A chilling sound escaped from between his tightly clenched teeth.

Unable to endure it any longer, he suddenly sprang to his feet and swept everything off his desk.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

Craaaash!

The Psyonic Energy leaking from him instantly shattered every piece of furniture into fragments.

Grabbing handfuls of his black hair, he replayed the disgrace he had just suffered.

“Lang Wei.”

Everything had gone wrong from the moment that bastard appeared.

“Damn you, Lang Wei!”

His fiancée, Myo Seol-ah, had abandoned him after falling for that scheming bastard, completely blind to his true intentions despite all the years he had devoted himself to her.

His plans to become a Federal Army Special-duty officer and transfer to the Security Division had been thwarted every single time.

Surely it was all because of Lang Wei's interference as the Vice Governor-General's trusted subordinate.

And that wasn't all.

The instinctive fear engraved into his clan forced him to retreat whenever he stood before Lang Wei.

“Those damned mongrels of the Lang Clan. They should've wiped your entire bloodline out.”

He understood the dangers posed by the Dawn Church better than anyone.

Nor did he reject the Governor-General's Office.

But unlike Lang Wei, he was no blind supporter who had dedicated his soul to the Composite State.

Perhaps it was simply the vile blood of the Lang Clan.

Wasn't there a reason the Dawn Church had once tried to exterminate them?

They were a breed unfit to coexist with anyone.

That bastard controlled everything from the shadows.

No one looked down on him merely because he held the rank of captain.

Every soldier knew exactly how much authority came with serving in the infamous Security Division of the Governor-General's Office.

It was paranoia.

An inferiority complex.

Yet the stress Myo Cheong had endured over the years had become far too great for him to recognize that fact himself.

This can't continue.

Grinding his teeth, Myo Cheong finally regained some composure before walking toward the washroom built into one corner of the room.

Shhhhh—

He turned on the faucet and splashed water across his face.

Droplets ran down his pale cheeks.

When he slowly raised his eyes again, a terrifying resolve lingered within them.

Everything is for the sake of Ju Planet.

He never denied the Human Composite State.

Nor did he disagree that allowing the Dawn Church to regain control of the planet would be a nightmare.

But weren't there diseases that could only be cured with the deadliest poison?

Shhhhh—

Keeping the water running, he finally contacted someone.

〔......Have you given it enough thought?〕

A voice answered after a brief connection tone.

Looking once more into the mirror, Myo Cheong slowly opened his mouth.

“......I accept the deal. Dawn Church.”

At that very moment—

〔You have made the right decision, Colonel Myo Cheong.〕

The voice on the other end of the call was unmistakably filled with laughter.