Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 425
The introductions were over.
The things that needed to be said were roughly finished, too.
It was all thanks to Su-ho.
Either way, things would proceed according to Su-ho’s wishes, and the UN side would be handled by Charlie, while the Korean government side would be handled by Im Cheol.
In addition to that, a hidden finishing move had been prepared for this broadcast.
‘Im Cheol and Charlie are hidden cards too, if you think about it.’
They had done plenty of media play as well.
For example, ads teasing Su-ho’s follow-up interview on the Australia Big Gate had started going out two hours earlier.
- PBS Exclusive: Follow-up interview with Hunter An Su-ho on the Australia Big Gate
A short line.
It wasn’t like they had advertised it everywhere. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
At most, they had posted it only on YouTube and other official PBS SNS channels.
But the effect was more impactful and had a bigger ripple than any other ad...... no, than any ad PBS had ever run.
The official PBS YouTube channel was already flooded not by tens of thousands but by hundreds of thousands of people.
There were several reasons, but ultimately, of course, it was because of Su-ho.
It’s Sword Saint-nim!!
I’m telling you it’s Sword Saint-nim!!
Wow, after the second Great Cataclysm he went silent and I was so anxious......!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.......
I prayed so hard just for him to be alive, as expected, Sword Men......!
Why would the Sword Saint die, does he look like a zombie to you?!
Is the Sword Saint your buddy! Put “-nim” on it!
Explosive reactions.
It was only natural.
After the second Great Cataclysm happened, the Purification-Unification Operation naturally came to a halt.
And while all the allied forces who had been in North Korea returned, there was just one person—no news could be found about Su-ho alone.
So the Sword Saint death rumors were rampant in the rumor mill.
In the midst of that, Su-ho suddenly appeared on foreign news.
And in a state closest to the hottest potato in the world right now—the “Big Gate.”
So how could it not blow up?
PBS employees, looking at the waiting viewers and the pouring comments, kept exclaiming in amazement.
“Wow, insane.”
“How many people is this?”
“Our station’s channel is really having a day like this.”
“Seventy percent are foreigners?”
“That’s why the headcount matches up.”
“Even so, considering thirty percent are domestic, the Sword Saint’s influence is really insane.”
“Of course, he’s Sword Saint-nim.”
“You were in the Su-ho Knights, too?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Sword Men.”
Im Cheol and Jeong Cheol-min were the same in their reactions.
“President, YouTube viewership is about to surpass five hundred thousand. Public opinion reactions are no joke, too.”
“Heh heh, see? What did I say? This is the true flow of the times.”
Im Cheol’s mouth looked like it would split to his ears.
For him, the best boss wasn’t the president but the people.
Because the power of an elected position—chosen by the people—was far ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) stronger than an appointed position—given by the president.
But do the people just pick anyone?
Politics is, in the end, a popularity contest.
You have to imprint yourself firmly in the people’s minds when you can, and you have to cement your popularity when you can.
‘Use this opportunity to be properly recognized by the people and open the second act of Im Cheol’s political life.’
Su-ho could see through Im Cheol’s ulterior motives plainly, but he didn’t see them in a bad light.
That wasn’t greed; it was being smart.
Su-ho glanced at Charlie sitting beside him and smiled.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“We’ll be in your care. At this point, even the Secretary-General’s expectations are high.”
“Of course.”
Listening to Jo Jin-hwi’s voice in his in-ear, Su-ho finished the final checks.
Before long, the broadcast began.
The follow-up interview was hosted by PBS’s signature anchor.
As the broadcast started, the number of waiting viewers hovering near five hundred thousand shot up toward one million in an instant.
“Wow......”
“Look at that firepower......”
“Insane......”
A chorus of low exclamations from the station staff who knew what they were looking at.
It was only natural.
“This is Han Jeong-woo of PBS Emergency Interview. Today......”
The anchor’s opening line began, and the camera panned to Su-ho.
Strategically, the other guests did not appear on screen. It had been set up that way on purpose.
The anchor spoke.
“You said you would talk about the details in the follow-up interview. Then first, we’d appreciate it if you could comfortably tell us what you saw there.”
Since it was an emergency interview, no set end time had been fixed.
That was fine.
Given the current situation, what importance did the existing scheduled programming have?
This was a matter concerning the survival of humanity.
Su-ho began to answer.
“Hello, I am An Su-ho, Section Chief of the Special Department of the Korean Hunter Association and currently serving as a government-affiliated Player. First, setting other things aside, I’ve heard the rumors of my death were rampant, and I apologize for not greeting you in advance.”
Su-ho dismissed the death rumors with a smile.
The responses to that smile were heated.
An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho! An Su-ho.......
Kyaaaah! Sword Saint-nim looked at me!! Kyaaaah! Sword Saint-nim looked at me!! Kyaaaah! Sword Saint-nim looked at me!!
I believed! I said I believed!
Damn it, who said Sword Saint-nim died!!
Hey hey, you there, wipe those tears first and then talk.
A monitor had been installed to check comment reactions, so people could check public sentiment in real time.
Smiling, Su-ho continued.
“First, to explain how I ended up going to Australia, I had gone on expedition to North Korea to carry out the Purification-Unification Operation......”
While roaming the very front line of North Korea alone on a solo mission, he was suddenly hit by the second Great Cataclysm.
He had undertaken a solo mission to secretly cross-check a project in progress with information he was personally collecting.
And in the process, he nearly lost his life several times, but in the end he managed to obtain the information he wanted, and that was information about the Big Gate.
“......So that’s why you went to Australia?”
“Yes, confirmation was necessary. To see whether the information I had obtained was true. This was something I moved on alone, separate from the fact that the World Magic Detection Organization, WMD, had detected that abnormal mana was condensing in Australia.”
“Amazing. How could that be...... But how did you get to Australia? As I understand it, due to the second Great Cataclysm, all flights are banned except for military aircraft or special-purpose craft.”
“I used my summons. I use far more and more varied powers than what you all know.”
“Could you perhaps show us here?”
“I’ll show you that gradually a bit later.”
“Understood. Please continue.”
“Yes, then to continue: through checking the Big Gate that occurred in Australia and the information I had gathered so far, I learned one tremendous fact.”
“What would that be?”
“That the Big Gate doesn’t end with this one. As the notification said, ‘With the start of the second Great Cataclysm, the creation of the first Big Gate will begin,’ several more—three or four—Big Gates will be additionally created going forward.”
“Then at least four or five Big Gates will be created...... Do you perhaps also know where they will be?”
“We are currently in the process of collecting data on that, but I think we’ll be able to find out before long. I figured out Australia’s Big Gate in the same way.”
Wow.
He can figure that out?
Isn’t that a scam?
The hell do you mean scam? Before WMD even told us, the Sword Saint went first and found it, what scam?
National average IQ level, seriously, ugh tsk tsk
Can’t believe that bastard’s vote counts the same as mine.
People stirred at the words that he could figure it out in the same way.
There was no doubt.
The repertoire itself might have looked similar to the countless scammers out there, but Su-ho had the prestige he had built up all this time.
Su-ho continued.
“Also, according to the information I further uncovered, the current Big Gate does not trigger immediately with the notification, but will spend some time absorbing nearby Gates and monsters to build up its strength.”
“Build up strength? Then conversely, does that mean it can be weakened?”
“Yes, that’s right. And I estimate that period to be about a month, and I would like to insist that during that month we need to clear the Gates and monsters around the Big Gate.”
“Are you planning to do that alone by any chance?”
“That would be nice, but as those who know know, aside from the three major cities, the rest of Australia has been left unattended for a long time, so it’s impossible to clear that many monsters and Gates alone. So we need help from other Hunters...... As the most realistic alternative, I inquired with the UN, and it turned out the UN had already requested help from each country. For a clearer explanation, we have invited Director Charlie Paul of the UN Player Secretariat.”
The camera zoomed out.
Then the face of Director Charlie Paul, who had been sitting nearby, appeared, and a caption with his title and name popped up beneath him.
“Nice to meet you, I am Charlie Paul, Director of the UN Player Secretariat.”
The appearance of the Director of the UN Player Secretariat.
In matters concerning Players and Hunters, he was one of the biggest heavyweights in the world, occupying a high position with tremendous influence, and no one among the viewers had expected his appearance.
??????
Bro, why are you coming out of there?
Wait, the UN Player Secretariat suddenly appears here?
Wow, damn, and not a proxy either—the Director himself popped up;;
That guy is really a big deal, too—what is this PBS booking power?
Idiot, you think PBS booked him? The follow-up interview itself is with Sword Saint-nim in the first place; Sword Saint-nim prepared everything in advance
f***ing Sword Saint God ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Chant it, Sword Saint!
The anchor welcomed Charlie’s greeting.
“Welcome, Director. First, let me thank you for making the long trip.”
“Not at all. Since Mr. An first gave us tremendous help, I consider this much a natural step.”
“It’s truly good to see mutual assistance. Then to get right to the point: as Hunter An Su-ho said, did you really request help from each country?”
“Yes. Currently, in Australia we have dispatched large numbers of Peacekeepers as well as UN staff to assist the evacuation of Australian citizens. Along with that, as detected by WMD, we had to track the Big Gate hidden somewhere in Australia, but as you know, Peacekeeper manpower is woefully insufficient, and we had no choice but to request personnel dispatch from all countries that are at least maintaining infrastructure, including the permanent members and the non-permanent members.”
“So did positive answers come back?”
“No. Everyone lacked the capacity and could not provide assistance. Instead, a hero appeared at that time.”
“A hero?”
“Yes, Mr. An contacted us. At that time, Mr. An really felt like a super hero. Not only did he find the Big Gate we needed to find, he generously disclosed the information he just mentioned. And yet even so, we still could not solve the manpower problem.”
Charlie looked straight into the camera and spoke.
“This is a very serious problem. In Australia right now, there are many so-called field monsters and Gates that have been left unattended for a long time and have gone berserk. If, as Mr. An says, the Big Gate ends up absorbing all of them......”
Charlie spoke in a heavier voice than ever.
“Then humanity may be facing, since the Great Cataclysm began...... perhaps a catastrophe that would make nuclear bombs seem laughable.”
