Ch.108108. Declaration of Holy War (1)

After that, there were two more attacks by groups of Skeletons.

One near the intersection leading to Yeorona or Autovalley, and another in the small town where the school was located.

As if they had completely figured out the allied forces’ movements, the Skeleton groups ambushing the buses carrying refugees were growing increasingly fierce.

“It seems there really are spies among us. I can detect an unpleasant and nauseating magical energy response among the refugees.”

“Finally found them. I was getting quite irritated.”

However, the reason they had proceeded with the evacuation toward Gyeongju and engaged in battle without waiting for reinforcements from the Balhut Cult headquarters was to detect any potential spies within.

Son Sang-hui seemed to have finally discovered spies hiding among the refugees, suggesting their presence by mentioning the nauseating magical energy she felt among them. Jin A-yeon, who had just freshly smashed an enemy commander’s head, shook her spear once in the air, rested it on her shoulder, and addressed Son Sang-hui.

“Then we need to capture them. How many are there?”

“It seems there’s one aboard each bus.”

Currently, there were 40 transport buses carrying refugees.

If there was one spy per bus, that meant approximately 40 spies were hiding among the refugees and boarding the evacuation buses.

“That’s a lot. At least 40 infiltrators? Hmm, or is that actually small compared to the 4,000 total?”

“It’s a lot. Easily more than a platoon.”

“I thought so.”

Jin A-yeon was shocked at the news of 40 spies, but considering the scale of the evacuation, it might actually be relatively small.

With around 4,000 people being moved, 40 would only be 1 percent of the total.

Of course, 40 was by no means a small number and easily exceeded the size of a platoon.

What was most frightening was…

“But 40 Awakened is truly terrifying. If Awakened spies infiltrate Gyeongju and disrupt public order, even the NTS or military would have trouble stopping them.”

The fact that all of them were Awakened made it even more frightening.

Thinking back to before the apocalypse, it was like saying an elite trained unit had hidden among the refugees.

Forty superhuman soldiers who could easily subdue dozens of ordinary people had infiltrated, and protecting the refugees from them—let alone pretending not to notice and sending them to Gyeongju—was problematic.

If they gathered and formed a platoon, it would mean an unidentified Awakened army appearing inside Gyeongju, and even if they were caught here, they might take refugees hostage and conduct guerrilla operations.

From the allied forces’ perspective, they were truly troublesome opponents, and they needed to figure out how to defeat an Awakened army of 40.

“If they all gather, it would certainly be dangerous. But right now, they’re operating separately.”

“True, they’re not gathered in one place. They’re scattered one per bus.”

But that was only if they gathered and conducted guerrilla operations.

Right now, to avoid suspicion, the spies were disguised as refugees and scattered across different buses, probably in a fairly complacent state.

In other words, if they were scattered and not gathered together…

“That means we can pick them off one by one.”

They could be dealt with individually.

Jin A-yeon looked at Son Sang-hui with a sharp expression, and Son Sang-hui nodded in agreement.

“The problem is they might have a way to communicate with each other. Even if we pick them off one by one, if they use smartphones, they could quickly alert other spies on different buses…”

“That’s impossible.”

“What?”

However, Son Sang-hui thought this would be difficult, warning that while it might work initially, smartphone communications could relay the situation in real-time.

In that case, spies who noticed their comrades in danger might take refugees hostage on the buses and begin guerrilla operations, putting the allied forces at a disadvantage with hostages…

“That’s pre-apocalypse thinking. It’s unrealistic to think they’d distribute charged smartphones to spies in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, having a smartphone itself indicates privilege. To disguise as refugees, it would be better to go in as someone without a smartphone. We’ve been filtering out refugees who have usable smartphones.”

But that was the thinking of the Balhut Cult with their energy resources, and realistically, not all spies would have environments where they could freely use smartphones.

Because the Cult of Immortality had been conducting public opinion campaigns, Son Sang-hui naturally thought they would provide all spies with well-charged smartphones to maintain communication, but using smartphones now during the apocalypse was itself evidence of economic privilege.

Even in North Ulsan Airport, which they had seized about a quarter of, only executives could use smartphones—could the Cult of Immortality possibly provide smartphones to all their soldiers?

“Even we, who are second only to the Cult of Immortality in terms of resources in Ulsan, can only allow my comrades and Mr. Han Seong-geun to use smartphones. Would the Cult of Immortality really have smartphones to issue to mere spies?”

That couldn’t be the case.

Without an entity like Bahamut that could supply unlimited energy, there would be limits to the smartphones available for spy missions.

Even Jin A-yeon, who had built a heroic reputation with Fukuoka’s help, and Han Seong-geun, the deputy leader of Ulsan Airport, only permitted smartphone use among executives, prohibiting others due to electrical energy issues.

“I think it’s unrealistic. It’s been well over six months now. The number of usable smartphones in Ulsan must have physically decreased a lot.”

“Indeed.”

Moreover, the number of properly functioning smartphones in Ulsan would have physically decreased.

That was Jin A-yeon’s answer.

The Balhut Cult, which could freely use electronic devices thanks to Bahamut’s help, might have found this difficult to recognize.

After all, they were freely using electronic devices just like before the apocalypse, powered by the infinite electrical energy supplied by the dragon god.

“Then let’s search the buses under the pretext of asking if there are any injured people.”

Son Sang-hui seemed to have made up her mind based on Jin A-yeon’s response, declaring that they would search the buses under the pretext of checking for injured people.

“That’s a good idea, but…”

Including the recent battle, they had engaged in three battles.

Asking if there were injured people on the buses could certainly be justified as a measure to ensure refugee safety, considering all the fighting they had been through.

“Those guys might resist.”

The issue was that the targets might resist during the search.

Frankly, the allied forces only had suspicions about spies, not concrete evidence.

“We’ll make them patients as per our pretext. Then gather them all in one place.”

“That’s a great idea!”

Of course, there was no time to gather evidence in this urgent situation.

Jin A-yeon praised the idea of forcibly making them patients and transferring them.

Though crude, since the pretext for searching the buses was exactly that, turning all suspected spies into patients could solve the problem.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes.”

Jin A-yeon and Son Sang-hui left the allied forces cleaning up the battlefield behind and boarded the bus at the front of the line, shouting:

“Is anyone injured? Or feeling unwell?”

“We’ll treat urgent patients in our medical vehicle!”

Although they had prevented people from approaching the buses, there might be shocked people but probably no injured ones.

However, what was important was checking the refugees’ health while simultaneously… identifying the spies.

“Gack!?”

“Oh my. This person doesn’t look well. We have an emergency patient here!”

The method was simple.

Son Sang-hui and Jin A-yeon entered the bus, shouting to ask if anyone was injured to draw attention, while Son Sang-hui discreetly pointed out suspected spies to Jin A-yeon.

Then Jin A-yeon would walk through the bus, pretending to check each person, approach the suspected spy… and deliver an ultra-high-speed punch to their stomach, too fast even for an Awakened’s eyes to see.

The spy, unable to withstand the superhuman’s sincere punch—which even an Awakened’s eyes couldn’t track—clutched their stomach with a pained expression, and Jin A-yeon naturally announced loudly for all other refugees to hear that there was an emergency patient.

“Let’s transport them immediately to the medical bus!”

Son Sang-hui appropriately responded to Jin A-yeon’s shout, calling for transport to the medical vehicle, and thus the suspected spy was carried by Jin A-yeon to the medical bus.

Once transported to the prepared medical bus, their expression completely changed as they bound the spy’s hands and feet, gagged them, and left guard personnel to maintain strict surveillance.

“That’s one down.”

“Let’s catch the rest.”

As Jin A-yeon and Son Sang-hui began their spy detection operation, there was truth to the saying that a long tail gets caught.

A spy in one of the buses at the back, who had observed that a patient emerged every time Son Sang-hui and Jin A-yeon boarded a bus, couldn’t help but be suspicious of this sudden pattern and began to wonder if their spy activities had been discovered by the allied forces.

In fact, since they couldn’t even see the faces of the patients being transported, they were gripped by anxiety, and as that anxiety gradually turned toward themselves…

“Damn it!”

Unable to withstand the fear of Son Sang-hui and Jin A-yeon’s approaching threat, a spy in one of the back buses finally broke a window and immediately attempted to escape.

Since they had been discovered anyway, the spy used their Awakened powers to break the window, land on the ground, and flee.

It seemed like a perfect chance to escape, as forces had been dispersed to clean up the battlefield, but…

“Strike!”

“Kuhack?!”

With a cracking sound like a skull breaking, a dull impact hit the spy’s head.

Their brain rattled, consciousness became dizzy, their body collapsed to the ground, and vision blurred.

And something that had collided with the spy’s head rolled along the street.

“A… a stone? That damn gorilla woman…”

“Who are you calling a gorilla woman!”

The spy thought they had chosen the perfect timing to escape, but unfortunately, Jin A-yeon had spotted the fleeing spy and captured them by throwing a stone.

When a superhuman over level 20 threw a stone with all their might, the spy couldn’t withstand the impact and passed out with a cracked head and protruding tongue.

But that was just the beginning.

“Someone’s running away!”

“Use Bahamut Bullets to subdue them!”

“One of them is taking civilians hostage!”

When one spy initiated a sudden action, the remaining spies also began establishing escape routes without hesitation to survive somehow.

Some fled to places outside Jin A-yeon’s line of sight, like the first one, while others took civilians inside the buses hostage and threatened them.

The former could be quickly subdued using Bahamut Bullets, but the latter was problematic.

“The moment you touch me, all the hostages on this bus will die!”

The last uncaptured spy threatened even the bus driver, locked the bus doors, and declared to the allied forces that the moment they were captured, all the hostages would die.

Essentially, if they couldn’t subdue the spy in one go, they couldn’t guarantee the lives of the refugees on the bus, and Jin A-yeon stood alone in the street, loudly denouncing the spy inside the bus.

“You crazy bastard! How could you take refugees hostage! Looking at these Skeleton troops, this must be the work of your Cult of Immortality again! Are you planning to kill all the refugees heading to Gyeongju? You damn Necromancer!”

She was pointing out that someone claiming to govern Ulsan was willing to kill fleeing refugees just to save themselves, and if they killed these refugees, it would turn suspicions about the Cult of Immortality into certainty.

Indeed, doubts were already arising among the refugees—could those who claimed to govern Ulsan really do such things? Unfortunately…

“Gah! We are merely executing the unfaithful who flee from this Ulsan that He protects! Moreover, it is you who are letting these people die by cooperating with the hateful cult that serves a false dragon god!”

The spy was completely unmoved by Jin A-yeon’s accusations and was only shouting fanaticism.

As the spy referred to the Balhut Cult’s dragon god as a “false dragon god” with contempt, several soldiers who sincerely followed the dragon god looked at the hostage-taking spy with expressions full of anger.

Of course, when the spy uttered words denying the Balhut Cult and its god, other soldiers’ expressions also darkened with anger as they unhesitatingly aimed their loaded guns at the spy.

Seeing this scene, Jin A-yeon sighed and nodded.

“Well, both sides are equally suspicious. They’re both cults serving gods.”

Both were equally suspicious.

However…

“But your side won’t listen to reason, while this side will. Plus, they’re doing their best to rescue powerless refugees. So it’s clear who’s right. You were never heroes of Ulsan! You were always just scum, enemies of humanity!”

The Balhut Cult rescuing civilians versus the Cult of Immortality taking civilians hostage.

Wasn’t this difference alone enough to distinguish between good and evil?

Jin A-yeon declared that they were following the Balhut Cult based on this difference alone, condemning and denouncing the Cult of Immortality.

“Don’t insult our Cult of Immortality! Do you know how much He and we have served Ulsan?”

“Really? But everything you do is suspicious. I’m honestly starting to wonder if you’re the real culprits behind this apocalypse.”

“T-that’s impossible! We were merely chosen! By Him! We were able to receive this power! We are the chosen ones!”

Despite Jin A-yeon’s mockery, the spy insisted they were chosen by “Him.”

As the hostage-taking spy’s attention focused on Jin A-yeon…

“Him? Well, you’ll confess during interrogation. I’m detaining you for obstructing official duties.”

“Gueeeeek!?”

In an instant, the spy who had lost track of Son Sang-hui was quickly subdued by a Bahamut Bullet from Son Sang-hui, who had secretly entered the bus in cooperation with the driver.

And thus, they succeeded in gathering all the spies in one place.

“That’s the end of it.”

They had successfully identified all the spies hidden among the refugees.

“Yes. We’ll leave any potential ordinary civilian spies to the NTS… Huh?”

However, as she was declaring that they would leave the rest to the NTS since there might also be ordinary civilian spies, Son Sang-hui detected a familiar yet strange magical energy.

Could they be summoning Skeletons again? She looked around but saw nothing.

“What’s wrong?”

“This sensation… Seolhwa’s…!”

And Son Sang-hui realized why this energy felt familiar.

It was the phenomenon that occurred when Baek Seol-hwa used her specialty back when she was still alive.

“E-everyone evacuate! Run away from the vehicle with the spies!”

Son Sang-hui couldn’t explain further and only shouted for all soldiers present to flee, warning them of mortal danger.

She herself immediately leaped away from the vehicle carrying the spies, and Jin A-yeon, not knowing what was happening but trusting Son Sang-hui’s warning, also moved away.

“W-wait, wait. No! Stop!”

At that moment, the spies’ bodies began to swell, and then their blood and flesh exploded like bombs, causing a massive explosion that engulfed not only the vehicle they were in but everything nearby.

Thanks to Son Sang-hui’s warning, the allied forces immediately fled from the vehicles, but the tremendous force sent debris and metal fragments flying, causing injuries such as impalement and severed limbs, creating a scene of chaos.

“It r-really hurts!”

Even Jin A-yeon, known as a superhuman, struggled to get up, her body covered in blood.

“I-I almost died. If it weren’t for the protective suit, I would have died instantly.”

Son Sang-hui, who would have died if not for her protective suit, couldn’t even get up.

The allied forces soldiers who had been in the vehicle serving as a prisoner holding area were…

“My… my… my arm!”

“My… my leg! It hurts! It hurts so much!”

They wailed in pain, looking at their severed arms and legs.

“Painkillers! Are there any painkillers?”

At this sight, Jin A-yeon rushed to find painkillers, forcing her injured body toward the medical vehicle, when suddenly…

“Is anyone hurt?”

“You finally came.”

Son Sang-hui could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the person they had been waiting for had arrived.