Ch.111111. The Allied Forces (2)

The refugees were able to safely settle in their temporary residence, and the settlement support program prepared by the Balhut Cult for these refugees began operations.

Now the refugees would receive guidance on how to live in Balhut Cult territory at designated locations and be provided with jobs, allowing them to regain peace in a safe place.

“All the refugees are safe, and I’ve confirmed they’re receiving proper settlement support. Let’s return to Ulsan.”

“Yes. Then I’ll accompany you.”

After seeing the settlement support begin for the refugees, Jin A-yeon returned to Ulsan with Son Sang-hui.

They had remained in Gyeongju for the safety of refugees who had evacuated there, postponing their return to Ulsan which was at the frontline. But since the Balhut Cult genuinely showed efforts to settle the refugees in safe locations, they could now return to Ulsan Airport with peace of mind.

Accordingly, Son Sang-hui, Jeong Dong-geon’s adjutant, accompanied Jin A-yeon to fight alongside her commander, and they soon headed toward Ulsan in a vehicle driven by Son Sang-hui.

“They’re doing construction around here.”

“Yes. Since there’s a risk the Cult of Immortality might conduct sabotage using corpses buried in fields or forests, they’re digging up and checking all areas that could be used to occupy important intersections.”

On the way back to Ulsan, numerous soldiers were digging with shovels or using tractors to excavate farmland, working to unearth corpses buried in the fields.

It was heartbreaking to watch them digging through frozen ground with shovels in this cold weather, with temperatures below zero and snow flurries swirling around.

This was the worst situation for the soldiers, but unfortunately, if they didn’t do this work, corpses buried in the farmland could transform into undead and threaten nearby villages or outposts. So even in this bitter cold, soldiers went outside to clear snow or check inside the frozen ground.

The soldiers lamented to the sky, “Look at all this garbage falling down!” but the sky seemed indifferent, continuing to shower snow upon them.

“Can’t Turn Undead work on them?”

“Bodies just buried in the ground aren’t zombies, so Turn Undead doesn’t work on them. But if they’re already in an undead state when buried, the magic works. Before excavation work began, Yu-na herself used Turn Undead magic.”

Jin A-yeon mentioned Turn Undead magic, apparently feeling sorry for the soldiers, but unfortunately the answer came back that it wouldn’t work.

Turn Undead magic was useless on regular corpses that weren’t undead.

At the very least, Choi Yu-na had helped by casting Turn Undead spells in areas at risk of undead appearances before the soldiers began their work, ensuring they wouldn’t encounter undead during excavation.

“So… the High Priestess herself came out? From a soldier’s perspective, doesn’t that mean they couldn’t postpone the work?”

“Well, yes.”

“The High Priestess really doesn’t understand people’s feelings.”

Perhaps that made it even more hellish.

When the Balhut Cult’s High Priestess personally came out in this below-freezing weather to cast Turn Undead magic and ensure maximum safety, how could a low-ranking soldier just sit idly in a warm outpost?

Even after Choi Yu-na left, the Balhut Cult soldiers shed tears of blood as they brought shovels, tractors, and snow plows to begin excavation work. By the time Jin A-yeon arrived in Ulsan, they would likely have completed about half of the work.

However, whether slow or fast, a second wave of refugees would be departing for Gyeongju, so if these soldiers could quickly complete their excavation work, things would become easier going forward.

“Work hard, soldier!”

“I’m still in my bloody twenties!”

“Garbage keeps falling from the sky! Hahaha! We’re doomed! The world is… it’s already ended!”

Jin A-yeon opened the window and called out words of encouragement to a soldier digging with a shovel in the field, but the responses she got were just cries about still being in his twenties and laments about garbage continuing to fall from the sky.

Well, digging in such bitter cold while being pelted with snow would bring tears of blood to anyone’s eyes, even an Awakened.

“That looks annoying.”

“Still, they’re using heavy equipment for the search, so it should be finished in a day or two. Once they finish working on the important routes, things will get easier.”

One consolation for the soldiers was that, as just mentioned, heavy equipment like tractors and snow plows were being used for the work.

With these two types of machinery, they could quickly complete snow removal and excavation work, allowing them to rest comfortably in their outposts afterward.

“Isn’t the fuel cost expensive?”

“It is. But they seem to think the health and lives of the Awakened are more important.”

“Hmm, indeed. In this era when fuel for vehicles is so precious…”

Of course, using heavy equipment comes at a cost, and that cost was fuel.

In this apocalypse, there weren’t many ways to obtain fuel for machines, and naturally, the fuel reserves on the Korean peninsula were diminishing over time.

So to conserve fuel as much as possible, it would be more resource-efficient to work with manpower rather than machinery.

But the Balhut Cult maintained its policy of prioritizing Awakened individuals, choosing to prioritize them over fuel costs.

“Ah, we can trade with the United States, so we can get Texas oil.”

“What? You have a supply route for fuel?”

“Yes.”

“That’s really impressive.”

The reason this was possible was because they could receive Texas oil through trade with the United States, so they had enough fuel for tractors and snow plows.

If they hadn’t been trading with the United States, regardless of any policy prioritizing Awakened individuals, countless soldiers would now be endlessly shoveling and removing snow while crying.

However, Jin A-yeon looked at Son Sang-hui with genuine surprise upon learning they had a route to obtain fuel.

For Jin A-yeon, who had been living far from civilized life due to fuel shortages, this was a sign that the Balhut Cult was still able to enjoy the comforts of civilization.

“You’re here. I heard the refugee convoy was attacked.”

“How’s the situation on your end? Are you okay? It doesn’t look good.”

After some small talk, they arrived at Ulsan Airport.

Upon arrival, they could see Han Seong-geun, who was leading the refugees, and Jin A-yeon asked him what had happened.

Han Seong-geun answered in a somber voice.

“Not good. When we showed signs of evacuating to Ulsan, the Cult of Immortality revealed their true colors.”

“I know. They hid among the refugees and launched a surprise attack with undead.”

It seemed they had been attacked as well, as traces of battle remained throughout the roads.

Particularly, there were sounds of wailing coming from temporary outposts, suggesting casualties among the refugees.

Medical officers dispatched from the cult and priests capable of healing magic were performing treatments, but there seemed to be too many injured for the available personnel.

“Did fighting break out around here?”

“Yes. Until just now, skeletons were swarming this area, but normally we’re engaged with the Cult of Immortality at the Ulsan Bridge border. Our allied forces have installed barricades at key points in Ulsan, but they can only delay the skeleton forces.”

“Couldn’t you deploy more allied soldiers near the barricades?”

It had been a fierce battle.

In response to Han Seong-geun’s statement that they had invaded as far as Ulsan Airport, Son Sang-hui asked if they couldn’t deploy more allied soldiers at important strongholds.

“The main force of the allied army is stationed here to ensure the safety of the refugees gathered here and prepare for evacuation. It would be possible to dispatch them to key positions, but…”

“That would be unreasonable, wouldn’t it?”

In that case, the alliance between the Balhut Cult and Ulsan would likely break.

The Ulsan Airport faction, based in Ulsan, prioritized the safety of refugees who were their comrades and family, while the Balhut Cult needed refugees to expand their governance and national scale.

If either side suggested abandoning the refugees, the alliance would lose its meaning, so their only option was to station many allied forces at Ulsan Airport for the refugees’ safety.

The allied forces were essentially forced into a single choice.

“The enemy probably knows that refugees are our weakness. The fact that they’re so blatantly attacking Ulsan Airport where refugees are gathered suggests they no longer care about civilian survival.”

“What? They’re showing their true colors? What’s going on? This is too sudden. They were playing normal people so well, and now they suddenly act like this?”

“I don’t know either. As soon as they learned we were cooperating with the Balhut Cult, they attacked without warning or declaration of war. Thanks to that, other camps that had maintained neutrality decided to cooperate with the allied forces.”

The enemy was using this to launch fierce attacks to occupy key positions leading to Ulsan Airport, while simultaneously threatening Ulsan Airport itself to prevent reinforcements from being sent to those positions.

Targeting the enemy’s weakness was natural, but the problem was that Ulsan Airport had many civilians who couldn’t fight.

“Everything they’ve done until now has become meaningless. Aren’t they concerned about wasting all that effort?”

“I don’t know. But thanks to this, we quickly gained support from other camps.”

It was a surprisingly sudden change for the Cult of Immortality, which had been playing the role of a normal organization quite well until the Balhut Cult arrived.

Since zombies and undead hadn’t appeared under the Cult of Immortality’s control, neutral camps had endured despite their complaints. But this attack caused such a strong backlash that all neutral camps sided with Ulsan Airport, making it a major incident.

“Where is Commander Jeong Dong-geon…?”

“The commander is currently leading an elite unit to rescue isolated camps and refugees. Most of the injured here are refugees or people from neutral camps brought in that way.”

When neutral camps in Ulsan supported and sided with the allied forces, the allied forces immediately welcomed their joining with open arms.

The enemy was a group of necromancers who could use zombies as soldiers, putting the allied forces at a significant numerical disadvantage.

However, the problem was that few of these neutral camps could reach Ulsan Airport on their own.

“Neutral camps that aren’t isolated can arrive safely, but isolated neutral camps are fighting difficult battles. We need to help them and gain the support of other neutral camps.”

“Is Mr. Han Seong-geun in command here as the commander’s representative?”

“Yes. The commander entrusted Ulsan Airport to me, and I firmly believe in the commander’s abilities as I take responsibility for managing and supervising this place.”

While non-isolated neutral camps could reach Ulsan Airport on their own, there were plenty of neutral camps that couldn’t move because the roads were blocked due to ongoing battles at key positions.

Believing that rescuing these camps to gain support from more neutral camps was the best option for the allied forces, they dispatched their elite unit—the advance team led by Jeong Dong-geon.

This meant the allied forces would be without their commanding head, but since Han Seong-geun was capable of replacing Jeong Dong-geon, this operation was possible.

“Of course, this was only possible because the commander officially appointed me as his representative.”

“He must have thought it was necessary.”

Han Seong-geun, who had been leading the resistance at Ulsan Airport, was a leader supported by many Ulsan citizens and a commander fully capable of replacing Jeong Dong-geon.

The Balhut Cult soldiers trusted Jeong Dong-geon enough to follow his orders without question, so with Jeong Dong-geon’s support, Han Seong-geun could also effectively control the cult’s soldiers.

“Then the rest is simple. While Uncle Jeong Dong-geon rescues the neutral camps, we defend this place. That’s enough, right?”

“Yes. It’s reassuring that A-yeon, the strongest Awakened in Ulsan, is here.”

“Of course. I’ll defend this place to the end.”

The rest was indeed simple.

They needed to protect Ulsan Airport from the Cult of Immortality until Jeong Dong-geon, who had gone to rescue survivor camps outside, returned with the survivors.

For Jin A-yeon, who was more confident in fighting than anyone else, this was an extremely easy task. She picked up her spear and prepared to fight with a sharp smile.

“Then I’ll also encourage the soldiers. Please give me your orders, Acting Commander Han Seong-geun.”

“Yes. Let’s defend this place with our lives.”

Son Sang-hui also acknowledged Han Seong-geun as the acting commander to protect the place where Jeong Dong-geon would return, and pledged to fight under his command.

Seeing the two Awakened, Han Seong-geun seemed truly reassured and vowed to defend this place with his life.