Ch.114114. Internal Cleanup (1)

“Stalemate. Is that what this is?”

The news of the frontline becoming deadlocked was quickly understood by the Balhut Cult.

In fact, since the Balhut Cult was the main force responsible for supplying and training soldiers for the frontline, they couldn’t possibly be unaware of the current situation in Ulsan.

Naturally, being pushed into a defensive position led to much deliberation within the cult.

“It seems the Allied Forces have fallen into quite a difficult situation.”

“Yes. Currently, the Allied Forces are maintaining a defensive position at Ulsan Airport and evacuating refugees.”

“It would be best to maintain the defensive position until all refugees reach a safe location.”

The dragon deity Bahamut, who normally only handled matters the cult couldn’t resolve, was now directly offering his opinion on the Ulsan frontline.

Bahamut couldn’t help but take interest, given that Jeong Dong-geon, who had been successfully completing missions until now, was pushed into a defensive position for the first time.

‘Isn’t this dangerous?’

In this situation, his characteristic cowardice was activated, but it was also the first time that Jeong Dong-geon’s advance team, which had been moving forward relentlessly under Bahamut’s orders, had been stopped.

Even if he didn’t want to worry about it, he couldn’t help but be concerned, and consequently, Bahamut also began to assert his opinions within the cult… or at least, that’s what Bahamut wanted to believe was his true intention.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“Should we maintain the expedition as it is?”

Within the cult, there was great anticipation due to the fact that Bahamut himself had taken the initiative to offer his opinion.

Yes, all the executives were clearly expecting Bahamut to make a decision.

‘The great Lord Bahamut himself mentioned the Ulsan frontline first!’

From the executives’ perspective, Bahamut, who had only been solving problems the cult couldn’t handle until now, was directly offering his opinion and even presiding over a strategy meeting.

Yes, the dragon deity, who until now had reigned but not ruled like a constitutional monarch, had exceptionally declared direct intervention this time.

In other words, the executives understood that something invisible to them had been detected by Bahamut’s eyes.

“Lord Bahamut. Please give us your answer.”

‘No, it’s not like I have some groundbreaking idea either.’

When Yu-na, as the representative, asked the dragon deity Bahamut to provide an answer, Bahamut began to rack his brain with a perplexed feeling.

Honestly, from Bahamut’s perspective, this situation was too sudden, and since he didn’t know what to do either, he had personally convened this meeting to hear the opinions of the other executives on the matter.

‘I’m not Jegal Seon or Han Xin! I can’t come up with a strategy to win with just one clever plan!’

To be frank, even his previous advice had been closer to encouragement about preparing for safety, rather than hinting at the future.

Even the advice given to Jeong Dong-geon before the Ulsan expedition was simply, “Since they’re zombies, these things might happen,” without any serious consideration.

It might have been closer to a mindset of, “Let’s just go with a monster that has a similar setup since there is one!”

Such a simpleton couldn’t possibly have a secret plan to immediately resolve this impasse.

“In conclusion, it seems this will be a prolonged battle.”

“Ah.”

So the most Bahamut could say after racking his brains was that the stalemate was close to an inevitable reality.

The Balhut Cult executives sighed regretfully at Bahamut’s declaration.

At the same time, it was an opportunity for them to recognize that this battle was difficult even for the dragon deity Bahamut to resolve immediately, and that the fight against the Cult of Immortality would never be easy.

“If the dragon deity were to descend, couldn’t this be resolved quickly?”

It seemed some executives hadn’t given up on the dragon deity Bahamut entering the frontlines, as they mentioned his descent.

In reality, considering the current battle situation, the moment Bahamut descended, the power difference would overwhelmingly favor the Allied Forces.

With such an advantage, recapturing Ulsan would be an easy task.

‘That’s not wrong. Even Pohang was quickly recaptured because I descended.’

Honestly, wasn’t Pohang also recaptured due to Bahamut’s descent?

Many executives thought that if the dragon deity descended upon Ulsan just as he had in Pohang and showed his might, even the Cult of Immortality wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Bahamut himself also agreed with that opinion, but…

“That’s not possible.”

However, to the executives’ expectations, Bahamut himself only responded that it was not possible.

Then, raising his hand and depicting three fingers, he calmly began to speak.

“There are three reasons. First, we haven’t secured an area in Ulsan where I can be deployed. Second, due to the cold wave caused by weather anomalies, the Allied Forces are in a defensive rather than offensive position. And lastly… we haven’t identified what the Cult of Immortality truly is and what their trump card might be.”

“Indeed.”

These were all plausible and reasonable answers.

The dragon deity, the Balhut Cult’s trump card, was undoubtedly powerful and had the strength to turn the tide of battle, but because of this power, certain conditions were required for his deployment.

Of course, he could be summoned ignoring all these conditions, but that would be equivalent to giving up on recapturing Ulsan.

Jeong Dong-geon and his forces were dispatched to meet these conditions, but currently, the Allied Forces were in a defensive position due to the cold wave, making it difficult to secure a summoning site in the near future.

Above all, what Bahamut was most concerned about was…

“Do you think the Cult of Immortality is a powerful force?”

“Yes. Controlling zombies… a Necromancer might be capable of that. But what bothers me is the entity they refer to as ‘The One.'”

“The One, huh.”

This was the Cult of Immortality’s trump card.

Among the information obtained through Han Seong-geun, there was an entity the Cult of Immortality revered so highly they dared not speak its name.

Bahamut thought this entity was the Cult of Immortality’s trump card, and at the same time…

‘If there’s an entity like me, that would make sense in its own way.’

He was also considering the possibility that there might be an entity similar to himself.

Bahamut, who had been mindlessly pursuing his bucket list after becoming a dragon, had now reached the conclusion that there might be special entities that had transformed into some kind of organism, just like him, in this apocalypse.

Until now, there had been no news of such entities being discovered or rampaging, but he was fully considering the possibility that most of them, like himself, might be operating covertly or hiding their identities.

‘So can I defeat that guy? That’s the question. If I were to face an enemy with similar power under equal conditions… can I be confident of victory?’

Yes, if a similar entity appeared, it would be best to build a friendship and welcome them as a comrade.

But they had already entered into a hostile relationship with the Cult of Immortality before any dialogue, and even now, they were continuing to engage in combat, essentially waging a war.

Currently, they were continuing small-scale engagements and sizing each other up, but what if “The One” mentioned by the Cult of Immortality descended upon Ulsan to fight?

Could Bahamut defeat such an opponent?

‘Hmm. I don’t know. I absolutely can’t say I can win for sure. The outcome will vary depending on the situation.’

The only answer Bahamut himself had was that he couldn’t be confident of victory.

Since he couldn’t guarantee a certain victory, Bahamut couldn’t immediately enter into a decisive battle.

The reason this coward was persuading the Balhut Cult with three reasons could be seen as Bahamut being afraid of the unknown “The One,” but conversely, it could also be seen as him making a cold, realistic judgment.

‘If I lose, there’s really no going back. Rather, if the Allied Forces are defeated now, it’s just a failure to capture Ulsan. The refugees have successfully evacuated, so there’s still a way back.’

Jeong Dong-geon’s defeat could end as just his personal defeat, but the dragon deity Bahamut’s defeat would lead to the defeat of the Balhut Cult.

In other words, considering the return and risk, Bahamut himself should only be deployed as a weapon of last resort in a decisive battle.

“Regardless, we currently need to maintain a defensive battle until the cold wave passes. Once the severe cold wave passes, the soldiers’ combat power will return to normal, and we’ll have a chance to counterattack.”

“Yes, that’s unavoidable. I’ve heard there’s been heavy snowfall in Honam and other regions. If we’re not careful and heavy snow falls in Yeongnam, there’s a risk that the road to Ulsan Airport could be cut off.”

In particular, there were reports that survival camps in the Honam region had collapsed due to heavy snowfall.

They were trying to predict weather changes using the Pohang Observatory, but it couldn’t possibly perform at the same level as the pre-apocalypse Meteorological Administration.

So it might be safer to launch an offensive after the cold wave passes.

“Therefore, we’ll launch an offensive after this cold wave passes. If we install barricades at key points and set up observation posts to monitor South Ulsan, there’s no reason for us to be pushed back.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Bahamut comforted and reassured the Balhut Cult, saying that if barricades were installed at key points and observation posts were set up to monitor the Cult of Immortality, there would be no disadvantageous factors.

In reality, the hellish urban warfare was the same for the opponent, and the numerous buildings leading to Ulsan Airport were serving as barricades blocking the way to the airport.

If they set up observation posts and barricades at key points and central areas and defended them, it would be the attacking Cult of Immortality that would experience hellish urban warfare.

The conditions of the battle were equal, as the Balhut Cult needed to recapture South Ulsan, and the Cult of Immortality needed to recapture North Ulsan.

“Coincidentally, trade with the United States is gradually increasing. Are there any significant shortages of supplies?”

“No, supplies are coming in sufficiently. If anything, there’s a problem because too many are coming in.”

The advantage for the Allied Forces was the overwhelming logistics coming from the United States.

Originally, these were supplies that would have flowed into China, but due to the special circumstances of the apocalypse, they were now flowing throughout the cult’s territory via Pohang.

With these overwhelming supplies, they could provide more than enough provisions to the Allied Forces.

Weapons, food, ammunition—everything was sufficient.

If they had the determination to hold out for three months, they could endure indefinitely.

“Haha. They’re strongly requesting the import of coins from our side, which is a pleasant miscalculation.”

“I’ve heard that Bahamut coins are popular in the United States.”

Especially with the demand for Bahamut Bullets continuing to increase, trade was not decreasing but rather continuing to grow.

Pohang was experiencing an unprecedented boom, and Gyeongju, the headquarters of the Balhut Cult, was also experiencing unprecedented prosperity.

“According to the plenipotentiary, consumption suddenly surged. The demand for Bahamut coins in the United States has increased so rapidly that they’re even requesting the amount we would use.”

“Thanks to that, we’ve made a lot of money.”

The problem was that the United States was demanding such a massive quantity that it included the amount the Balhut Cult would use.

However, now that they had shifted to a defensive stance, they could save the Bahamut coins that would be used as weapons, so it would be possible to hand those coins over to the United States.

“Regardless, there’s no need to be too pessimistic. The situation is gradually improving, and the moment we drive away this cold wave, we’ll have a chance to counterattack. Until then, we must endure and hold onto hope.”

“As the dragon deity wishes.”

If that concluded the meeting about Ulsan…

“Next is… Yes. This is a report from the administrative official Lee Su-a. What are you doing in Daegu, Lee Hyeon-a?”

“That…”

Now it was time to resolve internal issues within the Balhut Cult.

Bahamut turned to Lee Hyeon-a, who had been silent during this meeting, with an incredulous expression, asking what on earth she had been doing.