Ch.140139. Recovery Operation (1)

To bring an opponent who has given no response to the negotiation table, a powerful strike is needed.

“In other words, we need a victory.”

Yes, a decisive victory was necessary.

A victory that no one… not even the Cult of Immortality could deny.

The reason the Cult of Immortality looks down on the allied forces is probably because they think they have the advantage with this cold weather pushing us into a defensive position.

…In truth, the reason the Cult of Immortality refused to negotiate was almost the opposite of what these two thought.

“They want to negotiate because they won? Are they mocking us?! We won’t negotiate until we win!”

“They’re looking down on us! Are they provoking us by saying we can’t fight?”

Yes, from the Cult of Immortality’s perspective, the Balhut Cult had won battles and was taunting them with “You can’t fight a war.”

Sure, if only territory was considered, the Cult of Immortality was winning, but in reality, all practical gains were going to the Balhut Cult and the allied forces. All they had obtained was the ruined territory of North Ulsan.

In other words, it was perfectly reasonable for them to interpret this as a somewhat malicious provocation—the allied forces had taken so many practical gains, and now they were offering to conduct merciful negotiations as equals.

“It will be difficult. The Cult of Immortality is pushing against us even now.”

“The conditions for victory must be challenging.”

But from Jeong Dong-geon and Han Seong-geun’s perspective, they thought the Cult of Immortality had no intention of negotiating because they were pushing back against the allied forces.

“For a definitive victory, we need to recapture North Ulsan taken by the Cult of Immortality, as well as the bridge leading to South Ulsan.”

However, their logic wasn’t exactly wrong. The Cult of Immortality controlled all of North Ulsan except for the bridge needed to attack South Ulsan and Ulsan Airport.

Essentially, apart from Ulsan Airport, the rest of Ulsan could be considered under the Cult of Immortality’s control, meaning they could use everything in Ulsan. From the allied forces’ perspective, it was reasonable to think the Cult of Immortality wouldn’t engage in negotiations until they achieved the definitive victory of recapturing Ulsan.

Therefore, the allied forces needed to thoroughly shatter that arrogance(?) of the Cult of Immortality.

“Then the operation is simple. Recapture the bridge leading to South Ulsan. That’s all.”

“You put it too simply, Commander!”

Yes, if they could recapture the bridge to South Ulsan, it could end in a decisive victory for the allied forces.

If they could recapture the bridge, they could physically control the connection between North and South Ulsan, thereby physically cutting off the Cult of Immortality members stationed in North Ulsan from their headquarters.

Of course, there were ways to detour back to headquarters, but having lost the bridge—the most important transportation hub—there was no guarantee those detours would remain intact either.

In other words, if the allied forces succeeded in recapturing the bridge as the transportation hub, the rest would come as spoils of war.

That’s what Jeong Dong-geon was pointing out, but his statement was so concise that Jin A-yeon, standing next to him, complained with a sour expression that there was too little explanation.

“The bridge is an important connection between South and North Ulsan. They must know its value too. There are already many undead forces stationed there on standby.”

Han Seong-geun nodded at Jin A-yeon’s words, advising that the Cult of Immortality would certainly recognize the value of the bridge as a transportation hub.

Indeed, as if the Cult of Immortality well understood the bridge’s importance, many undead forces were permanently stationed there, and approaching thoughtlessly would only result in being trampled by those undead forces.

“That’s right, many undead units are deployed at the bridge. Attacking head-on would be disastrous. There are probably senior Necromancers there too. Their evil curses and weakening spells are fatal to soldiers. If we’re hit by those, neither I nor the soldiers will be able to fight properly.”

“I know.”

Jin A-yeon also said a frontal assault would be impossible, citing the curses and weakening spells used by Necromancers as examples.

Having already learned that the East Sea fleet nearly faced a major crisis with the appearance of a special entity called a Banshee, Jeong Dong-geon nodded in agreement with their advice.

“True, if we attack head-on. But what if not from the front?”

So he revealed to his staff that he had no intention of attacking head-on in this battle.

If a frontal attack was impossible, they needed to devise another approach.

“Well, there’s the option of going around, but it’s too far and we’d certainly be discovered before getting there. Plus, that detour area is also Cult of Immortality territory. You know they’re using those detour routes too.”

Jin A-yeon seemed to have first considered an attack via detour routes but immediately concluded it was impossible.

Indeed, both the Cult of Immortality and the allied forces were well aware of these detour routes, and the Cult was actually using them to attack the allied forces’ supply lines.

“Since there are no monsters in the mountains, soldiers accustomed to mountain travel could certainly cross over. But in that case, only a very limited number of soldiers could be deployed. It would be difficult to recapture the bridge with such a numerical disadvantage.”

There was certainly the option of crossing the mountains, just as the Cult of Immortality had done.

The Balhut Cult could certainly use the same approach that the Cult of Immortality had demonstrated.

“The problem is that if we’re discovered, there’s no avoiding annihilation.”

And the Cult of Immortality had already clearly demonstrated this problem.

If discovered, there was a risk of being quickly annihilated without even being able to retreat quickly. This strategy was only viable for the Cult of Immortality, where most soldiers were undead and could be sacrificed in suicide attacks without concern for casualties.

Unlike the Cult of Immortality, the allied forces were all living humans, so they had to be concerned about casualties.

If the Balhut Cult, with its limited number of soldiers, used this method, they would quickly exhaust all their fighting forces.

“First of all, I have no intention of attacking through detour routes.”

Jeong Dong-geon raised his hand in agreement with Jin A-yeon’s opinion, stating firmly that there would be no attack via detour routes.

“Could you be referring to the navy you mentioned before? A river crossing operation using the navy!”

“That’s right. I plan to deploy some naval units for a river crossing operation.”

At Jeong Dong-geon’s words, Han Seong-geun mentioned that if not through detour routes, the only option was a river crossing operation using the navy.

Indeed, with help from the navy operating in the East Sea, it would be entirely possible to transport a large number of troops on ships to land in North Ulsan.

Then they could surprise the undead forces stationed at the bridge from behind, executing a perfect hammer and anvil tactic in coordination with the forces at the front.

“Didn’t you say the East Sea was important?”

The problem was that for the Balhut Cult, the East Sea was a zone of interest.

Therefore, they couldn’t freely withdraw the East Sea fleet, which was why it hadn’t participated in this war until now.

“The East Sea fleet hasn’t been just trailing behind the ghost fleet for nothing. Through continuous combat, the navy has been researching and investigating the ghost fleet’s appearance times.”

However, the Balhut Cult hadn’t been idle, as they had apparently figured out the ghost fleet’s appearance times.

“The navy reports that the ghost fleet appears when fishing boats are operating in the East Sea. They usually appear at 3 AM and withdraw when fishing operations end. This suggests the ghost fleet’s mission is likely to disrupt fishing operations. They occasionally target container ships, but in that case, we can coordinate with the US to adjust container ship arrival times as we wish.”

The ghost fleet apparently only appeared at times when the Balhut Cult could benefit, and outside those times, the ghost fleet did not appear in the East Sea.

Conversely, this meant they could use the navy for the Ulsan war during times when the ghost fleet wasn’t present.

“So you’re saying we can use the navy when the ghost fleet isn’t appearing?”

“Of course, we can’t divert many ships since we need to maintain coastal surveillance. But wouldn’t just a few ships be enough to cross that river?”

To Jin A-yeon’s question, Jeong Dong-geon replied that they couldn’t use all naval forces, but even a few ships would be enough to transport company-level forces across the river.

The enemy had no countermeasures against a river crossing operation, and with just naval support and a successful crossing, all that remained was to coordinate with forces on the other side of the river to attack the bridge from both sides.

Moreover, they could receive artillery support from naval ships moving up the river, so the chances of success were quite high.

“That’s more than enough. So when do you plan to execute this river crossing operation?”

“Normally, we start fighting at 7 AM and finish around 4 PM. Partly because we’re tired from their offensives, but also because at this time of year, the sun sets around 4 PM and it starts getting dark.”

Jin A-yeon also said this operation had good potential and asked how it would proceed. Jeong Dong-geon mentioned the current battle schedule.

Usually, battles between the Cult of Immortality and the allied forces started at 8 AM and continued until 4 PM.

Of course, rather than full-scale battles, these were mainly surprise attacks or small-scale engagements, and there had been no large-scale battles as the allied forces had been avoiding them.

“It’s hard to identify friend from foe in the dark. The undead seem capable of identifying their own, but in darkness, they don’t notice the traps we’ve set. Thanks to that, we’ve caught several big ones.”

Moreover, in Korea currently, the sun sets at 4 PM, and darkness quickly follows.

Before the apocalypse, countless streetlights and installed lights would have driven away the darkness, but now with unreliable power supply, the entire city becomes pitch black as soon as night falls.

The allied forces found it difficult to fight in this darkness, and while the Cult of Immortality could fight, they couldn’t detect the traps set by the allied forces, so they prioritized withdrawing their forces.

“7 PM. I plan to feed our pre-positioned elite soldiers well and execute the river crossing operation.”

“7 PM? That’s not their bedtime yet, is it?”

Jeong Dong-geon said he would conduct the surprise operation at 7 PM.

Jin A-yeon responded that it was too early, saying it wasn’t bedtime yet but rather when people would just be finishing dinner and enjoying leisure activities.

“The leadership must be feeling fatigue from the continuous battles so far. Even our soldiers on the front lines have been rotating with rear-positioned soldiers due to fatigue. The leadership must be tired from a month of war without a single day’s break.”

But that was pre-apocalypse logic, and in this apocalyptic war zone, it was actually the time when people were most likely to let their guard down, he explained.

It was indeed the time when drowsiness would set in after dinner due to food coma, and they would assume no one would launch a surprise attack at this hour when it wasn’t even bedtime.

Ordinary people would expect a night attack to start at 10 or 11 PM when everyone is asleep, targeting the early morning hours. Jeong Dong-geon was simply using this common sense in reverse to structure his operation.

“True. Even mages sometimes hit rock bottom mentally if they keep using magic continuously without rest. Necromancers probably don’t deviate much from this rule.”

Moreover, he didn’t miss the point that using magic consumes not only MP but also significant mental energy, meaning that after conducting a battle, even the leadership needed rest.

That was common sense for mages, and this operation was based on information gathered so far.

The month-long war had provided the allied forces with much information about the Cult of Immortality.

“Well, that’s the operation. Any objections?”

“None.”

“None, sir.”

Han Seong-geun and Jin A-yeon had no objections to Jeong Dong-geon’s operation, so the plan was established.

From now on, the allied forces would begin preparations for the river crossing operation.

“I’ve already dispatched Sang-hui to secure the port in North Ulsan. They didn’t seem to pay much attention to it since it wasn’t attacking the Ulsan Bridge, so there weren’t many troops stationed there.”

Jeong Dong-geon had already sent his most trusted aide, Son Sang-hui, to begin preparations.

“But the enemy must have noticed our movements.”

The problem was that this attack had put the nearby Ulsan Bridge at risk.

Based on this, information must have reached the Cult of Immortality that the allied forces were targeting the Ulsan Bridge.

“Yes, I ordered Sang-hui to secure the detour route near the port, so I’ve set things up to make the Cult of Immortality think this attack is aimed at using that detour route for a separate force. Until the operation begins, they may suspect we could target the Ulsan Bridge, but they’ll have no concrete evidence.”

Of course, Jeong Dong-geon was aware of this, so he first acted as if the operation was to defend against continued attacks rather than targeting the Ulsan Bridge.

After securing the port, Son Sang-hui immediately secured the detour route leading to the supply line rather than the Ulsan Bridge, and went on the defensive, creating the impression that the allied forces were counterattacking through the detour route.

Of course, since the Ulsan Bridge was closer in terms of distance, suspicions that they were targeting it couldn’t be completely eliminated, but it would be difficult to capture the Ulsan Bridge with just the forces led by Son Sang-hui, so while there might be suspicion, it wouldn’t be enough to justify deploying more undead.

He had engaged in thorough planning, and the highlight of this planning was…

“Let’s prepare then. The operation to recapture the bridge.”

“Are you planning to participate directly?”

“Of course! Who else would do it if not me? I’m the strongest Awakened here! Jin A-yeon.”

Jin A-yeon would be the one deployed in the river crossing operation, serving as part of the suicide squad.

Han Seong-geun looked at her worriedly as she volunteered for the most difficult mission, but she simply stepped forward bravely, asking who else would do it if not her.

“Haha. Full of confidence, aren’t you.”

Han Seong-geun could only smile bitterly at her attitude, unable to deny her point.

Indeed, who else would dare to volunteer as the suicide squad for this operation without her?

In Han Seong-geun’s mind, it was because of Jin A-yeon’s courage that Jeong Dong-geon had conceived such a dangerous operation.