Ch.144143. Ulsan Negotiations (2)

After days of waiting, the Cult of Immortality finally showed willingness to negotiate with the Allied Forces, just as the Allied leadership had predicted based on their unusual behavior. For the first time ever, they responded to an Allied Forces post and initiated proper dialogue, essentially acknowledging that even they couldn’t dismiss this defeat lightly.

“They’re late. I expected an immediate response.”

However, Jeong Dong-geon assessed that the Cult’s reaction was rather delayed. This battle had been a decisive victory that ended all questions about the Allied Forces’ capabilities and established their advantage in the war. Now the Cult’s headquarters was under threat. In such a situation with their leadership at risk, they should have moved quickly to resolve this disaster, but they were responding slower than expected.

“We’ve recaptured all of North Ulsan, and most of the mages deployed there failed to return. Their leadership must be in disarray.”

Han Seong-geun judged that the Cult’s leadership was in chaos because most of their mid-level operatives in North Ulsan had been captured. In fact, the Balhut Cult had managed to capture four powerful mages in this battle, with levels as high as…

“If they considered these people expendable, they wouldn’t be negotiating with us… It seems the prisoners we’ve captured are highly valued mages within the Cult of Immortality.”

“With levels exceeding 15, they can be considered command-level mages. We’d essentially treat someone of that level as an officer.”

Exceeding level 15, he said. Considering that Awakened who surpassed level 20 were extremely rare, level 15 Awakened were currently executive-level personnel in any faction. Even in the Allied Forces, those who reached level 15 or higher were treated as non-commissioned or commissioned officers. This meant these individuals were too valuable for the Cult of Immortality to sacrifice through self-destruction tactics like those seen during the refugee attacks.

“If they’re responding to us after ignoring all previous communication attempts, it proves the Cult doesn’t have many Awakened above level 15 either.”

This was the decisive reason they had finally come to the negotiation table they had so adamantly refused before. If the Cult lost these captured Awakened, they would lose the middle managers who led their organization. These were field commanders who had directed operations on the North Ulsan front line. If they weren’t rescued through prisoner negotiations, who would volunteer to be a field commander in the next battle?

‘It’s impossible. No matter how little they value human life, they need to show they’ll do everything to rescue their executives. Otherwise, people would be too afraid for their lives to follow orders.’

So from the Cult’s perspective, they needed to come to the negotiation table both to maintain internal discipline and to minimize the impact of their defeat.

“Where will the negotiations take place?”

“They suggested Myeongchon Bridge. Since the bridge is already in our hands, it seems they’re willing to concede some initiative to us.”

“Well, well. When that bridge was in their hands, they refused to negotiate as if they wanted us dead. And now they come around?”

So the Cult of Immortality had no choice but to concede the negotiation location to the Allied Forces as well. The Cult’s envoy would essentially be entering the heart of enemy territory to negotiate, putting their life on the line.

How much psychological pressure would that create?

‘It must be suffocating. Even I would find that difficult.’

Jeong Dong-geon thought the pressure would be more suffocating than one could imagine. Frankly, most negotiations Jeong Dong-geon had experienced were from a position of advantage; he had never experienced negotiations in such a bleak situation. So he did feel some sympathy for whoever would be the Cult’s envoy.

“I’ll handle the negotiations personally. I’ll take Son Sang-hui as my escort.”

But Jeong Dong-geon wasn’t soft enough to go easy on the negotiations out of sympathy for some unknown person. To increase the pressure on the negotiating envoy, he declared that he, as the commander-in-chief of this battle, would personally take part in the negotiations. How heavily this would weigh on the envoy would depend on their perspective, but seeing Jeong Dong-geon appear in person would make it immediately clear that the Allied Forces wouldn’t make a single concession in these negotiations.

“Well then, whoever they send is as good as dead. What should we do?”

“Please monitor the situation in case of any unexpected developments.”

“Are you expecting a terrorist attack?”

Jeong Dong-geon ordered Han Seong-geun to prepare for any contingencies, and Han asked if he was expecting a terrorist attack.

“Considering what they’ve done so far, I think it’s better to be prepared.”

From the beginning, they had no trust in the Cult of Immortality.

And so, with both forces temporarily withdrawn, the two representatives were able to meet at Myeongchon Bridge, the negotiation site. At a table placed in the center of the bridge, the two negotiation representatives shook hands, but…

“…Are you the diplomatic envoy sent by the Balhut Cult?”

“Yes. I’m Jeong Dong-geon.”

“Jeong Dong-geon! Does the Balhut Cult truly intend to negotiate with us?”

The Cult of Immortality clearly identified their negotiation partner as the Balhut Cult rather than the Allied Forces, and Jeong Dong-geon simply smiled slightly and quietly stated his name. The other party was startled and angrily asked if the Balhut Cult really intended to negotiate with them.

“You’re quite a powerful Awakened yourself, aren’t you? About… level 18 mage. I couldn’t send someone with a lower level to meet someone like you.”

“Tch.”

But Jeong Dong-geon simply sneered that his counterpart wasn’t much different from himself. Though not quite at Jeong Dong-geon’s level, the other side had also dispatched a fairly high-level mage as their “diplomat.” There was a real possibility they might use magic to manipulate the opposing diplomatic envoy if given the chance, so Jeong Dong-geon merely laughed at the other’s indignation. The Cult representative clicked their tongue at Jeong Dong-geon’s observation but didn’t deny their intentions. Indeed, as Jeong Dong-geon pointed out, if the Balhut Cult had sent an ordinary person as their envoy, the Cult had planned to use mind control.

“Besides, I came because we genuinely intend to negotiate. And considering the magic your side uses… Well. Was there ever trust between us? I only remember hostility.”

“None.”

Above all, trust had never existed between these two forces. They had maintained an adversarial relationship from beginning to end, and this was the first time they had directly spoken to each other. There had never even been an opportunity to build trust or credibility between them.

“Moreover, starting with the ghost fleet, the Balhut Cult has already proven that it cannot coexist with the Cult of Immortality under the same sky. Shouldn’t you rather be grateful to us for generously offering negotiation terms?”

“What nonsense. You, generous? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Aren’t you the invaders who attacked Ulsan where we were living peacefully?”

To establish dominance in the negotiations, Jeong Dong-geon first mentioned the ghost fleet that appeared in the East Sea, reminding them that the relationship between the Balhut Cult and the Cult of Immortality had already reached extreme hostility. He then claimed that the Cult should be grateful for their generous terms and was in no position to make demands. In response, the Cult of Immortality rebelled, denouncing the Balhut Cult as invaders who had violated peaceful Ulsan, portraying them not as a righteous army but as plunderers who came for territory.

“That’s too harsh. And I can’t quite agree that Ulsan was living peacefully. If you were living so peacefully, why is there still resistance against the Cult of Immortality?”

“Doesn’t the Balhut Cult have the same? When a government is formed, it’s natural for dissatisfaction to suddenly emerge from below.”

“Ah, you mean Jo Sun-do’s group. Well, he fiercely opposed during the government establishment negotiations. From our perspective, we couldn’t embrace those who opposed the formation of a unified government. So we simply separated, meaning to live apart.”

To this, Jeong Dong-geon expressed great regret, countering that the Cult of Immortality wasn’t a perfect organization either, as evidenced by the resistance against them. The Cult of Immortality rebutted Jeong Dong-geon’s direct attack on their weakness by arguing that the Balhut Cult wasn’t much different, bringing up the Jo Sun-do incident and claiming that dissatisfaction from below was perfectly natural when forming a government. Jeong Dong-geon drew a clear line, stating that the Balhut Cult was very different from them, and that Jo Sun-do had merely separated during government establishment negotiations, not taking a position like the resistance.

“And he committed crimes in North Gyeongju, so we subjugated him according to public will. Jo Sun-do’s crimes are clearly factual. We have evidence. Are you saying that Jin A-yeon, the hero of Fukuoka City, is a criminal just because she belongs to the resistance?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

He declared that all of Jo Sun-do’s criminal acts were documented with evidence that could be presented if necessary. He then turned the question back on the Cult of Immortality, asking if they could call Jin A-yeon, who was hailed as a hero, a criminal. Though flustered, the Cult maintained that since Jin A-yeon had opposed them, she was indeed a criminal. Seeing this opening, Jeong Dong-geon pressed his questioning more intensely.

“Then where is the evidence? The physical evidence that Jin A-yeon committed crimes. Are you saying you have suspicions but no physical evidence? Even in the apocalypse, isn’t it proper etiquette to uphold the presumption of innocence?”

He challenged them to state what criminal acts Jin A-yeon had committed. If there was physical evidence, he would reconsider his position, but Jeong Dong-geon didn’t believe they had such evidence. Unlike the Balhut Cult, which had been serious about establishing laws from the beginning of government formation, he didn’t think they had proper laws to determine what constituted a crime. Even if they had some semblance of legal logic, it would be mere customary law at best, far too flimsy to be considered criminal evidence.

“Did the Balhut Cult really come to negotiate? Why are we going off on irrelevant tangents…!”

“You brought it up first. Let’s start the negotiations calmly.”

Acknowledging their defeat in this argument, the Cult of Immortality representative exclaimed that the conversation had gone off track and questioned whether they had really come to negotiate. Jeong Dong-geon countered that they had started it. Then they finally began proper negotiations.

“Our Allied Forces can release the prisoners we’ve captured under generous terms. How about a truce during this coming winter?”

To secure ownership of North Ulsan that they had just gained, Jeong Dong-geon proposed a temporary truce. He argued that since the other side had also suffered great losses in this battle, they couldn’t immediately resume fighting without the release of their captured personnel.

“A truce? With you? Ha.”

To this, the Cult of Immortality responded with a contemptuous expression, as if saying “You dare propose a truce with us?”

“Yes. Winter is harsh for us, but isn’t it harsh for you too? Even if the undead are an army that doesn’t consume food…”

Jeong Dong-geon smiled brightly and pointed out one reality facing the Cult of Immortality.

“You people consume food. How many calories do you need to move around in this winter?”

Clearly, the undead didn’t consume food. But the Cult of Immortality’s leadership was human, which this negotiation confirmed. Therefore, they needed food for human survival.

“So, have you stockpiled enough food to survive this harsh winter?”

They had internally assessed that these people, unable to trade with the outside world, would not have abundant food supplies.