Ch.161160. Daegu Provisional Government (1)

# In fact, the Ulsan War provided valuable lessons not only to the Balhut Cult but also to Bahamut himself.

Of course, when reclaiming Pohang, the Balhut Cult’s advance had been unstoppable, ultimately succeeding in Bahamut’s descent, subjugating Pohang’s leader and bringing him under their influence.

However, the Ulsan front was the first battlefield where the Balhut Cult clashed with another power. Even after absorbing resistance forces that had opposed the Cult of Immortality, and despite Jeong Dong-geon’s involvement, they had only managed to recapture North Ulsan, leaving the battle in a stalemate.

‘The penalty for being unable to destroy a city is greater than I thought! The moment a city is destroyed, it becomes a Pyrrhic victory.’

Reflecting on that war, Bahamut concluded that urban infrastructure was more important than land itself, which was why neither the Balhut Cult nor the Cult of Immortality could use their high-powered magic or abilities.

The two factions had fought strictly with conventional forces, and neither had deployed their trump cards—the Dragon God Bahamut or the Dark Lord.

Both sides understood the same thing: using their trump cards might bring victory, but the moment the city was destroyed, it would end as a Pyrrhic victory.

‘Now we can’t resolve everything with a single battle. That remains true even in this apocalypse.’

This meant it was time for the Balhut Cult to consider methods of victory beyond military force.

While military victory remained important, expanding influence through diplomatic victories without casualties had become equally crucial.

The decisive reason Pohang joined the Balhut Cult was integration through diplomatic negotiation rather than military force, and they were able to absorb Pohang without further losses because subsequent policies greatly satisfied the city.

‘Subjugating everyone in South Korea was impossible from the start. Unless this apocalypse continues long-term, where would I find the time to subjugate everyone in the short term?’

He concluded that unifying the Korean peninsula through pure military force, like in a game, was practically impossible.

Even if it were possible, post-unification Korea would certainly be a fragile house of cards, and the moment the Balhut Cult showed any weakness, those who had been subjugated would seize the opportunity to rebel.

Of course, initially, they could withstand such challenges.

“Negotiations?”

“Yes. Subjugating every faction on the Korean peninsula was impossible from the start. Rather, gathering forces that have lost their power and negotiating with them one by one would be better.”

But as time passed, the Balhut Cult would be unable to withstand these challenges one after another. Bahamut, who didn’t want to face such challenges in the first place, was increasingly considering diplomatic negotiations rather than military force to expand his influence.

“The timing is perfect. There’s the Daegu Provisional Government that just lost power to refugees, isn’t there?”

“Ah, those people?”

“Yes, they’re the ones most desperately in need of outside help. If we negotiate now, we could achieve significant results.”

The warlord period caused by the refugee crisis was the perfect time to absorb smaller factions through diplomatic means, and the Daegu Provisional Government, which had lost power to refugees, was an ideal target from Bahamut’s perspective.

He had already achieved diplomatic success at the International Organization Reconstruction Conference, making the Queen of England a contractor and establishing exchanges with Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

This time too, he believed he could achieve great results by negotiating with the remnants of the Daegu Provisional Government, who would be desperate for help from an external force like the Balhut Cult.

‘Moreover, since they lost power to an external force rather than an internal one, they must be furious.’

Bahamut noted that the Daegu Provisional Government had been overthrown not by internal forces but by external ones.

If it had been an internal power shift, it could have been seen as impeachment or the result of the government’s own failures. But being overthrown by external invasion was like a government in the midst of internal reforms suddenly being invaded by aliens.

This meant they were likely harboring intense hatred toward the refugees—or rather, usurpers—who had suddenly appeared in Daegu and seized power, and they would be desperate to reclaim their positions.

“So, is the strategy you’re considering a kind of coalition? Like the early Balhut Cult?”

“Yes. The early Balhut Cult was also a government formed after various survivor camps reached an agreement. We’re going back to that.”

Yu-na mentioned the early Balhut Cult, and Bahamut agreed that his plan wasn’t much different.

If the early Balhut Cult was an organization born from numerous survivor camps coming together, then the new organization Bahamut envisioned would be a coalition centered around the Balhut Cult with various other factions joining.

The advantage of forming such an organization was…

“Above all, the risk is low. As for returns… with a bit of luck, we could gain far more than expected.”

They could increase their strength by absorbing existing factions without significant risk.

Low risk, high return, he was saying, but…

“That sword could turn against us.”

Conversely, there were clear risks, and factions embedded within could establish themselves like cancer cells and resist the Balhut Cult.

In fact, they were already feeling these side effects after establishing the cabinet, and as such resistance forces grew, the burden on the Balhut Cult increased, making Yu-na’s concerns entirely reasonable.

“Well, that’s already happening now, isn’t it?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

But in the democratic state the Balhut Cult had become, the mere existence of opposition forces allowed them to demonstrate their democratic nature to the entire Korean peninsula.

Of course, it was true that a third party was questioning and opposing the policies of the tacitly cooperative Dragon God Association and Constitutional Democratic Party.

However, using legitimate democratic procedures and supported by the will of the people who backed the two factions, they were easily ignoring these voices, and the future coalition Balhut Cult would be no different.

“If they have complaints, let them compete through elections.”

“True. If they’re so dissatisfied, they should settle it through the democratic voting they advocate so strongly.”

Bahamut smiled, saying that if they had complaints, they should settle it through the democratic elections they so strongly advocated, and Yu-na smiled back in agreement.

Ah, the Balhut Cult maintains power through democratic procedures!

If there were complaints, they could be resolved through voting, and any illegal coups, riots, or terrorism would be firmly opposed.

“Just in case, we should also have a leash they don’t know about. A leash they can’t easily escape from.”

“That’s only natural.”

However, it was also natural to prepare for potential betrayal.

They weren’t going to accept these factions without any safeguards; they fully intended to control them through firm security measures.

“By the way, what’s the situation with the Ulsan battle?”

“Apart from minor skirmishes after the major victory, there hasn’t been much movement.”

After finishing his discussion about the Daegu Provisional Government, Bahamut asked about the Ulsan front, and Yu-na replied that it had reached a stalemate.

Because of this stalemate, they had been able to deploy the two heroes, Han Seong-geun and Jin A-yeon, as police forces, which was proving quite effective.

The defeated Cult of Immortality was more likely to make a move, but…

“Any movement from the Cult of Immortality?”

“Nothing significant there either. They seem intent on maintaining the status quo.”

The Cult of Immortality also appeared to be in recovery mode after their painful defeat at the Myeongchon Bridge battle, with only minor skirmishes occurring.

Moreover, the living human high officials of the Cult of Immortality couldn’t continue fighting while ignoring the miserable weather on the Korean peninsula.

“If there’s no movement from the Cult of Immortality, we can focus on Daegu for now without issue. Find the remnants of the Daegu Provisional Government. Let’s establish cooperation with them.”

“Understood, Lord Bahamut.”

Bahamut suggested focusing on Daegu rather than Ulsan, and Yu-na nodded, faithfully beginning to carry out Bahamut’s orders.

The first person she sought out was Baek Seol-hwa, another Dragon Priestess like herself.

“You’re here, Sister Yu-na!”

“Yes. Seol-hwa, how’s the internal security in Pohang?”

“It’s much better thanks to the newly established police department.”

When Yu-na arrived, Seol-hwa welcomed her warmly and invited her to her office.

She then answered Yu-na’s questions sincerely, looking at her with hopeful eyes, and…

“We haven’t found a fundamental solution yet.”

“Is there something you need?”

“Could you find Heo Jin-ho, who was the leader of the Daegu Provisional Government? I’ll provide all necessary support. This is the Dragon God’s command.”

As expected, the Dragon God Bahamut’s order had been issued.

Dragon Priestess Baek Seol-hwa bowed her head as if honored and showed her determination to fulfill the order, but…

“Yes, leave it to me. The problem is that I won’t be able to deploy to the East Sea front…”

The issue was that her assigned area could face problems, and that area happened to be in the Balhut Cult’s sphere of interest.

Naturally, Baek Seol-hwa mentioned that the East Sea could be at risk, but…

“The Cult of Immortality seems busy recovering, so Captain Kim Tae-sik alone should be sufficient for now.”

As just mentioned, the Cult of Immortality was busy recovering from their recent defeat, so the East Sea wasn’t in immediate danger requiring Seol-hwa’s presence.

“That’s fortunate. Then I’ll transfer command to the captain.”

Moreover, there was a navy captain who could substitute for Seol-hwa on the East Sea front, so the safety of the East Sea region wouldn’t be compromised by her absence.

Of course, the morale of the marines might drop significantly without the Dragon Priestess participating, but the Dragon Priestess couldn’t always be on the front lines, so now was the time to learn how to win without her.

“Ah, and for this mission, please use the police department if possible. I’ll make other departments available too, but we need to give the newly established police department a chance to earn merit.”

“You mean give them a reason to exist? I understand, sister.”

Additionally, Yu-na recommended entrusting most of the work to the newly established police department to establish their reputation.

The newly established police department was still viewed with suspicion by many, so if they could enhance their reputation through this mission, those suspicious gazes would quickly subside.

From the perspective of the Balhut Cult, which wanted the police department to establish itself internally, this mission was perfect for establishing the department’s reputation.

“I will absolutely fulfill the Dragon God Bahamut’s command… even at the cost of my life.”

To this, Baek Seol-hwa declared that she would definitely complete this mission, and Yu-na smiled brightly and said:

“Yes. Everything according to Dragon God Bahamut’s will.”

Everything would unfold according to the Dragon God Bahamut’s will.