Ch.166165. Operation to Recapture Daegu (2)

Those who rise by the sword, fall by the sword.

“The time has come to purge agents who still can’t forget the old government. I’ve given them so much time. They still can’t forget Heo Jin-ho.”

The plunderer who stole power from Daegu’s interim government… no, the warlord Gyeon Gwan-im clearly had the ability to seize power.

From the beginning, becoming self-sufficient as a warlord after starting as a plunderer in this apocalypse meant having both the foresight to see the future and the outstanding military power to command Awakened who had tasted blood. He had also demonstrated the strategic ability to defeat Heo Jin-ho, who had formed an interim government through his individual prowess.

‘The purge itself isn’t too late yet. I’ve spent a lot of time confirming the loyalty of my followers, but the escaped Heo Jin-ho will never be able to challenge me again.’

He had perfectly exploited the gaps in Heo Jin-ho’s interim government and attempted a decapitation operation targeting only Heo Jin-ho’s command center to strike at that weakness.

Naturally, being a transitional interim government with weak internal connections, Heo Jin-ho’s administration was severely defeated by Gyeon Gwan-im’s decapitation operation due to traitors he had persuaded, forcing them to abandon Daegu.

“B-Boss!”

“Yes? What is it?”

Gyeon Gwan-im deliberately chose not to pursue Heo Jin-ho.

It wasn’t exactly an act of mercy, but from Gyeon Gwan-im’s personal perspective, he didn’t harbor enough ill will toward Heo Jin-ho to kill him, nor did he see a need for ruthless pursuit.

He knew all too well that Heo Jin-ho, having lost his Daegu base, had no choice but to wander as a refugee, and to survive as a refugee, he would have to become a plunderer.

At the same time, the moment he became a plunderer, all the reputation and credit he had built would turn into infamy, and at that point, Heo Jin-ho would no longer be able to challenge him as a warlord.

‘The worst-case scenario is some crazy person lending Heo Jin-ho enough troops to recapture Daegu. But is that even possible? It would require accepting high risk for high return. It’s too dangerous a plan that would even need to account for Heo Jin-ho’s betrayal, so I can let it go.’

The remaining issue was the possibility of Heo Jin-ho receiving help from external forces to regain his footing, but Gyeon Gwan-im wasn’t particularly concerned about this scenario.

In this apocalypse, he believed no one would be crazy enough to lend troops to a warlord like Heo Jin-ho, and even if someone did, they would have to keep in mind the possibility of Heo Jin-ho’s betrayal.

If betrayed, Heo Jin-ho’s army could turn against the forces that had lent support, so logically, no one would lend Heo Jin-ho an army capable of recapturing Daegu.

“W-well, you see…”

“Report calmly.”

Therefore, the warlord’s priority was to purge or recruit members of the Daegu interim government, naturally recruiting those who would follow him while boldly purging and expelling the old forces loyal to Heo Jin-ho.

He could have demonstrated his power to the citizens of Daegu through public executions, but with overwhelming military power in his hands, Gyeon Gwan-im saw no need to lower public sentiment through such performances—this was the first reason.

In other words, he seriously intended to be a warlord established in the Korean peninsula, with a vision to rule Daegu, and the second reason was that he chose not to rule this base that would become his foundation through a reign of terror.

It was clearly an act to build strength as a contender for power in the Korean peninsula by settling in Daegu, a political move declaring himself a Lord with a vision to rule Daegu.

‘To gather strength to challenge Kim Su-ho, I need Daegu. What’s suddenly happening?’

And to gain the strength to challenge his sworn enemy… Kim Su-ho, who had driven him to this point, he needed to suppress the anger burning inside him and focus on building his power.

Yes, this warlord had been defeated by Seoul’s hero Kim Su-ho in a power struggle. He was a representative Awakened who had been held back by Kim Su-ho’s own strength, a loser of the era who had been restricted by Kim Su-ho and unable to properly make a name for himself.

If this situation had continued, he would have ended his life as a wandering refugee, a loser of the era, but coincidentally, he got another chance when Kim Su-ho politically collapsed.

After experiencing forced defeat in Myeongdong, Kim Su-ho had essentially abandoned management of refugees—potential contenders for power—in the Korean peninsula, and this warlord, who had been restricted by Kim Su-ho, had participated in a sort of loser’s revival match and successfully revived as a capable warlord.

“W-well…”

“What is it? If it’s a trivial matter, handle it yourself. I’m busy right now.”

Even now, to celebrate his successful seizure of power, he was hosting a lavish party for the meritorious contributors to Daegu’s takeover and internal collaborators, using resources that Heo Jin-ho had accumulated.

This was how he could easily gain recognition as a usurper and prevent betrayal from his subordinates by rewarding them generously.

Rather, he was diligently carrying out what needed to be done as a contender for power in the Korean peninsula.

‘Kim Su-ho… I’ll kill you myself!’

It was the obsession of an avenger determined to return to Seoul and kill the hero who had stood in his way.

However, for someone who had learned the taste of vengeance, he had no idea that his retribution would come back to him.

“We’re under attack! Heo Jin-ho has returned!”

“What? Surely not. Has he gathered his remaining forces for a fight with no chance of winning? Well, that works out well.”

At first, he acted like someone who had heard unbelievable information.

But soon, Gyeon Gwan-im judged that Heo Jin-ho had rallied his remaining forces to challenge for power again, and he thought it was a good opportunity.

If he defeated Heo Jin-ho here, his usurped regime would be complete, and he could definitively break the resistance will of any hidden resistance forces.

“Heo Jin-ho’s Daegu interim government is practically in ruins. We’ve already defeated Heo Jin-ho during the interim government era. Now he’s come back like a defeated dog, but there’s no chance they can win. We have nothing to fear.”

Above all, he liked that the odds of victory were overwhelmingly in his favor.

He had already succeeded in winning with proper strategy against Heo Jin-ho’s Daegu interim government, which had held an overwhelming advantage.

This time it would be a battle of strength against strength, but the numbers were now in Gyeon Gwan-im’s favor, and while Heo Jin-ho was in the position of attacker, his side was in the position of defender.

Just succeeding in defense would be considered their victory, so he thought this was a definite opportunity to establish his authority and was happily preparing for battle when—

“Th-they’re not remnants! There are at least 500 Awakened soldiers coming! And they’re fully armed!”

“What?”

He dropped the weapon he was holding, shocked by the scale beyond his imagination.

While he had formed an interim government, it was entirely predictable that even the remnants would number at least a hundred.

There were also remnants he had driven out, so if all were gathered, yes… 500 could easily come together.

But all 500 being Awakened soldiers? And perfectly armed on top of that?

What nonsense was this?

“Don’t be ridiculous! Where would such elite forces come from?”

“W-well, there’s the Balhut Cult, isn’t there?”

“That’s insane! What crazy woman would lend such elite forces?! She must be completely insane!”

The problem was that, contrary to Gyeon Gwan-im’s common-sense statement, the Balhut Cult was indeed crazier than expected, and who would have thought Heo Jin-ho would borrow soldiers from such a crazy group to recreate Gyeon Hwon’s historical feat?

The force capable of realizing that historical feat happened to be right next door to Daegu, and the Korean power contender with the capacity to realize that feat had now returned to Daegu for revenge.

“Damn it, should we have just surrendered instead?”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Gyeon Gwan-im immediately summoned his subordinate executives to prepare for war.

While lamenting Heo Jin-ho’s obsession, in reality, Heo Jin-ho had nearly been broken by Gyeon Gwan-im’s decapitation operation.

The shocking defeat from that surprise attack had completely destroyed Heo Jin-ho’s fighting spirit, but thanks to an external force Gyeon Gwan-im hadn’t anticipated—the Balhut Cult—he had regained the opportunity to make a comeback.

While they were preparing their defense, Heo Jin-ho’s main force arrived at the gate he had completed.

“Go Jun-woo! You traitor! Come out now and prepare to face our judgment! There is no mercy for traitors! Resist if you dare! If you have the courage to face our anger!”

“H-Heo Jin-ho?!”

The traitor in charge of the gate, Go Jun-woo, wore an expression of disbelief at the sight of Heo Jin-ho returning from hell.

In this situation, the traitor Go Jun-woo had no choice but to defend the gate with his life, but…

‘W-what should I do? What am I supposed to do?!’

From the beginning, this was the guy Lee Hyeon-a had chosen—a man without vision—so he hadn’t thought about what to do if another warlord took power.

It had truly been an impulsive, reflexive betrayal.

“What are you doing! Hurry and prepare for battle! Do you think Heo Jin-ho will forgive us after we’ve already betrayed him?!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

As Go Jun-woo prepared for battle, he could directly feel Heo Jin-ho’s anger, facing him with just a wall between them.

A confrontation between betrayer and betrayed.

Naturally, Go Jun-woo, who had much to feel guilty about, urged his subordinates that the betrayed would never forgive traitors and prepared to defend.

However, Heo Jin-ho didn’t miss the wavering spreading among the soldiers.

“However! Except for Go Jun-woo, I will forgive the rest according to the severity of your crimes in the Lord’s name! Now, will you perish with Go Jun-woo? Or will you take the opportunity to survive?”

He countered by proposing that Go Jun-woo’s subordinates betray him.

At this declaration, Go Jun-woo’s subordinates began to waver.

Not everyone would have willingly participated in Go Jun-woo’s betrayal, and many rank-and-file soldiers had been dragged into Go Jun-woo’s betrayal in confusion, with no choice but to be under his command.

Heo Jin-ho had offered forgiveness to these wronged individuals, and not only the common soldiers but even high-ranking officials began to think they might be forgiven if they betrayed Go Jun-woo.

“That’s a lie! Lies! Do you think he’ll keep his word in this apocalypse? God? God, he says? Do you think there’s any honor in this apocalypse?”

“The traitor who betrayed the Daegu interim government’s trust sure talks a lot! You must have a lot to feel guilty about! Well, how much did you get? With all you received, did you ever generously reward the subordinates who worked hard for you?”

In reality, Go Jun-woo was a human failure and animal success who had betrayed despite receiving the trust of the Daegu interim government.

Moreover, as a traitor, he had been treated as an executive and received high treatment, but if asked whether the subordinates who participated in his betrayal received the same treatment…

It was better not to speak of it.

The fierce gazes directed at Go Jun-woo revealed what kind of life he had led.

“Citizens of Daegu who don’t want to fight a losing battle! I’ll give you a chance for forgiveness! If you betray Go Jun-woo right now, I’ll overlook your actions!”

And as if to further encourage betrayal, Heo Jin-ho declared that he would overlook what had happened in this incident.

The expressions of the soldiers stationed on the gate began to change.

“Ha! You could just discard us later! You guys… wait. Why are your expressions like that?”

The gazes directed at Go Jun-woo began to change, and sensing this, Go Jun-woo looked around with an expression of despair.

He gradually backed away, trying to block their approach, but it was of little use.

For every step Go Jun-woo took backward, they took one step forward.

“Stop it. Stop. Do you really believe that?”

“Then why should we believe in you?”

Honestly, there was reason to doubt whether all of Heo Jin-ho’s promises could be kept.

For now, breaking through the gate was urgent, so he might have been making empty promises without guarantees, but conversely, the soldiers guarding the gate had no loyalty to follow Go Jun-woo’s orders.

Rather, if judging by credibility alone, the fallen Heo Jin-ho had more, and even the usurper Gyeon Gwan-im, who was practically an outsider, had more credibility.

“I never liked you from the beginning. You’re the one who betrayed Heo Jin-ho who treated you so well. Go Jun-woo.”

“For us to survive, betraying you seems faster.”

So internal division happened in an instant.