Ch.167166. Assault on the Sanggyeok Headquarters (1)

“At the end of the internal strife, Go Jun-woo was betrayed by his own subordinate, brutally subdued, and dragged before Heo Jin-ho.

Looking at Go Jun-woo being dragged helplessly by his subordinate, covered in blood as if he had resisted violently, Heo Jin-ho glared at him with a look that seemed to ask why he had betrayed him if it would come to this. With Go Jun-woo’s capture, the allied forces were able to seize the gate he had been guarding.

Passing through the wide-open gate, the allied forces now had a clear path to the Sangyeok Office, one of the Daegu Metropolitan City Hall buildings that Heo Jin-ho had established as his headquarters.

“If we go straight from here, we’ll reach the Sangyeok Office. Let’s hurry.”

The path to the Sangyeok Office was essentially wide open, and unlike the Ulsan battle, there were virtually no natural defensive lines in the areas where the allied forces were advancing.

“What a ragtag bunch.”

Jin A-yeon, remembering the fight against the Cult of Immortality, opened her mouth with a sense of emptiness at seeing how easily the gate had been recaptured.

Looking at the current battle, she felt that the fight against the Cult of Immortality had been a truly serious confrontation between powers. How much strategy and force had each faction expended to gain such strategic points during the Ulsan war?

Unlike the Cult of Immortality, which had shown resilience by continuously trying to recapture important strategic points even after the allied forces had seized them, the path to the headquarters was now too easily opened just because one strategic point had been lost. From Jin A-yeon’s perspective, it was certainly disappointing.

“Well, I was also defeated by this ragtag bunch.”

Heo Jin-ho bowed his head in shame at Jin A-yeon’s scathing remark.

Yes, he had been defeated by such people, had fallen, and had drifted all the way to the Balhut Cult’s territory.

Still, he had seized a new opportunity, borrowed troops, and become the main player in the Daegu offensive, but he couldn’t help feeling ashamed seeing the shameful display of those who had defeated him.

It would be a different story if he were to face the warlord who had newly taken Daegu, as he was one of the contenders for power on the Korean Peninsula.

“Alright, let’s get ready. Hey, you guys. Are you prepared?”

“Yes!”

Jin A-yeon, as if she hadn’t forgotten what needed to be done, began deploying her forces and started placing police forces in each area, gradually tightening the noose around the interim government established at the Sangyeok Office.

She had essentially built a siege network, ready to pursue anyone who tried to escape, no matter which direction they fled.

This demonstrated her determination to personally capture the usurper who had seized Daegu, and these movements were naturally reported to Gyeon Gwan-im.

“This is troublesome.”

Gyeon Gwan-im, who had expected Go Jun-woo to hold out for a while, was dismayed as he assessed the movements of the police forces.

The police forces weren’t just dispersing to form a siege network.

Some had been dispatched to block the path to the Sangyeok Office, responding to Gyeon Gwan-im’s call for reinforcements.

In other words, they were blocking external support for the Sangyeok Office, meaning that the defense would have to be conducted solely with the forces stationed at the Sangyeok Office, without reinforcements.

Gyeon Gwan-im found himself in a disadvantageous position.

Above all, what he feared most was:

‘There’s a good chance they’ll betray me now.’

The betrayal of his subordinates.

As a warlord and a plunderer with extensive experience, he knew how empty loyalty oaths could be.

If the situation became even slightly unfavorable or life-threatening, Gyeon Gwan-im’s subordinates would forget all their loyalty oaths and flee the battlefield to save their own lives.

In other words, Gyeon Gwan-im now had to consider the possibility of betrayal by his subordinates.

“If we attack where the siege is weak, escape might be possible. But…”

He considered abandoning Daegu without regret and fleeing.

‘That would mean abandoning my forces deployed throughout Daegu.’

In that case, he would be abandoning the lives of his subordinates dispatched throughout Daegu.

That was tantamount to giving up the troops that formed the foundation of his status as a warlord, and the moment he lost his forces—symbols of power more precious than life itself—betrayers would certainly emerge to stab him in the back.

Having already played a significant role as a usurper, he was particularly sensitive to betrayal.

‘Damn it, I’m already wavering. The moment I flee without fighting, I’ll die from a knife in my back!’

He could sense that if he fled without fighting, he would die right here.

Yes, the moment he abandoned his pride as a warlord, betrayal by his subordinates was certain.

The reason he could establish himself as a warlord was because he had strength and had won numerous battles with that strength. The moment he lost a battle, questions about that strength would naturally arise.

Questions would soon turn into doubts, and doubts would lead to betrayal.

“We’ve established the siege network. There’s no way out now, Captain Jin A-yeon.”

“The rat trap is set. Let’s start tightening it, brother.”

“Let’s do that.”

However, breaking through the siege network with the forces gathered at the Sangyeok Office was also problematic.

The allied forces had shown their determination to thoroughly eliminate the warlord, and realizing that failure to escape would put him in an even more disadvantageous position:

“We’ll rely on the defensive line. The fortress functions that Heo Jin-ho built aren’t bad.”

The warlord chose to rely on the defensive line built by Heo Jin-ho and hold out.

First, by showing a firm defense of his headquarters, he chose a method with slightly better odds than any potential reinforcements that might help against this siege.

If he could achieve even one victory, he expected that he could sway all the Daegu forces that had been maintaining neutrality without supporting either side.

So he needed to succeed in just one defensive battle.

“Damn it. Not a field battle, but using the defensive line I built.”

Naturally, the defensive line already built at the Sangyeok Office was virtually an impregnable fortress, designed to block the zombie waves that had been rushing into other cities.

Even while maintaining the siege, attacking with dispersed forces was unreasonable, so Heo Jin-ho boldly revealed himself from the front to confirm the warlord’s presence.

“Ha! Are you scared? This is completely opposite to your brave appearance when you carried out the decapitation operation while I was off guard! Are you frightened? I’ve returned from hell for revenge!”

“For a loser, you also received help from external forces! That’s essentially an act of betrayal against Daegu! You’re no different from me.”

When Heo Jin-ho boldly revealed himself, the warlord had no choice but to show himself to demonstrate his well-being.

The usurper and the usurped.

These two figures immediately hurled accusations at each other upon seeing each other’s faces.

Heo Jin-ho’s side provoked by asking if they were scared, suggesting they weren’t planning to use the tactics that had brought him down, while the warlord retorted that Heo Jin-ho was no different from him now, declaring this a betrayal of Daegu.

It was a war of words where neither side could yield, but in truth, legitimacy was already on Heo Jin-ho’s side.

“How can you brazenly call it an act of betrayal? The people who joined me are also Korean and are fellow citizens of the Republic of Korea! What’s wrong with borrowing force from good neighbors to drive out thieves who have entered our home?”

“Thieves? Are you calling me a thief?”

He was directly targeting the warlord’s weakness of usurpation, clearly stating that he was not the rightful ruler of Daegu.

And by referring to the Balhut Cult as fellow citizens of the Republic of Korea, he was saying that receiving help was nothing to be ashamed of.

“Yes, a thief! A thief who cooperated with a dog that bit its master to cowardly rob someone else’s home! If I had been killed, you would be no different from a robber who stole a house! Isn’t that right?”

“How amusing. That’s pre-apocalyptic logic. Those without power perish. Isn’t that the law of survival of the fittest?”

“But I survived.”

Moreover, it wasn’t a victory obtained through direct confrontation, but through Go Jun-woo’s betrayal.

It was an act worthy of being criticized as cowardly, and if Gyeon Gwan-im had achieved a decisive victory, it wouldn’t have been a flaw, but contrary to expectations, Heo Jin-ho’s survival had cracked Gyeon Gwan-im’s career.

“I made a mistake. I should have pursued and killed him.”

“It’s too late for regrets.”

Thus, a minor tactical error had hastened his downfall.

“Citizens of Daegu at the Sangyeok Office! Is such a usurper truly worth sacrificing your lives for? Do you think that fellow has a solid vision to protect Daegu? That coward who can’t fight fairly and resorts to underhanded schemes! Do you think he can overcome this difficult apocalypse?”

Can such a coward confidently claim to have a vision for the future?

Of course, in this apocalypse, it was true that cowardly and cunning individuals were more likely to survive than those who played fair.

However, once one becomes the head of a government, one should pursue the righteous path rather than the crooked one.

Otherwise, people would not follow.

“Of course not! He’s just someone who will use Daegu for his own greed! Is there any reason to sacrifice your precious lives for such a person? Should you face this powerful force before you for his sake? If you suffer losses by confronting us, do you think he will take responsibility for that?”

Heo Jin-ho targeted this point, persuading that this person was not a warlord who would act for the citizens of Daegu, and with those words, the Daegu interim government officials stationed at the Sangyeok Office began to waver.

Yes, the old master had returned, and to truly follow Gyeon Gwan-im… it hadn’t even been a month since Gyeon Gwan-im had seized power.

‘Damn it! I haven’t even had a month to physically satisfy everyone!’

In other words, there was physically not enough time to persuade everyone in Daegu.

“No. No. I can firmly say no. Because all the goods that could satisfy you are probably being monopolized by that fellow! Do you think he will distribute the vast wealth he has accumulated? Rather, I can confidently say that monopolizing it by force will help in ruling Daegu!”

“…Dirty bastard.”

What Gyeon Gwan-im needed to do here was to calmly refute Heo Jin-ho’s words, but in reality, there was nothing wrong with what Heo Jin-ho was saying.

Yes, those words were true, and he hadn’t even managed to redistribute wealth to gain supporters.

In other words, as those words stated, all the wealth of Daegu was in Gyeon Gwan-im’s hands, and Gyeon Gwan-im needed to use this wealth to redistribute it to gain his own supporters… but he was being challenged before he could accomplish that.

Half of those words were lies, but the other half spoke only the truth, so what Gyeon Gwan-im could do was:

“Let me warn you all. Do you really intend to fight us? Will you risk your lives to defend this place with him?”

“…”

All he could do was glare at Heo Jin-ho with a murderous expression.

In response to Gyeon Gwan-im’s silence, many who were watching realized that Heo Jin-ho had won the war of words, and the answer could soon be given.

“Surrender! We surrender!”

“I accept.”

Some of the officials defending the Sangyeok Office had declared surrender and switched sides.

There was a method to stop the current wavering by executing those who had switched sides on the spot, but:

“Well. Have you said everything? It’s incredibly boring. Isn’t it just the claim of a loser?”

“Oh?”

“Let’s see on the battlefield. Whether that claim is groundless. That’s all there is to it.”

He chose not to execute them on the spot and instead calmly dismissed Heo Jin-ho’s claims as the ramblings of a loser, treating it as if it wasn’t a problem.

He was also a contender for power on the Korean Peninsula, so if he had carried out immediate executions here, the wavering at the Daegu Sangyeok Office would have intensified.

Rather, at times like this, instead of immediate execution, the leader himself needed to show no wavering and treat it as insignificant, and as if that judgment was correct, the wavering at the Daegu Sangyeok Office began to calm down.

“Begin battle preparations! I will show my anger to the loser!”

“He’s quite something. He didn’t waver even seeing these forces.”

“Yes. Unlike Go Jun-woo, he’s more capable than I thought. Having someone like him makes my defeat a little less shameful.”

He shouted boldly, showing his will to personally lead as the commander-in-chief, and Jin A-yeon clicked her tongue at that sight, evaluating him as quite formidable.

If he had shown even a little wavering, many officials would have betrayed him, but by not wavering and instead showing a bold appearance, he stopped the wavering and was able to prepare for battle.

He was definitely a warlord with the ability to be called a contender for power on the Korean Peninsula if there were no Balhut Cult or Cult of Immortality, and Heo Jin-ho also expressed that having someone like him made his own defeat more understandable.

“Then let’s also prepare for battle.”

“Yes.”

The battle was imminent.