Ch.194194. Regular Report

The evaluation of the dragon armor distributed to each Hwarang…

“Suddenly I want to have a Rider battle!”

“You too?”

“Me too!”

In an instant, this news spread throughout the Hwarang and all of Seorabeol, causing the popularity of the Hwarang Corps to skyrocket.

Just looking at the appearance alone, it was a perfect design that could satisfy everyone—those seeking advancement, those desiring honor, and even Hwarang who simply wanted to earn more money.

The pride of being the Dragon Priestess’s trump card and direct royal guard was automatically imprinted in their hearts, and they felt an urge to don that dragon armor and head to the battlefield with the Dragon Priestess as soon as possible.

Like children who had received hero robots as gifts, the morale of the Hwarang Corps began to rise endlessly, and they eagerly anticipated the days when they would train with the dragon armor.

“To think Lord Bahamut made these himself…”

Above all, what made them most proud was that none other than the Dragon God Bahamut had personally crafted them with great care for the Hwarang.

That fact alone could create a narrative that would make anyone take notice, greatly increasing the Hwarang Corps’ satisfaction, but…

“So what do we do now?”

“Yeah, good question.”

The problem was that while this had greatly boosted the Hwarang’s pride, there were very limited ways to actually use that power.

What was the point of having such an impressive and magnificent war machine if there was nowhere to use it?

Currently, it was the apocalypse, and during an apocalypse, there should be plenty of places to fight. One could argue this, but the reality was that there were truly no enemies worth fighting near Seorabeol.

“What about monsters?”

“I heard rumors that private hunters have hunted them all down. Not even seeds remain.”

“Ah! Now I really want civilian intervention! That ‘government non-interference’ was all bullshit!”

Monsters living in the mountains?

They had been hunted by fortune-seeking hunters to the point where rumors claimed not even seeds remained.

Of course, it wasn’t quite that extreme, but monsters had become so rare that one would have to search deep into the mountains just to find one.

Monsters that had barely survived on the Korean peninsula through persistent reproduction were now considered endangered species near Seorabeol due to human greed.

Thanks to this, monsters that were considered threats to humanity in foreign countries were now so carefully managed in Seorabeol that the government even set hunting seasons to control their population.

“Wild undead?”

“You’d have to go beyond Daegu to find those.”

“…”

Even the undead, Korea’s main enemy, were hard to find within Seorabeol.

Due to the war with the Cult of Immortality, any wild undead that settled near Seorabeol were usually eliminated by the military before they could be discovered by the cult and turned into their soldiers.

Moreover, Yu-na, the Dragon Priestess, traveled throughout Seorabeol’s territory casting Turn Undead or setting up purification magic circles, making it impossible for undead to remain even if they wanted to.

“Then participate in the front line against the Cult of Immortality?”

“After finally getting promoted, do you want to join the dangerous Ulsan front line?”

“Good point.”

Join the Ulsan front?

The military led by Jeong Dong-geon was already handling that, and the Hwarang’s commander, the Dragon Priestess, was currently in Gyeongju or Pohang.

Everyone in the Hwarang knew that without the Dragon Priestess’s orders, operations conducted by the Hwarang alone wouldn’t earn significant merit.

Although there were opinions within the Hwarang asking “what do we do now?”, from Seorabeol’s perspective, the formation of the Hwarang was a great help to its security.

“With the Hwarang unit’s participation, guarding the East Sea has become somewhat easier.”

“Is that so?”

In fact, all the areas mentioned so far were under Yu-na’s jurisdiction, and from the perspective of Seol-hwa, who was in charge of Pohang, she had been deploying to the East Sea daily to protect the maritime region. The addition of the Hwarang could contribute to the safety of the East Sea region.

Considering that the East Sea itself was an important area of interest for Seorabeol, the Hwarang stationed in Pohang were fulfilling their purpose from the moment of their establishment. Seol-hwa was pleased with the creation of the Hwarang and conveyed her current feelings to Bahamut.

Most importantly for Seol-hwa:

“Yes. I was always incredibly busy, but now I can rest about one day a week!”

“That’s…”

The burden on her had been significantly reduced.

This alone made Bahamut so happy that he could shed tears.

After all, Seol-hwa’s schedule had changed from working seven days a week to six days a week!

It was essentially an improvement from what was virtually a black company environment, but there was still a long way to go.

“Isn’t this enough? I actually want to work more.”

“Um, well, you should still take care of your body at least one day.”

Above all, Seol-hwa herself didn’t realize she had become a work animal.

Bahamut felt like he had become an evil corporate boss, so he advised Seol-hwa, who was busy with the East Sea front, to rest at least one day a week.

He thought that if the Hwarang unit hadn’t been created, she would have been worked to the bone on a seven-day schedule.

“How is the situation in Daegu?”

“The legal deal with Gyeon Gwan-im seems to be working well. After strengthening their forces, they’re no longer being pushed around by outside forces.”

She was still handling the tasks she needed to do in Seorabeol.

Bahamut asked Yu-na about the current situation in Daegu, and Yu-na informed him that the legal deal with Gyeon Gwan-im had been successful, resulting in positive changes on the Daegu front.

“That’s fortunate.”

In fact, the legal deal with Gyeon Gwan-im had been a gamble from both Bahamut’s and Seorabeol’s perspectives, but thanks to the Geass Scroll, things had gone well.

It wasn’t just an ordinary threat, but a contract that could take away an Awakened’s foundation, which was why he couldn’t even think of rebelling and was now faithfully serving as Seorabeol’s dog.

“What about inside Seorabeol?”

“Internally, there are some growing pains, but the Dragon God Association is working with the Constitutional Democratic Party to resolve them.”

And internally, the cabinet, the Dragon God Association, was working with the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party to solve problems one by one.

There was an implicit agreement that completing the founding of Seorabeol was more important than political fights at the moment, and they had already implicitly agreed to form a National Unity Cabinet. As a result, bills that would have been difficult to pass through the National Assembly before the apocalypse were now passing with ease.

They were pointing out the contradictions of the former Republic of Korea and implementing reforms to solve them, creating new laws for the new country, and modifying aspects that had been identified as problematic during the Republic of Korea era.

But despite this cooperation, there was one problem they couldn’t solve.

“The issue is that they can’t narrow their differences on how to support Daegu.”

“Daegu…”

It was about the direction of both parties regarding support for Daegu.

The Dragon God Association believed that completing the reforms to establish Seorabeol as a country should take priority over supporting Daegu, while the Constitutional Democratic Party emphasized self-defense without heavily relying on Bahamut, arguing for increased support for Daegu.

Neither side was wrong, and because their differences couldn’t be narrowed, it had become a difficult problem to solve.

“What is the cabinet thinking?”

“Are you interested?”

In such cases, it was faster for Bahamut or Yu-na to step in directly and mediate, which could be considered one of Seorabeol’s strengths.

Although it was close to a constitutional monarchy political system, important issues like this could reflect their opinions to some extent, making it closer to a British-style constitutional monarchy.

To be frank, even the British constitutional monarchy nominally held various powers, and Bahamut and Yu-na were simply exercising those powers.

“Well, it’s the front line. We should take care of the safety and living standards of citizens living on the front line.”

“Are you concerned about public sentiment in Daegu?”

“You could say that. After all, who suffers the most in a defensive war? The citizens of Daegu, right? At the very least, we should bear some of that pain.”

Above all, it was an urgent matter that required Bahamut’s intervention.

While they had seen results by using various means, such as making legal deals with Gyeon Gwan-im to strengthen forces, variables could arise at any time, putting Daegu in danger.

He could consider deploying the Hwarang, Yu-na’s direct royal guard, but Bahamut wanted to save Yu-na’s royal guard as a trump card.

“Tell the cabinet to allocate an appropriate budget to support Daegu.”

“Understood.”

He decided to grant the support that Daegu wanted.

Bahamut ordered the cabinet through Yu-na to support Daegu, and…

“We will obey.”

The cabinet silently complied when Bahamut said so.

There could have been complaints among cabinet members that this was essentially Bahamut’s dictatorship, but the two politicians representing the cabinet were simply glad that Bahamut had taken the responsibility directly.

‘Phew. Somehow I’ll be able to persuade the assembly.’

‘Since the Dragon God has spoken, there will be some growing pains, but everyone will accept it.’

In fact, most of the current cabinet members still mistakenly thought they were representatives of a republic rather than a constitutional monarchy, and some members secretly considered Yu-na, the Dragon Priestess, as a cult leader, or ignored Bahamut’s constitutionally specified authority.

Coordinating among such members to solve the Daegu problem was difficult because their ideological differences were too great, but Bahamut’s appropriate intervention had resolved the issue.

Both had internally acknowledged that investment in Daegu was necessary, so when Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon, representing the two parties, agreed without complaint, the rest of the members, though grumbling, began allocating a budget for Daegu.

‘To secure Seorabeol’s safety, investment in Daegu, which serves as a shield, is inevitably necessary. If we further secure the safety of our main base, we can also complete the reforms we’re currently undertaking. Once the reforms are complete, Seorabeol will be able to completely part ways with the Republic of Korea.’

‘This is truly fortunate. From Seorabeol’s perspective, we also needed to repay Governor Heo Jin-ho’s loyalty. And we can teach a lesson to those fools who doubt Lord Bahamut’s authority while thinking that self-defense is unnecessary with Lord Bahamut around.’

Hwang Geun-chul believed that Seorabeol’s ongoing reforms could only be completed if Daegu’s safety was secured, while Park Cheol-gon was glad they could repay Heo Jin-ho’s loyalty.

And both politicians evaluated this compromise as successful and mutually satisfying, thinking they could show those fools who doubted Bahamut while entrusting self-defense to him.

The next matter to discuss was…

“How are things overseas? You seem to be paying a lot of attention to Alicia lately.”

“Hm? Ah. Apart from frequently meeting with Ms. Phoenix, there’s nothing particularly problematic.”

It was indeed news from overseas.

Especially when Yu-na asked about Alicia, who could be considered a cute junior, Bahamut only mentioned that he was meeting with Phoenix frequently and said there were no problems.

“Phoenix, is it.”

Yes, the phoenix was also an important matter.

According to rumors from Europe, it was a divine beast comparable to the Dragon God Bahamut.

Because of this, a sense of crisis could be advocated within Seorabeol, and based on that advocacy, various reforms could be attempted.

“I’ve heard rumors that her power is comparable to the Dragon God’s. How is she in reality?”

“Hmm. She is certainly my equal. If we fought seriously, I couldn’t guarantee the outcome. But I have no intention of losing.”

Yu-na seemed to be concerned about those rumors as well, as she asked about Phoenix’s strength, and Bahamut, though a bit flustered, told her as always that Phoenix was equal to him in strength.

“So you’re saying you’re not confident you can win.”

“That’s right. Above all, both of us find it difficult to find meaning in fighting each other. But the Saint is trying to use Phoenix to confront me. That’s troublesome.”

Neither of them wanted to fight.

Unfortunately, the problem was that the Saint of Orleans was trying to use Phoenix to confront Bahamut.

He had somehow advised Phoenix and avoided actual conflict, but the Saint’s persuasive words couldn’t be stopped, and the provocations toward Alicia didn’t cease.

“Then we’ll have to raise the threat level of the Saint of Orleans in Europe.”

In this situation, as a country that needed to engage in diplomatic activities with other countries, Seorabeol was hesitant to cooperate with the Saint of Orleans.

“We’re already struggling with issues within the Korean peninsula, and now external problems are arising as well.”

“Haha, don’t worry. Thanks to Alicia’s help, we’ve achieved quite a lot. Shouldn’t we have one or two favorable forces in Europe as well?”

Having Alicia as a reliable helper was an advantage, as it allowed them to quickly learn about overseas news.

If one or two favorable forces emerged in Europe, there would certainly be benefits for Seorabeol as well.

“Please take good care of my junior.”

Yu-na bowed her head and asked him to take good care of her junior, Alicia.

“Is that all for the report then?”

“No. Additional information about North Korea has been released.”

With that, it seemed this month’s report would end.

Unfortunately, there was one more major piece of news remaining.

It was about North Korea, which had been a hot superstar on the Korean peninsula until recently.

“I see. Is that the news? Has the North Korean regime collapsed?”

“No. It hasn’t collapsed.”

Contrary to the assessments of many warlords and commentators on the Korean peninsula, the North Korean regime had not collapsed.

“Hm? Then what’s the variable that’s been occurring recently?”

But in this case, there was no logical explanation for the recent variables.

“The Amnok River has been breached.”

“That means…”

“Yes. Numerous undead hordes crossing through the Amnok River are ravaging North Korea.”

The variable could be explained not by the collapse of the North Korean regime but by the collapse of the Amnok River… that is, Sinuiju.

Which meant…

“That’s dangerous.”

“Yes. It means we’re now also greatly affected by China. What’s worse is that we might also be affected by the Far Eastern region of Russia.”

It meant that the Korean peninsula was no longer safe from Chinese undead.