Ch.200200. Mutual Defense Treaty (1)

The cabinet had decided on a policy regarding Fukuoka, and the rest was to report it to Yuna, the Dragon Priestess.

Hwang Geun-chul immediately arrived at the residence where Yuna was staying and informed her directly.

“I see. So Fukuoka is going to war.”

“They’re calling it the Great Kyushu Reclamation Operation. It’s likely to be a large-scale operation. For a while, we’ll receive fewer goods from Fukuoka.”

Yuna began to seriously consider what Hwang Geun-chul had reported.

Even though the cabinet had made a decision, the final approval would come from either Yuna or Bahamut.

If these two beings didn’t permit it, they might miss a good opportunity.

“In other words, we have many items to sell to Fukuoka.”

The first thing Yuna mentioned about this news was, predictably, about the trade with Fukuoka, which could be considered a vested interest.

In other words, she had figured out what benefits this agreement would bring to Seorabeol, making it easier to explain further.

“Yes. Fukuoka has already mentioned weapons and military uniforms.”

“What does the cabinet think?”

“The cabinet is eager to put Kyushu in our debt. To be blunt, they want to secure economic interests in Kyushu.”

The fact that she asked about the cabinet’s opinion meant that Yuna was already inclined to support their view.

Hwang Geun-chul excitedly explained that the cabinet also agreed to support Fukuoka, revealing their desire for those economic interests.

“I see… The question is whether we can meet the quantity Fukuoka wants. Is that possible?”

However, it was important that Seorabeol could provide the quantity Fukuoka required.

If they made a treaty but the goods didn’t arrive, seeds of doubt about Seorabeol’s trustworthiness could sprout.

Above all, the Dragon God Bahamut valued contracts, and Seorabeol, which followed the Dragon God, couldn’t ignore the word “contract.”

So Yuna’s first concern was whether they had enough supplies to fulfill the contract.

“The war with the Cult of Immortality has recently reached a stalemate. It’s practically a semi-ceasefire. We can divert ammunition that was being supplied to the military for export.”

To address her concern, Hwang Geun-chul informed her that the Ulsan front had reached a stalemate, explaining that it was essentially a ceasefire.

They planned to use this opportunity to sell supplies intended for the Ulsan front to Fukuoka, but this plan naturally had its drawbacks.

“Isn’t that risky? Especially since it puts pressure on the Ulsan front?”

“It is risky. But… with high risk comes high return.”

It was indeed a high-risk action that could put Seorabeol in danger.

But the return was equally significant.

Gaining economic interests in Kyushu and enjoying greater economic benefits made the risk worth taking.

“Then can we make an additional proposal to Fukuoka?”

“A proposal?”

After pondering for a moment, Yuna said she had a suggestion for the cabinet.

“I want to deploy the Hwarang.”

“You mean deploy the Hwarang corps?”

“Yes.”

Her proposal was to deploy the Hwarang, the Dragon Priestess’s personal guard, to the Great Kyushu Reclamation Operation.

Hwang Geun-chul was very surprised by the suggestion to deploy the Hwarang.

“May I ask the reason?”

“There’s discontent within the Hwarang. Despite receiving such magnificent war equipment, they’ve only been training without seeing any actual combat.”

“They’re being dragged into war… No, I think I understand.”

Hwang Geun-chul almost criticized the Hwarang as war-hungry, but quickly changed his tone when he thought about their dragon armor.

Considering that dragon armor, their discontent was quite understandable.

“Indeed, having such magnificent war equipment and not using it wouldn’t be manly.”

“From what I hear, we should wish for Fukuoka’s victory, right? This means that we, as allies, are providing military options to support that victory.”

“Hmm, the justification of alliance…”

Yuna’s proposal wasn’t particularly strange.

Even in modern times, diplomatic activities through military options were common, and armies were sometimes dispatched for the sake of alliances.

Especially for Fukuoka, which wanted as many strong Awakened as possible for the Great Kyushu Reclamation Operation, Yuna’s proposal would likely be very appealing.

Fukuoka might have wanted to propose military options to Seorabeol as well, but since Seorabeol was currently at war with the Cult of Immortality, it would have been difficult for them to propose first.

In such a situation, if Seorabeol proposed first…

“It’s quite a proposal that would make Fukuoka think hard, honestly.”

Hwang Geun-chul commented that Seorabeol’s deployment proposal would be something Fukuoka would seriously consider.

“Moreover, it’s not the Dragon Priestess Yuna herself taking the field, but merely her personal guard. Fukuoka is likely to accept our support.”

He assessed that Yuna’s proposal was the maximum that Fukuoka could request.

If the Dragon Priestess Yuna herself took the field, from Fukuoka’s perspective, it might raise grand suspicions that the Dragon Priestess was targeting Fukuoka rather than fulfilling alliance obligations.

Such suspicion might be considered conspiracy-level, but considering Bahamut’s prestige shown abroad and her achievements in direct command so far, Seorabeol couldn’t really object if they were suspicious to the point of feeling threatened.

But if it was just the Priestess’s personal guard rather than herself, it could end with the impression that the Dragon Priestess was prioritizing the alliance with Fukuoka.

“Above all, this is when victory will be most craved. For the reclamation of Kyushu, they need several decisive victories.”

More than anything, Fukuoka wanted victory now.

A decisive victory for the reclamation of Kyushu.

Even if it was a proposal that mortgaged their future, for the sake of perfect victory, Fukuoka had to sell their immediate future for the present.

“Then let’s make the proposal.”

“Understood.”

When the cabinet agreed to Yuna’s proposal, this news was quickly conveyed to Shiro, who was organizing troops and building a forward base for the expedition.

A special envoy with full powers from Seorabeol informed Shiro of his country’s proposal, and Shiro met privately with the envoy to consider Seorabeol’s offer.

“So Seorabeol accepted our proposal, but additionally proposed a military option?”

Shiro was relieved to hear that Seorabeol had accepted Fukuoka’s request, but was greatly surprised by the additional military option proposal.

“Yes. It wasn’t the cabinet but the Dragon Priestess herself who proposed deploying the Hwarang. Ah, of course, you can refuse. This is merely an additional proposal from Seorabeol. Fukuoka’s proposal has already been approved by our cabinet.”

“Hwarang… Does this mean Seorabeol will participate in the war as Fukuoka’s ally?”

“That’s correct. Seorabeol, as a friend of Fukuoka, will participate in Fukuoka’s righteous fight. Besides, we’re not fighting fellow humans, but undead and monsters who could be considered enemies of the world, aren’t we?”

Seorabeol had already agreed to what Fukuoka wanted, and it would be appropriate for Fukuoka to accommodate Seorabeol to some extent for diplomatic relations management.

Above all, they were invoking the duty of alliance and the justification of fighting humanity’s enemies, so Shiro couldn’t simply refuse. However, there was one problem.

“I see. But in this case, the issue is…”

“Yes, the distribution of experience points. Seorabeol demands a front where Awakened can gain experience points as compensation for participating in Fukuoka’s war.”

Naturally, it was about the distribution of spoils.

In particular, the biggest issue was the intangible spoil of experience points that could level up Awakened.

In this era where an Awakened individual’s level was important, demanding experience points could be interpreted as Seorabeol trying to suppress Japan’s growth.

‘That’s the answer I expected.’

However, Shiro seemed to have anticipated that the Hwarang would demand experience points as compensation for their participation to facilitate their growth.

“May I think about this with my staff officer?”

“Of course. We’ll give you privacy.”

“Thank you.”

Without showing shock or surprise, he simply said he would consult with his staff officer and fell into contemplation.

Shiro immediately sent out the special envoy from Seorabeol, called in his staff officer, and informed him of Seorabeol’s proposal.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a proposal with mixed reactions. There are clear benefits. If we accept Seorabeol’s proposal, the reclamation of Kyushu will certainly become easier. But… it’s also a proposal that requires us to partially give up the growth of our Awakened.”

The staff officer assessed it as a proposal with mixed reactions, noting that while there would be clear benefits, it had the drawback of sacrificing the growth of their Awakened.

It was exactly as Shiro had anticipated earlier.

“Then should we refuse?”

“No. In terms of power dynamics, the reclamation of Kyushu is very important. Even if we have to partially sacrifice the growth of our Awakened, the reclamation of Kyushu must succeed.”

The staff officer suggested that they should accept rather than refuse Seorabeol’s proposal.

Unlike Seorabeol, which had obtained most of Yeongnam, Fukuoka, which only had part of Kyushu, needed to achieve the reclamation of Kyushu even if it meant sacrificing the growth of their Awakened.

“Is that so?”

Shiro couldn’t hide his disappointment, but considering Fukuoka’s circumstances, he sighed as if it couldn’t be helped.

“Whether to endure the discontent of the Awakened and expand our territory, or to prioritize the Awakened’s levels and postpone the reclamation of Kyushu—if we have to choose, we who constitute the power should choose the former. And with this justification, we can also have grounds to participate in Seorabeol’s fights in return.”

“Oh?”

The staff officer argued that if this precedent was established, they could also participate in Seorabeol’s fights as allies.

Considering the changes in North Korea and China, there would come a time when Seorabeol would need more Awakened, and at that time, future Fukuoka could also participate in Seorabeol’s fights to grow their Awakened.

“Indeed. Under the justification of being allied forces, we could dispatch our Awakened to Seorabeol’s fights.”

“Yes. Anyway, the possibility of this alliance breaking before the end of the apocalypse is very small. It would only break if our power no longer represents Japan.”

Moreover, many warlords and commentators predicted that this apocalypse would last a long time.

Since there was no way the alliance with Seorabeol would break after this fight, the staff officer advised Shiro to accept Seorabeol’s deployment proposal and also have Fukuoka participate in Seorabeol’s fights.

It was like “lips and teeth,” or in modern terms, a mutual defense treaty.

“If they show their sincerity by helping us, we should respond by showing our sincerity as well.”

“Good. We’ll aim for the reclamation of Kyushu with Seorabeol’s support. And we should propose a Korea-Japan mutual defense treaty to Seorabeol.”

It was essentially the completion of a Korea-Japan mutual defense treaty.

Since it was not a bad proposal from Seorabeol’s perspective either, this mutual defense treaty was quickly established, and officially, the Hwarang, the personal guard directly under the Dragon Priestess, could set foot on Kyushu soil.