Ch.218218. Omens of War (1)

Signs of war were appearing in Seorabeol, which meant changes had occurred on the Daegu front line responsible for defending Seorabeol.

The Daegu front was managed by Gyeon Gwan-im, who had accepted Seorabeol’s judicial deal, and with the help of Governor Heo Jin-ho, had clashed with various raiders and undead forces, achieving numerous victories.

However, signs of war meant something was wrong with Gyeon Gwan-im who was in charge of the front line, and this was a signal that Gyeon Gwan-im was about to fall…

“Is it strange to say I’m more afraid of the regular morning meetings than the missions now?”

“Captain, didn’t the Governor make a huge fuss when you were five minutes late to the meeting last time?”

“That’s the problem. Once that Governor starts nitpicking, he nags endlessly. It’s like dealing with a petty housewife.”

But that was all nonsense—Gyeon Gwan-im was actually living quite well.

Although Governor Heo Jin-ho wished for Gyeon Gwan-im’s downfall, the reality was truly painful for him. Even in these times with signs of war, Gyeon Gwan-im was only being nitpicked for minor mistakes or tardiness. Heo Jin-ho couldn’t find any justification to purge Gyeon Gwan-im.

‘Damn it! I’ve been wanting to bring him down, but he’s living so well! It’s infuriating!’

This was truly an unwanted situation.

Heo Jin-ho had only accepted Seorabeol’s judicial deal with the intention of using and discarding Gyeon Gwan-im. He was certain that Gyeon Gwan-im wouldn’t sincerely repent as Seorabeol had hoped.

But what the hell was this situation?

Far from Gyeon Gwan-im’s downfall, the burden on Daegu was disappearing one by one thanks to that bastard’s achievements—when in fact, the very reason for Daegu’s downfall was because of him!

Wasn’t this exactly like the saying about giving someone a disease and then providing the medicine?

‘Kehehehehehe. Judging by that look, you must be infuriated that we’re living so well! What can you do? We’ve already changed our path to rise in Seorabeol! Go ahead and nitpick all you want! Do you have enough justification for a purge that Seorabeol would approve?’

‘Damn bastard. You’re a raider of unparalleled wickedness. You’re a former warlord. Don’t you have any pride or dignity as a warlord? Do you have no intention of becoming independent as a warlord? Do you plan to stay above me forever, Gyeon Gwan-im?’

Does that bastard have no pride as a warlord?

Shouldn’t a true warlord who once ruled a major city show signs of rebellion once or twice?

But where had his pride as a warlord gone, becoming a loyal beast like those seen in black companies?

And to think the head of that black company was Heo Jin-ho himself! This wasn’t the picture Heo Jin-ho wanted!

‘Where have you hidden the warlord Gyeon Gwan-im? Could you be a fake prepared by Seorabeol?!’

‘Eat shit, Governor! My loyalty will never waver!’

Where on earth had that cunning and vicious raider Gyeon Gwan-im gone?

He almost thought the man might be a fake sent by Seorabeol to test him, disguised as Gyeon Gwan-im, but Gyeon Gwan-im’s response was essentially “eat shit, you idiot Governor.”

To put it more politely:

‘Why don’t you look in a mirror first? You’re also a former warlord, Brother Heo Jin-ho. If you have no intention of becoming independent, why would I? My, what grand dreams our Governor has!’

Yes, he wanted to tell him to look in a mirror.

To be frank, if we’re talking about warlords, wasn’t Heo Jin-ho a much more senior one than Gyeon Gwan-im?

He was literally a successful warlord who had claimed Daegu as his territory, but happened to be hit by the trucks named Gyeon Gwan-im and Seorabeol. In terms of ambition, he should be stronger than Gyeon Gwan-im who was bound by a slave contract.

But look at reality.

Instead of becoming independent as a warlord, Heo Jin-ho was serving Seorabeol loyally as a governor?

Anyone sharp would find this situation strange, and as time passed, Gyeon Gwan-im, who had acquired much information about Seorabeol, came to understand better than anyone why Heo Jin-ho had chosen to be a governor rather than become independent.

‘No, who would be satisfied with such difficult work?’

‘This place is heaven compared to that damned prison! I’m never going back!’

This was why the sharp-witted Gyeon Gwan-im had pledged loyalty to Seorabeol and was living well, while Heo Jin-ho was dissatisfied with Gyeon Gwan-im’s lack of pride.

But what could he do?

Gyeon Gwan-im had absolutely no intention of returning to that cursed Awakened-only prison, and cheerfully carried out the Governor’s orders. All Heo Jin-ho could do was congratulate Gyeon Gwan-im on his achievements with a smiling face!

Truly against his will! Absolutely not his true feelings!

‘I have to commend that bastard’s achievements! This is maddening!’

Heo Jin-ho was so frustrated at having to commend Gyeon Gwan-im’s achievements that it made his blood boil, while Gyeon Gwan-im found joy in watching his discomfort.

Of course, Heo Jin-ho was in a position where he could deliberately withhold reports of Gyeon Gwan-im’s achievements to Seorabeol, hide his contributions, and process the administrative work to claim those achievements as his own. However, because of the contract sworn with a Geas Scroll created directly by the Dragon God, such underhanded behavior was impossible.

‘Oh my, even the arrogant Governor can’t do anything in the face of this solemn contract!’

In other words, if Heo Jin-ho didn’t want his own level to decrease, he had to properly process and commend Gyeon Gwan-im’s achievements according to the solemn contract, and Gyeon Gwan-im was protected by such a powerful contract.

Originally, it was nothing more than a restriction to ensure the subordinate properly fulfilled the contract, but the situation had been reversed. Frankly, this was Heo Jin-ho’s own doing for being too proud to acknowledge Gyeon Gwan-im, so let’s just move on.

If it weren’t for the apocalypse, they would have been a fantastic duo making great achievements together, and to them…

“The Cult of Immortality’s movements are strange?”

“Yes. We’ve been monitoring them until recently, and considering their rapidly changing movements, it seems the Cult of Immortality is aiming to expand their influence.”

The movements of the Cult of Immortality, which could be called harbingers of war, had been detected.

Winter had passed and spring was approaching, summer was coming, and the cold snaps were gradually subsiding, making it a time for conquest.

Now that all the factors hindering army movements had disappeared, it was the perfect time to move troops.

“Is this true?”

“Perhaps the Governor should go to the site directly… Ah, just kidding. I’ll submit video evidence.”

“I see… I’ll report this to the homeland.”

This was the first large-scale movement since winter had passed, and it happened to coincide with the time when the Kyushu reclamation war was reaching its conclusion.

Moreover, according to news from Kyushu, there were reports that the Cult of Immortality had also interfered in Kyushu.

Because of this, the two heroes couldn’t even properly engage in their usual WWE or joke competitions, and were seriously preparing for this situation.

The two heroes collected video evidence showing that the Cult of Immortality had begun to move and informed the Dragon Priestess of this fact.

“We need to recall the Hwarang dispatched to Kyushu.”

“Yes. The Cult of Immortality has finally begun to move. Jeong Dong-geon, please take overall command.”

“As you command.”

Accordingly, Jeong Dong-geon, the military commander, was reassigned to the Ulsan front, restoring military discipline that had become lax during the implicit winter truce, and began fortifying North Ulsan where the Balhut Cult had established itself.

Then they began the work of bringing back the Hwarang who still had war spoils to collect in Seorabeol, and started considering food stockpiling and overseas support for the war.

The fortunate thing was…

“Our Yamato Alliance declares that we will participate in this war as an ally of Seorabeol. If the Cult of Immortality thought they could pollute our Kyushu and get away with it, they are underestimating the Yamato Alliance.”

“The Yamato Alliance’s participation will be a great help to Seorabeol.”

The Yamato Alliance had immediately expressed their intention to participate in order to settle their debt to Seorabeol.

Above all, the Cult of Immortality had polluted Kyushu while looking down on the Yamato Alliance, which had provoked the alliance’s pride. Many citizens of the alliance were calling for revenge against the Cult of Immortality for polluting their land, and Shiro, the leader of the alliance, rode this public sentiment and began to call for revenge against the Cult of Immortality for Kyushu.

Helping their ally Seorabeol while getting revenge on the Cult of Immortality—that was the Yamato Alliance’s goal in this war.

“As compensation for our participation, we will settle part of the debt the Yamato Alliance owes to Seorabeol.”

“That’s great!”

In terms of practical benefits, the Yamato Alliance, which already owed Seorabeol a significant debt for land pollution purification, war supplies, and the dispatch of Hwarang, intended to settle some of that debt through this participation while also training the Awakened within the alliance through war, just like Seorabeol’s Hwarang.

“In particular, the quality of Seorabeol’s Mage Association is incomparably higher than our Yamato Alliance. Therefore, while supporting Seorabeol and settling our debt, we must also raise the quality of our mages in the Yamato Alliance by ensuring the privileges of the Seorabeol Mage Association’s Kyushu branch established in the Yamato Alliance.”

The alliance needed many mages for their planned industries, and mages from Seorabeol would raise the quality of the Yamato Alliance’s mages to the next level.

“Hwarang, gather according to the command given by the revered Dragon Priestess! The war against the Cult of Immortality awaits us!”

“Finally, what we’ve been waiting for has come.”

“The Kyushu front was just a prologue.”

“Our reason for existence has finally arrived!”

And the Hwarang who would directly participate in this war were eagerly awaiting the battlefield where they would shine.

The Kyushu war was just a preliminary battle… no, a prologue for them.

After all, in that war, the Hwarang only served as an auxiliary force, while the main front was handled by the Yamato Alliance.

In fact, from the perspective of the Hwarang who wanted to achieve great merit, it had left them with incomplete combustion, but the ominous movements of the Cult of Immortality were evidence that the war they had been waiting for—where they could truly shine—was coming.

All Hwarang dispatched to Kyushu responded to the Dragon Priestess’s summons without a single absence.

“I express my gratitude for responding to my summons. Your brilliant achievements in the Kyushu war have impressed even Lord Bahamut.”

Choi Yu-na, the Dragon Priestess herself, appeared before them with an imposing presence, and in an elaborate ceremony designed solely to highlight the Hwarang, she commended their achievements, saying that the Dragon God had been watching their brilliant performance.

With Yu-na’s speech and Seorabeol’s elaborate treatment, all the Hwarang were silently moved and filled with overwhelming pride that the Dragon God was watching them, further strengthening their sense of belonging to the Hwarang group.

“Today, you will fight for Seorabeol on a small scale, and for the entire Korean Peninsula on a larger scale. This is because our main enemy, the undead and the evil necromancers who control them, have finally made their move.”

Yes, the Dragon Priestess was responsible for the honor of the Hwarang.

Therefore, an honorable war to protect Seorabeol and the Korean Peninsula awaited them, and for that protection, each and every word Yu-na spoke to the Hwarang corps, clad in shining silver dragon armor without a single absence, filled their hearts with pride and honor for being Hwarang.

“You are now representatives of Seorabeol, the tempered swords that Seorabeol has honed. Dedicate your lives to the Dragon God Bahamut. Fight for humanity. Each one of you is Seorabeol’s hope!”

Yes, these were the Awakened who represented Seorabeol.

They were the elite special forces that Seorabeol had deliberately invested in, and their fight was the sincere message that the Dragon Priestess conveyed to the world.

At the same time, the Dragon God Bahamut was also watching the Hwarang’s fight, so their battle could be said to be one watched by the gods, and each Hwarang could be called Seorabeol’s hope.

“We dedicate the glory of this battle to the Dragon God and the Dragon Priestess!”

“Long live the Dragon Priestess! Long live Bahamut! Long live Seorabeol!”

At that moment, before their departure, the Hwarang began to shed hot tears and surrender to the intense heat rising in their chests, and without hesitation, they shouted hurrahs and praised the Dragon God and the Dragon Priestess.

The Hwarang had no fear of war.

Rather, they had been waiting for this war, and were filled only with the fighting spirit to participate in this noble battle as soon as possible.

“From now on, I, Jeong Dong-geon, will command the Hwarang. I look forward to working with you.”

“The Hwarang will now come under the control of the military’s highest commander, Jeong Dong-geon. This is the Dragon Priestess’s order to the Hwarang.”

“We obey!”

Thus, the Hwarang came under military command, and began to be deployed to battlefields where they could make an impact according to the military’s guidance.