Ch.2222. The Balhut Cult (4)

In modern times, blacksmiths were regarded as artisans who meticulously crafted limited items rather than mass-producing goods.

The reason was quite simple: with the advancement of metal and mechanical industries, machine-based manufacturing had become far more cost-effective, making traditional handcrafting too outdated to compete.

Yes, it had been outdated.

“Phew. It’s warm here even though it’s autumn. If there wasn’t air conditioning, I’d be dying from the heat.”

“The electricity supply to the ironworks is unlimited. That’s why the AC is so powerful. Isn’t this all thanks to Lord Bahamut’s blessing?”

However, in South Korea, which had been struck by a zombie apocalypse, the blacksmith profession was now making a comeback.

The value of blacksmiths who could craft tools and weapons had risen dramatically, and the demand for artisans had increased so rapidly that even those who had abandoned blacksmithing due to lack of profit were picking up their hammers again.

Jeong Dong-geon, a military official of the Balhut Cult, had also relied heavily on the Gyeongju ironworks—the only one operated by the cult in Gyeongju—to equip his soldiers with good weapons and protective gear, and today he was once again meeting with the artisan who ran the ironworks.

“By the way, Mr. Jeong. Didn’t you say you were done with your business for today?”

“Ah, Mr. Choi. Something urgent came up, so I’m here again.”

The ironworks artisan, Mr. Choi, called Jeong Dong-geon “Mr. Jeong” with familiarity, and Jeong Dong-geon also called him “Mr. Choi,” showing their close relationship.

For Jeong Dong-geon’s work, a smooth supply of weapons was essential, and to ensure this, he had gathered blacksmiths living in Gyeongju with significant support from the cult to establish a specialized ironworks.

This place was considered the most important location for Gyeongju’s industry, not only producing weapons but also processing scrap metal brought by Balhut Cult members into materials needed for daily life and construction.

In a sense, Mr. Choi’s ironworks could be considered the frontline of Gyeongju’s reconstruction.

“Is Yu still not off work?”

“He’s busy with reconstruction.”

“Well, thanks to him, we were among the first to receive good residential quarters.”

That’s why Yu Su-seong, who was working as a construction official to obtain building materials needed for reconstruction, was also frequently seen at this place.

Even now, numerous machines recovered from local ironworks by the Balhut Cult were running non-stop, and many artisans who had lived in Gyeongju, along with their workers, were sweating profusely, trying to cool themselves with the air conditioning while working.

Of course, Choi Yu-na, knowing the importance of this facility, had been providing energy resources obtained from Bahamut directly to the ironworks, which was an added bonus.

“Really? So what’s happening at the cult?”

“You could say something urgent has come up. Lord Bahamut has created a new currency.”

At the word “currency,” Mr. Choi’s eyes lit up.

He had expected the Balhut Cult to eventually create a currency for exchanging goods, but it had been completed faster than expected.

“Oh my. Currency. I thought we would be entrusted with making it. Mr. Jeong, can you show it to me?”

“Of course.”

Mr. Choi was surprised by this unexpected development, as he had thought the ironworks would be tasked with producing the currency. Jeong Dong-geon solemnly took out the coins he had kept in a box.

Looking at the newly minted, clean coins placed on the table, Mr. Choi began to examine each one meticulously.

“They’re really well-made. The finishing is perfect… And, I don’t know if it’s just my feeling, but I sense Lord Bahamut’s magical power from the coins…”

Mr. Choi admired the coins, noting they were excellently crafted. He praised the perfect finishing that made them look like they had been precisely minted by a machine, but at the same time, he trembled with unease, sensing a strange energy from them.

As an Awakened who had gained powers by killing zombies during the apocalypse, Mr. Choi could sense magical power, and he had detected the powerful magic imbued in the coins.

“It’s not just your feeling. There really is magic in those coins. Lord Bahamut said it’s a precaution against counterfeiting.”

“Well, what a talented dragon god. I thought they might be cursed coins filled with resentment.”

When Jeong Dong-geon revealed the truth, Mr. Choi put down the coin with a deflated expression.

He had sensed the magic and thought they might be cursed coins, but their true purpose was to prevent counterfeiting through Bahamut’s magic.

‘This would make it impossible to fool Awakened people. The downside is… right, ordinary people can’t sense the magic in the coins. I should probably keep an eye on our workers just in case.’

Mr. Choi thought to himself that precise counterfeiting would be truly difficult with such measures.

Although he himself had no intention of counterfeiting, there was no guarantee that all artisans in the ironworks were equally trustworthy.

As he was considering whether to tighten security within the ironworks just in case…

“I agree. That’s why Lord Bahamut is worth following, don’t you think?”

“For me, he saved the lives of my family and workers. Above all, I don’t want to suffer from mutant zombies or go hungry anymore.”

In response to Jeong Dong-geon’s comment, Mr. Choi opened his mouth in agreement.

For Bahamut, it might have been just an activity for Gyeongju’s reconstruction, but for Mr. Choi, it was a ray of salvation.

Gyeongju city had been full of zombies, and with no stored food in the ironworks, Mr. Choi and his workers had been on the verge of starvation.

However, Bahamut’s arrival had changed Mr. Choi’s fate, and his ironworks had barely been saved.

As an artisan, Mr. Choi had been highly valued for his experience and had secured a position in the Balhut Cult. Now, neither the workers at the ironworks nor his family were threatened by starvation or zombies.

“…That’s right.”

The same was true for Jeong Dong-geon.

He had established a presence in Gyeongju and, based on his experience as an officer, had built a survivor camp representing Gyeongju. However, he had been privately gripped by fear and anguish about how long they could hold out, wondering about their bleak future.

Like Mr. Choi’s situation, Jeong Dong-geon’s survivor camp had also reached the limit of its food and energy resources. Despite outward appearances and displays, the internal state had long been on the verge of collapse.

That’s why Jeong Dong-geon had pledged loyalty to Bahamut without hesitation—because of these dire internal circumstances that were about to fail.

But Jeong Dong-geon had no regrets. He thought it was the right choice, considering he had saved many lives under his care.

“So, why are you showing this to me?”

“Lord Bahamut said these can be melted down and crafted into weapons. Or if specific patterns are plated or engraved on weapons, they can produce certain effects.”

“What talented coins these are!”

The coins were more versatile than expected.

While South Korean coins could also be melted down to make weapons, they wouldn’t produce any special effects.

Realizing these were more valuable than he had thought, Mr. Choi picked up the coins more carefully than before, and Jeong Dong-geon told him:

“For now, I want to test them by making bullet casings. If possible, I’d like you to try as many different patterns as you can.”

“With this quantity, I could make about 10 bullets. The rest would have to be used for engraving weapons.”

“Then please make 10 bullet casings and engrave some knives and broadswords.”

As these were prototypes, the quantity wasn’t very large.

Mr. Choi said he could make 10 bullet casings and plate some weapons, and since Jeong Dong-geon had come for performance testing anyway, he nodded in agreement.

“Leave it to me. Hey, everyone! This is urgent!”

This was a task assigned by Bahamut, the god of the Balhut Cult.

The workers at the ironworks stopped all their ongoing work and focused on the task Jeong Dong-geon had brought.

With all the workers in the ironworks rushing to help, they quickly completed 10 bullet casings and plated knives and broadswords. As Jeong Dong-geon observed the knife imbued with magic, Mr. Choi began explaining about the weapons they had just made.

“We made them as you requested, with specific patterns engraved. Patterns of flame, lightning, or water. Or in some cases, we plated them entirely. We made them in various ways as ordered, to allow for maximum testing.”

“Thank you, Mr. Choi.”

“It’s nothing.”

Jeong Dong-geon thanked Mr. Choi for quickly producing everything as requested. Thinking he could now decide what to report to Lee Hyeon-a, he slowly rose to his feet.

“Well then, shall I test them?”

“There’s a weapon testing area outside. Feel free to use it.”

As befitting a place that manufactured weapons, there was a testing area to check if the produced weapons were defective.

Jeong Dong-geon headed to the testing area outside with familiarity, and Mr. Choi, who followed him, prepared targets for the demonstration.

Jeong Dong-geon loaded a 9×19mm bullet that Mr. Choi had test-produced into a pistol and fired it at the target.

With a bang, the bullet flew accurately toward the target and…

“What?”

A massive explosion—BOOM!—struck the ears of Mr. Choi and Jeong Dong-geon.

“W-what is this?!”

Startled by the sound of an exploding shell, Mr. Choi looked at Jeong Dong-geon in confusion, and Jeong Dong-geon, also stunned by the situation, looked at the target.

A small rifle bullet shouldn’t have had enough power to completely destroy the target, but the bullet that hit had perfectly incinerated it.

As if struck by a mage’s fireball, the target and its surroundings were burning, emitting black smoke, and seeing this, Jeong Dong-geon spoke:

“I’m guessing it imbues bullets with specific magical effects?”

“That seems to be—”

“W-what happened?! Was there a sudden explosion?!”

The explosion must have been clearly heard outside the ironworks, as an Awakened guard who had been protecting the ironworks rushed into the testing area, startled.

Trying to suppress his growing headache, Jeong Dong-geon began to calm the guard who had entered the ironworks with a surprised expression.

“It’s nothing. We were just testing a new weapon of the cult, and there was a small issue.”

“A new weapon?”

“Yes. A new weapon that we’ll be using from now on.”

While it was actually a new currency, it could genuinely be used as a weapon, so it wasn’t entirely untrue.

Seeing the power of the fired bullet, Jeong Dong-geon internally judged that these special bullets had potential.

‘It’s not exactly a lie.’

Mr. Choi, who roughly knew the truth, also thought there was nothing wrong with Jeong Dong-geon’s statement.

‘But I wonder if the dragon god intends to use such dangerous items as currency? If misused, it could cause terrible accidents…’

He marveled at the versatile coins made by Bahamut, though it was more concern than admiration.

But he worried that there would certainly be drawbacks as well.

“If it’s a new weapon… is that burning target the power of the new weapon?”

“Yes. What do you think of it?”

However, poison used well could become medicine, and powerful firepower could be a great help when facing mutant zombies.

For the Balhut Cult, which needed strong weapons to fight zombies, this could become a trump card.

Jeong Dong-geon asked the soldier in front of him for his impression of the weapon’s power, and the Awakened, looking at the still-burning red flames:

“It looks… amazing. If a mutant zombie were hit by that, not even a bone would remain.”

“Yes. While the threat of mutant zombies isn’t great right now, mutant zombies or Zombie Awakened might appear in Gyeongju and threaten us in the future. This is the Balhut Cult’s new weapon to prepare for that time.”

“Then what is the name of this new weapon?”

“Th-the name of the new weapon…?”

He hadn’t thought that far yet.

Jeong Dong-geon looked at Mr. Choi with a perplexed expression, but Mr. Choi turned his head away, avoiding Jeong Dong-geon’s gaze.

To boost the morale of the Awakened watching this scene, he had conveniently described the test to verify the value of Bahamut’s coins as a new weapon, but he hadn’t actually named it yet.

“Hahaha. Since it’s still a prototype weapon, it doesn’t have a name yet. But since it’s a bullet imbued with Lord Bahamut’s magic, how about ‘Bahamut Bullet’?”

“Th-this is Lord Bahamut’s power?”

It wasn’t a lie.

In fact, it was even more insidious because he was telling only the truth.

“Yes. More precisely, a part of it. If this were to be mass-produced, even ordinary people could take down mutant zombies. Just imagining it… doesn’t it give you chills?”

“It gives me chills! I want to test it on zombies right away!”

‘It seems like he’s making a big mess while trying to smooth over the situation.’

Mr. Choi looked at Jeong Dong-geon with a sour expression.

However, even to Mr. Choi, who knew all the facts, it was frustrating that everything Jeong Dong-geon said was technically true.