Ch.223223. The War Begins (3)

“Yes, I was ignoring Jeong Dong-geon’s warning based on perfectly normal political judgment.

“Cabinet members, this war has already begun! The Cult of Immortality has completed preparations to destroy Seorabeol. Do you still think our response can be this delayed?”

Despite the Cult of Immortality expanding its influence and soldiers falling on the front lines, they refused to accept the military’s opinion.

When the cabinet’s reaction remained negative, with some members even expressing difficulty with the situation, Jeong Dong-geon began desperately shouting about the Korean peninsula crisis to the cabinet members in attendance.

“That’s right. General Jeong Dong-geon’s words are not wrong.”

“Our Seorabeol must form a National Unity Cabinet with a bipartisan mindset to fight against the Cult of Immortality!”

Of course, not all cabinet members ignored or disagreed with Jeong Dong-geon’s words.

Particularly, some passionate young members deeply sympathized with Jeong Dong-geon and voiced support for uniting forces as he suggested, but these young members were in the minority.

Most cabinet members responded to Jeong Dong-geon’s plea with only cold smiles.

“Hmm, General. You’re getting too excited.”

“No matter how strong the Cult of Immortality may be, they won’t be able to conquer Seorabeol.”

“Yes, yes. No need to worry, General Jeong Dong-geon. As was the case a year ago, the Dragon Lord and the Dragon Priestess have always resolved Seorabeol’s crises.”

Jeong Dong-geon’s eyebrows twitched at such absurd reasoning.

Yes, even when Jeong Dong-geon warned about the Korean peninsula crisis, the cabinet members’ lukewarm response was all because of the powerful being known as Bahamut, the Dragon Lord.

The main reason for Seorabeol cabinet’s complacency was precisely because of the Dragon Lord and the Dragon Priestess who had contracted with him.

“That’s right. As long as the Dragon Lord exists, Seorabeol will never fall.”

Each member nodded in different ways at one elderly member’s statement.

Those words were so powerful that no one in Seorabeol could deny them.

“This isn’t mere optimism, General.”

“But do you intend to abandon the entire Korean peninsula? The Cult of Immortality could devour all of Korea.”

“I don’t think the various powers existing on the Korean peninsula would fall so easily. Would a hero like Kim Su-ho fall to something like that?”

But while Seorabeol remained idle, there was clearly a risk that the Cult of Immortality would conquer the Korean peninsula.

Jeong Dong-geon tried to persuade them with this logic, but instead, the name of Kim Su-ho, Korea’s outstanding hero, emerged in the Seorabeol cabinet.

Of course, even Seorabeol couldn’t deny that his name carried weight as the strongest Awakened on the Korean peninsula.

However…

“I acknowledge that Kim Su-ho is certainly a great hero worthy of praise. But Kim Su-ho isn’t affiliated with Seorabeol! His achievements aren’t Seorabeol’s achievements, and his struggles won’t continue forever.”

Hero Kim Su-ho, though certainly an impressive figure, wasn’t affiliated with Seorabeol.

He was clearly the successor to the Republic of Korea with his own power base, and for Seorabeol, he could be either an ally or an enemy.

So far, no hostile actions had been observed, but conversely, there wasn’t much reason for Kim Su-ho and Seorabeol to view each other favorably.

‘How shameful.’

‘Well, the cabinet has experienced the apocalypse for at most three months. After that, they’ve always been under the Dragon Lord’s protection.’

‘At least the field workers and administration, with some exceptions, are fine. Should we call Lee Hyeon-a and try to find some leverage?’

During this heated exchange, Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul and Chairman Park Cheol-gon couldn’t raise their faces, blushing with shame at the cabinet’s behavior.

Of course, showing ambition might be an important mindset for members seeking to reach the pinnacle of power.

But revealing such ambition at this crucial moment was problematic, and the biggest issue was that this ambition wasn’t for individuals but for Seorabeol… or more precisely, for Gyeongju.

“We currently maintain the strongest power on the Korean peninsula. We’re economically prosperous and our internal security is stable. The Cult of Immortality may cause disturbances in Ulsan, but I don’t think they can directly threaten us.”

“That’s right.”

Yes, Gyeongju was currently growing into the wealthiest and most powerful force in its history.

Looking back at Gyeongju’s history, had there ever been a time when it possessed such wealth and power?

“If we move directly, we might get involved in an unnecessary war.”

“But!”

As Jeong Dong-geon tried to object, Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul raised his hand and shook his head to stop him.

He realized that continuing this argument would be endless.

After all, Jeong Dong-geon was a general, not a politician, so it was difficult for him to handle their rhetoric alone.

The young members were trying to help Jeong Dong-geon, but their youthful passion was no match for the veterans’ experience.

“General, our Seorabeol… no, Gyeongju has entered what we can proudly call the greatest period of prosperity in Korean peninsula history. Gyeongju’s development has reached its peak.”

Yes, their true desire was to not lose the wealth flowing into their hometown of Gyeongju.

That was one reason they opposed the war.

After all, except for when it was the capital of Silla, how many times had Gyeongju been historically important?

Gyeongju’s golden age had long passed over a thousand years ago, and before the apocalypse, Gyeongju was just a medium-sized city with barely 200,000 residents.

“We’re already living well. Economically and culturally. Why should we get involved in external problems?”

“…!”

Naturally, even Jeong Dong-geon, a Gyeongju native, was momentarily speechless at their logic.

Indeed, if they only wanted Gyeongju to prosper, avoiding war would be the priority, as they said.

Seeing Jeong Dong-geon’s expression, one member smiled cynically and spoke.

“Honestly, as the General says, defeating the Cult of Immortality and reclaiming Seoul might be possible for Seorabeol. But what happens afterward is the problem. Once Seoul is reclaimed, what becomes of Gyeongju, Seorabeol’s foundation? Doesn’t it mean that our Gyeongju, experiencing its greatest prosperity in history, will be pushed aside the moment Seoul is reclaimed? No matter how much Seoul was destroyed in the apocalypse, in terms of location, only Pyongyang surpasses Seoul on the Korean peninsula.”

If Seorabeol borrowed the Dragon Lord’s power, they could eventually reclaim all of the Republic of Korea’s territory.

Through various reforms and improvements, Seorabeol had strengthened its internal foundation and received major investments as the capital, even surpassing its pre-apocalypse population.

But despite all this internal development, they fundamentally lacked time, and it was far too difficult to compete with Seoul, which had been the capital for over 500 years.

Realistically speaking, the moment Seoul was reclaimed, Seorabeol’s headquarters and capital would shift to Seoul, and Gyeongju would once again face the risk of being neglected.

“Even though the great Dragon Lord’s temple and holy site are here in Gyeongju, honestly, relying solely on the Dragon Lord’s temple isn’t enough. Seorabeol—Gyeongju—has already gained too much to easily lose it all. The voters wouldn’t allow it.”

Yes, Gyeongju had gained too much from this apocalypse.

Most people gathered here were local council members from Gyeongju City Council rather than national assembly members, and the majority had no connections to central politics.

The reason they could enter the Seorabeol National Assembly and become assembly members was because Seorabeol’s capital was Gyeongju. If the capital changed to Seoul, what would happen to their positions?

Of course, there were certainly brave and capable members like Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon who had firmly established Seorabeol’s political center, and some passionate young members voluntarily enlisted in the military as Awakened.

But such courageous and decisive members were extremely rare, and the rest would likely be unable to protect even themselves once Seoul was reclaimed, and they didn’t believe they could keep their positions either.

“A thousand years. A full thousand years! After a thousand years, Gyeongju has finally become the center of the nation! General, as Gyeongju is your hometown too, are you saying you don’t want Gyeongju to prosper?”

Though their goal was self-preservation, it was simultaneously for their hometown of Gyeongju.

Saying they had no connections to the central government was at least evidence that they had attachment to their hometown of Gyeongju.

Seorabeol’s members wanted Gyeongju to remain the capital of Seorabeol for the sake of their hometown citizens who supported them and for Gyeongju itself.

“So, if Gyeongju remains the capital for decades and becomes established as such, wouldn’t Gyeongju-Seorabeol’s prosperity last forever?”

They honestly confessed to Jeong Dong-geon, a Gyeongju native, that they intentionally wanted to delay Seorabeol’s expansion for Gyeongju’s sake.

This could be called regional selfishness, and Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon, who had been quietly listening to these confession-like speeches, looked at the cabinet with somewhat surprised expressions.

After all, if one knew about foreign news, this speech would remind them of a certain revolution that everyone knew about, and they had heard about that revolution directly from Yu-na.

‘This direction isn’t much different from what they’re advocating in the Phoenix Revolution. Though there are certainly differences.’

‘To think the influence of the Phoenix Revolution that started in Europe would reach here. But this… our logic is closer to what the government forces are advocating.’

Yes, though the direction was different, Seorabeol was also being influenced by the Phoenix Revolution.

Of course, while the Phoenix Revolution was an uprising for the survival of local regions, Seorabeol’s argument was closer to regional selfishness, claiming their region should be designated as the capital.

The flames of revolution had unintentionally inspired the Seorabeol cabinet, and following the revolution’s logic, Seorabeol’s members were simply advocating for their hometown.

“Whatever the Cult of Immortality does, unless we directly confront them, they won’t significantly impact Seorabeol’s way of life.”

“Besides, we have the ultimate safeguard in the Dragon Lord and the Dragon Priestess. If a truly worst-case scenario arrives, Lady Yu-na will step forward. So, General, there’s no need to jeopardize Seorabeol’s stability with unnecessary military actions.”

This logic was nonsense from the military’s perspective, which was directly confronting the Cult of Immortality, but if one focused solely on Gyeongju’s prosperity, it made some sense.

After all, maintaining this situation for a long time would allow Seorabeol to outperform other regions and remain designated as the capital.

While Seoul’s remaining foundation currently overwhelmed Gyeongju, that foundation would likely collapse over time, eliminating the need to forcibly relocate the capital to a ruined city. By then, Gyeongju could have grown significantly through development.

Already, Gyeongju’s population, which had barely exceeded 200,000 before the apocalypse, had absorbed refugees and immigrants and was now approaching 500,000.

‘From Gyeongju’s perspective, it’s become the capital after a thousand years. Yes, after a thousand years, Gyeongju is experiencing its greatest prosperity in its history. It’s difficult to give that up.’

‘Especially for members who depend on public opinion, they need to advocate for Gyeongju-first policies to secure the next election.’

Fundamentally, these were democratically elected members.

Both the Prime Minister and the Chairman were elected by vote, so Seorabeol citizens’ public opinion was naturally important.

If they unnecessarily advanced to Seoul and risked losing Gyeongju’s advantage as the capital, would voters really laugh and allow it?

In a situation where enormous wealth was finally concentrating in Gyeongju after a thousand years, did they seriously think voters would quietly watch that enormous wealth disappear in an instant?

‘They’d physically separate body and head.’

‘Since all citizens are Awakened, they could literally separate neck and head…’

As if that would happen?

The citizens of Seorabeol living through the apocalypse were no longer powerless or weak.

Through Bahamut’s Awakened project, they had all awakened as human weapons, and if angry supporters rebelled against their policies and started riots, it would be all too easy to physically separate the head and body of a weak, elderly member focused on political activities.

Moreover, who could confidently say there wouldn’t be high-level Awakened among these voters?

In Seorabeol, whether someone was level 10 or had reached level 20 as a superhuman, they were all treated as equal voters in the name of the Dragon Lord without discrimination!

“So, your position is that maintaining the current situation is the best option.”

“That’s right. If we maintain it for about several decades, Gyeongju will remain as Seorabeol’s capital.”

What they wanted was the restoration of Gyeongju as the thousand-year capital.

Otherwise, the cabinet members’ lives would be physically endangered.