Ch.227227. Aftermath (1)

# 10 Days After the Ulsan Disaster

The Seorabeol Cabinet, which had essentially fallen into a brain-dead state, finally realized that the Ulsan disaster—which didn’t need to happen—had occurred because of their own choices.

It was too late to contain the situation, but considering the scale of the disaster, they had recovered relatively quickly. The Cabinet members were summoned through an emergency meeting to discuss what would happen next.

“Haah.”

However, the faces of the Cabinet members who responded to the summons didn’t look good.

Yes, the Ulsan disaster had occurred, but Seorabeol had been victorious, and they had completely eradicated the Cult of Immortality that had established itself in Ulsan. But the horrific photos of Ulsan’s damage and the list of destroyed infrastructure laid before them weighed heavily on the Cabinet members’ hearts.

“First of all, more than 48% of Ulsan’s urban area is now uninhabitable. Essentially, except for North Ulsan under our management, all residential areas in South Ulsan are unusable. No, they’re in a state where people simply cannot live.”

“Does that mean the port in the South Ulsan area can’t be used either?”

“Ah, some functions of Ulsan New Port are still intact. The problem is that while the functions are fine, it’s a white elephant that can’t be used immediately due to the remnants left by the Dragon God. Land transportation is impossible.”

The residential areas that made up most of the city were no longer habitable due to the Dragon God’s wrath. North Ulsan, which had been under the Balhut Cult’s control since the beginning, remained a livable space, but the former glory of Ulsan Metropolitan City would never be seen again.

The Ulsan New Port, which was quite far from the center, still maintained its function, but it was essentially useless as a port. For Ulsan New Port to function properly as a port, its hinterland in South Ulsan would need to be intact, but with the city that should serve as its hinterland completely devastated, the port had lost its value.

“At least the military is using it as a troop transport base, so I suppose that’s the only valuable spoil of war we’ve gained from this conflict.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, if the Dragon God intervenes, we’ll certainly win the war. But to demand more spoils from that… isn’t that unconscionable, Councilor? Did you perhaps intend to reap the benefits of war without any cost?”

“Ugh.”

But despite occupying Ulsan, that was all they got.

All of South Ulsan’s urban industries, infrastructure…

“All the water purification, electricity, transportation, and infrastructure that South Ulsan had have been completely annihilated. Even the sewage system has been cleanly obliterated. We’ll have to rebuild everything from scratch. Haha.”

“Is there really nothing left? Not even underground?”

“No. Everything was wiped out cleanly. Thanks to that, it seems we’ll have to start the urban redevelopment project from the ground up. Haha.”

It wasn’t just devastation—it was complete obliteration.

Purified water, one of the essential elements for human survival, couldn’t be obtained. There was no electricity to maintain urban civilization, no roads to maintain transportation, and no urban infrastructure to enhance convenience.

The Dragon God’s descent had wiped everything clean. Chairman Park Cheol-gon watched with an expression that suggested his smile was not really a smile, as the Cabinet members bowed their heads with sour expressions every time they heard about the extent of the damage.

The Cabinet members now realized that this situation was too serious to laugh off, and they knew that all responsibility was directed at them.

“Above all, even if we resettle people there, the economic foundation for citizens to live on has completely collapsed. Of course, the magical storm left by the Dragon God could potentially become a new economic foundation, but that’s not something people can live on right now. Currently, only the Hwarang can safely explore that magical storm, and even the Seorabeol Mage Society, which was said to be full of madness, has come to their senses, claiming their lives are too precious to risk. Everyone.”

Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul clapped his hands and spoke sarcastically, with an expression suggesting he couldn’t even begin to think about reconstruction.

Even if they were to start rebuilding, the economic foundation that had allowed Ulsan to survive had completely collapsed.

They might discover a new economic foundation suitable for the apocalypse, but that wasn’t something they could find overnight. Even the Seorabeol Mage Society, known for their madness, was now valuing their lives too much to get involved.

That’s how horrific the Ulsan disaster was, and only the Hwarang were continuing their search through that hell.

After quietly listening to this harsh reality, one councilor broke the silence.

“…So in the end, we sacrificed an entire city to end the war.”

Another councilor spoke mockingly.

“I wonder if the Dragon God was even on our side. At this point, isn’t it more like a natural disaster?”

“That’s what the current Seorabeol Cabinet took lightly. Don’t try to shift the responsibility that we should bear.”

“Ugh.”

But that didn’t last long.

Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul, with an angry expression, admonished them not to avoid responsibility, and the councilor who had skillfully tried to shift blame to the Dragon God retreated with a cowed expression.

Chairman Park Cheol-gon briefly looked at the councilor, then sighed and quietly said to Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul:

“Although our intervention was much delayed, it would be good to establish an official Ulsan Disaster Response Headquarters. It would be wise to set it up in North Ulsan, where the military is already stationed.”

“…If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to completely reorganize the destroyed Ulsan as a city supporting Gyeongju?”

“””””……..”””””

When a councilor objected to Park Cheol-gon’s policy with this suggestion, the interior of the Cabinet meeting room fell into such a strong silence that not even breathing could be heard.

Of course, this meant that the sensitive issue of establishing a new capital region centered around Gyeongju had been mentioned again.

As this ambitious opinion to make Gyeongju the capital emerged during this emergency situation, Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul quietly stared at the Dragon God Association councilor who had suggested it.

Certainly, with Ulsan’s downfall, this was an excellent opportunity to make Gyeongju the capital.

“Regarding that matter, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

Hwang Geun-chul explicitly declared that he would treat it as an opinion he hadn’t heard, indicating his intention to exercise his veto power on the matter.

At this, the councilor belonging to the Dragon God Association wore an expression suggesting the Prime Minister had betrayed the party, but Hwang Geun-chul had no such intention and didn’t want the Dragon God Association to remain a party solely for Gyeongju.

‘The Dragon God Association I created will not remain a party that only serves Gyeongju. To remain an important party for Seorabeol in the future, it must gain support from the entire country, not just Gyeongju.’

So he firmly rejected that claim and quietly began to put forward policies to focus on the current situation.

“First, I will designate Ulsan as a Special Disaster Zone and allocate budget for the reconstruction of North Ulsan so that the military can properly station there. And I will requisition necessary supplies for reconstruction from Gyeongju, Daegu, and Pohang. In particular, I will take all necessary measures to ensure that the Hwarang can properly explore South Ulsan. This is the Seorabeol Cabinet’s response to the Ulsan disaster. Does anyone have any objections or anything to say? I am prepared to face your counterarguments.”

“””……”””

There could have been complaints about the Prime Minister using the Cabinet budget at his discretion, but the Cabinet members who had received the Ulsan damage report responded not with complaints but with silence.

They knew too.

Ulsan had been destroyed, and citizens who had lost their hometown were either bursting into tears or expressing resentment toward the Hwarang or Cabinet members who had advocated for the Dragon God’s descent.

Being human, the councilors couldn’t ignore the heartbreaking voices of Ulsan citizens, and each of their words was breaking down the councilors’ hearts like strong criticism.

“Then, I will put this agenda to a vote. Please vote with the conviction you should hold as councilors.”

The vote passed unanimously.

The Seorabeol Cabinet proclaimed the Ulsan Disaster Response Act at the fastest speed in history, and simultaneously…

“And I would like to take this opportunity to declare that our Seorabeol Cabinet must be reformed to be fitting for the apocalypse.”

“Reform?”

“Yes. Today, the Ulsan disaster will be recorded as one of the most tragic events in Seorabeol history. Do you councilors intend to repeat this tragedy?”

“That’s…”

National Assembly Chairman Park Cheol-gon firmly argued to the Cabinet members that reform was necessary.

Indeed, if nothing was done after such a tragedy, that would also be a problem.

The response to the Ulsan disaster was a problem that the Seorabeol Cabinet, as the responsible party for this situation, had to solve, and Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul had merely presented the solution.

But fundamentally, the current Cabinet needed to forget the past and reform to be suitable for the apocalypse. He emphasized this point through the tragedy of the Ulsan disaster and forced the councilors to accept it in a way they couldn’t easily refuse.

“I agree.”

“I agree too!”

The young progressive faction that had supported the Three Heroes from the beginning began to respond immediately as the Chairman and Prime Minister took responsibility for this situation. The older councilors, overwhelmed by the momentum of the progressive faction, nodded heavily.

However, they began to glare at Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon with expressions of disapproval.

After all, if they talked about reform, it meant putting some restrictions on the Cabinet, and no person in power would like the act of putting shackles on their own power.

While Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul and Chairman Park Cheol-gon could exert political influence as heroes with the trust of the Dragon Priestess, most Cabinet members didn’t have such trust!

Words almost burst out among the senior members that the Chairman and Prime Minister were essentially implementing a Cabinet dictatorship by colluding, but under the weight of responsibility for causing this situation, they could only maintain silence without any rebuttal.

“This meeting was originally convened to celebrate the birth of this law. It’s the birth of a law befitting the apocalypse and a law to never forget the price paid by Ulsan.”

Park Cheol-gon declared this and began to explain one by one.

The core provisions of the Seorabeol Special Justice Act included strong regulations to check the Cabinet members who were responsible for this situation.

It included provisions that regulated Seorabeol state power and high-ranking politicians unprecedentedly strongly, and these regulations couldn’t be avoided even by Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon.

“First, when the Prime Minister and the National Assembly Chairman decide on operations requiring powerful supernatural abilities, they must receive the consent of at least two-thirds of the National Assembly. Second, the High-Ranking Officials Supernatural Ability Responsibility Act. In case of disaster-level supernatural ability damage, the commander in charge and the approver are automatically suspended from duty and become subjects of investigation. Third, the Cabinet Dissolution Clause. In case of wartime mistakes resulting in human or material damage affecting more than 100,000 people, the Cabinet can be dissolved on the spot through the approval of the Dragon Priestess or a vote by the Seorabeol citizens, and the dissolved councilors are restricted from running for office again.”

When he finished speaking, the National Assembly fell silent.

They were indeed strong regulations, and they were necessary laws in this era when the abilities of the Awakened would grow stronger.

In fact, most councilors were Awakened, and they occasionally caused social problems with their powers, so they felt the need for regulatory laws. They could accept that regulations were specified.

But the fact that there was a clause for Cabinet dissolution through a national vote meant that if a disaster like this happened again, they were determined to hold the National Assembly accountable.

“I trust that you will not reject this law.”

However, while most councilors hesitated, Hwang Geun-chul declared this as an ultimatum.

“If you don’t want to accept it, shall we blame the Dragon God for this responsibility right now?”

“We accept.”

When Park Cheol-gon asked if they wanted to try blaming the Dragon God for this responsibility, all councilors began to put on their shackles without hesitation.