Ch.236236. Collapse

After that day, the Phoenix Revolution officially came to an end. Bahamut could finally stop intervening in Europe.

Through this treaty, Alicia was able to make her name widely known to the world and secure a political position just below the Lord Protector as a representative leader of Europe.

Above all, as the Saint of Orleans who maintained a necessary alliance with the Lord Protector, she needed Alicia to keep the Lord Protector in check, and the situation had developed to the point where she was even subtly helping Alicia counterbalance the Lord Protector’s power.

Unless something extraordinary happened, Alicia could handle matters independently without Bahamut’s intervention.

“Finally, all these busy matters are wrapping up.”

Yes, all the busy work that had been troubling Bahamut was finished.

The Ulsan issue had transformed into the greater problem of the Ulsan Disaster, but it was being resolved through internal reforms in Seorabeol. At this point, Yuna or Seol-hwa could handle it, so Bahamut didn’t need to get involved.

“At last, I have some personal time!”

Now Bahamut thought he would have his own personal time…

“Lord Bahamut, we have an emergency!”

If he thought he would have personal time, I would bluntly say he was harboring a futile hope.

Did he really think that the head of state of a nation would have personal time?

Even if Bahamut desired rest, the word “rest” was not gifted to Bahamut who ruled apocalyptic Seorabeol; instead, only a harsh schedule was imposed on him.

“What’s the matter, Yuna?”

“W-well…”

Yes, unlike her usual cheerful expression, Yuna now approached Bahamut with a rarely seen flustered look.

“The Han River defense line has collapsed.”

“What?”

The news Yuna brought was shocking even to Bahamut himself.

Indeed, the end of one incident marks the beginning of another.

“The Han River defense line collapsed? Are you saying the undead from Seoul are coming down to the provinces?”

While Seorabeol’s attention was momentarily focused on Ulsan, the Han River defense line in Seoul finally collapsed.

For Kim Su, the hero who had built that defense line and held it for over a year:

“Sir, the Han River defense line has collapsed.”

“It’s finally been breached. Move according to plan. Execute!”

“Executing!”

Unlike Yuna or Bahamut, he wasn’t shocked or surprised by the collapse of the Han River defense line.

While from Seorabeol’s perspective, the Han River defense line could be seen as the last line of defense for the Korean government, considering the internal power dynamics in Seoul, it was merely the collapse of the faction controlling the defense line, not the downfall of Seoul’s hero Kim Su-ho who had already left the Han River.

Rather than advancing to Gangbuk, he had established Seongnam as his base and brought Suwon, Gunpo, and Ansan under his control, so there was no need to panic just because the Han River defense line had collapsed.

“Send the refugees we can accommodate to Namhansanseong and then to Gwangju. We have supplies and defensive facilities prepared at Namhansanseong, so even if that place is breached, we can hold out for a long time.”

He had already prepared countermeasures as if predicting this situation, and calmly established a plan to accommodate refugees from Gangnam at Namhansanseong and send them to Gwangju.

Of course…

“No refugees have appeared yet, but…”

“So, how long do you think Gangnam will hold out in this situation without the Han River defense line?”

The collapse of the Han River defense line hadn’t yet caused a mass exodus of refugees.

Gangnam could serve as the next defense line against the undead assault, but in reality, Gangnam without a rear base couldn’t hold out for long.

After more than a year, Seoul’s supplies were depleted, and there was a shortage of both weapons to fight zombies and food for a prolonged siege.

In this situation, if asked how long they could hold out compared to the Han River defense line:

“…At best, half a year.”

It would be a miracle if they lasted even half as long as the Han River defense line.

“Yes, there’s the natural barrier of the Han River. We can stop their advance by destroying the bridges with magic… but those undead bastards don’t value their lives and can swim across the Han River. And didn’t they recently discover intelligent variant undead in the Gangbuk area?”

“Yes. They appear to be variant undead specialized in command. There’s also information linking them to the Cult of Immortality.”

However, there were ways to halt the advance. It was possible to hinder the undead’s progress by destroying bridges with magic.

Of course, bridges weren’t the only way for undead to cross the Han River; they could also swim across.

It would be a life-threatening act for living beings, but what life did the undead have to spare? They were beings who could throw themselves into a fire pit on the command of their leadership.

Especially in this situation where intelligent variant undead had been discovered in Gangbuk…

“This is bad. They recently lost in the Ulsan War. Looks like they’re taking out their frustration on us. If they want to vent, they should do it on Seorabeol who beat them. Why us?”

This could be recognized as an incident related to the Cult of Immortality.

The Cult of Immortality, whose prestige had been severely damaged by their defeat in the Ulsan War, seemed to have changed their advance direction from Seorabeol to Seoul, as their involvement in Seoul had increased.

Toward the Cult of Immortality, he found it absurd that they would take out their frustration on his powerless group rather than on Seorabeol who had defeated them.

“According to rumors, a massive magical storm has occurred in Ulsan, physically blocking the path to Seorabeol.”

“Is that the one about Ulsan being annihilated?”

“It seems so.”

Unfortunately, with Ulsan existing as an impassable buffer zone, they couldn’t vent their frustration even if they wanted to.

Moreover, the East Sea already belonged to Seorabeol and its allies, making invasion by sea difficult. The only remaining path was through Daegu, but as Daegu was designed as Seorabeol’s shield, it wasn’t an area the Cult of Immortality could dare to invade.

“…Then targeting Seoul, which is relatively vulnerable, would be advantageous. They could absorb the undead in Gangbuk too. And they could find undead crossing the military demarcation line. This is bad.”

In this situation, the Cult of Immortality had no choice but to target the relatively vulnerable Seoul.

The timing was good as they could now absorb the undead in Gangbuk, and by identifying undead coming down from North Korea, they could bring those undead under the Cult’s control as well.

If thousands, tens of thousands… no, more than tens of thousands of undead from China and North Korea joined the Cult of Immortality…

“It’s dangerous, sir.”

“I know.”

Kim Su-ho couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis.

With the reliable Han River defense line now collapsed, Gangnam had become the front line.

Although Gangnam was a war city prepared for North Korean invasion, it didn’t have the same level of security as when the Han River defense line existed.

“But what we can do is limited. Accommodate refugees coming from Gangnam. Send them to Gwangju. And request reinforcements from outside.”

However, there wasn’t much Kim Su-ho could proactively do.

Even with the Han River defense line collapsed, the influential figures in Seoul weren’t requesting support from Kim Su-ho after declaring their separation.

This showed their confidence that they could handle the situation themselves, and perhaps a bold declaration that they would no longer follow Kim Su-ho’s orders.

From the moment Kim Su-ho explicitly stated the need for external reinforcements, their fate was sealed as tragic.

“Reinforcements?”

“With the Han River defense line collapsed, it’s clear that rumors of a crisis on the Korean Peninsula will spread throughout the region. The logic that if I fall, the entire Korean Peninsula will be filled with undead.”

“That makes sense, right? The reason local powers could grow was because you were considerate of the provinces and blocking the undead at the front line…”

Kim Su-ho had inner confidence.

The Han River defense line was a strong defense that blocked the undead in Seoul, and many warlords across the Korean Peninsula were expanding their influence, trusting in that defense line.

But what if that Han River defense line suddenly collapsed and Gangnam fell to the undead?

“But now that shield has suddenly disappeared, so from their perspective, isn’t it a case of ‘when the lips are gone, the teeth get cold’? Even if they try to ignore it, they won’t take this crisis lightly.”

Naturally, the warlords who heard this news would be alarmed and wouldn’t simply ignore the news that the Han River defense line had collapsed.

As Kim Su-ho predicted, the news of the Han River defense line’s collapse alarmed not only the Seorabeol cabinet but also the Three Heroes and even Yuna, the Dragon Priestess, and this matter was brought to Bahamut faster than any other issue.

“I understand completely. Then, the countermeasures…”

“And there’s one more problem.”

Bahamut, robbed of his rest, couldn’t relax either and was about to formulate quick countermeasures with Yuna.

Unfortunately, Seorabeol faced another problem besides the Han River defense line.

“What problem?”

“Recently, the number of Awakened criminals has been increasing.”

“That’s always happening.”

Looters and raiders were as natural in this apocalypse as anything else, and the police in charge of public safety were arresting Awakened criminals, so it didn’t need to be resolved at Bahamut’s level.

He had already assigned the superhuman Jin A-yeon to that area, and if they were only dealing with Seorabeol’s Awakened criminals, Bahamut’s judgment would be entirely correct.

However…

“Awakened criminals from overseas… that is, villains are illegally entering Seorabeol.”

“What?”

Unfortunately, these Awakened criminals weren’t from Seorabeol but from outside, and at the news that internationally wanted villains had illegally entered Seorabeol, Bahamut looked at Yuna with disbelief.

Under that gaze, Yuna also began to explain slowly with an incredulous expression.

“And as soon as the Phoenix Revolution ended, as if they’d been waiting for it, an international villain organization announced its formation, and criminal organizations in our Seorabeol are joining this villain organization. Their argument is that Awakened are the new human race, and that the old human race who haven’t awakened should be ruled by the Awakened—nonsense claims.”

Well, the apocalypse had passed its first year, and it was time for people to start thinking differently.

Talented Awakened who had developed their own abilities were beginning to reveal their ambitions, and among those ambitious Awakened, many had turned to crime.

They called the Awakened the new human race and were tempting ordinary Awakened into crime with the logic that the old human race—ordinary people—should be ruled by the Awakened.

“Would that logic work on us?”

But that logic wouldn’t work in Seorabeol, which was implementing a project to make all citizens Awakened through the Awakened Project.

Every week, ordinary people in Seorabeol were disappearing, and new Awakened were being born, so the old human race that the villain organization was talking about didn’t exist in Seorabeol at all.

Bahamut thought they couldn’t establish themselves in Seorabeol with such a weak justification, but unfortunately, human greed knows no bounds.

“On our side, awakening itself is a kind of privilege, so they’re causing terrorism with the logic that the government should stop the Awakened Project. Yes, they’re turning to crime with a kind of ‘pulling up the ladder’ logic.”

“What.”

Yes, while in other regions they were causing terrorism with the logic that the new human race should rule the old human race, in Seorabeol they were starting to cause terrorism by calling for an end to the Awakened Project, claiming that awakening itself was a kind of privilege.

To put it bluntly, it was about protecting the rights and privileges of the Awakened, and from the perspective of Seorabeol’s Awakened who had already escaped the threat of the apocalypse, it was a rather attractive argument.

Even now, as the number of Awakened continued to increase, the pie that Awakened could have was gradually shrinking, and the emergence of new competitors meant that the existing pie would shrink even further. Some Seorabeol Awakened, enchanted by this logic, were transforming into radicals and beginning to walk the path of villains.

‘…I hate people who have no intention of giving me rest!’

This time, I think I could understand Bahamut’s feelings.