Ch.251251. Seoul Expedition (1)

In the Temple of Bahamut, at the place of covenant, the Three Heroes and Yu-na stood cautiously alongside Bahamut, who had taken human form.

The reason for their gathering was simple.

“After the collapse of the Han River defense line, an urgent diplomatic channel received a message from Seoul to Seorabeol.”

It was because of Kim Su-ho’s communication requesting reinforcements to Seorabeol.

Chairman Park Cheol-gon, with a serious expression, began carefully explaining Kim Su-ho’s message to those gathered here.

“‘I send this message to Seorabeol not in the name of Seoul, but for those who have survived. I do not wish to rebuild the Republic of Korea. I have no such intention. However, I want to create a future where those who haven’t given up their will to live in this apocalypse can continue to survive. Our request is neither surrender nor begging. This is a proposal. If Seorabeol has the courage to build a new era together, we will stand alongside Seorabeol.'”

Hwang Geun-chul and Jeong Dong-geon were visibly impressed by this message, which conveyed the resolve of a hero who had quietly defended the Han River line for a year.

It was a brief yet powerful message that showed human anguish and courage, seeming to remind everyone that the concept of justice still remained in the world.

Yu-na, after hearing Kim Su-ho’s message, was also smiling broadly, apparently pleased with it. Bahamut lightly nodded his head, showing empathy with Kim Su-ho’s message.

“For Seorabeol, this is a plea for salvation that cannot be ignored.”

“Of course. If Kim Su-ho doesn’t pursue rebuilding the nation, then Seorabeol would be the only country on the Korean peninsula, right? Mr. Hwang, how has the cabinet reacted?”

At Yu-na’s question, Hwang Geun-chul pondered briefly before conveying the Dragon God Association’s opinion.

“First, the Dragon God Association’s view. Most members believe this is not the time to help, and that we should focus on internal reforms in Seorabeol. Some think the foundation of our new nation is still weak. And though it may be presumptuous to say… there’s a fundamental question: why should we save Seoul, which abandoned the provinces to save itself?”

“Indeed. There’s certainly reason for resentment after the apocalypse began. Many believed in the message broadcast by the Republic of Korea, only to wait in vain. I’ve experienced it myself, so I understand completely.”

From the perspective of the Dragon God Association—or rather, Gyeongju—it was inevitable that voices would question why Gyeongju should save Seoul.

Although it had been a full year, Seoul might have forgotten its mistakes, but for the citizens of Gyeongju who suffered from those mistakes, Seoul’s irresponsible declaration of salvation had created the tyrant Jo Sun-do and accelerated meaningless sacrifices.

In retrospect, if the Balhut Cult hadn’t existed, the citizens of Gyeongju might have become slaves under a tyrant’s rule or been captured by the Cult of Immortality and turned into horrific undead.

Even Yu-na, who remembered the false hope broadcast by Seoul, strongly sympathized with the Dragon God Association’s position on this matter.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t half of Gyeongju’s population die because of that? The same happened in other regions too.’

The Dragon God Association’s argument wasn’t a matter of reason but of deeply seated emotion.

Even Bahamut couldn’t take their opposition lightly.

“But personally, even though Seoul has collapsed, unable to bear the consequences of its actions, if we turn our backs on Seoul, we would be no different from Seoul when it abandoned the provinces. Even if stepping forward puts us in danger, we must show the entire Korean peninsula that we are different from the Republic of Korea.”

However, Hwang Geun-chul firmly argued that such resentment should be forgotten in order to move forward.

For the conservative Dragon God Association, this wasn’t a stable policy but rather its opposite—a radical one. Yet Hwang Geun-chul believed this was a necessary step for Seorabeol to become the true ruler of the Korean peninsula.

‘If we remain only in Yeongnam, we’ll be rulers of Yeongnam, but never rulers of the Korean peninsula! The Dragon God Association…’

Hwang’s thinking might have sounded arrogant, but it was the essence of realpolitik.

If they were satisfied with Yeongnam alone, they could remain complacent.

But he believed Seorabeol was destined to succeed not just Yeongnam but the entire Korean peninsula.

“The Constitutional Democratic Party believes that the conquest of Seoul is a mission given to Seorabeol.”

Park Cheol-gon, representative of the Constitutional Democratic Party, who had been silent until now, raised his head in agreement with Hwang Geun-chul’s opinion.

After all, Seorabeol had already conquered all of Yeongnam except Busan, and it was time to pioneer in a new direction for growth.

Normally, that pioneering territory should have been Busan, connected to Ulsan, but he thought that with Kim Su-ho’s help, the conquest of Seoul was entirely possible.

“And Kim Su-ho has set aside both his pride as a hero and his right as ruler of Seoul to ask for our help. This makes me wonder if Seoul is in an even more critical situation than we thought.”

“A crisis? Is that your personal opinion?”

At Hwang Geun-chul’s question, Park Cheol-gon quietly raised his voice.

“Yes, Prime Minister. But haven’t we seen many times in this apocalypse how something seemingly trivial can become an enormous variable?”

“Haha, I admit that.”

Both the Prime Minister and the Chairman knew from experience how such variables had caused them much more trouble than expected.

Though still young politicians, they showed signs of severe stress—hair loss, gray hair, and prematurely aged faces.

Nevertheless, Park Cheol-gon, still possessing youthful vigor, strongly appealed to those gathered here.

“Seorabeol can be said to be the nation that will begin a new era after the fallen Republic of Korea. Then our first step should start with compassion and responsibility.”

“Compassion and responsibility. What about you, Mr. Jeong?”

When he said that Seorabeol now needed compassion and responsibility, Yu-na seemed pleased, closing her eyes and quietly nodding.

Then she turned her gaze to Jeong Dong-geon beside her, who silently nodded and began to share the military’s opinion.

“There are sufficient military benefits as well. Gangnam has already fallen. Gangbuk has been annihilated. And with the undead now dispersed around Seoul’s outskirts, if we send our Hwarang to secure the beachhead that Kim Su-ho has established, we can strategically take control of the central Korean peninsula.”

Looking at the current situation, Seorabeol was in an advantageous position.

Although the undead boasted tremendous numbers, that was only when they were gathered in one place. In their current scattered state around Seoul’s outskirts, the military alone could provide sufficient support to Kim Su-ho with good results.

“Of course, there are risks. But Kim Su-ho doesn’t seem to be asking for free military support—he’s sent us information obtained from Seoul. Not just about the undead deployed in Seoul, but information we couldn’t easily obtain otherwise. In the long term, securing this front line will gain Kim Su-ho’s cooperation and simultaneously help us check the Cult of Immortality.”

Certainly, there were clear risks involved in the operation, and Jeong Dong-geon didn’t fully trust Kim Su-ho.

However, he seemed interested in the information Kim Su-ho had sent as payment for support, and advised that they could use it to keep their archenemy, the Cult of Immortality, in check while explaining the current situation on the Korean peninsula.

“The Cult of Immortality. Indeed, our archenemy remains in Busan.”

When Jeong Dong-geon mentioned the Cult of Immortality, Yu-na also agreed with a serious expression.

The Balhut Cult and the Cult of Immortality could not coexist under heaven, and the latter was a heresy that must be eliminated.

Moreover, the calamities caused by the Cult of Immortality were so terrible that they were feared not only on the Korean peninsula but internationally as well. The Cult of Immortality had already become an internationally designated villain organization targeted for eradication.

“They’re absolutely insufferable. Even if we can’t manage it now, someday we must…”

Yu-na declared with an angry voice that the Cult of Immortality was insufferable and that she would definitely eradicate them someday, causing Bahamut to flinch.

“At least South Ulsan has been acting as a buffer zone. There hasn’t been any intervention so far, but the Cult of Immortality is gradually expanding its power for… Ah.”

“Lord Bahamut?”

To calm Yu-na down before things escalated further, Bahamut, who had been examining the strategic map, suddenly stopped speaking.

Bahamut’s gaze was fixed on Busan where the Cult of Immortality was based, then moved from Busan to Incheon and finally to Seoul.

The strategic map showed the size of military forces deployed in each region based on information gathered by Seorabeol. Looking at these numbers, Bahamut smiled and informed the Three Heroes and Yu-na.

“By Seorabeol’s standards, wild undead in this area have been so depleted that the Cult of Immortality, which can turn wild undead into allies, has been quite powerless. But now, quite opportunely, the Cult of Immortality has a great opportunity to expand its power.”

“What?”

Sensing a crisis, the Three Heroes and Yu-na looked at Bahamut with serious expressions.

Under their intense gazes, Bahamut involuntarily swallowed, but soon began to reveal what he had understood.

“The undead in Seoul, previously contained thanks to Kim Su-ho’s efforts, have now been liberated. Of course, we don’t have information on how many Seoul citizens Kim Su-ho saved or how many undead he defeated, but at least several million undead still exist in Seoul.”

“Indeed. This means they can go around the sea, enter through Incheon, and march into Seoul. With Kim Su-ho pushed back, there’s no longer any power in Seoul capable of checking the Cult of Immortality.”

This was exactly what Kim Su-ho had worried about in the past.

At that time, Kim Su-ho had predicted that if Seoul’s undead joined the Cult of Immortality, a calamity would befall the entire Korean peninsula. Now, with the Han River defense line collapsed and Kim Su-ho withdrawn from Seoul, there was no power left to stand against the Cult of Immortality.

Although Incheon and areas near Seoul had not yet been breached, and there were still some local powers governing those regions, their forces were weak and, from the Cult of Immortality’s perspective, they were merely easier targets than their archenemy Seorabeol.

“Yes. And they have the Ghost Fleet too. If they want, they can enter Seoul through Incheon.”

A flanking operation using the Ghost Fleet.

If the Ghost Fleet could capture Incheon Bay, the Cult of Immortality could enter Seoul regardless of whether their main base was in Busan or elsewhere.

Moreover, among the information Kim Su-ho had provided, there was also news that would be favorable to the Cult of Immortality.

“Looking at the data, there are also undead coming down from North Korea. Approximately hundreds of thousands in number. Kim Su-ho is holding them back too, so the number of undead coming down must easily exceed several million, don’t you think?”

“Then that means they could use those undead as materials to create undead golems… This is a crisis.”

Whether Kim Su-ho had deliberately intended to create a sense of crisis in the Seorabeol cabinet was unclear, but the information he provided included developments from North Korea.

Bahamut mentioned the undead coming down from North Korea and their scale, causing Jeong Dong-geon’s face to turn pale.

While Seorabeol had the Hwarang, the Cult of Immortality had undead golems, with power that could instantly break through even the defense lines that Seorabeol secretly prided itself on.

Although the undead golems deployed by the Cult of Immortality had been annihilated in the Ulsan disaster, honestly, the Cult of Immortality would not abandon such a strategic weapon.

“We annihilated the undead giants deployed in Ulsan, but they can produce as many as they want as long as they have the materials, right?”

To mass-produce strategic weapons, they would search for materials, and Seoul was nothing short of a land of opportunity for the Cult of Immortality.

“What does Lord Bahamut think about this?”

“I believe this is a moment that will determine Seorabeol’s future. But the choice always belongs to my contractor.”

At these words, the Three Heroes and Choi Yu-na fell silent.

Bahamut’s voice was incredibly gentle, but his words were so severe and brutal that they silenced everyone, and there was not a hint of hesitation.

And that decision fell to Choi Yu-na.

“Seorabeol will help Kim Su-ho.”

After consideration, Yu-na declared that they would help Kim Su-ho.

The conference room became quiet, and everyone’s eyes turned to Yu-na.

“We cannot surrender Seoul to the Cult of Immortality under any circumstances.”

It was a statement filled with resolve that, even if Seoul meant nothing to Seorabeol, they would never hand it over to the Cult of Immortality.