Ch.253253. Seoul Expedition (3)

As turmoil swept across the Korean Peninsula, heralding a major power shift… I want to mention one faction that had maintained a low profile since the Ulsan Disaster.

If we were to discuss the major representative powers on the Korean Peninsula, there were Kim Su-ho and Seorabeol, but until the Ulsan Disaster, this faction couldn’t be left out of the conversation.

Yes, I’m talking about the Cult of Immortality, Seorabeol’s archenemy.

“Damn Seorabeol! Our pride that we deployed to Ulsan!”

“The damage is enormous. All our decisive weapons we prepared have vanished.”

“That’s not all! All our cult members deployed to the Ulsan front have been annihilated!”

While Seorabeol called it the Ulsan Disaster and considered the war over, from the Cult of Immortality’s perspective, it was the Ulsan Defeat that forcibly ended the war. Having lost most of their forces, they couldn’t recklessly declare a war of revenge against Seorabeol.

After all, Bahamut’s descent not only completely destroyed Ulsan but also annihilated all the Cult of Immortality’s forces stationed there.

Frankly speaking, from the cult’s perspective, they had lost all their immediately available forces at once, so after such a defeat, they had to focus on rebuilding their strength rather than seeking revenge.

“That’s just a momentary silence! The Cult of Immortality isn’t finished yet!”

“Did He speak?”

“Yes. He whispered from the darkness. He said there’s a paradise of the dead on this peninsula that we can use as our cult’s strength!”

However, the Cult of Immortality didn’t just remain silent and focus on recovery.

Despite suffering tremendous damage, the cult boldly chose expansion, extending its influence not only throughout the Korean Peninsula but also overseas.

Yes, they had quietly retreated after Seorabeol’s sudden strike, but considering the regenerative abilities of the undead, they judged that the damage suffered in the Ulsan Defeat could be fully recovered given enough time.

“Contact the Lord Protector in England. And keep an eye on the Dragon God Bahamut’s movements to check that his followers don’t expand any further!”

In fact, despite suffering massive damage, the Cult of Immortality managed to secure business cooperation with various overseas powers, including the Lord Protector, through bold expansion. They focused all their efforts on establishing branch offices worldwide and gaining global influence, while Seorabeol concentrated on internal reforms.

Of course, from the cult’s perspective, this influence wasn’t official but rather shadowy, similar to that of an international villain organization. Still, the successful establishment of branches meant the Cult of Immortality had grown into a global villain organization, allowing them to recruit many colleagues who wanted to join after seeing the cult’s teachings, as well as Awakened who craved the power offered by those teachings.

“Yeah. I’ve gotten what I needed, so I’ll be independent now.”

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll eventually return to the Cult of Immortality’s embrace.”

“Huh?”

However, there were frequent cases of Awakened who received the cult’s teachings only to declare independence, and branches that the cult couldn’t control emerged, causing many side effects. Yet the cult maintained that these declarations of independence didn’t matter.

From the beginning, the undead’s specialty was overwhelming with sheer numbers beyond control, and the Cult of Immortality believed that the influence gained by uncontrolled Awakened or branches would eventually return under their control, like an automatic hunting ground.

“Then, shall we contact the Hayabusa Group?”

“Yes. Mention Seorabeol’s wealth to stimulate them. They seem eager for territorial expansion, so it would be good to help our friends in the Hayabusa Group infiltrate Ulsan smoothly.”

They didn’t neglect keeping Seorabeol in check either.

Among the overseas powers they contacted, they provided internal information about Seorabeol while mentioning the mysterious magical material called Bahamut Coins, creating reasons for foreign powers to invade Seorabeol. They also faithfully served as brokers to help these powers infiltrate Seorabeol.

It was a kind of diplomatic warfare, and it was largely successful. Seorabeol’s attention gradually shifted from the Cult of Immortality to internal matters.

“Damn those Cult of Immortality bastards! What? Seorabeol was just a scarecrow?! Don’t make me laugh! I’ll definitely get revenge!”

Of course, the Hayabusa Group, which had been thoroughly beaten by Seorabeol’s overwhelming power, was furious upon realizing the Cult of Immortality had deceived them and vowed revenge.

But in this apocalypse, the fool is the one who gets deceived.

The Cult of Immortality wasn’t a faction with enough leisure to listen to the words of losers.

“Then what’s the situation with the Seoul branch?”

“According to the branch manager, an enormous number of undead have been observed in Seoul and along the border.”

With Seorabeol’s attention focused internally and on Ulsan, it was time for the Cult of Immortality to reap the fruits of their long wait.

Having recognized through their Seoul branch that a massive number of undead had settled in Seoul and along its borders…

“Haha. Our endless long-term investment has finally paid off. This must be His grace.”

They began the Seoul Race—which no one knew about at that time—to get their hands on the undead settled in Seoul.

“Regrettably, we’ll completely cede Ulsan to Seorabeol. Since it’s become barren land unusable due to the magical storm, there’s no need to fight Seorabeol to the death over just Ulsan.”

“Then what about our comrades’ grudges…?”

“The Cult of Immortality never forgets revenge! Comrade, this is just a step back to take two steps forward to bring down Seorabeol!”

Yes, this was the Cult of Immortality’s version of taking one step back to take two steps forward.

Considering the resources invested in Ulsan, it was painfully regrettable, but realistically, Ulsan had become barren land unusable due to the Dragon God’s magic and served as a buffer zone blocking Seorabeol’s advance.

That alone meant one of Seorabeol’s attack routes had disappeared, allowing the Cult of Immortality to go on the offensive rather than defensive. Above all, to take control of Seoul…

“Above all, Kim Su-ho, who was interfering with our devouring of Seoul, was completely expelled long ago after our extended machinations.”

“That was really annoying. You wouldn’t believe how many resources that guild guy demanded.”

“He worked as much as the resources provided, so there’s no problem.”

They thoroughly ruined Kim Su-ho in Seoul, causing him to be driven out.

Their long-term operation had finally achieved tremendous success, and all that remained was for the Cult of Immortality’s main force to enter Seoul, which posed no problem at all.

“You no longer need to suffer. Now these useless pigs will turn into undead and become manpower just for you.”

“Haha. That’s fortunate, especially when we need to conserve food. These useless old humans are organisms that shouldn’t exist.”

The Cult of Immortality used agents secretly dispatched without Kim Su-ho’s knowledge to establish cooperative relationships with influential figures in Incheon and Seoul, even conducting business deals with them.

If they hadn’t been able to do business with these people, it would have been impossible for the Cult of Immortality to drive Kim Su-ho out of Seoul through remote operations via their Seoul branch.

“The Cult of Immortality is a friend to you, the new humanity. So…”

However, the guilds and influential figures in Seoul, intoxicated by uncontrolled power and fallen into an Awakened supremacist ideology, were deeply fascinated by the international villain organization’s logic that the unawakened old humanity should be dominated or boldly excluded. Consequently, they joined hands with the Cult of Immortality, fellow new humans, and planned to abandon the unawakened old humanity under the name of national salvation.

It could be seen as foolish and stupid, and one might want to ask if they really believed such things in this modern age, but from these new humans’ perspective, the old humanity was truly an inferior race that deserved to be eliminated.

“Turn away from the filthy old humanity. You, the new humanity, have no need to save them, nor are these useless beings worthy of salvation.”

“That’s really… a statement I like.”

Yes, from the moment the Han River defense line collapsed, Seoul had fallen under the influence of the Cult of Immortality.

Using these internal collaborators, the Cult of Immortality gradually began to take control of Seoul, and the undead settled in Seoul could serve as eyes for the cult.

“We’ve detected a violent riot. If you attack now, you can quickly suppress it.”

“Hehe. As expected, that was quick.”

Through this, the Cult of Immortality created a kind of undead network, providing services such as riot suppression, rebellion management, and other minor services to Seoul’s guilds and influential figures. This was also why Seoul’s guilds and influential figures remained strong despite the collapse of the Han River defense line.

Frankly, for them, the undead were no longer monsters to be hostile toward but business partners who helped them.

There was no longer any need to cooperate with the traitor Kim Su-ho, who fought for the old humanity rather than the new.

“You’re too late, Seorabeol! While you were drunk on victory, we succeeded in taking control of Seoul!”

It was only after reaching that point that Kim Su-ho’s declaration finally spread throughout the Korean Peninsula, and Seorabeol also began to move, but the Cult of Immortality was confident this time.

Having already taken control of Seoul, they could make it an impregnable fortress by using the undead settled there to build defense lines.

They were even manufacturing undead giants that had given even Seorabeol trouble. Soon, these undead giants would be deployed to the front lines, dramatically increasing the difficulty of the Seoul recapture operation.

Yes, even if an alliance was formed, it would be insufficient to break through the fortified Seoul.

“He has declared that the Korean Peninsula is now ours! From now on, we will not die, and even if we do, we can receive the blessing of living again!”

And the leadership of the Cult of Immortality no longer needed to fear death.

There were even superhumans who had broken through level 20 in the Cult of Immortality, but…

“You’ve returned from death, comrade. I was truly expressing my condolences for the horrific events in Ulsan.”

“…”

Comrades who had been annihilated by the breath of Yongsan were gradually transcending death and returning to the cult.

There would be no more enemies to block the Cult of Immortality.

But…

“I see. Those bastards were moving too. That’s why the Han River defense line collapsed so helplessly.”

“Sir.”

“This is troublesome. Really.”

Now that all eyes on the Korean Peninsula were focused on Seoul, other forces could gradually understand the movements of the Cult of Immortality, which had invested heavily in Seoul. Kim Su-ho, who was already in Seoul managing refugees, was able to obtain internal documents from the guilds established there and realize that the Cult of Immortality was involved in Seoul.

It might be regrettable that this realization came too late, but conversely, if he had noticed this fact even now, it would be possible to devise countermeasures, even if delayed.

Despite such a desperate report from his subordinate, Kim Su-ho showed no agitation and merely nodded as if he had expected it.

“Yes. How many have defected?”

“All of Seoul’s influential figures defected long ago. As for the guilds, while there are many neutrals leaning toward the pro-faction, essentially all guilds established in Seoul can be considered to have agreed.”

When he calmly asked how many had defected, he received the response that most of Seoul had defected.

This meant that Seoul was essentially divided between those who followed Kim Su-ho and those who followed the Awakened, influential figures, and guilds. Upon hearing this information, Kim Su-ho closed his eyes briefly, sighed, and spoke.

“Then there’s nothing I can do. Let’s quietly evacuate the refugees.”

“You don’t plan to attack?”

“According to the internal documents, the undead giants that appeared in Seorabeol could be deployed to Seoul, right? If that’s the case, attacking half-heartedly would only lead to certain defeat. Rather, saving as many people as possible to prevent them from becoming undead might be the way to weaken the Cult of Immortality. And that’s the only path to victory.”

He didn’t take any particular measures.

In his thinking, taking ambiguous measures could backfire, so focusing on leading the refugees was the path to victory.

That might have been the last mission that Seoul, or rather, the already dead Republic of Korea, demanded of him.

“Above all, just by making it impossible for them to use refugee corpses, we’ve done our job sufficiently.”

“I see.”

And leading refugees wasn’t unhelpful to the war effort.

From the Cult of Immortality’s perspective, refugees were fresh materials for creating new undead, and they could also strengthen their own abilities through living sacrifices.

But by Kim Su-ho safely escorting refugees to safe areas, the Cult of Immortality couldn’t use refugees to strengthen their forces or armies. They could only use the undead already in Seoul, which could be seen as a way to weaken the Cult of Immortality in the long term.

“I just want to fight battles I can win. The problem is that’s the hardest thing to do.”

“Do you think we have a chance of winning?”

Kim Su-ho sighed at the situation, which was worse than expected, and complained that he just wanted to fight battles he could win. His adjutant smiled bitterly and asked if there was a chance of winning.

Kim Su-ho examined the battlefield with sharp eyes and confidently spoke.

“A chance? Of course there is. They’re confident they’ve taken control of Seoul, but from an objective perspective, the number of necromancers who can control the undead deployed in Seoul isn’t that large. Their main force probably hasn’t arrived in Seoul yet, and they seem to be using the Cult of Immortality Seoul branch agents that we’ve identified.”

The Cult of Immortality had declared check against Seorabeol, but Kim Su-ho thought it was too early to declare check.

Since all these operations had been carried out in a short period, there were bound to be gaps that the Cult of Immortality hadn’t identified. In reality, the Seoul area was being controlled not by the Cult of Immortality’s main force based in Busan but by the Seoul branch.

If the Cult of Immortality’s main force had settled in Seoul, the citizens in Gangnam would have been annihilated before they could evacuate, and the defensive facilities built by Kim Su-ho would have collapsed long ago.

In other words, the forces currently deployed by the Cult of Immortality in Seoul were at a level that Kim Su-ho alone could handle.

“That’s the key to victory. Recapturing the Han River area with allied forces before their main force is deployed in Seoul. If we can restore the Han River defense line, we can put out the urgent fire.”

Kim Su-ho judged that if they could achieve victory before that and recapture the Han River defense line, they could regain the upper hand.

But if this could be done easily, it would have been done already, and Kim Su-ho was operating under a precondition.

“That precondition is that all refugees must enter the evacuation site.”

The completion of refugee evacuation!

Only when that task was finished could Kim Su-ho deploy all his forces to attack.

But the problem was…

“The problem is that the refugees are moving too slowly.”

“Can’t be helped, can it? Hundreds of thousands of people who lived in Seoul are moving at once, so the movement speed is bound to be slow.”

The refugees were moving too slowly.

But this was unavoidable because all the non-Awakened settled in Gangnam had responded to Kim Su-ho’s words and joined the evacuation procession.

“In some sense, it’s fortunate. Since Gwangju suffered severe damage, there’s space left to accommodate the enormous population we saved.”

“But Gwangju alone is insufficient to accommodate so many refugees.”

Moreover, including refugees coming down from Gangbuk, literally hundreds of thousands of citizens who lived in Seoul were heading to Gwangju through the evacuation procession. The residential areas of Gwangju were already insufficient to accommodate all the refugees.

“More survived than expected. If Gwangju is insufficient, what about Seongnam? I believe there are still accommodation facilities available in Seongnam.”

“I’ll divert some there.”

“And if Seongnam is also insufficient, let’s try to arrange space in Suwon or Gunpo as well.”

So Kim Su-ho decided to accommodate refugees in Seongnam, Suwon, and Gunpo, which he had recaptured, and soon received word that the areas under his control could accommodate refugees.