Ch.255255. Seoul Alliance (2)

The problem was that this standard was set solely based on Kim Su-ho, the Hero of Seoul, while from the perspective of ordinary Awakened, the question began with whether this was truly possible. It was like the process of realizing that one’s supposedly talented self was actually just an ordinary person.

In other words, this was a feat only Kim Su-ho could accomplish in the Korean Peninsula, and victory was guaranteed on any front where Kim Su-ho was present.

“Conversely, that means fronts without Your Excellency cannot guarantee victory.”

Without Kim Su-ho, victory could not be guaranteed on any front.

Kim Su-ho’s subordinates knew this well, and Kim Su-ho himself knew it too, which is why he made the Han River defense line such an important stronghold. Even without Kim Su-ho present, the Han River defense line guaranteed a certain level of defense, allowing deployed troops to buy time until Kim Su-ho arrived, even in his absence.

In other words, Seoul’s defense line was essentially structured around Kim Su-ho alone, and the Cult of Immortality surely knew this as well.

“It seems they’re finally realizing it. Where is Your Excellency now?”

“He’s focusing on securing Yangjae-daero.”

Just as with Jin A-yeon’s situation, without Kim Su-ho, the enemy couldn’t win on all fronts either.

Having already experienced this once in Ulsan, the Cult of Immortality began splitting their Seoul-based troops into fragments and ordering guerrilla warfare.

While Kim Su-ho continued to achieve victories on his own, he couldn’t easily push forward due to reports of undead attacks in various territories under his control.

So Kim Su-ho began securing Yangjae-daero to prevent the undead from easily moving south and to keep the Cult of Immortality in check.

“Undead are gathering in Hanam City. Their numbers exceed tens of thousands. It seems they’re even deploying undead giants.”

“So they’re trying to bypass His Excellency. They’re planning to attack Namhansanseong through Hanam City.”

“Are the refugees their target?”

The Cult of Immortality, having completely taken over Seoul, had a detour available.

There was a route that could directly strike Gwangju, the refugees’ destination, as well as Namhansanseong by circling around Hanam City. Team Liquid, stationed at Namhansanseong, was aware of this detour and sent scouts daily. As a result, they received news that undead were gathering in Hanam City and lamented the fact that undead giants, powerful siege weapons, were being deployed.

While Kim Su-ho had easily defeated undead giants, none of the Awakened stationed at Namhansanseong were strong enough to take down an undead giant alone.

‘According to His Excellency, a powerful Awakened could defeat one if they fought with their life on the line. Conversely, even an Awakened at my level would need to aim for its vital point to bring it down. What a monster.’

At best, Kim Su-ho, the captain of Team Liquid, could defeat an undead giant by risking his life through a suicide attack, but even that was uncertain.

‘If I fall, there’s no one who can command Namhansanseong. We’re already operating under His Excellency’s reputation, and if the refugees learn that Kim Su-ho has fallen to an undead giant…’

The thought of the commander fighting with his life on the line would only remind everyone how desperate the situation truly was.

“Thanks to His Excellency’s efforts, many people didn’t die, so the Cult of Immortality probably can’t use as many undead as they had anticipated. However…”

“Yes. If they take Namhansanseong, Gwangju will be in danger too. From the Cult of Immortality’s perspective, they want to quickly occupy Namhansanseong while His Excellency is absent.”

With the Hero of Seoul absent, Team Liquid’s captain Kim Su-ho swallowed his dry saliva as he climbed the walls of Namhansanseong and looked at the landscape below.

A strong wind blew against him, and his heart was heavy with silence.

For now, he could only see refugees continuing to move, but before long, the refugees would disappear, and the scene would be filled with undead.

“How many Awakened are stationed here?”

“Two level 19s including the captain. Five Awakened above level 15. The rest have barely reached level 10. The superhumans who exceeded level 20 have been deployed to more dangerous fronts as per His Excellency’s orders.”

“That’s a force we can work with. If we could level up to superhuman through this battle, we might have a chance.”

Of course, the absence of the Hero of Seoul didn’t mean his subordinates couldn’t fight.

They too were warriors of reversal who had followed Kim Su-ho through the line of death, and some were just one step away from reaching superhuman status. Considering this, even Kim Su-ho’s subordinates were capable enough to lead major guilds by Seorabel standards.

“Let’s prepare our defenses.”

“Indeed, Captain.”

Yes, he had the courage and skill to pretend to be Kim Su-ho at this crucial defensive position, commanding the defense forces with his own judgment while maintaining a calm facade.

As the Cult of Immortality began showing signs of a flanking attack, Team Liquid started moving to defend Namhansanseong, and before long, reports came in that undead had begun moving near Hanam City.

When news spread that undead were approaching, refugees began to quicken their pace, and chaos was expected.

“Let’s focus on reassuring the refugees in His Excellency’s name. Before long, reinforcements from Seorabel will arrive.”

Team Liquid deployed soldiers to focus on reassuring the refugees.

They proclaimed loudly that Namhansanseong was safe in Kim Su-ho’s name and that reinforcements from Seorabel would arrive soon. Gradually, the refugees began to feel at ease.

If they had proclaimed this in the name of Team Liquid’s captain Kim Su-ho, the refugees would have quickly become suspicious and anxious. But since it was being proclaimed by the Hero of Seoul, Kim Su-ho, the refugees believed they could trust him.

But it wasn’t just the refugees who were anxious.

“Reinforcements from Seorabel… Will they really come as His Excellency predicted?”

“His Excellency predicted it, so we have no choice but to believe and follow.”

Having survived the apocalypse until now, these soldiers of reversal—or rather, because they were soldiers of reversal—knew better than anyone that the undead marching now were no ordinary undead. Their anxiety was unavoidable.

Above all, they couldn’t help but feel anxious about depending on a force called Seorabel. The captain, Kim Su-ho, somehow managed to suppress the soldiers’ unrest by using the name of the person he served.

Yes, since Kim Su-ho had predicted it, the soldiers had no choice but to follow.

Since the man who had always brought them victory was so confident, the soldiers’ anxiety gradually began to fade.

“Haha. Indeed. His Excellency wouldn’t boast to us without reason. He must have a winning strategy to share.”

‘I wonder. His Excellency himself said we couldn’t hold out for long.’

For the sake of morale, they hadn’t told the regular soldiers, but in truth, Namhansanseong couldn’t hold out for long.

The defense line itself could guarantee defensive power as Kim Su-ho had carefully designed it, but it couldn’t guarantee the geographical defensive advantage like the Han River defense line.

And Namhansanseong itself wasn’t originally built as a fortress but was a restored Joseon-era relic used as a tourist site.

At best, the fortress walls, paths, and mountains could restrict the undead’s movement, but with the enemy deploying undead giants as siege weapons, they were considering abandoning Namhansanseong before being surrounded by the Cult of Immortality.

In such a situation, to rely solely on Seorabel, an alliance they couldn’t yet trust…

‘If we’re pushed back like this, it’s over for everyone. Is Seorabel truly a trustworthy ally, Your Excellency?’

Yes, if asked honestly whether Seorabel could be trusted, the answer would naturally be no.

From the beginning, Seorabel was a country that started as a cyber cult called the Balhut Cult, and while the existence of the dragon god Bahamut had become known to the world, there were still few people in Seoul who truly believed in its existence.

The reason was close to resentment: if this dragon god was as great as Seorabel claimed, why had it abandoned South Korea and left innocent citizens to suffer during the apocalypse?

“Cap—I mean, Your Excellency!”

“What is it?”

The anxiety continued to grow, and Team Liquid’s captain Kim Su-ho was strengthening his resolve to protect the innocent citizens in Namhansanseong, but his heart grew darker as he saw the gathering enemy forces.

While they were building their defense line, as despair deepened in his heart at the sight of the approaching forces… a subordinate came looking for him.

“An envoy from Seorabel has arrived.”

“An envoy?”

An envoy from Seorabel!

This meant a representative had come to convey Seorabel’s intentions, and while Kim Su-ho was puzzled by the envoy’s early arrival…

“For now, bring them to headquarters.”

Following Kim Su-ho’s orders, they thoroughly acted as the Hero of Seoul and welcomed Seorabel’s envoy to Namhansanseong headquarters with apparent composure.

When the envoy arrived at headquarters, they could see their appearance, and the reaction of Kim Su-ho, who shared the same name, was:

‘She’s so young! Has she even passed her twenties?’

She was extremely young.

If the girl before him hadn’t been Seorabel’s envoy, he would have thought she was an innocent refugee seeking shelter at Namhansanseong—her appearance was so unsuited to this horrific situation.

Of course, he could quickly tell that she was indeed an envoy from Seorabel.

Despite the evacuation situation to escape a sudden disaster, her attire was clean, and she wore elaborate white clothes similar to those of a religious pope.

The dragon symbols engraved throughout suggested she was not only Seorabel’s envoy but also a member of the Balhut Cult, and accordingly…

“Are you the reinforcements from Seorabel?”

“Yes. The Balhut Cult doesn’t abandon its compatriots. A few Hwarang to escort me and myself are the reinforcements to defend Namhansanseong.”

“What?”

He couldn’t help but feel bewildered that just a small number of people were the reinforcements.

At least among that small number were Hwarang, and if those Hwarang demonstrated the martial prowess he’d heard about in rumors, they could certainly help the Namhansanseong front.

But what was important for the Namhansanseong front now wasn’t a small number of powerful Awakened, but soldiers to firmly maintain the defense line.

Even if they won, if they couldn’t maintain the front, it would be no different from defeat. Knowing this fact—that despite Kim Su-ho’s victories, the front continued to be pushed back—his mask as the Hero of Seoul cracked, and he looked at the girl with an angry expression.

“Just six people as reinforcements? Is Seorabel underestimating us?”

“I’d like to say that’s enough, but the main force is delayed as they’re pioneering a path to Seoul. That’s why only we came first. So this war is no longer a problem. There’s no need to worry about defending Namhansanseong anymore.”

“Ha.”

What on earth gave this girl such confidence?

Compared to the Hero of Seoul, Kim Su-ho, who was just an ordinary person, couldn’t hide his bewilderment at her words.

“No problem? In this situation?”

But despite the Hero of Seoul saying so, there was clear confidence in the envoy’s eyes, and there was no wavering in her attitude.

“Yes. There’s no problem. Rather…”

And then…

“Are you really Kim Su-ho?”

“Haha. What are you saying?”

Seorabel’s envoy actually mentioned that the Kim Su-ho before her wasn’t actually the Hero of Seoul.

In other words, she was saying that the man before her wasn’t Kim Su-ho but his proxy, and while Kim Su-ho questioned what she meant, he wasn’t feeling very comfortable.

While he showed some agitation, how could they think he wasn’t Kim Su-ho just from that? What did they know about His Excellency?

How could his acting be seen through so easily when he had observed His Excellency closer than anyone else…

“I see. If you’re really Kim Su-ho, I’m disappointed.”

Kim Su-ho remained silent for a moment at those sharp words.

What on earth had she seen to be so confident?

‘Conversely, it means she saw through His Excellency’s deception.’

But the fact that the other side had noticed the deception of His Excellency, whom he trusted, made him start to trust her abilities.

“Hehe. There’s no need to be disappointed. Just as you all are hiding something, I too have hidden cards.”

Of course, as a proxy, he couldn’t know all the trump cards that Kim Su-ho held.

However, believing in Kim Su-ho, he acted as the self-assured Hero of Seoul, confident that even in this moment of crisis, there must be a card for reversal.

“Indeed. That’s the confidence befitting the Hero of Seoul. Now I can trust you a little.”

The girl, Choi Yu-na, just smiled brightly at his demeanor.