Ch.262262. Korean Peninsula (1)

In reality, the Cult of Immortality was conducting continuous delaying tactics to postpone the decisive battle with the allied forces, and the alliance had no choice but to fall for it.

One might think all these problems stemmed from the incompetence of those responsible for the supply lines, but in reality, the supply line distance easily exceeded 300km from Gyeongju, the headquarters of Seorabeol, and depending on the route, it stretched up to 370km.

With such distances to cover, the Cult of Immortality had every reason to attack the alliance’s vulnerable points, and the distance wasn’t the only issue. There was no shortage of moths drawn to the flame, hoping to make a fortune by plundering the supplies sent by Seorabeol.

Naturally, the supply line stretching well over 300km was the alliance’s weakness, and the more troops they deployed in Seoul, the more pronounced this weakness became. That’s why Seorabeol had no choice but to dispatch Yuna, the Dragon Priestess, and Jin A-yeon, Seorabeol’s strongest Awakened, to participate in the Seoul front as an elite small force.

If one were to ask where Seorabeol’s boasted military forces were…

“Let’s depart from East Daegu.”

“That seems best.”

All troops were deployed along the supply line to maintain it and protect the allies supporting the coalition.

The front line stretched over 300km in length, and Jeong Dong-geon was somehow managing to deploy Seorabeol’s forces to protect the supply line and threaten the warlords hostile to the alliance.

If they used East Daegu as their base—the closest point to Seoul within Seorabeol’s sphere of influence—they could reduce the supply line length to 290km, but that was still a daunting distance.

Even with troops deployed, they couldn’t plug all the gaps. Not only the warlords established on the Korean peninsula, but also local armed groups, militias, and even raiders who had come from afar for a big score were all salivating at this artery of gold.

“Seorabeol’s powerful main forces have all moved north to Seoul. Only Seorabeol’s regular army remains along the supply line, and their numbers are very few. Now is the opportunity to attack. Don’t you all covet the wealth Seorabeol has accumulated?”

With the Cult of Immortality openly encouraging attacks, Seorabeol faced supply line raids almost daily.

Indeed, as the Cult claimed, Seorabeol’s main forces were in Seoul, and the supply lines were guarded by Seorabeol’s secondary forces, who seemed unremarkable compared to the Dragon Priestess or the Hwarang.

This led many to calculate they had a good chance of success. While some greedy warlords were indeed eliminated, there were also those who successfully plundered Seorabeol’s supply lines and gained great fame.

“Haha! Look at Seorabeol’s wealth! Now it belongs to us!”

With examples of successful raids, more and more forces began to join in.

“The forces hostile to us are in Seongju County, Chilgok County, Gumi City, Gimcheon City, Okcheon County, Daejeon, and Sejong. Essentially, most forces situated along the supply route from Gyeongju to Seoul are participating in this plunder.”

In just one month, every faction along the route to Seoul began raiding Seorabeol’s supply lines.

They might have feared retaliation from the allied forces, but they had confidence:

“Considering the might demonstrated by the Death Knights, the alliance will be defeated!”

They were counting on the Death Knights showcased by the Cult of Immortality.

Though they had been defeated by Kim Su-ho and Jin A-yeon and were assessed by the alliance as merely equivalent to regular Hwarang, considering the significance of Hwarang on the Korean peninsula, the Cult of Immortality’s ability to mass-produce Hwarang-level powerhouses was like witnessing the essence of a necromancer straight out of fiction.

Of course, the alliance wasn’t weak either, and there were reports of them directly confronting and defeating Death Knights several times.

“So what? They still couldn’t recapture Seoul, right? That means they can’t retaliate against us.”

They plundered the supply routes believing that an alliance that couldn’t recapture Seoul had no right to rule the Korean peninsula.

They might fear bloody retaliation if the alliance won, but what could they do?

Could they be certain that an alliance that had defeated Death Knights was in a normal state?

What if both the alliance and the Cult of Immortality were annihilated, leaving them as the victors?

Besides, they weren’t acting alone—the front line stretched over 300km, with dozens or hundreds of factions rushing in.

In this apocalyptic world where immediate concerns trumped future considerations, the supplies Seorabeol was sending to Seoul appeared as an attractive loot with no risk.

“It seems they’re acting because they know we can’t retaliate.”

Jeong Dong-geon was aware of this too.

Retaliation required identifying specific targets, but with so many unidentified forces attacking, it would take time even under normal circumstances.

With a supply line over 300km long—exceeding 290km even starting from Daegu—it was practically impossible for Seorabeol to deploy forces to monitor the entire distance.

“What should we do now?”

“What else? We’ll deploy escort forces to drive away the raiders. Since we’re just adding escort forces to the supply units, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

In this situation, they had no choice but to attach escort forces to the supply units heading to Seoul.

Considering that the weapons and supplies consumed in Seoul consisted of materials sent from Cheongju and Seorabeol, this was the best option available.

“That will consume more supplies.”

“Still better than having them plundered without us using them.”

Of course, there were drawbacks—the addition of escort forces meant more supplies would be consumed by the supply units themselves, but it was far better than being plundered.

However, managing supply routes wasn’t Jeong Dong-geon’s only task.

“General, unidentified forces are moving south.”

“An unidentified armed group has appeared in Boeun County!”

“General, reports are coming in of Death Knights appearing in Daegu.”

He had to manage the entire Seorabeol region alone, and Seorabeol’s front lines were continuously expanding.

From mysterious forces targeting supply routes to armed groups that were actually emerging warlords taking over territories, and even the Cult of Immortality based in Busan showing no intention of focusing solely on Seoul.

The powerful new weapon, the Death Knight, showcased in Seoul, was now deployed on Seorabeol’s front lines and was blatantly targeting Daegu, the starting point of the supply route, rather than Ulsan.

With such excessive workload, Jeong Dong-geon felt like he was losing his mind, but…

“Are you alright, General?”

“Ah, Lady Seol-hwa.”

Fortunately, both Bahamut and Yuna knew that Seorabeol was their home base, and they were aware that if they both left, other forces would exploit the gap.

Therefore, before the two departed, they had Seol-hwa, another Dragon Priestess, return to the Balhut Cult’s main temple in Gyeongju.

“Please take care of Seorabeol while we’re gone.”

“Just control the cabinet as the Dragon Priestess in my place and help the military. That’s all.”

“Leave it to me! I will definitely fulfill the special mission entrusted by Sister Yuna and the Dragon God!”

Yuna delegated all the authority of the Dragon Priestess who ruled Seorabeol to Baek Seol-hwa.

However, unlike Yuna, who had access to all of Seorabeol’s information and solved problems with the help of the Three Heroes, Seol-hwa had little connection with Seorabeol’s cabinet. She had only governed Ulsan and had never been in charge of the entire Seorabeol region, so she hadn’t proven her abilities to the cabinet.

“Who is Baek Seol-hwa?”

“What? The person from Ulsan is here in place of Lady Yuna?”

Perhaps because of this, some cabinet members were unaware of Seol-hwa’s existence, and some were dissatisfied with the fact that she had been given full authority in place of Yuna.

After all, she had only governed Ulsan since the contract, with no presence in the central government. While she had gained fame as the Guardian of the East Sea, that was only within Ulsan and not something to be greatly praised when considering Seorabeol as a whole.

So while the cabinet saw an opportunity with Yuna’s absence, some members looked down on Baek Seol-hwa despite her having been delegated full authority by Yuna.

“Seo Un-jae.”

“Yes.”

“Please handle this for me?”

“Leave it to me.”

Baek Seol-hwa was also a Dragon Priestess who had governed Ulsan during this apocalypse.

She had loyal subordinates under her command and a mentor she could trust to compensate for her lack of political skills.

Seol-hwa called upon a representative to confront the cabinet’s sophistry on her behalf, and Seo Un-jae, who had earned Seol-hwa’s trust…

“Since everyone is aware of the current situation, let’s quickly focus on the front lines.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Whew, I’m glad we could sort this out quickly.”

He already knew Hwang Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon, and also had connections with Jeong Dong-geon.

With the help of the two heroes, he quickly subdued the cabinet and successfully transitioned to Baek Seol-hwa’s acting authority system.

Unlike Yuna, who always smiled and observed situations, Seol-hwa subdued the cabinet in a somewhat aggressive manner, believing that a cabinet focused solely on the war was needed now, and committed this outrage(?) with a light heart.

“Jeong Dong-geon, you must protect the supply lines. If the supply lines we’ve established collapse, we’ll lose the momentum to maintain the Seoul front. Even with people, we can’t fight without weapons.”

“I understand. I will protect them even at the cost of my life.”

The reward for her actions was sufficient—Seorabeol entered a wartime cabinet state and supported Jeong Dong-geon with all the resources Seorabeol could currently muster. With this powerful support, Jeong Dong-geon began to eliminate the raiders attacking the supply lines.

With the thought that if these supply lines collapsed, Seoul would be finished, all the forces Seorabeol could currently use were deployed, and even…

“Wait, us too?!”

“It seems Seorabeol is serious.”

“We have no choice. We’ve received our interests too.”

All three major guilds of Seorabeol were conscripted and deployed to the front lines.

Of course, they had to guarantee corresponding interests, but at a time when even one more soldier was needed to manage a supply line exceeding 300km, it was necessary.

“Cheongju will also join Seorabeol.”

“Thank you!”

Fortunately, Cheongju, which had preserved its forces, began to join Seorabeol’s efforts.

“Our faction is favorable to this alliance. If you can give us some help, we will try to persuade the warlord based in Daejeon.”

The Daejeon vigilante forces, who were favorable to this alliance, also joined and provided much help in persuading the military faction based in Daejeon.

The joining of scattered allied forces was also a boon for Seorabeol and a setback for the Cult of Immortality.

“Is it now a diplomatic battle?”

“Yes. Since the Cult of Immortality is also increasing their allies through diplomacy, we at Seorabeol must also engage in diplomacy to at least not increase our enemies.”

The Cult of Immortality put more effort into diplomacy to increase the forces hostile to Seorabeol, and Baek Seol-hwa, following Seo Un-jae’s advice, also began to engage in diplomacy, just like the Cult of Immortality.

“I will empower the Daejeon vigilante group.”

“Haha, I’ll make sure to live up to your expectations.”

Accordingly, she strengthened the bonds of alliances following Seorabeol, and instead of resolute subjugation, she began to show room for compromise by negotiating with local warlords or expressing willingness to purchase supplies locally.