Ch.269269. The Eve of the Storm (1)

Alicia’s situation was quickly reported to Bahamut, but unfortunately, there was nothing Bahamut could do for her at the moment.

[The situation doesn’t look good.]

“What’s happening with Alicia?”

[She’s in direct conflict with the Lord Protector. At least France is maintaining silence rather than taking the Lord Protector’s side, so we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario.]

The fortunate aspect was that the Lord Protector’s only ally was the Cult of Immortality, while the Saint, who had been his political partner, remained silent in response to his call.

The silence of the Saint, who was essentially a business partner, meant either indifference or complete disagreement, and the Cult of Immortality, though an ally, couldn’t respond immediately due to distance issues.

This meant Alicia wasn’t necessarily at a disadvantage, but she had her own problems.

“But without you, Lord Bahamut, Alicia is…”

[She’ll be outmatched by the Lord Protector. That’s unavoidable. Unlike the Lord Protector who has been undermining the royal family and building his own power since the beginning of the apocalypse, Alicia’s forces started late and are weaker.]

With all attention focused on the Korean Peninsula War, Bahamut himself couldn’t spare attention for the British front.

Without Bahamut’s overwhelming power, Alicia had to fight the Lord Protector using her own abilities as the Dragon Priestess, and everyone knew that her military and political power lagged behind the Lord Protector’s.

“The Lord Protector definitely has the advantage of being first.”

Unlike Yuna, who built her own power base with the Balhut Cult and established the nation of Seorabeol early in the apocalypse, Alicia, despite her reputation as queen, had a much later start compared to other warlords, and began with most of her royal authority already usurped by the Lord Protector.

As a result, powers that should have belonged to the queen—such as command of the royal guard and military authority—were transferred to the Lord Protector, and except for a few exceptional individuals, she was overwhelmingly outnumbered in Awakened.

“But didn’t Phoenix agree to help?”

The one fortunate thing was that Bahamut’s connections included Phoenix the immortal, and when civil war broke out in England, Bahamut immediately asked Phoenix to help his contractor.

As it happened, Phoenix owed Bahamut a favor regarding Teresa, and Phoenix responded favorably to Bahamut’s request for support, but…

[We should consider France’s silence as sufficient help.]

“I suppose…”

As everyone knew, before Phoenix could intervene, France maintained silence, making it impossible to use Phoenix’s priestess, the Saint of Orleans, and Teresa in the British civil war.

It was true that France’s neutrality rather than supporting the Lord Protector had turned a desperate battle into a somewhat manageable one. From Bahamut’s perspective, not knowing the internal affairs of France, he assumed Phoenix had somehow managed to prevent the Saint from joining the conflict.

‘With that personality, could she really hold back?’

Based on what Bahamut knew of the Saint, she seemed like someone who would join the British civil war to maximize her benefits.

Of course, contrary to Bahamut’s expectations, the truth was that the Saint really hated war and was even planning to hand over the presidency to Teresa to avoid conflict.

[The problem is that unless Alicia’s life is in danger, I can barely spare her a glance.]

“Is it because the Korean Peninsula situation is so dangerous?”

[Yes. I want to conserve my magical power so I can fight at full strength when the time comes.]

Still, it was impossible not to worry.

The Dragon Priestess couldn’t use her strongest weapon—summoning the Dragon God—not because Bahamut was refusing the summons, but because he was conserving magical power for the final battle in the Korean Peninsula War.

Everyone knew the final battle would be decided by each side’s trump cards, and the Seoul Alliance’s trump card was, of course, the Dragon God Bahamut.

This meant they needed to conserve the Dragon God’s power for the final battle, and preparations were already underway.

“You’ve even stopped supplying the city recently, right?”

[We have magic stones and the city infrastructure has recovered, so we need to stop all supplies and prepare properly for battle.]

For this purpose, even the city infrastructure maintenance that Bahamut had been handling was replaced with magic stones, and all activities Bahamut had been performing were temporarily suspended indefinitely.

This meant the unlimited supply of Bahamut coins that had been circulating was also cut off, causing Bahamut’s market value to temporarily rise and creating considerable confusion, but it couldn’t be helped.

It had been proven that Bahamut’s production and support alone couldn’t defeat the Cult of Immortality, and here in Seoul…

“It really is the calm before the storm.”

“Kim Su-ho.”

That storm was already being sensed.

Kim Su-ho returned to the headquarters where only Bahamut and Yuna had been, smiling brightly. He seemed to have just come from the front lines, as traces of battle were visible all over his body.

The fact that he had no wounds despite throwing himself into conflicts where even high-level Awakened struggled to survive showed how strong Kim Su-ho was, but this battle couldn’t be won by relying solely on his strength.

And Kim Su-ho himself knew this better than anyone.

[You’re here. How is the situation in Seoul?]

“For detailed information, we’ll need to hear from Jin A-yeon who went to observe elsewhere. But in the northern Seoul area I was monitoring, I observed dark, slimy magical power gathering in one place. I suspect it’s a powerful weapon completely different from the undead giants or death knights the Cult of Immortality has shown before.”

The war had continued for a month, with victories and defeats repeating across numerous fronts.

Battles where Kim Su-ho participated always ended in victory, but fronts where he wasn’t present continued to see back-and-forth fighting. The Cult of Immortality realized they needed a trump card to break this delicate stalemate.

So they began gathering enormous magical power in northern Seoul, and that power could be either a new superweapon from the Cult of Immortality or…

[Or it could be sacrificial magical power to summon the one they call ‘Him.’]

Just as Bahamut was gathering magical power for the final battle, the Cult of Immortality’s “Him” might also be preparing magical power for the final confrontation.

Bahamut focused on the latter possibility, and Kim Su-ho nodded in agreement with Bahamut’s words and slowly began explaining the situation.

“Yes. I hate to imagine the latter, but our detection specialists warn that if all that gathered magical power is released at once, it could lead to a massive disaster affecting not only Seoul but surrounding cities as well.”

[Well, masterless magical power can seep into the land or atmosphere, causing unknown anomalies or mutations, or even making places uninhabitable. It’s certainly worth warning about.]

This was something both Bahamut and Seorabeol had experienced firsthand.

Uncontrolled magical power had seeped into the land and air, creating barren wastelands where people couldn’t live, and as space collapsed, gates leading to dungeons were formed.

“You’re talking about what happened in Ulsan.”

“You know about that?”

“Haha. Despite appearances, I’ve inherited the legacy of the Republic of Korea. I have reliable informants dispatched to each region.”

Yes, they had learned from the Ulsan disaster.

When Kim Su-ho mentioned the Ulsan disaster, Yuna, who felt responsible for it, looked at Kim Su-ho with a subdued expression.

In response to her gaze, Kim Su-ho casually explained that as someone who had inherited the legacy of the Republic of Korea, he had reliable informants in each region.

“I think that’s why Seoul’s influential figures find you strange.”

“What?”

“Well, they must wonder why someone with such intelligence capabilities hasn’t done anything about Seoul’s powerful figures. Or why you haven’t usurped power or established a Kim dynasty.”

Conversely, she couldn’t understand why someone with such overwhelming intelligence capabilities and inherited legacy hadn’t seized power or established a nation.

Yuna expressed what she had been keeping in her heart with a slightly bitter expression, and Kim Su-ho looked at her with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“When you put it that way, I can’t argue. But I have absolutely no such intentions. What ambition would someone who just finished military service before the apocalypse have? I only want to return to my peaceful home.”

“I completely understand that feeling. Before meeting Lord Bahamut, that was my only thought too.”

What political ambitions would Kim Su-ho, who had completed his military service and become a civilian, have?

Even after the apocalypse and reaching this point, Kim Su-ho had no interest in political power.

The only thing he cared about was his peaceful pre-apocalypse home, and Yuna nodded in understanding, sympathizing with his sentiment.

“So, Su-ho. What do you think? Our side is planning to summon the Dragon God to counter their trump card.”

She then began sharing information about future plans with Kim Su-ho.

When she openly mentioned summoning the Dragon God, Seorabeol’s ultimate weapon, to deploy in the final battle against the Cult of Immortality, Kim Su-ho didn’t seem to have any objections and scratched his head before speaking.

“I don’t think my opinion is that important… but if I were to share my thoughts, I believe allowing the magical power gathering in northern Seoul to activate normally would be the worst-case scenario.”

While the Dragon God summoning was powerful, his opinion was that the alliance shouldn’t rely solely on the Dragon God and needed to take action as well.

In particular, Kim Su-ho warned that allowing the magical power gathering in northern Seoul to activate without any interference would be a mistake for the alliance.

He actually had good reasons for this.

“I don’t think the Dragon God would be defeated by just that.”

“If the opponent is comparable in strength to Dragon God Bahamut, then the black magical power mass in northern Seoul could be a tool to create favorable fighting conditions for the one the Cult calls ‘Him,’ or it could be magic that makes Seoul advantageous terrain only for them. But if both sides are evenly matched, even a small variable can determine victory or defeat. Leaving that unchecked would be the worst situation for us.”

“Indeed.”

Kim Su-ho, who had fought in countless battles, had combat experience numbering in the hundreds, and this was advice based on that experience.

While Yuna firmly believed that Dragon God Bahamut wouldn’t be defeated, Kim Su-ho advised that even a single variable could cause defeat based on his experience. Yuna couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Considering Kim Su-ho’s experience in the northern Seoul reclamation battle, where despite reclaiming significant territory they had to retreat without gains due to minor variables, eliminating variables was something the alliance needed to do.

“Then what’s the second-worst option?”

“The second-worst is simple. Ignore northern Seoul where the final battle will take place and focus on reclaiming all of Gyeonggi Province controlled by the Cult of Immortality or their allies. Particularly, if we recapture Incheon, we can transport troops through it, and our ally, the Yamato Alliance, can also land in Seoul. We can also supply the Gangnam area through the Han River.”

In fact, this was a solid strategy that hardly deserved to be called the “second-worst” option.

If the defensively-minded Jeong Dong-geon heard this proposal directly, he would wonder why it was considered the second-worst option, as it would weaken the Cult of Immortality’s forces and steadily reclaim territory.

But the reason Kim Su-ho labeled it as the second-worst was:

“The outcome will ultimately be decided by the summoning of two powerful beings. These small victories won’t matter in the end.”

The Dragon God and the one mentioned by the Cult of Immortality.

The battle would ultimately be decided by these two beings, and once one side emerged victorious, that faction’s victory would be assured.

At that moment, all the victories achieved by either the alliance or the Cult of Immortality would lose their meaning, and whoever won this final battle would ignore all previous victories and gain hegemony over the Korean Peninsula.

In such a situation, even recapturing Incheon would be just a minor victory in Kim Su-ho’s view.

[You make a good point. Then what’s the second-best option?]

“The second-best is to recapture only Incheon, which is connected to the sea, and deploy the rest to contain the black magical power in northern Seoul. What’s important is Incheon port, not the other infrastructure, which isn’t that helpful in this war. We use our mobility to secure the port, land troops that are already on standby, and take control of Incheon itself. Then, the main force advances to northern Seoul to thoroughly contain the black magical power.”

Still, Incheon itself was valuable territory.

It was connected to the sea, and if supplies could be delivered through the port, they wouldn’t have to worry about train robberies or monster attacks disrupting supply lines, and could focus solely on sea-based logistics.

With the Yamato Alliance now participating as Seorabeol’s ally, and their navy available for use, few could defeat the Seorabeol-Yamato combined fleet at sea.

So once they secured the port, the allied fleet could handle the rest, while the main force could focus on containing the magical power gathering in northern Seoul.

“I think I know what the best option is.”

[I think I know too.]

Having come this far, Yuna and Bahamut seemed to understand what the best option was.

Seeing their expressions, Kim Su-ho smiled lightly and mentioned the best course of action.

“The best option is to destroy the black magical power, completely blocking the advent of the one the Cult of Immortality calls ‘Him.’ Then only Dragon God Bahamut would appear on the battlefield, and even if the Cult manages to summon ‘Him,’ we would have the advantage in battle.”

Indeed, the best option was for the alliance to block the summoning of the Cult’s “Him” before Dragon God Bahamut entered the fray.

Then, only Dragon God Bahamut would be present in Seoul, and even if the Cult managed to summon “Him,” most of the magical power they had prepared would be gone.

This meant Bahamut, who had been gathering magical power for this battle, would have the advantage, which would be significant in a fight between powerful beings where small variables could determine the outcome.