Ch.270270. The Eve of the Storm (2)

When faced with choices, he always selected the best option, and if that was impossible, he chose the second best. If even that wasn’t possible, he would choose the lesser evil, only resorting to the worst option as a last resort.

Kim Su-ho naturally assumed Yu-na would choose the best option, but her answer differed from his expectation.

“Let’s attack Incheon.”

“So, you’re choosing a relatively easier second-best option rather than a difficult best one?”

Well, considering Seoul’s current state, choosing the safer second option made sense.

While the port of Incheon was notoriously difficult to land at, with internal assistance, it was certainly conquerable.

If they could somehow destroy the coastal batteries from within and support the fleet to prevent total annihilation, there were prerequisites, but war was Kim Su-ho’s specialty, so there wouldn’t be any problems.

He had already thought of ways to cooperate with the allied forces to occupy Incheon and was about to implement the operation when—

“No. We don’t necessarily need to recapture Incheon ourselves. Incheon is a port city, and there’s another way to approach it.”

Yu-na’s words made him pause momentarily.

That statement was…

“What? Are you thinking of conquering Incheon with just the navy?”

She was suggesting conquering Incheon with only naval forces.

Considering how difficult Incheon was for landing operations, it seemed absurd.

“Ahaha. I know how difficult Incheon port is for landing operations. But… if we use the variable of Awakened ones, isn’t it entirely possible?”

Unlike before the apocalypse, the variable of Awakened ones clearly existed now.

This meant that magic could neutralize Incheon’s natural defenses, and in response to Yu-na’s proposal, Seol-hwa said:

“It’s not impossible. The weakness of the fleet gathering in one place remains, but there are plenty of ways to neutralize the coastal artillery.”

With the abilities of the Awakened, it wasn’t impossible. That was her declaration.

“We have control of the sea, so it’s a risky but feasible operation.”

“I will participate in the Yamato alliance. Though there are risks, I believe it’s a way to end the war quickly.”

First, it seemed like a more feasible operation than expected.

Everyone knew how dangerous landing operations were and how significant casualties could result if they failed, but at the same time, it was a necessary operation to prevent the Cult of Immortality’s maritime supplies.

If they could win the Incheon landing operation and secure Incheon, the port—which had been used exclusively for shipping Death Knights that had been tormenting the allied forces—could become an important supply route for the Seoul allied forces.

From Seorabeol’s perspective, which had felt limitations in land-based supplies, it was an operation worth investing in. For the Yamato alliance, quickly ending the war meant minimizing losses and maximizing gains, so they judged it a worthwhile operation despite the risks.

“Besides, the defensive line built by the Cult of Immortality isn’t that strong. They’ve always been on the offensive.”

And they had been monitoring the state of Incheon port through reconnaissance.

The Cult of Immortality, always on the offensive on the Seoul front, had paid less attention to port defense.

“Undead themselves are only scary when attacking; when defending, they can’t use their characteristic mass offensive, so they’re not that frightening.”

The undead, fearsome on the offensive, weren’t as scary when defending. This also played a role.

The advantage of the undead was their overwhelming numbers when pushing against opponents, but in defensive battles, those numbers just became visible targets.

“For the success of this operation, I will deploy the Hwarang.”

Above all, elements that made this seem like a winnable battle began to accumulate.

First was the participation of the Hwarang, Seorabeol’s representative military force.

Currently, the Hwarang could be considered the Dragon Priestess’s direct guard… that is, Choi Yu-na’s personal guard, but there was another Dragon Priestess in Seorabeol: Baek Seol-hwa.

The Hwarang who followed her remained in Seorabeol, and particularly since Seol-hwa’s assigned area was the sea, it was undeniable that among all the Awakened in Seorabeol, the Hwarang who followed Seol-hwa were the most proficient marines in both shipboard combat and naval warfare.

The deployment of such Hwarang was one reason why the Yamato alliance agreed to this Incheon landing operation without any complaints.

“And I will also take the field.”

“Are you planning to personally lead, Lady Seol-hwa?”

“Yes.”

The fact that the Dragon Priestess herself would personally lead made Seorabeol realize they were prepared to make a significant investment in this operation.

The Yamato alliance had already obtained information about Baek Seol-hwa’s achievements in the East Sea and understood her abilities.

“She’s practically invincible against ghost fleets. And she can enhance weapons and set up powerful barriers.”

While she didn’t have Yu-na’s overwhelming healing power, her ability to support allied firepower on the battlefield was so overwhelming that even Yu-na couldn’t match it.

Moreover, when facing undead, she could use Turn Undead magic to purify them without question, which was why she could firmly defend the East Sea even when the Cult of Immortality dispatched dozens of ghost ships there—so much so that it wasn’t even mentioned to the cabinet.

With Seol-hwa personally participating, the Cult of Immortality, whose main fleet consisted of ghost ships, would find it difficult to win naval battles. That was the prevailing thought.

“Ah, of course, there are influential figures and warlords cooperating with the Cult of Immortality.”

“Still, we are an allied fleet. 18 amphibious assault ships, 6,000 Awakened naval troops, 400 drone units, and 200 mages—a formidable force.”

Of course, the Cult of Immortality didn’t operate only ghost fleets.

They had allies and collaborators, including warlords who commanded navies.

However, the combined fleet of two properly established countries was not something a mere warlord could handle. With drone units and 200 mages mobilized, they were essentially entering a total war.

“Shall we start recapturing Incheon then?”

The prepared fleet immediately headed toward Incheon. Since they already controlled the East Sea and the East China Sea was under the Yamato alliance’s influence, there was no reason to pass through Busan.

The fleet that departed from Pohang passed through Fukuoka, entered the East China Sea, and headed toward the West Sea. The Cult of Immortality didn’t seem to detect the allied fleet taking this roundabout route, so the voyage proceeded without any interference.

Following the sea route, they reached the West Sea and approached Incheon port. By then, the Cult of Immortality belatedly realized that the allied fleet was heading for Incheon port, but—

“Healing Magic Circle. Echo of Salvation. Divine Blessing.”

The allied forces had already completed their battle preparations.

Even as the Cult hastily deployed ghost fleets and summoned the fleets guarding Incheon, the allied forces had already formed their battle formation and received buffs from the Dragon Priestess. The mages on deck had prepared attack spells targeting the enemy fleet.

They were ready to attack as soon as Baek Seol-hwa gave the order, and by the time the ghost fleet hurriedly reached the allied fleet’s firing range—

“Attack.”

“Open fire!”

The order was given.

Magic and naval artillery were fired, striking the ghost fleet. They were unilaterally pounding the ghost fleet from beyond its effective range.

The ghost fleet countered by summoning banshees and special undead that could induce fear status effects, but unfortunately, the seasoned marines who had faced them many times in the East Sea were no longer afraid of banshees.

“Deploy the drone units!”

First, banshees’ abilities only worked on living beings.

This meant they couldn’t induce any status effects on unmanned aircraft. Even the drone operators controlling from beyond the range just heard loud noises without experiencing any effects.

Through such experiences, they had established a foundation to fight banshees even without a Dragon Priestess, but when a Dragon Priestess was on the battlefield?

“Turn Undead! Turn Undead! Turn Undead!”

Sniping with Turn Undead from long range ended it.

The ghost fleet was quickly subdued, but the battle wasn’t over yet.

Incheon port had extensive mudflats, high sea walls, and narrow single waterways—natural defenses that made landing operations nearly impossible.

Even if they deployed the fleet normally, the narrow waterway would force the ships to cluster, making them easy targets for coastal batteries.

The port was also close to the city, and the Cult of Immortality had maintained defensive facilities in anticipation of potential situations. Without the help of ground forces, a landing operation was practically impossible, but—

“Hwarang, deploy.”

This is where the variable of the Awakened shone.

Especially the Hwarang equipped with dragon armor could run across the sea—or rather, they used Fly magic to fly at low altitude. With support from drone units securing air superiority, they took on the role of destroying the coastal batteries installed at the port.

“Stop them! Make sure the Hwarang don’t approach the port!”

Naturally, the Cult of Immortality tried to intercept the Hwarang attempting to enter the port, but they couldn’t penetrate the dragon armor used by the Hwarang.

Moreover, they received Seol-hwa’s support magic, and the entire fleet moved to ensure the Hwarang could land somehow.

“Entry complete! Hwarang, execute the operation!”

“Deploy the Death Knights! Intercept the landed Hwarang!”

The Hwarang successfully entered the port, followed by other Hwarang gradually arriving.

The arrived Hwarang targeted coastal batteries and infiltrated Incheon city to conduct guerrilla warfare, essentially turning the entire Incheon area into a battlefield. The Cult of Immortality countered by deploying Death Knights stationed in Incheon.

This was essentially setting up a title match between the famous Hwarang and Death Knights, but—

“We don’t need to fight. Our mission is to make it possible for the landing forces to disembark!”

The Hwarang avoided direct confrontation with the Death Knights.

While a showdown between Hwarang and Death Knights would be thrilling, the Hwarang never forgot their mission: to destroy coastal batteries and assist the allied fleet’s landing.

They deliberately avoided engaging with Death Knights, focusing solely on destroying coastal batteries. Even when they did clash with Death Knight units, they didn’t fight but fled to the sea, refusing to fight in the way the Cult of Immortality wanted.

“Y-you cowards! Don’t you have any warrior’s honor?”

“Nope. Our honor comes from the Dragon Priestess’s praise.”

They employed tactics that so provoked the opposing Cult of Immortality that a necromancer belonging to the Cult shouted, asking if they had no warrior’s honor.

But the response was that if the Dragon Priestess praised them, there was no problem at all—and by Seorabeol’s standards, there truly wasn’t.

Above all, being called cowardly by the enemy was the highest compliment, so the Hwarang began to provoke the Cult of Immortality even more, and as a result…

“Deploy the undead golem.”

“Finally, it’s here.”

Unable to use the coastal batteries due to the Hwarang’s interference, they deployed their secret weapon: the undead golem.

The powerful siege weapon was difficult for the Hwarang to handle alone. It specialized in hurling massive objects with full force, capable of flattening defensive lines or high-level Awakened.

When the undead golem was deployed to the front line, even the fleet attempting to land at the port hesitated momentarily. If the undead golem attacked, it could potentially annihilate the entire fleet.

“It’s difficult to avoid.”

In the narrow waterway, it was particularly difficult to avoid the undead golem’s throwing attacks, making it a monster that naturally intimidated the fleet.

Nevertheless, Seol-hwa, with a look suggesting there was no problem at all, came out onto the deck to face the battlefield.

“Shield of Protection.”

Her strategy was to defend against the undead golem’s full-power throwing attack with magic.

There were doubts about whether she could defend against such enormous mass and speed, and if she failed, not only would Seol-hwa standing on the ship perish, but the entire fleet would be completely annihilated—a risky strategy.

Nevertheless, Seol-hwa insisted this operation was possible, and indeed…

“The Priestess has successfully defended! Continue advancing! Land at all costs!”

With a thunderous boom, she successfully defended against the undead golem’s throwing attack.

Of course, the ship’s hull shook and sustained some damage, but for an assault on the impregnable Incheon port, wasn’t this level of loss completely acceptable?

Once the biggest problem—the undead golem’s attack—was resolved, the fleet’s morale began to rise, and they quickly advanced toward Incheon port.

“Land at the port! Today we recapture Incheon!”

“Stop them! Stop the landing immediately! All Death Knight orders remaining in Incheon, deploy now. Keep deploying undead golems! We cannot lose the port!”

The allied forces that landed at Incheon port began to attack Incheon, and in response, the Cult of Immortality began to counterattack in earnest.