Ch.3030. Subjugation Order (1)

After days of contemplation, Bahamut’s answer was finally revealed.

“A subjugation order has been issued.”

“Finally, what we’ve been expecting has come.”

It was essentially a policy grace period. The strategy was to first solve the immediate raider problem, then think about what comes next—essentially leaving everything to his future self.

Of course, the fact that Awakened could be artificially awakened was already known to both Yu-na as the cult leader and the upper echelons of the cult. The cult executives concluded that Bahamut was implementing a strategy of selection and focus.

“…War with North Gyeongju?”

“Yes.”

The threatening activities of raiders operating in North Gyeongju was a topic frequently discussed within the cult. Rather than questioning Bahamut’s subjugation order itself, everyone simply thought that what was bound to happen had finally arrived.

“…No one seems tense or surprised by this.”

“Well, we all expected a confrontation with North Gyeongju sooner or later.”

In response to Yu-na’s question, Jeong Dong-geon, the military expert, firmly stated that a confrontation with North Gyeongju was inevitable, whether sooner or later. From his perspective, Jo Sun-do was a dangerous figure, known to be brutal and cruel. For the safety of the cult—or more precisely, the safety of all Gyeongju—Jo Sun-do was recognized as an enemy who needed to be defeated eventually.

“We hear about his infamy often enough.”

“Even now, there are civilians risking their lives to escape from North Gyeongju to South Gyeongju.”

The Lee Hyeon-a and Lee Su-a sisters nodded in agreement with Jeong Dong-geon’s opinion. In their view as well, the ruler of North Gyeongju was someone who could not coexist with the cult.

Above all…

“But since this is war, we mustn’t become complacent. Lives are at stake.”

“However, we have the Dragon God Bahamut. Is defeat even in our vocabulary?”

“Well, if you put it that way, what does that make me for offering advice?”

They felt incredibly reassured by Bahamut’s existence alone. They believed that with Bahamut’s presence, they could win any war. When Yu Su-seong cautiously suggested prudence, Hwang Geun-chul firmly countered that with Bahamut, the word “defeat” wouldn’t exist.

Yu Su-seong sighed at this rebuttal, as if it were too much. Even he, advocating for caution, was confident they would certainly win if Bahamut participated in this war.

“No. The god will not participate in this war.”

However, Yu-na stated that Bahamut would not participate in the war. The Balhut Cult executives looked at Yu-na with surprised expressions, though there wasn’t an intense reaction. They had all somewhat anticipated this.

“Is that Bahamut’s order?”

“Yes. If it were a conflict between monsters or zombies, the god would have participated directly. But for conflicts between humans, he drew the line that humans must resolve them themselves.”

Bahamut had always drawn certain lines. While he willingly stepped in for matters the cult couldn’t handle, he typically delegated conflicts that the cult could resolve on their own. Thus, the cult concluded that Bahamut was maintaining certain principles or beliefs by drawing such lines.

‘Since Yu-na leading the army pretty much guarantees Jo Sun-do’s subjugation anyway, fine. Let the cult handle this themselves!’

In reality, it was closer to him finding it bothersome to handle it himself and preferring to let Yu-na take care of it. But the cult was unaware of this uncomfortable truth, so let’s move on.

“Perhaps the god is testing your abilities.”

So what Yu-na could tell the cult was merely her own speculation about Bahamut’s thoughts. Of course, Bahamut had no intention of testing the cult; he simply didn’t see the need to get involved in the fight against Jo Sun-do.

“Testing whether you can stand firm in this harsh world ahead.”

He had no such thoughts whatsoever. He wasn’t that thoughtful a dragon to begin with. The problem was that until now, he had acted as a nearly perfect dragon, at least in appearance.

“I agree. We need to show that our forces don’t rely solely on Bahamut.”

“He can’t participate in every battlefield in the future. If a battlefield comes where we must fight without him, we need to develop enough strength to at least avoid a devastating defeat.”

The cult executives not only didn’t question Yu-na’s speculation but accepted it without doubt. Even politicians like Park Cheol-gon and Hwang Geun-chul assumed Bahamut had some ideology and was abstaining from this war to maintain his principles and beliefs.

In this situation, the Balhut Cult prioritized carrying out Bahamut’s orders rather than questioning them.

“So are you planning to convert the expedition force into a subjugation force?”

“Yes. Now that we’ve stabilized the southern liberation front, I plan to recall the expeditionary forces to headquarters and deploy them to North Gyeongju as a subjugation force.”

The timing was particularly appropriate. The front for liberating villages around South Gyeongju was gradually stabilizing. Having secured a safe rear and hinterland, South Gyeongju was already prepared for a confrontation with North Gyeongju. The morale of the soldiers was so high that they were confident they could form a subjugation force and deploy to North Gyeongju as soon as the expedition force returned to headquarters.

“Of course, I plan to participate in this fight myself.”

“The cult leader herself?”

At the declaration that Choi Yu-na, the cult leader, would personally lead the war, Jeong Dong-geon and other executives looked at Yu-na with surprised expressions. This declaration alone was tantamount to saying that the Balhut Cult would use all its power to take everything in North Gyeongju.

“This is a battle without Bahamut. No matter how careful we are, conflicts between Awakened inevitably result in casualties on both sides. I want to minimize that tragedy as much as possible.”

Above all, Choi Yu-na was mindful of the casualties that would result from the war. Even if the Balhut Cult’s subjugation force was the strongest in Gyeongju, their opponents were also Awakened. Variables could cause serious injury to the cult’s Awakened, or even death in severe cases. Choi Yu-na simply wanted to avoid such tragedies.

“Of course, without borrowing Bahamut’s power, I’m just a healer who’s good at treatment.”

“No, that alone will be a great help. Above all, having the cult leader with us can be interpreted as having Bahamut with us.”

Indeed, Yu-na’s participation itself would be tremendously helpful. She downplayed herself as a powerless healer, but the other executives didn’t believe it. With Yu-na’s healing alone, most minor patients could recover on the spot, and even serious patients could recover quickly if she used enough magical power. Her healing ability was powerful.

With this ability, she could treat injured workers in reconstruction projects without aftereffects, and minor injuries from expeditions could be healed with just one treatment from Yu-na. As a result, expedition members and reconstruction workers worked recklessly, trusting solely in Yu-na, which had become something of a side effect.

“It will also greatly boost the morale of the soldiers.”

In a war where injuries occur in real-time, the value of Yu-na’s ability to heal quickly would inevitably increase dramatically. Moreover, having Yu-na herself, the leader of the Balhut Cult, participate directly would greatly boost the morale of the soldiers participating in the war. The fact that a courageous leader’s decision alone could give courage to many people had been proven throughout history and wars.

“Then for the war supplies…”

“No, I don’t plan to fight for long.”

With the cult leader herself stepping forward, her subordinate executives couldn’t remain comfortable. Lee Hyeon-a mentioned preparing supplies for the war, but Yu-na shook her head, saying she didn’t plan to fight for long.

“I plan to swiftly arrest Jo Sun-do, the king of North Gyeongju, and capture all his henchmen. That’s the end of it.”

“But Jo Sun-do and his gang are cunning. The moment they judge it’s a losing battle, they might flee to another region.”

In a direct confrontation, the Balhut Cult would overwhelmingly win. However, the cunning and vile Jo Sun-do wouldn’t engage in a direct confrontation, and the moment he judged there was no chance of winning, he could abandon his base and flee to another region. Of course, if he fled, North Gyeongju and all its assets would become the Balhut Cult’s, but the subjugation operation itself would be considered a failure.

“That’s why I’m stepping forward.”

“What?”

“From Jo Sun-do’s perspective, if he captures me, the cult leader, he might think a reversal is possible.”

So Yu-na boldly smiled and said she was giving Jo Sun-do a chance to win. From Jo Sun-do’s perspective, abandoning everything and fleeing required considerable courage and determination. If he fled from here, Jo Sun-do could no longer call himself the king of North Gyeongju, and there was a possibility of being betrayed by his followers, making calculations complicated. But what if Jo Sun-do was given a possibility of victory?

“If he’s lucky, I hope he’ll entertain the base fantasy that he could threaten Bahamut using my safety.”

“That’s… quite bold.”

If he could capture Choi Yu-na, he could threaten not only the Balhut Cult but also the Dragon God Bahamut. Whether that would work on the Balhut Cult was uncertain, but if his contractor was in danger, Bahamut was likely to act impulsively.

Yu-na’s action was clearly a bold yet dangerous plan.

She could be threatened with death by Jo Sun-do, and if captured, there was a high probability she would face harsh treatment. So the executives, unaccustomed to fighting, looked at Yu-na with expressions asking if she wasn’t afraid.

“Besides, I have the highest level in this cult.”

“Ah.”

But paradoxically, Yu-na, the cult leader, was the strongest Awakened in the Balhut Cult. When she mentioned this truth to the worried executives, they all looked at her with understanding expressions. This was largely true for Jeong Dong-geon as well, who would directly command the war in Yu-na’s stead.

‘In this era, we can’t think according to old common sense. The variable of Awakened has emerged.’

Unlike before, a new variable called Awakened had emerged. With just one well-trained Awakened, it was possible to easily annihilate an entire platoon of ordinary people.

‘Originally, if the highest-ranking commander is captured by the enemy, that war is lost. So commanders should hide as much as possible and give orders from a safe place. Regardless of rank, life and death can be determined by a single bullet.’

But now it’s different. The existence of Awakened is so powerful that a commander’s strong courage alone can reverse the tide of battle. They could use magic to introduce variables into the war, or with their robust bodies, break through a rain of bullets and single-handedly display formidable combat power that could reverse the situation.

‘Wars with the emergence of Awakened will be vastly different. Now, a single powerful Awakened might greatly change the course of a war.’

Even now, a newly Awakened person could often withstand one or two lethal bullets with just light bruising, making it difficult to stop Awakened with the stopping power of bullets. Of course, it’s uncertain what would happen if higher caliber bullets were used, but fighting Awakened wouldn’t fight bare-handed either; they would naturally wear protective equipment against bullets. Jeong Dong-geon thought that a time might truly come when a single Awakened could end a war.

‘Yes, like the brave generals described in history.’

Jeong Dong-geon was well aware that many brave and famous generals in history had reversed unfavorable battles with their courage and determination alone.