Ch.4949. Spider (1)

The Balhut Cult had converted a factory area near the intersection into an outpost for the expedition team, planning to use it as a base to capture Pohang.

They were able to receive help from Son Sang-hui as a local collaborator, and her information was tremendously helpful in understanding the existence of mutant spider zombies, the number of survivor camps within the city, and the tendencies of the survivor leaders.

Based on the newly acquired information, the cult’s conclusion was:

“Let’s fight them first.”

“Is this for the growth of the cult’s forces?”

The first suggestion was to fight the new mutants.

Honestly, regardless of how many zombies were inside, they could use taunt magic to gather all zombies in one place, summon Bahamut, snap their fingers, and wipe out every zombie in Pohang.

Then, if the Balhut Cult led by Jeong Dong-geon suppressed the interior, the capture of Pohang would be complete.

Everyone would agree that this was the most efficient and fastest way to reclaim Pohang.

However, using that method would prevent the Balhut Cult’s expedition team from growing at all.

Instead of hunting zombies to gain experience points, if they immediately summoned Bahamut, Pohang would be reclaimed on the spot, but all the experience points from the zombies in Pohang would vanish into thin air.

“Yes, that’s part of it, but I never intended to summon Lord Bahamut from the beginning. With the threat of new mutants, the cult needs to gather data on them. It’s time to significantly improve the quality of our cult forces. Plus, we need to contact the survivor camps inside to announce Lord Bahamut’s arrival.”

“I agree.”

So Yu-na persuaded Jeong Dong-geon with three reasons and logic, and Jeong Dong-geon nodded in agreement.

All were valid proposals, and as a military bureaucrat, Jeong Dong-geon found them reasonable and had difficulty refuting them.

They needed to obtain combat data on the newly emerged mutant zombies, and to improve the quality of the Awakened belonging to the Balhut Cult, they needed to hunt strong zombies.

And to announce the voluntary cooperation of Pohang survivors, many people needed to witness Bahamut’s arrival.

Of course, this approach meant a prolonged battle, but:

“With Yu-na here anyway, injuries won’t be a problem.”

With Yu-na’s presence, there was almost no risk of soldiers dying.

As long as they remained alive, having a powerful healer who could quickly restore them to normal was reassuring just by being there.

“However, I’m concerned that the new mutants are kidnapping humans.”

“You say they’re kidnapping?”

“Yes. If any of our troops are kidnapped by mutant zombies, it would be a significant loss.”

According to Son Sang-hui, the new mutants kidnap humans.

If someone were kidnapped, even Yu-na couldn’t help, so being kidnapped was essentially a death sentence.

The soldiers on this expedition were all Awakened carefully nurtured by the Balhut Cult, and each of their lives was incredibly precious.

If a major loss occurred, the Balhut Cult could face serious setbacks.

“Lord Bahamut was also concerned about that. So I plan to distribute these to the soldiers going to Pohang.”

Bahamut, knowing the importance of the expedition soldiers, had prepared something for them.

Yu-na handed over an item she had received from Bahamut to Jeong Dong-geon.

“What is this?”

It was an identification tag with a dragon emblem.

When Jeong Dong-geon touched it, he felt the powerful magical energy emanating from the tag, and quickly realized it was similar to the Balhut Cult’s currency.

“Lord Bahamut says that if the owner faces a life-threatening situation, it will emergency teleport them back to the outpost.”

“Is that possible?”

It was an extraordinary item.

If one could instantly teleport back to the outpost when in mortal danger, they could alleviate urgent symptoms with the recovery magic circle deployed there, and with Yu-na’s help, fully recover.

It was a precious item that guaranteed the lives of soldiers on the battlefield at least once, so Jeong Dong-geon carefully held the identification tag Yu-na handed him.

It was a lifeline for Jeong Dong-geon and his soldiers who would fight the mutant zombies.

“Yes. He says that as long as the tag can confirm the soldier’s coordinates, they can be teleported remotely. But you must keep the tag safely in your possession. Think of it as your lifeline.”

“I understand, Yu-na. But the quantity seems limited.”

“It seems they’re still in the early research stage, so mass production, let alone practical application, hasn’t been properly achieved. This is the first time using them in actual combat. Don’t rely on them too much.”

“That’s unfortunate. If mass production were successful, we could distribute them to all soldiers.”

However, as these were still early research products, the quantity was limited, and the performance couldn’t be fully guaranteed.

Despite Yu-na’s warning not to completely trust them, Jeong Dong-geon expressed disappointment while feeling reassured about having an extra lifeline.

“Ah, and besides the emergency teleport function, there’s also a regular teleport function. If you send a predetermined signal, it can teleport you to the outpost.”

“That will be a great help in reducing movement.”

Of course, there was another way to return using regular teleportation.

In this case, it could greatly save on travel distance and minimize unnecessary movement.

Jeong Dong-geon was delighted by Yu-na’s words.

If used well, it could serve as a lifeline and also as a tool to reduce unnecessary movement.

“I’ll recover my magical energy for the Pohang operation. The barrier and recovery magic circles consume a lot of energy.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The Pohang operation was just beginning.

Watching Yu-na begin her quiet meditation in the tent prepared for the cult leader, Jeong Dong-geon solemnly bowed his head and immediately headed to his own military tent.

“Oh, you’re here, Jeong Dong-geon.”

“Yes. I have good news.”

There was Son Sang-hui, the local collaborator, who greeted Jeong Dong-geon warmly.

Instead of her tattered clothes, she wore a military uniform prepared by the Balhut Cult, making her look like Jeong Dong-geon’s adjutant from the outside.

Seeming a bit awkward in her uniform, Son Sang-hui smiled uncomfortably as Jeong Dong-geon told her he had good news and explained what had just happened.

“…She’s a better person than I expected.”

“What did you think?”

“Well, internet communities describe the cult leader as an old man who likes women, hoards enormous wealth in warehouses, and is portrayed as a greedy person.”

Jeong Dong-geon smiled bitterly at the description of the self-proclaimed Balhut Cult leader on internet communities.

He had known such criticism would come once they called themselves a cult, but this seemed too harsh.

Far from being an old man, she was a young woman not even twenty; far from liking women, she was too young to know love; and her only desire was to spread faith in Bahamut… though not entirely pure, she was still a brave person who had risen up for the transformation of the world.

So when Jeong Dong-geon heard about the internet’s portrayal of the Balhut Cult from Son Sang-hui:

“Hehe. All wrong. Well, just one thing is correct. The cult’s warehouse does have enormous precious metals. If that’s wealth, then yes, it’s wealth.”

“Eh, really?”

“Of course. It’s emergency funds for unforeseen situations.”

He said only one thing was correct.

Of course, even that wealth had all been gathered by Jo Sun-do in the warehouse.

He felt grateful to Jo Sun-do for that, as it had enabled them to complete the currency reform.

“Well then, Ms. Son Sang-hui. We’re about to enter Pohang. It’s a dangerous battlefield, so if you wish, you can stay here.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

When he said they would enter Pohang, Son Sang-hui asked if he was afraid.

Fear, huh.

Jeong Dong-geon understood her feelings.

Pohang was currently unsafe, a dangerous realm filled with zombies.

“Fortunately, with the dragon god’s blessing, I have one more chance, so while I am afraid, I can still move forward.”

“But if you lose it, you can’t use it.”

“I just won’t lose it. And someone has to do this.”

It was something someone had to do, so Jeong Dong-geon would bravely move forward.

Fortunately, with Bahamut’s blessing, he could save his life once even in a crisis.

Of course, Yu-na had warned not to trust it completely, but such minor side effects had to be accepted in the current apocalyptic situation.

“I will fight to fulfill that duty.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Thank you for your courage.”

When he affirmed he would fight to fulfill his duty, Son Sang-hui, seemingly impressed by his demeanor, said she would come along too.

Thinking that having her as a local collaborator would surely be a great help, Jeong Dong-geon sincerely thanked Son Sang-hui for her courage.

“Then, I’ll give you this. Keep it safe as your lifeline.”

“I will.”

So he handed her an identification tag that could be called a lifeline, and Jeong Dong-geon led Son Sang-hui and a small reconnaissance team into Pohang.

They cut through the spider webs blocking the road with their knives and advanced, while the reconnaissance team accompanying them sighed as they looked at the webs blocking their path.

“These spider webs are stronger than I expected.”

“It’s easier to use knives with cutting enchantments.”

Not only the spider webs blocking the intersection roads but also those throughout Pohang were not easily cut with knives.

Even with knives enchanted with cutting magic, they still required some force to cut through.

At the same time, they confirmed that the webs were twice as large as normal spider webs and possessed the characteristic toughness, elasticity, and durability of spider silk.

“It seems these spider webs are imbued with subtle magical energy.”

“Let’s collect some for the research team to analyze.”

“Understood.”

According to Son Sang-hui, the webs were even imbued with subtle magical energy.

Sensing that they could create new armor if used well, Jeong Dong-geon ordered his soldiers to collect some of the spider webs and store them in auxiliary bags.

Collecting the spider webs was inevitable anyway to secure data on the new mutants.

“I wonder if they burn well?”

“Seems difficult with ordinary fire. I tried lighting them with my lighter, but they wouldn’t catch fire.”

“That’s quite interesting information. What about magically created fire?”

Jeong Dong-geon, intrigued by the soldier’s comment, asked if fire created by magic would work.

“Not very effective. If I really pour out my magical energy, I can burn them, but it’s more efficient to cut them with a greatsword enchanted with cutting magic than to use my magical energy.”

“So they’re resistant to magic.”

The spider webs were not only resistant to heat, which was normally a weakness of spider silk, but also had resistance to Awakened magic.

‘This mutant is clearly targeting magic users.’

Since this mutant was clearly targeting Awakened who use magic, Jeong Dong-geon became even more alert.