Ch.5656. Conference (2)

The meeting began on the day just before the Balhut Cult recaptured Pohang Airport.

When the Balhut Cult showed momentum to attack Pohang, the hastily arranged meeting had transparent motives, but the cult chose not to mention them.

After all, they truly needed the cult’s help for stable governance of Pohang.

“There’s no need to explicitly mention it or pressure them.”

“Rather, we should show generous tolerance. That will make them trust and follow us.”

“Silent pressure might be more effective than verbal statements.”

The two advisors suggested it would be better to demonstrate tolerance by not explicitly mentioning this fact.

If they intended to remain hostile toward Pohang in the future, they could simply act hostile without showing any tolerance.

However, since the Balhut Cult’s ultimate goal was to gain control over Pohang, they had no choice but to accept the annoying political maneuvering with a smile.

By deliberately not mentioning it, they could exert silent pressure on Pohang’s three major camps, so the cult wasn’t losing anything.

“I’m Ha Jin-woo, professor at Pohang University Campus, hosting today’s meeting.”

“Yes, I heard about you from Jeong Dong-geon.”

Arriving exactly on time at Pohang University Campus, they were already greeted by Ha Jin-woo, the leader of the university campus.

He had apparently planned to engage in a show of force, displaying the Awakened under the university campus’s command, but unfortunately, the cult had also selected their elite forces for this meeting and equipped them with the best gear, which ended up intimidating him instead.

From well-pressed and laundered uniforms with full-body protective gear to polished gleaming weapons—it was a sight that revealed they were receiving investment without a single deficiency.

“Isn’t Jeong Dong-geon the representative?”

“Today, I’m merely a bodyguard for Lady Choi Yu-na, the leader of the Balhut Cult.”

“You’re just a bodyguard?!”

Ha Jin-woo couldn’t hide his surprise at the statement that even Jeong Dong-geon, who had recently demonstrated overwhelming prowess in Pohang, was merely a bodyguard for the girl before him.

How many Awakened did the Balhut Cult have that they could afford to use someone like Jeong Dong-geon as a mere bodyguard?

Though secretly fearful of the cult, he was still hopeful that if this meeting went well, he could have such powerful Awakened and forces as allies.

“Are you the famous Balhut Cult?”

“Yes, and you are…?”

After waiting a bit, a soldier arrived right on time for the meeting.

He wore a relatively clean military uniform, but his face had already turned yellowish—a middle-aged man.

Though he looked haggard and tired, he seemed to have expectations for this meeting, gazing at Yu-na with determined eyes.

“I’m Kim Tae-sik, Major General of the 1st Marine Division of Pohang.”

“A big shot! So the division commander himself has come.”

He was none other than the commander of the 1st Marine Division.

Effectively, he was the commander who controlled the Hwangryong Unit at the Pohang Naval Base and one of the most crucial commanders within the navy.

Considering just his direct units apart from subordinate forces, he was regarded as one of the most important figures at the Pohang Naval Base.

“You survived this apocalypse.”

“I was lucky. We could escape to the sea. Still, the sacrifice of many marines was… unavoidable.”

He was the only high-ranking commander who survived without becoming a zombie, and thanks to that, they were able to preserve much of their forces to launch an attack on Pohang.

They controlled the Pohang port area and became known as one of the three major forces in Pohang, but there was one problem.

“A marine force in name only, unable to properly operate those expensive ships or tanks.”

“Ahem.”

The military is an organization that consumes an enormous amount of money and resources.

Operating just one ship requires massive fuel and consumable resources.

When South Korea and Pohang were intact, such resources could be obtained in any amount, but as the apocalypse approached and Pohang was lost to zombies, they simply couldn’t afford the fuel for the marines’ equipment.

“Still, I pride myself on preserving what forces we could in Pohang.”

“How many minutes can you operate your armored forces?”

“……”

For the first month or two, they fought zombies using stockpiled resources to operate the fleet, but now the fuel for those massive ships was too precious, so they either drifted at sea with engines off or remained indefinitely docked at the recaptured port.

Tanks led by the artillery brigade?

Now they were even afraid to start the engines due to lack of fuel and shells.

Division Commander Kim Tae-sik couldn’t answer Jeong Dong-geon’s pointed question.

“Hey, everyone’s gathered. Looks like I’m quite late?”

Finally, the leader who had established power across the Hyeongsan River appeared.

With a friendly smile, the middle-aged man apologized for being late, and the Pohang University professor called his name with an expression that said “finally here.”

“Seo Un-jae.”

“Yes, Professor Ha Jin-woo. Something good seems to have happened recently? Even across the Hyeongsan River, we heard that the area around Pohang University Campus has been thoroughly cleaned up.”

“Are you congratulating me?”

“Yes, of course I’m congratulating you.”

He sincerely congratulated the good news that had occurred at Pohang University Campus.

However, his eyes were fixed solely on the Balhut Cult—specifically, on Jeong Dong-geon.

“Are you from the cult?”

“Yes, but today I’m here merely as a bodyguard.”

“That’s surprising. Then, the politician who will speak at the meeting…”

The soldier from the Balhut Cult who came from Gyeongju.

Seo Un-jae was aware of how they had recaptured Pohang’s First Industrial Complex with overwhelming power.

He had also heard that before the meeting, they had even recaptured Pohang Airport, and he considered them the most important counterpart in this negotiation.

But he was somewhat surprised that Jeong Dong-geon had come as a mere bodyguard, and looked around with an interested expression.

If the soldier Jeong Dong-geon wasn’t taking the lead, he naturally assumed a politician had come.

“That would be me, Mr. Seo Un-jae. Nice to meet you.”

“…a young girl?”

It was truly unexpected—not the politician he had anticipated, but a young girl.

“Wasn’t it Jeong Dong-geon?”

“No. I’m merely a subordinate of our leader.”

This was the same for Kim Tae-sik who had just arrived.

He seemed to have thought that Jeong Dong-geon, who had demonstrated overwhelming prowess in Pohang, would lead the meeting as the Balhut Cult’s representative.

And such a young girl… to be frank, from Seo Un-jae’s perspective, she was a child who could be his daughter.

“I knew about this already, but seeing it in person… the surprise is unavoidable.”

Having been an established politician before the apocalypse, Seo Un-jae, still an ordinary person, was momentarily speechless.

“I’m Choi Yu-na, leader of the Balhut Cult.”

“Leader of the cult…”

“The ruler of Gyeongju…!”

However, knowing her identity, they couldn’t possibly treat her as a powerless young girl.

Being the leader of the Balhut Cult was essentially equivalent to being the ruler of Gyeongju.

They couldn’t imagine how someone with such a youthful appearance had become the representative of Gyeongju, but this was an era where the apocalypse had occurred and Awakened were being born.

It had become quite common for a powerful Awakened to become the representative of a survivor camp or regional leader.

So there was no need to tactlessly mention Yu-na’s age.

“We came here after hearing from Jeong Dong-geon, but the cult leader? Are you planning to force us into your cult?”

However, since the Balhut Cult’s leader had come in person, they needed to prepare for any possible situation.

Kim Tae-sik suggested that Yu-na’s reason for coming might be to forcibly incorporate them into the cult.

“No. The reason our leader is here for this negotiation is because she is the representative of our Balhut Cult and to show respect to all of you. We have no intention of provoking you, and the promise we made before will definitely be kept.”

“Hmm.”

At that, Jeong Dong-geon stepped forward first and promised once more that they would keep that promise.

Kim Tae-sik, his momentum dampened, stepped back.

Though they kept promising to keep their word, he couldn’t spit in the face of that smiling countenance, and as long as zombies remained the enemy, internal conflicts had to be avoided as much as possible.

“Are you really an army dispatched from Gyeongju? As you know, the Balhut Cult’s reputation in the South Korean community is that of a common cult that emerged during the apocalypse.”

Replacing the retreating Kim Tae-sik was Seo Un-jae, leader of the Hyeongsan River camp.

He deliberately mentioned the cult’s reputation, expressing doubt about whether they were really an army from Gyeongju.

Of course, considering the prowess, power, and system they had demonstrated, it was true that the Balhut Cult ruled Gyeongju, and unlike their external reputation, they were an organization that steadily governed Gyeongju.

However, this was a way to gain the upper hand in an unfavorable situation by stimulating what he thought was the cult’s weakness.

He believed the cult’s weakness was that they hadn’t overcome their inherent shortcomings.

“Yes, we can indeed call ourselves a righteous army from Gyeongju. We’ve come here to attack Pohang and save our compatriots.”

In response to Seo Un-jae’s words, she described themselves as a righteous army from Gyeongju.

She then stated their justification for attacking Pohang was to save their compatriots.

“Ha, in the end, you’re just coveting POSCO and its industrial facilities, right?”

He bluntly stated that they had launched the attack on Pohang because they coveted POSCO and its industrial facilities.

He was flatly stating that the Balhut Cult was not a righteous army.

“Yes, we covet it. Very much so.”

“What?”

Then, as if confirming he wasn’t wrong, Yu-na agreed with Seo Un-jae’s statement, openly declaring that they coveted it.

Seo Un-jae was about to immediately refute that this contradicted her earlier claim of being a righteous army.

“But these are facilities that no one can use right now, aren’t they? No one has properly recaptured Pohang, so the industrial infrastructure within the city isn’t operating properly either.”

“Hmm.”

He couldn’t respond to Yu-na’s factual assault.

Whatever the case, the three major forces of Pohang had lost Pohang to zombies and hadn’t properly recaptured it.

No matter how much they coveted POSCO, as long as it was occupied by zombies, it was a facility that no one could use, and it was difficult to claim ownership at this point.

Frankly, it was abandoned facilities and industrial infrastructure, so anyone who recaptured it from zombies and planted their flag could rightfully claim ownership.

“I heard from Jeong Dong-geon that supplies are very important for modern weapons. But it’s been over 4 to 5 months now, and there’s no force to supply you with resources. Haven’t you all reached your limits by now?”

“…Limits, you say. That’s right. In this situation without supplies, I have marines fishing just to find something to eat.”

She decided to target the naval division commander Kim Tae-sik first, and her method was to mention the weakness of modern military forces.

Of course, Kim Tae-sik could have tried to gain some control over the meeting by pretending they still had reserves, but he chose not to.

“If they were attacking Pohang Airport just before this, they must have smaller survivor camps under their control. If they have any interest in Pohang, they could have learned about our situation from them.”

The opponent knew them well.

They had gradually united small and medium-sized camps within Pohang to build their forces, and through internal information, they had been analyzing Pohang’s situation one by one.

He judged that trying to gain control of the meeting by bluffing against such an opponent would be suicidal.

“I honestly doubt whether you all have the capacity to fight.”

“Are you saying we’re weak?”

Conversely, the Balhut Cult began to question the fighting power of Pohang’s three major forces.

“Yes. Results are starting to show in other regions. I heard that Daegu, west of Gyeongju, is gradually recapturing the city center. From Jeonju, there’s news that while not entire cities, villages and towns are being recaptured. And in Seoul, known to have the most zombies, a remarkable hero named Kim Su-ho has appeared.”

As her reason, she mentioned the outstanding heroes appearing throughout the Korean peninsula.

“But you all haven’t recaptured Pohang and are still in a stagnant state. Ah, I heard there was an outstanding hero named Baek Seol-hwa in Pohang too, but she’s missing now, isn’t she?”

And she spoke disparagingly that Pohang was different from those heroes.

Even if there was a hero, she simply stated the cold reality that the hero was currently missing.

Seo Un-jae wanted to refute Yu-na’s incredibly arrogant demeanor, but…

“We don’t have any achievements to refute that. Haha, I can’t argue with those words.”

Unlike the Balhut Cult, which had recaptured Gyeongju and grown into a proper government, Pohang had no achievements to counter their claims.