Ch.6060. Recapturing Pohang (3)

# Bahamut’s Arrival Turns the Tide in Pohang

Bahamut’s arrival completely reversed the situation in Pohang.

No, it wasn’t just reversed—it had essentially become a one-sided purge by the Balhut Cult.

The Balhut Cult soldiers who remained at the forward base charged into Pohang without hesitation at Yu-na’s command, systematically eliminating the mutant zombies that remained there.

The lesser zombies had already been wiped out by Bahamut, and there were no more zombies left to support the mutants’ strength.

With the mutant zombies essentially stripped bare, they could be overwhelmed with human wave tactics, leaving no more disadvantageous factors for the Cult.

“Well then, let’s join this battle quickly.”

“Eh? What?”

Jeong Dong-geon, who was waiting at Pohang Airport, was in a similar situation.

Following Yu-na’s orders to prepare for battle, Jeong Dong-geon snapped Son Sang-hui out of her daze as she was still stunned from witnessing Bahamut’s strike.

Son Sang-hui looked at Jeong Dong-geon with an expression that showed she didn’t understand the situation at all.

“Isn’t this a perfect chance to gain experience points for free?”

“Oh. You’re right.”

Saying it was a golden opportunity to enhance their Awakened abilities, Jeong Dong-geon led his subordinates to begin hunting the mutant zombies scattered throughout the city.

Bahamut still stood majestically with his back to Hyeongsan River, casting powerful buffs on each Balhut Cult member entering Pohang.

These were top-tier buffs they had never experienced before.

Though Yu-na could use similar magic, it wasn’t nearly as powerful. With Bahamut’s buffs, the Balhut Cult soldiers could exert two or even three times their normal strength.

Feeling like invincible superhumans, they charged at the mutant zombies, crushing them with single blows and demonstrating overwhelming power throughout downtown Pohang.

“Eliminate the remaining zombies hiding in Pohang! Let’s reclaim Pohang today!”

“Haha. Our captain is excited!”

Hunt, hunt, hunt for the zombie remnants hiding in Pohang!

There was no need to fight cautiously anymore, nor any reason to let zombies escape.

Since it had become a one-sided cleanup operation, they simply eliminated and removed every zombie they saw.

For maximum efficiency, the Balhut Cult divided their 500 soldiers into teams of four and dispatched them throughout Pohang, a movement that was naturally detected by Pohang’s three major camps.

However, the three major camps of Pohang offered no resistance to the Balhut Cult’s offensive.

In fact, the first to respond to the Balhut Cult’s sudden offensive was the Pohang University Campus, which had witnessed the dragon’s arrival from the closest position.

“We will fight alongside the Balhut Cult!”

Holding a megaphone in one hand, Ha Jin-woo, the leader of the Pohang University Campus, shouted toward Bahamut that they would join forces with the Balhut Cult.

It was a desperate cry to join this party alongside the Balhut Cult, and Bahamut seemed to have heard it.

“Very well. Then the dragon’s blessing shall be upon you.”

After nodding heavily at Ha Jin-woo’s words, Bahamut used the magical power received from Yu-na to cast buffs on Ha Jin-woo and the Awakened at his camp.

“Woooooah! Power is overflowing through me!”

Experiencing unprecedented power and feeling omnipotent, Ha Jin-woo and the Pohang University Campus Awakened broke down their tightly closed doors like berserkers, charging toward places where zombies might be hiding.

Filled with courage, they responded to the Balhut Cult’s offensive by attacking the zombies from behind, creating a two-front battle for the zombies.

The mutant zombies, having already lost all their lesser zombie minions to Bahamut, had no foundation left to withstand this two-front assault.

Even if they defended one side, the other side would launch an unstoppable charge empowered by Bahamut’s buffs. With the Pohang University Campus joining the battle, the zombie front line rapidly collapsed.

“It’s a mutant spider zombie!”

The mutant spider zombies, which hadn’t fully fallen for Yu-na’s provocation and had preserved some of their forces, were formidable opponents for the Pohang survivor camps.

Their distinctive carapace, spider webs that dominated Pohang’s streets, and powerful acid that could dissolve almost anything were each threatening to survivors with limited resources.

The carapace in particular had such strong durability that it wouldn’t cut well unless enchanted weapons were used.

“Oraaah!”

“Kishaaah!?”

“What’s that? I don’t know, it’s scary.”

However, one survivor fearlessly attacked a mutant spider zombie, and with a single punch, the supposedly durable carapace shattered.

It cleanly broke through the exterior, revealing the soft flesh inside. The survivor was more frightened by his own strength than by the zombie.

“Whatever it is, that dragon’s blessing must be some kind of power!”

“The performance is amazing!”

The survivor realized that they had received the dragon’s blessing for agreeing to fight alongside the Balhut Cult and correctly guessed that all this was possible because of it.

Indeed, it wasn’t a wrong assessment—the dramatic increase in physical abilities due to the powerful buff allowed them to break the mutant spider zombie’s carapace.

The university campus survivors, as if determined to pay back all the suffering they had endured from zombies, pulled out crude-looking kitchen knives and weapons and began beating the mutant spider zombies to death.

“Kishaaaah!”

“Damn this acid… huh?”

Of course, the mutant spider zombies weren’t just equipped with carapaces.

They naturally had poison, and one Awakened who got too excited by the dragon’s blessing accidentally got hit by the spider’s acidic poison.

As the acidic poison approached, the survivor cursed at the mutant spider zombie, preparing for death when suddenly…

“…?”

He was standing perfectly fine.

The poison was strong enough to melt asphalt, and naturally, it should have dissolved the Awakened’s body upon contact, but he was completely unharmed.

Rather, the mutant spider zombie that spat the acidic poison looked at the directly hit Awakened with an expression that seemed to say, “What’s that? I don’t know, it’s scary.”

“What? Why am I still alive?”

The Awakened had also prepared to die, knowing he had been directly hit by the poison due to his carelessness.

But despite taking a direct hit from the poison, his body wasn’t melting at all—he was perfectly fine.

“This is bulletproof dragon’s blessing!”

“Kieeeeek!”

With that realization, he smashed the mutant spider zombie’s head with the club he was holding.

Having nullified two of the mutant spider zombie’s strengths, all that remained was the zombie’s overwhelming physical specs, but…

“Wow, I can actually match strength with a mutant spider zombie?”

“Kishaaah!? Kishaaaaaaak! Kishak!”

“What are you saying!”

Even that was nullified by the Strength magic.

Moreover, even when attacks landed, the Protection magic provided tremendous defense, making it a nightmare for the opponents.

The intelligent mutant spider zombie screamed as if complaining about cheating, but no human was there to listen.

Like its comrades, its terrifying head and upper body were smashed with a club, sending it to join its fallen companions.

“We will also fight alongside the Balhut Cult.”

The flow of battle was turning toward humanity’s victory.

The Marines, who had maintained their composure while observing the battlefield even after Bahamut’s appearance, realized that the tide of battle had completely changed and loudly declared they would fight alongside the Balhut Cult, as if unwilling to be outdone.

They scraped together all remaining fuel to operate their vessels, fired their ship cannons at groups of mutant spider zombies near the port, and deployed all marines from their ships to begin a port cleanup operation after reaching the dock.

It was an all-out offensive by the Marines with a determination to never look back, even mobilizing their remaining armored weapons.

“You too shall fight alongside me.”

When they showed their willingness to fight alongside the Balhut Cult, Bahamut unhesitatingly cast buffs on the Navy, and the Marines who entered the battlefield began to advance bravely toward Pohang without a moment’s hesitation.

They fired their rifles, and when they ran out of ammunition, they engaged in close combat with zombies using the rifle butts.

Thanks to Bahamut’s blessing, they were virtually invincible, which provided an opportunity for non-Awakened marines to potentially Awaken.

“Of course we can’t miss out on a party like this! The Hyeongsan River Camp will definitely join in.”

Naturally, Seo Un-jae’s survivor camp, which had settled across the Hyeongsan River, couldn’t miss out on such an event.

Having already finished his calculations even before the Navy joined, Seo Un-jae declared they would fight alongside the Balhut Cult around the same time as the Pohang University Camp.

Of course, Bahamut’s blessing was also bestowed upon the survivor camp he led, and they began to subjugate the mutant zombies across the Hyeongsan River.

“Remove all barricades on the bridge! Guide the Balhut Cult here comfortably!”

Of course, the Hyeongsan River survivor camp wasn’t fighting alone.

They opened wide the gates of the Yugang Bridge, where they had built barricades in preparation for potential emergencies, and went out to welcome the Balhut Cult forces coming to the Hyeongsan River via Yeongil Bay Road.

Thanks to the Hyeongsan River survivors who cleared the barricades installed on the Yugang Bridge and guided them, the Balhut Cult could engage in battle with the mutant zombies across the bridge without getting lost.

“They must have all found true faith.”

‘No, I don’t think that’s it.’

Seeing the fierce attacks of Pohang’s three major forces who spared no effort, Yu-na rejoiced, thinking they had finally understood the noble cause of the Balhut Cult.

Of course, Bahamut, hearing this, inwardly objected that this wasn’t the case.

“That’s not it. They’ve just gone wild because they see Pohang’s recapture within reach. I don’t think they’ll believe in me after just one battle.”

“Do you really think so?”

Bahamut judged that rather than faith, they had simply gone wild because they saw Pohang’s recapture within reach.

However, Yu-na countered Bahamut’s realistic statement with “Do you really think so?”

“I think they’ll all find true faith after seeing Lord Bahamut’s overwhelming power.”

“Ahem.”

Bahamut found it difficult to argue with Yu-na’s assertion.

It was a scene he had already witnessed many times in Gyeongju.

‘Well, let’s humbly overlook minor side effects! That’s best!’

Let’s humbly overlook minor side effects.

Bahamut was thinking too complacently that time would solve everything anyway.

However, considering how much that complacent thinking had backfired on this foolish dragon, he shouldn’t have been so complacent and humble about it.

Ah! What an innocent and ignorant dragon!

“By the way, does this complete the recapture of Pohang?”

“Yes. The rest will be post-processing in cooperation with Pohang’s three major camps.”

In any case, the operation to recapture Pohang could be concluded with Pohang’s three major forces cooperating with the Balhut Cult to eliminate the remaining mutant zombies inside Pohang.