Ch.8080. Ghost Ship of the East Sea (2)

“Ahem. I apologize for my unseemly behavior.”

“No, I understand.”

Apparently somewhat weak to horror, Steven tried to calm his trembling body and spoke.

“If what you say is true and a ghost ship has appeared in the sea, it would be troublesome for our business that relies on maritime trade. If there’s a ghost ship in the East Sea here, it means there could be ghost ships in the waters we control as well. This would cause major disruptions to our logistics operations in other areas.”

The first thing he mentioned was maritime shipping.

While the Balhut Cult and the White House initially made contact via air routes, the flow of goods from now on would have to rely on the sea.

However, the blockade of those sea routes meant they couldn’t use container ships—known as humanity’s greatest invention—for efficient logistics transport.

This meant they would have to rely solely on air routes for logistics, but the White House’s true position was that they wanted to avoid air transport as much as possible.

While air routes guaranteed safety, they came with enormous costs per trade and, unlike sea transport, couldn’t handle massive volumes of cargo.

In other words, from the White House’s perspective, the return on investment wasn’t worth it.

“If it appeared in the East Sea, that means it could appear in the Pacific Ocean, and by extension, on the other side in the Atlantic as well.”

“Come to think of it, didn’t the White House make contact with Western European countries like England and France?”

“Yes. While the Pacific is important, the Atlantic is also a crucial export route for the White House. If the path to the Atlantic could be blocked by ghost ships, the White House cannot simply let this slide.”

Above all, the appearance of ghost ships in the Pacific meant they could appear in the Atlantic as well.

Considering the resulting increase in maritime insurance premiums and economic losses, the United States could not take this matter lightly.

Particularly, this incident would disrupt America’s plans to strengthen state government control.

“What does the Balhut Cult think about this?”

“Just a moment. May I have time to report this to Lord Bahamut?”

Steven hid America’s true intentions and first asked how the Balhut Cult viewed the current situation.

Yu-na’s response was that she would seek Bahamut’s advice.

It was quite a carefree answer given the serious situation, but…

“Of course. In fact, we would also like to receive Lord Bahamut’s counsel.”

Steven welcomed her suggestion, saying that he too would like to consult with Bahamut himself about this situation.

Ghost ships were something humanity was encountering for the first time.

Therefore, advice from another unknown entity—the dragon god—would be desperately needed.

‘Of course, the concept of ghosts has existed since ancient times. But I thought the concept of ghosts had been completely dispelled under the name of reason and rationality.’

While the concept of ghosts had existed for a very long time, most people thought they had already been dispelled by reason and rationality.

That’s why Steven was all the more eager to ask Bahamut directly about this unknown phenomenon.

After Yu-na briefly contacted Bahamut to inform him about the situation, his response was:

[So now it’s not zombies, but undead?]

Bahamut remarked that they weren’t zombies but undead.

“Undead, huh. Well, I suppose zombies and undead are separated by a paper-thin difference.”

Steven agreed with Bahamut’s assessment, saying frankly that zombies and undead were barely different.

Considering that in fantasy, zombies are actually classified as a type of undead, it was entirely reasonable to conclude that ghost ships might be controlled by some kind of undead entity.

[So. The problem is ghost ships appearing in the sea.]

“That’s right. From ancient times until now, the sea has always been crucial to the flow of goods. As they say, whoever controls the sea controls the world.”

Whatever the case, the sudden appearance of ghost ships in the sea was definitely a problem.

Steven emphasized the importance of the sea, arguing that controlling the sea was essentially equivalent to controlling the world.

Considering the importance of trade in the modern era, Steven’s words weren’t wrong.

In fact, the Balhut Cult had also benefited from this trade, with Pohang being rapidly rebuilt and experiencing various positive developments.

“Of course, there’s also exchange via air routes, but that can’t be expected to yield much profit. I hope the dragon god will make a good decision.”

While routes weren’t completely blocked—air routes remained available—Steven mentioned they couldn’t expect much profitability from them, and asked for Bahamut’s decision.

Even from America’s perspective, this matter was urgent.

[So for mutual cooperation between the United States and the Balhut Cult, we need to eliminate the enemies appearing on the sea.]

“It’s an urgent matter.”

[Hmph. Can’t be helped. I’ll send out Seol-hwa to eliminate the ghost ships appearing in our waters.]

For trade and exchange between the United States and the Balhut Cult to continue, Bahamut decided that the Dragon Priestess would personally take action.

Considering that even Yu-na only entered the frontlines at the last moment, deploying the Dragon Priestess from the start showed that Bahamut was taking this situation very seriously.

“As you command.”

Yu-na bowed her head in agreement with Bahamut’s decision.

And once the dragon god Bahamut made this big-picture decision for the cult, the administrative procedures could proceed quickly.

Bahamut’s decision wasn’t something to criticize, and the Balhut Cult couldn’t afford to give up its exchange with the White House.

The existence of ghost ships interfering with this exchange had to be eliminated with all the cult’s strength, and following Bahamut’s orders, Baek Seol-hwa, the mayor of Pohang and Dragon Priestess, was decided to set sail as the commander.

“Hehe. I’ll prove that choosing me was the right decision.”

Following Bahamut’s orders, Seol-hwa immediately mobilized the Marine Corps forces stationed in Pohang, and was able to prepare several patrol boats and one patrol ship to patrol the East Sea coast.

And as the commanding officer, she appointed Kim Tae-sik, one of the leaders of the Pohang Three Camps and former commander of the 1st Marine Division of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps.

Summoned to the office just before departing for the East Sea, Kim Tae-sik arrived at the Dragon Priestess’s office and bowed his head to Seol-hwa without hesitation, in a strong voice.

It was a pitiful situation where a middle-aged man in military uniform was bowing his head to a young girl, but Kim Tae-sik felt no shame in bowing to Seol-hwa.

‘This is my chance. This is my opportunity to prove my worth to the Dragon Priestess!’

For Kim Tae-sik, who had suffered a major political downfall due to his reckless ambition, this summons from Seol-hwa felt like a lifeline thrown to a fool backed into a corner.

Since that day, Kim Tae-sik had been trying to regain his position within the military, but he had been greatly overshadowed by Jeong Dong-geon, who received support from the cult, and was being treated as an outcast by the Marine Corps officers.

While being treated essentially as a division commander whose string had been cut, he received a summons from Baek Seol-hwa, the Dragon Priestess… If he successfully completed this mission, he could secure a stable path forward.

“I’m counting on you, Mr. Kim Tae-sik.”

“Of course. This time I will prove my loyalty to the Balhut Cult.”

He answered with a strong voice, as if to prove his loyalty to Baek Seol-hwa.

‘If I don’t prove myself this time, I’ll truly be an outcast in the military…!’

Naturally, if he failed to prove his worth this time, Kim Tae-sik would truly lose everything he had built up until now.

This time, he absolutely needed to achieve something that would be recognized by others, to secure a definite position within Pohang.

Yes, in a way, he felt his survival was at stake.

‘As an Awakened, I cannot defeat Jeong Dong-geon…!’

Objectively speaking, Kim Tae-sik’s abilities as an Awakened were inferior to Jeong Dong-geon’s.

At least before the apocalypse, as someone who had risen to division commander, he certainly had tactical abilities and strategic plans to command the Marine Corps, but these could be easily replaced by the staff members who had followed Kim Tae-sik.

From the staff’s perspective, it was mainstream to abandon the already fallen Kim Tae-sik and follow Jeong Dong-geon, who was directly sponsored by the Balhut Cult, which clearly showed Kim Tae-sik’s current position within the military.

So he couldn’t help but crave advancement even more.

‘Yes, this time I am different from my past self!’

Above all, he had been chosen by the Dragon Priestess who had contracted with the dragon god.

At first, he had looked down on Baek Seol-hwa, but now he had visited the Bahamut Temple in person to repent for his sins.

To prove his sincerity, he would prove his loyalty even at the cost of his life, demonstrating to the world that Pohang needed Kim Tae-sik.

“I heard there was a reason you summoned us today.”

One slightly disappointing point was that Seol-hwa hadn’t summoned only Kim Tae-hyun.

Ha Jin-woo, who had established himself as a proper executive in Pohang, had also responded to Seol-hwa’s summons and come here.

“Were we all summoned because of the recent complaints about ghost ship sightings in Pohang?”

And now Seo Un-jae, who served as Baek Seol-hwa’s advisor and secretary and was in charge of Pohang’s administration, had also been called to the office. Seo Un-jae seemed to have anticipated this summons and mentioned the recent complaints.

“Yes. As Mr. Seo Un-jae said, ghost ships have appeared in the East Sea.”

“Haha. Then, do we really need to step in? Ghost ships appearing at sea isn’t common, but it’s the apocalypse, isn’t it?”

Kim Tae-sik asked if the military really needed to intervene just because ghost ships had appeared at sea.

While ghost ships appearing at sea wasn’t common, there had been surprisingly many instances of ghost ship sightings even before the apocalypse.

If ghost ships appeared before the apocalypse, wouldn’t their appearance after the apocalypse be commonplace?

However, contrary to Kim Tae-sik’s statement:

“No. Not that kind of ghost ship. I mean literal ghost ships.”

“…What?”

The ghost ships that had appeared now were literal ghost ships.

“So… you mean ships operated directly by ghosts?”

“Yes. Not ghosts, but zombies. Though Lord Bahamut says it’s hard to even call them zombies anymore.”

“What the hell? That’s scary.”

Upon hearing that ghosts had appeared in reality, Ha Jin-woo, who had been listening quietly, expressed his fear with alarm.

Some people are afraid of ghosts that can’t be perceived with the eyes, and now they’re saying these ghosts have actually appeared in reality.

“Are you saying that ghost ships have really appeared?”

“…While I understand the desire to deny reality, we’ve already received numerous complaints about ghost ships from many fishermen.”

When Ha Jin-woo asked again, Seo Un-jae initially said it was unbelievable, but they had already secured numerous testimonies and witnesses.

Being in charge of administration, he was also responsible for handling complaints within Pohang, so he had been able to secure sufficient testimonies and photographic evidence of ghost ships appearing in the East Sea.

He seemed to have prepared the materials in advance, as he handed over the prepared documents to Kim Tae-sik and Ha Jin-woo upon Seol-hwa’s summons.

“Good grief. So in the apocalypse, we have to deal with these things.”

After receiving and reviewing the materials, Kim Tae-sik lamented that these were the enemies he would have to face from now on.

“L-Lord Bahamut! What about Lord Bahamut’s protection?!”

Ha Jin-woo, frightened by the ghosts, mentioned Bahamut’s promise to protect Pohang, expressing his desire to receive the dragon god’s protection immediately.

“This elimination order comes directly from Lord Bahamut. We must respond from Pohang, not Gyeongju.”

“Lord Bahamut ordered this directly?”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing that Bahamut had directly ordered this mission, the three representatives’ eyes lit up.

That meant…

“So, does this mean Lord Bahamut will personally observe this battle?”

It meant there was a high possibility that Bahamut would personally participate in this battle.

Unlike his limited summoning to avoid destroying the city, he could be summoned more freely at sea where there was nothing to destroy.

Any ships in the vicinity during the summoning could simply retreat to a safe distance beforehand.

“Yes. The summoning permission has already been granted. If we encounter ghost ships too powerful for us to handle, Lord Bahamut will personally intervene.”

“Summoning permission too! Haha! That’s a relief!”

And Seol-hwa, meeting their expectations, said she had already received summoning permission from Bahamut.

At those words, Ha Jin-woo sighed in relief as if it was truly fortunate.

He still couldn’t forget that sight.

That tremendous strike that burned countless zombies and melted the earth with overwhelming power.

Starting with that strike, Pohang was liberated, and the Balhut Cult’s rule was established in Pohang.

“Haha, that’s reassuring! Then, is our job to create a favorable battlefield for Lord Bahamut, like we did in Gyeongju in the past?”

Yes, with the dragon god Bahamut on their side, defeat was impossible.

Kim Tae-sik answered Baek Seol-hwa with an expectant expression and courage, but…

“No. First, we must fight directly. We need to deploy our fleet and engage the ghost ships ourselves.”

“Eh?”

“Lord Bahamut is an extremely busy being. If this is something we can resolve ourselves, we can’t unnecessarily ask him to participate, can we?”

“Ah, yes.”

It had been good until now.