Chapter 33
King of Gyeongju.
Even when cornered, Do Josoon could not admit defeat to the Balhut Cult and Choi Yuna.
Perhaps his loud declaration was an empty cry to escape the reality of his downfall.
“Yes, you are a king. But only a king with no followers, a naked king.”
To such a person, Yuna coldly and disdainfully conveyed the harsh truth to Do Josoon with a look of pity.
Could one truly be called a king if there was no one to follow them, even if they claimed the title?
Having lost all his power, his cries seemed hollow. Yuna referred to Do Josoon as nothing more than a naked king.
“Yes, I… I am the king! A king! A throne I seized with my own power… Wait. How are you still alive? No, how can you be moving without a scratch?”
As he clung to his delusions, nearly driven to madness, Do Josoon finally noticed Yuna and stared at her as if seeing a ghost.
To subdue Yuna, Do Josoon had indeed tried to shoot her.
He had fired with all his might, yet Yuna had not even a single scratch.
“I definitely used magic and shot straight at her vital spots!”
As she was an Awakened, he had targeted her vital spots using both magic and bullets, which would have been lethal to an ordinary person.
Yet why was there not a single mark on her?
Why were there no signs of her having been attacked?
Why! Why did she stand before me, the self-proclaimed king of Gyeongju, with such arrogance, looking so unharmed!
“Excuse me? Is there a problem with me being alive?”
“Not a single wound… What kind of sorcery is this, you witch!”
Yuna responded as if his question was pointless, and in response, Do Josoon, nearly foaming at the mouth, demanded to know what kind of sorcery she had used.
Seeing Do Josoon’s frantic state, Yuna proudly explained her attire.
“Actually? I haven’t used any sorcery. Oh, if it’s about magic, it’s thanks to the Awakened who tailored my clothes with their skills.”
Just like Jung Dong-gun and the suppression force received uniforms and protective gear, Yuna, as the leader of the cult, was given equipment by the Balhut Cult.
Of course, Yuna, being the most important figure in the Balhut Cult, received a sacred garment far superior to the standard protective gear worn by ordinary soldiers.
Yuna’s sacred garment, enchanted generously with Bahamut’s coins, provided her with near-invincible defense.
“With the defense provided by this sacred garment and the protection of the great God Bahamut, I am unharmed. I hope that explanation suffices.”
‘Even I was surprised to see the Cult Leader unscathed.’
Having known this information beforehand, Jung Dong-gun and the suppression force weren’t shocked when Yuna was ambushed, allowing them to respond coolly to Do Josoon’s attack.
However, complete calmness was impossible, and internally, Jung Dong-gun was stunned by Yuna’s unscathed appearance.
Frankly, the attack that Yuna allowed was a full-force strike from the strongest Awakened of Northern Gyeongju. For any ordinary Awakened, it would have been a mortal wound or a death sentence.
Yuna was a healer, and the entire operation had been initiated by her. But from Jung Dong-gun’s perspective, it had been a dire situation where he had almost failed in his duty to protect her.
“Look around you. Do you have any followers left? Ah, well, there’s that group behind you. But will they still follow you? A king with no clothes, a defeated king whose secrets have been exposed?”
“Of course, of course, they will! I am strong! I am the strongest Awakened in all of Northern Gyeongju! In this world, it is natural for the strong to be followed; it’s the law of nature!”
Yuna ridiculed Do Josoon, calling him a naked king, aiming to make him realize his situation—that no one would follow him anymore.
Those who had been exploited by him at his stronghold glared at Do Josoon with bloodshot eyes full of hatred. His followers bitterly resented Do Josoon for dragging them into this reckless scheme.
Just as Yuna said, no one followed Do Josoon anymore… but he remained oblivious to the minds of the weak, insisting that in this world, following the strong was the natural order.
“If it weren’t for that devious new weapon of yours, my men wouldn’t have fallen! I wouldn’t have had to run!”
Yes, if it hadn’t been for that mysterious new weapon, he wouldn’t have been forced into this humiliating retreat.
He wouldn’t have suffered such a disgraceful defeat.
It was all because of the Cult’s underhanded weapon.
Do Josoon believed he had done nothing wrong.
“My forces fell, not because you are stronger than me, but because that damned dragon helped you! You are weaker than me!”
‘He’s not entirely wrong.’
Surprisingly, Jung Dong-gun did not deny Do Josoon’s near-baseless claim.
Objectively, Do Josoon and his loyal followers were indeed stronger than all the other Awakened in the Balhut Cult, except for Yuna.
Though he now stood defeated, battered, and cornered, Do Josoon, having monopolized all the resources of Northern Gyeongju, possessed far greater abilities than any Awakened under the Cult, apart from Yuna.
This was partly due to the Balhut Cult’s policy of distributing resources equally among its members for balanced growth, rather than favoring specific individuals.
“Indeed, you and your followers are strong. Stronger than me, who prioritized the growth of my followers over my own. I won’t deny that.”
But conversely, the Cult’s approach balanced the quality and quantity of its forces.
As a result, during the war, the Balhut Cult had a higher average level, allowing them to swiftly subdue Do Josoon’s weaker followers before they could even approach.
Even the select followers directly backed by Do Josoon couldn’t withstand the overwhelming numbers and coordination of Jung Dong-gun’s command.
“But you are the defeated, and we are the victors. So, there’s no need to debate further about who was right or which growth method was better. We won.”
“You’re just cowards who can’t do anything without the help of the dragon!”
So, in this situation, it was already clear whose method of growth was the right one.
Do Josoon was defeated, yet he couldn’t accept his defeat and kept spewing excuses like a sore loser.
On the other hand, the Balhut Cult was the victor, holding the authority to determine the fate of the defeated.
“And you, who ran away, are a coward too.”
“I only ran because the situation looked hopeless! If I could have held out in my stronghold, I could have won!”
No matter how much Jung Dong-gun spoke facts, it had no effect on this heartless monster.
Do Josoon argued that he had only lost because he fell for the Cult’s devious schemes, and that if he had defended his stronghold as planned, the outcome would have been different.
Watching this pointless argument between Do Josoon and Jung Dong-gun, Yuna intervened with a bright smile and delivered a stinging rebuke to Do Josoon.
“Honestly, you didn’t run away because you were afraid of losing your possessions in the stronghold, right?”
“That’s a lie! Would I, the King of Gyeongju, run away?”
In truth, he couldn’t run away because he didn’t want to lose the possessions in his stronghold.
Based on the information from the scouts, Yuna pointed out the facts, and Do Josoon responded with excuses that weren’t even real excuses.
“What excuses does a loser make? From the beginning, you were just a coward who didn’t have the courage to fight head-on because you were afraid of God Bahamut.”
But Yuna’s smile turned cold as she gradually pressed down on Do Josoon’s psyche.
Calling him a coward, she mentioned the god of the Balhut Cult, slowly exposing the base nature of Do Josoon.
“If I hadn’t acted as bait, would you, Do Josoon, have faced us head-on? No, no, you would have fled from Gyeongju like a coward, taking the precious items from your stronghold with you!”
Yuna’s words were not wrong at all.
If Yuna had not appeared before Do Josoon as bait, there was a high chance that Do Josoon would have fled Gyeongju without a second thought.
No matter how firmly he was established in Gyeongju, Do Josoon was smart enough to know that his life would be in danger if he lost this battle.
He would have regretted leaving behind the vast wealth in his stronghold, but if he took valuable items with him and fled, he could have established a base in another region.
“You are not the King of Gyeongju. You’re just a gambling addict, running a delusional circuit of false hopes!”
“Shut up! I said, shut up!”
Thus, the Awakened before him was unworthy of the title King of Gyeongju.
He was merely a gambling addict who threw himself into a fight with no chance of winning, clinging to false hopes.
“Let’s give such a gambling addict a chance.”
“A… a chance, you say!?”
Choi Yuna generously offered a chance to the miserable gambling addict.
Hearing Yuna’s words, Do Josoon’s face, which had been twisted with malice, quickly turned hopeful.
If it meant he could survive here, he would have been willing to grovel at Yuna’s feet.
“Let’s duel. How about a clean one-on-one match? Of course, your opponent will be me.”
A duel.
And it was to be a one-on-one match with Yuna, known for her healing skills.
Naturally, it was a fight where Do Josoon, a close-combat warrior, had a significant advantage.
“Oh, ahahahahaha! The gods have not abandoned me! Fine! Sounds good! I can say that a hundred times over!”
He eagerly expressed his willingness with a hopeful expression.
Thus, the one-on-one duel between Do Josoon and Yuna was arranged.
Surrounded by the soldiers of the Balhut Cult, Do Josoon held onto the vain hope that capturing Yuna could turn the tide of the battle.
“I will make you regret your arrogance!”
So, before Yuna could make any moves, he immediately launched a surprise attack, which seemed the obvious choice.
“Hahaha. Arrogant, you say?”
Yuna smiled brightly, slowly pointing her finger at Do Josoon’s solar plexus.
“Keuhk!?”
“You see, I’ve been much stronger than you from the beginning.”
A beam of light shot from her fingertip, piercing through Do Josoon’s solar plexus.
“I’ve thoroughly crushed him.”
Jung Dong-gun thought as he watched Do Josoon collapse without putting up much of a fight.
However, he felt no pity for Do Josoon.
He simply considered it the foolish downfall of a wolf who had presumptuously claimed the title of King of Gyeongju.
“So, does anyone else here wish to challenge the Cult Leader?”
“No, we do not!!”
Do Josoon’s followers, seeing him fall, surrendered without hesitation.
Their resistance had been futile.
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