Chapter 147
To conclude, the most desired outcomes of this negotiation—such as a ceasefire, truce, or end to the war—were ultimately not achieved.
From the Allied Forces’ perspective, that would have been the most desperate goal, so in that sense, this negotiation could be seen as disappointing.
However, considering that they obtained several key pieces of information about the Immortal Cult, depending on one’s perspective, it could be seen as a partial success.
“Failure.”
“Yes. In the end, we failed to halt the war, even temporarily.”
The Allied Forces’ leadership reviewed this negotiation as a failure.
That’s because, ultimately, not a single issue facing the Allied Forces had been resolved.
From the perspective of regular soldiers, the mere fact that the dull, drawn-out war was not ending could be demoralizing.
“If not for that decisive victory, things would’ve been dangerous.”
“The Battle of Ulsan Bridge was the most crucial for us as well.”
Fortunately, the Battle of Ulsan Bridge ended in a decisive victory, so the soldiers’ trust in the leadership hadn’t faltered one bit.
Above all, the efforts made to resolve this situation had been visible even to the troops, which built a foundation of trust in their leaders.
“Continued victories help us forget the fatigue, at least.”
They weren’t accumulating defeats either. In fact, they had continued to win in minor defensive engagements.
So, those accumulated victories gave the soldiers the strength to keep enduring the war despite growing fatigue.
“But it’s still true that we needed time to rest and reorganize. It’s truly unfortunate.”
Still, what’s unfortunate remains unfortunate.
It was a fact that the army needed rest and time to recover.
“At least we have good news to report to Lord Bahamut and the Cabinet, who are currently abroad for diplomatic activities. That’s a relief.”
“You felt the pressure from the Cabinet too?”
“Yeah. I definitely felt their gaze.”
The fact that they could report good news to Bahamut, who was currently conducting diplomatic negotiations overseas, offered some reassurance to Jung Dong-gun.
Even with Bahamut’s trust, nothing lasts forever. If the Ulsan front had dragged on too long, cracks in that trust would’ve been inevitable.
So to Jung Dong-gun personally, this decisive victory—one that reaffirmed Bahamut’s trust—was far from a bad outcome.
“Anyway, when you think about the information we got this time, the Immortal Cult’s influence is broader than expected.”
“Yeah. It’s substantial. Seoul. Incheon. Daejeon. Ulsan. Even Busan. That’s influence over most of Korea’s major cities.”
Among the information obtained, the most intriguing was definitely the scope of the Immortal Cult’s influence.
Though he had reacted calmly during the negotiation, the fact that they held sway not only in Korea’s major cities but even in Seoul made Jung Dong-gun wonder whether the Immortal Cult might be an even greater power than the Balhut Cult.
“But they probably don’t govern more than half of those places in practice.”
If they were really that powerful, there would’ve been no need to focus solely on the Ulsan front.
They could’ve attacked the Balhut Cult’s main base through other regions. If they truly held Daejeon, they could’ve used a flanking route to target Pohang.
“The cities they truly control are probably Ulsan… at most, Busan.”
“Is it because of Kim Suho in Seoul?”
Each region had a remarkable hero responsible for its defense. And Kim Suho, based in Seoul, was the first in Korea to reach the realm of a Transcendent.
There were even reports that he rescued the remnants of the Korean government and established the Han River Defense Line—evidence of how thoroughly he was preparing defenses. That’s why Han Seong-geun believed the Immortal Cult couldn’t hold influence in Seoul, and he brought up Kim Suho’s name.
“Yes, because Kim Suho is in Seoul. Even though Seoul is guarded by the first person to ever reach Level 20, the Immortal Cult claims to exert influence there. That’s surprisingly deep-rooted.”
Conversely, the fact that they had any influence in Seoul at all—even with Kim Suho there—proved how formidable the Immortal Cult really was.
After all, “influence” doesn’t necessarily mean control. It can also mean infiltrating a region and carrying out various activities.
“It’s not all that surprising. Since it’s not rule but rather influence in the form of sleeper cells.”
“I know. But the opponent here is Kim Suho, isn’t it?”
In that sense, it wasn’t surprising, since even the Balhut Cult exerted similar sleeper-cell influence in Daegu.
However, what Jung Dong-gun didn’t know—
“About Kim Suho. According to recent reports, he suffered a defeat in Myeong-dong.”
“Kim Suho?”
The undefeated hero Kim Suho had actually experienced defeat.
Jung Dong-gun looked at Han Seong-geun in disbelief, and Han Seong-geun solemnly nodded with a heavy expression.
“Yes.”
With that confirmation, Jung Dong-gun frowned in genuine concern and fell into thought.
“That’s… troubling. Did Kim Suho die?”
He first asked about Kim Suho’s condition.
Depending on that answer, the Balhut Cult’s strategic plans would need to change.
The only fortunate point was…
“He didn’t die. According to information from the community, he suffered almost no losses to his forces. He only lost the territory they had reclaimed during their expedition.”
“So the Han River Defense Line is still intact.”
“Yes.”
Kim Suho was alive, and his troops hadn’t been weakened.
They had simply lost the reclaimed territory—most importantly, the Han River Defense Line remained unbroken.
While this could be seen as a small setback following progress—
“It must mean something happened in Seoul.”
On the flip side, if they had to abandon hard-won territory and retreat, it meant something had happened in Seoul.
Jung Dong-gun considered two possibilities here.
‘The appearance of a powerful undead. That’s the most direct and efficient explanation.’
The first possibility was a powerful undead.
Given that a unique creature called a Banshee had already been discovered in the East Sea, there was already precedent for such powerful undead to appear during the Apocalypse.
In truth, this logic was the easiest to understand, and it was a situation where retreat could be seen as reasonable.
Considering how much the Eastern Fleet had struggled because of the Banshee during the first encounter, it was rational for Kim Suho to retreat to ensure the safety of his forces.
“…Or is it an internal issue?”
“Commander?”
The second possibility was internal… in other words, a political issue.
Jung Dong-gun had the trust of God Bahamut and the support of both faction leaders, Han Geun-chul and Park Cheol-gon, so he had never truly faced political obstacles until now—but Kim Suho was different.
If it wasn’t a powerful undead, the only other reason that could explain retreating and abandoning reclaimed territory was political conflict.
That included the possibility that Kim Suho had a bad relationship or couldn’t cooperate with the political forces behind the Han River Defense Line.
“…Let’s move past the topic of Kim Suho for now. Let’s continue—next is about the leader of the Immortal Cult. He goes by the title The Dark Lord.”
“Hmm. That’s a pretty generic name for a villain.”
“Indeed. If he’d gone with ‘Black Magician,’ I might’ve been more nervous, strangely enough.”
The name was so grandiose that it wasn’t even scary anymore.
If it had been something short and simple, it might’ve stirred more fear—so they joked meaninglessly about that.
“Still, despite the generic name, he seems to be considered an absolute being within the Immortal Cult.”
“An absolute being… like Lord Bahamut?”
“Who knows. We know nothing about his power. But considering that this apocalypse has brought forth many unimaginable things… we can’t afford to let our guard down.”
Complacency wasn’t an option.
No one outside of the Immortal Cult knew the truth about his identity, and the only reason they had any confirmation of his existence was through interrogation via the Geass Scroll.
Most of all, what Jung Dong-gun feared the most—
“We can’t guarantee there isn’t a being equal to Lord Bahamut in this apocalypse. Anything is possible in times like these.”
If the enemy was on par with the Dragon God Bahamut—
Then how would they face such an opponent? That was the question that weighed heavily on Jung Dong-gun’s mind.
“I see.”
“You don’t seem too concerned.”
Han Seong-geun answered plainly, almost nonchalantly.
Jung Dong-gun asked why he seemed so composed.
“But isn’t the fact that this so-called Dark Lord hasn’t acted personally proof that he fears the power of Lord Bahamut?”
“Is that so?”
If such a being truly had overwhelming power, he should have ended the Ulsan war by now. But he hadn’t—he was simply moving through the Immortal Cult.
If the Immortal Cult was aware of the existence of Lord Bahamut, then logically, the Dark Lord must also be aware. That could support the idea that he feared Lord Bahamut.
“Yes. If his power were truly absolute, he would’ve already conquered Korea. Yet he stays hidden, merely guiding the Immortal Cult from the shadows, while Lord Bahamut steps up when necessary.”
Han Seong-geun’s reasoning was that the Dark Lord had never appeared on the battlefield—not even once.
Lord Bahamut, on the other hand, had appeared on the frontlines himself when needed. Meanwhile, this so-called absolute being had no confirmed presence before this interrogation—he was completely unknown.
“That might be true. But we must not grow careless. Moving on—the Immortal Cult and we cannot coexist under the same sky.”
“As expected.”
The next piece of intel was the grim reason why this war couldn’t be stopped.
It was the decisive reason why a ceasefire or peace couldn’t be achieved through negotiation. Jung Dong-gun wanted to ask the Immortal Cult if they were really resolved to fight to the death.
Surely the Immortal Cult must understand that such a path could lead to mutual destruction.
“I at least hoped we could talk it out, but they’ve already resolved to annihilate the Balhut Cult. That’s been declared by their absolute being. So all we can do now is destroy them before they destroy us.”
“How unfortunate.”
Still, if the Immortal Cult had made up their mind to wipe out the Balhut Cult, then the Balhut Cult must also be resolved to do the same to them.
Jung Dong-gun declared the destruction of the Immortal Cult, and though Han Seong-geun lamented the situation, he did not object to that vow.
Because they both knew—only one side could survive.
“And lastly… the residents of Ulsan.”
“…What happened to them?”
Jung Dong-gun simply shook his head in silence.
That gesture alone conveyed that the news was not good. Han Seong-geun saw it and fell silent as well.
“There was no clear answer. If we want to hope, we can believe they’re still alive.”
“But in this apocalypse… having false hope is too cruel.”
Believing they were still alive in such an apocalypse was almost delusional.
And knowing how the Immortal Cult operates, it was safe to assume that their survival was virtually hopeless.
“You’d best prepare yourself.”
“Understood, Commander.”
In the end, they had to be prepared to abandon half of Ulsan.
Jung Dong-gun told him to steel himself in a trembling voice, and Han Seong-geun accepted those words with a heavy expression.
With that, their review of the gathered intelligence was complete—but Jung Dong-gun seemed to have something else on his mind.
“Also… before Lord Bahamut returns, I’d like to gather more intel on Seoul.”
“Seoul?”
He mentioned gathering information about Seoul to Han Seong-geun.
“Like it or not, Seoul is the heart of South Korea. If Kim Suho was defeated, the ripple effects could reach across the entire peninsula.”
“Understood. I’ll look into it.”
Whether they liked it or not, Kim Suho’s defeat in Seoul could have nationwide implications, so they needed to prepare countermeasures accordingly.
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