Chapter 108
The subsequent attacks by the skeleton horde occurred twice.
Once near the intersection leading to Iero and Otovale, and once more in the small village where the school was located.
As if fully aware of the allied forces’ movements, the skeleton horde’s ambushes on buses carrying refugees grew increasingly fierce.
“There really seems to be a spy among us. I sense an unpleasant and nauseating magical reaction among the refugees.”
“Finally found them. It was starting to get on my nerves.”
However, the reason for advancing the evacuation to Gyeongju and engaging in battles instead of waiting for reinforcements from the Balhut Cult headquarters was to detect any spies that might be among them.
Son Sang-hui appeared to have identified a spy hiding among the refugees, indicating the presence of nauseating magical energy.
Meanwhile, Jina Ahn, who had just smashed the head of an enemy commander moments ago, flicked her spear in the air, slung it over her shoulder, and addressed Son Sang-hui.
“Then we need to capture them. How many are there?”
“It seems there’s one on each bus.”
There were currently 40 transport buses carrying refugees.
This meant that if there was one spy per bus, there were approximately 40 spies hiding among the refugees.
“That’s a lot. At least 40 spies infiltrated? Hmm… or is that a small number compared to 4,000 people?”
“It’s a significant number. It easily exceeds a platoon.”
“Right, that makes sense.”
Jina Ahn was astonished at the presence of 40 spies but considering the scale of the evacuation, it might actually be a small number.
With 4,000 people on the move, 40 spies accounted for only 1% of the total.
Of course, 40 was by no means a small number, as it easily surpassed the size of a platoon.
What was even more alarming, however, was that—
“Forty awakened individuals are undoubtedly terrifying. If these spy awakeners infiltrate Gyeongju and disrupt public order, neither the IRS nor the military would be able to handle it.”
The fact that all of them were awakened made the situation even more frightening.
Thinking back to before the apocalypse, this was akin to having a trained elite unit infiltrating among the refugees.
These superhuman soldiers, capable of subduing dozens of ordinary people with ease, were now hiding among the refugees.
Not only was protecting the refugees from them a challenge, but even sending them to Gyeongju while pretending to know nothing posed its own risks.
If these spies gathered to form a platoon, an unidentified awakened army would emerge in Gyeongju.
Even if they were captured here, there was a risk they might use the refugees as hostages to initiate guerrilla warfare.
From the perspective of the allied forces, they were truly a vexing opponent. A strategy to defeat this army of 40 awakened spies had to be devised.
“If they all come together, it’ll be dangerous. But for now, they’re operating separately.”
“That’s true. They’re scattered across different buses rather than gathering in one place.”
However, that risk only materialized if they gathered and launched guerrilla operations.
For now, to avoid suspicion, the spies were disguised as refugees and scattered across different buses, likely quite complacent in their current state.
In other words, as long as they remained scattered—
“They can be taken down individually.”
They could be dealt with one by one.
Jina Ahn shot a sharp look at Son Sang-hui, who nodded in agreement.
“The issue is that they might have a means of communication. Even if we attack them individually, if they’re using smartphones, they could quickly alert other spies on the buses…”
“That’s unlikely.”
“Pardon?”
Son Sang-hui raised concerns, thinking it would be challenging since real-time communication through smartphones would allow them to quickly warn their comrades of an attack.
If that happened, the spies might notice the danger and take the refugees on their bus hostage, initiating guerrilla warfare, putting the allied forces at a disadvantage…
“That’s an issue from before the apocalypse. It’s simply not feasible to provide fully charged smartphones to spies anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, having a smartphone itself is a luxury. To disguise themselves as refugees, they’d need to blend in by not carrying smartphones. We’ve also been filtering out refugees who still have working smartphones.”
This perspective stemmed from the Balhut Cult’s control over energy resources. Realistically speaking, it was unlikely that all spies were equipped with fully charged smartphones to maintain communication.
Given the Immortal Cult’s ongoing propaganda war, Son Sang-hui naturally assumed that all spies would be equipped with well-charged smartphones to sustain a communication network. However, in the apocalypse, using smartphones was a sign of economic privilege.
Even in Ulsan, where the Balhut Cult controlled only a fraction of the territory, only key officials at the airport were allowed to use smartphones, and it was unlikely the Immortal Cult could provide smartphones to every spy.
“Even in Ulsan, among our own forces, only my colleagues and Han Seong-geun can use smartphones. Do you think the Immortal Cult would provide them to mere spies?”
That seemed improbable.
Without an unlimited power supply like Bahamut’s, there were limits to providing smartphones for spy operations.
Even Jina Ahn, who had built a reputation as a hero with Fukuoka’s assistance, and sub-leader Han Seong-geun at Ulsan Airport only permitted smartphone usage for senior officers, restricting the rest due to electricity constraints.
“I think it’s impractical. More than six months have passed, and the number of usable smartphones in Ulsan must have dwindled significantly.”
“Indeed.”
Moreover, the number of functioning smartphones in Ulsan had likely decreased significantly.
That was Jina Ahn’s conclusion.
Thanks to Bahamut’s support, the Balhut Cult could freely use electronic devices, much like in pre-apocalypse times, but this wasn’t the case for others.
“Then let’s conduct searches under the pretext of checking for injured individuals on the buses.”
Son Sang-hui seemed resolute, proposing to search the buses under the guise of looking for injured people.
“That’s a good idea, but…”
Including the previous battles, there had already been three skirmishes.
Asking about injured individuals on the buses could easily be justified as a measure to ensure the safety of the refugees.
“But they might resist during the searches.”
The issue was that the spies might resist during the searches.
Currently, the allied forces had suspicions but no concrete evidence of the spies.
“Let’s turn them into patients. Then we can gather them all in one place.”
“That’s a brilliant idea!”
In such urgent circumstances, there was no time to gather evidence.
Forcibly turning suspects into patients and relocating them was indeed a solution.
Although crude, the justification for bus searches was exactly that—to ensure no spy escaped as a patient.
“Let’s move immediately.”
“Yes.”
Jina Ahn and Son Sang-hui boarded the bus at the front of the convoy, leaving behind the allied forces cleaning up the battlefield, and shouted.
“Is anyone injured? Or does anyone feel sick?”
“We will treat any urgent patients in the medical vehicle!”
Of course, there were no actual injuries among the startled refugees who had been kept from even approaching the buses.
But the important thing was to check the refugees’ health while simultaneously… identifying the spies.
“Guh!?”
“Oh dear. This person looks pale. There’s an emergency patient here!”
The method was simple.
As Son Sang-hui and Jina Ahn entered the bus, shouting to attract attention and asking if anyone was injured, Son Sang-hui discreetly gestured towards the individual she suspected of being a spy, making sure Jina Ahn noticed.
Jina Ahn, pretending to inspect the bus one section at a time, approached the suspected spy and… landed an invisible, lightning-fast punch to their stomach.
The superhuman strike, too fast for even an awakened individual’s eyes to follow, left the spy clutching their stomach in pain. Jina Ahn then shouted loudly for everyone to hear.
“We have an emergency patient here! Let’s transport them to the medical vehicle immediately!”
Son Sang-hui played along, suggesting they move the individual to the medical vehicle, and the suspected spy was carried off by Jina Ahn to the prepared medical vehicle.
Once transported, their demeanor changed entirely. Their hands and feet were bound, their mouth was gagged, and guards were left behind to monitor them thoroughly.
“That’s one down.”
“Let’s get the rest.”
As Jina Ahn and Son Sang-hui continued their search for spies, they encountered a familiar saying: “The longer the tail, the more likely it is to be caught.”
The spies at the rear of the convoy, noticing that a patient appeared every time the two boarded a bus, grew suspicious.
The abrupt situation made them wonder if their infiltration had been discovered by the allied forces, filling them with unease.
Unable to see the faces of the “patients” being transported, the spies were gripped by increasing anxiety. As that anxiety turned inward—
“Damn it!”
One spy in the back finally cracked under the pressure of Jina Ahn and Son Sang-hui’s approach. They smashed a bus window and made a break for it.
Knowing they had been exposed, the awakened spy used their power to break the window and land on the ground, attempting to escape.
At the time, the allied forces were scattered to clean up the battlefield, providing what seemed like the perfect chance to flee. But—
“Strike!”
“Guh!?”
A dull thud, like a skull being struck, echoed loudly.
The spy’s vision blurred as their brain shook from the impact, their body collapsing to the ground.
Rolling across the street was the object that had struck the spy’s head.
“A… rock? That damned gorilla woman…!”
“Who are you calling a gorilla, huh?!”
The spy thought they had chosen the perfect timing to escape, but Jina Ahn had spotted them fleeing and brought them down with a well-thrown rock.
A superhuman over level 20 throwing a rock with full force left the spy no chance. Their head split, and they collapsed, tongue lolling out.
But this was only the beginning.
“Someone’s trying to escape!”
“Use a Bahamut Round to subdue them!”
“One of them is taking hostages inside the bus!”
With one spy making a bold move, the others also began to act without hesitation, each seeking a way to survive.
Some fled to areas outside Jina Ahn’s sight, while others took refugees on their buses as hostages to issue threats.
The former were quickly subdued using Bahamut Rounds, but the latter posed a significant challenge.
“If you touch me, every hostage on this bus will die!”
The last remaining spy threatened even the bus driver, locking the bus doors and warning the allied forces that any attempt to apprehend them would lead to the hostages’ deaths.
If the spy couldn’t be subdued immediately, the lives of the refugees on the bus could not be guaranteed. Jina Ahn stood in the street, loudly condemning the spy inside the bus.
“You lunatic! How dare you take refugees as hostages! Judging by this skeleton horde, this must be the work of your Immortal Cult again! Are you planning to kill every refugee fleeing to Gyeongju, you cursed necromancer?”
She criticized them for targeting refugees fleeing to Gyeongju while planning to rule Ulsan. If they killed the refugees, it would only confirm suspicions about the Immortal Cult.
Some refugees began to question whether the rulers of Ulsan could truly stoop so low, but sadly—
“These refugees are unbelievers fleeing the sanctity of Ulsan! They deserve judgment! And you, traitors aiding a false god, will let them die!”
The spy ignored Jina Ahn’s accusations, clinging only to their fanaticism.
Their disdain for Bahamut, the god of the Balhut Cult, was evident. The soldiers who truly revered the Dragon God glared at the hostage-taking spy with furious expressions.
Other soldiers also showed discontent, raising their weapons toward the spy.
Jina Ahn sighed and nodded.
“Well, they’re suspicious, and so is our side. Both are cults worshipping gods, after all.”
Both sides were dubious.
However—
“At least our side can be reasoned with, and we’re rescuing helpless refugees. So, the answer is clear. You’re not heroes of Ulsan! You’ve always been trash, enemies of humanity!”
The Balhut Cult rescued civilians, while the Immortal Cult took them hostage.
This difference alone was enough to distinguish between the good and the bad.
Jina Ahn declared her allegiance to the Balhut Cult and denounced the Immortal Cult.
“Do not insult our Immortal Cult! Do you even know how much we’ve served Ulsan?”
“Oh, really? But everything you do is suspicious. Honestly, I’m starting to think you’re the root cause of this apocalypse.”
“That’s impossible! We were chosen! Blessed with this power by Him! We are the chosen ones!”
Even as Jina Ahn mocked them, the spy insisted they were chosen by their god.
As their focus locked on Jina Ahn—
“‘Him’? Well, we’ll get the details out of you during interrogation. You’re under arrest for obstructing public duty.”
“Graaah!?”
The spy, distracted, was quickly subdued by Son Sang-hui, who had infiltrated the bus and used a Bahamut Round.
Thus, the process of gathering all the spies in one place was completed.
“That’s the end of it.”
They had successfully identified and captured all the spies hidden among the refugees.
“Yes. Let’s leave any potential non-awakened spies to the IRS… huh?”
However, as Son Sang-hui declared this, her magical senses picked up something strange.
Could it be another summoning of skeletons? She scanned the surroundings but saw nothing.
“What’s wrong?”
“This sensation… it’s Seol-hwa’s…!”
Son Sang-hui recognized the familiar energy from her past, recalling the unique phenomenon associated with Baek Seol-hwa’s abilities.
“Everyone, retreat! Get away from the vehicle carrying the spy!”
Without explaining further, Son Sang-hui urgently warned everyone to flee.
Even she leapt away from the vehicle carrying the spy. Jina Ahn, trusting her instincts, also moved away.
“Wait, no! Stop!”
At that moment, the spy’s body began to swell.
The spy’s blood and flesh erupted in a massive explosion, consuming the vehicle and everything nearby.
Despite Son Sang-hui’s warning, debris and shrapnel struck fleeing soldiers, severing limbs and causing chaos.
“It… hurts so much!”
Even the superhuman Jina Ahn stood bloodied as she struggled to her feet.
“I would’ve died if it weren’t for my protective suit…”
Son Sang-hui, unable to rise due to her injuries, whispered the same thought.
In a single instant, the vehicle and many allied soldiers were lost to the explosion.
“My arm!”
“My leg! It hurts! It hurts so much!”
The surviving soldiers screamed in agony, staring at their severed limbs.
“Painkillers! Does anyone have painkillers?!”
As Jina Ahn scrambled toward the medical vehicle for supplies, a voice called out.
“Are there any injured?”
“Finally, you’ve arrived.”
Son Sang-hui sighed in relief as the long-awaited reinforcements arrived.
—
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