187. The Slave Contract Beginning from Me (1)
Kim Su-ho didn't keep the intelligence he'd just acquired all to himself. Of course, there were plenty of ways his faction could profit by monopolizing it, but since this was the harbinger of a massive event that would shake the entire Korean Peninsula, he shared the detailed information on the internet site operated by his forces—as if issuing a warning to every warlord on the peninsula.
"Spread this news far and wide on the internet site we run. It doesn't look like something we can handle alone."
"As you command."
And so, through Kim Su-ho, word began to spread across the peninsula that North Korea was crumbling bit by bit. The reactions from the peninsula's factions split into two camps.
"This is insane!"
Factions near North Korea—especially in Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Gangwon—could only reel in horror at the news. If the North Korean regime collapsed, they'd be the first hit, left to deal with the hordes of undead the regime had been holding back.
"The 38th Parallel! The mines along the 38th Parallel will stop the undead!"
Did they really believe the 38th Parallel, its checkpoints, and buried mines would hold the border? What nonsense.
"Undead don't fear mines! Mines work against people!"
It had been a year since the apocalypse began; the border defenses couldn't possibly be intact. The border was effectively gone already. Mines wouldn't meaningfully slow the undead, and if an army fearless of death came pouring south...
"Shouldn't we prevent the North Korean regime from collapsing?"
Some factions, imagining the worst, even argued for propping up the regime to keep it alive. Everyone anticipated the fallout from North Korea's fall would be beyond imagination.
"What about Kim Su-ho? What's he doing?!"
"Tell him to move already! We'll help this time! We'll back him! Please take the lead!"
They waited for Seoul's overlord, Kim Su-ho, to act. If he called for cooperation, they were ready to join willingly. Blocking the regime's collapse or its aftermath was a unifying crisis, rallying public opinion across factions.
The other reaction, though...
"What does that have to do with us?"
"It's a disaster that'll end around Gyeonggi or Gangwon anyway."
Honam and Yeongnam dismissed it as irrelevant, cutting off interest immediately. Even if collapse happened, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Gangwon would take the first blow and serve as buffers. No need to worry about the fallout.
On the contrary...
"I hope it collapses soon."
"Yeah."
These were the ones who wanted North Korea's forces gone more than anyone—a classic case of using a neighbor's enemy as their own. They aimed to weaken rivals with the undead spillover and swallow those weakened factions.
Of course, the targets knew they were being played, realizing they were the "enemy of my enemy."
"Then... should we open the path for those bastards?"
"Crazy sons of bitches!"
They countered with threats to open the floodgates. If they were doomed anyway, everyone would die together. This raw madness born of desperation began pushing back the petty greed-driven posturing.
And in Serabeol, the nation born from the peninsula's unification...
"We need reinforcements in this situation."
"I know. All too well. I want to resolve it somehow."
Jeong Dong-gun, back from the Ulsan front, urged Prime Minister Hwang Geun-chul to bolster the military. When the military's representative spoke up, Hwang nodded gravely, agreeing it was necessary.
In truth, military expansion was no longer optional but essential. Hwang knew it well. They'd tried enlisting resisters by force, but...
"There are way more trying to dodge it."
Even with cooperation from the Heonmin Democratic Party, citizens dodged the Yongsinhoe-led draft en masse. Self-harm to fail inspections, tear-jerking escape stories everywhere in Serabeol—it was a mess.
"...The pay and benefits aren't bad."
"But there are better ways to make money."
"Can't deny that."
Jeong acknowledged the military's decent treatment, but Hwang sighed that better gigs existed. Jeong closed his eyes, unable to argue. Awakeners could chase wealth in countless ways outside the army.
But on the flip side...
"If Serabeol falls, all those lucrative gigs vanish too."
The moment Serabeol crumbled, all that hard-earned wealth would evaporate.
But...
"They believe it won't fall. That's why they're slacking."
"Fair point. It's hard to imagine it collapsing now. No more fear of external invasion."
Citizens didn't sense crisis, so cabinet pleas fell flat. Serabeol was newly founded, blessed by Dragon God Bahamut himself. Even if doom loomed, Bahamut would handle it—they trusted that.
Faith in Bahamut had erased any sense of urgency.
"If push comes to shove, Lord Bahamut steps in and fixes it. He's done so at every critical moment, proving his power."
"How do we fix this?"
Hwang explained the complacency; Jeong, seeing urgency, pressed for solutions. Hwang had none ready.
"I'll consult Lord Bahamut."
In the end, he leaned on Bahamut.
"A military matter..."
"Yes. We're struggling to respond to disasters without more troops."
Disasters flared across the peninsula. Manpower wasn't optional—it was vital. The cabinet flailed, but without public buy-in, options dwindled.
"Then inform Serabeol of this: A divine being rivaling Bahamut has appeared in Europe."
"Eh? Something happen in Europe?"
Bahamut's choice was...
"Indeed. The Orleans Saintess contracted with the immortal bird Phoenix. A being on my level."
"A peer to Lord Bahamut... I see. Uniting against a powerful external foe?"
...to leverage Phoenix.
Bahamut felt a twinge of guilt using Phoenix politically, but their domains—Asia for him, Western Europe for her—meant low clash risk. Alicia might conflict, but that was her, not Balhut Cult.
Thus, Bahamut pitched Phoenix as a perfect "strong outsider" to Hwang, urging him to spread word of her power to Serabeol's citizens.
"So what? That's Europe."
"Anyone on the peninsula who could beat Lord Bahamut?"
Hwang, convinced a fearsome outsider would rally unity, broadcast the news immediately.
Serabeol citizens first brushed it off as distant rumor. Phoenix wouldn't breach Bahamut-guarded Serabeol, they figured.
"Wait. If a Bahamut-equal appeared in Europe, others could pop up elsewhere too?"
But when word spread that Europe had multiple Bahamut-peers—not just one—the tone shifted fast.
"Uh."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"...Yeah, it is."
Phoenix was Bahamut's equal; they'd even clashed once, confirming parity. No guarantee none lurked on the peninsula. Unease grew, seeding Serabeol crisis theories.
As crisis talk spread, Hwang addressed the nation, laying out the peninsula's dire straits.
"The North Korean regime's collapse brings crisis to the entire peninsula! The 38th Parallel blocking paths north is no sturdy wall—it's flimsy!"
The address mixed facts with exaggeration, but the peninsula peril was real. Cabinet stoked the fire; civil society responded.
"Unite in crisis!"
"I'm enlisting now!"
Voluntary recruits trickled in at cries of Serabeol's peril. But...
"I don't wanna be a regular grunt though!"
"Then what?!"
Awakeners balked at infantry roles. For them, the cabinet—no, the Dragon Priestess—had prepared...
"Hwarang?"
"Dragon warriors chosen by the Dragon Priestess? Like knights in Europe?"
"Knight order! Knight order vibes!"
...the Hwarang, pitched to stoke men's fantasies.
Elite warriors elevating Serabeol's glory, obeying the Dragon God's chosen Dragon Priestess! That line alone sparked endless daydreams.
"Elite unit... special gear from the Dragon God... Dragon Priestess's personal guard... This works! Fast track to power's core!"
Even pragmatically, it beat frontline grunt work—straight to the Dragon Priestess's inner circle. Opportunists couldn't pass it up.
"Now's my chance to prove my loyalty to Serabeol!"
"Me first!"
Paths to power opened; they rushed in. Hwarang applicants surged.
But...
"Your Excellency."
"What now?"
"Jo Sun-do's remnants again..."
Some genuinely saw this as Serabeol's crisis.
To Hwang, who'd called for WWE-style spectacle, they delivered UFC chaos. He gaped at the report.
"Those guys again?! How long will they defy us? Jo Sun-do's been permanently locked away in Pohang Prison for ages!"
He lamented the leaderless remnants still stirring trouble. Solution was simple.
"What about an amnesty decree? They lash out because unforgiven."
Amnesty! Unforgiven by Balhut Cult—no, Serabeol—they fought desperately to survive. A nation-founding pardon could concede ground.
The aide's logic held—if they were petty crooks. But...
"Are you mad?"
"Pardon?"
"Grant amnesty to bloodthirsty raiders and expect, 'Oh, thanks, we'll go straight'? Or mock our mercy and rampage harder?"
They were powerful raiders—warlords. Grateful? No, they'd scorn it and escalate. Hopeless.
The aide pondered Hwang's harsh words.
"...The latter, probably."
"Exactly. Can't issue amnesty lightly."
Reality demanded caution till Serabeol stabilized; Hwang agreed.
"What about Gyeon Gwan-im, the warlord captured in the Daegu liberation?"
"Gyeon Gwan-im's status?"
"Cooperating voluntarily. Seems ready to surrender."
Shoving aside the bitter report, the aide raised the next: treatment of Gyeon Gwan-im, who'd seized Daegu's provisional government.
Hwang asked his state; the aide confirmed willing cooperation and surrender intent. Unlike rampaging thugs, Gyeon was a gentlemanly warlord.
"Gyeon Gwan-im merits from Daegu's recapture. Principle demands trial and punishment, but..."
Hwang hesitated executing a standout warlord. Gyeon Gwan-im's talents were too valuable—not like rigid Jo Sun-do. Smart enough to know his place.
Though that awareness made him risky—prime betrayal material—but Hwang knew.
"First, ask Daegu Governor Heo Jin-ho's opinion."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
Serabeol had special contracts to leash talent like his: the Geas Scroll. Hwang opted to poll Heo first.