46. The Road to Pohang (2)
After battling through countless variant zombies, Jeong Dong-gun's advance team had secured the area up to the intersection leading toward Pohang.
"We've made it to the interchange somehow, but... it's more devastated than I expected."
They had succeeded in securing the vicinity where the vital Yeongilman-daero intersected—a critical point for the Pohang assault. Once this interchange was fully under control, they could claim to have paved a safe path for the main expedition force straight into the city. From there, pushing straight along Gunpo Industrial Road would lead to the Pohang Steelworks, while crossing onto Yeongilman-daero opened routes to the Hyongsan River and Pohang Airport.
Jeong Dong-gun mulled this over as he personally raised his binoculars to scout the interchange. But...
"Is this... really Pohang? Wasn't it a bigger city than ours?"
"It has to be. The map app says this is Gunpo Industrial Road heading into Pohang."
Jeong Dong-gun shared his subordinate's disbelief, but the app on his smartphone provided irrefutable proof. There was no choice but to accept this as Pohang. Yet even he felt a growing unease, his eyes beginning to tremble as he couldn't tear them away from the binoculars.
And for good reason. The interchange at Gunpo Industrial Road—the gateway to Pohang—was...
"What the hell are those spiderwebs?"
...blanketed in countless webs clogging every path into the city.
Cautious of potential threats, Jeong Dong-gun and his men kept their distance. But the sight of those webs sent a chill through him.
Has a new variant really appeared?
Just as Bahamut had feared, had a fresh breed of zombie emerged in Pohang? He couldn't shake the dread gnawing at him. But as commander, showing panic would only terrify his troops. Feigning calm, he spoke as if all was under control.
"No idea. But we have our orders. Let's scout a secure base camp for the main force."
"Understood."
He yearned to investigate those webs immediately, to learn what was happening inside Pohang. But Jeong Dong-gun swallowed his turmoil and focused on his advance team's duty: selecting a safe site where the expedition could rest securely. He ordered his men to secure the area.
They moved with practiced efficiency, sweeping nearby spots and scanning through binoculars.
"...By the way, the Pohang community forums mentioned a survivor camp in a building near Gunpo Industrial Road. Have we spotted it yet?"
"We're searching now. But with those creepy webs everywhere, doesn't that mean any locals around here already got taken out?"
"Could be."
As they hunted for safe ground, they also sought local allies for potential cooperation in Pohang. Jeong Dong-gun referenced the survivor camp from online forums; his subordinate confirmed the search while suggesting it might have been wiped out—citing those suspicious webs unlike anything seen in Gyeongju, hinting at a possible new variant.
Jeong Dong-gun nodded gravely, unable to refute it. Even he sensed those unknown webs heralded something dire.
"Worst case, every survivor in the area might be dead."
"That'd be a nightmare."
Contemplating the grim possibilities, they pressed on—until...
"Found them, Captain! Survivors! They're alive—alive, I tell you!"
"Got it."
Fortune smiled; they discovered survivors, alive and breathing. At the scout's shout, Jeong Dong-gun rallied his search team and headed to the site.
"They're hanging in there."
Most were weakened and frail, but still intact. Jeong Dong-gun sought out one who could speak coherently—a woman with some strength left—and approached.
"You holding up?"
"Wh-who are you people?"
"We're... "
But as he drew near and questioned her, the woman's face twisted in fear, her eyes darting between him and his men. Her trembling voice demanded to know who they were, leaving Jeong Dong-gun momentarily conflicted.
This isn't Gyeongju. And the Balhut Cult's reputation outside isn't great.
Back home, he'd proudly declare their affiliation. But this was Pohang, where the cult was viewed poorly beyond Gyeongju. Most Korean communities dismissed them as a doomsday scam bloating its power amid the apocalypse—no amount of denial swayed opinions. So how should he introduce them?
He pondered briefly, then...
"The army from Gyeongju."
"Th-the army?!"
It wasn't a lie. Jeong Dong-gun and his elite troops were handpicked by the Balhut Cult, operating like a proper military unit. Uniforms crisp and identical, protective gear donned, standard-issue rifles at the ready—they screamed "soldiers."
"Here to save Pohang?"
"Yes. We're assaulting the city to rescue our fellow citizens."
The woman couldn't doubt their appearance; she mistook them for Republic of Korea forces come to liberate Pohang. Not entirely wrong— they were from Gyeongju's army, assaulting the city to save its people. Only the true owner of that army was the Balhut Cult, not the fallen nation.
"Oh God! You really are up there! Finally—the army we've been praying for!"
"……"
Jeong Dong-gun had no reply for her desperate cry. How could he tell this frail woman, clinging to faith in government troops, that this was the Balhut Cult's force—and their god was no heavenly deity, but the Dragon God?
He wasn't that tactless, nor heartless enough to shatter her hope.
"Urk!"
His subordinates felt the same awkward pang, faces strained as she fervently praised absent gods and a defunct government. None could bear revealing their cult ties or dragon deity.
After her tearful litany of thanks, Jeong Dong-gun steeled himself.
"If we've saved you... it might be divine guidance."
"Yes! Truly divine!"
He responded ambiguously. They had come on Bahamut's orders, after all—not far off. She was delirious from exhaustion; rest and recovery would bring clarity soon enough.
What mattered now was why a camp existed here.
"So what happened? Why are you all in such bad shape?"
"Sp-spiders! Giant spiders!"
"Spiders? Calm down—this area's secure. Take it slow."
At his question, she blurted "spiders" in hysteria. Sensing she needed prompting, Jeong Dong-gun soothed her, offering emergency chocolate from his vest pocket. She unwrapped and ate, steadying at last, then explained Pohang's ordeal calmly.
"Pohang had three major survivor camps: Seo Un-jae's along the Hyongsan River, Professor Ha Jin-woo's at Pohang University campus, and the Marines. We were a small group that tried building a big one at Pohang Airport around Baek Seol-hwa but failed and fled."
Like our split between South and North Gyeongju. Three factions... no, four if their plan had worked.
Pohang divided into three powerhouse camps—Hyongsan River, university, Marines—plus a failed airport bid. More survivors than expected.
The split evoked Gyeongju's own divide for Jeong Dong-gun. But...
"Even divided, we cooperated—awakening fighters, battling to reclaim the city. When we struck, the others and Marines backed us up."
"So all of Pohang was at war with the zombies."
"Yes. United, we were reclaiming it—hope felt real."
The difference? Zombies remained a common foe, fostering unity across factions. Unlike Gyeongju's rifts, Pohang's citizens—from river to campus to coast—fought together seamlessly, yielding real gains.
"If you're like this... Pohang hasn't fallen yet."
"Embarrassing, but yes. Like the big three, we aimed for a mega-camp at the airport to unite and retake the city. But it collapsed before we could."
"Collapsed how?"
"A zombie far stronger than variants appeared. Not even a zombie—Baek Seol-hwa, Pohang's strongest awakener, got bloodied in one hit."
Their presence here proved failure. They'd planned a central figure-led mega-camp like the others but crumbled prematurely. Trauma shook her as she recalled it: a being that felled Pohang's top awakener instantly.
"That strong zombie... connected to those webs?"
She nodded silently in affirmation.
"When Seol-hwa's airport fell, we knew it was over—abandoned our old camp, fled here hoping to escape. But kids and elders died first, then young civilians, even awakeners slowly. We reached the interchange, but zombies block the tunnel out."
They'd evaded spiders to arrive, only to face the horde Jeong Dong-gun had fought.
"How'd you hold out this long?"
A miracle, really. But she shook her head somberly.
"We didn't. Scavenged what we could, but one by one... captured by the new zombies."
"Wait—captured? They didn't turn you, just took prisoners?"
Jeong Dong-gun stared, stunned. Zombies taking captives?
She spoke in genuine terror, voice quaking.
"Yes. When we tried rescuing... the monster had wrapped them in webs like cocoons. Too horrifying to touch—we fled."
"At this point... that's not zombies, that's aliens."
"Agreed."
His adjutant groaned; Jeong Dong-gun concurred. This defied zombie norms entirely—more extraterrestrial than undead. Could you even call it a zombie? Only now did her words fully sink in. Even described secondhand, it strained the definition.