56. Summit (2)
The summit began on the very day the Balhut Cult was on the verge of reclaiming Pohang Airport. It had been hastily arranged the moment the cult showed its momentum in assaulting Pohang, making their intentions crystal clear. Yet the cult side chose not to point it out.
After all, it was true that stabilizing Pohang's rule would ultimately require their help.
"There's no need to bring it up or bully them over it."
"On the contrary, we should show magnanimous tolerance. That way, they'll come to trust and follow us."
"Sometimes, silent pressure speaks louder than words. It might prove even more effective."
Showing tolerance by not even mentioning the fact was the advice from her two aides. If they planned to turn hostile toward Pohang later, they could simply crush them without such gestures. But the Balhut Cult's ultimate goal was to seize control of Pohang, so they had no choice but to grin and bear any petty political maneuvering.
Better yet, by staying silent on the matter, they could exert unspoken pressure on the three major Pohang camps—turning it to the cult's advantage.
"I'm Ha Jin-woo, professor from Pohang University Campus, hosting today's summit."
"Yes. Jeong Dong-gun told me."
Arriving right on time at the Pohang University Campus, they found its leader, Ha Jin-woo, already waiting to greet them. Perhaps aiming for an intimidation play, he'd paraded the campus's awakeners before the cult delegation. Unfortunately for him, the cult had brought its absolute elites for this summit, clad in top-tier gear. The sight of their impeccably pressed and laundered uniforms, full-body protective equipment, and gleaming, mirror-polished weapons left no doubt: these were troops lavishly invested in, without a single shortfall.
"Isn't... Jeong Dong-gun the representative?"
"Today, I'm merely the Dragon Priestess Choi Yu-na's bodyguard."
"You, just a bodyguard?!"
Above all, Ha Jin-woo couldn't hide his shock at learning that Jeong Dong-gun—the man who'd displayed overwhelming might in Pohang recently—was nothing more than this young girl's bodyguard. How vast must the Balhut Cult's forces be to assign someone like him to such a role?
He harbored fear of the cult deep down, but if the summit went well, he could pull these powerful awakeners and their faction into alliance. That hope kept him going.
"So you're the Balhut Cult that's been making waves lately?"
"Yes, and you are...?"
A short wait later, a soldier arrived precisely on schedule for the summit. Dressed in relatively clean fatigues, he was a middle-aged man whose face had yellowed with exhaustion. Haggard and weary, yet his eyes burned with resolve as he fixed them on Yu-na—clearly pinning his hopes on this meeting.
"I'm Kim Tae-sik, division commander of the Pohang Marine 1st Division."
"A big shot! The division commander himself."
He was the commander of the Marine 1st Division—no mere figurehead, but the key officer controlling the Hwangryong Unit at Pohang Naval Base, one of the navy's most vital leaders. Even considering only his direct-reporting units, he was the most important figure at the base.
"You're still alive in this apocalypse."
"Lucky, that. We could flee to the sea. Still, the sacrifices of so many marines... unavoidable."
The sole high-ranking officer to survive without turning zombie, he'd preserved much of his forces and launched the Pohang assault. Dominating the port district had elevated the marines to one of Pohang's three major powers—but problems lingered.
"Those expensive ships and tanks you can't even operate properly. All for show."
"Ahem."
Militaries devoured vast sums of money and resources. Operating a single ship required enormous fuel and supplies. Back when Korea and Pohang were intact, such costs were trivial. But with the apocalypse and zombies seizing the city, sustaining the marines' equipment had become impossible.
"Even so, we pride ourselves on preserving our forces better than most in Pohang."
"Then how many minutes can you operate your armored units?"
"......"
For the first couple months, stockpiled resources had kept the fleet fighting zombies. Now, fuel for those massive ships was too precious; they drifted aimlessly or idled at the reclaimed port. The artillery brigade's tanks? Short on fuel and shells, they barely dared to start up.
Kim Tae-sik had no retort to Jeong Dong-gun's jab.
"Well, looks like everyone's here. I'm fashionably late, huh?"
Finally, the leader from the camp across the Hyongsan River arrived. Spotting the affable-smiling middle-aged man who joked about his own tardiness, the Pohang University professor called out with a "finally here" expression.
"Seo Un-jae."
"Yes. Professor Ha Jin-woo. Heard you've had some good news lately? Your campus got thoroughly cleaned up. Word reached us across the river."
"You congratulating us?"
"Of course. Sincerely."
He offered heartfelt congratulations on the good fortune at Pohang University Campus. But his eyes were locked solely on the Balhut Cult—precisely, on Jeong Dong-gun.
"You're the one from the cult?"
"Yes. But today, I'm just a lowly bodyguard."
"That's... surprising. So the politician for these talks is...?"
Seo Un-jae had intel on the Balhut Cult soldier from Gyeongju who'd reclaimed Pohang's 1st Industrial Complex with brute force. He'd heard they'd even taken the airport just before the summit. He saw this man as the key player—but learning he was merely a bodyguard prompted a surprised, intrigued scan of the surroundings.
If not the soldier, then surely a politician. Yet...
"That's me, Mr. Seo Un-jae. Nice to meet you."
"...A little girl?"
Truly unexpected—no politician, but a child. He looked utterly caught off-guard.
"Isn't it Jeong Dong-gun?"
"Yes. I'm just the Priestess's subordinate."
Kim Tae-sik, who'd just arrived, shared the sentiment. They'd all assumed the overwhelmingly powerful Jeong Dong-gun would lead for the cult. And against such a young girl... To Seo Un-jae, she was practically daughter-aged.
I knew it already, but seeing her in person... Can't help being shocked.
A pre-apocalypse politician and ordinary man at heart, Seo Un-jae was momentarily speechless.
"I'm Choi Yu-na, pontiff of the Balhut Cult."
"The cult's pontiff..."
"Gyeongju's ruler...!"
But knowing her true identity, no one could dismiss her as a powerless child. The Balhut Cult's pontiff was as good as Gyeongju's master.
How a girl that young had risen to rule Gyeongju was unimaginable—but in this era of apocalypse and awakeners, a single powerful one becoming a camp or regional leader was commonplace. No need to insensitively harp on her age.
"We came at Jeong Dong-gun's word, but the pontiff herself? Planning to force us into the cult?"
Kim Tae-sik voiced suspicions that her presence meant coercion into the cult. But...
"No. The pontiff is here as our representative—and to show respect. We have no intent to provoke. The promises we made will be kept."
"Ahem."
Jeong Dong-gun stepped forward first, reaffirming the promise. Kim Tae-sik's momentum deflated, and he retreated.
They insisted on honoring it, but you couldn't spit in the face of such smiles—not with zombies as the enemy. Internal strife had to be avoided at all costs.
"Are you really an army from Gyeongju? You know how the Korean survivor communities view the Balhut Cult: just another run-of-the-mill doomsday cult exploiting the end times."
Seo Un-jae took the floor in Kim Tae-sik's stead, invoking the cult's poor reputation to question if they were truly Gyeongju's army.
Of course, their displayed prowess, forces, and organization proved they ruled Gyeongju solidly—far from the external smears. Still, it was a jab at the cult's inherent weakness to seize narrative control in this disadvantageous spot.
He figured they'd never overcome their origins as a cult.
"Yes. We could call ourselves Gyeongju's righteous army. We've come to assault Pohang and liberate our kin."
Countering Seo Un-jae's words, they framed themselves as Gyeongju's righteous force, claiming the assault's justification was saving compatriots. But...
"Ha. It's really because you covet Pohang Steelworks and the industrial facilities."
Yu-na cut straight to it: they were after the steelworks and industry.
The Balhut Cult wasn't some righteous army.
"Yes. We do. Very much so."
"What?!"
Affirming it outright, Yu-na declared their greed openly, as if conceding the point.
Seo Un-jae nearly countered that it contradicted their "righteous army" claim, but...
"But right now, no one's using them, are they? No one's reclaimed Pohang properly, so the industrial base inside the city sits idle."
"Mm."
Yu-na's brutal facts left him speechless. Regardless, Pohang's three powers hadn't reclaimed the city from zombies—they couldn't. The steelworks might be coveted, but zombie-infested, it belonged to no one. Abandoned infrastructure: plant a flag after clearing zombies, and claim ownership.
"I heard from Jeong Dong-gun that logistics are vital for modern weapons. But four or five months in, no one's supplying you, right? Aren't you all reaching your limits?"
"...Limits? Spot on. No supplies here—we've got marines fishing for food."
She targeted Kim Tae-sik first, hitting modern militaries' Achilles' heel.
He could've bluffed surplus to regain control, but opted against it.
They're assaulting the airport right now. Means they've subsumed local small camps. Anyone eyeing Pohang would've gleaned our situation from them.
The enemy knew them inside out—absorbing small camps, piecing together intel. Bluffing to seize control against such foes? Suicide.
"Frankly, I doubt you have the capacity for real war."
"You see us as weak?"
Now the cult turned the tables, questioning the three camps' strength.
"Yes. Other regions are seeing results. Daegu west of Gyeongju is reclaiming from the city center. Jeonju's villages and towns are falling back under control. Even zombie-choked Seoul has a hero named Kim Su-ho."
She cited emerging heroes across the peninsula.
"Yet you're stalled in Pohang, wasting time. Oh, Pohang had a hero too—Baek Seol-hwa. Missing now, though?"
Pohang was different—hero or not, she was gone. Harsh reality laid bare.
Seo Un-jae burned to retort Yu-na's arrogance, but...
We have no achievements to counter that. Ha. Can't argue.
Unlike the cult—which had reclaimed Gyeongju and built a proper government—Pohang lacked any rebuttal.