80. Ghost Ship of the East Sea (2)
"Ahem. My apologies for the unseemly display."
"No, I understand."
Steven, who seemed particularly vulnerable to horror, somehow steadied his shuddering body and opened his mouth.
"If a ghost ship has truly appeared in the sea as you say, it spells trouble for our maritime trade routes. If there's a ghost ship in the East Sea, that means they could show up in the waters we control too. Our logistics operations elsewhere are already facing massive disruptions."
The first thing he mentioned was maritime shipping.
The Balhut Cult's initial contact with the White House had been via air routes, but the logistics flow starting now had no choice but to rely on the sea.
But if that sea was blockaded, it meant they couldn't use the efficient container ships—humanity's greatest invention for transport.
That left only air routes for logistics, which the White House desperately wanted to avoid. Air routes were safe, sure, but each shipment cost a fortune, and they couldn't handle the massive volumes that sea transport could.
In short, it wasn't cost-effective for the White House either.
"A ghost ship in the East Sea means they could appear in the Pacific too—and on the other side, the Atlantic."
"Come to think of it, you've made contact with the UK and France in Western Europe, right?"
"Yes. The Pacific is vital, but the Atlantic is a key export route for the White House as well. If ghost ships block the Atlantic paths, we can't just sit idly by."
Above all, ghost ships in the Pacific implied the same threat in the Atlantic. With rising maritime insurance premiums and economic losses, America couldn't afford to take this lightly.
Especially since it would derail their plans to strengthen state control through this crisis.
"What does the Balhut Cult think?"
"One moment. May I have time to report this to Lord Bahamut?"
Steven masked America's ulterior motives and first asked what the Balhut Cult thought of the situation.
Yu-na's response was that she'd seek Bahamut's advice—a remarkably carefree reply, even in this grave moment.
"Of course. In fact, we'd love Lord Bahamut's counsel on this too."
But Steven welcomed it, saying he'd like to consult Bahamut directly as well.
A ghost ship was an unknown entity humanity had never encountered before. So the advice of another unknown—the Dragon God—would be invaluable.
Of course, the concept of ghosts has existed since ancient times. But we'd convinced ourselves that reason and rationality had exorcised them all.
Though ghosts had long been part of human lore, most believed reason had debunked them long ago.
That made Steven all the more eager to hear it straight from Bahamut.
Yu-na briefly contacted Bahamut, informing him of the situation. His response was...
Now it's not just zombies. Aren't those undead?
"Undead, huh. Well, zombies and undead are just a thin sheet of paper apart, aren't they?"
Steven nodded in agreement with Bahamut's assessment, bluntly pointing out that zombies and undead were practically the same.
Considering how zombies were classified as a type of undead in fantasy, it wasn't a stretch to deduce that the ghost ship was some undead phenomenon.
So, a ghost ship haunting the seas is the problem.
"Yes. The sea has been crucial to logistics from ancient times to now. 'He who controls the sea controls the world.'"
Either way, the sudden ghost ships were undeniably a problem.
Steven emphasized the sea's importance, arguing that dominating it meant dominating the world.
In the modern era of trade, he wasn't wrong. The Balhut Cult itself had benefited, with Pohang's rapid reconstruction and other boons.
"Air routes are an option, of course, but we can't expect much profitability from them. We beseech the Dragon God for wise judgment."
The paths weren't fully blocked—air routes remained—but they lacked profitability, so Steven pressed for Bahamut's decision.
America recognized this as urgent too.
Then, for mutual cooperation between America and the Balhut Cult, we must exterminate the foes haunting our seas.
"It's urgent."
Tch. No helping it. I'll dispatch Seol-hwa to purge the ghost ships from our waters.
For trade and exchange between America and the Balhut Cult to continue, the Cult would have its Dragon Priestess step up, per Bahamut's decree.
Considering Yu-na herself only fought at the very end, deploying a Dragon Priestess from the start showed Bahamut viewed this gravely.
"As you command."
Yu-na bowed in agreement with Bahamut's decision.
With the Dragon God making a grand, strategic call for the Cult, the administrative follow-through proceeded swiftly.
It wasn't a flawed decision, and the White House alliance was too vital to abandon. The ghost ships obstructing it demanded full Cult mobilization—and per Bahamut's order, Pohang's mayor and Dragon Priestess, Baek Seol-hwa, would lead the sortie.
"Heh. I'll prove your choice of me was right."
Seol-hwa immediately rallied Pohang's Marine forces, mustering high-speed boats for East Sea patrols and a single corvette.
She appointed as commander Kim Tae-sik—one of the leaders of Pohang's three major camps and former commander of the Republic of Korea Marine 1st Division.
Summoned to her office just before departure, Kim Tae-sik arrived promptly and bowed deeply to the young girl without hesitation, his military uniform stark against the scene.
Pathetic as it looked—a middle-aged man baring his crown to a child—Kim felt no shame.
This is my chance. I'll prove my worth to the Dragon Priestess!
For Kim Tae-sik, whose reckless ambitions had led to political downfall, this summons was a lifeline from desperation.
He'd tried clawing back influence in the military post-disgrace, but Jeong Dong-gun—backed by the Cult—had sidelined him, earning him pariah status among Marine officers.
Treated as a has-been division commander, Seol-hwa's call was a godsend. Success here meant a stable path forward.
"I count on you, Mr. Kim Tae-sik."
"Of course. This time, I'll prove my loyalty to the Balhut Cult."
He declared his devotion to Seol-hwa with a booming voice.
If I don't prove it now, I'm truly out of the military...!
Failure meant losing everything he'd built. He had to rack up undeniable merits, securing his place in Pohang.
In a way, it was a survival crisis.
As an Awakener, I can't beat Jeong Dong-gun...!
Objectively, Kim's abilities lagged behind Jeong's. His pre-apocalypse rank as division commander gave him tactics and Marine command experience, but his old staff could handle that.
They'd abandoned the disgraced Kim for Cult-backed Jeong, showing his dire standing.
So he hungered for advancement.
But this time, I'm different from my past self!
Above all, he'd been chosen by the Dragon Priestess contracted to the Dragon God. He'd once dismissed Seol-hwa, but now he'd visited Bahamut's temple to repent.
To prove his sincerity, he'd stake his life on loyalty—showing Pohang (and the world) they needed Kim Tae-sik.
"I heard you summoned us for a reason today."
The downside: Seol-hwa hadn't called just him. Ha Jin-woo, now a solid Pohang executive, was there too.
"Was it about the ghost ship complaints from Pohang fishermen?"
Seo Un-jae—Seol-hwa's advisor, secretary, and Pohang's admin head—was also summoned, and he astutely referenced recent complaints.
"Yes. As Mr. Seo says, a ghost ship has appeared in the East Sea."
"Heh. Do we really need to step in? Ghost ships at sea aren't common, but... it's the apocalypse, right?"
Kim Tae-sik questioned the need for military involvement. Ghost ships weren't everyday, but they'd happened pre-apocalypse too.
Post-apocalypse? Practically routine.
But unlike Kim...
"No, not that kind of ghost ship. A literal one."
"...Pardon?"
This was a ghost ship in the truest sense.
"You mean... a ship crewed by actual ghosts?"
"Yes. Though not ghosts—zombies, technically. Lord Bahamut says they're beyond even that now."
"What? That's... scary as hell."
Ha Jin-woo, who'd been listening quietly, freaked out at real ghosts manifesting.
Some feared the unseen; this was real.
"So... a real ghost ship?"
"...I get wanting to deny reality, but we've got complaints and photos from countless fishermen."
Seo confirmed the evidence—testimonies and pics secured via admin channels.
He'd prepared files, handing them to Kim and Ha at Seol-hwa's signal.
"Damn. So in the apocalypse, we deal with this crap."
Kim sighed at the docs, realizing his new foe.
"L-Lord Bahamut! What about his protection!?"
Terrified Ha invoked Bahamut's promise to safeguard Pohang.
"This purge order comes straight from Lord Bahamut. We handle it from Pohang, not Gyeongju."
"From Lord Bahamut himself?"
"Yes."
The trio's eyes lit up at that.
In other words...
"So... Lord Bahamut will oversee this battle personally?"
High chance of direct intervention. Unlike limited summons over cities, the open sea allowed free reign—no collateral.
Ships nearby could just pull back pre-summon.
"Yes. Summoning permission is already granted. If it's beyond us, he'll join the fray."
"Summoning approved already! Haha! That's a relief!"
Seol-hwa met their hopes: permission secured.
Ha sighed in true relief, haunted by that memory—the overwhelming strike incinerating zombies and melting earth.
That blow liberated Pohang, ushering Balhut rule.
"Haha, that's reassuring! So, like in Gyeongju, we prep the battlefield for Lord Bahamut?"
With the Dragon God, defeat was impossible.
Kim beamed eagerly—but...
"No. We'll fight first. Deploy the fleet, engage the ghost ship ourselves."
"Eh?"
"Lord Bahamut's swamped. If we can handle it, we shouldn't burden him."
"Ah, right."
Good mood shattered.