84. The Humiliating Flight of the Ghost Fleet
The humiliating flight of the Ghost Fleet, an anomalous phenomenon, was relayed in real time to the Balhut Cult through Bahamut, who had been spectating the battlefield.
"The Ghost Fleet is fleeing?"
[That's right. The fleet led by Seol-hwa encountered and clashed with the Ghost Fleet. But the Ghost Fleet fled without putting up a proper fight.]
Yuna stared at Bahamut with genuine disbelief at his words that they had fled without any major battle. It was enough to shatter conventional wisdom just knowing that zombies, brimming with nothing but hostility toward humans, had run away.
Even during the descent of the Dragon God Bahamut, variant spider zombies had shown signs of fleeing, but that had been dismissed as them recognizing Bahamut's uniqueness. However, in this battle, Bahamut had merely observed without any sign of joining the fray. In other words, it was hard to say they fled out of fear.
"A difference in firepower...?"
[Even with the Turn Undead variable, the undead side had the advantage in fleet size.]
"Hmm. I have no idea why they fled."
Even when she asked if it was due to some overwhelming disparity in strength, the only response was that the enemy held the advantage. Despite the Turn Undead variable, the undead had superior numbers.
They were using Republic of Korea warships, so performance shouldn't differ. Seol-hwa's side had fishing boats to disrupt their path, high-speed vessels, and even a combat command ship that was a proper warship. Even with Seol-hwa boosting morale via Turn Undead, the undead could have overwhelmed them with sheer numbers, just as they had on land. Yet they abandoned their advantages and fled in disgrace. From Yuna's perspective, all she could say was, Why didn't they use their strengths and just run?
[For now, the Pohang fleet is in pursuit, whittling them down bit by bit. Even if we can't annihilate the Ghost Fleet entirely, we can weaken them.]
"Seol-hwa's going to have her work cut out for her."
This gave them the perfect chance to weaken the Ghost Fleet. The Pohang fleet under Seol-hwa immediately pursued the fleeing Ghost Fleet, picking off their ships one by one. With Turn Undead available and Seol-hwa able to remotely detonate fishing boat keels, the moment they entered range, she could force attrition on the enemy. Even if they couldn't wipe out the entire fleet, weakening their forces would make this battle a clear victory for the Balhut Cult.
[Based on the intel from this battle, the Ghost Fleet that appeared at sea is indeed operated by the undead, as we suspected. Turn Undead worked perfectly.]
"That means Turn Undead should work on land zombies too. I'll test it later."
[Do that.]
Yuna declared she would personally test Turn Undead on zombies on land. If it worked on the Ghost Fleet at sea, it had strong potential for land-based zombies as well. If Turn Undead truly proved effective, it would define the direction of the upcoming Awakener Project and enable development of new weapons tailored to it.
[By the way, we should inform Special Envoy Steven David of this too.]
"Understood. Please summon Steven."
The Balhut Cult decided to relay this information to the White House. They had agreed to joint action with the White House for securing sea lanes, so naturally, they needed to brief the envoy, Steven, on this battle. Yuna promptly invited Steven to her office, and he arrived without the slightest hesitation.
"Looks like good news, Lady Yuna. And Lord Bahamut."
Breathing heavily, Steven—who oversaw embassy affairs—had fatigue etched around his eyes, but his gaze held eager anticipation as he looked at Yuna. If she had personally summoned him, it meant vital intelligence for the White House.
In truth...
[Indeed. To cut to the chase: the Ghost Fleet exists, and its master is the undead. Reports confirm Turn Undead worked in the clash with the Pohang fleet.]
"I see. So the apocalypse in East Asia isn't a zombie apocalypse, but an undead apocalypse?"
Bahamut, not Yuna, explained the engagement directly. Steven's face paled with fear as he asked if it wasn't zombies but undead.
[Zombies and undead are a thin sheet of paper apart. Calling it a zombie apocalypse is fine enough.]
"Haha, fair point. But that's not the issue now. What matters is smooth trade between us."
Bahamut quipped they were similar either way, and Steven agreed that wasn't important. The priority was stabilizing the Pohang-White House sea lane.
[No need to worry on that front. The Ghost Fleet's forces are weakened, so sea lane safety will be secured soon.]
"That's glad tidings for us too."
Bahamut assured sea lane security now that the Ghost Fleet was weakened. He didn't claim total annihilation, but Steven took it to mean the major threat was past. And it wasn't wrong—the Pohang fleet would now patrol for safety.
[But it's suspicious.]
"What's suspicious?"
[Right after trade with America begins, an undead-led Ghost Fleet appears. And before Seol-hwa awakened as Dragon Priestess, variant spider zombies—a hard counter to her—showed up in Pohang.]
Yet Bahamut voiced suspicions to Steven. The timing was indeed suspect. Just as trade with America started, an undead Ghost Fleet blocked the way. And previously, Pohang had seen spider zombies perfectly countering Seol-hwa. At first, it could pass as coincidental evolution, but the Ghost Fleet's emergence was too much to overlook. Wasn't this Ghost Fleet blatantly obstructing Balhut Cult-White House ties?
"True. No Ghost Fleet sightings before our trade. The timing's too perfect for coincidence."
[Exactly. I'm suspecting the zombies aren't just evolving naturally—they're adapting to counter our growth.]
Steven concurred: too spot-on for chance. If the fleet had appeared pre-trade, it might be chalked up to sea zombies, but hitting right as trade ramped up screamed conspiracy. It blatantly disrupted White House-Balhut Cult exchange. And Bahamut's claim of zombies evolving to match foes was hard to dismiss.
"It's more than suspicion for us too. Monster tactics have sharpened, forcing hellish urban warfare."
America had faced similar suspicions. Early monsters fell easily to weapons, but later ones adapted cleverly, turning into urban guerrillas. US forces and heroes were mired in brutal street fights. Steven, an Awakener who'd endured it, couldn't ignore enemies evolving against humanity's progress.
[If we chalk ghost ships to pre-apocalypse vessels turning spectral, no counter to my logic. But a Ghost Fleet appearing precisely when US trade matters most? No hard proof, but it reeks of something off.]
"You see it as not natural, but deliberate?"
[Yes. We still don't know why the zombie apocalypse hit East Asia. Survival's priority now, but someday we must uncover why—and who's behind it. We know nothing.]
Above all, humanity was clueless why apocalypse struck globally. Unresolved, suspicions bred more. They fought to survive now, but eventually, they had to learn the cause.
"Even the Dragon God doesn't know?"
[I only stirred post-apocalypse via Yuna's contract. Slept soundly in the temple till then.]
"I see."
Bluntly, Bahamut had wasted months on his dragon fantasies, but to Steven's question, he dodged guiltily, claiming he'd slumbered in the temple pre-contract. Technically true—he'd stayed inside during renovations—but that made the half-lie worse.
"So you're suspecting this isn't natural, but artificial."
[No proof. Just my hunch. Personal opinion only.]
Steven neatly summarized: artificial, not natural? Bahamut backpedaled—no evidence, just suspicion—but...
"Yet it's an apocalypse of mythical horrors made real. Even without proof, if the Dragon God suspects it, we humans want to take it as prophecy."
No proof, but a Dragon God's hunch felt prophetic to mortals. Who'd ignore a supreme being saying, Watch out—this smells fishy? Steven took it seriously, outlining the logic and why he believed.
I can't deny it...!
Bahamut couldn't refute. He'd believe his own cryptic words as a majestic Dragon God.
[Anyway, we can't know the apocalypse's cause yet. Humanity's priority is winning survival, not probing origins.]
"Yes."
[First, order Seol-hwa's fleet to clear our waters' Ghost Fleet as much as possible. Any good news from your side?]
Bahamut focused on the at-hand: task Seol-hwa's fleet to mop up, then asked about America.
"No Ghost Fleets like yours in our Pacific or Atlantic sectors. Plenty of drifting ghost ships, but those were fishing boats with starved crews aboard."
America reported no familiar Ghost Fleets. They distinguished drifters as non-undead-operated. This fueled doubts it was East Asia-specific.
"One oddity: pirates near the Atlantic. Real ones—Awakener criminals, not undead."
Bahamut gaped in disbelief.
What era is this? Age of Sail?
Pirates in modern times—especially apocalypse? He stared at Steven, baffled.
[Pirates?]
"Haha, even you, Lord Bahamut? I'm shocked too. But pirates are raiding container ships bound for Western Europe in the Atlantic."
Steven sighed wearily at revived modern pirates, sharing the absurdity.