98. Ulsan Airport (2)
Bahamut's advice was tantamount to a revelation in this unknown situation, offering the best guidance on how to push toward Ulsan. Commander Jeong Dong-gun, for all his resolve, couldn't shake an inner unease at the terror of the unknown. But if this was magic or some mystical phenomenon—something achievable through an Awakener's power—it wasn't all that frightening. In the end, if it was man's doing, then another man like Jeong Dong-gun could surely handle it. And above all...
'Even Dragon God Bahamut can't deal with it? No, this isn't some magic or mystery beyond even his power.'
As a mere human, Jeong Dong-gun naturally craved someone to lean on. With countless lives hanging on his decisions, the weight was crushing, stirring a desire to escape it—and the need for a god to guide him. Dragon God Bahamut filled that role perfectly, exuding charisma and often stepping in to make the heavy calls Jeong Dong-gun hesitated over. And now, that Dragon God said this wasn't some unknowable horror, but likely the work of human power. For a soldier like Jeong Dong-gun, that meant trusting it and charging ahead without hesitation.
"How far do you plan to advance, sir?"
"I'd like to retake Ulsan Airport. Not sure if America will join our fight, but if we can secure their air support, the upcoming assaults will be much easier."
Jeong Dong-gun, who had secured the crossroads checkpoint and established frontline bases, named Ulsan Airport without pause in response to his adjutant Son Sang-hee's question about their ambitious goal. Straight down from their current position lay Ulsan Airport, and retaking it would let them leverage its facilities for American airlifts via the skies.
"Our current supply route on this road is secure, but we lack intermediate villages or towns to hold as waypoints."
They had liberated countless villages, but none served as reliable midpoints to smooth supply management. Sure, it might seem contradictory given the places they'd passed, but the key wasn't the villages themselves—it was the people. Without locals who could cooperate as defenders, a village had no value worth holding. If there were no zombies to threaten it and no residents left, there was no reason to split forces guarding it. Villages without local allies lost all strategic worth the moment they were emptied.
"Are you saying... you're accounting for zombies we might not know about?"
"Yes. If these were just regular zombies or the variants we know, we wouldn't worry about ambushes—our watchposts at key points would handle it. But if it's not zombies, if it's people we're facing, they could strike when we're most off-guard and devastate our supply line at a critical moment. That's what I'm thinking."
Without those midpoints, any hit to the supply line could doom the expedition. A severed route might isolate their forces in Ulsan Metropolitan City, and with fuel dependent on resupply, the worst case meant the vanguard trudging 20 kilometers back on foot under enemy pursuit. Accounting for the worst, Jeong Dong-gun needed not just land routes, but air resupply too.
"So, to prepare for the worst, we secure Pohang Airport. Gives us an escape by plane if needed."
"...You're saying we might have to fight people."
"Yes. Regrettable, but true."
Son Sang-hee eyed him with worry, but Jeong Dong-gun was already resolved. And fighting people wasn't new—they'd clashed with raiders before, and his unit had led the purge of North Gyeongju's tyrant, Jo Sun-do.
"Ah."
More familiar with human warfare than anyone, he knew their tactics inside out. Which was why...
'Please, let this rifle's barrel never point at the innocent. All I can do is pray to the Dragon God.'
His organization knew better than most how apocalypse triggers invited violence. Jeong Dong-gun wanted to avoid fighting people at all costs, but instinct told him it wouldn't be easy.
"Then let's move out."
Gazing at the checkpoint dominating the crossroads, Jeong Dong-gun selected elite troops with Son Sang-hee and set off for Pohang Airport. Nothing blocked their military trucks' path. They passed villages and farmhouses in idle leisure—until...
"Commander, we've found what we've been looking for."
"What is it?"
"A barricade."
"What!?"
Near Pohang Airport, they finally spotted it. Startled, Jeong Dong-gun rose, peering ahead as the truck slowed. There it was, just as reported—not a proper steel barricade with "No Entry" signs, but a ramshackle pile of looted civilian furniture. Which meant...
"Someone's holding out here. Or was."
A golden chance to trace Ulsan survivors, with no clues until now. Jeong Dong-gun signaled the driver to halt; the truck braked smoothly, pulling back to a safe distance. Too far for visual confirmation without binoculars, but superhuman Awakener sight or Son Sang-hee's detection skills might spot them—hence the gap.
"No guards on the barricade."
"Probably just to waste our time and force a detour. Effective, though—if we don't clear it, we loop way around to the airport."
Son Sang-hee confirmed no defenders through her binoculars. Jeong Dong-gun called it a route-denial play. Awakener strength could dismantle it quick, but the time and noise were risks. They'd alert any holdouts during teardown, so detouring was safer—
"Other roads are likely barricaded too."
The detour-makers had probably claimed those as well. It screamed intent to bunker down at Ulsan Airport, and Jeong Dong-gun had no desire to smash it and provoke them.
"We'll go around."
"Yes, sir."
Military trucks had to detour, but Awakener teams could vault it or slip through gaps. Parking and concealing the trucks, Jeong Dong-gun's group scaled the crude barricade and pressed toward Pohang Airport. To evade Ulsan watchers, they hunkered in abandoned vinyl greenhouses, overgrown ruins, crossed chain-link fences, and infiltrated the Ulsan Airport parking lot undetected.
"Hm."
"Yes, sir."
Using hand signals, they crept between parked cars in prone position, edging into the interior. The airport might be empty, but the barricade suggested otherwise—better safe. And Jeong Dong-gun's caution proved right.
"Wh-what!? How'd you sneak up here!?"
A shrill scream pierced the air as they infiltrated. The defenders, shocked by the stealthy intruders, panicked—but their leader stayed ice-cold.
"Everyone up! It's the enemy!"
No warning, pure surprise—they mistook the group for hostiles. Jeong Dong-gun stepped from the shadows, hands raised high to signal peace, and called out.
"Hold on! We're not here to fight you!"
"Don't lie! After what your cult did, I still shake thinking about it!"
"Eh? Cult? What are you talking about?"
"Cult" left him baffled. Had Balhut Cult troops under his unwitting command overstepped into vigilantism? He and his officers couldn't micromanage every soldier—watchposts and checkpoints ran on local discretion beyond broad orders. Had some officer defied him for a secret raid?
"I swear on the great Dragon God our cult reveres and the heavens—"
"Your Immortal Cult atrocities in Ulsan? The heavens won't forgive that!"
"...Atrocities? Wait—what cult did you say?"
To calm the fighters, he invoked Balhut's Dragon God, denying any guilt on heaven's name—then froze at "Immortal Cult" from the woman's lips.
What? Not Balhut Cult... Immortal Cult? Do outsiders call us that?
Immortal Cult? Not Balhut? Apocalyptic cults were common, but this out-of-left-field name blanked his mind.
We're being mistaken for some entirely different faith!
He didn't know what god the Immortal Cult worshipped, but Balhut revered the Dragon God—hardly "immortal" vibes. Hands still up, signaling no threat, he shouted.
"No! We're not with the Immortal Cult! Our cult is—"
"First strike wins!"
In the apocalypse, excuses lost to preemptive attacks—simpler, surer. Ignoring him, the woman lunged spear-first. Jeong Dong-gun dropped his hands, rifle up to block and shove her back.
"What!?"
"Commander Jeong!"
"Boss!"
She didn't budge. Jeong Dong-gun, Awakened and battle-hardened beyond countless deathlines, wielded superhuman strength. Excluding the Dragon Priestess, he was Gyeongju's top Awakener—level past 20, job class Warrior unlocked.
"Blocked it? Next!"
That probe was light; now she whipped her spear-tip in a blur-thrust. He parried with his rifle, but his stunned subordinates gaped.
"The boss... took a hit?"
Even a surprise mid-negotiation was rare against Balhut's strongest. Yet this mystery Awakener landed it casually post-block.
Strong! Level 20+, job class unlocked. A named-grade talent hiding quietly at Ulsan Airport!
She matched him: superhuman, level 20+, job acquired. The thrust didn't floor him, but the stinging impact registered. No time to draw his waist knife—he countered desperately, questioning her silent presence here.
Motorcycle helmet... can't see her face.
A face would ID her, but the helmet hid it—protective gear? Slight build for a man, androgynous voice suggested a boy mid-puberty.
Boy? Girl maybe... no, flat chest—definitely boy.
"Oh ho, blocked that? Means you're over 20 too, mister. What, Immortal Cult boss dropped by? Big fish are my jam."
Amazed he'd parried, she ramped up anyway.
"How about this?"