Chapter 61 – Encounter (Two)

─Groooan!

─Gurgle!

The Rockdeer writhed their bodies.

The rage visible in these creatures was powerful enough to surpass even the fear and terror of death.

It was likely rage directed at the hunters’ vehicles rushing towards them.

‘…Weren’t they said to be gentle-natured animals?’

If they were animals capable of feeling such intense rage, why had they only fled earlier?

Was it that they never even considered the possibility of fighting humans?

Or was there some special factor in this current situation that made them feel such anger?

“Ray! There are cars coming over there!”

“What should we do? They might be dangerous people. Shouldn’t we, we avoid them?”

The urgent shouts of Philip and Veronica.

Ray calmly assessed the situation.

‘The closing distance is fast. We can’t completely vacate the area before they arrive.’

Also, the opponents were hunters.

The probability was high that they were more accustomed to raw, primal rules than mutual courtesy and respect.

A rash move could instead provoke them.

For instance, the guns on those vehicle roofs might spew fire towards us as we try to leave.

Or they might give chase directly.

It was safer to stay put and observe the situation.

And there were five vehicles.

Maximum of twenty occupants.

‘We can handle them.’

The assessment of his physical body and the Ring’s functions was already complete back in Sector 49.

The types of usable Magic.

The output level of each Magic depending on the amount of Mana used as material.

One could say that to the combat style he had relied on until now—his innate senses and accumulated experience—precise magical knowledge had now been added.

The odds were sufficient.

Even if his Mana was near empty, if he ended the fight quickly.

“Staying is safer.”

Philip and Veronica agreed.

In a situation like this, Ray was more of an expert and a reliable figure than anyone else.

Veronica, who had been glancing towards the approaching vehicles and looking around, shouted.

“Wait, look at this!”

Not far away.

Among the fallen Rockdeer.

From there, a small animal was staggering to its feet.

“Oh no… It must be a baby…”

“It doesn’t seem hurt, though. It probably just got knocked over by the adults.”

The creature, about the size of a small puppy, succeeded in standing up alone after several attempts.

And it approached one of the fallen adults nearby, rubbing its head against it.

Philip muttered awkwardly.

“Is that its mother…?”

“Probably not. The skin color is different.”

As Ray said, the skin visible between the baby Rockdeer’s shell had a faint bluish tint.

Though you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely.

“Veronica, do Rockdeer ever have skin this color?”

Ray’s question.

Veronica made a slightly pained expression as she tried to recall.

“Uh… There was nothing like that in the books. It just said both the shell and skin were gray.”

Ray nodded.

Then perhaps it was a mutation or something similar.

If it had a mother, the probability was high it was that individual with bluish skin he saw during the earlier escape.

Gurgle─

The first adult showed no reaction.

It was already dead.

The baby Rockdeer approached other adults and repeated the same action.

Gururuk.

The dying adults tried somehow to raise their bodies to lick the baby.

But unable to exert much strength, they fell back down with a thud.

Philip and Veronica, watching the scene, wore stricken expressions.

Ray asked.

“Are Rockdeer particularly strong in their protective instincts towards their young?”

“Uh, yes. I guess all animals are, but it was written that Rockdeer are especially so. And they have a characteristic of communal parenting.”

Philip added.

“Then it’s highly likely the ones fallen here were responsible for this little one’s communal parenting.”

Ray thought he understood the source of the Rockdeer’s rage.

Weren’t they worried and angry that the approaching hunters might harm the baby?

Guruk─

The baby now approached Philip and Veronica, rubbing against them.

The moment the flustered Veronica picked up the baby in her arms.

Squeak──

Not far away, the hunters’ vehicles came to a stop.

Thud!

The number of people who got out was fourteen in total.

Burly men with long guns or hand axes strapped to their waists opened the truck cargo beds.

Creak─ Thud!

And they began lifting the Rockdeer and throwing them into the cargo beds.

“Captain, what about the ones still breathing?”

“Finish them off. It’ll be troublesome if they thrash around in the cargo bed before we hand them over to the slaughterhouse. Ah, with knives, not guns.”

“Huh? If we don’t use guns, breaking the shell will be…”

“It’s a waste of bullets on already caught ones.”

The man called Captain, with a mean-looking face, stepped forward to demonstrate.

“Watch closely, like this. It’s simple if you stab a knife between the shell plates.”

Plunge!

─Gurgle!

The Rockdeer with a knife plunged into its neck trembled violently before going limp and moving no more.

“Handle the ones with shells still attached like this. Ah, be careful not to damage the horns too much. They sell for a high price at the apothecary.”

“Ooh! This is much easier! As expected of the Captain!”

The Captain who gave the first demonstration didn’t participate directly in the remaining work, just walked around giving instructions.

While taking out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth, and blowing smoke.

“Look carefully. There might be one with a real gem embedded in its forehead.”

“Aww, Hyung. Do you really believe that talk?”

“Right. Isn’t it just the ramblings of a senile old man?”

The Captain man chuckled and replied.

“Well, he was once the CEO of a successful company. And now he’s also our employer who entrusted us with a hefty commission. Shouldn’t we at least show the courtesy of pretending to look?”

And he added.

“Though, talk of blue gems, deer that turn into water… when he started on that, I really couldn’t listen. If it weren’t for the money, I’d have kicked his ass and chased him out right then.”

At that, the subordinates burst into raucous laughter.

“Right. Crazy old man. Says he saw it himself when he was young, but it’s nonsense.”

“Aren’t we just here to make some extra income on the side and then leave? Even if we don’t get the success bonus for the commission.”

While the laughter continued for a while.

One man spotted Ray’s group.

“Huh? Wait a minute. Over there…”

Several men stopped working and approached Ray’s group.

Veronica instinctively hugged the baby and moved closer to Ray’s side.

Philip prepared to run towards their vehicle in case of the worst.

It might pass without incident.

But human malice could manifest in truly unexpected ways.

Especially the rough aura the men exuded, along with their weapons, made Philip and Veronica extremely tense.

And Ray had already drawn up the Ring’s Mana, ready to use Magic at any moment.

The men who stopped a few meters in front of the group talked among themselves.

“What are kids doing in this Wasteland? Isn’t there still some distance to the Sector?”

“They have a car over there?”

“Their clothes don’t look like they’re from some noble family…”

Then, one man’s gaze landed on Veronica.

“Hey, over there…”

“Huh? Ooh. Her face is quite…”

Foul desires seethed within their Vessels.

Sinister eyes scanned her body up and down, and Veronica hid behind Ray with a stiff, frozen face.

“Captain!”

The men called their Captain.

The Captain man, who had been giving instructions elsewhere, turned his head this way.

He stared intently at Ray’s group, then waved his hand dismissively in the air.

Along with that, secretive smiles spread across the men’s lips.

One of the men approached Ray’s group and said.

“Hey, kids. Is that car yours? I doubt you came here on your own.”

His expression was completely different from when they were whispering among themselves.

It was a gentle, warm expression that anyone might let their guard down for in an instant.

“Are there any other adults around? If you’re lost, we uncles can help you.”

But it was useless against Ray, who could read emotions themselves.

Clear hostility.

Uncontrollable sexual desire.

Those were the emotions contained in the men’s Vessels.

‘They’re thinking of closing the distance and then subduing me.’

He sensed a clash was inevitable.

The solid hostility and desire on the other side weren’t the kind that could be deflected with words.

Well, it didn’t matter.

He too was much more accustomed to following the logic of force rather than conversation.

The moment he recognized the opponent as an enemy.

Vooom─!

Red Mana coursed through his entire body, enhancing his strength and agility.

“I have a question.”

“Huh?”

“How much further is it to Sector 48?”

“Aha. You want to go home! No need to be so scared. We uncles will take you. But why are you using informal speech…”

The man’s hand, disguised with kindness, slowly reached towards Ray’s shoulder.

At that moment.

Swish──!

Ray grabbed the man’s wrist and slammed him straight into the ground.

Thud──!

“Kuh-hack!”

The man’s back arched like a bow.

His trembling body soon went limp, his eyes rolled back, and bloody foam formed at his mouth.

No one had accurately caught Ray’s movement.

Amidst the silence, Ray spoke.

“No need to go home. I’ve already left. I asked because it would be better if you could get treatment quickly if it’s nearby.”

Even after Ray’s words, the men couldn’t shake off their stunned feelings.

“Wh-what? What just happened?”

“Did that brat just take down Becker?”

While the enemy was bewildered and failing to grasp the situation.

Ray dragged the fallen man behind him, repositioning him.

He handed a knife to Philip and said.

“Cut his throat. When I give the signal.”

“……”

Philip had never held a knife to someone’s throat in his life.

If anything, he had been on the opposite side.

He wasn’t of such rough temperament.

His heart felt like it would burst from tension.

But he wasn’t a fool who would fail to do what needed to be done out of fear.

As if resolved, Philip nodded and took the knife.

Lick.

He gave the knife blade a long lick with his tongue, then let out a “Keuk-keuk” laugh, putting on the most menacing expression he could as he pressed the knife against the captive’s neck.

“Don’t move and put down everything you have. Otherwise, this guy’s life is forfeit. Keuk-keuk-keuk.”

The momentum wasn’t bad.

Though the line was a bit odd.

Seeing this, the men groaned.

“Ugh. Those brats have some nerve. Must be robbers who target travelers as customers.”

“Skilled robbers at that.”

“Becker, that idiot. Shouldn’t let his guard down just because they’re kids.”

But they didn’t seem particularly tense or concerned about their comrade’s death.

One of the men drew a hand axe, shaking his head as he stepped forward.

“Kid. Don’t do anything dangerous. People should talk, you can’t just use force out of nowhere─ Ah─!”

The man who swung his axe in a surprise attack─

Swish! Thud!

─likewise found himself greeting the ground with his lips the next moment.

Ray stomped on the back of the man’s head with his strength-enhanced foot, grinding it.

“Urgh… this… won’t move…! Aaah ─ Aaaah─!”

Only then did tension begin to spread among the watching men.

“So taking down Becker was real.”

“He’s no ordinary brat. I didn’t even see him move just now.”

“Aaah! Don’t, don’t just watch, s-save…! Damn it! Aaaah!”

The moment the men, drawing edged weapons like hand axes and kukris, tried to rush in.

The Captain, who had been watching from afar, appeared with a grimace.

“What the hell is this? Can’t even handle one kid, making a complete mess.”

“Ah, Captain. It’s just… that kid’s skill isn’t ordinary…”

“I saw that, I know.”

The Captain man untied the shotgun from a subordinate’s waist and took it.

“Uh… is it okay to use the gun? You said to conserve ammo as much as possible except during hunts.”

“Damn it. Becker and Zellock are about to die. Are you going to make up for the reduced labor force if they die?”

“Uh, no! No!”

Click.

The Captain man aimed the gun muzzle at Ray.

“Kid. Let them go. Don’t make trouble for no reason. They’re labor I need to use… no, my precious subordinates. Even if they look like rotten vegetables, they’re guys who get the job done exceptionally well.”

“C-Captain! Wh-what’s wrong with my face…! Aaah…!”

“You, just shut up for now. Anyway, we were trying to help, isn’t attacking out of nowhere uncalled for?”

Ray said quietly.

“Philip. Cut him. Not enough to kill.”

“Huh? Kid, what did you just…”

Philip was momentarily flustered but faithfully followed Ray’s instruction.

“Keuk-keuk. Looks like my knife will taste blood again.”

The sharp blade bit into the unconscious man’s neck skin, and bright red blood seeped out.

Gulps were heard from various places.

Immediately after, Ray growled.

“It’s a warning. Don’t even think about lying in front of me.”

At Ray’s piercing warning, the Captain man’s face twisted fiercely.

‘Damn, look at what he’s doing. Where did this brat come from?’

Scratching the back of his head vigorously with his other hand not holding the gun, he said.

“Ah, fine. Damn it. We had some bad intentions. But so what? No matter how you look at it, this situation isn’t favorable for you, is it? What are you three going to do? With one word from me, your bodies will be turned into Swiss cheese right now. Got it? As for Becker’s life…”

Right at that moment.

Whoosh.

Over a dozen fireballs the size of a person’s face bloomed around Ray.

“Try it.”

The cigarette in the Captain man’s mouth dropped with a tap.

“If you can.”

At that moment, the air in the area changed drastically.