Chapter 30 – Soldier – [Four]

“Again?”

Following Seo Yun’s warning, everyone surveyed their surroundings.

But there was nothing resembling a monster anywhere. Looking up at the sky yielded the same result. They thought another Mothman might be flying around, but nothing was visible in that gray sky.

Kim Ak tilted his head and spoke.

“Jihyeok? Scout ahead, please.”

“Yes.”

Kim Jihyeok followed the order and turned invisible. Hiding his form, he disappeared somewhere and only returned after a while to report.

“I don’t see anything.”

Meanwhile, Seo Yun’s necklace continued to vibrate. That suggested something was around, but what exactly it was remained unknown.

“What the hell is around here?”

Kim Ak groaned as if he had a headache.

Honestly, the current situation wasn’t particularly rare or dangerous. The surroundings were a ruin filled with numerous collapsed buildings, weren’t they? It wouldn’t be strange for a few small monsters to be hiding somewhere, and having Gutworms underground was commonplace.

Normally, they would have just questioned the situation and moved on. However, Oh Haengbok had already given instructions regarding such situations. Kim Ak was following orders.

“Jihyeok? Go report the situation to the Chief.”

“Yes,” Kim Jihyeok answered, turning around.

It was right then that Kim Jihyeok collapsed.

It was absolutely not a case of him tripping over his own feet and falling alone.

Kim Jihyeok fell forward very unnaturally, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.

“Huh?”

Blood flowed from the fallen Kim Jihyeok’s leg. It looked like he’d been shot.

No, it seemed he really had been shot. Who shot him became immediately apparent.

“You?”

Seo Yun saw a man who hadn’t been there a moment ago but had somehow appeared here. The other Party Members also saw the man, their eyes widening or mouths dropping open in surprise.

While everyone was bewildered by this sudden turn of events, Seo Yun thought about how that man had suddenly appeared.

‘An Invisibility Spell. It breaks if you move too much or cast a spell… He just fired a gun…’

The man was wearing digital-patterned military fatigues. He looked like a soldier. Judging by the rank insignia on his chest, he was a Private.

True to being a soldier, he held a gun, and it seemed a bullet had just been spat from its barrel.

The Private, aiming the smoking barrel forward, shouted.

“Everyone, hands up! Move and I’ll shoo—”

On the day the meteorite fell on the American continent and the sky was covered in ash and dust, no one knew exactly what the South Korean government did or where they were.

For unknown reasons, even nationwide communications were paralyzed. There were claims that the EMP spread by the meteorite impact had damaged communication devices, but that wasn’t an expert explanation. No expert could appear on TV to explain the situation. No news or internet articles could be seen.

What was certain was that the government did not do anything for its citizens.

They truly did nothing.

Perhaps the government thought it was absurd to be responsible for all citizens when it was clear a food shortage would hit for the next ten years. Maybe they opted for so-called ‘selection and concentration,’ deciding to save those who could be saved and abandon the rest rather than distributing the stockpiled food to everyone and letting all starve to death.

Perhaps the monsters that appeared in the world swallowed the high-ranking officials all at once before the government could even try anything.

There were even rumors that government officials, along with ‘important’ people like professors and high-level technicians, fled under naval escort, but regardless of the truth, the government disappeared. At least, that’s how ordinary people felt.

Thus, with the executive branch gone, the military, which should have been under their control, remained. Generals, officers, and soldiers all stayed on this land.

At first, they weren’t much different from ordinary civilians. Most soldiers starved or froze to death. The next largest group deserted.

And there were some soldiers who neither deserted nor died, remaining in the military.

Those soldiers likely realized that in a situation where they couldn’t receive supplies, they had to procure things like food and fuel themselves.

They probably also realized then that their guns and live ammunition were actually usable items.

“—t!”

In the sudden situation, Lee Jongho reacted bravely.

Lee Jongho instantly drew his sword and charged. Before the Private could pull the trigger, Lee Jongho swung his sword down. The gun flew from the Private’s hand, and Lee Jongho immediately followed with a kick. “Ugh!” The Private, kicked in the stomach, fell and tried to grab the gun, but Lee Jongho stabbed his sword into the back of that hand.

As a desperate scream erupted from the Private’s mouth, Seo Yun was kneeling in front of Kim Jihyeok.

She did what a Priest should do.

Seo Yun quickly recited a Blessing Spell. After reducing the pain, she spoke, holding tweezers she’d pulled from her backpack.

“Bear with it.”

Seo Yun extracted the bullet from the wound on Kim Jihyeok’s leg. A scream burst from Kim Jihyeok’s mouth, but Seo Yun recited spells in succession.

Light flowed from her hands. It was the light of Healing.

Even while recovering, Kim Jihyeok trembled. It seemed the pain didn’t vanish immediately even as the wound healed. There was no time now to comfort his moaning.

Seo Yun forcibly lifted Kim Jihyeok’s shuddering body.

“Get up. The situation isn’t good.”

As she said this, she glanced at Park Taeyang. In this situation, Park Taeyang seemed unsure what to do, just looking around nervously. Seo Yun cursed him inwardly.

Look at that flustered mess. That bastard really doesn’t seem suited to being a Player.

Of course, that wasn’t something to worry about now. Seo Yun glared at the subdued Private.

The Private, meeting Seo Yun’s eyes, pleaded.

“Me, me too… heal me. My hand is bleeding…”

Seo Yun spoke in a low, pressed voice.

“Answer the questions first.”

“What answers…”

“Are there more of you around?”

Kim Ak’s eyes widened.

“More of them?”

When this Private shot Kim Jihyeok just now, there was absolutely no gunshot sound. Even with a silencer, you can’t completely eliminate the sound of a gunshot, and this isn’t a pistol but a rifle. The only way to explain that impossible situation was with fantasy elements.

Summarizing all that explanation briefly, Seo Yun said.

“It seems a Silence spell was cast on the gun. A Mage must have cast it.”This private didn’t appear to be a mage. If this private had been a Player, the vibration from the Soul Detection Spell would have at least roughly indicated his Level, but the necklace barely reacted to him. It was the Soul Detection response one would get from an ordinary animal. Judging by that fact, this private had no Level. He was essentially Level 0, not even having undergone a Class Change.

The necklace’s vibration was hinting at a powerful enemy far away.

The more dangerous foe was in the distance. It would be the mage who had enchanted this private’s gun.

Kim Ak stared at the private for a moment, then looked at Seo Yun.

“He’s not answering… What should we do?”

Seo Yun answered Kim Ak’s question quickly.

“Let’s go inform the Chief. And alert the other Players on the way.”

Just as Kim Ak was nodding his head…

The necklace’s vibration intensified. Some powerful enemy was approaching.

Quickly, very quickly, it was closing the distance.

Lee Jongho suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted.

“Over there? Huh!”

In the direction Lee Jongho pointed, there were several puddles.

Those puddles splashed. In the complete absence of wind, the water in the puddles splashed violently. It seemed like something invisible had stomped through the puddles rapidly.

Something invisible was approaching.

Finally, it passed over a particularly large puddle. This time, the water splashed out so forcefully it seemed to have been doused over whatever had stomped through it.

In the Immortal Kingdom, there is a rule that Invisibility is dispelled upon colliding with something or getting doused with water, sand, etc.

Seo Yun saw a vehicle appear out of thin air, as if materializing, approaching from over there.

It was a familiar vehicle. A Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck she had often ridden during her military service.

The soldiers on the Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck seemed to have realized their forms had been revealed. The soldiers in the cargo bed aimed their guns and shouted.

“Everyone get down! Move and we’ll shoot!”

And then Kim Ak yelled.

“Run!”

Everyone ran as instructed.

The Senior Players were five minutes away from here, among them the particularly reliable Oh Haengun. They needed to get help from that Level 11 mage…

But, of course, trying to outrun a vehicle was absurd. In an instant, the Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck overtook them.

The Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck stopped up ahead. Watching the soldiers pour out of the cargo bed, Seo Yun gritted her teeth.

Was it to avoid mosquito bites? Those soldiers had covered every part of their bodies except their eyes with cloth. Those multicolored cloths were even more eye-catching than the digital camouflage pattern of their uniforms. So they didn’t look like the familiar Republic of Korea Armed Forces, but rather like some mysterious military force from somewhere abroad.

Just because the front was blocked didn’t mean they could stop. Kim Ak kept shouting.

“Run that way!”

Everyone ran, detouring around the Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck and the soldiers. The endless running drills they had endured until they were sick of them proved helpful now. Even while armed, everyone ran fast and kept running. The soldiers chased after them but couldn’t close the distance.

However, amidst this, someone fell behind.

“Ak!”

It was Seong Juri. Her scream came from behind.

Seo Yun looked back and her eyes widened.

Seong Juri had been caught by the soldiers. Soldiers were clinging to her.

Seong Juri’s strength alone surpassed that of an adult man. The knife she swung wildly slashed one of the soldiers who had approached her.

And the blood flowing from his comrade seemed to have stimulated the soldiers. One soldier’s eyes rolled back and he pointed his gun at her.

“You fucking bitch!”

Again, no gunshot rang out. Only a flame spat from the muzzle.

And the bullet fired along with it struck Seong Juri in the stomach. She was wearing armor, but this time it seemed to have been a direct hit.

Seo Yun saw Seong Juri’s body tremble violently, and then blood began to flow from that armor.

Seeing Seong Juri kneel down, Seo Yun kept running.

And perhaps for the soldiers, having already fired once, they decided there was no more reason to hesitate? Bullets began to fly in earnest.

Perhaps they truly had no intention of killing, as the soldiers aimed for their legs. As the six of them ran, the ground around them was dented by bullet impacts, and each time, everyone screamed while running.

Park Taeyang sobbed as he ran, as if he were about to cry any moment.

“Mom…”

Kim Ak shouted.

“Up ahead! That jeep up ahead! Hide there!”

Everyone followed that instruction. To immediately avoid the bullets, they hid their bodies behind a sizable jeep. Crouching down, they could no longer move.

And the soldiers in the distance shouted.

“Come here! They said there’s a Priest over there, come quickly!”

“Are you just going to let your comrade die?”

Now they were using the girl they had shot as a kind of bait. Only then did Kim Ak seem to realize Seong Juri hadn’t followed. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Those motherfuckers…”

Lee Jongho spat out a curse and gripped his knife, but his anger wasn’t helpful now.

The ground around them kept getting dented. The soldiers kept firing, perhaps to prevent them from leaving the jeep.

And the soldiers kept approaching. When Seo Yun glanced past the jeep, she could see the distance between the soldiers and the jeep had narrowed considerably.

Seo Yun thought quickly. So what should they do?

There seemed to be about eighteen soldiers. There was absolutely no way to win in a fight.

Also, it was absolutely impossible for everyone to escape. That was a clear fact.

If even some were to escape, a special attempt seemed necessary. For example, someone staying behind to buy time…

And Seong Juri seemed to have been shot in the stomach. That was a situation where she could be considered dying, and a Priest’s help would be desperately needed.

Then, a Priest would be suitable as the person to stay behind and buy time.

That Priest couldn’t be Park Taeyang. Right now, Park Taeyang was crying while cursing “fuck fuck” repeatedly. He was in no state to be tasked with anything, so another Priest had to act.

Just when things were starting to become somewhat livable, this happens, what a fucking mess. Having finished these various thoughts, Seo Yun stood up.

“I always wanted to leave this goddamn village.”

At Seo Yun’s words, Lee Jongho asked.

“What?”

“Just saying.”

Seo Yun drew her sword.

Seo Yun now carried two swords—one was the Magic Sword given by the chimpanzee, and the other was the ordinary sword she originally carried.

The sword she held now was the ordinary one. Gripping the sword in a reverse grip, Seo Yun spoke.”Team Leader? Everyone, get out of the vehicle for a situation report.”

“What?”

There was no time to explain. Seo Yun merely repeated the same words to Kim Ak, who was staring at her, before slipping out from behind the Jeep.

And she dashed forward. With the knife held upside-down and raised above her head, she charged toward the soldiers approaching from ahead.

The hail of bullets ceased. Kim Jihyeok mustered his courage and peeked his head out from the Jeep.

He could see Seo Yun’s back. As she ran toward the soldiers, she was shouting wildly.

“I’m a Priest! I’m a Priest, you bastards! Don’t shoot!”

The soldiers aimed their guns at the charging Seo Yun but didn’t actually fire. Was it because they took the knife raised above her head as a sign of surrender? Or because they recognized she was just a small girl? It could also be that they heeded her emphasis on being a Priest. Probably all three.

Seo Yun finally reached the soldiers. The soldiers, who had never received swordsmanship training, likely thought the girl’s upside-down knife was harmless, but it was actually a method called “slaughter-strike,” where the knife is wielded like a blunt weapon.

Seo Yun began swinging the upside-down knife.

The pommel and the decorative end of the hilt battered the shoulders and heads of the surrounding soldiers. Curses and screams erupted chaotically from the soldiers.