Chapter 43 – LV.Fourteen Warrior Oh Haengbok – [Two]

When a facility has a security system, it’s difficult to infiltrate from the outside, but escaping from the inside out is relatively easy. This is especially true if you’ve been active inside and have already grasped the surveillance system.

Over the past few days, Seo Yun had identified the locations of the unit’s guard posts, as well as patrol times and routes.

She stood guard duty at the posts alongside the soldiers. Pretending to be friendly, she chatted with them and memorized various pieces of information.

Which guard was lax in their duty, when shifts changed… And most importantly, who might help her.

Seo Yun had anticipated that there would be soldiers willing to help her, and winning them over was easier than expected.

Through medical corps records, Seo Yun learned which platoon the personnel she had rescued belonged to. When she stood guard duty with members of that platoon, they would often express their gratitude and ask:

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

From among them, Seo Yun identified those who were truly willing to assist her.

There wouldn’t be many heroes willing to risk punishment to help someone desert just out of gratitude, but right now, there were quite a few.

The prevailing mood throughout the unit helped.

The soldiers were sick and tired of the situation where, because they had kidnapped Players from Happy Village, they themselves were now being kidnapped in turn. Many held the opinion that they should just return the kidnapped Players, and they also knew that the Division Commander had moved her and Seong Juri to the front lines to prevent such talk from continuing.

Seo Yun also knew that since her return to the rear, such opinions had been circulating among the soldiers again.

So, with a suitable reason, the soldiers would help her.

The personnel on duty with her now included one soldier who had agreed to help.

“So, you can even eat chicken in Happy Village? And you farm yourselves?”

Seo Yun answered the soldier’s question.

“Yes. Since Mansu District 3 was an underdeveloped area, there were quite a few fields there from before. So, there were urban farmers and professional farmers around, right? Happy Village settled there and started farming. Thanks to that, we now have a decent stockpile of provisions. So, really, won’t you come with us?”

“I appreciate the offer, but no. I have to stay here.”

“Why? You said you don’t have family here either.”

“Well, just… Ah, it’s about time.”

Seo Yun looked at the soldier’s wristwatch and nodded. 3 AM. A time when everyone would be asleep and guard shifts wouldn’t overlap.

“Then, this is goodbye.”

“You’ll hit me gently, right?”

Seo Yun nodded and stood behind the soldier. She swung her reversed knife. The hilt struck the neck of the soldier, who was looking outside the guard post.

After seating the unconscious soldier in the chair, she quickly left the post. To appear as an ordinary soldier to others, she covered her head with the hood of the newly issued poncho.

In the pitch-black dawn, Seo Yun crossed the bivouac area. Ahead, she could see the tents where the soldiers slept.

As one of the guards, Seo Yun knew in detail which soldier slept where. She also knew which tent the Players slept in.

She entered it, waking the boy from the neighboring village while covering his mouth.

“Quiet, get up.”

Having been given a heads-up earlier, the boy got up immediately. Soon after, she woke all the other Players and whispered quietly.

“Hold my hand tightly. Follow me quietly.”

Everyone did as instructed. Holding hands, led by Seo Yun, they all exited the tent.

Though not even the moon was visible in the sky, the Small Suns installed by the Sun Priest outside the bivouac were shining. Those supernatural lights provided some illumination inside the bivouac as well. So, it wasn’t completely pitch black.

Seo Yun continued moving with the Players. Then, she passed by a large tent—the command post tent.

A few days ago, Division Commander Kim Jeongtong had summoned her into that tent. At the time, she had noted certain items inside.

Would they still be in there now?

“Wait a moment.”

Seo Yun closed her eyes and tapped her eyelids with her fingers. When she opened them, her vision had changed.

Soul Sight. A spiritual ability gained upon her Race promotion to Angel. Literally, it allowed her to see souls, and she could see souls beyond objects, granting her a see-through ability to see who was beyond walls.

‘Looks like there’s no one inside…’

Seo Yun left the Players standing for a moment and entered the tent.

The interior of the tent came into her Soul Sight.

In the darkness, several objects stood out as if painted. They contained souls within. They were clearly the magic items the Division Commander had confiscated from Han Siwoo.

The quantity wasn’t large. Probably most of the items from the bag had already been moved to the warehouse.

Among them, she saw one backpack glowing blue.

She recognized it as the Bag of Infinity. Seo Yun roughly stuffed only the immediately visible items into that bag, then picked it up and left the tent.

“Good, let’s go…”

She headed with the Players toward the agreed-upon location.

Kim Ak, Seong Juri, and Han Siwoo were waiting. Behind them were lined up two-and-a-half-ton trucks. Seo Yun had secured the key to one of them beforehand. It was an item she had obtained by persuading a driver from the same platoon as the personnel she had rescued.

Seo Yun opened the door of the two-and-a-half-ton truck and spoke to Kim Ak.

“Team Leader, you said you can drive, right?”

Perhaps nervous about the situation, Kim Ak answered in a slightly trembling voice.

“Yeah… But I don’t know things like how to start the engine.”

“That’s okay, I learned that. For example, if you pull that lever there and move that lever up, the headlights turn on…”

“Can you teach me from the passenger seat?”

With Seo Yun sitting in the passenger seat, the rest got into the cargo bed, and Kim Ak sat in the driver’s seat.

Starting the engine produced a loud noise, but when Seo Yun cast a spell, the usual racket disappeared.

The vehicle started moving. Quietly, yet swiftly.

They had to pass through the guard post this way. It was the most dangerous and tense moment of today’s escape. The machine gun installed at the guard post could turn the two-and-a-half-ton truck and its passengers into Swiss cheese in an instant…

She had made several preparations to get through there.

For example, one of the personnel currently on duty at the guard post was the Private who had kidnapped Seo Yun.That private was thoroughly fed up with all the situations caused by the kidnapping he had carried out. Not only did he feel responsible for cleaning up “the mess he made” after being thoroughly cursed out by the division personnel, but coincidentally, Seo Yun had even saved one of his squad members. It was like successfully saddling him with a debt of gratitude.

Seo Yun succeeded in persuading that private. Thus, the private promised to turn a blind eye to Seo Yun’s passage while on guard post duty tonight.

However, guard post duty is served by two soldiers. The other guard post duty soldier hadn’t been recruited yet.

That guy said the aforementioned private would handle it himself, but had he managed it properly by now?

Unable to know, feeling uneasy, the two-and-a-half-ton truck reached the front of the guard post.

Seo Yun glanced at the guard post.

As heard beforehand, the duty officer, who was said to always fall asleep during night shifts, was snoring away. That was fortunate… but both soldiers were looking this way!

One of them was the private Seo Yun had recruited beforehand, and he seemed surprised by this situation, making a stupid expression with his mouth wide open.

Why? Because she arrived before he could do anything? What a dimwit.

Seo Yun cursed internally. She had prepared somewhat for this situation, though…

Seo Yun whispered to Kim Ak.

“Let’s go for now.”

The two-and-a-half-ton truck stopped at the guard post. Since the gate was closed, they had to wait for it to be opened or somehow open it themselves.

The soldier from the unrecruited side approached the stopped two-and-a-half-ton truck. He was a corporal. He looked into the car and spoke.

“Who…?”

At that moment, Seo Yun was preparing one spell.

The Minor Mind Control spell. A 2nd-level Priest spell, it doesn’t actually control a person as one wishes but can induce them to better comply with one’s immediate demands.

According to the Rulebook, the spell’s success rate varies depending on how easy the caster’s demand is to comply with and how much goodwill the spell target holds toward the caster. Her 10 Charisma and her current reputation spread throughout the division should help…

Her eyes met the corporal’s.

At that moment, the corporal who saw Seo Yun opened his eyes wide. Understanding this situation shouldn’t have been difficult.

Seo Yun no longer sweated, but it still felt like cold sweat was flowing. The spell wasn’t fully completed yet. If that guy shouted out loud now, it would be a disaster…

For a moment, both just stared at each other without saying anything.

Then the corporal stood there stupidly for a bit, slowly raised his hand to cover his eyes, and turned around.

It seemed he would pretend not to have seen.

Feeling slightly flustered, Seo Yun recited the just-completed spell. An intangible energy was released, spreading the spell’s power to the corporal.

But it seemed the same whether before or after casting the spell.

Seo Yun hadn’t made any demand yet, but the corporal still stood there with his eyes covered, turned away. Seo Yun wondered if she should at least say words of thanks.

While gauging the situation, the private opened the gate.

The two-and-a-half-ton truck moved again.

Kim Ak, holding the steering wheel, muttered.

“We’re out.”

Even after passing through the gate, the two-and-a-half-ton truck kept driving.

Seo Yun glanced back from the passenger seat.

The faces of the Players riding in the cargo bed were visible. All their eyes were trembling. It was undoubtedly a feeling of exhilaration.

As the vehicle moved away from the Dawn Corps, the exhilaration in their eyes grew even greater.

Seo Yun smiled and turned her head forward again. Only darkness lay ahead. There was nothing else.

Just as she was relaxing, a ‘bang’ sound echoed.

Along with it, something crimson glowed ahead.

It was the muzzle flash of a gun. The flying bullet pierced the window and hit Seo Yun’s shoulder.

“Shi―”

A terrible, burning-like pain flowed through her body. Seo Yun was better at enduring pain than others, but that was a result of resolve. She couldn’t endure unexpected pain.

“―t!”

Seo Yun somehow clenched her teeth and looked ahead.

The two-and-a-half-ton truck’s headlights illuminated the front.

The man who had just fired the gun was visible. He definitely wasn’t there before, but now he stood as if materialized from thin air.

The face of the man holding the gun became visible. Kim Ak muttered in a shocked voice.

“Kim Jihyeok?”

Seo Yun also saw Kim Jihyeok’s face. He was aiming this way with an unprecedentedly cold expression. He must have been aiming for the driver’s seat, but the vehicle happened to turn, so it seemed to have hit Seo Yun.

As if determined to hit properly this time, Kim Jihyeok reloaded.

Kim Ak shouted.

“Kim Jihyeok!”

Only then did Kim Jihyeok also see their faces.

The coldness disappearing from that face and revealing bewilderment was instantaneous. So flustered was Kim Jihyeok that his body stiffened. Even as the vehicle approached, he didn’t think to avoid it.

Since it seemed he might get run over, the two-and-a-half-ton truck hastily turned and made an emergency stop.

Seo Yun opened the two-and-a-half-ton truck door with her unhit shoulder and glared at Kim Jihyeok.

“Hey, you motherf―”

She stopped short of cursing. Kim Jihyeok approached with a trembling voice.

“A-A-Are, are you okay?”

Seo Yun gestured quickly.

“I’m fine, so get in fast. They’ll hear the gunshot and soldiers will come running from over there.”

Indeed, the gunshot fired in the dead of night seemed to have been heard at the Dawn Corps bivouac site as well. Murmuring sounds were coming from the bivouac site.

At this rate, the 5-minute standby squad might mobilize.

But simultaneously, another group approached upon hearing the gunshot.

Without any sound, something huge came running from within the darkness. Even just by its silhouette, it was recognizable who it was.

This two-meter-fifty-centimeter-tall man wearing armor, there was absolutely no way not to recognize him.

“Chief?”

Oh Haengbok was wearing a helm, so his expression couldn’t be read. However, Oh Haengbok, who had stopped, seemed surprised looking this way.

“Kim Ak and… Seo Yun?”

Kim Jihyeok hurriedly said.

“She got shot in the shoulder. I shot her…”

Oh Haengbok seemed to find this situation difficult to understand, but he was indeed an experienced man. He quickly gave instructions.

“Then we need to remove the bullet.”

Seo Yun shook her head.

“It’s fine, so let’s do it later. Since a gunshot just went off…”Seo Yun pointed toward the Dawn Corps encampment in the distance and spoke, but Oh Haengbok’s decision remained unchanged.

“It’s fine, treat me first.”

After saying that, Oh Haengbok advanced into the darkness. Seo Yun watched his retreating figure for a moment, then pulled tweezers from the pouch on her belt and jabbed them into the entry wound on her shoulder.

Kim Jihyeok fidgeted nervously as he watched the process.

Meanwhile, the unit’s gate finally opened, and soldiers came pouring out. It was clear how startled they must have been by the recent situation; Kim Ak had apparently forgotten that to avoid detection in the darkness, the vehicle’s headlights needed to be turned off. The soldiers were heading straight for this light.

And then Oh Haengbok moved. He stepped in front of their Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck, blocking the way, and opened his mouth wide toward the approaching soldiers.

‘Ugh…’

Seo Yun, standing behind him, trembled.

An indescribable roar, one she had heard before, erupted. It felt as if the roar shook the very air, making the dark space seem to ripple.

Feeling her ears go numb, Seo Yun covered them.

While they felt an impact that seemed like their hearts might burst, the shock felt by the approaching soldiers seemed even greater.

Just hearing that terrible roar was probably enough for the soldiers in the Two-and-a-Half-Ton Truck to realize the presence of that orc.

It seemed they immediately abandoned any thought of pursuit.

Seo Yun saw the soldiers fleeing, not even daring to fire their guns. Without any actual combat, their backs grew distant.

For a moment, Seo Yun felt absurd. But that absurdity grew even greater the next instant.

As if roaring to drive them off wasn’t enough, Oh Haengbok charged toward the fleeing soldiers. It was just as screams erupted from the mouths of the escaping soldiers.

“Wait!”

A man’s voice rang out. It was Oh Haengun’s voice. As he shouted loudly, perhaps the Invisibility Spell was dispelled, revealing his figure.

“Don’t chase them!”

Fortunately, Oh Haengbok reacted to his words. Oh Haengbok, who had been in mid-pursuit, stopped in his tracks.

His voice trembled, as if his excitement hadn’t yet subsided.

“Right…”

Oh Haengun let out a sigh and looked at Seo Yun. His eyes were also filled with astonishment.

Oh Haengun spoke.

“There’s a lot to say, but let’s move first. I’ll cast the Invisibility Spell…”

Since the window was shattered and glass had sprayed onto the passenger seat, Seo Yun had to move to the cargo bed.

Kim Jihyeok, who rode along, muttered in a trembling voice.

“I, I was confused… I couldn’t see your face clearly… I thought what you were wearing now was a military uniform…”

Seo Yun thought of a certain girl from his words.

‘Attacking because you confused a poncho with a military uniform? You’re on the same level as Gaeulbi.’

She bit the inside of her cheek slightly as she thought.

‘You’re an honorary Martial Artist now.’

She didn’t voice her thoughts aloud. Seo Yun looked at Kim Jihyeok’s pale, frightened face. It seemed like if she showed any irritation now, he’d be hurt, so she patted his shoulder and said.

“Kid, it’s okay.”