Noise that suddenly appeared in midair.
Monsters pour out from that noise.
“What the hell is that......!”
A phenomenon even Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan—someone who had survived here in Seoul—didn’t know.
The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was......
what it looked like when those [Demon Contractors] summoned monsters.
But.
‘It’s different.’
Back then, it looked like a hole had been pierced—something like an opening to another world.
This time, it was more like.
‘Only that part...... like the world itself got torn open.’
The monsters that had been packed full beyond that torn hole.
The moment the hole formed, it felt like they were spilling down through it.
I’d faced plenty of enemies in my own way up until now, but......
I’d never seen a phenomenon like that before.
“......This is bad.”
Watching that, Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan frowned for a moment.
“We judged that all monsters near here had been subdued, so we deployed most of our armored strength to the regional boundary lines.......”
“Meaning?”
“The strength currently defending Yeouido isn’t as large as you’d think....... It can’t be helped. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait here for a bit.”
He rose to his feet,
and called out to his soldiers.
“Captain Park Gwangsik!”
“Yes!”
“Take the soldiers and move!”
Leaving us behind, Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan moved with his soldiers.
He looked like he meant to respond as quickly as possible to that unknown phenomenon.
I’d already felt it from the state of his soldiers, but he really was a highly capable man.
The problem was......
‘......There are too many.’
The number of those monsters.
Was beyond imagination.
‘Among Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan’s soldiers, there weren’t many awakeners. Their level wasn’t high, either.’
Even so, since they were using military equipment, they were a unit with considerable strength.
But whether they were enough to deal with that number of monsters......
Honestly, I didn’t think so.
MURMUR MURMUR.......
Deeper inside Yeouido in the distance.
The people who were supposedly waiting for us there must have noticed the abnormal phenomenon, too,
because I could see them moving ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) urgently, trying to respond to the monsters.
“It’s a raid! Raise the barrier!”
“Everyone to your positions!!!”
Along Yeouido’s outer perimeter, something like a barrier rose up,
and around it, I could see a considerable number of people taking positions with military firearms equipped.
‘Systematic. Fast response.’
It meant they’d been well-trained to prepare for situations like this even in ordinary times.
Even so.
—KRRRRUUUUUUGH!!!
“Kgh......!”
The monsters falling from the sky.
Some of them fell toward the Han River and swam through the water toward Yeouido,
but some of them dropped directly into Yeouido itself.
Their defensive system looked pretty solid, but......
......It didn’t look like they could stop it without major losses.
“What the hell is this, all of a sudden.”
The number of monsters felt similar to the number we faced when we subjugated cities.
To the point where it made you wonder where that many monsters could even be pouring out from.
“......In Gangwon, it wouldn’t be a number that would be a big problem.”
Corporal Seo Suhyeok, watching the monsters burst out of nowhere and begin assaulting Yeouido, frowned as he spoke.
The Legion’s firepower was growing stronger by the day.
If we’d brought even a part of our strength, we could’ve subdued even that number somehow.
“The problem is that this isn’t Gangwon.”
“.......”
Chuncheon, the Legion’s home base, was far too far away from here.
And in this world, even the roads were in the worst condition.
It was hard to bring a large number of troops.
The more people you had, the more you drew the enemy’s attention, and the slower you moved.
A large-scale expedition required an enormous investment of time and resources.
‘If we came to wage a war, it would be different.’
This time, we came to confirm the faction that existed in Seoul.
So the number of troops we brought was just about a hundred soldiers.
Even then, Sergeant Lee Minjae—specialized in large-scale combat—was staying in Chuncheon due to the aftereffects of the Gyeonggi Province battle.
And.
In a situation like this, the calmest judgment was.
“For now, I think we should withdraw, Sergeant Shin.”
Just as Corporal Seo Suhyeok said.
For now, withdrawing.
“Suhyeok, you bastard.......”
“Of course, I’m not saying we abandon them.”
Corporal Jeon Gwangil frowned at Corporal Seo Suhyeok’s words,
but Corporal Seo Suhyeok continued evenly.
“Either way, they called us...... and we do need to make contact with them.”
“So?”
“We don’t have the strength to help them right now, so let’s pull back. And.......”
Right now, we weren’t a unit that assumed large-scale combat.
But.
“We can just call in support troops from the Legion.”
“Hm.”
We couldn’t bring over heavy combat equipment.
But if warrior-type soldiers came at full strength, support could arrive faster than expected.
“They have their own defensive system...... and they’ll redirect the strength they had dispersed to here. There’s a good chance they can hold out until support arrives....... They might even stop it without our help. That’s what I mean when I say we don’t need to force ourselves right now.”
Corporal Seo Suhyeok’s opinion was,
with our current force—which never assumed a large-scale battle in the first place—there was no need to engage that massive monster horde.
On the other hand.
“I think we should help them right now.”
Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s opinion seemed a little different.
“With this headcount, you want to jump those monsters?”
“Sure, it’s true we’re low on numbers. But.......”
Corporal Jeon Gwangil grinned, looking at Corporal Seo Suhyeok’s face,
then jerked his chin toward the soldiers.
“But our level isn’t low.”
I also looked over the unit members’ faces.
Many familiar faces were present.
‘Elites you can count on one hand even within the Legion.’
Because we had to travel a long distance, we couldn’t bring a cumbersome, large force.
But in other words.
Our current force could travel long distances with a small footprint,
and it was made up only of elite soldiers with the ability to handle all kinds of situations.
“......Even so, it’s disadvantageous to wedge ourselves into that battlefield. You know that, too, don’t you?”
“It does look a bit disadvantageous, that’s true, but.......”
Corporal Jeon Gwangil smiled, baring his teeth.
From his body, a dark aura—
[Madness]—was leaking out little by little.
“When it’s a little disadvantageous, it’s more fun.”
“......You’re going to throw the unit into danger for a reason like that?”
“Of course not.”
Corporal Jeon Gwangil shrugged.
“Suhyeok’s proposal is safer. But in the end, it takes time for additional troops to arrive. The problem is, we don’t know how the situation will change in the meantime.”
“.......”
“They might collapse faster than expected. If that happens, we lose a valuable potential ally.”
At those words,
I couldn’t help being a little surprised.
‘I thought it was an opinion he spat out because his madness flared.’
That black shadow of madness was still rippling across his body.
With his aggressive tone, it was true he was being affected by madness.
Even so, he’d judged the situation calmly and offered an opinion.
‘......I see.’
I smiled inwardly.
‘While I was gone, these guys didn’t just sit still, either.’
It meant that as a result of growing in my absence,
he’d succeeded in suppressing the side effects of madness to that extent.
“......The choice is.”
“Sergeant Shin’s.”
The two of them looked at me.
Safely wait together with the support troops.
Or push ourselves a bit and join them right now.
Both made sense.
While I was in Gyeonggi Province,
both of them must have awakened their capabilities as commanders, each mixed with their own personality.
To me, it was a sight that made me happier than anything.
“Everyone.”
And.
Out of those two options, what I chose was.
“Get ready to fight.”
*****
“......Kahahaha! Yes, Sergeant Shin!”
At my words telling them to prepare for battle,
Corporal Jeon Gwangil let out a crazed laugh.
“It’s the Legion Commander’s order! Everyone, prepare for combat!”
“Yes!!!”
Under Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s direction,
the soldiers began preparing for battle.
“......Whew. Understood.”
Even Corporal Seo Suhyeok, who said we should safely wait for support,
only let out a short sigh, then calmly began preparing and spoke.
“It won’t be easy...... but if that’s your will, Sergeant Shin, then fine. Let’s push ourselves a little more.”
“Push ourselves?”
“Yes. We’ve gained things as our levels rose, in our own way. We haven’t really used them properly yet, but...... if we force ourselves to use them, we can deal with those monsters somehow.......”
“Ah, about that.”
“Yes?”
The choice those two offered me was two things.
Safely wait for support troops.
Or take the risk and break through.
And.
What I chose was......
‘Neither.’
No, it’s more like—
I was thinking it from the moment they started talking while looking at the battlefield, but.
In the first place.
The answer was decided from the start.
“I only told you to prepare for battle. I never said we were forcing a breakthrough.”
“What are you.......”
In the end, there was only one thing that mattered.
Solving the monsters that appeared right now.
And that......
“Might be something we don’t have to force at all.”
While I was gone,
they fought plenty of battles in Gangwon without me,
together with [Droplet] who took my place.
In the process, they would’ve built experience and grown a lot.
To me, that growth was a sight that made me happier than anything, but.
‘It’s not like I was just fooling around over there, either.’
I grinned.
Alright.
A unit I’ve come back to after a long vacation.
“It’s been a while...... should I show you some cooking.”
*****
KAAA-BOOM......!
BOOM, KAAA-BOOM!
On the ground by the Han River near Yeouido.
Three artillery shells, trailing red smoke, were fired up into the sky.
After the day of collapse, all kinds of communication means were cut off.
There were awakeners with abilities that could deliver messages, but their number was extremely rare.
So the survivors created their own signal system.
‘We have to call in the troops scattered on the outskirts!’
A red signal flare meant a request for support,
and three signal flares meant an extremely urgent situation.
‘Enemies appearing inside out of nowhere!’
More than 90% of the monsters inside Seoul had already been cleared out.
The survivors of Seoul deployed their troops not to guard against internal enemies, but external enemies, placing them near the boundary where that wall had been.
But now.
Enemies had suddenly appeared inside.
There wasn’t enough strength here to deal with monsters that appeared out of nowhere.
‘Yeouido won’t collapse immediately.’
If there was anything fortunate,
it was that this was a time when they’d called survivors from other regions into Yeouido.
To receive them, Seoul’s key figures were gathered in Yeouido.
And the troops they brought weren’t a small number.
‘......Or maybe this could bring the worst outcome.’
But.
That fact didn’t reassure Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan.
‘Yeouido won’t collapse immediately, but...... I don’t know how far the damage will spread.’
The people there were Seoul’s.......
No.
They were the last core figures of the [Government of the Republic of Korea], which was still barely maintaining its lifeline.
Yeouido wouldn’t be annihilated before the troops scattered across various places returned.
But.
If even a few of those core figures died, it would become irreversible damage.
“......We called in all nearby soldiers, right?”
“Y-Yes? Yes, we did!”
“Good.”
CLICK.
As he racked the bolt on the rifle in his hands, he spoke.
“Tell the soldiers. Until support arrives, we’re joining the defense.”
“Yes? What are you—! It’s too dangerous!”
“We have no choice if we want to reduce casualties even a little. We have to hit those bastards from behind.”
The strength around here wasn’t sufficient.
The ones fighting a defensive battle over by Yeouido could at least defend with the help of facilities they’d built inside Yeouido.
But for those outside Yeouido, there were no defensive facilities at all.
“Then at least you should fall back, General!”
“I can’t. Maybe in the past, but not now. This is an era where we’re short even one field commander to lead on the battlefield. If I command on-site, casualties will at least be reduced.”
“Th-That......!”
From the adjutant’s point of view, even if other soldiers were one thing, Lieutenant General Kim Myeonghwan at least needed to evacuate somewhere safe.
With that thought, just as the adjutant was about to speak to persuade him—
“......Huh?”
From the side.
Something started to come into view.
SHRRRRK.......
The horde of monsters packed tightly around them.
Part of that horde.
SHRRRRK!!!
“What the hell is that......?”
By someone.
They were being ‘shaved away.’
