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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The swarm of bats, staining the sky black, began to spread. The giant beast, like all the bats combined, glided through the air with its wings outstretched. My eardrums pounded. The creature’s roar pushed through the entire mountain and forest. I felt like I was going to be pushed over by the sound. And the mountain roared. The sounds of beasts echoed from all over the mountain, as if in response, in resistance, in warning. Just as the human beasts had barked when they rushed at me, the beasts in the mountain howled.
The Riverine boat cut through the water fiercely, racing across the river. And the bats began to fly towards us. Fast. Incredibly fast.
The heavy weapons gunners on the Riverine boats turned their miniguns, M2s, and M240s to aim at the black sky that was chasing us. And then, the bushes moved. The forest and the bushes surged like a wave.
Growl, rumble!
With a barking sound, the shadowed wave pushed aside the sunlight and began to descend the mountain.
“Fire!”
As the minigunner shouted, all the gunners on the two Riverines responded, pulling their triggers in unison. The special forces members and special ops team members on board also raised their personal firearms and fired at the sky. A field of fire bloomed on the 10-meter-long Riverine boats. A rain of countless bullets spread in all directions. It wasn’t a single gunshot. It sounded like a swarm of bees.
Buzzzzz
Buzzzzz
My eardrums pounded. I gritted my teeth and looked up at the sky. The approaching bats were pierced and torn apart by the countless bullets, falling to the ground like fragments.
The driver of the Riverine boat shouted, “Three o’clock! Three o’clock!”
The heavy weapons gunners on the left side of the Riverine boat all turned their guns towards the forest. The bushes surged. The wave approached. It reached the riverbank!
Buzzzzz!
The miniguns and M2s bloomed with a flower of fire, pouring out a shower of bullets.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
The spent casings poured out like a stream of coins.
Screech! Roar! Howl!
Screams and roars erupted from the forest at the same time. Grass, branches, blood, and flesh shot up into the air. A tree hit by a bullet sent splinters flying in all directions. A cocktail of water spray, wood splinters, grass, and a deafening roar hit me in the face. My whole body stung. I spat and looked back. The swarm of bats, which couldn’t even approach when the firepower was fully concentrated, was slowly getting closer. The wave in the forest was also fiercely rushing in, overtaking the Riverine boat. And the next moment, beasts leaped out of the forest.
Roar!
Giant beasts leaped out in a single bound and rushed into the river. The heavy bodies stomped on the water, and a spray of water shot up like a bomb had exploded.
“Shit!”
The boat driver swore and yanked the steering wheel. The Riverine boat, which had been running down the middle of the river, dramatically cut through the water, drifting and turning to stick to the opposite riverbank. At the same time, the gunners stumbled. Some of them fell over.
“Hold on tight! Don’t fall off!” Sung Kyu-hyuk shouted.
I grabbed Sung Ga-yeon’s hand and gripped the handle on the boat floor with all my might. I didn’t know if anyone was screaming or not. Too many sounds were mixed together. Realizing that the boat had barely regained its balance, I raised my head. Bats were chasing us from behind. And beasts from the front.
…A pack of dogs. They were the same ones I had encountered in the village. There looked to be at least twenty of them! I let go of Sung Ga-yeon’s hand and pulled out an Ingram MAC-10 from my thigh. I couldn’t let go of the handle on the floor. If I did, I would be thrown off the boat as it continued to swerve left and right. There was still some time before the bats chasing us from behind reached us. But up ahead. I would soon be facing the pack of dogs that were plunging into the river in the distance. They had no intention of letting us go. I held the Ingram MAC-10 out between the gunners and aimed at them.
A transparent circle appeared in front of my eyes. Damn it, the boat was shaking too much. I was afraid I would hit the minigunner in the thigh.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and turned back, holding out the Ingram MAC-10. I should be able to hold off the bats coming from the sky with this…
At that moment, an earthquake erupted. An earthquake?! No. It was a sound! The sound of the entire mountain shaking.
Roaaaargh!
An ear-splitting sound echoed in all directions! It was a sound that overwhelmed even our heavy weapons, which were making a sound like a swarm of bees. And then, a tree collapsed with a crack, revealing a giant figure. It was like an entire hill was moving. It cast a giant shadow and leaped towards the river in the distance.
Screech! Screech!
The monster dogs howled in the river. No, it was more like a scream. The creature, sending up a violent spray of water, attacked the pack of dogs. The giant beast’s mouth opened wide. It was too big to be called a mouth. It opened like a crocodile’s, tearing at its neck. It looked like a black pig, but I had never seen a pig that looked so ferocious. The master of the mountain. The monster wild boar.
The river where it had leaped in created a huge wave. And the wave became a tsunami and came crashing down on us.
“Fuck!”
The Riverine boat, which had been barely running along the riverbank, collided with the tsunami.
“Gah!”
Both Riverine boats were pushed onto the land by the tsunami. The American and special forces members all fell over and rolled in the mud.
“Pfft!”
I was covered in mud and raised my head. The team members were scattered all over the riverbank. I wiped the mud from my eyes with my hand. I looked down. The Riverine boat was already too far up to be able to run on the river. I gritted my teeth and stood up.
“Damn it!”
A minigunner was screaming, pinned under the Riverine boat. We had to save him! I ran towards the American soldier, splashing through the mud, and looked up at the sky. A swarm of bats was coming. Damn it, they were coming! I raised my Ingram MAC-10. I couldn’t kill them all with this!
Just as I was about to grab the other Ingram MAC-10. A thunderous roar came from behind me.
Buzzzzz!
At the same time, a hail of fire, like a spear of light, came down from the sky and hit the swarm of bats.
Screeech! Screeech!
The human-sized bats, their wings torn and their legs ripped off, literally disintegrated in mid-air and rained down on the ground. I took a deep breath and looked back. The US military base! We had almost reached it! From the roof of the barracks at the US military base, a dozen miniguns, M2s, and personal firearms were pouring out a hail of fire of ten thousand rounds per second, like a rainstorm, completely blocking the approach of the swarm of bats.
“Phew!”
I exhaled and immediately grabbed the bottom of the Riverine boat with one hand. And I lifted it with all my might.
“Grrr!”
Grind.
My teeth were grinding. Was this thing even lifting?! Damn, it was heavy! As I was struggling, an American soldier and a special forces member ran to my sides and helped me lift the Riverine boat. Sung Ga-yeon ran over, grabbed the pinned American soldier, and pulled him out. The American soldier, whose leg had been pinned, struggled and pushed against the ground. And finally, he was out.
“Run! Run to the base!”
Pull them out and then strike. That had been the plan from the beginning. Unexpected situations could always happen in an operation. But for all three leaders to come out at once. No one had expected that. Did one of them being provoked provoke the others? Who could have known that?
The boat had been pushed and overturned, and there were several casualties. The special forces members and special ops team members carried the injured on their shoulders and helped them as they all ran towards the base.
Buzzzzz!
Buzzzzz!
With the hail of fire from the base’s support fire flying over my head, I ran with the team members, an Ingram MAC-10 in each hand. The hail of fire from a dozen miniguns and other heavy and personal firearms. It was quite powerful. I didn’t have to worry about the bats anymore…
Rumble!
Crunch, crunch! Crack!
An eerie, thunderous sound came from my right. The giant monster in the river. The wild boar leader was eating the dogs. The giant Jindo dog that had been leading the pack of dogs climbed onto the wild boar’s back and was biting it, but it was no match. The size difference was too great.
Crunch, crack!
The sound of bones being crushed. The giant wild boar, which had eaten the dogs that couldn’t move easily in the water in an instant, raised its head.
Rumble!
It roared. And it plunged its head into the water. The giant Jindo dog that had been biting its neck was dragged into the river with it. I ran, watching the scene until the very end. A fight between monsters. Crazy!
A moment later, the water bulged as if a whale were breaking the surface, and the giant beast raised its head. A spray of water flew in all directions. It was as if it were trying to scoop up the entire river. The half-eaten limbs of the human beasts flew through the air with the spray of water.
Crunch!
The sound of bones being crushed. I blocked the water with my arm and raised my head. The monster wild boar was holding the giant Jindo dog in its mouth and chewing on it.
Grind!
Crack!
Every time it chewed, the monster wild boar’s body bulged. Its muscles swelled as if they would burst. Its size began to grow even more. …That thing was crazy.
The creature lowered its head as it chewed on the dog. Its huge, black eyes. It was looking at me. I looked back at it. A chill ran down my spine. And at the same time, my heart began to pound.
Right. You saw me? Come at me. I’ll kill you.
A smile unknowingly played on my lips.
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