Chapter 33

26. Gold (3)

Now that Gold has joined the group, it was only natural for me to join Jichangsu's group as well.

After all, the Gold who knows of my existence and location would surely come to kill me.

“With Hunter Park Kyu on our side, it's like having an army of a thousand men!”

Jichangsu's former employees, who had worked at his company, didn't look particularly reliable, but they were well-armed and had the power of numbers.

Mutations are honest enemies.

They are nightmarish when you lack firepower, but with sufficient firepower, hunting them is no different from the safaris Europeans used to conduct in Africa.

“Don't shoot from too far away. Wait until you can see the whites of their eyes, then open fire together. Accurate shots are most important.”

I hid the troops at the base of a gentle hill and climbed it alone.

I can see them.

Five mutation dogs.

It's a tough number to handle with rifles, but we have a heavy machine gun.

But are there really so few?

The group I saw earlier had at least ten.

Moreover, I don't see the one I'm desperately looking for.

Gold. Where has that guy gone?

He seemed to have been accepted into the group.

In a way, it's a good thing.

Gold not being here means he won't get caught up in the upcoming massacre.

With a mix of relief, I fired at one of the mutation dogs.

Bang!

I can see blood splattering from its shoulder, but that's all.

They don't die easily from a single bullet.

The textbook one-shot kill method is to aim for the weak cartilage under their jaw when they open their mouths wide, or to aim for the gap in the shoulder blade that their large heads shield, to destroy their hearts. But in real combat, it's rare to find someone crazy enough to attempt such a feat.

The mutation dogs glared at us and growled in unison, then began to charge at us at terrifying speed.

The battle has begun.

Rushing down the hill, I saw Jichangsu and his employees hurriedly checking their weapons.

“They're coming soon. Get ready.”

I didn't think it would be a difficult fight.

All we need to do is hold our ground and shoot the ones that appear.

We have seven people with 5.56mm automatic rifles.

Even if some shots miss, the heavy machine gun will sweep them all away while they are distracted by us as bait.

No matter how strong their muscles and bones are, a 12.7mm machine gun's firepower is overwhelming.

The gunner for the important heavy machine gun is a reliable person.

A veteran named Jeong Jungsa, recruited by Jichangsu, who has combat experience from the front lines.

Moreover, Ji Younghee is waiting with the bus engine running, ready to drive and crush the dogs if things go wrong, to rescue us.

Most importantly, I, Park Kyu, am here.

If Jichangsu's group cooperates even a little, it shouldn't be difficult to wipe them out.

If Kim Dalram, who I can't contact now, were here, we could kill them all and still have some left over.

Click

I added one more bullet to the magazine, just in case, and loaded it into the gun.

“Here they come.”

From behind the ridge, I could hear the rough breathing of the dogs.

Soon, the first one appeared at the bottom of the ridge.

Rat-tat-tat!

The heavy machine gun fired.

With just three shots, one mutation dog was shattered and splattered blood into the air.

I gave a thumbs up.

“Nice shot.”

But.

“Damn.”

I underestimated them.

No, I underestimated Gold.

He appeared early in the war, ruling the southwest as a dominant force, evading countless pursuits and exterminations, and thriving with his group until now.

If he were human, he would be a founding warlord.

In reality, he is as smart and cunning as a human, even if he had four legs.

He is aiming for the bus.

“Jeong Jungsa!”

I immediately shouted to warn the gunner.

Jeong Jungsa, being a veteran, quickly ducked into the ventilation hatch where his upper body was exposed, but Gold had another target.

Bang!

The machine gun.

Gold's teeth clamped down on the barrel, and with his immense jaw strength, he bent it.

“Grr.”

We lost our maximum firepower right at the start of the battle.

Ji Younghee immediately stepped on the gas to knock Gold off the bus, but the loss of the machine gun was a fact.

To make matters worse, giant dogs began to appear on the ridge.

Jichangsu's employees, pale-faced, started to back away.

“Don't worry. Not yet. Follow my instructions...”

This fight.

“Younghie! Younghie! Come over here!”

“Aaaah!!”

“It's not coming!”

“Run!”

“Where?!”

Bad luck.

Or maybe, I subconsciously underestimated that dog, Gold.

Who would have thought a dog could do such a thing?

He is a human in a dog's disguise.

If he were born human, he would have been an outstanding warrior.

Rat-tat-tat!

The guns fired.

I shot a dog that was charging with its mouth wide open, creating a hole in its mouth and bringing it down.

Rat-tat!

I fired a warning shot at a dog circling to the side, and picked up a gun from the ground to fire another warning shot at a dog circling the opposite side.

Bang!

“Crash!”

The dog howled, hit in the side, but it was just a minor injury.

At the same time, two dogs pounced from both sides as if they had agreed.

Bang!

Two shots in the split second the shoulder blade was exposed.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

I aimed two barrels at the dog on the opposite side and pulled the trigger hard.

“Grrrr!”

The first dog was already dead in the air, and the second dog, about to pounce on me, leaned in, drooling.

No matter how mutated, a dog with fifty bullets in its body would die, even if not in a vital spot.

I threw away the gun and reached for the next one, but another dog charged at me from the front at full speed.

Swish

Two axes gleamed in the winter sunlight.

I waited for the dog's body to narrowly miss mine, then stabbed its front joint,

Snap!

“Grrrrr!”

Ignoring the dog's attempt to bare its teeth, I destroyed its hind joint.

Snap!

“Grr!”

The dog howled and fell, and I stepped back, picked up the gun, reloaded, and shot the struggling abdomen.

“Hunter Park! Front! Front!”

Feeling blood splatter on my face, I looked ahead.

There was a large, black dog.

The new leader who had pushed Gold aside.

I might have been able to handle this one dog.

Next to it, a golden-furred dog stood elegantly.

I called out its name.

“Gold.”

Not just Gold.

Behind the black dog, other dogs I hadn't seen before began to appear.

“Oh.”

The ones I didn't see earlier must have joined.

But the number is too many.

Four, five, maybe more.

The already unfavorable situation was now heading towards a disaster.

Two mutation dogs clung to the bus driven by Ji Younghee, and another dog was chasing Jichangsu and his ragtag group, driving them mad.

The only one who could fight was me.

“...”

The enemy: seven mutation dogs.

Including one overgrown one.

It's a tough fight for a lone human.

“Huff.”

I thought I would die someday.

Maybe this is the moment.

If I die here?

It's a shame.

Dying without securing my bunker.

But it's only a matter of time.

I know.

Even I, Park Kyu, will eventually die and disappear in the apocalypse.

It's just a matter of when.

But now,

I will think only of survival.

What I do well.

What I love.

What I can be recognized for in this world.

I threw away the empty gun and picked up two axes.

Strangely, my axes felt lighter than usual.

It feels good.

Looking back, there have been more terrifying situations.

Like when a fanatic attached a bomb to a zombie, forcing me into close combat with hundreds of zombies.

Or when I faced a close-combat specialized monster, a Dancer type, one-on-one.

Most of all, when I was abandoned beyond the rift.

Compared to then, I'm well-fed, have a clear mind, and have a clear reason to live.

Why? Because I have something to protect.

The bunker, my social standing on the bulletin board, and so on.

Everyone would be sad if the mighty Skeleton suddenly disappeared from the bulletin board, right?

“Grrrrr!”

The black dog bared its teeth.

It's coming for me directly.

This might be my final dance.

Just before the clash, I looked at Gold.

He stood there, calmly watching me.

What is he thinking?

“Grr!”

As the black dog roared and lunged forward, a miracle happened.

Gold, who had been standing quietly next to the black dog, suddenly turned and tore its neck apart.

“!”

The black dog, caught off guard, tried to turn its head but it was too late.

Crack!

Gold's teeth, which had bent a steel barrel, now crushed the black dog's neck bones.

The black dog convulsed, flailed its front paws, and fell to the ground.

The miracle didn't stop there.

“Gold!”

Gold, who had killed the black dog, came to me with blood-stained teeth.

He wasn't coming to fight me.

He was coming to fight with me.

The most appropriate species to hate humans was fighting on the side of humans.

Human and dog, united.

Guns fired, and the charging teeth were blocked by other teeth.

Axes blocked the charging teeth, and other teeth tore apart their owners.

In the midst of the battle, I was consumed by a question.

Was the dog's sudden action a response to my kindness, or a reaction to the group's indifference to his fall?

Or perhaps, the dog's innate nature, imprinted in its genes, had manifested so strongly that it overshadowed the intelligence created by the mutation.

A dog, without humans, is just another expression of a wolf.

*

Jichangsu's adventure to save his old master ended in vain.

No one was lost, but an important weapon was lost, and the people themselves were broken.

His employees whispered, looking at me as if I were a monster.

“Is he human? I've seen Awakened a few times, but he's on a different level.”

“Is the rumor about him being an S-class Hunter true? What about that dog?”

“I don't know. Everything is confusing.”

Amidst the familiar whispers, Ji Younghee approached me directly.

She stared at me intently.

Feeling uncomfortable under her intense gaze, she boldly said,

“Would you like to go to Jeju Island with me?”

“Huh?”

“A ship to Jeju Island is leaving soon. I have a ticket. With this ticket, you can get a good place.”

“That's too sudden.”

“Do you know where Jeju Island is now?”

“I know, but why should I go?”

“Are you single?”

Ji Younghee smiled warmly.

Her beauty was so striking that even with a bit of dirt and messy hair, it was quite stimulating.

Feeling uncomfortable with her excessive approach, I averted my gaze.

“That's true, but...”

She looked up at the sky and continued.

“Even a fleeting encounter is a bond, right? This is our second time.”

“...”

“You seem like the type who wouldn't become a widow twice. You might adapt to a new life in Jeju Island more easily.”

She clasped her hands and fidgeted with her fingers.

She was taking off her ring.

Feeling the sharp glint of the ring as it slipped off her beautiful fingers, I turned to her.

“Is this a proposal?”

“Yes. A serious marriage proposal.”

She smiled demurely, shaking the ring on her finger.

Her gaze then turned to the fallen mutation dog.

“It's this kind of era, you know?”

“...”

I understand, but a sudden marriage proposal is bewildering.

She is beautiful, from a good family, and in this dog-eat-dog world, she has the means to get a bus, mercenaries, and a heavy machine gun.

But isn't it too early?

“...I'm sorry, but I'm not thinking about marriage right now.”

I took a step back.

“You're old enough, right? Aren't you in your mid-thirties?”

“I'm still in the early thirties.”

“Do you not like me?”

Ji Younghee approached me lightly.

The scent of a woman, a smell that stimulates my instincts, wafted to my nose.

She knows her charm and uses it well.

She is truly attractive.

A beauty that would leave me with regrets if I let her go.

I am a strong man.

Being attracted to a young and beautiful woman is inevitable.

But I don't think this kind of union is right.

I know too little about her, and it's not a proper union by any means.

Most of all, I saw her intentions.

The kind of inner thoughts that only humans and cunning beings can have.

“You are very attractive.”

“So?”

She had an expectant look, but the answer was already decided.

“I will decline this offer.”

Surprise flashed across Ji Younghee's face, but it was brief. She smiled faintly, nodded, and walked away.

“I see. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything.”

The result is good.

It's the result I wanted.

But I felt a sense of regret as she walked away.

“...Huff.”

From a distance, the howling of dogs can be heard.

On the abandoned field, black dots are moving away.

Gold and his new group.

After fighting fiercely with me, when the dogs started to feel their defeat and flee, he quickly left me to reclaim them as his subordinates.

He returned to his rightful place.

Perhaps the true winner of this battle is that cunning dog.

I raised my thumb in respect as he moved away.

A bark echoed in response, as if saying, "Happy birthday."

*

After that, animal carcasses are occasionally placed in front of my territory.

Deer, wild boars, and once even a wild yellow cow.

I have books on butchering and dissection, but I am more meticulous than I appear, so I haven't actually done it, but I should try it once.

My meat is running low, after all.

Sometimes, while patrolling my territory, I can feel it.

Gold's gaze, with his golden fur fluttering, watching from the opposite ridge.

I didn't post this story on the community.