Chapter 36

36. Rain Falling Over the Waves - 3

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Many people were puzzled as to why the terrifying man named Choi Young-jun became an AMT soldier. Honestly, shouldn't someone that talented be recruited by a civilian guild?

Regarding this point, Sergeant Kang Ik-joon, who was once Choi Young-jun's senior in the assault squad, testified.

"That guy? He's so damn lazy! Even when he was a private, he slacked off and didn't want to do anything. Does that make sense? But honestly, he's good at everything, so I couldn't say anything to him later, that unlucky bastard..."

He's a lazy genius.

Yes, at first, he wasn't very motivated.

"And he kept muttering that he didn't know why he had to be dragged here for mandatory service, even though he didn't want to awaken. It really got on my nerves when I was the squad leader..."

He has a rebellious nature.

He has many complaints about society and doesn't try to conform to the system.

"He just wanted to draw comics and live a simple life, but he got annoyed when he suddenly awakened. What a lunatic! I still can't believe it, and I just can't help but laugh when I see his face..."

And he had a completely different dream, a dream he wanted to achieve.

But why did such a person suddenly change his mind and start growing day by day...?

"Well... it's because he found it fun to kill monsters, I guess? I told you, he's a psychopath, right?"

It was a rather brutal reason.

He started to realize his true potential after discovering some unknown 'fun.'

"······Sergeant Choi Young-jun!"

He stood there now.

With his hands in his pockets, he slowly turned his eyes to look at the monsters.

He might already be feeling some interest, but it didn't show on his face.

Then, the driver's side door of the SUV opened, and the company commander, Captain Kwak Yong-joon, appeared.

"Hey! Young-jun! You drank, are you, okay? Should I do it? I only had a sip, you know!"

That's right. Choi Young-jun had been drinking with Kwak Yong-joon and a few other veterans the night before. That's why Kwak Yong-joon could return with him when he received the 'initial response team assembly text.'

"No. You're about to have a second child, so you should be more careful. If you fly off somewhere, you'll be out of the game before you can transfer."

"······Hey! Why are you talking about transferring! That guy is drunk, he's drunk!"

Choi Young-jun slowly walked over and reached out his hand to Ahn Min-tae.

"Min-tae, give me the sword."

"Ah! It's in a bit of a state..."

But Ahn Min-tae's sword was already cut in half by that woman's attack.

"Here, here it is!"

At that moment, a 2nd Company female soldier shouted.

She was in tears, pulling the sword from her squad leader's waist.

"I'm sorry, Private Lee Eun-hee..."

Sniffling, she extended the sword to Choi Young-jun.

"Here... please, take it!"

"Thank you."

Choi Young-jun took the sword and raised it to eye level.

He was gauging its length and weight.

But it was a very short auxiliary sword, with a blade length of only 50 cm.

Ugh-uh-uh-uh-uh-

Meanwhile, the zombies that had been pushed away by the SUV were all getting up and approaching the guardhouse.

There were still over thirty of them.

"Sir, Sergeant Choi Young-jun! You can't kill them with a regular sword! And it's much shorter than the weapon you usually use, are you really okay with this?"

Ahn Min-tae said anxiously.

Of course, he didn't doubt Choi Young-jun's abilities.

However, he couldn't help but worry because he had smelled a strong odor of alcohol when Choi Young-jun passed by just now.

But Choi Young-jun nodded silently, as if he wasn't drunk at all.

"Yeah, I know."

At his words, an unknown woman among the zombies laughed.

"What? You know and still come out so confidently? Another idiot who's cutting his own life short?"

Choi Young-jun rubbed his eyes with his left hand.

"Hmm... are the zombies talking? Am I... drunk?"

"What? I'm not, not a zombie!"

"Oh, really? Then I'll make you one soon, just wait a moment."

His voice was gentle and polite, but the content was rather brutal.

"Min-tae, watch closely. The important thing when using a weapon isn't its length."

"Huh? Then..."

He advanced toward the horde of zombies, and instead of answering, he swung his right hand, the sword, in one fluid motion.

Swish-ack

'What's happening? What just happened?'

Ahn Min-tae couldn't help but think.

In one stroke, three zombies' heads soared into the air.

Swish-ack!

The next strike sent two more zombies' heads flying.

Thud-

With their heads severed, even zombies couldn't move.

It was only natural.

Lower-level undead that move independently can't function without their heads.

But who would dare think of beheading zombies with a one-handed sword...?

"Did you see that? Distance, accuracy, timing—these three are the core of physical combat."

Choi Young-jun spoke as if giving a practical lecture, not engaging in a battle.

However, Ahn Min-tae's gaze was inevitably drawn elsewhere.

"Hey! In front!"

Because the woman's long blade was falling toward Choi Young-jun's head.

Clang!

But Choi Young-jun didn't even turn his head to block the attack.

It was truly an incredible scene.

The woman's strike, which had cut through Ahn Min-tae's sword and shield like paper, was deflected so effortlessly. And he blocked it with a sword that was much lower in grade than Ahn Min-tae's.

Moreover...

Swish!

At the same moment he deflected the attack, Choi Young-jun's sword slashed the woman's thigh.

The woman stumbled back in surprise.

"Oh, what's this?"

But then, an unbelievable scene unfolded.

The woman's torn thigh was healing rapidly, visible to the naked eye.

"······Is this even possible?"

Everyone present doubted their own eyes.

It was truly an extraordinary healing ability.

However, Choi Young-jun's expression remained indifferent.

"What, you're a zombie, right?"

The woman brushed off her thigh as if it had just been dusted.

"You're pretty good with a sword for an AMT, but what can you do? It won't work on me. Cutting off a few zombie heads and showing off to your juniors... it's really pathetic, you know?"

At her words, Choi Young-jun smiled and took a step forward.

"Really?"

But in that instant, Ahn Min-tae sensed a strange emotion in Choi Young-jun's expression.

'He's... enjoying this?'

It seemed he had discovered the psychopathic side of Choi Young-jun that the higher-ups had often mentioned.

"Hmm, then... how about this?"

There was a playful tone in his voice.

And once again, something strange happened.

Swish-swish

Choi Young-jun, as if throwing jabs, swiftly and concisely swung his right hand twice.

In the next moment, the woman's ten fingers were all severed and fell to the ground.

"Ah-ack!"

The woman screamed in terror, but Choi Young-jun didn't stop.

He took another step forward and swung twice more.

Swish-ack! Swish-ack!

Her left calf and right arm were severed.

Before the severed limbs could even separate, two more flashes of light appeared.

Swish-ack! Swish-ack!

This time, her left shoulder and right ankle were cut off.

"Kah, kuh-ah!"

Like Lego pieces, her limbs and joints fell off one by one...

It was so unrealistic that it almost didn't feel cruel.

"Kuh, kuh-..."

The woman, having lost all her limbs in an instant, lay on the ground groaning.

The tip of Choi Young-jun's sword touched her chin.

"Hmm, there's only one place left to cut... Before that, can you tell me? Is this also bad? How was it?"

"Please... please..."

"······Honestly, it wasn't too bad, right?"

"······."

But Choi Young-jun didn't swing his sword.

He lifted his right foot and stomped on the woman's head.

Thud!

The woman finally fainted.

"Min-tae, can you bring some binding ropes and tie her up securely?"

"······Ah, yes!"

"Her recovery speed is fast, so hurry."

Yes, they had to capture her alive to uncover the identity of this crazy attacker.

Tying up a person with severed limbs was a daunting task, but it couldn't be helped.

Meanwhile, Choi Young-jun began to easily sweep away the approaching horde of zombies.

***

After knocking out Heo Young-tae, Lee Hyun-wook immediately moved toward the 2nd Battalion.

'Since Seo Eun-ha went to the 1st Battalion, there's no need to worry about that side.'

However, the 2nd Battalion was likely still unprepared.

"······Somehow, stop them!"

"Please, quickly bring out some weapons!"

Sure enough, as he approached the 2nd Battalion building, he heard women's shouts.

Clank! Clank!

The sound of bones clattering, dozens of skeletons filled the parking lot of the 2nd Battalion.

They broke the windows, tore off the security bars, and inserted their bodies inside. Near the front door, they pushed and shoved each other, trying to squeeze their way in.

They moved without any purpose or system, only to tear humans apart.

Boom!

A fire spell shot from inside a second-floor window and exploded in the middle of the parking lot.

A few skeletons within the blast radius crumbled.

"It works! Quickly, prepare again!"

Among the undead, skeletons were relatively easy to 'retire' with regular attacks.

If you break their bones so they can't get up again, that's it.

However, the problem was that there were too many of them in this situation.

"I'm going crazy! If this continues, there's no end to it!"

"They keep coming in through the first-floor windows! Stop them somehow!"

A gate opened right next to the barracks, and skeletons kept pouring out.

'A few hours later, we managed to clear the road, but with significant casualties, the system collapsed.'

After that, many soldiers deserted, and the remaining soldiers and hastily returned officers managed to seal the gate, but...

By then, the damage was irreparable.

That was the original history that was supposed to unfold.

'But this time, we're facing the wave with almost all our forces intact.'

Lee Hyun-wook sent all his weapons to sweep away the tangled skeletons.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

The moment the weapons, imbued with holy power, touched them, the skeletons collapsed like sandcastles.

Dozens of skeletons fell like bowling pins, sending dust into the air.

"Huh?"

The 2nd Battalion female soldiers showed a bewildered reaction.

One by one, they poked their heads out of the windows to look at Lee Hyun-wook.

Lee Hyun-wook slowly walked through the pile of bones and approached the entrance.

"······."

The tankers blocking the entrance lowered their shields slightly.

Behind them, female soldiers who were not yet fully prepared for battle were visible.

"Who is that...?"

"That's right, isn't it?"

Some of the female soldiers were in their underwear, having rushed out with only their weapons in hand.

It was somewhat embarrassing, but now was not the time to worry about that.

Lee Hyun-wook walked into the 2nd Battalion, a male-only area.

"Who's in command?"

At his question, the female soldiers turned their heads to look at someone.

There, a short woman stood with a frown.

"······For now, it seems to be me."

She was wearing a sleeveless olive shirt without a combat uniform top, so her rank was not visible.

"The duty officer tried to escape alone in a car and died a lonely death over there."

She pointed to one side of the parking lot with the dagger she was holding.

"But you, 1st Battalion's Lee Hyun-wook... Sergeant? Is that right?"

She seemed to know Lee Hyun-wook, even though she had checked his name tag.

It was natural. All the issues in the battalion over the past few days had been about him.

And Lee Hyun-wook also recognized her.

'Kim Se-hee, a unique background as an assassin with elemental magic abilities.'

In the 1st Battalion, she was known as the goddess of the 2nd Battalion, more famous for her appearance than her skills. However, she would soon be chosen by the 'Black Fox' and rise to the rank of sergeant.

Five years later, after the second wave, she was deployed in a special operation to assassinate the orc king of the orc kingdom established in Shanghai, and she achieved the feat of dying with the orc king 'Stonox' and left her name in history.

Among the soldiers of this unit, only three would become famous in the future: Lee Hyun-wook, Choi Young-jun, and Kim Se-hee.

In other words—

'He's useful.'

Lee Hyun-wook nodded and turned around.

"While I hold them off, everyone finish arming yourselves. We need to seal the gate immediately."

"Alone... is that possible? It looked like it could be, but..."

"I can't hold them off for long. My mana isn't infinite. Hurry."

"Understood."

Kim Se-hee turned and shouted loudly.

"What are you doing! Quickly go inside, get dressed, and come out!"

The situation improved dramatically with Lee Hyun-wook's intervention.

He could hold off dozens of skeletons on his own. Even if he only controlled 11 iron balls, it was equivalent to the firepower of 11 riflemen armed with holy arrows.

In the meantime, the 2nd Battalion soldiers could arm themselves steadily.

"Move quickly!"

They came out of the building and took their 'raid positions' as they had trained multiple times.

"Form up properly according to your positions!"

"There's an empty spot for a shield in the front!"

The tankers stood at the front, advancing, with riflemen, mages, and healers behind them.

This simple and clear formation was optimized for dealing with monsters of low intelligence.

Clank-clank

The sound of bones clattering, white demons walked out of the darkness.

"The skeletons are coming!"

"Prepare for battle! Second row, fire! Destroy them all!"

A well-organized battalion force was not overwhelmed by the skeletons coming from one gate.

"Good, maintain this formation and advance!"

Skeletons were not very threatening unless there was a boss monster with command abilities.

The reason they had been struggling until now was because it was an unexpected attack in an unprepared state.

Meanwhile, armed forces from the 1st Battalion began to emerge.

Seo Eun-ha had swept away the skeletons advancing toward the 1st Battalion and saved it.

"Look, the 1st Battalion is coming out!"

"It's fine! With this, we can hold them off!"

Some soldiers shouted in relief.

With two battalions, sealing one gate would not be difficult.

Of course, most of them didn't know that there were more gates.

Lee Hyun-wook approached the 1st Battalion, which was lining up in front of the 1st Battalion building.

"Hey, it's Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook!"

When Lee Hyun-wook appeared, the 1st Battalion soldiers all turned their heads.

And most of them showed a subtle sense of relief.

They believed that Lee Hyun-wook would provide reliable command.

However, the expressions of Oh Sang-guk and Kwak Jin-cheol, who had been leading the battalion until just now, were uneasy.

"Sergeant Oh, a gate has opened at the guardhouse. Have you heard?"

"······."

"There seems to be a way to hold them off with the 2nd Battalion forces, so our 1st Battalion should move there and deal with them individually. How about moving immediately?"

The soldiers listened to Lee Hyun-wook's voice.

However, Oh Sang-guk's face was full of unease.

"······Are you giving me an order now?"

Oh Sang-guk said with a hint of irritation, but his voice lacked confidence.

"No, why are you reacting like that, Sergeant Oh?"

"Ha······Is this the time to be proud?"

Behind Oh Sang-guk, someone