Chapter 43

================================

On the military road on the north side of Namsan, a convoy of trucks was passing down the slope.

It was the Steel Company.

Vroom—

The lead K-153 armored reconnaissance vehicle was scouting ahead, about a hundred meters in front.

Behind it came four trucks loaded with weapons, a command vehicle, three trucks loaded with troops, and a rear guard vehicle, all moving at 40 km/h while thoroughly guarding the surroundings.

Lee Hyun-wook was in the passenger seat of the command vehicle.

"…Hey, Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook, that big bird has been following us since just now."

Park Jun-mo, who was guarding the rear from the back seat, said, and

Lee Hyun-wook turned his head to follow his finger.

Piiii—

A clear cry echoed through the sky, and a bird of prey with fully spread wings was flying.

"It just looks like an ordinary bird, but I thought I should mention it just in case."

"Huh? No, it's not ordinary."

"Really?"

"That's not any bird on Earth."

"Oh! Could it be the…."

Park Jun-mo seemed to have caught on, and Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

That was one of the 'familiars' of the company commander, Kim Gang-seok, a 'Great Condor.'

Its wingspan was a staggering 12 meters. When it spread its wings, it was larger than most trucks, so

if seen up close, it would be believable to think it was a dinosaur rather than a bird.

It was flying above the Steel Company, guarding the surroundings.

Of course, it couldn't stay far from its owner, so it couldn't keep following them.

Under the shadow of the Great Condor, two 'magic drones' were flying.

Whirr—

The magic drone was a cutting-edge item made with magic engineering technology, connected to a magic user player who had infused it with mana, sharing their vision and able to detect the mana emitted by monsters.

– Click— This is Steel 3, no abnormalities detected so far, and we are about to enter the city. Over.

It was the voice of Choi Tae-yong, who was in the lead armored reconnaissance vehicle, guarding the surroundings.

Watching the end of Namsan come into view, Lee Hyun-wook lifted his radio.

This military radio, commonly known as a walkie-talkie, usually communicated via radio waves, but in a situation where radio waves were disrupted by mana scattering, it had been modified to enable 'mana communication.'

Click—

"Steel Operation Commander, Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook here."

His voice echoed through all ten vehicles of the Steel Company.

– Click— We are now entering Seoul. Over.

At his words, everyone felt a strange sense of alienation.

Entering the capital of South Korea, Seoul, was this unsettling….

It was an unfamiliar sensation.

– ……To find the cause of the erosion, we have no choice but to go to places with many monsters. That means numerous battles will ensue. And as everyone knows, our enemies are not just the monsters coming from the gate.

Lee Hyun-wook didn't mention it, but the company members thought of the 'vampires.'

The terrorists who had infiltrated the unit and massacred the 5th squad….

However, only Lee Hyun-wook knew that their true identity was villains.

'It's better for the whole world not to know about the existence of villains yet. It's a fact they can't handle…'

Of the five butchers, Carol Choi and Yang Hee-ju were captured alive, but they suddenly died before interrogation. According to the medical officer, it seemed their brains had been burned by some kind of 'latent magic.'

Lee Hyun-wook had known this would happen. It was a kind of 'safety device' set up by Ki Baek-jun. To prevent his subordinates from being captured and the veil of the villain organization from being lifted, he had taken extreme measures.

– ……It's a cliché, but finding the 'erosion factor' in this vast Seoul will be a long march. However, I hope you remain tense but not panicked, and always focus on my command.

A long march… it was supposed to be that way.

But Lee Hyun-wook knew the location of 'them.'

So, it would be a lucky march.

– ……I hope we can meet again in Seoul after this operation. Over.

It was a promise that could only be kept if Seoul didn't disappear.

"Um, there, the city is in sight."

Thus, the Steel Company left Namsan and faced the Seoul city center, which might soon disappear,

and proceeded north along 'Jangchungdan-ro' between Dae School and S Hotel.

– Click— There's a four-way intersection ahead, be thorough with the perimeter guard. Over.

Soon, the Jangchung Sports Complex intersection appeared.

The wide intersection was unusually quiet.

"Um, that's fortunate. There aren't as many cars blocking the road as I thought."

A driver from the headquarters company said.

As he said, in a city of ten million like Seoul, the roads were quite empty.

"Considering the incident happened in the early morning, the citizens probably moved on foot."

Thus, the march of the Steel Company could continue without frequent stops.

Then,

– Monster identified in the travel lane— I will stop and confirm! Over.

It was an urgent radio from the lead.

Lee Hyun-wook called the lead, Private Choi Tae-yong, for a one-on-one communication.

"Choi Tae-yong, this is a personal communication. Report the situation."

– There's a zombie right in the middle of the road. But… something seems off.

"Tell me the facts, not your impressions, and report concisely."

– It's a single zombie with red skin. It's just spinning in place.

At his report, a sound of swallowing could be heard from the back seat.

– How… should we just eliminate it since it's only one?

Lee Hyun-wook pondered.

The 'residents of Hell,' commonly known as zombies, came in various types.

Thus, lumping them together as zombies and responding without properly identifying their characteristics was not a good idea.

'But we don't have time now… and even if they come in large numbers, we can handle the residents of Hell.'

While he was thinking this, Choi Tae-yong's voice came again.

– Oh, there's something else. That's… a person. They're waving their hands to approach us, and it seems they don't want us to shoot. They look like a player, judging by their equipment. What… should we do?

A player….

"…Wait, I'll go."

Lee Hyun-wook removed his sergeant rank and got out of the vehicle, lifting his K2C1 rifle.

Park Jun-mo, who was in the back seat, also got out and covered Lee Hyun-wook.

Lee Hyun-wook walked forward, detecting nearby metal—moving metal.

There were seven in total actively approaching the convoy.

But if you included the uncertain, slight movements, there were many more.

'At least 16, not a small group.'

About 50 meters ahead, Choi Tae-yong had gotten out of the vehicle and was talking to a tall man among them.

As Lee Hyun-wook approached, Choi Tae-yong and the man turned their heads.

Behind the man, six players were watching with wary eyes.

The rest seemed to be hiding somewhere.

"…Are you the leader of this unit?"

The man asked.

Judging by the long wooden staff he was holding, he seemed to be a mage.

"Yes, that's correct."

"That zombie, you absolutely must not touch it. You almost caused a big problem just now."

Without responding, Lee Hyun-wook took the binoculars from Choi Tae-yong and examined the zombie about 200 meters away.

It had a peculiar appearance. It was about 160 cm tall but had a very large head.

Strangely, there were no eyes visible on that head.

Instead, its mouth was unusually large, and its neck was swollen like a frog's.

"…It's a Siren Zombie."

"Yes, if you touch even one, they'll all come. There are a lot of them gathered near the intersection."

A Siren Zombie, which emits a bizarre cry when it senses external threats, summoning other zombies. If you don't have the confidence to handle hundreds of zombies, it's best not to provoke them.

"Thank you for the advice. We are the AMT unit from Namsan. May I ask where you are from?"

"Oh, we're just small guild members. We're subcontractors for the Cheonghwa Guild."

A subcontracted guild, which enters into contracts with large guilds to handle various tasks.

During large guilds' strategic operations, they serve as 'porters,' 'gunmen,' or 'dungeon dismantlers.'

They weren't weak, receiving better treatment than AMT soldiers.

The man took a step closer.

"I don't know what operation your unit is on, but you seem to be heading north. As I said, you can't go there because it's a zombie field. Instead, would you go south with us?"

It was a rather unexpected suggestion.

Seeing Lee Hyun-wook's puzzled expression, the man continued.

"Right next to here, the magic barrier of the Jangchung-dong Resident Center shelter stopped working, and over a thousand residents who were taking refuge there have been left stranded. They can't stay there, so they're trying to move to Dongdaemun Station or Yaksu Station… but among those thousand, only 18 are players."

He was asking for support to move a significant number of residents to a large shelter.

It was certainly a good cause, but it wasn't something to request from a military unit in the middle of an operation.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go north."

At Lee Hyun-wook's words, the man sighed deeply.

"Ah, didn't I tell you… there are all kinds of zombies gathered around the DDP, at least five to six hundred. You can't go that way."

"Yes, I understand. We plan to break through. That's our mission."

"…."

The man frowned and scanned the AMT soldiers behind Lee Hyun-wook.

He was gauging their strength. Then he shook his head.

"Excuse me, but if you do that, you'll all die. It's not just the Siren Zombie."

"What else is there?"

"…Do you know what a Zombie Troll is? There are two of them right in front."

At the man's words, Lee Hyun-wook's expression changed.

"Did you see those Zombie Trolls yourself?"

"Haha, are you finally losing your courage to move forward?"

"…."

"Yes, I saw them with my own eyes, pounding on the DDP Line 2 shelter. You may have a lot of troops, but… as you know, numbers aren't everything."

He subtly belittled the AMT's capabilities.

Well, it could be considered reasonable.

Most AMT soldiers, except for the assault squad, weren't capable of defeating a Zombie Troll.

But Lee Hyun-wook had other thoughts.

'I found it. The first piece of loot…'

Lee Hyun-wook had a hunch that the Zombie Troll possessed a special item. Elite monsters that appeared during a wave always dropped high-value items.

"If you evacuate to the south instead of the north, we will escort you."

At Lee Hyun-wook's words, the man and his group were stunned.

"Really? Do you really understand what I'm saying? Hey, what's your rank? You look young and don't have a rank badge. Are you really the leader?"

But Lee Hyun-wook passed by him without a response.

And he brought up a completely different topic.

"Is there really no one between here and the DDP?"

"Of course, they're all still at the resident center shelter. Why are you asking?"

Lee Hyun-wook nodded and pressed the walkie-talkie on his shoulder.

"All units, prepare for combat—"

At his words, the man was startled and approached.

"What, what did you say? You're going to fight now? Are you crazy?"

"I'm sorry, but we don't need your advice anymore. We're not fools."

"You're about to do something foolish right now, aren't you?"

At that moment, something shot out from Lee Hyun-wook's waist and flew down the road.

Swoosh—

It was a Pale Note.

"Ah, what… what is this…."

Snap—

It grazed the side of the Siren Zombie in front.

However, it didn't seem to deal much damage, only agitating it.

Then, the zombie's large mouth opened wide, and its neck swelled—

Squ-aa-aa-aa-ang—

An incredible roar, unbelievable for such a small body, erupted.

Like a brass instrument's resonance chamber, that was the siren.

As the roar subsided, a brief silence followed.

And…

Kee-ee-ee-ee-ee—

From a distance, starting from the DDP intersection, a chorus of revolting cries began to echo.

And… it was gradually getting closer.

As the man had said, hundreds of zombies, hearing the siren, were starting to gather.

Kee-ee-ee-ee-ee—

The inhuman cries echoing through the quiet city… involuntarily, one's body shrank.

The faces of the players, including the man, turned pale.

"Shit, are you crazy? Do you know what you just did? If you were going to attack, you should have cut off its airway in one go. What the hell are you doing—"

"No, I did it on purpose. Step back."

"What… what are you…."

Lee Hyun-wook lifted his walkie-talkie again.

"Fourth truck, move forward and open up."

At Lee Hyun-wook's command, one truck pulled out of the convoy and came to a stop right behind him.

Four soldiers got out, with two guarding the surroundings and two opening the cargo doors.

Lee Hyun-wook, still facing forward, extended his left hand toward the truck behind him.

Whoosh—

Two metal boxes flew out from the cargo area and landed on either side of Lee Hyun-wook.

With a flick of his fingers, the lids opened with a click.

Inside were numerous shiny objects.

The contents of the two boxes began to