Vampire Operation B

Vampire Operation B. I'd heard the gist of it lightly from Sua earlier. If it seemed impossible to rescue everyone from the vampire during the operation, then escape with whoever they'd managed to save by that point. It was a cold calculation, and I felt sorry for those left behind, but it was the best option. The worst-case scenario would be if the soldiers here got captured and turned into kin.

"…Hayun. I'll hold onto this for now." Sua cradled Mae and the penguin statue in her arms.

"You okay with that?"

"No idea. We'll just have to do our best."

As far as I knew, the military didn't have anyone strong except for Hyunwoo Park. So, could they even hold off that vampire? But that was just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my assumption. They must have some plan.

"…Seunghwa!!!"

"Private Jeong Seunghwa!!!"

Then, from far off, a massive man came running. It was Private Jeong Seunghwa, a face I recognized pretty well. His body was several times larger than usual. Was that his ability?

"Seunghwa's an awakener with a Giant race class. It doesn't last long, but he's strong enough to rival Hyunwoo."

"Got it."

Sua handed off guidance to the non-awakener soldiers and gathered her animals. Crows came flying in from all directions. Those ominous crows swarmed instantly, disrupting the vampire's movements.

"…Tch!!"

The vampire seemed frustrated that things weren't going as planned.

"Thanks to your garlic, Hayun, they haven't turned into kin, so we can fight like this."

"Well, yeah?"

"Normally, getting scratched by a vampire's claw means instant kin-ification and game over."

Come to think of it, a vampire's basic attack being an instakill wasn't easy to deal with.

"Of course, it doesn't work on higher-rank awakeners."

"Ah, so that's why Sergeant Park…"

"Yeah. Hyunwoo was fine even after getting stabbed. That's why he kept soloing the vampire."

Just how strong was that guy?

But.

"I saw that Sergeant Park guy's arm get torn off earlier."

"You didn't see a body, did you?"

"…Huh?"

"How many times do you think that guy's come back after 'dying'?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"No idea."

Why were they talking in riddles like I was supposed to know? Maybe they'd been through stuff like this a ton. Anyway, whatever mysterious confidence they had, they weren't giving up even in a losing fight. The scattered awakeners started gathering one by one to help out.

With tank Seunghwa leading, healers kept him topped up in real-time while all sorts of awakeners unleashed attacks. It looked just like a raid boss fight. I found myself gaping at the sight.

The way they coordinated, covering each other's small gaps—it was overwhelming, not even falling short compared to the solo Hyunwoo. But they were still losing. It was inevitable. The vampire wouldn't die no matter how much they hit it. But humans tire and get hurt. The gap started widening bit by bit.

I wasn't even sure that thing could die in the first place. It was dodging attacks, so it had some HP, at least.

Squeak squeak—

A rat on Sua's hand started squeaking. Hearing it, she shouted urgently.

"Evac complete! Get ready to pull back!!!"

Her voice boomed through a megaphone across the area. But disappointingly, the soldiers couldn't retreat.

"Why aren't they falling back?"

"They can't. If even one pulls out now, it'll be a disaster?"

If that tense balance broke, it was over. They couldn't just casually retreat. And that balance was crumbling toward the enemy fast. It was time to choose.

"Lieutenant! You need to escape with the druid's hawk!!"

"I'm staying till the end! Someone else hurry…"

But then, the balance shattered. Up front, tank Seunghwa collapsed. The moment the front line vanished, the vampire charged straight for Sua.

Shing—

A sharp slicing sound rang out. But what I saw on my screen wasn't despair.

Sergeant Park Hyunwoo appeared amid a swarm of summoned swords.

"…How are you still alive?"

"No reason to tell you."

Park Hyunwoo overwhelmed the vampire in an instant with his countless swords. Flesh that hadn't budged under the soldiers' attacks tore away, darkness spewing from inside.

"Can they win?"

"No, I doubt it."

But the turtle watched coldly. Looking closer on his advice, the situation wasn't great. Everyone was exhausted and overextended against an endless vampire. It wasn't sustainable. Time to run.

"Let's just bail?"

"…Yeah."

Not just me—everyone there felt it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No winning this. So Hyunwoo made the call.

"Full retreat!!!"

The soldiers bolted on his order. He kept wielding his swords to cover their escape. The feed shook wildly. All I could see was Sua's chest. I awkwardly averted my eyes and fiddled with Nyangnyang.

But unlike the peaceful view, the audio was raw.

"Jihwan's down!!"

"Grab him and run!!"

"It's still chasing—covering fire from the front runners!!"

Chaotic and noisy, but somehow, no one got left behind. They all escaped the eternal night's influence.

Then.

"…The vampire's retreating!!!"

"We—we won!!!"

They hurled curses at the light-fleeing vampire. But Sua wasn't letting her guard down.

"Tough as it is, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠keep moving till we're clear of the area!!"

"Yes, ma'am!!"

With spirited replies, the soldiers pressed on. Only then did my tension snap.

"Haaah~."

Pulling an all-nighter and overdoing it yesterday—fatigue hit hard. With the crisis over, I could really rest now. I flopped onto the bed.

"Well fought."

I pulled the blanket the turtle tucked over me and drifted off to dreamland.

When I woke, Mae was already back home. One potato later, he was fully healed. After that, the vampire went into hiding. Even an undying body had limits, apparently. The dark zone around the facility hadn't expanded—it stayed put. According to Sua's rat intel, it was holed up in one house sleeping, just like our first encounter.

But there was bad news. We'd only saved about half the kin. The rest were missing. Just blood left where people had been. It bummed me out hearing that. If we hadn't been rushed, if we'd been stronger… maybe more saved. But that's just wishful thinking.

The military and survivors settled in a nearby village. Nearly Haven-sized numbers. Still, combining both sides left around 2,000—short on people. On the flip side, now I had to supply this huge group.

It sounded tough, but for a druid who levels by feeding tons of folks, it was unavoidable. And so, my life's new top priority emerged.

Too bad no new skill, but I could upgrade something else. Fine by me.

"…Ahem, ahem."

The turtle was coughing more than usual today. Throat hurt? Anyway.

My options: Taming, Rapid Growth, or Tree of Life.

Let's see what leveling Tree of Life does.

One more tree, plus a new buff. Not bad. One at my house, one at Haven, one at the military's new village. Perfect balance.

"…Ahem!! Ahem!!!"

Turtle must have asthma. Maybe get him some sunflowers to fix it.

Tap tap tap—

A sound at the window. I opened it—Mae back from scouting. But there was another.

"Seunghwa?"

"Ah, druid. Sorry for dropping by unannounced."

"No biggie. What's up?"

"Step outside and see."

Seunghwa grinned mischievously, so I trudged out.

"…Huh?"

A massive machine rivaling Seunghwa's size. What the heck was it for?

"What's this?"

"Rice mill. Brought the battery too—no issues running it."

"Rice mill?"

"You mentioned rice to the lieutenant before, right? Scoured empty villages nearby and found it."

"So, what's a rice mill?"

"Machine that turns unhulled rice into white rice."

"Oh."

"Learned how to use it. Let's fire it up."

"Sure!"

Seunghwa operated it smoothly. Poured in unhulled rice—white grains poured out.

"Gotta cook some up."

I scooped a bowl, took it inside, rinsed it clean, and dumped it in the rice cooker. Eating rice I grew myself—world's full of firsts.

While it cooked, I sat under the Tree of Life for a breather. Couldn't ignore the guest, so I grabbed cola and fries from the fridge.

"Thanks."

Watching him dig in, I had nothing else, so asked about recent stuff.

"So, how's things there?"

"Total chaos. Saved people—good—but no food, no water. Rough."

"Base was like 100 folks, right?"

"Yeah. Ten times that now—straining."

"Water… our turtle spits pure stuff. Can fill your tanks."

"That'd help. We'll find a spot."

"Food… I got limits on growing at once. Gotta cover Haven too."

My special plants so far weren't huge yields—not enough for 2,000 easily. Unless I found something with 10x satiety…

BOOM!!!

Sudden explosion from inside. Seunghwa tensed up instantly. My companions rushed in. What happened? I followed.

But the sight was unexpected.

"The rice cooker…"

"Exploded."

Masses of undercooked rice everywhere near the blasted cooker. Like it'd expanded several times over.