Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: What Happened in the Calcutta Jungle Zone (9)
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“What the hell?!”
“Quagmire?!”
The ground didn’t look like a swamp at all. But they were sinking right now. The Calcutta Gorilla that had been hanging from the tree in the middle of the clearing had already smashed the tree and escaped to the edge.
The pilots realized the Calcutta Gorilla was mocking them. But they were too panicked to feel anger. They immediately contacted the main force approaching from behind.
“It’s a trap!”
“What?! What the hell are you talking about?!”
Choi Jae-ho, who had been pushing straight ahead with his team, was stunned by the unbelievable radio transmission and asked back.
“We fell into... a quagmire.”
‘A quagmire?’
Since he hadn’t seen it himself, Choi Jae-ho couldn’t help but wonder why they had jumped in without even recognizing it. But now wasn’t the time to blame his subordinates.
“Blast out with your boosters!”
“That’s... even with the boosters...”
The impact from landing had half-submerged their Power Armors, so the boosters couldn’t generate enough thrust to escape the quagmire. This wasn’t an ordinary swamp. Only then did Choi Jae-ho grasp the severity of the situation.
“You son of a bitch...”
On Cameron Planet, unimaginable things always popped up. They mainly operated in the Euterpe region and had unconsciously been judging this area by the common sense around there.
“Can you hold out?”
“Yes!”
“Got it. We’ll move in to support right away, so just hang in there! What the hell is Uncle Jo Company doing right now?!”
Oh Byung-hwan was one of the pilots, so Code Green’s team members had merged with Jindo Dog’s team and were moving together. But Uncle Jo Company’s team was nowhere in sight. Choi Jae-ho irritably called out to them.
“They’re moving. Almost there.”
“There’s a quagmire trap around the target area. Power Armors need to be careful.”
Choi Jae-ho said nothing more after that. Right now, the top priority was his allies’ Power Armors. Those who arrived late could be dealt with later.
* * *
“You bastard!”
One of the pilots irritably fired at the Calcutta Gorilla. But it had anticipated the attack and backed away. Then, a massive boulder came flying from the forest.
“Urk!”
It wasn’t aimed properly, but it was still threatening. Seeing the boulder crash nearby, the pilots cursed. They’d barely stopped sinking further, but they couldn’t escape.
“Team Leader!”
The pilots shouted as reinforcements appeared from behind. To them, these new arrivals looked like angels come to pull them out of hell.
“You idiots. Hold on! I’ll get you out right now!”
“There’s an enemy ahead.”
“I know. Don’t worry.”
Rescuing the Power Armors was the priority, but Choi Jae-ho wasn’t one to forget about the enemy in front. At his signal, Code Green’s members readied their weapons. Armed with heavy firepower, they could definitely pin down the Calcutta Gorilla.
“Drive in the ropes! Good thing we have the gear...”
Even as he spoke, Choi Jae-ho kept his eyes fixed ahead. He’d need his superpower first if the Calcutta Gorilla showed up. Superpowers were always effective against monsters.
Du-du-du-du-du—
“?”
A vibration echoed from afar. It wasn’t the sound of the Calcutta Gorilla moving. It was the sound of a large group on the move.
Then, Calcutta Raptors burst out from between the dense jungle trees. They had fled from the Calcutta Gorilla that ambushed their pack, but upon spotting humans, their eyes turned feral.
“...Fuck.”
A low curse slipped from someone’s lips. Without anyone saying it first, they all realized it. Things were unfolding just like last time.
* * *
“What a mess.”
Suhyun muttered as he led the way. There was still some distance left, but he could check the situation with his far-sight magic. At this point, it wasn’t that the mercenaries were stupid. The Calcutta Gorilla was just too clever for a monster.
Pretending to retreat, using the terrain—it was intelligence worthy of a seasoned guerrilla. Suhyun knew well. Letting a guy like that live would mean constant headaches down the line.
‘I’ll end it today.’
Sniping from afar would be cleanest, but he might not kill it for sure. Given its smarts, it would definitely flee if sniped from a distance.
“Team Leader Lee So-hee. From what they’re saying, there are trap quagmires around there. For people, you can pull them out if someone helps, but for Power Armors, it’s really trouble. Be especially careful.”
“Can’t Power Armors handle a quagmire?”
“This is Cameron, and Cameron’s quagmires are different from Earth’s.”
“Hell Swamp, huh.”
Gorgan muttered from behind.
“Hell Swamp? Is that what orcs call it?”
“One of the tribe elders once told me about a swamp you can’t escape once you fall in.”
“Curious, but we’ll hear about it later. Dragging this out here puts us in danger too!”
The Calcutta Gorilla seemed dead set on it, herding monsters from all directions toward the mercenaries. The mercenaries’ combat prowess was top-notch, so they were holding for now, but as humans, they’d tire faster than the monsters eventually.
* * *
Choi Jae-ho was feeling anxious. Dealing with the raptors was no problem. They couldn’t close the distance and got shredded. The issue was that the attacks never ended. Block the first wave, and the second and third kept coming.
He hadn’t expected this many monsters around here. The Calcutta Gorilla showed no signs of tiring as it drove more monsters at them from who-knows-where. It hadn’t stepped forward fully yet, but it would jump in the moment it saw an opening.
Normally, he’d retreat. It’d bruise his pride, but Choi Jae-ho wasn’t one to get stubborn in a situation like this. But right now, three Power Armors were stuck in the quagmire. He couldn’t just abandon them.
“!”
As a group of raptors from another direction was dealt with easily, Choi Jae-ho scanned for a target for his superpower. Threatening enemies needed to be hit first with his ability.
‘Even a troll...!’
The moment he spotted the troll charging from afar with thudding steps, Choi Jae-ho prepared his superpower. Even hit by modern firearms, it had the strength to rampage before dying. If the wounded beast went berserk, the formation would collapse.
Thwack!
Choi Jae-ho’s superpower was flawless. Flames erupted on the troll’s head as it charged, like a burst of fireworks. Screaming from the special flames no gun could produce, the troll writhed. Choi Jae-ho let out a sigh of relief.
“Everyone, dodge!”
“?!”
But the Calcutta Gorilla’s target wasn’t the troll. It had drawn attention with the monsters, circled through the jungle, and gone straight for the team members. The Power Armors were stuck in the quagmire and blocked by the team, making support impossible.
“You damn...”
Choi Jae-ho tried to immediately ignite the Calcutta Gorilla’s torso with his superpower, but he was one step late. Directly igniting a distant target took longer than firing from nearby.
In that gap, the Calcutta Gorilla smashed through Code Green’s members with just two attacks.
“Gaaargh!”
Maybe because of the Power Armors and Choi Jae-ho, the Calcutta Gorilla didn’t press further and leaped back. But that was enough. The Code Green members who’d been setting up gear and pouring firepower were scattered, groaning. Their weapons were wrecked, and the seriously wounded looked bad.
For the first time, Choi Jae-ho felt a sense of crisis. If this kept up, they might get wiped out.
And that was the exact moment Uncle Jo Company’s team arrived on scene.
* * *
Suhyun had already briefed his team on exactly what to do. The one who might’ve rebelled in this situation was Team Leader Lee So-hee, but she didn’t. She already acknowledged Suhyun’s skills.
‘Don’t join up right away—stop at the entrance. Don’t even think about charging in to help. Move centered on the Power Armors. Just pinning it down from the entrance will keep it from acting rashly. It’s extremely cautious.’
The Black Bear was plenty threatening aside from a few flaws. If positioned and used purely for rear firepower support, it was well worth it.
The mercenaries on site didn’t have the energy to question the late arrivals. They just expressed gratitude to Uncle Jo Company’s team as they handled the reappearing raptors. Choi Jae-ho, who’d been wiping his brow, suddenly realized one person was missing.
‘Huh?’
The unexpected reinforcements hadn’t made the Calcutta Gorilla give up. It thought it had seized the advantage already. Even if things turned sour, it was confident it could retreat.
“Having a blast, huh.”
“?!”
A voice from behind. The Calcutta Gorilla instinctively turned. All it saw was one human. It immediately raised its arm to smash him.
But its body wouldn’t move.
“Normally, sniping’s done from afar, but doing it this close...”
Suhyun took one step closer. Binding the Calcutta Gorilla’s limbs had drained his power in an instant. As he raised his gun barrel, the beast thrashed even more violently.
“Is so you can’t dodge and run after one shot.”
For a split second, the Calcutta Gorilla felt like it had seen this human before.
“Bye.”
A deafening roar echoed. The single bullet that ended the Calcutta Gorilla—the terror of the Calcutta Jungle Zone that had ruled intruders with fear.
“Whew.”
If left alive, it would’ve been a monster popping up unpredictably whenever Suhyun roamed the area. It had consumed a lot of superpower, but it was worth it.
‘Looks like it’s wrapping up.’
With the Calcutta Gorilla gone, all the chaos would end. Even the mercenaries, who’d been desperately hanging on and finally catching their breath, felt the same.
To rejoin his team—alert and tensed up after mopping up monsters—Suhyun moved.