From Meat Shield to Regular Soldier
The metallic clang tore through the air like it was ripping his eardrums apart. The sword blade that had been inches from Yoon Tae-oh's face bounced away. What stopped that vicious edge was Rolls's old, battered spear. The shaft screamed as it bent, but Rolls absorbed the entire impact with his body twisted into a grotesque posture.
"What the hell are you standing around for, you stupid bastard?! Kill him already! Weren't you gonna rack up some achievements?!"
Rolls's shout slammed into Tae-oh's dazed mind like a hammer. The deathly terror that had been flashing before his eyes like a panorama instantly flipped into murderous intent. Thanks to the Potion of Swiftness, the world was still moving in slow motion. The squad leader's eyes widened in shock at the fact that his sword had been blocked, and that split-second opening was the perfect chance for Tae-oh.
"Thanks, Rolls!! I'll definitely pay back this debt!!"
Tae-oh gritted his teeth and readjusted his grip on the spear shaft. His target was the squad leader's nape. He put his entire body weight behind the thrust toward the red heart symbol pulsing seductively above the man's head. The spear tip sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
Thwack—!
With a dull sound, the spear tip sank deep into the squad leader's nape. It was a flawless, precise strike. Hot blood gushed out like a fountain, soaking Tae-oh's face. The squad leader opened and closed his mouth without even managing a scream, but the light of life in his eyes faded rapidly.
That was the moment.
The heart symbol floating above the squad leader's head trembled like a glass marble before shattering. A strange sensation swept through Tae-oh's entire body as the fragments were sucked into his chest.
Status window updating.
"Ha, haha……."
A rough breath escaped Tae-oh's mouth along with a hollow laugh. It had been refilled. The single thread of life he had left was now two again. The relief and sense of accomplishment boiling up from deep in his chest stimulated his brain like a drug. The catharsis of having twisted fate in his grasp at death's doorstep made his whole body tremble.
But the battlefield gave him no time to indulge in sentiment.
"The squad leader's been taken down!"
"These cowardly bastards used poison and even got the squad leader!"
The surrounding imperial soldiers, still shedding tears and snot from the tear gas, charged in with rage. Tae-oh roughly yanked the spear out of the squad leader's nape. He could feel the potion's effects slowly fading, but his mind had never been clearer.
"Rolls! Snap out of it!"
"Don't worry. The drug's still kicking. So, you damn squad leader wannabe. What's the next plan?"
Tae-oh shouted back.
"Run!!"
"What……?"
"I said run!! How are the two of us supposed to take all of them on!"
It was absurd, but Tae-oh's tactic proved effective in the end.
"Th-they're running! Get them!"
The nearby infantry, having lost their squad leader and their center of command, began to fall into chaos. To allied spears, they were nothing but easy prey. On top of that, Tae-oh's own squad members were rushing over to save him.
"Tae-oh!!"
In that short time, the squad members had grown attached. Having fought together in battle, it was only natural that their bond had become tight. Seeing them, Tae-oh shouted again.
"Alright, let's head back! Kill them all!"
"Hey, you son of a—! Are you training us like dogs, making us go back and forth?!"
"You can stay here if you want! I'm gonna rack up achievements!"
"Ugh!!"
When an opportunity came, you had to seize it. Tae-oh and Rolls used the confusion to methodically cut down the enemies one by one. Tae-oh's platoon members added their strength as well.
"Stab!"
"Stab!"
The ones who joined late echoed Tae-oh's commands and thrust their spears in orderly fashion. The situation created by a single veteran gamer was completely collapsing one flank of the elite imperial army.
And finally.
Bwooooooooo—
As the battle cries died down, the sound of a horn signaling the imperial army's retreat echoed from afar. The empire had chosen to withdraw. Tae-oh and his squad members let out cheers of victory.
"W-we won!"
"Squad Leader Tae-oh did it! He took the squad leader's head!"
Kyle shouted in joy, his face covered in blood. The surviving platoon members gathered one by one, looking at Tae-oh with eyes full of awe.
Tae-oh barely stood, using his blood-soaked spear as a cane. Every muscle in his body was screaming, but he scanned his unit. Surprisingly, there wasn't a single casualty. Some had minor injuries, but everyone was standing on their own two feet. The conscripted meat shields thrown into this brutal battlefield had achieved victory without losing a single man.
After the battle ended, the allied command's movements grew busy as they cleaned up the battlefield. Reports about the area where the purple smoke had risen flooded into the command tent. A knight on horseback inspecting the front lines stopped in front of Tae-oh's platoon.
His dazzling silver armor and the blue cloak draped over his shoulders made it clear he was someone of high rank, even if Tae-oh didn't know who. The knight dismounted and looked back and forth between Tae-oh and the corpses with cold eyes.
"Who killed this squad leader?"
His firm voice rang out. The platoon members all pointed at Tae-oh at once. Tae-oh lifted his sweat- and blood-covered face to meet the commander's gaze. In this romance-fantasy world with its strict class differences, a commoner foot soldier staring a commander straight in the eyes was rude, but Tae-oh had no energy to care about such common sense.
"I killed him, sir."
The commander's eyebrows twitched slightly. He examined the squad leader's corpse carefully—the deep spear wound in the nape, the strange symptoms of the surrounding soldiers. Looking at the imperial prisoners still vomiting with bloodshot eyes, he asked quietly.
"Was that purple smoke magic? Or alchemy?"
Tae-oh gave the answer he had prepared in advance.
"It's too grand to call it alchemy. I simply applied a hunting method passed down in my hometown."
"A hunting method… You're saying that brought down the formation of the empire's elite soldiers and let you take the squad leader's head?"
The commander approached Tae-oh with interest. The overwhelming pressure radiating from his body weighed Tae-oh down, but he held his ground without blinking. The commander also glanced at Rolls standing beside him, but Rolls had put on his usual stupid expression and was pretending to drool.
"Tsk. What's your name?"
"It's Tae-oh, sir."
"Tae-oh… I'll remember it. It's rare for a mere conscript to achieve such merit. The battalion commander has also received a report about this strange phenomenon, so you'll likely be summoned soon."
The knight mounted his horse again and gave an order to Tae-oh's platoon.
"Tend to the wounded and return to the main camp. From today, your platoon is no longer regular conscripts but regular soldiers. Go to the supply officer, give him my name, and receive sufficient food and equipment."
"I didn't catch your name, Commander…?"
"It's Valik."
With those final words, Valik turned his horse and rode away from Tae-oh.
As soon as Valik left, the platoon members erupted in cheers and swarmed Tae-oh.
"Jackpot! It's a total jackpot, Boss! Becoming regular soldiers after just one battle!"
"You little shit, didn't I tell you to just follow me?"
To men who had been agonizing over a single piece of bread, the title of regular soldier and ample supplies were like a dream. But in Tae-oh's heart, joy and worry coexisted. The mention of the battalion commander calling for him meant he would soon be dragged into the center of this world's power structure.
Can't be helped if I want to survive…
Tae-oh felt around in his pocket. The remaining medicinal herbs were almost gone. He needed an excuse to head back into the forest. But this time, the situation was different. He had become a distinguished contributor that everyone was watching, and he had a reliable partner in Rolls.
Tae-oh looked up at the sky. A red-tinged sunset was covering the horizon. It was a completely different sight from the hellish first and second lives he had lived.
"Hey, Rolls. We're gonna have to go into the forest again."
At Tae-oh's words, Rolls bared his yellow teeth and let out a low chuckle.
"Isn't that obvious? I saved your life today. Even giving me a whole bowl of the stuff wouldn't be enough."
"You crazy druggie bastard…… heh heh."
"Heh heh, and the guy who got saved by this druggie is even worse than a druggie."
"Whoa, that one crossed the line, didn't it?"
"Heh heh heh. What are you gonna do about it? It's the truth."
The two men's bitter laughter settled low over the corpses on the battlefield.
The place Tae-oh and his squad members returned to after the battle was not the recruit training battalion.
"Where is this……?"
When Tae-oh muttered, Rolls answered quietly.
"Can't you tell from the flag? It's the reconnaissance scout unit. Fuck, we ended up in a shitty place."
"Reconnaissance… scout unit?"
"Yeah, ugh…… It would've been better to just stay put."
"Still, isn't it better than being a meat shield?"
When Tae-oh said that, Rolls nodded.
"Yeah, it's better than that."
At that moment, a soldier approached Tae-oh.
"Are you Tae-oh?"
"Yes, I am."
"Follow me. The battalion commander wants to see you."