The Raider Gang's Swarm
I strapped the jungle knife to my waist, tucked the tactical knife into my thigh, and slung a backpack across my back. A crossbow hung from the side of the pack. Carrying a crossbow on my back felt clumsy, but its short length made it surprisingly easy to move around with. It was far shorter than a lance, giving it just enough reach for indoor use while still proving useful in multiple ways.
I gripped a crossbow in one hand and hung a small case on my belt capable of holding around ten bolts. I had tucked in a few more extras into the backpack, but the reload speed was painfully slow, so I figured I wouldn't be firing more than ten bolts during combat anyway.
On my head I wore the motorcycle helmet I had gotten yesterday. It should block most impacts aimed at my head. If I threw on some full-body motorcycle gear, my body would get even better protection.
Among the weapons I had acquired yesterday was a crowbar. It could serve as a weapon like a steel pipe, but it also doubled as a tool for opening doors and windows.
It was heavy enough that I had handed it over to Keygong. He would carry it around. It suited him more as a tool than as a weapon, considering the weight and balance.
Even during daylight hours the streets were now packed with wandering groups of raiders.
It had already been ten days since the electricity had gone out. People running out of food were at the point where surviving day by day had become an impossible struggle.
They weren't dying yet, but if they couldn't eat, they would slowly waste away. With weakened bodies they wouldn't even have the strength to raid anymore, and they would starve to death one after another.
I could hear dull thuds and moans. It sounded like someone was having sex with a health nurse. Probably Keygong's girl. He always seemed to like women.
Then, far out the window, I spotted a large number of people. The distance... 100 meters? 200 meters?
It wasn't close, but I couldn't let my guard down either.
I pulled out my phone and zoomed the camera to get a better look.
More than twenty people. People who looked like ordinary civilians from all different age groups.
Their weapons were a mix of various tools turned into weapons, but one of them was holding a bow.
Ordinary people almost never carried bows, so he was probably a skilled archer.
A few people had come out of the building while others were still smoking and talking in front of it.
They dragged out several people with their arms tied behind their backs. Two men and one woman. All completely naked.
They made them kneel against the wall. The people were crying and pleading. They were probably begging to be spared.
One man approached the woman, grabbed her hair, pulled her head back, and groped her breasts. Ordinary university student? Or a working adult? I couldn't tell from this distance.
He laughed and said something, then tied a rope around her neck and pulled. She had been captured as a sex slave...
The woman, being dragged along unsteadily by the rope, looked back as we watched and laughed. With a painful expression of shame, someone grabbed her head by the hair and lifted it up so everyone could see her face properly.
Because of her bowed posture, her dangling breasts and swaying naked ass made her look like a sow. People mocked the naked woman. Some touched her breasts, others groped her ass.
Right now that woman was no longer an individual but just a loot item.
Someone else approached the two men and stabbed a long kukri knife long across the side of their necks. With short screams the two men collapsed slowly as if they had fallen over.
Was this a fight between forces? Or were the forces that had grown their numbers slaughtering the ordinary civilians?
People who didn't look like they could do such a thing were killing ordinary people without any hesitation.
There must be someone strong leading them. Those who followed him would move to obtain food and survive.
No, perhaps this world had awakened the demons inside them. Since the world had become one where they could freely release the evil that had been suppressed for so long.
Ordinary people were also slowly realizing it. That they couldn't survive alone. No matter what, those who were alone were being eaten by groups because they were weaker than the group.
The groups were harassing and pressuring the lone ones. Perhaps that was the hidden survival instinct in human genes.
I watched them a bit more closely.
Even in broad daylight they were openly looting the surrounding villas. A scream rang out from inside a building. Someone had died.
First of all, the numbers were impressive. If it had been about yesterday's group size, I could have ignored it, but nearly thirty people was too many to handle.
The bastards were going around looting the buildings one by one and getting closer to our villa's location. It was likely our turn soon.
I went into Keygong's house and found it empty, so I entered the house where the health nurse lived. She was on the living room floor, vigorously pounding the health nurse from behind in a squatting position.
"Hyung, hyung..."
The guy noticed me and quickly stood up, grabbing his clothes to put them on.
"Keep the crossbow and get ready for combat."
After Keygong, I quietly called out to the silent black guy too.
We hid our bodies as much as possible against the third-floor window and observed outside. It was a good height for shooting without being too close.
"The bastards are getting closer and closer. When they get to 30 to 40 meters, we'll start shooting. Like last time, you all shoot your crossbows as much as possible. When they start opening the first-floor external door, we'll charge out and attack."
The first-floor external door was currently blocked by a few pieces of furniture. It wasn't easy to open, but it could be pushed open. Perfect defense it was not.
"Th-they're almost thirty people..."
The health nurse's appearance was terrified.
"They kill residents however they want or drag away young women. Our turn will come soon too. We have no choice but to fight to the death."
"Are you okay? Your body is fine even though you got injured?"
The black guy was worrying about my body. It made sense. Normally he wouldn't have moved much if it was still a serious injury.
"I'm almost healed. It's fine. Even if their numbers are large, if they attack all at once, their morale will collapse and they'll probably run away. After all, they don't know our numbers."
Some of the guys were going into the building to search and some were guarding outside. It looked like the best time to strike when their numbers were spread out.
We sat by the window and calmly waited for the right moment.
Eventually the bastards entered effective range, and about half of them went into our villa ahead to search.
The bastard who had been groping the naked female prisoner since earlier made her kneel against the wall with her hands behind her back and started thrusting from behind.
The woman started sobbing quietly while we watched and laughed.
It was a good time to attack. Their gazes were completely focused.
I gestured with my hand, designating different targets for each.
I designated the archer holding the bow, the black guy, the one who seemed to be beating, and Keygong as the one who looked strong in stamina and muscles.
"Three... two... one... fire."
I did a small countdown and fired my crossbow first. Bullseye. It hit the archer's back perfectly.
Right after, two more crossbows fired and both hit. The beater had one in the ass, and the big guy had one straight through the neck.
The guy with the bolt in his neck would probably die soon, but the others pulled out the arrows and screamed in pain.
We quickly reloaded. The reload time was about ten seconds.
"What the hell!"
"Ambush! That building over there! Find them fast!"
No one was there to see the moment of firing, so the bastards panicked. They couldn't be sure if it was our building or the adjacent one and were only peeking while holding their weapons pressed against the wall.
- Phut! Phuput!
The crossbows fired again and two more were hit this time.
"That building! Enter!"
The guys who weren't hit by the arrows surged into our building's first-floor entrance.
"Reload and keep shooting!"
I ran down to the first floor. The bastards pushed against the entrance door and the furniture inside pushed back, causing the door to open a little bit.
"Crook!"
"Ah! Fuck!"
A crossbow fired from above again. It felt like an old castle. The power of the crossbow shot down from above was definitely strong. If only the door had been sturdy, those bastards could have been finished with just the crossbow.
I quickly reloaded the crossbow and ran out to the entrance.
The bastards spotted me and yelled. I aimed the crossbow through the half-open door.
When the crossbow came close to his eyes, he had a look of horror and his eyes widened. When I fired the crossbow at him, the bolt hit his forehead exactly and he fell.
I threw the crossbow aside, drew the knife, stabbed the nearest bastard, and leaped out.
The bastards backed away a little with my momentum.
One man charged in and I barely dodged the knife stab and countered by stabbing his belly.
As he fell, an arrow flew and stuck into my shoulder. The guy with the bow still wasn't down. Even with the bolt in his back and a painful expression, he was still nocking another arrow.
I didn't stop and raised one hand to cover my face while charging at the bow guy.
His reload was pretty fast. His arrow shot out again and hit my chest first, but I didn't lose my balance and the end of my knife stabbed his neck precisely. The guy with the neck stabbed spat blood and fell backward.
"Mo-monster!"
I swung the knife in a big circle to the guys surrounding me and retreated far back. Horror was filled in my expression. Many of my comrades had already died or been injured, so it was natural.
I didn't rush in dangerously but just maintained distance and glanced at the third-floor window. As long as I kept them busy, the crossbow would fire again.
"Ugh!"
"Aaaaah!"
Two bolts fired again and both hit. Now only four or five healthy guys were left.
The guys who had gone into the building to search came surging out.
I quickly picked up a knife lying on the floor and threw it at the entrance where the guys were coming out.
"Cuek!"
The flying knife precisely pierced a guy's belly and knocked him down.
I just threw it as a test. It flew nicely in my eyes.
"Mad! That guy's a pro. I can't win at all..."
The guys around me started to panic and run away little by little. Ah, stabbing someone through the chest with a knife throw was really cool.
The guys who had come out from inside the building came out cautiously while maintaining distance.
But only three guys had come out so far. I threw my body and jumped, thrusting the knife forward.
The guy who had been stabbed in the belly by the knife was pushed against the wall and flew away.
I swung the knife at the next guy but he barely dodged the tip.
One guy coming out of the building was stabbed in the shoulder by my knife and fell.
The guys outside were running away, and the guys inside the building couldn't come out and were only screaming. They were stuck at the narrow entrance door.
"Go out! If we go out together at the same time, it should be fine!"
"Fuck! How can we go out together in a narrow place!"
While the bastards were panicking and confused, I stepped forward and stabbed a guy with a long knife at the gap. He dodged the knife a little but got stabbed in the thigh. A weapon with a long reach was the best.
The guys outside the building and inside were facing each other.
It was dangerous for me to enter the building and I couldn't shoot the crossbow either, so I deliberately retreated from the entrance where the guys were.
I looked at the bastards and approached the guy who had fallen with a bolt in his stomach and groaned. I stabbed his chest to confirm kill.
When I retreated, the bastards started coming out of the entrance in a rush, but two more were hit by the two bolts pouring down from above.
"Retreat!"
Someone shouted and the guys started running with all their might. There were not even ten left. One guy was limping while bleeding, probably from a bolt in his leg. Thinking I would chase him, he was running with all his strength while looking terrified at me.
But I didn't chase him on purpose. First, I quickly stabbed the injured guys lying on the floor in the chest once each with my knife.
The guys with punctured lungs would die if I waited a little longer.
I saw the woman who had been raped leaning against the wall run away into the alley during the fight. Good judgment, but I wonder if it would be safe to roam around naked.