Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Beyond the Fog (4)
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The enemy was approaching in a dispersed formation.
Distance: 200 meters—no, 180 meters now.
The stones I'd placed beforehand marked their exact position.
There were about twenty of them, betting on their numbers to overwhelm us in one push.
They looked threatening enough on the surface, but...
Why weren't they using the armored vehicle?
Even accounting for the rain, fog, and darkness, was it normal judgment for sane people to slowly cross open ground without any cover?
These low-level Awakened surely knew I was observing them from the rooftop.
Were they still running that damn training drill?
Did they still see me as nothing more than training equipment?
What a massive miscalculation.
This wasn't the era of single-shot rifles that needed a full minute to reload after each bullet. Everyone here had assault rifles capable of mass slaughter.
No soldier—at least no one with real combat experience—would try something like this. They'd suppress our movement with machine-gun fire and advance their troops.
Especially trained Hunters like us—we were monsters that devoured humans in fights like this.
"......"
I calculated their projected path based on their position and speed, then waited for the next thunder and lightning.
Thunder crashed over our heads every minute or less.
And sure enough.
Flash!
Lightning lit up the world.
The next instant, I stepped out from cover, sighting down my rifle in the hazy border between the lightning's afterglow and the darkness.
From judgment to trigger pull: a split second.
Bang!
Coincidentally, the gunshot overlapped with...
Boom!
...thunder striking from the sky.
I caught a glimpse of one man crumpling at the edge of my vision before ducking back into cover.
Whoosh—
Fierce winds scattered the heavy raindrops everywhere.
In that chaos, I heard no screams or shouts.
Didn't matter.
I waited for the next lightning strike.
And when it flashed...
Bang!
I fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
My shots, synced with the thunder, hammered down like judgment on the impure.
Three dropped in an instant.
But...
"......"
Their numbers hadn't thinned much.
Four should have been dead, but only one less was visible.
Before the last flash fully evaporated like ethanol, I spotted why.
The one I'd shot was shaking it off and standing back up.
High-grade body armor, maybe.
Bulletproof vests that could shrug off 5.56mm rounds had been around even before the war.
Cost, weight, and the fact they couldn't cover the body like medieval plate armor led to compromises on protection for affordability and mass production.
All my shots had hit center mass.
The torso is a stationary target compared to the head, packed with vital organs— one solid hit could end the fight.
For him to get back up meant Park Seung-su's disciples were decked out in top-tier gear.
But his helmet looked like a standard reinforced ballistic model.
Meaning it wouldn't fully stop a bullet.
Still, headshots weren't cost-effective.
Unlike the torso, the head only pivots on the neck, making it a small, active target. Even hits don't always drop someone—I've seen guys keep fighting after taking rounds to the jaw, cheek, or even eye socket. Probably hopped up on stimulants.
Even aiming for the head, you need a precise brain hit to stop a human.
But if the situation demanded headshots, I'd oblige.
Their distance had closed to 120 meters.
I waited for the next lightning.
Flash!
The world lit up.
But the enemy wasn't stupid.
They knew I timed my shots with the lightning. This time, they fired back.
I could bet on their low skill and test my luck, but no need to wager my life on it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I let this bolt pass.
Ping!
A blind bullet clipped the antenna gear.
With a snap, the receiver shattered. No more intranet from here.
Their gunfire dragged on even after the thunder faded.
I waited in cover for them to close in.
Heart-pounding tension, yet oddly familiar—like sinking into the old sofa I'd shared so many long hours with.
As death crept closer by the second, my pocket phone buzzed furiously.
I checked it.
[Live! Apocalypse!: ON AIR]
Timing.
I hit accept and secured the phone against my chest.
"......"
I said nothing.
The feed was probably just pitch-black rainy darkness.
But that darkness would lift soon.
Flash!
Lightning struck.
I didn't move.
Not the moment, and it'd worked twice already.
Humans adapt after two tries.
And sure enough.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat-bang!
They finally laid down suppressive fire.
Relentlessly so.
A pain, but for the viewers, it conveyed my plight more truly than a million words.
Ping! Ping-ping!
Bullets smacked around me.
Some sparked off the solar panels, spraying shards.
Inexperienced fighters lose composure under hailing fire like this.
I waited for what came next.
The thunder's roar...
...and the hush as its echo faded.
Only the patter of rain on the solar generator filled the air. I grabbed the long rope stretched beside cover and yanked hard.
It went taut, pulling the connected lever.
That lever wielded my exclusive power—a magic wand, really.
Clang!
The searchlight blazed on.
A pillar of light pierced the rain-fogged mist, illuminating the approaching enemy.
I stepped out and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five dropped in a blink.
I could have nailed one more, but a soldier reacted late and aimed my way, so I ducked back.
Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat-bang!!!
A furious counter-barrage followed their retaliation.
Rat-a-tat-tat-bang!!!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They hammered with vengeful zeal, as if bullets alone could topple this outpost.
The searchlight shattered, collapsing the beam, but bullets couldn't bring down reinforced concrete.
An armored vehicle, though? Different story.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
Even through the howling storm, the engine roared clear.
I pulled out a mirror shard to check their lines.
The armored car was coming.
Armed with a 7.62mm machine gun, likely—riot-control model, no rockets or heavy cannons.
It couldn't breach my barriers much, but I couldn't hurt it either.
I low-crawled down the stairs.
Rat-a-tat-tat-bang!
The rooftop took a pounding even now.
The heavy gunfire betrayed the vehicle's involvement.
At the bottom, the observation deck with its panoramic windows appeared.
The computer still hummed on.
"......"
I hesitated briefly.
Say something? Or proceed silently as usual?
I chose silence.
I don't talk during fights unless necessary—old habit.
But I won't deny Baek Seung-hyeon's influence.
His popularity came from ditching annoying whining, letting silence and action tell the story.
My voice is better than his anyway, but no need to open my mouth.
The data was sent.
If I died here, someone would speak for me.
Even if that someone was the slightly unreliable VivaBot.
"Second floor! Observation deck! He's coming down from the roof!"
A young voice echoed beyond the glass.
Sensor type, huh.
Instantly, harsh light flooded the outpost.
The armored car's searchlight pinned the deck.
Weaker than the rooftop one, but enough to cast my shadow.
Huddled under the desk with the computer, I stayed invisible.
"Second floor! Second floor!"
The Awakened kept calling it out.
I slipped to the first floor using a blind spot.
And then,
"First floor! He's heading to first!"
Same voice.
Coincidence? Maybe. But a good idea sparked.
Executing it needed elements—especially luck.
"......"
I bolted back to the roof.
Rat-tat-bang!
Stepping out triggered fire that hammered the bulletproof glass—but no penetration.
Back on the roof, into cover.
"Roof! He's on the roof!"
That voice gave me away again.
The car's light swung my way—as expected.
The roof wasn't safe.
No bulletproof glass, no concrete walls shielding a prone position.
But I went up to raise the odds, even slightly.
"Roof! He's pinned! Advance as is!"
I timed it off the sensor guy's calls.
That moment was forged from my sweat and strain.
BOOM!
Thunder, fainter now, rolled as it happened.
"Aaaargh!"
One triggered the trap.
Stepped into the mud puddle, blade slicing through boot into his sole.
They'd entered the trap zone.
"Aaaargh!"
Even fancy vests couldn't save them.
And the wounded man's screams scattered their focus.
I waited quietly, like the dead, for the final piece.
Flash!
It came.
World ablaze.
In the ancient light unbound by any command, I unleashed a lifetime's skill.
Target: that nagging young voice's direction.
A boyish face, mouth agape, glaring at me.
Bang!
One shot. Bullet sucked into his open mouth.
"Young-hoon's hit!"
Amid the barrage, I low-crawled to the second floor, then first.
No words.
Same as I disarmed my shotgun trap, cracked the door, and slipped outside.
No reaction from them.
Mirror confirmed it.
Next flash: I fired from the side entrance.
No kill, but the shock hit hard.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
The megaphone blared from the car.
No doubt.
Park Seung-su's voice.
Unbidden, my hand grazed the hatchet hilt.
Slow but sure killing intent clouded my mind as his voice pierced the storm.
"Deploy a capsule."
The car killed its light.
Soldiers pulling back—sounds clear.
I didn't hinder the retreat.
I watched instead.
Curious what "capsule" meant.
Soon, it appeared.
Exactly as I'd imagined.
A grayish-oval object strapped by belt to a wheeled autonomous drone.
"Capsule deploy."
The drone rolled toward us, capsule aboard.
Stopped right before the outpost.
"Open!"
The drone self-destructed.
I couldn't help a hollow laugh.
Humans are vicious.
Even turning monster eggs into weapons.
From the blast debris emerged the gray-white thing I loathed most.
A monster.
My ultimate nightmare took form before the outpost, expressionless as a god.
Type: unknown.
Small breed, but unfamiliar variant.
"......"
I quietly drew the hatchet.
Shing—
Better this way.
Born a Hunter, dying to a monster would be fitting.
That's what us old-school Hunters always said amid civil war hell.