Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Gold (3)
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Since Gold had joined the pack, it was only natural that I joined Ji Chang-su's group as well.
My position was known to that Gold bastard, so it was obvious he'd lead the pack straight to me to kill me.
"With Hunter Park Gyu on our side, it's like having an army of thousands!"
His subordinates—former employees from the company Ji Chang-su ran—didn't look all that reliable, but they were well-armed and had strength in numbers.
Mutations make honest enemies.
If your firepower falls short, they're a nightmare. But with enough firepower, they're no different from the safaris white folks ran in Africa.
"Don't shoot from too far out. Hold fire until you can see the whites of their eyes, then unleash a volley. Landing precise shots is what matters most."
We hid our forces at the base of a gentle slope, and I climbed the hill alone.
There they were.
Five mutation dogs.
A tough number for rifles alone, but we had a heavy machine gun.
But was the pack really this small?
I could've sworn there were at least ten when I spotted them earlier.
And the one I desperately wanted to find wasn't there.
Gold. Where the hell had he gone?
He'd clearly been accepted into the pack.
If anything, it was good news.
Gold not being here meant he wouldn't get caught up in the massacre about to unfold.
With half relief, I opened fire on one of the mutation dogs.
Bang!
I saw blood spray from its shoulder, but that was it.
These bastards don't drop from a single bullet.
The textbook one-shot kill is either smashing the brain by targeting the weak cartilage under the jaw when they gape wide, or slipping through the gap beside the massive skull shielding like a plate of armor to crush the heart. But in real combat, you won't find many lunatics willing to try that.
The mutation dogs glared at me, growling in unison, then charged at terrifying speed.
The fight was on.
I hurried back down the hill and saw Ji Chang-su and his men fumbling to check their weapons.
"They're coming soon. Get ready."
I didn't see this as a tough fight.
Just hold position and pick off whatever shows up. That's all it would take.
We weren't packing popguns—seven guys with 5.56mm assault rifles.
Missed shots didn't matter.
While the bait—that's us—kept them pinned, the heavy machine gun would sweep them clean.
No matter how tough their tendons or thick their bones, nothing holds up to the punch of a 12.7mm machine gun.
And the gunner manning that crucial weapon was reliable.
A guy named Jeong Jung-sa, recruited by Ji Chang-su. A veteran from the military faction with frontline experience.
On top of that, for emergencies, Younghee was at the bus wheel with the engine running, standing by.
If things went south, she'd ram the armored bus through them and bail us out.
Above all, we had me, Park Gyu.
As long as Ji Chang-su's crew pulled their weight halfway, we could wipe them out easy.
If Kim Daram were here—though contact was impossible now—we could've killed them twice over.
Click.
Not wanting to regret even one missing round in a pinch, I topped off the mag and slammed it home.
"Here they come."
The dogs' ragged panting echoed from behind the ridgeline.
The first one crested into view below.
Rat-tat-tat!
The heavy machine gun roared to life.
Three rounds pulped the mutation dog mid-leap, blood spraying into the air.
I gave a thumbs-up.
"Nice shot."
But then.
"Damn."
I underestimated them.
No—I underestimated Gold.
This bastard had emerged early in the war, claimed dominance in the southwest, evaded countless pursuits and hunts, and grown his pack strong.
A founding lord, in human terms.
Up close, he was sharp and cunning enough to pass for a four-legged man. I'd buy it.
And right now, he was targeting the bus.
"Jeong Jung-sa!"
I bellowed the warning to the gunner.
True to his veteran stripes, Jeong dove back into the vent shaft. But Gold wasn't after him.
Clang!
The machine gun.
Gold's jaws clamped the barrel, crushing it with insane bite force.
"Grrrr."
We'd lost our top firepower before the fight even kicked off proper.
Younghee floored it, shaking Gold off the bus, but the gun was toast all the same.
To make matters worse, massive dogs started pouring over the ridgeline.
Ji Chang-su's employees turned pale, backing away.
"Stay calm. We're good. Follow my lead..."
This fight.
"Younghee! Younghee! Get over here quick!"
"Uwaaaagh!"
"We shouldn't have come!"
"Run!"
"Run where?!"
Bad luck.
Or maybe I'd subconsciously dismissed that Gold dog as harmless. Who'd expect a dog to pull that off?
He's a man in a dog's skin.
Born human, he'd have been a standout warrior.
Rat-tat-tat!
Rifles barked.
I ventilated a gaping charger from the mouth inward, dropping it.
Rat-tat!
Suppressive fire on a flanker to my side. Meanwhile, I scooped a discarded rifle and sprayed the opposite flanker.
Bang!
"Yelp!"
It took a hit to the flank and howled, but just a flesh wound.
Then two hit me from both sides in sync.
Bang-bang!
Two quick shots into the exposed scapula gap on the first.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Both barrels on the other side, trigger held down hard.
"Grrrrrr!"
The first was dead in midair. The second barreled toward me, drooling, then slumped against me.
Even mutations can't survive fifty rounds anywhere but vitals.
I tossed the rifle for the next one as another charged head-on at full tilt.
Shing.
My twin axes gleamed in the winter sun.
I timed it as its torso just grazed mine—chopped the front leg joint,
Crunch!
"Grrrng!"
Ignored its snapping jaws as it reared, smashed the hind leg too.
Crunch!
"Grng!"
As it screamed and collapsed, I backed off, grabbed a rifle, reloaded, and emptied the mag into its thrashing gut.
"Hunter Park! Front! Front!"
Blood splattered my face. I looked ahead.
A big black one.
New boss, after shoving Gold aside.
One-on-one, maybe doable.
Then Gold stepped up beside it, golden mane and fur flowing elegantly.
I called his name.
"Gold."
Not just him.
Fresh faces emerged behind the black one, one by one.
"Ah."
The missing ones had rejoined?
But damn, that's a lot.
Four? Five?
The already grim odds were spiraling to disaster.
Two mutations clung to Younghee's bus, another chased Ji Chang-su and his ragtag crew, breaking their morale.
Only I could fight.
"..."
Against seven mutation dogs.
Including one overgrown freak.
Too much for a lone unarmed human.
"Hoo."
I'd figured I'd die someday.
Maybe this was it.
Die here?
Wasteful.
Leaving my bunker behind.
But that's just timing.
I know.
This Park Gyu will vanish in the apocalypse eventually.
Just a question of when.
But right now,
just survive.
What I'm good at.
What I used to love.
The one thing the world ever acknowledged in me.
Let's do it.
Tossed the empty rifle, gripped my twin axes.
Oddly, they felt lighter than usual.
Good feeling.
Looking back, I'd faced worse.
Like when zealots strapped bombs to zombies, forcing me into melee with hundreds.
Or one-on-one with a dancer-type melee specialist.
Or getting dumped beyond the rift.
Compared to then, I'm fed, clear-headed, with real reasons to live now.
Why? Things to protect.
Bunker, face on the boards, etc.
SKELTON vanishing from the community overnight? They'd all grieve, obvious as day.
"Grrrng!"
The black one bared teeth.
Coming at me himself.
Maybe my final dance.
I readied up. Glanced at Gold right before clash.
He stood still, staring at me.
What was he thinking?
"Grng!"
The black one roared to lunge—
Then miracle.
Quiet Gold beside him twisted, tore into the black one's throat.
"!"
Caught off-guard, blackie bulged eyes, tried to turn—but too late.
Crack!
Teeth that dented steel barrels now pulverized neck vertebrae.
Blackie spasmed, flailed front paws, collapsed.
Miracle didn't stop.
"Gold!"
The killer approached, bloodied fangs out.
Not to fight me.
To fight with me.
A beast who should hate humans most sided with one.
Man and dog united.
Guns blazed; incoming fangs met counter-fangs.
Another charge blocked by axe, then fangs ripping the charger.
In the battle trance, one question nagged.
Was this dog's sudden alliance payback for my mercy? Resentment at his pack watching his fall?
Or mutation intellect fading under ancestral dog instincts etched in genes?
Dogs without humans are just wolves by another name, after all.
*
Ji Chang-su's quest for his old master ended in farce.
No lives lost, but key weapon gone, and spirits broken.
His employees whispered, eyeing me like a monster.
"Human? Seen Awakened before, but this guy's another level."
"S-rank Hunter rumors true? But what about that dog?"
"No clue. Everything's a mess."
Familiar murmurs. Younghee strode straight to me.
Stared hard.
Uncomfortable under the intense gaze, she blurted boldly.
"Wanna go to Jeju with me?"
"Huh?"
"Ship to Jeju leaves soon. Got tickets. The kind that gets you prime placement."
"That's... too sudden."
"You know Jeju's status, right?"
"Yeah, but why me?"
"Single, aren't you?"
Younghee flashed a gentle smile.
She's a knockout; even grimy and tousled, it hit hard.
I averted eyes from the close approach.
"True, but..."
She looked skyward, continued.
"They say once is fate. This is twice for us."
"..."
"A guy like you won't leave me widowed again. Might adapt easier to new life on Jeju, too."
She fidgeted clasped hands.
Slipping off her ring finger.
The sparkle from that bare elegant finger stabbed my eyes. I turned to her.
"Is this a proposal?"
"Yes. Serious marriage offer."
She waggled the ring coyly, smirking.
Her gaze shifted to the mutation corpses littering the ground.
"Times like these, right?"
"..."
Made sense, but marriage out of nowhere?
Honestly, caught off-guard.
She's gorgeous, well-off—even in dogshit times, affording buses, mercs, heavy MGs. But too soon?
"...Sorry, not thinking marriage yet."
Stepped back.
"You're plenty old enough. Mid-thirties soon?"
"Still early."
"Am I not good enough?"
Younghee closed in lightly.
Woman's scent—or instinct-tickling aroma—wafted close.
A woman who knew her charms and wielded them.
Damn attractive, honestly.
Beauty you'd regret passing.
I'm a hale man.
Can't help pulling toward young and lovely.
But not like this.
Don't know her, and common sense says it's no real bond.
Plus, I saw the angle.
That sly human-only ulterior motive.
"You're plenty attractive, Younghee."
"So?"
Expectant look, but answer was set.
"I'll pass on the offer."
Surprise flashed on her face, but brief. She nodded with faint smile, walked off.
"Got it. Sorry. Shouldn't have said it."
Good outcome.
What I wanted.
But watching her go, a twinge of regret all the same.
"...Hoo."
Distant howls from the dogs.
Black dots fleeing across the abandoned fields.
Gold and his new pack.
We fought fierce together till they sensed defeat and bolted; he ditched me quick to reclaim them as his own.
Back where he belonged.
True winner of this scrap might be that cunning mutt.
I raised a thumbs-up his way in respect.
A bark answered, like "Happy birthday."
*
Since then, animal corpses appear sporadically at our turf's edge.
Goral, wild boar, even a feral brown cow once.
Got books on butchering and deboning, but never tried—too finicky for my tastes. Time to man up.
Meat's running low for me too.
Patrolling the borders sometimes, I feel it.
Across the ridge, golden fur whipping in wind: Gold's gaze watching me.
I didn't post this tale to the community.