Chapter 91
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 091
Chapter Title: Soldiers - [5]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Solidly speaking, I was caught off guard. Given that the thing's enlarged size put it in the five-meter class, I'd assumed its force field exoskeleton was around that level too—but to think it could even withstand an explosion powerful enough to level a building.
There are cases where a single entity possesses multiple abilities, and the capabilities of each vary based on their individual aptitudes. That brute seemed to be one such case.
Still, that last explosion must have drained a huge chunk of its ridiculous force field. If we just piled on a bit more damage, it was bound to crack eventually.
That's what I told myself. Not because I had any solid proof, but because if I didn't believe it, I couldn't even attempt to fight.
"Groooaaarrr—!"
Tubby charged with a bellow, its weight and leg strength utterly monstrous. Every time its foot slammed into the ground, a horrific quake accompanied it. An ordinary person might just drop dead from the sound alone.
Even I felt a chill creeping up as I approached the source of that roar, but I held firm. I whispered to myself.
It's just a heavier weight class than me, that's all.
I charged right back at it, unloading the Hunter Rifle in full auto.
The autocannon rounds flew true, pummeling its face—but those shells that could shred an elephant alive barely amounted to tossing sand at it.
My shots didn't even slow its charge.
The ogre covered its face with its forearm and kept barreling forward.
I kept firing the Hunter Rifle for a moment, but when it became clear it wouldn't stop the thing, I dropped it and gripped my hammer.
I swung the hammer as I teleported.
Since I led with the swing into the teleport, by the time I rematerialized, the hammer was already at its target.
The instant my hammer smashed into the charging ogre's head, its arm whipped toward me.
I barely teleported out just before those massive fingers closed around me.
To the soldiers watching, it must have looked like some amazing feat, because cheers erupted behind me.
"Long live Baby Mushroom!" "Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk!"
But I was still heart-pounding even after dodging. Damn, what the hell was that?
I'd teleported behind its head for a sneak attack—out of sight, so its reaction should have been way slower. Yet it countered that fast?
As I reeled, Baek Dam-bi's voice crackled over the radio.
「Watch out! That thing has nerve acceleration! 」
I sighed inwardly. Ah...
I could pull off something similar thanks to my own developed nervous system, but it was nothing compared to a true nerve acceleration ability user.
Close quarters were too risky, then. I raised the Hunter Rifle again.
But as I moved to block its path and take aim, I didn't even have time to pull the trigger.
It lunged at me. With its force field exoskeleton on Superman levels, that leap was practically a missile launch.
I teleported again, barely escaping the charge.
Missing me once more, the ogre seemed to make a snap decision: ignore the slippery one who keeps vanishing and go for the others first.
And there were way too many tasty targets here for it.
The ogre charged—not toward me, but toward where the soldiers had formed their firing line. Their rifle rounds couldn't scratch it at all.
Screams rang out among the troops in that direction.
"Shit!"
Even just colliding with it would crush them like bugs under a tank. I couldn't let that happen.
I extended my arms and teleported behind the charging ogre, wrapping them around its ankle the moment I arrived. That's when I felt just how insanely heavy the damn thing was—and how its single leg movement dragged my whole body along.
Still, I used my body as a lever and poured on the strength.
I hurled the ogre with everything I had.
As far away as possible in that direction. As a physical enhancer with my own force field exoskeleton, tossing a multi-ton monster was well within my capabilities.
It flew like it'd been catapulted, roaring through the air.
"Ah—"
The soldiers it'd nearly trampled cheered in relief, but their voices were drowned out by the roar.
The moment the flung ogre crashed and tumbled across the ground, I thought fast.
I had to hit it while its posture was broken. With what?
That's when I spotted a familiar monster: a Deathclaw immobilized by bullets in its legs.
I teleported beside the Deathclaw, grabbed its foreleg, and teleported again.
Right in front of the ogre as it tried to stand.
I slammed the Deathclaw's foreleg right into it.
That hooked claw pierced straight through the impossible force field, burying the Deathclaw's razor edge deep into its face.
"Grrraaaargh—!" A scream-like roar exploded right in front of me. The infrasound vibrating through my body froze me solid for a split second.
And since I'd teleported into its field of view this time, its counter came lightning-fast.
The ogre whipped its arm at me.
A force field exoskeleton user's toughness scales directly with its output. Meaning its insane durability meant its power output was equally insane.
I was flung helpless by the irresistible force. My head was about to smash into the ground first.
I barely teleported at the last second, crashing into the sea instead.
Water erupted like a high explosive had detonated. If I'd hit the ground, my force field would've shattered and my body wouldn't have been intact.
But I survived. I could keep fighting.
"Incheon forever."
I teleported back to the battlefield and checked the damage from my strike.
The eyes link straight to the brain—stabbing something slicing in there...
Was it dead?
No, the ogre wasn't dead.
Disappointingly, Tubby lived. It yanked the Deathclaw's ankle from its eye and slammed it to the ground. Even with super regeneration, total brain destruction prevents recovery—but half-severed? No problem, apparently.
Still, the blow had succeeded in inflicting pain and a sense of crisis. I could tell because it was staring right at me now.
This time, it roared straight at me. As the bellow faded, a voice burst from the radio in my front pocket.
「Kim Geuk! Can you hear me? 」
It was the colonel. Glancing toward the soldiers, I saw him on-site, calling in.
「I saw you toss that thing earlier! Can you do it again? 」
"If I get an opening. Where to?"
「That ammo depot over there! 」
Ah, I got the gist of his plan.
I acknowledged and turned back to my foe.
Tubby had halted dead in its tracks, probably because it knew charging me just meant I'd teleport away.
But its eyes tracked me relentlessly even while standing still. It knew I was its target.
It was waiting for me to move first, ready to counter the instant I vanished from sight.
Imagining that counter made my skin crawl.
Its casual swipe had nearly shattered my force field. Getting caught in those paws again would be game over. Worst case, it'd grab me and crush me before I could teleport.
I needed to create an opportunity, not charge blindly. How?
I wasn't fighting alone—external factors intervened.
Voices mixed with tension and excitement rang out.
"Fire—!"
Golden tracers sliced through the night, raining down.
Autocannon rounds—even that monster couldn't ignore them completely.
Not one or two, but eleven firing in unison.
The Awakener soldiers unleashed from all sides with their Hunter Rifles.
Tubby covered its face with its palm, either startled or instinctively protecting its eyes.
Its vision blocked, it didn't see the shadow looming from the sky.
The shadow of a massive ice peregrine, ten meters wingspan. Baek Dam-bi's ice construct clutched a shell in its talons—one big enough for a person to carry in both hands.
With that high explosive, the ice peregrine dove vertically.
The shell hit Tubby's head first. Then the explosion...
A spectacular fireball bloomed from the ogre's head. The heat melted the ice bird instantly, steam shrouding its skull.
Its movements stopped. Shock?
No, the remaining force field said otherwise.
It was probably just disoriented—blinded by the blast and roar, no clue what was happening.
Opportunity right now.
I teleported, grabbing Tubby's ankle.
Like before, I poured my full strength and hurled it—as ordered, toward that ammo depot.
The ogre's massive body smashed through the dented steel walls. At that moment, mortars that had pre-heated fired in salvo.
Shells rained down, one after another...
Flames erupted. Explosion after explosion.
Flames surged, not once but repeatedly. Each blast birthed new fireballs and thunderous booms.
And horrifically, Tubby still wasn't dead.
It burst from the inferno with a roar louder than the detonations.
「Cease fire! Cease fire! 」
Emerging from the blaze, its hide was charred. One eye half-melted, oozing milky fluid.
Finally, its force field shattered. No more hesitation.
It had no field left, but mine held. That gap was huge.
I teleported high, then dove with gravity boosting another teleport, hammer-first. The ogre, wary after the last hit, blocked overhead with both hands.
But it wasn't a blow to block with bare hands. My hammer pierced its palms, slamming into its skull.
Tubby staggered. I teleported down and planted my feet.
I booted the reeling brute hard, shoving it back into the flames.
Even dazed, the heat tormented it—it scrambled on all fours to escape the fire. A Gate yawned nearby; it thrashed toward it.
I blocked the way.
Grabbing its ankle as it ignored me, I yanked. It toppled from its crawl.
I dragged it deep into the ammo depot, right into the fire's heart. It struggled up, trying to spring away—I hammered its calf. One knee buckled.
Thus, I made it understand.
You can't leave this octagon. Not without breaking me first.
It got the message. Still half-kneeling, it reared its upper body and swung at me.
I met the fist with my hammer. The clash unleashed a shockwave; the hammer flew from my grip.
Regaining confidence, Tubby roared. Amid the infrasound numbing my body, I moved—teleporting.
Twice in succession.
I jammed the retrieved Hunter Rifle into its gaping, roaring maw.
In that instant, the ogre knew this was its crisis. Its accelerated nerves made the danger crystal clear.
It gripped the barrel, trying to crush it—but I'd coated the rifle in my force field. And firing the autocannon was faster than it breaking through.
Blood, fire, and shells erupted from the ogre's massive skull's rear.
My force field shattered then, flames licking at me, but I ignored it. I had to.
Euphoria flooded my mind—an unprecedented thrill...
It consumed my head briefly but intensely, then faded. Snapping back, I raised my head.
Military base night-lights bathed me like octagon spotlights. I thrust one arm high, proclaiming victory to all.
My name echoed in my mind and reality alike.
"Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk!"