5 vs 1
5 vs 1
Probably, the leader of these people is that man who looks to be in his early 30s.
"You two, protect the lady!"
"Got it, oppa!"
"Come this way!"
"No, I'm fine..."
"Hurry!!"
"We'll protect you!"
"......"
Kim Minseo, being dragged away by two women in a daze, looked at me with a face asking what to do, and I just shrugged.
Anyway, what are these guys? Why are they so organized?
Following one man's orders, the two women hid Kim Minseo behind them and protected her securely, while the five men spread out to the left and right centered on the man facing me, completely surrounding me.
Their movements were qualitatively different from those four bastards.
Moreover, the weapons they held looked like store-bought ones costing at least 100 coins....
"Hey, why is a normal-looking guy harassing a defenseless woman?!"
"Ha... trashy bastard."
"Hoo... You're getting beaten today."
"How does it feel to be on the receiving side instead of the giving side? Scary? Resentful? Regretful?"
"Not really."
I don't regret the way I've lived so far. Because I'm not on the receiving end yet.
"If you attack first, it won't end lightly."
Unlike those four bastards who spat out provocative words, the man in his early 30s threatened me in a polite tone. No, 'warning' would be more appropriate.
Hmm... What should I do? Try it once?
I'm outnumbered and don't know their skill level, so the risk is too great.
Let me check first?
Jeobeok-
"What?! You really going to try it?!"
"I don't know if you're fearless or overconfident."
I just took one step, and they're already making a fuss. Blah blah, they talk a hell of a lot.
Sseuk-
"Hmm... roughly this much..."
"What are you doing?!"
"Shut up, you're noisy. This brat talks too damn much."
"What...? A perverted bastard who harasses women dares call me a brat?!!"
"Don't step in."
"Hyung!!"
The man in his early 30s held back the teenage boy who was about to charge at me.
Meanwhile, I checked the height of the square cement structure with the rooftop entrance door, then went down through the open rooftop door.
"What? Is he leaving??"
"Scared?! You coward bastard!!"
"Go Minjun! I told you to stop, didn't I?!"
"But he's a bad guy who harasses defenseless women.."
"He's someone who survived this long. That means he's as strong as us, and an unnecessary fight could get someone hurt. Because of you."
"...I'm sorry.."
What? Somehow that tone sounds like a protagonist in this crazy world?
Anyway, that brat's name is Go Minjun. I'll definitely fix your attitude.
Hearing voices from behind, I went down the four-story building, opened the entrance I had blocked, and shouted loudly.
"Euaaaaa!!!"
"Keu-ak!!"
"Keu-a-ak!!"
"Keu-ak!!"
Zombies react to my sound in an instant. I quickly turned around and started running up the stairs again, and kept shouting while doing so. So the zombies could follow well.
Having run back up to the top like that,
Kwa-ang!!!
I kicked the door I had closed with all my strength and burst out onto the rooftop.
"Hey, you crazy bastard!!!"
"Hehehe..."
That brat Go Minjun, as if knowing what I was doing, yelled at me as I burst out, and the other guys also shouted urgently and ran towards me. No, they ran to close the rooftop door that was open behind me.
But oh well, it was already too late.
"I know this from experience—it's really frustrating. I hope you feel the same."
"Crazy..."
"Psycho bastard..."
"Keu-ak!!"
"Keu-a-ak!!!"
Zombies rush to cover me from behind. I quickly turned, dodged the reaching zombie hands, then grabbed one by the back of the head and threw it at one of the running bastards.
"Oh no..!"
"Keu-ak!!"
"Watch out!"
Pu-uk!!
The man in his early 30s pierced the zombie's head with a short iron spear about the length of a crowbar, saving his comrade.
With that kind of movement, his Agility must be at least level 6? Fuck, did I pick the wrong fight?
Of course, he doesn't seem faster than me, but I'm not just dealing with him alone.
But I can't show that I'm flustered. Because momentum is half the battle.
"Whew~ You're definitely pretty strong."
"What are you doing now..."
"Is now the time to worry about me?"
"Keu-a-ak!!"
"Oh no..!"
Zombies pour in endlessly through the narrow rooftop door. Dealing with an endless wave of zombies on this rooftop with nowhere to dodge is impossible even for me. Of course, it's impossible for them too.
The only way out of this situation is to block the door so no more zombies come in.
"Enough! I'll close the door..."
"That won't do."
"You bastard..!"
"Don't call me bastard. It pisses me off."
The rooftop's rooftop. So, I jumped down from the structure where the rooftop door was installed and struck downward with my crowbar, attacking the man trying to close the door. Forced back by my attack, he missed his chance to close the door and started dealing with the zombies again.
What, that guy's pretty good too.
"Keu-ak!!"
"Shut up."
Peo-geok!!
I spun and swung my crowbar, smacking a charging zombie in the face, then climbed back onto the structure and watched the people dealing with the zombies.
All of them have Agility at least level 5. The man in his 30s stands out a bit, but they all have enough skill to survive in this crazy world.
If I had just charged in, I'd be dead by now.
Then a direct confrontation seems impossible... Judging by their tendencies, if I take a hostage, I can definitely take the lead.
"Oppa! What are you doing?!!"
Right then, Kim Minseo shouts at me.
(Take those women hostage.)
I moved my mouth and signaled to Kim Minseo. Quick-witted Kim Minseo immediately understood my signal, but....
(No!)
(Why?!)
(These people are good!)
(So?)
(So stop your nonsense and help them quickly!)
(You want to die? Are you not going to listen?!!)
(Melong!)
(That little..!)
It's not just moving her mouth. The men fighting the zombies had no interest in my and Kim Minseo's elaborate hand signals like in baseball, but the two women in front of Kim Minseo, seeing her flailing movements behind them, glanced between her and me and caught on to our connection.
"Wh-what?! You're in league with him?!"
"Oh, no.. I..!"
"Don't move!!"
"Aigoo... that stupid bitch really..!"
I tried to take those two women hostage, but seeing Kim Minseo become the hostage instead makes me sigh. Why the hell does she have to get attached for no reason?! What bullshit is this?!
For a moment, I made a throat-slitting gesture with my thumb at Kim Minseo, who looked at me with pitiful eyes, then I jumped down in front of the rooftop door where zombies were still surging in.
Anyway, their estimated maximum Agility is level 6, and even though I'm still stuck at level 7, no one is faster than me. And no one seems stronger than me either, since I've raised my Strength to level 5.
"Keu-a-ak!!"
"Keu-a-ak my ass."
Falling down, I kicked a zombie's back of the head, and upon landing, I sprang up from a crouch like a spring, spinning my body.
Hwi-ik!!
Peo-geok!!
Swinging my crowbar with my spinning body, I smacked the face of a zombie coming in behind me, then closed the rooftop door that those five men had struggled to shut.
Kwang!!
"Keu-ak!!"
But the rooftop door, already broken because of me, was soon forced open by the surging zombies. I slammed the half-open door shut again as a zombie popped out, then drove my crowbar hard into the small gap in the doorframe.
Kkwak!!!
Kung! Kung-kung! Kung-kung-kung!!!
Even as zombies banged their bodies and pounded their hands, the door wouldn't open because of the crowbar wedged in the gap. I confirmed this and slowly turned around. The zombie that had been kicked in the back of the head by me as I fell was lying on the ground, just raising its head to get up. I grabbed its back of the head and slammed it onto the ground.
Kwa-jik!!!
"Fuck, this got annoying."
If Kim Minseo had just listened to me, I could have taken those two women hostage and made the situation comfortable. Setting aside the fact that she grabbed my precious dick, her disobedience this time means I'll have to have a proper talk.
For now, that can wait until after I handle this situation. First, I need to move quickly before the zombies on my side all die.
Ta-da-dat-
Instead of going straight, I darted toward the 2 o'clock direction, running to where a man who looked to be in his 40s was swinging a metal rod with a baseball-sized ball at the end.
You ask why I chose this man as my first target? He's the closest.
Hwi-ik!! Peo-geok!!
Right before my eyes, a zombie's head bursts apart, half crushed. And as the zombie's head disappears to the side, my eyes meet the 40-something man.
"Hello? Half-Head Uncle."
"H-half-head..? Why am I half-head!!!"
The 40-something man flared up at my words and swung his mace (the one that just blew away a zombie's head) back at me in reverse.
Looking at his face, he seems to be in his early to mid-40s, but unlike that, his hair is really only half there, to exaggerate a bit, like a topknot. Just looking at it makes me feel bitter. I need to take good care so I don't end up like that....
Still, I don't have to worry too much because there's not a single bald person on either side of my family. Of course, maybe my family has short lifespans, since I've only seen my grandparents in photos. I heard they were alive when I was a baby....
Ah, this isn't the time for such thoughts.
Hwi-ik!!!
The metal rod passes in front of my face as I lean back. No, should I call it a mace?
Anyway, I dodged the weapon swung by the 40-something man and immediately drove my clenched left fist upward from below, planting it squarely into his pudgy belly.
Peo-geok!!
"Keok..!!"
"No!!"
"Uncle!!"
"Hyung-nim!!"
Cries burst from the two women and the leader, the man in his 30s. The women, now just guarding the half-hostage Kim Minseo rather than protecting her, have the luxury to watch this side, but that man in his 30s is dealing with more zombies than the others and still pays attention here.
He's definitely on a higher level than the others.
Kkwa-a-ak!!!
"Oh?"
"Euaa!!!"
The 40-something man, leaning forward as if falling but still managing to grab my collar and hold on, let out some kind of yell and swung his right hand, which was hanging limply, to attack my side with his mace. No, he tried to attack. But of course....
Hwi-ik!!!
Kwa-jik!!
Teol-sseok!!
My right elbow, swinging downward, smashed into his face first, knocking him to the ground.
One down. Now just the remaining three...
"Ouch, are you angry?"
"......"
Swih-ik!!
Dodging the short spear that flew at me, bending my face and even my waist to the side, I twisted my body and pulled it aside just before the man in his 30s, who had missed his attack, diagonally slammed his left fist down at my face.
Fuck, he's definitely a troublesome one. But I don't need to face him right now. Because he has to protect the fallen 40-something man. Moreover, if I waste time fighting him, the others might finish off the remaining zombies and join in, putting me at a disadvantage. So I have to delay fighting him until I've dealt with the rest.
"See you later then."
"Stay there..."
"If you follow me, that Half-Head dies."
"Keu-ak!!"
"......"
As the zombie he had been fighting now attacked him from behind, the man in his 30s had no choice but to deal with it. Otherwise, the Half-Head Uncle on the ground would get eaten.
So, should I take care of the others?
The closest one... Yeah, that guy who said I'd get beaten today.
The guy who just finished dealing with the two zombies he was fighting met my eyes as I ran toward him. Should I call it a dagger? He raised a knife that looked about 50cm or less to the side of his head and swung it at me as I ran.
I'm getting quite the real combat experience today. For me, who had only been dealing with zombies without meeting proper opponents, a guy attacking with such a threatening weapon is an excellent sparring partner to gain experience. Of course, that Half-Head Uncle was too.
Hwi-ik!!
The dagger passes in front of me as I stop abruptly. He seems slightly flustered, but then spins his body and swings a backspin elbow at me as I charge again.
Did he learn some martial arts? But if he looks around my age, unless he's a pro, he probably hasn't trained longer than me.
Peok!!!
His left elbow lands on my raised left arm.
Making such a perfect block in response to an opponent's attack is physically impossible even for top-tier fighters, but it's possible for me, who has stats beyond a top-tier fighter's physical abilities. Well, aside from that... Fuck, it hurts like hell!
I should have blocked earlier with my forearm, but my right arm, properly hit by his elbow bone, hurts like it's broken....
"You're getting beaten today."
"......"
I kept the calmest expression possible and swung my right fist upward.
Peo-geok!!!
Not an uppercut or a hook, but a slightly diagonal punch that squarely struck his jaw and cheek. As his body lifted slightly and fell backward, I left him behind and quickly ran to the side.
Because I still had two more guys to deal with.
"You're a bit weak."
"Ah..."
I punched with my left fist a guy who hadn't even finished off his zombie.
"Keu-ak!!"
"Why are you still causing trouble even when I help you?!"
I kicked the chest of a zombie that was aiming its filthy mouth at me instead of the fallen guy, and then stomped on the head of the zombie that fell flat on its back.
U-deuk!!
I kicked its head, but the head snapped back and broke its neck. The zombie went limp, and I ran toward the last remaining brat.
"Watch out, Minjun-ah!!"
"To your side!!"
The two women's urgent cries rang out, and the brat turned his head toward me.
"Scared?"
"Oh, no..."
"'No' my ass. You're going to get beaten a lot for running your mouth."
Hwi-ik!!
Peo-geok!!!
I deliberately aimed for his side instead of his face. My fist connected, and the brat's waist bent as if folding.
"Eo-eok..!!!"
Hijuk-
"You just got hit once and you're whining? Here comes the second."
My right fist, raised to the side of his face, came down on the brat's cheek, which was conveniently tilted at an angle.
Ppa-ak!!!