Master of Namsan (2)
Eight days had passed since we established our base on Namsan and began the siege. There was talk of just bombarding the mountain every day, but we shot it down in the end.
Once fire takes hold on Namsan, it could burn the entire mountain to ash without stopping, causing even greater damage. In a world without proper firefighting methods, it was too risky. But if no rain fell by the 20th day, we'd risk the wildfire and start the bombardment anyway.
Our number of awakeners had grown from 900 to 981. Eighty-one awakeners active in Gangnam had come forward, expressing their desire to join the battle.
At first, hearing that a group of awakeners from Gangnam had arrived, I thought they were government troops and planned to turn them away. But they weren't affiliated with the government at all. They were a separate group that roamed between Gangnam and Gyeonggi Province, focused solely on slaying monsters.
A few among our Union executives, who were former Republic of Korea military, even recognized some of them. From what the executives said, this group hunted monsters exclusively, unaffiliated with any organization, including the government.
Through the drones, I could see their faces—each one etched with the scars of countless brushes with death, battle-hardened veterans. It seemed they'd already lost everything dear to them to monsters, leaving them interested in nothing but killing the beasts.
They swore they'd fight on the front lines, needed no supplies like our Union soldiers, and would obey our commands to the letter. It was impractical to mix them into our already organized Union troops, so we decided to operate them as an independent unit. We treated them the same as our Union soldiers for meals and bedding.
"Looks like rain tomorrow."
[...Yeah?]
I'd heard from the Union that rain was likely tomorrow. In this world without weather forecasts, predicting the weather was extremely limited—one method being human intuition.
Some people just read the weather well, often those from rural areas. They judge the chance of rain from experience: clouds, wind direction, sky color, and so on. And amusingly, old folks' gut feelings were uncannily accurate.
The Union gathered elders and weather-savvy folks to analyze whether rain was coming. Both groups predicted it for tomorrow.
[Double the soldiers' rations, add plenty of dessert. Extra servings for anyone who wants more.]
"Understood. I'll see to it."
I'm a total novice when it comes to military matters, so the Union executives—former officers—handle that. But even a civilian like me knows the basics of the army: feed the troops well and let them rest deeply to keep them moving.
The soldiers would sense a big battle coming from the extra-generous rations today. Tetora hadn't shown its face, but we'd spotted a few of its offspring. Most seemed hidden underground.
Tetora was definitely aware of us. One spider the size of a man hid the instant it locked eyes with a drone—proof Tetora anticipated our attack was imminent.
Day 9, around 10 a.m., light rain began falling, turning into a downpour by 1 p.m. With this intensity, even if we used bombardment drones, fire wouldn't spread. We prepared the strikes.
Thousands of Union troops prepared for battle with tense expressions. The bombardment drones' role was simple: start striking around Namsan Tower to endlessly provoke Tetora.
If Tetora sent its offspring, we'd intercept them at the base. If it didn't emerge, we'd keep bombing until it did. With this rainfall, the whole mountain would stay soaked even after the rain stopped—no wildfire worries.
[Bombardment starting. Have all troops ready for combat.]
"Yes, sir!"
Im Jui, Han Seol, Han Byeol, Jeong Su-hwan, and Han Eun-ji waited by the coating drones.
Whirr.
I set the range for one bombardment drone, centering on Namsan Tower.
[Bombard.]
After a dozen seconds of charge-up, hundreds of red spheres rained down from the thunderclouds.
Boom!
A massive roar echoed as Namsan Tower crumbled. Trees and grass turned to ash and vanished.
"Hm..."
One bombardment increased my points by 8P. No visible monsters, so probably some underground ones died.
"Bombard."
As the flames died down slightly, the second strike began.
Kaboom!
Namsan Tower, already wrecked by the first hit, was now unrecognizable. Points rose another 6P. But Tetora and the monsters still hadn't appeared.
Dozens of monster corpses lay exposed in the craters.
[Too few...]
Our intel said at least hundreds of spiders. The visible ones were far too sparse.
An hour passed with no reaction from Tetora.
[Rain's still coming, so bombard again tomorrow...]
As unease crept in, radios crackled across the base simultaneously.
"Monsters appearing! Monsters appearing!"
"Firing authorized! Firing authorized!"
Gunfire erupted everywhere.
[What the hell?!]
"Spiders are pouring endlessly from tunnels!"
I launched drones skyward. Dozens of holes had opened in front of our defensive line, spiders surging out nonstop.
I activated the coating drones immediately: 4 for Jui, 1 each for Seol, Byeol, Su-hwan, and Eun-ji—using all 8.
[Tetora hasn't shown yet—block the monsters first. If coating wears off, fall back without hesitation!]
"Yes, sir!"
The Union soldiers panicked at the sudden spider swarm, but commanders calmed them and responded per training.
Machine guns and rifles fired relentlessly at approaching foes; near the line, awakeners closed in for melee kills.
"Don't stop! Keep pouring it on!"
It worked. They resembled common stalker spiders but were tougher and faster. Still, bullets penetrated.
Not hundreds—easily over a thousand at a glance.
Hiss!
The spiders charged the line with chilling shrieks.
"Don't panic! Bullets work on 'em! Keep firing nonstop!"
Commanders held the line firmly; as spiders neared, silver-foam-armored awakeners with swords and axes dispatched them.
If this held... we could repel them with minimal losses.
"Gah! Fuck! Get off me, you bastards! Ack!"
But when a dozen spiders swarmed one awakener, severing his breath, the troops wavered.
"Steady! Focus!"
Commanders tried calming them, but the situation spiraled.
[Jui! Head to the Third Line now! You've got coating—don't die, fight smart!]
Jui, who had sliced through dozens, nodded and rushed to the nearly breached Third Line.
Nakyuan's awakeners—buffed by enhanced melons, gear, and coating—rushed to critical lines, barely holding.
Something was off. Not just me—every soldier felt it. These weren't normal monsters.
Survival instinct. What we called Tetora's "children" lacked it entirely. They moved like soulless machines obeying orders.
Dancers and Silver Foam fled or defended when fearing death. Not these. Legs severed by blades, eyes riddled with bullets—they charged silently.
Dozens latched onto single awakeners, injecting venom one by one, slowly crumbling the line.
We'd completely misjudged their strength. These weren't Tetora's children—they were empty puppets following its command.
Tetora lurked underground, sowing terror. But humans are different. We think, judge, feel.
Troops, seeing comrades fall, drowned in fear.
"W-We need to fall back the line! No end to their numbers!"
"Nonsense! Pulling back is retreat! Hold your ground with your lives! Block to the end!"
My mistake. I'd fallen for Tetora's strategy. It endured two tower bombardments for an hour, counting our strikes.
When the third didn't come, it judged two was our limit and launched total assault.
[Hoo...]
If morale broke here, it was over. Drastic measures needed.
I radioed Nakyuan's executives.
[Charge into the monsters! No retreating!]
"Yes, sir!"
Executives roared and charged at my order. Awakeners followed.
Now it was all or nothing. Static defense would shatter if one line broke—troops would rout in panic.
Slash.
Lee Seong-guk, wielding dual silver-foam axes, climbed a pile of a dozen corpses and bellowed.
"Don't get surrounded! Keep moving, no breaks!"
"Retreat and it's over!"
Dozens of awakeners began dying.
5 a.m., over 14 hours of fierce back-and-forth. Who knew how many they'd hidden? Piles of spider corpses like mountains—over 3,000 at a glance.
Union awakener deaths: 77, wounded: 146. Total 307 combat losses. Regular soldiers: 575 dead, 498 wounded.
Excluding field-treatable cases, all were evacuating to Nakyuan.
The Union decided to fall back the line once attacks stopped.
[Fall back once ready. Radio if anything happens.]
"Yes... sir."
Unlike Dancer or Silver Foam fights, faces showed exhaustion from 15+ hours. No initial confidence left.
Available Points: 217P
"Haa..."
I rushed from the command post to the hospital.
"Director!"
"Yes!"
"A massive wave of patients is coming soon! All doctors on standby, residents too! Clear everyone from the hospital grounds!"
"Yes, sir!"
Points from accumulated ally fatigue. No need to think where to spend them—with hordes incoming.
Hospital Lv.2
Cost: 200P
Whoooong.
The hospital began emitting a brilliant glow.