Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: 5th Standby - 3
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“Spotted orcs about 80 meters ahead! Two in total!”
The squad members moved with lightning speed.
From the moment the alert came in, it took them just three minutes to reach the scene.
It was all thanks to Kim Minjun tipping them off in advance.
“All squad members, load mana rounds!”
“Mana rounds loaded!”
The squad members hopped out of the vehicle and immediately formed firing lines.
“Orcs’ weak point is the neck! Aim for their throats!”
“Got it!”
“Commence firing!”
At Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin’s command, the hunters took positions and opened fire.
Boom! Boom!
Deafening roars echoed as mana rounds streaked toward the orcs.
“Hu-humans….”
“Kill!”
“It hurts! Humans! I’ll kill you all!”
The orcs crossed their massive arms to shield their heads and charged forward.
Even though these were weakened training orcs doped up with drugs, they shrugged off the mana rounds like nothing.
‘This is insane….’
‘That’s a weakened orc?’
‘Gotta risk our lives against real ones, then….’
The hunters gulped as they watched.
The soldiers, especially the privates first class, were breaking out in cold sweats from the orcs’ sheer intimidation.
Even corporals and sergeants would’ve run from orcs like these, yet here they were facing them already.
“One squad dumps mana rounds on them, and all we do is slow them down….”
Weakened or not, an orc was still an orc.
Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin figured wasting more mana rounds was pointless and called off the shooting.
“Everyone, draw your main weapons and prepare to engage! This is training, but the monsters are real orcs! One slip and you’re seriously hurt, so stay sharp! Take as long as you need!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Understood!”
Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin turned to look at Kim Minjun.
The squad was getting rattled.
He needed to turn the mood around.
“Leave it to me.”
His eyes said it all: I’ve got this.
Kim Minjun flashed a reassuring smile and charged at the orcs.
‘Orcs are easy enough barehanded, but gotta think of the squad.’
He drew his whip and lashed out at them in turn.
Crack! Snap!
A whip’s advantage? It inflicted massive pain relative to the damage.
Even on thick-skinned monsters like orcs, it was no exception.
[Painful Whip Strike effect applied!]
With the skill amplifying the pain twofold, the orcs that had been closing in started backing away.
“Kraaaagh!”
“Grrraaah!”
“It hurts, human! It huuuurts!”
The ones that hadn’t flinched at mana rounds were now screaming their heads off from Kim Minjun’s whipping.
“Now! Go for their necks!”
“Yes, sir!”
The whipping went on for a while.
As soon as Kim Minjun saw the orcs drop to their knees, he signaled the squad.
“Grrrk….”
“Grraaah!”
Dazed by the whip’s agony, the orcs had no chance to defend against the squad’s attacks.
Their throats were slit by the squad’s military blades, and they dropped dead.
“We took down three orcs this easily!”
“ Sergeant Kim Minjun is the best!”
Was there another 5th Standby squad that killed orcs this fast?
The squad members were about to cheer at the thought when Kim Minjun’s next words silenced them.
“Not over yet! Stay sharp!”
“…What’s that?”
He was pointing at more orcs charging in.
‘Took us about six minutes to handle those. Time limit hit, so they released two more.’
Kim Minjun narrowed his eyes at the approaching orcs.
‘For regular hunters, that’s a solid score. Even accounting for my help.’
Handling two orcs with one squad was no joke.
They had goblin-level smarts plus brute strength and stamina.
‘Clear them quick, and they still send more.’
Unless you were a special forces hunter, this was borderline impossible.
Special Task Force operations staff.
It reeked of screwing over the unit on purpose.
Thud! Thump!
“Raaargh!”
The orcs bellowed as their heavy footsteps shook the ground.
Furious at their comrades’ deaths, they looked ready to explode.
“Three more incoming! How the hell do we handle that?”
“Sergeant Kim Minjun, shouldn’t we pull back?”
The squad members insisted it was hopeless and they needed to retreat.
“Special Task Force ops staff… they’re nuts. Five orcs in a 5th Standby drill? Did HQ even approve this crap?”
Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin was on the same page.
Not one or two orcs—five.
The first two were manageable.
But these three? No way with one squad.
“You need at least two squads for that!”
Even drugged and weakened, they were still orcs.
No matter how good Kim Minjun was, that many was too much.
“Kim Minjun! Even you can’t handle this! We fall b—huh?”
He was about to suggest retreat when he saw Kim Minjun already in starting position.
A sprinter’s crouch start.
Hands on the ground, body low, Kim Minjun spoke up.
“Platoon leader, leave it to me. I’ll clear them in one minute.”
“What? One minute? That’s ridiculous….”
Before Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin could finish, Kim Minjun activated his skill.
‘For brainless brutes like these, this is perfect. Vicious Charge.’
Whoosh.
Demonic energy poured out, enveloping his body.
A skill with penalties: lowered defense and stamina.
He felt his body weaken in real time, but it didn’t matter.
The power was worth it.
Whoosh!
His body shot forward like a bullet.
‘Yeah. This feeling. This speed.’
Kim Minjun grinned and shoulder-checked the orcs.
Splat! Spluuurt!
The lead orc was pierced clean through and died instantly.
The ones behind reeled from severe wounds, barely staying upright.
[Vicious Charge proficiency increased.]
[High skill proficiency.]
[Vicious Charge advanced to C-rank.]
‘What? Just killed one orc and it ranked up?’
At C-rank, Vicious Charge could punch through most monsters.
An unexpected bonus put him in a great mood.
‘Oops, overdid the power. Should’ve left some for the squad.’
“…Whoa.”
“What the hell was that?”
“Just a shoulder charge… and they’re wrecked?”
“More like, did you see that speed? Gotta be 200 kph. How? Is that even possible?”
The watching hunters froze in place.
They needed to finish off the wounded ones, but Kim Minjun’s display was too shocking.
A hunter killing orcs with shoulder checks.
Something out of a movie.
“Hey, finish them off already. What’re you waiting for?”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Right away!”
The training wrapped up smoothly.
Despite facing five orcs, the squad looked fresh as ever.
“Hang on, didn’t Sergeant Kim Minjun kill most of them and we just cleaned up?”
“Man… takes on that many orcs solo and he’s not even winded. Total monster.”
“How’d you even launch those barehanded? I saw it and still don’t get it.”
Corporal Kim Gwang-sik and Private First Class Lee Dong-jin exchanged dazed words.
All they’d done was shoot a few rounds and finish off half-dead orcs courtesy of Sergeant Kim Minjun.
“Don’t even think about trying that. You’re born with it or you’re not.”
“…No reason to ditch our weapons for shoulder checks anyway.”
Even the usually quiet Sergeant Lee Seung-ho couldn’t help but chime in.
‘Jeez. If I report this straight, I’m the one who’ll take heat. Will the battalion commander even buy it?’
Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin scanned the orc corpses and was convinced.
If special promotions weren’t so strict these days, Kim Minjun would’ve been a lieutenant by now.
**
News of five orcs in the 5th Standby drill had the unit buzzing for a while.
“That ops staffer’s a psycho, right? Releases five orcs? If even one hunter got badly hurt or killed, they’d be stripped of rank on the spot.”
“Exactly. What made them think dumping that many orcs was fine? They’re not goblins.”
“Why’re special forces messing with our unit anyway?”
Five orcs.
Even for training, it was way too aggressive.
“Five months back, they did one orc once. Fake scenarios ever since, I think?”
“Yeah.”
After chatting, the hunters glanced at Kim Minjun’s empty spot.
He was off meeting the ops staffer who’d summoned him.
“Hey, Sergeant Kim Minjun really took out orcs with shoulder checks?”
“He’s monstrous, sure, but he’s human. That possible?”
They grilled for details.
Barehanded against orcs? Unthinkable.
“We saw it with our own eyes. Still hard to believe, though.”
Corporal Kim Gwang-sik swore the rumors weren’t exaggerated.
“Orcs charging, and he just casually drops into sprint stance. Like this.”
Kim Gwang-sik reenacted it, explaining with gusto.
“Sergeant Kim Minjun. Perfect handling.”
Meanwhile, in the battalion commander’s office.
Kim Minjun was speaking with the Special Task Force ops staffer.
“Thank you!”
“I did release a lot of monsters. HQ called it too extreme, but what could I do? Had to push to test your limits.”
The staffer raved endlessly, saying he’d never heard of a hunter clearing that many orcs like that.
“Heard you flattened one of our task force sergeants. Thought you were tough, but you’re wasting away here.”
After the praise fest, he sipped his coffee and pulled an envelope from his briefcase, placing it on the table.
“Curious why a Special Task Force staffer like me came to your unit and unleashed all those monsters?”
He nodded at Kim Minjun to check it.
“Put in a good word for this. No regrets.”
Confident grin.
Kim Minjun opened the envelope, curious.
‘Knew it.’
He smirked as he read.
The staffer coming to the 104th Division.
Overloading monsters in 5th Standby.
All as he’d predicted.
Beaming at the staffer, Kim Minjun said,
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”