Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: With Our Sweat and Blood
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After a short while, the three of them started moving toward the warehouse again.
*Twang!*
Amos gave the string a light pluck, then glanced at the two corpses.
A grenade had been placed beneath the bodies.
The string was tied to the pin of the grenade, which had been pulled taut almost to its limit. Anyone approaching the bodies without caution would trip the wire, pulling the pin.
A booby trap, the same kind used in the Vietnam War.
Its design was simple, but it was a brutally effective trap.
The ones who would touch those bodies would be their comrades.
To use even the desire to care for a comrade as a weapon—it showed just how ruthless the Errant Priests could be against those they deemed enemies.
“Did they train you for that, too?”
Amos didn’t answer, simply returning the leftover string to Gabriel.
Kanghyeok watched Amos intently before resuming his steps toward the warehouse.
‘So the Father is a former soldier.’
If he was, he might have even crossed paths with company people on the battlefield.
In any case, the warehouse was getting closer.
The three of them lowered their stances as Amos scanned the area around the warehouse with binoculars.
“Hoo.”
Sighing, Amos handed the binoculars to Kanghyeok.
As Kanghyeok brought the binoculars to his eyes, Amos spoke from his side in a low voice.
“Too many.”
There were ten in total: some guarding the parked vehicles, others checking the supplies and wooden crates stacked to one side.
Kanghyeok passed the binoculars to Gabriel and spoke to Amos.
“There are two ways to do this.”
“Go on.”
“We can eliminate the guards and enter the warehouse. But the risk is high.”
Amos nodded slightly, chewing on his lip.
And for good reason.
Taking out ten men silently was a tall order, and even if they managed, what if someone found a body and screamed?
The men inside the warehouse would come pouring out, spraying bullets from all directions.
“What’s the other way?”
“We wait for their attention to be drawn elsewhere.”
Gabriel lowered the binoculars and gave a small nod.
They had set a booby trap on the bodies.
When the shift change happened and the men discovered the corpses?
And when the booby trap on the bodies went off?
Their forces would be split in two.
One group would move toward the explosion, while the other would stay to protect the supplies and intelligence in the warehouse.
But when would the shift change happen?
“Patience.”
Kanghyeok said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the men, and placed one hand on the ground, his body coiled as if ready to spring at any moment.
‘The opportunity will come in an instant.’
An opportunity they could not miss, one that would not come again.
The three of them melted into the shadows under the moonlight, focusing on their targets. Then, they saw two men with rifles move away from the warehouse.
‘Shift change.’
The bodies were about a ten-minute walk from here.
That meant chaos would erupt here within ten minutes, guaranteed.
Kanghyeok checked the time on his watch and gestured toward the warehouse.
The three moved, keeping the warehouse to their left.
As a result, Kanghyeok was the first to break from the formation, while Gabriel and Amos headed for a different warehouse.
*Pshk.*
Gabriel jabbed a morphine syrette into her thigh. Beside her, Amos made the sign of the cross, his fingertips touching his forehead, solar plexus, and then his left and right breast.
Then, in a soft voice, he began their prayer.
“In the name of the Father, the Saint, and the Holy Spirit.”
Amos recited the first verse of the prayer.
“We who have received the holy name offer this prayer.”
Gabriel recited the second verse.
“Though we are sinners who will not be understood, if our prayers are heard, and if our sins can help others,”
“Let it be done with our sweat and blood.”
“Forgive not our sins,”
“Cast us to the lowest place to wander.”
“But, if what we do is right,”
After a brief silence, the two recited the final verse together in the most cautious of voices.
“We ask for power, glory, and authority. Amen.”
With that, the two were ready.
Ready to guide sinners to God.
Man cannot judge the sins of man.
Only God can judge sin, and all they, as mortals, could do was send the sinners to Him.
They knew the act itself was a sin, but their greatest mission was to prevent sinners from committing greater sins, to protect the innocent from being harmed by them.
Of course, regardless of the reason, this was murder.
And so, they were prepared.
Prepared to fall into hell and suffer for eternity.
*Thud.*
Kanghyeok, now close enough to see the warehouse entrance, also prepared himself.
He borrowed no strength from religion, nor did he hide behind a bulletproof vest. He had no automatic weapon, and here, he had no allies.
But that was no reason not to steel his resolve.
*Ksshk!*
(Damn it, message coming through! The previous shift is dead!)
A loud voice burst from a nearby enemy’s radio, and Kanghyeok hid himself between the parked cars.
*Ksshk!*
“What do you mean? The previous shift is dead?”
(Wait, right now…)
Kanghyeok closed his eyes.
A moment later, a massive flash of light erupted from where the bodies lay,
*BOOOOM!*
(*KSHHHHHHH!*)
followed by a massive explosion that ripped through the radio and the air.
*WEEEEEOOOO!*
At the same time, the sharp wail of a siren pierced the air.
“Find them! We have intruders!”
“Grab your weapons! Move!”
“Protect the warehouse. Follow the manual.”
A cacophony of footsteps tangled together.
Opening his eyes between the cars, Kanghyeok saw the men scrambling in a frenzy.
They left only three men behind as they rushed out of the warehouse with flashlights to search for the intruders.
All without knowing the intruders were already near the warehouse.
Kanghyeok drew his pistol and waited for the men to move further away.
*WEEEEEOOOO!*
Amidst the blaring siren, the three remaining men roamed the area around the warehouse with their flashlights on.
They were about fifty meters from the warehouse.
“Damn it, what kind of bastards are these.”
The closest one cursed as he moved away from Kanghyeok’s position.
Seizing the moment, he launched himself from between the cars.
With each stride, his vision shook as the warehouse rapidly grew closer.
*Fssh!*
A man he hadn’t seen, hidden in a blind spot, shone a flashlight on Kanghyeok and yelled.
“Here! There’s one here!”
At the same time, the sound of footsteps and rifles being chambered came from all directions.
Kanghyeok immediately aimed his gun at the man who had spotted him.
*Bang!*
Then he laid down suppressing fire against the converging enemies.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
“*Gack!*”
Three gunshots, one scream.
‘Two left?’
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Dodging the hail of bullets, Kanghyeok took cover behind a stack of supplies near the warehouse.
The men then let off their triggers and began to approach slowly, illuminating his position with their flashlights.
It was then.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
The sound of automatic gunfire erupted from another direction.
“There are others!”
“Spread out!”
It was Gabriel and Amos, pulling their triggers to provide cover for Kanghyeok.
As the men scattered and fired their rifles, Kanghyeok sprinted in a straight line toward his target: the warehouse.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat! WEEEEEOOOO!*
The tangled sounds of gunfire and sirens savagely battered his ears.
In moments like this, it was clear the men were well-trained.
*Fssh!*
A man inside the warehouse shone a flashlight on Kanghyeok.
*Bang! Bang!*
After shooting the man in the chest and head, Kanghyeok entered the warehouse, swapping his magazine.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Gunfire erupted as if they had been waiting for him. Kanghyeok dove behind a shelf next to the warehouse door, clutching his shoulder and gritting his teeth.
Hot blood streamed through the fingers clamped over his shoulder.
“Hnngh, huh.”
Shot through the shoulder, Kanghyeok squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the pain to subside.
Even so, he didn't miss the sound of his enemies’ footsteps as they moved to surround him.
A huge commotion had broken out.
Some of the men who had left the warehouse would return first, and in time, the others would follow.
‘I have to close the door.’
Kanghyeok glanced at the warehouse door.
There was no separate lock; it was a sliding door on a rail system, designed so that pushing one side would close both doors simultaneously.
Kanghyeok watched the direction the footsteps were coming from and placed a hand on the door.
It was the arm he had cut earlier, the blood on it not yet dry.
But the wound had healed enough for him to apply force.
*Grrrnd.*
With a heavy groan, the two doors began to close. Kanghyeok fired his pistol at a man who peeked his head and barrel around a corner.
*Bang!*
The gunshot sounded louder as the doors closed.
With the wind cut off, the smell of gunpowder was much stronger than before.
And the smell of blood.
*Bang! Bang!*
Kanghyeok laid down suppressing fire to keep the men from approaching as he pushed the door, slamming it shut in the final moments.
*GRRND!*
The door stopped, leaving a gap about a handspan wide.
*Clank!*
He slammed an empty magazine between the door and the rail, then glanced briefly through the gap before pulling back.
The gap was too narrow for a person to squeeze through.
Even if he tried to escape, the magazine held the door firmly in place, making it impossible to open.
So then?
These men were now rats in a trap.
*Bang! Bang!*
The enemies’ return fire, responding to his suppressive shots, seemed to scream, ‘We’re not the rats.’
*Bang!*
Firing a bullet toward a rifle barrel that was cautiously poking out, Kanghyeok retraced his memories from the moment he entered the warehouse.
He quickly mapped out the number of enemies, their weapons, and the locations of both them and potential cover.
Kanghyeok twisted his lips into a silent smirk.
It was because the situation was so disadvantageous it was as if everything was telling him to die.
The number of men in the warehouse was between twenty-five and thirty.
Including those in his blind spots, it could be up to forty.
He had only a pistol and a knife, while they were all armed with rifles.
Given that it was a warehouse, there was plenty of cover to be found, but this was *their* warehouse.
They knew its layout better than he did, which meant he could take a bullet through the head behind cover he thought was safe.
And the main reason for his hollow laugh was the irony that his best chance of survival was to plunge right into their midst.
If he cowered behind cover, exchanging meaningless suppressive fire, his magazines would run dry first, and it would only be a matter of time before they surrounded him.
Did he really have to go this far?
The weakness inherent in any human posed the quiet question.
To this question, Kanghyeok answered with reason.
‘I have to.’
Not for anyone else, but for me.
Only, and for myself alone.
*Click-clack!*
Kanghyeok changed his magazine and moved near the cover, then grabbed the handguard of a rifle that was once again poking its head out.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Panicked bullets and sparks spewed from the muzzle.
Kanghyeok forced the barrel upward, and the ceaseless stream of bullets raked the wall beside the door and the ceiling.
*Shatter!*
They even shattered a window and the lightbulbs in the ceiling, plunging the area around Kanghyeok into darkness.