Chapter 33
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Rio de Janeiro (2)
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5 AM. The day of the dungeon training.
It had been a while since all the cadets gathered in the auditorium.
Most of them were yawning, still looking sleepy.
Since this training was conducted just like a real battle, the mobilization orders came directly from the overall commander.
This time's overall commander was a second-year cadet.
I didn't know his name.
"I, Im Se-beom, along with 3,500 others, swear to faithfully complete our mission, completely annihilate the enemy, and fight on the battlefield as the shield protecting humanity."
"We swear!"
"We swear!"
After each class representative finished the oath in sync with the overall commander, the class commanders received briefings on the operation.
Lee Jae-yeol stepped up to the podium.
It felt a bit off seeing him mixed in with all the class presidents.
'He looks totally ordinary.'
With his horn-rimmed glasses and skinny build.
He wasn't particularly handsome, but not ugly either—just your average student.
Thud.
I set down my gear.
This battle wouldn't succeed just because of me; everyone had to work as one.
I'd pulled an all-nighter planning the strategy, so it had been tough.
I'd only gotten three hours of sleep because of it.
But this should be enough to execute the plan without issues.
"C Platoon Vice President."
I'd been lying on my gear, feeling a bit tired, when Hong Ga-yeon approached me.
She was in full combat gear.
'She looks good in anything.'
A simple but form-fitting combat uniform, with all sorts of auxiliary equipment clipped to her vest.
Her loadout—pistol, sword, ops manual, flashlight—showed the textbook solo setup.
It was the exact same combat attire as mine, but the vibe was completely different.
"Yeah. What's up?"
I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at her.
"Someone I want to introduce you to. This is Sergeant Hammered Jones, our recon unit leader."
"Oh, sure."
I jumped to my feet.
Behind Hong Ga-yeon stood a guy who looked at least 190 cm tall, his hair slicked back with a ton of pomade.
His shoulder patch bore the sergeant's insignia.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Sergeant Hammered Jones, in charge of recon for this op."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Tae-hyun, first-year recon leader."
We shook hands.
He grinned good-naturedly.
Hammered glanced at Hong Ga-yeon and chuckled.
"Wow, being in the same platoon as Ga-yeon is a real honor. I should get an autograph or something."
"...No need. I'll head out now."
"Yes, ma'am! Smash 'em! Good luck~"
Hammered saluted Hong Ga-yeon and kept grinning until she was gone.
Then he turned to me.
'...?'
His expression had completely hardened, unlike how he'd acted with her.
"Recon leader."
"Yes."
He spoke in a low voice.
Hammered extended his hand again.
"Let's do this~?"
"Sure thing."
Squeeze...
Hammered gripped my hand with all his strength.
It stung a little, but it didn't hurt.
Then he smirked at me.
"See you on the battlefield."
He headed off to his squad members.
His team was smirking at me too.
They started chattering loudly among themselves without even introducing me as their recon leader.
'Haa... damn it...'
Irritation welled up.
Yone suddenly came to mind.
What would happen once we entered the dungeon was obvious.
The line between officers and NCOs is clear.
Officers are superiors; NCOs are subordinates.
But veteran NCOs with tons of combat experience and age often resented fresh-commissioned officers.
Especially if that officer was a first-year cadet.
I gritted my teeth and held it in.
I glanced toward V Platoon.
Her striking beauty stood out anywhere.
But Irina Delebayne from V Platoon was keeping her distance.
She still hung her head low, avoiding eye contact with her peers.
"..."
I recalled the Anyang Station incident.
I'd thought Irina Delebayne was done for.
But she'd taken down a pigman flawlessly and, in that dire situation, tried to save civilians at the cost of herself.
She's strong enough.
What was dragging her down was a lack of self-esteem and apathy.
Hunters were supposed to be the strong ones who survived.
There were plenty of other jobs for saving civilians.
Firefighters, hunter soldiers, police, doctors—they were all honorable professions.
But if you had the skills yet couldn't use your power...
That was different.
That's why I'd decided to take her under my wing.
To make her a better hunter.
I picked up my radio.
"President. You submitted the application?"
"...Yeah. Irina Delebayne? Submitted."
"Thanks."
I clipped the radio back to my vest.
"All units!"
The overall commander shouted then.
The hunters in the auditorium turned to the podium.
Time for the mobilization orders.
"Our goal is the complete recapture of 'Rio' and the extermination of all monsters. No time limit. First Army, enter the portal."
The mobilization orders were given.
Starting with First Army, we filed into the portal one by one.
I slung on my gear and stood.
Rio outskirts.
Third Army, Squad 2 base camp.
Squad 2 commander Lee Jae-yeol had gathered the platoon leaders.
"Orders from above: send out recon first. Report back any zombie concentrations or terrain issues to me."
"Yes, sir~!"
Not me, but his XO Hammered, answered.
Everyone glanced at him for a second, then continued the briefing as if it made sense.
"Even if this training is a no-death sim, no slacking off. 'Train like it's real'—that's the overall commander's emphasis."
"Got it~ Train like it's real!"
No one else responded, but Hammered shouted enthusiastically on his own.
Jae-yeol cleared his throat and continued.
"Ahem. Anyway, West Force under Hong Ga-yeon and East Force under Mitsuda are our final targets. Push to Christ the Redeemer. Iron Platoon, link up with East Force at the base of the mountain leading to the statue. And remember: no solo actions."
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
Back at school, maybe not, but here, Lee Jae-yeol was the top dog.
Hong Ga-yeon, Mitsuda, me—we all showed him respect.
Lee Jae-yeol folded his ops manual.
"Alright. Op starts in 5. Get recon ready."
"Yes, sir."
I stood to head to recon when Hammered suddenly raised his hand.
"Hey~ Commander."
"Yes. Speak."
Hammered continued.
"Can we link up with West Force instead of East?"
"What? No, can't do that. Different advance directions."
"That's fine. We just maneuver recon smartly. Right, guys?"
"Totally! Hammered's a real vet."
"Don't worry."
His recon team backed him up one by one.
Jae-yeol glanced at me.
I said nothing.
Jae-yeol hesitated, then said,
"W-Well, okay then..."
"Hold on."
Hong Ga-yeon cut in as Jae-yeol spoke.
"Recon links with East Force. The op goal is reaching Christ the Redeemer safely. No need to indulge personal whims. Commander."
Hong Ga-yeon glared at Hammered, who scratched his head sheepishly.
"Oh, really? Haha. If Ga-yeon says so, East it is. Hahaha!"
Hammered, who hadn't budged for Jae-yeol, folded instantly at her word.
He grinned wide and slunk back to recon.
Even after he returned, they treated me like air.
Completely ignored.
'...'
I bided my time.
Insurbordinate subordinates need handling, but the Yone incident taught me something.
Sometimes...
The stick works better than the carrot.
Five minutes later, recon headed out to Rio.
The city center was a wreck.
There were way more zombies than expected, and no survivors.
Fires burned everywhere, and bombed-out buildings lay in ruins.
The path to Christ the Redeemer was clearly going to be rough.
I climbed a tree to scout around.
"Hey, doesn't it seem like Hong Ga-yeon likes me too?"
"Looked like she was already smitten, Sergeant."
"Ha. Yoon Ah-young's great, but Hong Ga-yeon's on another level. From the top 20 clans, gorgeous, killer body. And current rank 1."
"You two would be perfect together."
"Right? Hahaha!!"
They weren't scouting the battlefield—just bullshitting among themselves.
And smoking cigarettes to boot.
Cigarettes are banned in combat zones.
Monsters can smell the smoke and swarm.
Especially for a recon unit.
I climbed down from the tree.
"...We should head through the underground highway. Ground level's clogged with zombie herds—breakthrough's impossible."
I explained as politely as possible, but they half-assed listening.
I tried again.
"Hey. XO?"
"Ah, yeah, yeah. What'd you say?"
"Said we should take the underground highway. There's an entrance 300 meters ahead."
"Nah~ That won't work. Underground's a dense area—more zombies there."
Wrong call.
Most Rio civilians had fled on foot rather than using the underground highways.
Rio's defenses were lax, but pre-op intel showed the underground had fewer zombies.
"Recon leader. I've got more experience. Follow my lead."
"But Rio's defenses were lax, so..."
"Ugh, here we go again."
Hammered put his hand on my shoulder.
"Listen to me, okay? You're just a first-year, you don't get it yet. Command when you're officially commissioned. Trust my experience here. Gotta get good scores for the platoon leader too, right?"
"..."
More experience?
What a joke.
Hammered making sergeant at 24 meant maybe 2-3 real ops at best.
Me? Counting past lives, over 100 battlefields.
All hellish, learned through blood and guts.
I knew how to survive the battlefield.
This punk still thought it was just training.
"Alright. We'll hop buildings. Hey! Sam. Got the wires?"
"Yes, XO."
"Head to rooftops, zip between them with wires. Got it, team~?"
"Yes!"
Wire traversal.
Something first-years hadn't learned yet.
A normal first-year would fail there.
Hammered planned this to boot me out fast and take over.
Lame.
I couldn't hold back anymore.
Disobeying a superior on the battlefield meant summary execution under hunter law.
Pfft.
I snorted, and Hammered scowled.
"...Huh? Leader. This is the battlefield. Why laugh?"
"'Cause this is bullshit."
I unleashed my mana.
Roarrr-!!
Flame Pillar
I enclosed the area in pillars of flame.
As the flames engulfed us, the recon team panicked.
I'd referenced Yoon Seo-hyun's flame prison from before.
"Wh-What the hell!"
"What are you doing!!"
"Hey!!!"
Hammered grabbed my collar.
I let him.
"...Finally showing your true colors, huh? You traitorous shit. Betraying allies? You kid."
I said nothing, just gripped his wrist.
Hammered was strong.
But nothing compared to Mitsuda.
I yanked his wrist.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Hammered screamed bloody murder as he slammed into the ground.
The recon team freaked out seeing their leader floored in an instant.
I keyed the radio.
"Whew. HQ, this is Recon. HQ respond."
"HQ responding."
I spoke calmly.
"Recon here. 0632 hours. Engaged enemy. Six out of seven down, excluding leader Kang Tae-hyun. Confirm pickups."
"......Haa. Confirm pickups."
Lee Jae-yeol sighed heavily.
I clipped the radio to my vest.
"Wh-Wh-What???"
"...Eek... psycho!"
"Y-You're joking, right?"
I shoved my hands in my pockets.
And said softly,
"Giving you 10 seconds. Hit the dirt."
"..."
"..."
The recon team glanced at each other.
I repeated,
"Said 10 seconds. Hit the dirt."
"Damn it! What the hell is this!!!"
One recon member charged me.
He swung his sword, but it was child's play.
Clang!
I easily parried his blade.
Then slit his throat.
Slash!
"Gahh...!"
Scout Member 03. 06:36. Death by bleeding.
Warped to elimination room.
The throat-slashed recon member warped to the elimination lounge.
He'd feel the pain.
But he wouldn't die.
Yoon Ji-yeon had taught me well.
For unruly colts, it's the whip, not the carrot.
A unit without command always gets wiped.
I said again,
"Last chance. Hit the dirt."
(To be continued in the next chapter)