39. Explosions, Roars, and Booms. (1)

“Ouch, it’s cramped.”

The SOC-R Riverine, a military boat, was of a size that was both large and small.

With two 10-meter boats, each carrying four basic crew members, the special forces team, and the U.S. special operations team, it was so cramped that even a slight movement of the arm would bump into someone else.

The words “it’s cramped” slipped out naturally.

The Riverine was slowly making its way up the river at a reduced speed.

On one side was farmland.

On the other side were forests and mountains.

It felt like the things in those trees and bushes were still watching us.

“Have all the monsters in the river come out?”

Seong Ga-yeon, sitting behind me, asked.

I shook my head.

“I don’t think so. Considering the ones Captain Park flushed out when we came, only half of them must have climbed out last night.”

I raised my head and looked at the distant river.

I couldn’t see through the water.

It was just muddy water.

“It’s still teeming with them. Down there.”

Seong Gyu-hyuk, sitting next to me, said quietly,

“The monsters slow down in the water, which is fortunate.”

Should I be glad, or not?

I’d rather just blow their heads off if possible.

I can’t swim, so I can’t go into the water.

“Still, will the U.S. commander keep his promise?”

I turned to Seong Gyu-hyuk.

How would I know?

How can I read someone’s mind?

If he goes back on his word, I’ll just cut his throat and kill all 400 of them, or whatever.

I said quietly,

“He should. Otherwise, he’ll have to fight me.”

A smile appeared on Seong Gyu-hyuk’s lips.

The U.S. commander’s words flashed through my mind.

“A Chinook’s worth. 10 tons of small arms, ammunition, explosives, and support weapons. How does that sound?”

10 tons.

It’s like suddenly having 10 tons of weapons and ammunition, which is equivalent to several duffel bags.

The U.S. commander added a few words.

“As you know, what we can take is limited to what we can load onto the Chinook. There’s a lot of food and combat vehicles left here, including various additives for ground and aviation fuel. We’ll hand all of that over too.”

…Aviation fuel.

It’s something we desperately need.

“What about the civilians?”

Seong Ga-yeon asked.

The U.S. commander looked somewhat troubled and bowed his head.

“That’s a difficult part for us too. We can’t take them to the U.S., and we can’t leave them here almost unarmed. What would you suggest?”

I looked at Seong Ga-yeon and Seong Gyu-hyuk in turn.

None of us had a clear plan.

In the end, I could only suggest a compromise.

“Let’s talk about it after the operation is successful.”

“Agreed. Wise decision.”

And I shook hands with the U.S. commander.

About 20 people from our mart building.

And about 200 from Seo-rae Village.

Small arms, heavy weapons, support weapons, and various explosives and ammunition, totaling 10 tons of firepower.

It’s more than enough firepower.

With this, we could probably unleash enough firepower to sweep away a zombie wave like the one we faced before.

With several military bases still available in South Korea, 10 tons is more than enough for defense and growth.

The problem is the beasts.

Without knowing how strong they are, it’s hard to gauge if 10 tons of firepower is enough.

We’ll just have to face them and see.

While thinking about this, I looked at the passing scenery and asked quietly,

“Where are we going?”

“We’re heading to the bat cave,” Seong Gyu-hyuk translated.

I turned to Seong Gyu-hyuk.

“Bat cave?”

Seong Gyu-hyuk nodded.

“They say the boar leader roams the entire mountain range. Other beasts follow it as if they revere it. To lure it to the river, we need to find it first, but it’s risky to penetrate too deep into the forest to find a beast whose location is uncertain.”

“…Ah.”

I nodded.

“So, the only one whose location is certain is the giant bat, which is holed up in a cave.”

“That’s right. It’s also our top priority.”

The U.S. commander said we need to take out the bat first before sending the Chinook.

I slowly nodded and looked at the distant mountain.

…A boar.

Roaming the entire vast mountain and forest?

We need to deal with it too.

“Can’t we just fly a plane and drop bombs?”

As I muttered while looking at the mountain, Seong Gyu-hyuk answered,

“The pilots are all dead. Only eight Chinook pilots survived.”

I clicked my tongue.

What a shame.

It would have been great to bomb the entire mountain with a bomber.

The Chinook could do it, but as a helicopter, it’s slower than a bomber.

If a swarm of bats comes out, it might be hard to fend them off.

“Why did only the Chinook pilots survive?”

“The surviving pilots rushed to the fighters to respond to the initial outbreak and were almost all captured. A few survived even in that situation, but some committed suicide when their families turned, and others were infected and died in the first day or two.”

Seong Gyu-hyuk slowly shook his head and said,

“The Chinook pilots were playing poker in Hangar 3 when the outbreak started. They closed the door immediately and survived.”

“There were other Chinook pilots too, right?”

“Yes. There were over twenty, but only eight are left. Essentially, we can’t expect any air support.”

I slowly nodded.

No air support.

…So, we’ll just have to do it.

I’ve never fought with support from anyone else anyway.

By the way, Special Forces Commander Seong Gyu-hyuk.

You know a lot about the internal situation.

…Ah.

You must have talked a lot with that young U.S. soldier.

So, you gathered a lot of information.

Natural information gathering.

That’s what a special forces commander does.

The Riverine boats slowly made their way up the river.

After passing by houses and reaching a curved hill, they finally changed direction.

They slowly turned around and headed in the opposite direction, toward the hill where the city was visible in the distance.

“We’ve arrived, it seems.”

As I muttered, Seong Ga-yeon, sitting behind me, tapped my back and pointed to the distant mountain.

The peaks and valleys where the ridges meet.

There, a black hole, as if carved out by a giant spoon, was gaping open.

It would be impossible to create something like that even if someone tried.

Did the bats really dig this?

How hasn’t it collapsed?

The U.S. special operations team members each carried two weapons and disembarked from the boat. They climbed a small hill in front.

They took positions on the highest points, such as rocks and boulders, and shouldered their weapons.

…Anti-tank rockets.

Seong Gyu-hyuk smiled and said,

“AT-4. Not bad.”

One of the U.S. soldiers holding an anti-tank rocket said,

“Fire.”

At that moment, eight anti-tank rockets simultaneously burst forth, spewing flames.

A thunderous boom shook the ground.

The river water splashed up from the shockwave.

At the same time, the leaves around us shook violently.

It was too fast to see.

It felt like afterimages were flashing by.

The deafening roar from the eight rockets firing at once made even the trained soldiers flinch.

Screeeech!

I turned to look at the cave.

A target at least 2 kilometers away.

The rockets struck their mark.

Inside the cave, above it, and to the sides.

With a thunderous roar, explosions collided, sending fragments and rocks flying.

Thud.

The sound of something hitting the ground.

Looking back, I saw the U.S. soldiers casually discarding the launchers they had just used and shouldering new anti-tank rockets.

The U.S. soldier said,

“Fire.”

Boom!

A piercing, ear-splitting sound ripped through the air with the flames.

The eight anti-tank rockets, seemingly straight but not quite, streaked toward the cave, still emitting thick smoke.

They struck the already damaged cave.

And the thunderous sound echoed.

Rocks fell, the cave collapsed, and the sound of explosions continued to reverberate.

The U.S. soldiers on the hill and rocks discarded their launchers and skillfully boarded the Riverine boats.

“Go, Go, Go!”

The special operations team member shouted after confirming all the U.S. soldiers were on board.

Vroom!

The engines of the two Riverine boats roared to life.

And at that moment, a monstrous roar echoed.

It was a sudden, high-pitched screech, like a baby’s cry, but also like a ringing in the ears.

The chilling sound reverberated through the mountains and rocks, enveloping us in an endless echo.

The crew members manning the heavy weapons on the Riverine boats aimed their guns at the cave, the source of the sound.

Simultaneously, the Riverine boats set off.

Vroom!

The cave, now shrouded in thick, gray smoke.

The cave, now unrecognizable, collapsed and shattered.

A black shadow obscured the smoke cloud.

And a tearing roar pushed the air away again.

The sound was so grating, I wanted to cover my ears.

“Gah.”

The faces of the U.S. soldiers and special forces team members twisted in pain.

The shadow that obscured the smoke cloud.

From it, black shapes began to rise into the sky like a swarm of locusts.

And then, it appeared.

Spread wings.

Torn, hole-ridden, rough leather wings.

A massive beast, overwhelming the collapsed cave, its wings flapping so powerfully that the smoke cloud swirled in a vortex.

The beast took to the sky.