39. Explosions, Roars, and Booms. (2)

The sky was turning black with the swarm of bats, which began to spread out.

A massive beast, as if composed of all the bats combined, glided through the air with its wings spread wide.

My eardrums were shaken.

The beast’s roar pushed back the entire mountain and forest.

I felt like I would be knocked over by the sound.

And then, the mountain roared.

The beast’s cry echoed through the entire mountain, as if answering, resisting, and warning.

Just as the human beasts barked when they attacked me, the beasts in the mountain barked back.

The Riverine boats cut through the water fiercely, racing down the river.

And then, the bats began to fly toward us.

They were fast.

Incredibly fast.

The gunners on the Riverine boats, armed with miniguns, M2, and M240, aimed their weapons at the black sky filled with bats.

Then, the bushes moved.

The forest and bushes rippled like a wave.

Growl, growl!

With barks and roars, a shadowy wave pushed back the sunlight and began to descend the mountain.

“Fire!”

The minigun gunner shouted, and all the gunners on the two Riverine boats responded, pulling the triggers simultaneously.

The special forces and special operations team members also raised their personal weapons and fired into the sky.

A field of flames bloomed on the 10-meter-long Riverine boats.

A rain of bullets shot out in all directions.

It wasn’t a single gunshot.

It sounded like a swarm of bees.

Whizz, whizz!

Whizz, whizz!

My eardrums were shaken.

I gritted my teeth and looked up at the sky.

The bats, flying toward us, were pierced and torn apart by the countless bullets, falling to the ground in pieces.

The driver of the Riverine boat shouted,

“Three O’Clock! Three O’Clock!”

The gunners on the left side of the Riverine boats turned their guns toward the forest.

The bushes rippled.

A wave was approaching.

It reached the riverbank!

Whizz, whizz!

The miniguns and M2 spewed flames, showering the area with a rain of bullets.

Clank, clank, clank!

Spent casings fell like a shower of coins.

Crack! Scream! Roar!

Roars and screams echoed from the forest.

Grass, branches, blood, and flesh flew into the air.

Bullets ripped through trees, sending fragments flying in all directions.

A cocktail of water spray, wood fragments, grass, and explosions hit my face.

My whole body tingled.

I spat and turned around.

The bats, which couldn’t even approach while we were concentrating our firepower, were slowly closing in.

The wave from the forest was also surging forward, overtaking the Riverine boats.

And then, the beasts burst out of the forest.

Roar!

Huge beasts leaped out and charged toward the riverbank.

Their massive bodies splashed the water, sending fountains of spray into the air like explosions.

“Shit!”

The boat driver cursed and sharply turned the wheel.

The Riverine boats, which had been racing down the middle of the river, dramatically cut through the water, drifting to the opposite riverbank.

At the same time, the gunners stumbled.

Some fell over.

“Hold on tight! Don’t fall off!”

Seong Gyu-hyuk shouted.

I grabbed Seong Ga-yeon’s hand and tightly gripped the handle on the boat’s floor.

I couldn’t tell if someone was screaming or not.

Too many sounds were mixed together.

Once the boat regained its balance, I lifted my head.

Bats were chasing us from behind.

Beasts were coming from the front.

…They were packs of dogs.

The same ones we encountered in the village.

At least twenty of them!

I let go of Seong Ga-yeon’s hand and pulled out an Ingram from my thigh.

I couldn’t let go of the handle on the floor.

If I did, I’d be thrown off the boat, which was constantly swerving.

The bats chasing us from behind still had some distance.

But in front of us…

We would soon collide with the dogs entering the river from a distance.

They weren’t going to let us pass.

I extended the Ingram between the gunners and aimed at the beasts.

A transparent circle appeared in front of my eyes.

Damn, the boat is too shaky.

I might hit the minigun gunner’s leg in the bow.

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue and turned to extend the Ingram backward.

The bats flying from the sky could be controlled with this…

At that moment, an earthquake erupted.

An earthquake?!

No.

It was a sound!

A sound that shook the entire mountain.

Roar!

A sound that seemed to tear my ears, echoing in all directions.

A sound that even our heavy machine guns, which sounded like a swarm of bees, couldn’t overpower.

And then, a massive shape was revealed as trees crashed down.

It looked like an entire hill was moving.

Leaving a massive shadow, it leaped into the distant river.

Scream! Scream!

The monster dogs roared in the river.

Or rather, they were screaming.

They fiercely attacked the water, splashing it violently.

The massive beast’s mouth opened wide.

It was too big to call it a mouth.

Like an alligator, it stretched and opened, tearing its neck.

It looked like a black pig, but I had never seen a pig that vicious.

The master of the mountain.

The monster wild boar.

It created a massive wave when it leaped into the river.

And the wave became a tidal wave, engulfing us.

“Fuck!”

The Riverine boats, which had been racing close to the riverbank, collided with the tidal wave.

“Gah!”

Both Riverine boats were pushed onto the shore by the tidal wave.

The U.S. soldiers and special forces members tumbled and rolled in the mud.

“Phew!”

I lifted my head, covered in mud and water.

The team members were scattered around the riverbank.

I wiped the mud from my eyes.

Looking down, I saw that the Riverine boats had been pushed to a position where they couldn’t navigate the river.

I gritted my teeth and stood up.

“Shit!”

A minigun gunner was pinned under the Riverine boat, screaming.

I had to save him!

I ran through the mud toward the U.S. soldiers and looked up at the sky.

The bats were coming.

Damn, they’re here!

I raised the Ingram.

I can’t kill them all with this!

Just as I was about to grab another Ingram with my other hand, a loud sound came from behind me.

Whizz, whizz!

A beam of light-like fire covered the sky, striking the incoming bats.

Scream! Scream!

Bats as big as humans, with their wings torn and legs severed, disintegrated in mid-air and fell to the ground.

I took a deep breath and turned around.

The U.S. base!

We were right in front of it!

From the roofs of the barracks at the U.S. base, over a dozen miniguns, M2s, and personal weapons were firing a rain of bullets, creating a wall of fire that blocked the bats from approaching.

“Phew!”

I exhaled and immediately grabbed the floor of the Riverine boat with one hand.

Then, I lifted my entire body and pulled it up.

“Gah!”

Crunch.

My teeth were grinding.

Can they hear this?

It’s so damn heavy!

As I struggled, a U.S. soldier and a special forces member ran to my sides and helped lift the Riverine boat.

Seong Ga-yeon ran over and pulled the pinned U.S. soldier out.

The soldier, who had been trapped, struggled and pushed against the ground.

And finally, he was free.

“Run! Run to the base!”

After pulling him out, they struck.

This was part of the plan.

Unexpected situations can always arise during an operation.

But, all three leaders emerging at once…

No one could have predicted this.

Did provoking one leader also provoke the others?

Who would have known?

Several injuries occurred when the boats were pushed and overturned.

The special forces and special operations team members carried the injured on their shoulders and supported them, running together toward the base.

Whizz, whizz!

Whizz, whizz!

With the support fire from the base, I held an Ingram in each hand and ran after the team.

The fire from over a dozen miniguns, heavy machine guns, and personal weapons was quite powerful.

No need to worry about the bats…

Boom!

Crack, crack! Snap!

A loud, chilling sound came from the right.

The massive monster in the river.

The leader wild boar was eating the dogs.

The giant Jindo dog, leading the pack, was climbing onto the boar’s back and biting it, but it was no match.

The size difference was too great.

Crunch, crack!

The sound of bones being chewed.

The massive wild boar, which could easily move in the water, bit and chewed the dogs in one go.

Boom!

It roared.

And then, it plunged its head into the water.

The giant Jindo dog, which had been biting the boar’s neck, was dragged into the river.

I watched the scene as I ran.

A fight between monsters.

Crazy!

A moment later, the water bulged like a whale surfacing, and the massive beast raised its head.

Water spray flew in all directions.

It seemed to be trying to scoop out the entire river.

The severed limbs of half-eaten human beasts flew through the air with the water spray.

Crack!

The sound of bones being chewed.

Pushing the water away with its arm, it raised its head.

The monster wild boar was chewing and biting the giant Jindo dog.

Crunch!

Crack!

With each bite, the monster wild boar’s body bulged.

Its muscles swelled as if they would burst.

The beast’s size began to grow even more.

…What a crazy bastard.

The beast, chewing on the dog, lowered its head.

The massive, black eyes.

They looked at me.

I looked back at it.

A shiver ran down my spine.

And my heart began to race.

Yes.

Did it see me?

Come on.

I’ll kill you.

A smile crept onto my face without me realizing it.