39. Explosions, Roars, and Booms. (3)

Whizz, whizz!

The heavy machine guns on the roof of the barracks were blocking the bats from approaching.

Running through the mud, I followed the backs of the soldiers, the special forces commander, and Seong Ga-yeon, all while keeping my eyes on the monster wild boar.

Whizz, whizz!

The monster wild boar turned its head sharply.

Damn, its head alone is the size of a one-ton truck.

Such a massive beast!

My heart was racing.

The boar shook its black fur all over its body.

Then, it raised its mouth and roared.

Roar!

I gritted my teeth.

I looked around.

The U.S. barracks.

The building from which the heavy machine guns were firing, creating a wall of fire.

The flashing light and gunfire caught the boar’s attention.

It lowered its head.

Splash!

A fountain of water spray shot up.

It was about to charge.

I placed my finger on the trigger of the Ingram.

I alternated my gaze between the boar and the barracks.

The U.S. barracks.

The monster wild boar.

And me.

This triangle was a distance I couldn’t possibly cover in time, no matter how fast I ran.

Roar!

The monster wild boar raised its head.

And it began to charge across the river, cutting through the water and sending fragments of the human beasts on the riverbed flying with the water.

Crazy!

If that monster crashes into the building, everyone there will die!

Speed up!

[Automatic Activation: Speed Boost]

The first time I activated the speed boost today.

The air waves left by the people running ahead of me.

The breeze blowing from a distance.

The shockwaves left by the boar’s roar.

All of these merged, making the world in front of me waver like jelly.

The boar, cutting through the river, sending fragments of human beasts and water flying, was slowly charging toward the barracks.

I ran toward the center between the boar and the barracks.

The slowed-down special forces members, Seong Ga-yeon, and U.S. special operations team members passed by my left and right, trailing behind.

The sound of mud being stepped on echoed with each step.

Splash, splash!

I emerged from the crowd blocking my view.

Now, in front of me, a vast field of farmland.

Crossing the field, I extended my arms.

A transparent circle appeared at the front of the Ingram.

Left circle, right circle.

The monster wild boar was so massive that it could only be fully captured by combining both circles, even from a distance.

The boar glowed red.

Dozens, no, hundreds of red lights spread across its body in pastel tones.

I gritted my teeth.

Grind.

And I pulled the trigger.

Click, click, click, click.

The bullets spiraled out of the barrel, cutting through the air.

The spiraling bullets passed by me.

The air spiraled and spread as I pulled the trigger until the magazine was empty.

Click, click, click, click.

Magazine!

I stopped, stomping the ground, and immediately removed the magazine.

At the same time, I grabbed a new magazine from my thigh and replaced it.

The two magazines slowly spun in the air.

I grabbed one and clipped it to my thigh, then firmly gripped both Ingrams.

The monster wild boar, emerging from the river.

Its front legs touched the land.

Its hind legs were about to touch the ground.

I immediately ran forward, extending my arms.

Transparent circle.

I pulled the trigger.

Click, click, click, click.

The sound of wet footsteps and the Ingram firing.

The air spiraling and spreading.

And the slow noise of the heavy machine guns.

While running and pulling, I realized.

I couldn’t reach in time.

I couldn’t stop the boar from crashing into the building.

But, I had to do as much damage as possible!

Damage!

Click, click, click, click.

I emptied two magazines in one go, replaced them with new ones, and extended the Ingrams.

The boar was already pushing off with its hind legs.

I don’t know how many times I’ve used the speed boost.

I just kept running and firing.

This is the last magazine.

And finally.

My bullets began to penetrate the boar’s body.

Neck, jaw, eyes, front legs, hind legs, abdomen, and thighs.

My bullets rained down on it like a storm.

I kept pulling the trigger.

Click, click, click, click.

While running.

It’s still too far.

Too far.

A bit more.

If I could just run a bit faster.

Run faster!

Roar!

The monster wild boar, hit, roared.

And it pushed off the ground, leaping forward.

Momentarily.

Even in the speed boost, the boar’s image blurred like an afterimage.

It was incredibly fast.

Click, click, click, click.

…The magazine is empty.

…There’s nothing left.

I ran as hard as I could, simultaneously clipping the Ingram to my thigh.

A bow, at least.

I have to shoot this…!

Just as I was about to grab the bow, the boar’s head, charging at incredible speed, collided with the barracks.

And the speed boost ended.

“Huh!”

Damn!

While cursing in my mind, the boar’s head crushed the barracks and pushed in.

Boom, crash!

The walls and pillars collapsed instantly, and the boar fell over.

The sound of the collapse echoed like thunder.

Screech!

It screamed as it fell.

The broken bricks and pillar fragments instantly created a cloud of smoke.

Whoosh!

I drew the bow.

[Level increased by 3.]

Forget the message!

That’s not important right now!

While running and drawing an arrow, a question flashed through my mind.

The monster wild boar.

The way it screamed and fell was strange.

The 180 bullets I just fired.

They all hit the weak spots.

The left side of the boar was almost completely destroyed.

That’s why.

I gritted my teeth and, while running, nocked an arrow to the bow.

Arrows.

Though slower than a gun, they can definitely hit the weak spots.

Just as I was about to draw the string, a corner of the barracks split and collapsed.

Crumble!

The U.S. soldiers on the roof were instantly swept away and fell below.

And I realized.

I stopped.

The heavy machine guns on the roof stopped firing.

Was it from shock?

Or from the impact of the building collapsing?

Whatever the reason, at this moment, no one was pulling the trigger.

Everyone was staring at the collapsed side.

“Seong-hun!”

A woman’s voice.

Who’s shouting?

Ah, Seong Ga-yeon.

Why are you shouting?

I glanced back while running.

And at that moment, the sky turned black.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Just as I was about to lift my head, something tightly gripped my body.

I couldn’t breathe!

“Gah!”

I dropped the bow I was holding.

Whoosh!

The sound of a tent flapping in a typhoon.

The ground suddenly seemed far away.

People instantly became tiny.

I could see the roof of the building!

“Gah!”

My stomach hurt.

I looked down at my stomach, which was being clawed by thick claws.

Turning around, the first thing I saw was black fur.

Each strand was like a rope.

And then,

Whoosh!

A fierce wind blew my hair.

My body swayed and bent.

“Gah!”

It felt like I was being sucked into the sky.

With each flap of its wings, it seemed to rise tens of meters.

I lifted my head, forcing my eyelids open against the wind.

I saw it.

The massive bat, holding me in its grip.

So massive, it seemed to block out the entire sky.

Whoosh!

“Gah!”

My body bent.

The claws dug into my stomach.

“I…!”

I gritted my teeth, grabbed the foot holding me, and pulled with all my might.

Crack!

A chunk of scaly skin was torn off.

It’s tearing!

I looked at the blood droplets from my stomach, which were falling far below, and continued to pull at the bat’s foot.

Squish!

At that moment, the bat, which had been flying endlessly into the sky, twisted its body.

My body was flung in all directions, bending this way and that.

I couldn’t control my body!

I gripped the bat’s claws and gritted my teeth.

Hold on!

I have to hold on!

Then, my body was suddenly lifted up.

I instinctively turned around.

The bat had opened its mouth.

The bat roared.

Screech!

My ears felt like they were going to burst.

I gritted my teeth and endured the bat’s roar.

The bat’s mouth, which had opened wide, suddenly seemed to expand.

The countless teeth protruding from the palate.

I instinctively extended my hand and grabbed the teeth.

And I lifted my foot and stomped on the bat’s lower jaw.

“Crunch!”

Are you going to eat me?

The bat roared.

Screech!

I felt like I was being pushed by the sound.

I really feel like I’m losing my mind.

Grind!

An unpleasant feeling rose from my chest.

“Phew!”

I couldn’t breathe.

The bat had gripped me so hard that my ribs were broken.

“Cough!”

Gulp.

The metallic taste of blood instantly spread in my mouth.

Red blood gushed from my mouth.

The bat tried to close its mouth.

My arms and legs trembled.

Grind.

My chest felt like it was going to explode.

The claws dug into my stomach.

It hurt.

I lowered my trembling arm.

And, gritting my teeth, I said,

“Do you think I’m going to die…!”

With one hand gripping the bat’s teeth,

and one foot stomping on its jaw,

I drew my sword and threw it.

From my fingertips, from the corners of my eyes, from my arms, legs, and body, afterimages gathered and shot out.

Swish!

The shadow warrior gripped my sword.

I commanded.

Kill it.

The shadow warrior, who had appeared while I was gripping, immediately extended its hand and grabbed the bat’s whiskers.

Then, it began to slash and stab the bat’s jaw at an incredible speed, leaping and spinning.

Stab, slice, stab.

Blood and flesh flew in all directions.

The monster bat’s jaw began to tremble.

I could clearly feel it.

I wasn’t the one trembling.

The bat was trembling.

Screech!

The bat raised its wings.

And it flapped them.

It soared even higher into the sky.

My body swayed.

A dull feeling rose within me.

It felt like I was electrocuted.

“Gah!”

Grind!

My ribs broke again.

I gritted my teeth and held on.

Cut, cut it off!

Cut this thing off!

Don’t let it rise any higher!

The shadow warrior, who had been stabbing the bat’s head, hesitated.

The shadow warrior, stepping on the bat’s exposed brain, leaped onto its back.

I couldn’t see it.

I could only hear the sound.

The sound of the shadow warrior slicing and cutting the monster bat’s back.