episode_0258

The voice of the person shouting at the top of their lungs sounded familiar. Hearing the cry that they were breached, he immediately charged forward, which turned out to be a good decision. He managed to save the door by the skin of his teeth. Thanks to that, he was covered in blood and guts from the start. But it was lucky nonetheless. It goes without saying that fighting with the main gate wide open and fighting with it securely shut gives a completely different feeling. The outcome after the door breaks is already decided. Halfway through that process, his task was clear.

*Gasp!* He squeezed out strength as if吐ing up something bubbling deep within his gut. “Woooooooooooooooooah-!!” *Splat! Splat! Splat! Squish- squelch-* Dark blue blood splattered simultaneously from the ears of the zombies nearby. Immediately after, some zombies staggered, unable to control their bodies. *Thwack-!! Thud-! Thud!* *Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-!!* He rushed forward and swung the crowbar down. The moment a little more space was created, the zombies recognized him. *Screeeech-!!* “Hmph.” As if responding to him, the zombies let out vibrant roars. The resonance of their putrid, twisted vocal cords stimulated his skin. Their rotting eyeballs, previously aimlessly drawn, now turned towards him. They bared discolored teeth and extended thorny, stick-like arms. Though incomparable to mutated variants, the combined killing intent of the multitude struck him. All the creatures crashing against the front, sides, and walls rushed towards him.

*Whoosh-* He took a slight step back and straightened his waist. His knees were light, and he stood firm, slightly lowering his center of gravity. His right arm, holding the crowbar, relaxed smoothly and swung behind his back. His left hand loosely balled into a fist and was placed in an awkward position. It was the stance commonly known as the ‘back stance’. The moment he made a gesture that plainly stated he would smash their heads if they came closer. “*Shriek—*” *Rooooar-!* *Thud! Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-!!* He resumed the fight by swinging the crowbar at high speed. “Open fire-!!” *Bang-! Bang-bang-bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-!!* *Thwack-! Thud! Boom!* The sound of wind being cut through mixed with the relentless gunshots. Every time the crowbar struck down, zombies lost their heads and collapsed like bursting watermelons, spraying their contents generously into the air. *Squish! Thud! Thud!* Rotten blood splashed onto his face with every impact. New zombies rushing in, as if to fill the gaps, also became drenched. “*Screech—*” *Boom-!* *Splatter-* Bone fragments and blood splattered and drenched them, but the creatures seemed only to be stimulated. Their eyes, covered in a white film, glinted stickily. Bony, twisted arms flailed towards him. They rushed forward, pushed from behind. The zombies bumped shoulders and squeezed past each other, approaching him. Amidst it all, the torn, flapping flesh made him wince.

“*Gasp!*” *Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-!!* In contrast to the enraged zombies, his mind grew calm. But conversely, his body was slowly beginning to heat up. He stood firm to defend the door, but his legs longed to move. If he lost control, it felt like he would break free and rampage. He focused his mind and held his ground steadfastly. His arm, swinging without pause, felt lighter and lighter. *Thwack-!* His grip on the crowbar was so overflowing with strength it felt like he could crush it. *Whoosh-!* The more he moved, the lighter his body became. *Thump- thump-* He felt the blood inside his body pulsating rapidly, intensely. *Crunch!* A surge of passion rose, feeling as though he couldn’t control his overflowing power. “Hmph!” *Whoosh-!* *Bang!* The sound of the crowbar cutting through the air became sharper. Amidst the dull thuds, a strangely clear, ringing sound erupted. *Boom-!* The moment the crowbar swung and struck, a faint shockwave burst forth. The zombie struck surely exploded. And its ruined body was pushed back. *Thwack-thwack! Bang! Thud-! Boom-!* Exploding and pushing back, he created a gap. A gap created as wide as his arm length plus the 1m length of the crowbar. *Bang! Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack! Bang! Bang!* Zombies that had lost their senses and blindly charged seemed like moving targets. Therefore, there was no difficulty in aiming for their exposed vital points. So he swung wildly without hesitation. *Splat! Bang! Splat!* When a faint shockwave burst, two or three zombies to the left and right fell simultaneously. If the distance tried to close, he would strike their torsos, making them burst and pushing them back. Exploding, knocking down, and pushing back. The gap he carved out became an area. Below it, piles of dismembered body fragments, losing their limbs, began to stack up. As many as rushed in. As many as he attacked. Before him, a grotesque, fan-shaped space was created, strewn with corpses.

*Thud-! Clang!* “……” Was it due to accumulated impact, or was it unable to withstand his strength? The crowbar, crafted from solid iron, couldn’t hold up and was about to break. *Clatter-!* The moment he abruptly threw the dangling crowbar. *Bang! Bang-bang-bang!* A barrage of bullets rained down on the zombies charging near him. “Seonghan! Support him! Support that person! Over there! Watch out!!” Thanks to Sergeant Kim’s covering fire, a brief opening appeared. He quickly pulled out a crowbar from his inventory and began swinging it again. *Thud! Thud-thud! Bang! Snap-!* ‘Damn it.’ As soon as he swung it, the crowbar rattled. He threw the crowbar at the charging zombie, then swiftly pulled out another and swung it. *Snap!* And it broke. It was truly as the saying goes, ‘The first stroke is the best stroke.’ [a saying about initial luck being misleading] The first crowbar he had swung without much thought had actually performed quite well. *Thud! Snap- Bang! Crack-* His hands became busier as crowbars kept breaking after only a few uses. The zombie horde he had been slowly pushing back began to press forward again. “……” Whenever he tried to swing, his weapon wouldn’t hold up. If he tried to make a big impact, there was no gap, and they were too close. He wanted to unleash a minigun barrage, but again, they were too close. It was frustrating. Striking down and breaking crowbars repeated endlessly. His irritation surged as the flow was constantly interrupted. He wanted to move, but the moment he left his spot, the door would be breached. The situation remained stagnant, unable to move either way.

‘The situation is…’ On the temporary wall, everyone was struggling under Sergeant Kim’s command. Zombies clung to the wide temporary wall, snarling. Humans, relying on the crude wall, were holding on with all their might. Honestly, it was amazing that it hadn’t broken through yet. If not for the advantage of height, disaster would have struck long ago. He rolled his eyes while relentlessly exploding and pushing back zombies. ‘Is there some way to create a gap…’ *Thwack-!!* ‘Shit!’ There was no time to think for now. Even in that brief moment, zombies were surging forward, and corpses piled up, adding height around his feet. ‘……’ In front of him, forming a semicircle, a dike of corpses had piled up. Like sandbags, the accumulating corpses grew higher little by little. Just as the zombies began to step on the corpses and overwhelm them from above. *Boom-!* *Rooooar!* *Thwack-!!* He took a large step forward and struck the dike of corpses. With a roar like an explosion, rotten chunks of flesh shot into the air and then soon fell like hail. The moment his frontal view cleared up. “Sergeant Kim-nim!” “Fire immediately!” From the shouts behind him, he knew something was ready. And then, the sound of gunfire that followed was… *Plop- plop- plop-* A cute sound, like something from a child’s toy, was heard, and a moment later. *Boom-! Bang!! Boom-!!* He briefly saw flesh flying up with significant explosions. “Keep firing! Break their flow!” He hadn’t heard properly due to exploding the charging zombies, but the cute sound was heard multiple times. And then again, a moment later… *Boom- Boom! Boom-! Boom!* Compared to the adorable firing sound, the effect was definite. Explosions, powerful enough to make one wonder if small bombs had detonated, burst one after another. Each time an explosion occurred, zombies fell within a small radius. When these areas concentrated and overlapped, the destructive power was not to be underestimated. The grenade launcher, which appeared belatedly, certainly did its part. Soon after, the soldiers, having gauged the distance, narrowed the firing range to a certain distance. Still, many zombies charged. He was somehow holding the immediate vicinity, but the number wasn’t decreasing instantly. He furiously swung the crowbar to fend off the zombies, and the dike of corpses grew higher once more. He instantly burst the dike, which had piled up to his height, again, and then…

“Mutant detected! Mutant detecteeeed-!!” “Where?!” “12 o’clock direction! Approx. 180 distance!!” “Found it! Grenade ready!!!!” He couldn’t turn to look because he was focused on what was right in front of him, making him curious. At that moment, wondering if it was a command variant. “Fire!” *Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-* *Boom! KABOOOM-!* ‘Wow~’ A feast of powerful explosions glimpsed through the gaps in the zombies. The concentrated explosion at one point was incredible. With that much firepower, even a mutant must have been annihilated. “2 o’clock direction! One more!” Whether due to good eyesight, the soldier found another mutant and… “Fire-!!” At Sergeant Kim’s hoarse order, the grenade launchers fired once more. *Boom-! Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang! KABLAM-!* The moment the explosions ended, he felt the zombies’ momentum change. ‘So that was the one?’ As the zombies became disoriented, they became easier to deal with. They still surged forward like a tide, but they weren’t as fierce. The soldiers seemed to feel it too, as he could sense them exerting more effort. Perhaps that was why he felt their morale soaring from the gunfire on the temporary wall. In any case, the enraged humans pressed the attack, riding the momentum. They dislodged the zombies clinging to the temporary wall and slowly began pushing them back from the wall. Thanks to the zombies being disoriented, the number of zombies rushing at him also decreased. Even though only two mutants had been dealt with, the situation immediately turned around. There were still many zombies, but their numbers rapidly dwindled.

‘……’ The resistance of well-positioned and prepared humans was fierce. Firearms spitting fire without pause turned approaching zombies into Swiss cheese. The moment they felt they had pushed them back, a line of corpses was drawn at a certain distance. *Thwack-!!* After the last zombie that had charged at him fell, there were no standing zombies in the immediate vicinity. The soldiers, having successfully pushed the zombies back to about 20 meters from the wall, regained some composure and defended smoothly. “*Phew~*” He sighed in relief and let the tattered crowbar drop to the ground. He didn’t know how many he had gone through during the fight. He brushed off the blood on his body, watching the zombies being torn apart by the numerous humans. ‘…This is a headache.’ Whether it was a tool or any other weapon, it couldn’t withstand being swung. Especially since even a crowbar, considered the sturdiest, was like this… It was no time to be happy about having acquired powerful firearms. Even if he wanted to use them, in a situation like today, he couldn’t even take them out. He felt the necessity to devise a method now, as he hadn’t even been able to touch a shotgun or anything similar. Even as he pondered this, the gunshots didn’t cease. The rapidly dwindling numbers of zombies slowly neared their end. The roadway leading to the iron gate was filled with corpses. ‘Ugh, damn it…’ As he registered that sight, a pungent stench assaulted his nostrils. The stench, seeped into him from head to toe, made him shudder. Just as he wondered what to do, the last zombie in front of him fell. “We won!!!!” *Whooooaah-!!* Starting with someone’s shout, cheers of victory erupted. “F*ck yeah-! We won-!” “*Whistle- whistle-*” “Aaaahhh!!” Chaos erupted on the temporary wall. High-fiving, whistling—the atmosphere was intense in a different way. ‘How many were there?’ He understood the feeling. They had almost died when the door was breached, and the number of zombies was immense. To defeat tens of times their number with merely dozens of people was an incredible achievement. Those who won an overwhelmingly disadvantageous battle were more than qualified to rejoice.

“Seonghan-nim!! Are you alright?!” Turning around, he saw Sergeant Kim waving and calling out to him. ‘Why does his face look like that?’ He waved back very warmly, but he flinched at Sergeant Kim’s utterly exhausted face. It seemed like the work was very tough, and the newly joining people might just… “…!” *Swish-* He frowned and slowly walked forward. *Thump—* He had hoped he was mistaken, but it seemed he was right. A raw, viscous sensation faintly felt from afar. And then… *Thump-thump-thump—* The sound of disordered footsteps slowly grew audible. *Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—* “Everyone, quiet!” Sergeant Kim, too, seemed to have sensed it, and his voice boomed, suppressing the atmosphere. At that moment. *Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—* Hordes of running zombies appeared at the end of the roadway. Some, unable to control their speed, tripped and were trampled and burst on the spot. The suddenly appearing zombies instantly filled the roadway and charged forward. He couldn’t help but utter a word at the insane sight. “…Oh, damn it…” “Second wave incoming!!! Prepare for battleeeeee!!!” At Sergeant Kim’s completely hoarse voice, rough curses erupted from atop the temporary wall. Yet, people swiftly hastened their preparations for battle. He clucked his tongue and glared straight ahead with a displeased look. “I knew it ended too quickly….” Following Sergeant Kim’s order, he also opened his inventory and prepared for battle. Wave 2 was beginning.