#063
“Let’s start moving again,” Han Cheolyong said as he stood up, dusting himself off. The team members immediately followed suit and got to their feet.
Everyone’s appearance was a mess, covered in green blood and small bits of flesh from head to toe. But with their lives and the risk of a gate break at stake, no one paid attention to their appearance or the stench.
The mountain climb resumed. The dense trees completely obscured the mountain peak, making it impossible to gauge how far they had to go. They just kept climbing.
After some time…
“They’re coming!” Han Cheolyong shouted, raising his shield. As if on cue, the bellowing of orcs began to echo around them.
Orcs started charging at full speed from uphill and both sides. The area to cover was much larger than before. Han Cheolyong, Moon Bora, and Shin Jeongho spread out in three directions, raising their weapons. Soon, both sides violently clashed.
Kang-! Pueok-! Ppuk!
The sound of weapons colliding, weapons tearing through orc flesh and bone, and orcs’ screams of pain and exertion mixed chaotically, shaking the forest.
Eunseok provided rear support with ranged fire in the opposite direction from Oh Seongeun. After taking down about a dozen orcs, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Through his scope, Eunseok spotted a large creature with a slightly different appearance from the orcs emerging on the hillside. This giant, nearly naked and wielding a huge wooden club, was more than twice the size of the 2-meter tall orcs.
“9 o’clock. Ogre approaching!” Eunseok shouted loudly. The team members’ tension noticeably increased upon hearing this. Fortunately, whether due to its size or nature, the ogre moved slowly. However, with each thunderous step it took, its overwhelming size became more apparent.
“9 o’clock ogre. I’ll take it!” Moon Bora shouted as she lunged towards the ogre’s direction. She dashed forward like the wind, decapitating orcs that blocked her path. Soon, Moon Bora collided with the ogre. The ogre’s massive wooden club was almost as big as Moon Bora herself.
Kakang-!!
The person-sized club and Moon Bora’s sword clashed head-on. The impact sent Moon Bora skidding back about two meters, her feet scraping the ground. She immediately regained her footing and launched herself at the ogre. They began their full-fledged battle. As much as Eunseok wanted to watch, there was no time for that.
Moon Bora’s absence was clearly felt. Despite Oh Seongeun’s continuous attacks and Han Cheolyong drawing as much aggro as possible, some orcs broke through, charging madly with foul-smelling saliva dripping from their mouths.
Eunseok calmly shot down the orcs that broke through one by one. Some slipped past his cover, but Choi Hanseo blew their heads off before they could reach Eunseok.
Choi Hanseo’s support was reassuring. It allowed Eunseok to maintain his composure even as orcs rushed to his immediate vicinity. However, his magazine was almost empty. Could he win in close combat against orcs with incredible strength? As Eunseok continued to take down orcs one by one with his gun, he simulated hand-to-hand combat scenarios in his mind. It didn’t look easy.
Click-.
The magazine ran out of bullets. Eunseok recalled the number of spare magazines in his backpack and tossed his automatic rifle to the ground. With the long journey ahead, he couldn’t afford to use more bullets at this point.
Eunseok drew the two daggers sheathed on each of his thighs and gripped them tightly. Without hesitation, he lunged at an approaching orc. Given the clear difference in strength and muscle power, he had to absolutely avoid a contest of strength. Eunseok bent his legs to dodge a hand axe flying towards his head, then immediately plunged a dagger into the orc’s chin.
Kwadeuk-!
The blade of the white dagger, a gift from Choi Hanseo, pierced through the orc’s tough skin and flesh in one go, embedding itself deeply. Eunseok used the orc’s chest as leverage to yank out the deeply embedded dagger. As he leaped back using the momentum from pulling out the dagger, the orc’s flailing arms slashed through the space where Eunseok had just been.
Kkeuruk-! Kwue-!
Despite having its jaw pierced through to its brain, the orc didn’t die instantly. Even with its eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth, it continued swinging its arms. Eunseok clicked his tongue softly. It seemed that without decapitation or piercing the heart, it was impossible to completely incapacitate them.
To subdue the rampaging creature, he would have to risk some injury. But he couldn’t retreat either, as Ji Taeuk, their crucial healer, was behind him.
Fortunately, the orc’s movements began to slow down. Perhaps it was the toxic effect of the dagger made from venomous fangs. Nevertheless, the thought that he could die if he didn’t handle this properly flashed through Eunseok’s mind. Adrenaline automatically surged into his bloodstream. In an instant, his heart rate skyrocketed, and his senses became extremely heightened.
There was no need for further thought. Pure survival instinct took over his body. Relying solely on his instinctive senses, Eunseok quickly dodged the orc’s swinging arms and charged at it.
Kwak-!
The daggers gripped in both hands accurately split between the orc’s ribs, plunging in deeply. The orc let out a heart-wrenching scream and its entire body stiffened.
The orc fell backward.
Kuung-!
Its heavy body hit the ground with a thud. Eunseok, feeling his heart pounding rapidly, used all his strength to pull out the daggers. As the white blade came out, green blood spurted like a fountain with a “pusuk-” sound.
Just as he was about to get up, a chill ran down his spine.
“Eunseok-!!”
Ji Taeuk’s alarmed cry reached his ears just as a large stone axe was already swooping down towards his head with a whooshing sound. In a split second, he made a judgment. No matter how he dodged, part of his skull would be gone. The only option was to block it head-on, prepared to sacrifice his arms.
His body, flooded with high doses of adrenaline, reacted immediately. Eunseok crossed his arms in an X-shape to protect his head. He didn’t close his eyes, needing to be ready for a potential second attack.
Pueok-!
A dull sound struck his eardrums. But the impact he had been tensely anticipating never came.
He saw an orc with a crushed skull slowly falling to the side.
Kuung-!
As the orc collapsed, Choi Hanseo was revealed standing behind it, clutching pieces of the orc’s skull.
“…Choi…”
Just as Eunseok was about to softly call out “Mr. Choi,” their eyes met briefly before Choi Hanseo’s figure vanished like a shadow.
What followed seemed like a dream. Choi Hanseo’s black-clad figure appeared and disappeared like smoke in front of and behind the charging orcs, as if teleporting. Each time he briefly materialized, an orc’s head would explode like a watermelon.
The sound of orcs with shattered skulls falling echoed with heavy thuds. With each thunderous collapse of an orc, Eunseok’s heart pounded heavily in sync. Eunseok could only follow Choi Hanseo’s dark figure with his eyes, as if entranced. When his dance-like movements finally ceased, Eunseok’s hearing suddenly cleared, as if he had just surfaced from underwater.
“…seok. Eunseok, are you okay?”
Ji Taeuk’s voice came from right beside him. But Eunseok couldn’t take his eyes off Choi Hanseo, who was walking towards him while lightly shaking his hands in the air, covered in orc brain matter, skull fragments, and bits of flesh.
As he approached, Choi Hanseo had that same inhuman, emotionless look in his eyes. But when he finally reached Eunseok and their gazes locked, emotion surged into his eyes as if by magic. Eunseok felt relieved.
Tok-.
Choi Hanseo lightly poked Eunseok’s forehead with his fingertip.
“What?” Eunseok asked with a slightly hoarse voice.
Choi Hanseo furrowed his brow. “Do you think you’re a real hunter or something, Mr. Lee Eunseok?”
“It… just happened that way,” Eunseok replied.
“It didn’t occur to you to call for me? Have I not earned your trust?”
“It’s just… a habit I’ve developed.”
Eunseok answered, glancing at Choi Hanseo’s hands stained with green blood. It was the first time he had seen him dirty his own hands directly. Normally, Eunseok would have felt ashamed and hurt in his pride for receiving help in dealing with enemies, but strangely, he didn’t feel that way this time.
“Get rid of that habit now. And develop a new habit of calling for me.”
“If I call, will you come running again?”
“Of course. That’s why I was waiting quietly behind you like a good dog.”
Waiting quietly like a good dog…
A chuckle escaped Eunseok. A faint smile spread across Choi Hanseo’s eyes as well.
“Um… Should we rest for a bit? Or should we leave right away?” Han Cheolyong asked awkwardly.
As Eunseok turned his gaze, he saw that the team members had already finished cleaning up the surroundings and were all staring at him and Choi Hanseo. They all wore expressions as if they had just witnessed something extremely bizarre.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
