The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 11
11. Itaewon 2-dong, gate blockade operation - 3
================================
Approximately 5 minutes after entering Red Ground······.
“······stop.”
2Platoon leader Lieutenant Lee Hee-min raised his hand..
There was a small playground in front..
All kinds of toys were lying around, as if the children had been playing right before the gate was created..
“This is the intermediate base.”
middle base.
It was a 'supply station' for immediate supply of supplies in case the battle was prolonged near the gate, and at the same time it served as a kind of 'bulwark' when it was necessary to retreat near the gate..
And it was also a place where the 'support squad' would stand by if there was nothing special going on..
“Hyunwook Lee. Put the supplies down in the wide area near the playground..”
“Yes, I understand.”
Following Lee Hee-min's command, Lee Hyun-wook made a gesture, and all members of the 5th squad moved in unison and placed combat materials, including ammunition, in the center of the playground..
Lee Hyun-wook immediately issued additional orders..
“Now, do the same here, open the nearby sewer cover and install the sensor..”
“yes!”
Of course, Hyunwook Lee was able to detect the movement of the kobolds even without a ‘motion sensor’..
Even at this very moment, I could feel the metal writhing underground..
‘They found out where we were..’
Inside the sewer, there's a change in their movements..
It was a siege strategy, as it spread in three directions starting from this playground. As expected, since their intelligence exceeds 70% of that of humans, they did not seem to rush at them blindly..
‘But you probably don't want to come out yet..’
They were waiting.
Until humans are further scattered······.
“······It would be a good idea to install one there, near the bushes too..”
“yes!”
When Lee Hyun-wook was leading the squad like that,
What was going on? Lee Hee-min was approaching with his eyes wide open..
“Hey Hyunwook Lee.”
He called Lee Hyeon-wook, full of displeasure..
“Don't you guys think that your voices are unnecessarily loud??”
“······yes?”
“yes? Get your bearings first, you bastard, this is Red Ground..”
“······I will be careful.”
It was quite far-fetched.
Looking at it objectively, the voices of the squad members were not loud enough to be a problem..
‘As expected, I made up my mind..’
Lee Hee-min was the type of person who felt satisfied by catching subordinates he didn't like at any cost, and Lee Hyun-wook, whose stock price had recently risen, seemed to be his target..
“······Lee Hyun-wook, I advise you not to get too cocky because you feel like the battalion commander is overestimating you because you’ve been lucky a few times recently..”
“All right.”
“Do you know? Oh, and keep in mind that you are grade F, and pride equals inattention. If you let your guard down and things escalate, honestly... you're not at a level where you can survive..”
He uttered a series of insults and then clicked his tongue..
“Ugh, the more I look at it, the more frustrating it gets, really.······.”
These vicious words and actions were intended to somehow offend the other person and break their psychology..
‘You're trying very hard..’
But it wasn't Lee Hyun-wook who would be affected by a few words like that..
“done. Go and do your work..”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Hey, Choi Seon-ah!”
“Yes, platoon leader.!”
Deputy platoon leader, Sergeant Choi Seon-ah came running..
“We have to go now, so you stay here and take care of yourself. The 5th squad might get excited and do something stupid right now, so watch closely. Anyway, monsters won't come all the way to this corner, but don't spread out too much just for honey..”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Come on, let's go.”
Lee Hee-min took the 3rd and 4th squads, the combat squads of the 2nd platoon, and went a little deeper. Their mission was to patrol the interior of the Red Ground.
Now there are only 5 squads left at the intermediate base..
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook.”
The cautious voice was Sergeant Choi Seon-ah..
“Yes, deputy commander..”
“Well, don't worry too much! What the platoon leader just said······.”
Sergeant Choi Seon-ah patted Lee Hyun-wook on the shoulder and comforted him..
“I am okay. I don't care.”
“Yes, the platoon leader is actually a person who pays a lot of attention to details, right? lol······.”
Choi Seon-ah treated Lee Hee-min like that, but her words contained bitterness..
Choi Seon-ah, she was the biggest victim of Lee Hee-min's tongue..
Choi Seon-ah is only 20 years old. She had just taken off her school uniform and put on a combat uniform..
She realized her good qualities and was commissioned as a non-commissioned officer rather than a soldier, but in many ways, she was a weak woman to perform the duties of a soldier..
“Deputy sub-commander, then we will install CB soon..”
“Oh yeah!”
she grinned.
“Mintae Ahn. Now install CB.”
“yes!”
The 'Crystal Barricade', abbreviated as CB, was an item that formed a defensive wall..
It was a round crystal item the size of a soccer ball. After placing a total of 4 pieces in the north, south, east, and west, a wizard player who was synchronized with them simply infused mana into them to form a circular shield..
It was an item for when the gate blockade was breached and this place became a 'fort'..
“after! Installation is complete!”
All work is completed with CB installation..
Hyunwook Lee gave a warning order to his squad members and sat down on a bench on one side of the playground..
And he took out his newly acquired weapon, ‘Cloud Sword’..
[Item information]
- Name: Cloud Sword
- Effect: Absorbs water and emits ‘water fog’.
That small information message was the end for now..
‘But it will change little by little.’
Lee Hyun-wook took out a canteen and slowly tilted it over the sword body of the Cloud Sword..
Growling-
The water flowed along the blade and seeped into the sword body..
- ‘'Cloud Sword' absorbs water. (11%)
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, what are you doing??”
Ahn Min-tae has arrived.
“Um, load..”
“yes? Do you reload...? On the sword? Come to think of it, it's a sword I've never seen before..”
“This time I received it as a reward from the battalion commander..”
“oh! So is this a pretty good item??”
At that time, a message appeared before Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes..
- ‘Cloud Sword' skill 'Water Fog' is available for use..
Skill loading is complete.
“It's useful.”
As he said so, he raised his sword and held it up to the sunlight..
‘······It's quite useful.’
***
Near the operation site,
10On top of a one-story building, people in black combat uniforms were taking cover..
- Crackling - near the gate, no movement detected, abnormal.
They were AMT snipers..
“hmm······.”
And behind them, Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha was sitting on a field chair..
She was wearing full plate armor painted in black and had a great sword strapped to her back. She then leaned a huge shield against one of her walls..
This was her full armament, heavy armor befitting the characteristics of a paladin..
“Sergeant Kang, look over there.?”
A man wearing glasses approached Seo Eun-ha’s question..
It was Sergeant Kang Ik-jun, a wizard player belonging to the strategy platoon..
However, contrary to his characteristics as a 'wizard', he was currently carrying a 'Barrett M82A1' anti-materiel sniper rifle on his shoulder, and blue smoke was billowing from the end of the muzzle..
“Oh, what a surprise! You knew where the fire was coming from.”
“Haha, sorry.”
“I really need to load up magic bullets now.?”
A wizard player did not necessarily have to use only magic, and it was common for wizards to use magic on their swords and shields to fight in hand-to-hand combat. Kang Ik-Jun was a magic bullet shooter who cast magic on bullets..
“It has already been cast and will turn off after 15 minutes. Um, but platoon leader, what are you talking about??”
“Hey, midpoint, look at the playground..”
Seo Eun-ha had to use binoculars, but Kang Ik-jun could see it with the naked eye. This was because the lenses of the glasses he was wearing were items created through magical engineering..
“Yes, installing something? It's like a support squad..”
“that's right. And the squad leader there, he was our mission today..”
“······yes?”
Kang Ikjun frowned and looked for the green epaulet..
“So, right now, the soldier in the support squad is the youngest candidate in our platoon.?”
Seo Eun-ha nodded..
“maybe.”
Strategy platoon candidate······.
Of course, when Battalion Commander Kim Kang-seok ordered this mission, he did not specifically mention anything like that..
However, it meant that the soldier he was eyeing was highly likely to be selected as an executive in the future, and it could be reasonably inferred that transfer to the 'Strategy Platoon', a unit directly under the battalion commander, was most likely..
“No, I thought it was Youngjun Choi because the battalion commander had his eyes on one soldier..”
Kang Ik-jun was also a soldier, and when he was the first squad leader, Choi Young-jun joined as the youngest member..
“Youngjun Choi is on vacation right now. And he's already made a mark on the Black Tiger unit..”
“hmm······.”
Kang Ikjun scratched his chin as if he was displeased..
Seo Eun-ha also felt the same way..
‘It's definitely grade F.’
I met Lee Hyun-wook for the first time a few days ago when I was on duty..
No, I've seen it a few times before, but that was the first time I remember it..
He was a person with no presence..
‘But that day, I caught the goblin shaman by myself..’
That was true. Because she checked first.
“Tsu-eup, by any chance, isn’t this the son of a superior? Because of collusion······.”
“Sergeant Kang, is the battalion commander that type of person??”
“Haha, I guess I'm a bit lacking in loyalty. How can a former soldier love an officer? Oh, except for our platoon leader..”
“shut up. I think you just have some kind of misunderstanding..”
There is an illusion.
She thought so. There was no way she would have laid eyes on Class F otherwise..
And the thing that dealt with the goblin Shamyeon was······.
“······It must be a coincidence.”
“yes? What?”
“Hey, I don’t know..”
Seo Eun-ha handed over the binoculars she was holding to Kang Ik-jun and stood up..
“Anyway, take a good look and contact me if you have any problems..”
“yes? Platoon commander, where are you going??”
“I have someone to meet for a moment. Take care of my shield.”
“That expensive shield, if you leave it around like that, I'll sell it to a junk shop and buy it for a fortune..”
“Okay, here.”
Seo Eunha went down the stairs, raising her middle finger behind her back..
***
Whoo-ooh-
As the wind blew, the fallen leaves piled up in the flower bed were blown away..
“······.”
There was only silence in the playground and intermediate base..
1A commotion would soon begin as the platoon blocked the gate and waited for the second division, but there was not even a small noise in the residential area where residents were ordered to evacuate..
and······
‘The noise starts here, not at the gate..’
Lee Hyun-wook opened the cover of the greatsword on his waist and also unfastened the safety strap of the ‘Cloud Sword’ on his back..
Then he tightened his bulletproof helmet and stood up..
I looked around slowly..
“Park Jun-mo, come this way. Don't be near manholes.”
“yes!”
A scene from the past flashed before Hyunwook Lee’s eyes..
‘The commotion started when a poisonous needle got stuck in the back of Park Jun-mo's neck, who was standing there..’
Of course, now, as I had warned him in advance on the way, I was protecting my neck by holding my collar close..
Exciting - Exciting-
my heart was racing.
I wasn't afraid.
It was just that bad memories overlapped with this moment, and an unconscious physical reaction occurred..
right then-
Beep- Beep-
A sharp beeping sound began to sound from somewhere..
Beep- Beep-
everyone turned their heads.
“······Uh, what is it??”
It was on the floor, inside a manhole..
“The motion sensor works! This is manhole number 4.!”
Squad member, Private Taeyong Choi said so and walked to manhole number 4..
“Choi Taeyong, don’t get close..”
“yes? But, check······.”
“Okay, just come this way..”
Lee Hyun-wook said that and raised the gun and aimed it at the manhole..
Choi Taeyong was startled by that sight and took a step back, and everyone's faces were filled with astonishment..
“uh? Lee, Corporal Lee Hyun-wook?”
The same was true for Sergeant Choi Seon-ah. She approached hesitantly, her voice clearly tense..
“Deputy platoon commander, this is the sensor response. There's something in the sewer.”
“uh! Oh, I'm sure it's not a malfunction.?”
Lee Hyun-wook shook his head..
Then he raised his left hand and focused the squad members..
“Take cover near everyone and supplies. And prepare a gas mask.”
“yes? It's a gas mask.?”
“Corporal Lee Hyeon-wook, what do you mean by gas mask? What does that mean??”
“Kobolds use poison as a weapon. In addition to needle-type weapons, they sometimes use smoke-type weapons, especially if they attack through a sewer like this... they are likely to spray smoke first..”
The moment all squad members put their hands on their gas mask bags following Lee Hyun-wook's explanation.······.
Tongue!
With a loud noise, manhole cover No. 4 rose into the air..
Immediately after,
“crazy!”
“Everyone step back!”
Fu-hu-uh-uh-uh-
As Lee Hyun-wook said, black smoke exploded. At first glance, it was a deadly gas to the human body..
It began to spill out and fill the playground floor..
“······gas! gas!”
Fortunately, Lee Hyun-wook had warned me and was prepared, so I was able to quickly put on a gas mask..
But in the meantime, the gas had already risen above our heads..
“Damn the vision······.”
Suddenly I couldn't see anything.
“Take cover behind the supplies!”
In the darkness, only Lee Hyun-wook's voice rang loudly..
“Everyone, no shooting! Immediately lower the muzzle to the ground.!”
“······yes?”
“Don't ask questions, just put down the gun!”
Because visibility was blocked by black smoke, if you raised the muzzle carelessly, you could have shot your allies..
‘······This is the skill of a kobold warlock..’
If the Goblin's elite monster is the 'Shaman', the Kobold's elite monster is the 'Warlock'..
What can be seen from the difference between these names is that while the skills used by goblins are nothing more than wild magic, kobolds use magic with a long history..
It was later revealed that the Kobold race was one of the minions of the demonic race ‘Demon’..
“Damn it! I can't see...!”
“Huh, shouldn’t we retreat??”
Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke!
As I was struggling like that, evil laughter was heard one after another through the black smoke..
And it got closer.
“Ugh······.”
“Ooh, we're all dead······.”
Some squad members groaned..
With limited visibility and a life-threatening threat, it was natural to panic..
“Uh, mo, everyone... Chi, calm down.······.”
It was the same for Sergeant Choi Seon-ah..
But Lee Hyun-wook did his job without any hesitation..
He rolled his eyes back and forth..
The enemies that came up from the manhole were following the kobold's movements..
Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke!
derision,
They were happy that their surprise strategy had worked correctly..
‘It was like that in my last life.’
Lee Hyun-wook took out the cloud sword..
‘This time it will be completely different..’
And I used the skill.
- The Cloud Sword emits water mist..
Pooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-
From the sword body of the cloud sword, white smoke began to pour out..
It was water fog.
Pooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-
Lee Hyun-wook wiped away the frost on his gas mask..
As the white smoke spread, the movement of the kobold group slowed down. Because the view is blocked.
From now on, no one could see it with the naked eye. Both sides just let out a sigh of confusion..
“Mintae Ahn. Raise your shield and come next to me.”
Warrior class, Ahn Min-tae came forward holding a kite shield..
“······Yes, I'm here.”
“We're all together so they won't be able to attack us easily..”
“However, it is a big problem because the visibility is zero. What should I see to do what?······.”
Lee Hyun-wook closed his eyes..
“no, i can see.”
“······yes?”
“and······.”
At that moment, Ahn Min-tae felt an unknown feeling around his waist..
Zech-
It felt like someone was gently pulling it with a finger..
“······I need to borrow your sword.”
Without anyone knowing, 10 daggers emerged from the white smoke..
They rotated slowly in the fog, like a school of dolphins swimming in formation..
And the next moment······
Shh-shh-shhh!
As if diving deep into the deep sea, they all shot out into the black smoke..
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