The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 12
12. Itaewon 2-dong, gate blockade operation - 4
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“Slowly... I'm falling asleep.”
Sergeant Kang Ik-jun was watching the middle base from the rooftop..
It was because the strategy platoon leader, Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha, had asked him to, but he was also distracted from time to time..
“We're not reserve players, really, what's the point of waiting on the field? lose shape······.”
Of course, he was not negligent in his duties as his real duty today was simply to ‘stand by on site’..
The main mission of the 'Strategy Platoon', a unit directly under the battalion commander, is literally to enter the gate and close it..
However, today, the private guild's strategy team was supposed to be in charge of the attack operation, and they, the attack platoon, were on standby as a second line just in case..
“It's a kobold dungeon, but looking at the private guilds and these merchants, it must be a dungeon that makes some money... Hey, let's hope it ends quickly.!”
Kang Ikjun yawned..
As long as the Cheonghwa guild had the authority to attack, there would be no need for him to step forward and have fun..
however······
“Uh, what is that?!”
One of the snipers shouted as if he had found something..
Kang Ikjun rubbed his eyes and turned his head..
And at that moment, he had no choice but to run towards the railing..
“crazy······.”
Residential area in Itaewon 2-dong,
Because in the middle of it, black smoke was rising like a waterspout..
And that place······.
“······There, midway point. Right?”
It was the exact spot that Seo Eun-ha told us to keep a close eye on..
“Yes, that's right. Sergeant Kang, wouldn’t that be enough to cause a fire??”
“······no.”
Kang Ik-jun shook his head at the sniper’s words..
“yes? Then what on earth is that??”
“That's... 'black magic'.”
As Kang Ik-jun is a C-grade, tier 1 wizard player, he immediately recognized the reality of that black smoke..
“It seems like a kobold warlock has appeared..”
“yes? Isn't this an elite monster? But before the second eruption, how does it come out??”
“That's right. Shit, there's bound to be casualties at this rate.······.”
Ikjun Kang raised the muzzle of the Barrett M82A1..
However, there was nothing they could do because the view was completely blocked..
He immediately pressed the button on his left ear microphone..
“Platoon leader! There's a problem!”
- what? what's the matter?
Seo Eunha answered right away..
“This is the middle base! A toxic fog suddenly appeared!”
- Does that make sense? ······okay! I'll go first!
The order given to the attack platoon was ‘standby’. Therefore, we had to wait no matter what situation occurred within the operational area. The operational authority within Red Ground currently lies with the ‘1st Company Commander’..
In other words, intervention in operations is impossible unless an order is given by the battalion commander..
“I'll throw the shield to the first floor now, so take it yourself and run away quickly.!”
But I couldn't just watch this situation with my eyes open. This is because it was not a situation that could be handled at the support squad level..
no,
The support squad, of course, was in a situation where even the first squad, the first line of the battalion, could not respond easily..
If it's a little late······.
“······You must go as quickly as possible! If this continues, they will all die.!”
Total annihilation.
Kang Ik-jun picked up the shield that Seo Eun-ha left behind and threw it under the building and toward the road..
-Hung!
The next moment, Seo Eun-ha came out of nowhere and grabbed the shield..
Then he pulled out a large sword and ran into the alley..
It was incredible speed..
But Kang Ik-jun had a hunch..
“perhaps······.”
Unfortunately, some may already be dead..
***
The two colors were intertwined, creating a mysterious air current..
“after······.”
In the smoke, the members of the 5th squad lowered their posture and took cover behind combat supplies..
In preparation for this 'middle base' being attacked, a magic shield operating device called 'Crystal Barricade' was installed. However, it was of no use as a group of kobolds appeared from inside the manhole..
In other words, it was a situation that could not last long..
however······.
“······.”
something was strange.
A considerable amount of time had passed, but the group of kobolds had not approached at all..
‘Why? Is it because of the steam created by Corporal Lee Hyun-wook??’
Deputy Platoon Commander, Sergeant Choi Seon-ah only thinks like that.,
······Keck!
‘What are you talking about??’
I had absolutely no idea about this mysterious 'sigh' that was occasionally heard in the black smoke..
“Deputy commander, you need to lower your posture and lower your muzzle as much as possible..”
“Ah... Ugh, yes.”
Choi Seon-ah nodded at Lee Hyun-wook’s words and got down on one knee..
Although the highest commanding authority in this position was the vice platoon commander, I had no choice but to obey..
no,
The correct answer was that I was completely dependent on it..
‘Was Corporal Lee Hyun-wook always like this? It's not······.’
She also knew very well that Lee Hyun-wook was F-rank and was only a temporary squad leader, replacing the unit commander who had been evacuated..
Therefore, while changing out of my combat uniform right before going into action, I told myself to be even more alert as there was no real squad leader today..
No matter how young one is, an executive is an executive..
This operation, she had to take responsibility for and lead..
‘······But honestly, I had nothing to do..’
Just before the raid, Lee Hyun-wook noticed everything. And he gave instructions succinctly and precisely..
His cold voice rang out in the black smoke... When I heard that voice, my prejudice against Lee Hyun-wook disappeared and I found myself automatically trusting and following him..
“······Everyone, just shut up and listen to me..”
Choi Seon-ah held her breath and listened to Lee Hyun-wook's voice..
Not just her, but everyone in this room..
“We can't see anything, so our enemies can't see us either. It may only be for a moment, but.”
“······.”
“Ahn Min-tae, goes to the front, puts up a shield, and blocks the approach of the kobolds. If you take good cover, their stings are useless..”
“yes.”
Ahn Min-tae, who was standing next to Lee Hyun-wook, answered softly and took two steps forward..
As his wide shield gets closer to the enemy, the area protected by his squad members increases..
“But Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, are you sure you want to move forward now??”
Min-tae Ahn noticed that Hyun-wook Lee had already moved forward considerably..
“Okay, I'll go and turn off the gas valve and you just stand there..”
“······yes? Is it real??”
Ahn Min-tae asked back in surprise..
However, Lee Hyun-wook did not respond and really began to walk forward..
“······Corporal Lee Hyun-wook?”
As expected, there was no answer.
Even his shadow, which had been vaguely casting over the smoke, penetrated deep into the smoke and soon disappeared from sight..
“Oh, I'm going crazy······.”
Ahn Min-tae swallowed dry saliva and raised his shield to the tip of his chin..
“uh? Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, are you really going forward??”
“Okay, we just wait calmly for now..”
“ah······.”
When the back of Lee Hyun-wook, whom they had been relying on, disappeared, the squad members fell into fear again..
And all kinds of thoughts started to come to mind, and it felt like I would soon hear Lee Hyun-wook's desperate screams in the black smoke..
But what I hear from somewhere is······.
Keck! K-ek!
It was just a noise that wasn't human..
And after a while······.
“uh? I'm starting to see ahead!”
Park Jun-mo said.
And there was really black smoke, and I started to see something beyond the faintly secured view..
“That looks like a kobold.”
To be exact, there were 7 kobold corpses in total..
Each of them had a large sword stuck in their head..
“Look over there! Corporal Lee Hyun-wook is here.!”
Hyunwook Lee was standing right there near the manhole where black smoke was coming out. And there was something broken and scattered beneath his feet..
It looked like a piece of pottery, and it was a kind of 'medium' used by the kobold warlock to create this black smoke. That's what I meant by closing the valve..
he looked this way.
“Park Jun-mo, come this way..”
“yes!”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s hand gesture, Park Jun-mo quickly ran forward..
“All lightning magic is fired into the sewer immediately..”
“Ah, yes! All right!”
Park Jun-mo took out the wand that was hanging from his waist, slowly caught his breath, and swung the wand into the sewer..
pa-jik!
Blue electricity shot out from the tip of the wand..
“Pour it all out.”
“yes!”
Pa-jik! Pa-jik! pa-ji-jik!
Then three more shots exploded..
“I applied a little more force at the end and only got 4 hits.······”
“Okay, that's enough..”
A total of 4 bullets of lightning magic lit up the sewer with blue light..
Sewage was flowing at the bottom of the sewer, and an electric current spread deep into the depths along the sewage..
Stand-stand-stand-stand-
OK······.
Ke-e-e-e-e!
“Wow, crazy!”
From the depths of the sewer, a scream of pain erupted..
The remnants of the kobolds hiding in the sewage were swept away by the electric current..
However, Park Jun-mo's lightning skill did not do enough damage to kill the kobold.······.
Empty! Teo-ung!
“uh!”
They opened manhole covers here and there and started jumping out..
Ke-ek! Ke-eh-eh-eh!
“Uh, uh! Me, everyone! suppressive fire, firing!”
Sergeant Choi Seon-ah instinctively shouted, but instead of raising the muzzle, the squad members reflexively looked at Lee Hyun-wook, who raised the muzzle at the same time as Sergeant Choi Choi ordered..
Only then did all the guns stand up..
Ta-da-da-da-dang!
As sporadic aimed shots continued, the remnants of the kobolds who had jumped out while being electrocuted were helplessly swept away by the hail of bullets and fell, pick, pick, fall..
K-E-E-E······
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook! After all, a rifle alone cannot penetrate the barrier.!”
“Yes, we will definitely finish it off with personal weapons.!”
Lee Hyun-wook threw away his rifle and pulled out the cloud sword behind his back..
And then he lunged at a kobold..
Unlike the other guys, he was wearing a black robe..
‘He's a kobold warlock..’
That guy was an elite monster..
Kek, ke-leuk!
The guy had collapsed after being hit by 15 aimed shots from Lee Hyun-wook..
The bullet didn't pierce his skin, but it hit him squarely in the chest, breaking several ribs..
While he was holding his stomach and groaning, he couldn't come to his senses.······.
Cha-ak!
Lee Hyun-wook swung his sword and cut off the guy’s entire right wrist..
At the same time, I fired the M9 bayonet and hit him in the abdomen..
K-eh!
The guy took a step back and cast a spell with his left hand..
A green 'magic circle' appeared on the back of his hand..
Hoo-ung!
At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook's body rose into the air and soared to a height of 2 meters in an instant..
“······Pfft!”
It was gravity control magic..
‘If this continues, it will soar up to ten meters in an instant and then fall and die.!’
But it wasn't Lee Hyun-wook who was suffering..
He put 'rigid shoes' on his legs.
T-that-enemy!
My feet were stiff..
At that moment, he used his ‘control power’ and pulled his feet, which had turned into metal, towards the floor..
While suppressing the vertical rise, I bent my waist and swung my right foot towards the guy's head..
Ugh!
hit!
The power of Gunhwabal, in which Kang Chehwa was planted, was considerable..
Wow!
The guy fell over and hit his head on the flower bed..
It seemed like his cervical spine had already broken, but as soon as he landed, Lee Hyun-wook grabbed the great sword with both hands and drove the 'cloud sword' into the guy's heart..
Fu-wook!
It was a solid finish.
And at that moment, a message appeared before my eyes..
- ‘‘Cloud Sword’ absorbs the blood of elite monsters!
‘This is how you grow this potential weapon..’
It absorbs the black water from the clouds and emits ‘water fog’. However, if a 'significant amount' of elite monster's blood is absorbed instead of water,······.
- An unknown energy fills the cloud sword.. (11%)
As the gauge fills up like this, ‘potential’ is finally released..
Lee Hyun-wook plunged the cloud sword into the guy's heart and began scanning the 'metal' all over the guy's body..
‘There's something. Also in the body.’
Inside his ribs, I felt a small, smooth metal texture..
I pulled it strongly..
Tsk!
The object protruded through a wound in the chest..
Lee Hyun-wook caught it..
- ‘Obtained ‘Devil’s Medal (Inferno)’.
“What is this... it comes from here??”
Really, something unexpected popped out..
Necromancer, leader of the evil army that destroyed Busan······
One of his main items came into Lee Hyun-wook's hands first..
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