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The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 34

34. rain falling on the waves - 1

==========================

Seo Eun-ha was unable to leave work until midnight..

It was because she was writing a 'strategy report', which was one of her main tasks, but perhaps because so many incidents had occurred recently, the work that needed to be done was piling up..

“Ugh, my waist.······.”

As such, the position of attack platoon leader was difficult both physically and mentally..

However, to that extent, promotions are solid, drawing a sharp upward curve..

Tock-tap-tap-tap-

She looked at the keyboard and monitor alternately and used the commonly known eagle typing method..

Sergeant Kang Ik-jun claimed that the cause of frequent overtime work was actually this slow typing..

She strongly denied it, but honestly... it seemed like there was some truth to it..

“······Through, strategy, follow-up response and, uh, um-securing, and reporting the results, um, the end.!”

After hitting enter for the last time at the end of that long march, I kicked off my chair and stretched out..

“It's finally over! eww-”

I checked my watch and it was already 23:43..

“Well, I can still exercise for about an hour..”

She yawned, turned off the office light, and came out..

However, it was when I had just come out of the building..

whiz-

Some unpleasant feeling ringing in my head······.

Her steps stopped..

“······what?”

Beyond consciousness, an instinctive alarm began to sound..

‘Dangerous.’

······What on earth?

she didn't know that.

I just felt that way vaguely, without knowing why..

Whoa whoa-

She stopped and slowly began to scan the darkened compound to find the reason..

When she stood at the entrance to the main building, the building she had just left, she could see three buildings..

To the left was the 2nd barracks of the 2nd company, in the center was the PX, and to the right were the 1st barracks of the 1st company and headquarters company..

And within the two barracks... an unidentifiable, heterogeneous movement was detected..

‘This······.’

A certain evil that can only be felt by players who can handle divine power.······.

‘The power of darkness, the dark energy of the undead..’

1Among the players in the battalion, there were no soldiers or officers who could wield this kind of power..

In other words, it meant that an external entity was using some kind of power in Barrack 1..

It's definitely a dangerous situation..

She zipped up her combat uniform all the way up and ran down the hill..

chin-

1I stayed close to the wall of the barracks building and lowered my posture..

I lowered my footsteps and slowly entered the building..

“······.”

It was darker than usual inside the building..

It seemed like the emergency lights and night lights were all turned off..

and······.

‘······smell of blood?’

What she felt began to materialize not simply as ominousness, but as misfortune..

The place where the smell of blood was coming from was the first door on the left side of the building, the 5-minute waiting room dormitory..

She approached there slowly..

Next, I infused mana into my fingertips and turned on a very small 'Holy Light'..

whiz-

A handful of white lights that arose like this pushed away the darkness layer by layer, illuminating the inside of the living room.······.

“······.”

Seo Eun-ha couldn't open her mouth..

Tsk- Tsk tsk.-

The inside was stained dark red..

That was flesh and blood in the 5-minute tone..

they······.

‘wiped out.’

It seemed like he died simultaneously and instantly, without even the slightest resistance..

Tsk- Tsk tsk.-

And in that dark red darkness, something was stirring..

man in black suit······.

Tsk- Tsk tsk.-

He was crouching in the corpse of the 5-minute waiter and sucking the back of someone's neck..

Chu······.

The sound soon stopped, and its red eyes moved towards Seo Eun-ha..

***

5As I approached the guard post, I heard a familiar voice..

“Wow, how can the aces of our squad get together like this??”

“omg! How could the greatest hero of our company live in such a squalid place?······.”

Ahn Min-tae and Choi Tae-yong were the workers of Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo's previous position..

“······Don't overdo it..”

Yes, it was quite an interesting scene to see four people from one squad at one guard post..

But in fact, this was Lee Hyun-wook's intention..

‘There must be children who follow my orders well..’

Therefore, I asked the administrative officer who drew up the work schedule so that they could meet at this exact location..

I was able to change it easily because they said I could have a meal with Commander Jeong Jeong-sik in the afternoon..

“Sergeant Lee Hyeon-wook, you looked in bad condition earlier. Didn’t you collapse while on duty??”

“You look like you're in great shape, so don't fall down while shaking..”

“Hahaha, who is this thanks to? Oh my captain, isn't it all thanks to Sergeant Lee??”

“······Please don't say something like that anywhere, please..”

Ahn Min-tae couldn't control his excitement recently and was very grinning..

“Then, let’s take Ahn Min-tae, a loyalist D-rank, down! Take care!”

“-for a moment.”

Lee Hyun-wook caught two people trying to go down to the guard post..

“Um, what's going on??”

The two people turned and looked at Lee Hyun-wook..

“······.”

But Lee Hyun-wook didn’t answer right away..

He stands still and tall in the shadow of the guard post······.

“Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook?”

I was just looking at my watch.

2359 minutes-

I slowly raised my head..

“······Just now, I heard a shout from somewhere..”

Lee Hyun-wook said that and went down the stairs of the guard post..

“······.”

Then, the playful expressions of Ahn Min-tae and Choi Tae-yong became quite serious..

Park Jun-mo also swallowed his saliva and moved after Lee Hyun-wook..

“What happened again... which one was it??”

They were now able to intuit the meaning of even the slightest change in Lee Hyun-wook's attitude..

That's why Lee Hyun-wook's attitude changed 180 degrees with just one word..

Whoa whoa-

At that moment, a cold wind blew over the ridge and the trees everywhere made a chilling sound..

“Taeyong Choi, you have night vision?”

“yes, there is.”

The shooter's arrows were equipped with night vision, i.e. night vision capabilities..

“Near the guard post, check. The sound came from there.”

“yes.”

This ridge overlooked the entrance to the unit and the guard post..

“Uh, um······.”

Choi Taeyong's eyes, which were moving slowly, stopped at a certain place and he made a gasping sound..

“······.”

Soon, I slowly turned my head and looked at Lee Hyun-wook..

He swallowed once and nodded..

“······Yes, it's a gate.”

“What, what gate? It's called the gate?”

Ahn Min-tae had an expression of disbelief..

But clearly, behind the guard post, a purple shimmer was blooming there..

Soon, the guards, who sensed something suspicious, seemed to be approaching that direction.······.

Ta-da-da-da-da-dang!

A sharp gunshot rang out, shattering the silence of the night..

This was the signal gun announcing that the hellish race had begun..

“Damn it! What's happening again?!”

As Ahn Min-tae said that, he lowered his posture and raised his shield to protect his squad members..

The distance from the guard post is far, but I didn't know that a blind bullet could fly all the way here..

- Chick! Chi-ik! This is the guardhouse······.

Soon the emergency radio from the guardhouse rang, but there was no need to hear it..

Lee Hyun-wook ignored that and gave orders to Choi Tae-yong again..

“Taeyong Choi, check exactly what monster came out of the gate..”

“yes! Well, it looks like an undead or zombie type..”

“In that case, the guard station troops alone cannot stop it..”

“Damn it, then what should I do??”

“······you go.”

At his words, bewilderment spread across the faces of the three people..

“yes? Wouldn’t the 5-minute standby policy respond immediately??”

Lee Hyun-wook shook his head..

“5There won't be any power to deal with the undead in the squad, that is, 'holy power'..”

The undead were quite difficult monsters to deal with..

It was natural that the vitality was persistent, and in many cases, it even came back to life..

Therefore, there was only one sure way to determine their worth..

“But you happen to be armed with sacred weapons..”

“ah······.”

According to the original history, these three would not be able to solve the problem, but would be wiped out in the beginning..

‘But now things have changed.’

Level, skill, weapon, and mindset have all changed..

Rather, no one other than these people could properly respond to this situation at this point..

“Well, by the way, why the three of us? Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook, where are you going??”

Lee Hyun-wook turned his head to Ahn Min-tae’s question..

There were buildings lined up down the opposite ridge..

Barracks... It was where all the troops of the battalion stayed..

“I guess...there isn't just one gate..”

“······yes? No, does that make sense??”

“This is ridiculous! Are you saying there are double gates in the compound??”

No, it's not a double gate..

‘It's a wave.’

Wave, one of the game's most hellish events.······.

Lee Hyun-wook swallowed those words..

Soon, a flickering purple light near the parade ground near the barracks caught his eye..

‘I knew it······.’

It was the second gate.

And white figures were pouring out from there..

‘That's a skeleton.’

1The number was so large that it was hard to believe it was a tea eruption..

Even if you just look at it with your own eyes, there could be easily 80 of them..

However, that wasn't the end.

‘The gate that opens during the wave lets out an unlimited amount of water, without any restrictions on eruption.,’

For the time being, skeletons would continue to pour out continuously, and if they were not properly controlled in the beginning, there could be hundreds or even thousands of them. Indeed, an army appears..

And the direction they were marching in... was, of course, the barracks..

“Ah... that's right! The gate on the other side really opened.!”

Soon Taeyong Choi confirmed it clearly through night vision..

“You get it now, right? The 5-minute standby group cannot go to the guard post. However, if the first eruption cannot be blocked like this, they will end up going down the mountain and into the city center. That must be stopped.”

“driving me crazy······.”

“So you have to go. I'll go to the barracks and block the gate there, then I'll bring reinforcements and go to the guard post. Until then, I guess we can somehow hold out...?”

Hyunwook Lee said that and made eye contact with the three people one after another..

Now, instead of fear, there was something else in their eyes.

It was a kind of spirit..

It was determination and confidence built up through several successes..

“All right. Don't worry, let's go quickly. If I do that, I'm really going to die..”

Min-tae Ahn turned around with his shield on his back, and Tae-yong Choi and Jun-mo Park followed him..

They ran down the mountain path toward the guard post..

‘Yes, that's right. They all died······.’

Then Lee Hyun-wook also moved..

***

“-Ugh!”

Seo Eun-ha collapsed on the asphalt..

I fell from my back, and the shock spread through my spine and throughout my body..

But I quickly got up without even feeling the pain..

That moment-

Cha-ak!

Something flew in and passed across the floor..

It was a black whip..

It moved like a snake and was drawn into the darkness of barrack 1..

“Ugh······.”

Soon, a red eye light approached from the darkness, and its owner appeared..

tall man in black suit······.

He was already covered in blood..

5It was the lifeblood of the squad..

“Did you ever think you would meet the second daughter of the Holy Knight Commander so soon? Not only is she very defenseless, but she's also really pretty, right? Ugh······.”

“······.”

“You can't miss this opportunity. I'm going to play with you all night tonight, so don't be too shy, but I want you to have fun with me..”

Pale face, mouth covered in blood, a red tongue sticking out of it and flailing..

Seo Eun-ha took a breath and slowly stepped back..

‘What the hell is going on??’

Seo Eun-ha realized that the problem wasn't just the attack by the gunman..

In her field of vision, on the left, on one side of the parade ground, a purple light was flickering..

‘gate······.’

And from there, a group of skeletons... no, an army was walking out..

‘How can such a large number of monsters come out during the first eruption??’

Until now, there were about 120..

As far as she knew, it was impossible..

Above all, the man threatening her was not a monster..

‘······It's a player.’

Players are humans' weapons, and that's why they attack humans..

There were many people who committed crimes using that strong power..

Furthermore, a terrorist group was formed..

But what about this man who appears with the gate and attacks AMT?······.

“······who are you?”

“Ugh, don't be too hasty. Tonight, we'll take our time and find out.”

Seo Eun-ha looked for a way to overcome this situation..

‘First of all, you have to get your weapon out somehow..’

But if you turn your back and run away, your head will be blown off..

And it wasn't just her own survival that was at stake..

A lot of troops in that barracks······.

‘5The squad has been completely destroyed and initial response is impossible..’

Of course, a mysterious gunshot rang out from somewhere and the lights turned on in the barracks..

The entire army would have woken up and started arming themselves..

but it's too late.

Clutter-clack-clack-

Skeletons pouring out of the parade ground have already reached the barracks..

If they went in, there would be a one-sided massacre without any time to arm themselves..

“shit······.”

“Yes, yes, I was very, very embarrassed, haha, my heart was beating fast and my body was getting hot.?”

At that moment, the guy rushed towards me and swung his whip..

Ta-aak!

Seo Eun-ha lowered her posture to avoid the whip and dug into the guy's body..

And grabbed both of his arms.

“-Ugh!”

But it was more powerful than I thought.

I tried to pass it, but it wouldn't pass..

“oh! Pretty active, huh? I love this style, it has the taste of making you submit! Hahaha!”

Feeling the difference in power, the guy looked down at Seo Eun-ha and flirted with her..

But she didn't give up.

She walked on her thighs, knocked him off balance, and succeeded in knocking him over..

Wow!

The guy's body hit the asphalt and made a heavy sound, but at the same time, the guy's right claw flew towards Seo Eun-ha's ankle..

She let go of her arm and quickly stepped back..

If I had been a little late, my ankle would have been broken..

Cheeeeee······.

But smoke was rising from the part of the guy's arm where Seo Eun-ha was holding on..

Just turning on the Holy Light and holding it caused effective damage..

This meant that the basis of its power was the 'power of darkness'..

“······Oh my, does this mean he is the next Holy Knight Commander? Ha, if this is the case, we won’t be able to hug each other tonight, right? Ah, okay, just tie it up.?”

It stood up and chuckled, its sharp teeth showing..

‘Those fangs······.’

What should I say about this guy, he looked like a monster. In particular, when I witnessed the blood sucking scene, I felt like an undead type, especially a 'vampire'..

‘If that's really the case... If only I had a weapon, I wouldn't be a match for you, damn it..’

But there was no time to feel regretful..

Winning or not was not important now..

I had to survive somehow.

But... I couldn't think of a way..

‘For now, focus on avoiding the next attack. that's best.’

It was then.

Ta-da-da-dang!

A gunshot rang out from somewhere,

“evil! Shit!”

The vampire complained of pain and took a step back..

‘Who is it?’

Behind Seo Eun-ha, someone was approaching from the ridge, aiming and shooting..

“Ugh! Fuck! Suddenly, what is that again?!”

It may not have been very effective damage, but the pain of having his flesh torn was the same, so he had no choice but to cover his head with both hands and step back..

Ta-dang! Other party!

Then, this time, aimed shots were fired at the knee..

The bullet hit his knee and shin, causing his body to stumble..

Soon the shooter came right behind Seo Eun-ha..

“Strategy platoon leader, are you okay??”

He was Lee Hyun-wook..

“Hyunwook Lee, how?······.”

“Fortunately, the.”

“What are you happy about? The situation right now, I can’t see it.?”

Seo Eun-ha pointed to the gate toward the parade ground..

Lee Hyun-wook smiled..

“Yes, that's true, but wasn't I one step too late and came to the rescue on time??”

That was clearly a joke to tease Seo Eun-ha, who always appeared late..

“······Are you coming to save me? you me?”

Lee Hyun-wook shook his head and put the K2C1 rifle on the floor..

At the same time, two swords were pulled out from behind his back..

They stood vertically and sparkled sharply in the moonlight..

Lee Hyun-wook passed by Seo Eun-ha..

And as he approached the vampire, he opened his mouth..

“······I'm here to save everyone.”