Novels online

The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 35

35. rain falling on the waves - 2

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Seo Eun-ha felt a strange sense of heterogeneity the moment Lee Hyun-wook appeared..

‘······Boy, was this what it originally felt like.?’

When the person named Lee Hyun-wook was first imprinted in Seo Eun-ha's mind, the emotion she felt was 'suspicion.' She thought that a mere F-ranked soldier was receiving more opportunities and evaluation than he deserved..

But a lot has happened in the meantime, and now······.

‘······I'm relieved, I'm relieved.’

Yes, she had to admit..

I felt something like that from Lee Hyun-wook..

The moment he appeared, it felt like reliable reinforcements had arrived..

And one of the sword hilts that Lee Hyun-wook lifted into the air was held out to Seo Eun-ha..

“It may not be as good as what the platoon commander normally uses, but it is a weapon filled with divine power..”

Seo Eunha accepted it..

“Skeletons coming out of the gate are heading toward the barracks..”

“Yeah, I saw it..”

“Platoon commander, go and secure the weapons and rescue the soldiers..”

At that time, the vampire who had backed away started walking towards me..

Tuk-tuk-

A dozen bullets lodged in his body crawled out like bugs and fell to the floor..

“What is this guy... he suddenly appears and dares to have a strategy meeting in front of me...!”

But he couldn't finish his sentence.

This is because an iron ball flew from somewhere and crushed the shin of the guy who was torn apart by a bullet..

“evil! Shit! I'm really going to kill you...! Wow!”

But since it was a regular iron ball, he would quickly recover and stand up..

“Don't worry here, just go. There are more lives at stake than mine..”

“······okay. be careful.”

Seo Eun-ha looked at Lee Hyun-wook once and nodded..

She also knew that it was most reasonable to do as Lee Hyun-wook said..

However, even though he was bare-chested, he was a B-rank paladin and was entrusting an opponent who was too daunting to an F-rank soldier... It was usual, but in reality, it meant buying time by dying..

‘However, if it is Lee Hyun-wook······.’

Seo Eun-ha decided to believe it this time and ran towards the barracks..

“hey! Where! hey! hey!”

The vampire desperately called for Seo Eun-ha, but Lee Hyun-wook blocked his path..

“Hey, this dog! I missed it because of you! How long have I been looking at that smooth nape of your neck?······.”

The guy was so excited that he started screaming and suddenly stopped talking..

Then he wiped his face and slowly began to catch his breath..

“Yeah, yeah, I can't help it, but I think it would be fun to play hide and seek.······.”

And then I chuckled to myself..

No matter how I looked at it, he didn't seem sane..

Well, no one in their right mind would have done such a crazy thing as sucking human blood..

“Anyway, your abilities are so unique and crazy. Are you using telekinesis or something??”

“······.”

“But what, no matter how much you hit me with something like that, it won’t help? That thing you just gave that woman is a weapon filled with divine power, right? You idiot, why are you giving that to me? Tsk tsk······.”

He rolled up the whip and hung it on his belt..

And spread both hands.

Then blade-like nails sprouted..

“Without that sword, you can't do anything to me. It's just fucking unilaterally torn apart. know? How about calling me back right now and asking for it??”

“······.”

“Um, really? Then from now on······.”

The guy grinned and started approaching Lee Hyun-wook..

“······Feel it once. That exhilarating feeling of helplessness, of being slowly torn to death, piece by piece, by something you can't defeat no matter how much you resist.······.”

It was then.

Clink-!

I heard the sound of a window breaking somewhere..

It was the window of Lee Hyun-wook's back, barracks 1, 2nd floor, dormitory 5..

And from there, something started pouring out..

Hung- Hung- Hung- Hung- Hung-

It was a bunch of iron balls..

However, it is quite different from what Hyunwook Lee just used..

“······What, what, no way?”

He must have felt that power as expected, and he stopped with a puzzled expression..

Yes. A total of 13 iron beads, all of which contained divine power..

“I have a lot of weapons. It's not against the law to bring out a new weapon.?”

In the past few days, Lee Hyun-wook's weaponry has increased significantly..

Of course, the 30 iron stakes and the remaining KG19 could not be taken out now..

This was because they were all stored in the ‘battalion armory’ in the basement of the barracks..

However, since this iron ball was not classified as a weapon, it could be kept privately..

They flew in and started spinning around Lee Hyun-wook's body..

Then the vampire took a step back without realizing it..

To his eyes, the iron beads seemed to emit an eerie bluish light..

It had a gloomy feeling, like 'wisp' or 'fox fire'..

It was some kind of instinctive warning. It means that if you touch it, you can disappear.······.

“Where on earth did all that stuff come from??”

Holy power was not a very common power..

It was a special power that could be granted through a very difficult method. Since it was even rarer for people to come out in droves like that, he couldn't help but be embarrassed..

“Your dirty way of thinking... I will cleanse it from now on..”

With those words, 13 iron beads scattered in all directions..

Shh-shh-sh-sh-sh-sh-

And then they surrounded him in all directions, and then he was shot at high speed..

“Pfft!”

He jumped backwards as if doing acrobatics and avoided the iron ball attack with great movement..

“Suck, damn it!”

However, it was impossible to continuously outrun 13 objects whose orbits were modified in real time..

Wow!

“-Wow!”

Finally, an iron ball hit him in the mouth..

Five or six teeth fell off my larynx and blood poured out..

“Ugh······.”

From then on, he changed his strategy..

I gave up on dodging and lowered my posture with both feet on the floor..

And the flying iron balls······.

widely! widely! widely! widely!

He began to snatch it with quick movements of his hands..

Five in each hand, and the remaining one was stopped by stepping on it with the foot..

It was a movement close to a stunt..

“Hey, this dog! Hahaha! Now the ball game is over!”

I grabbed all the iron balls with both hands so tightly that I couldn't control them..

Cheeeeee······.

Smoke rose from its grasp. the skin was melting.

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain..

“You shouldn't catch that carelessly.?”

“Don't be bluffing, this chew! What do you think you can do to me with this kind of divine power??”

Well, it was not given directly by a high-ranking priest, but rather a kind of industrial product that transferred divine power from somewhere else using a blacksmith's enchantment technology, so it was not very powerful..

however······.

“Well, that's not what I meant..”

“what? Then what is it?”

“If you don't like playing ball, stop playing. How about playing with fireworks from now on??”

“what kind of point is that-”

“-shredding.”

Wow!

In its grasp, some of the iron balls exploded..

Both of his hands, up to his forearms, were blown away by the impact..

“······.”

The guy made a blank expression for a moment, then looked at both the severed arms and slowly opened his mouth..

“······K-ahhh!”

Whoosh-

At that moment, a silver beam of light shot out from Lee Hyun-wook’s waist..

pale note,

Its destination was his left eyeball..

deeply!

“Uh, billion······.”

It seemed like he was already in a groggy state and didn't even think about avoiding the attack..

Lee Hyun-wook then pulled out the cloud sword..

- The weapon is given ‘Auror (Saint)’.

Using the newly acquired skill, I filled the Cloud Sword with divine power..

And then he approached quickly and swung towards the stumbling leg of the guy..

Cha-ak!

The guy's right ankle was cut off and he fell forward..

“Now, how do you feel? Has it become a little sacred??”

“Shut up······”

“However, I have one question. Heo Young-tae, why are you here??”

“······Hehehehehehe you know me?”

The vampire, Heo Young-tae, was crying and completely devastated..

‘You know, I'm afraid I'll forget your faces?’

Lee Hyun-wook thought like that and looked down at the guy..

Heo Young-tae was one of the villain's 'assassination team' called the 'Five Butchers'..

‘Inside the dungeon, evildoers slaughter all the players who set out to attack them.······.’

So, you get the achievement ‘Butcher’ and receive ‘special power’ through the villain quest..

That was the ability of monsters like 'vampire' that ordinary players cannot have..

‘However, they are not the ones who are supposed to be here today..’

It was unexpected.

Originally, only two of the five butchers came here..

Lee Hyun-wook in his past life may not have known, but he was not as aware as Heo Young-tae. Lee Hyun-wook remembered that this guy had massacred civilians and 'turned them into undead' elsewhere..

‘By killing the black tentacle Yang Joo-seop at Seoul Station, they began to take a different path..’

It seemed like they were desperately looking for the 'key' they got back then..

However, in a broad sense, this could also be said to be Lee Hyun-wook's prediction..

‘Of course, you can't grow up completely away from them..’

There was no need to stay away from the villains just because their surveillance network was narrowing..

Rather, you have to stay close to them, under the lamp..

‘That way, I can steal their luck for my own.······.’

While making them worse, Lee Hyun-wook himself grows..

And the formula is still applicable today.

Whoosh-

Something flew towards Lee Hyun-wook’s hand..

That was Heo Young-tae's blown finger..

To be exact, it was the ring that was put there..

- ‘Obtained ‘Mana Tank (Level 3)’.

“······Just like this,.”

This was a pretty expensive item..

As the name Mana Tank suggests, this small ring could store a huge amount of mana and use it in real time. And since the higher the total mana amount, the better the stat, most players, including wizards, tended to purchase one of these mana tanks..

In other words, it was an item with a high transaction volume and a high selling price due to its versatility..

‘3If it's a grade... it's worth at least 1 billion..’

Of course, for Lee Hyun-wook, it was just a bite..

gulp-

Digesting this increases the total amount of mana to the same level as swallowing several tons of mana stones..

Like this, the villain grows in size by eating up their plans one after another..

That was Lee Hyun-wook’s plan..

“Big, buy, save······.”

Lee Hyun-wook took Heo Young-tae's life without hesitation..

***

Sporadic gunshots were ringing out here and there on Namsan Mountain..

Among them, the most noisy place was definitely near the guard post..

2The dog's muzzle was shooting fire into the darkness..

Ta-da-da-da-dang!

More than a dozen figures shook and fell in the attack..

“Okay, let's load.!”

However, they got up again and started coming towards us..

Even if I get hit by dozens of bullets and my whole body gets damaged,······.

“They won't die!”

They were the inhabitants of hell, so-called undead type monsters, simply put, 'zombies'..

“oh! I'm out of bullets!”

2The company's female soldiers and two guards had no choice but to step back in the end..

The guard leader who was assisting them from behind also put down his bowstring..

“Boys, now come inside, come inside!”

It was the guard sergeant, Sergeant Choi Seon-ah, who said that..

As a support player, she was providing buffs from the back..

“But if we hide here, won't they go down, into the city??”

“Still, you have to avoid us first! Soon... the 5-minute standby will come soon.!”

Choi Seon-ah’s judgment was reasonable. There were only 4 people, it was not a situation that could be handled with that number..

But at the same time, I felt something was wrong..

That 5-minute standby... It should have come a long time ago..

She went inside the guardhouse and communicated with the guardhouse again through the 'hotline'..

“Jitongsil! Jitongsil! This is the main gate guard post! This is the main gate guard post! Respond! Respond! ah······.”

But there was no response from the command and control room..

“Oh, why isn't anyone coming??”

“······.”

They had no way of knowing, but they were in a state of chaos right now..

Woooooo-

Before we knew it, about 30 ‘inhabitants of hell’ had reached the vicinity of the guard post..

They were slow, but unpreventable disasters..

“Guard Sergeant! Zombies enter the compound!”

But no matter how much they thought about it, there was no way they could stop it anymore..

It was then.

T-huh!

A line of flashes of light exploded from somewhere and blew three of the inhabitants of hell into the distance..

“······Uh, has the 5-minute standby arrived??”

However, there were no lights visible from the vehicle that the 5-minute wait team might be riding in..

However, three very faint beams of light, i.e. flashlights, approached..

puck!

The leader, a soldier holding a shield, rushed forward without hesitation and hit the lead zombie..

Then, swinging the one-handed sword left and right, he accurately cut the nape of the zombie's neck..

“uh······.”

An arrow fired from somewhere behind his back slowly but surely took down the zombie..

Then, lightning magic was fired again, sending a couple of zombies flying..

“······three, three people?”

Yes, there were only three reinforcements who showed up like that..

However, they steadily cut down the rather slow and stupid 'residents of this world' - and completely 'retired' those who did not die easily, and approached the guard post..

“Deputy sub-commander! Are you okay??”

Choi Seon-ah realized that the voice was Corporal Ahn Min-tae, 1st Company, 5th Division..

“······How are you? Now, where did it come from??”

“For now, we will block the front, so we would appreciate it if you could provide support fire from behind.!”

“Ah Okay!”

Ahn Min-tae raised his shield and moved forward again..

Choi Seon-ah immediately cast 'Haste' and 'Power Up' magic on Ahn Min-tae..

“Breathe! Oh... I'm suddenly full of energy.!”

The three members of the 5th squad advancing around An Min-tae had the power to completely defeat the zombies, and with the support fire from the guards, they were able to wipe out about twenty in just a few minutes..

“Guys, it's possible! We did it on our own!”

“Huh... Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook should have seen this.!”

At this moment, strangely enough, they were feeling euphoric..

I was scared and nervous, but I was more confident that I could do it..

They were the ones who survived when they were surrounded by a group of over 60 gnolls..

As long as I had a holy weapon, I was no match for zombies that move recklessly without intelligence..

Meanwhile, Choi Seon-ah couldn't help but wonder as she watched the scene..

“vs. alternative······.”

1The 5th squad of the company, they were the squad in charge of Choi Seon-ah..

In other words, they were the soldiers who knew best..

However, Lee Hyun-wook has recently shown overwhelming progress, and now he is growing so fast that even the squad members under him cannot understand, or rather, he is actually showing signs of evolution..

‘Does this make sense??’

It was all strange in many ways, but······.

‘Yes, if we keep it like this, we can stop it..’

I was so, so, so fortunate..

She clutched her trembling thighs..

It looked like she was going to collapse at any moment, but she bit her lip and held on..

‘I'm not a kid anymore. And I'm a soldier.’

She took a breath and checked her mana and skill cooldowns..

Then, he understood the battle situation and applied a ‘buff’ to the most appropriate player..

Her buff could increase the player's abilities by up to 20%..

Whoosh- whoosh- whoosh-

Taeyong Choi's firing speed increased dramatically after receiving the buff..

Choi Seon-ah was also doing her part..

however······.

“Ha-what is this? This is a completely unexpected scene.?”

I heard an unfamiliar voice from somewhere.

Choi Seon-ah raised her head in the direction from which the voice was heard..

On top of the guardhouse building, someone unfamiliar was sitting..

It was a slim woman wearing a black suit..

However, the look in her eyes······.

‘······Red?’

For some reason, Choi Seon-ah felt that it didn't seem human..

And strangely enough, when I made eye contact with her, I felt like my body stiffened..

“who are you?”

At that moment the woman jumped out of there..

and······.

Cha-ak!

He swung his hand and slit the throat of one of the guards..

She picked and fell..

A puddle of blood appeared on the floor..

“······.”

It was so fast that Choi Seon-ah could only stare blankly at the scene..

“ah?”

And by the time you realize that the next target of those claws is you, it's already too late.

But in a split second, someone blocked Choi Seon-ah’s path..

T-huh!

“Pfft!”

It was Ahn Min-tae. He blocked the woman's claws with her shield..

And instead, I used more force and pushed her away..

“every! step back inside!”

When Ahn Min-tae shouted and swung his sword, the unidentified woman smiled and took a step back..

However, after just scratching the shield, smoke was rising from the woman's fingers..

Cheeeeee······

“Hmm...you're holding an expensive shield? AMT soldiers don't fit the theme, yeah?”

He blew away the smoke rising from his fingernails..

“hey! What are you? Suddenly, what is this?!”

Mintae Ahn discovered that the zombies were just passing by without attacking her..

“I'll forget when I die, why should I say something that hurts your mouth??”

She kicked the ground and threw a front kick towards An Min-tae.,

In response, Ahn Min-tae strengthened his legs and shifted his weight forward..

Wow!

But I couldn't hold on.

Ahn Min-tae's body floated, flew about 5 meters, and landed on a sidewalk block..

At that moment, Choi Tae-yong and Park Jun-mo fired arrows and lightning attacks, but the woman easily dodged them..

“eww······.”

Ahn Min-tae felt the night sky turning yellow and noticed it right away..

Even if everyone here attacks me, I can't be her opponent.······.

But I couldn't give up.

He immediately got up and walked to the front..

“Ah, Corporal Ahn Min-tae.?”

“Pfft! You have to hold on, until Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook comes.······.”

The woman smiled brightly while looking at that scene..

Then he took out a long knife from behind his back..

I knocked Ahn Min-tae away with my bare body, but it was a weapon.······.

Soon she waved her left hand lightly..

visor-

With just that small movement, the tip of the shield Ahn Min-tae was holding was cut off..

Even the one-handed sword with divine power he was holding in his right hand was cut in half..

“Next attack, I have no intention of saving you, so what should I do??”

“······.”

But Ahn Min-tae did not get out of the way..

I wanted to run away, but I couldn't.

‘If I step back, everyone dies..’

Until recently, I had never felt a sense of duty while serving as an AMT soldier..

It had to be that way..

A sense of duty was also an emotion that could only be achieved by feeling a sense of belonging and accomplishment..

But things were different now..

‘Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook entrusted this place to me..’

And Ahn Min-tae himself decided to become a great tank and senior from now on..

That's why I couldn't back down.

“Haha, you idiot, you cut off my lifeline.?”

The woman raised her long sword high..

Pa-ang!

Klaxon ringing at that very moment,

A bright light came from somewhere.

Outside the base, it was on the road..

Bur-bur-burb-burr-burb-buck!

An SUV raced toward the guard post, hitting zombies with its twin lights on..

Because of the barricade, he moved zigzagly, but like a stunt, he hit the ground without stopping..

“What the fuck is this?!”

Just before he hit the woman, she jumped and escaped..

Kkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

The car stopped exactly in front of the guard post..

“······uh? Well, isn’t that the company commander’s car??”

Taeyong Choi said.

Yes, that was definitely Captain Yongjun Kwak's SUV..

However, the passenger door opened before the driver's door..

And someone got off there.

Jeopuk- Jeopuk-

In the light of car headlights, a person wearing black clothes... AMT combat uniform walked out..

Slowly the outline became clear..

Half-unbuttoned combat boots, fully open combat uniform top, sergeant rank insignia, rimless glasses.······.

Everyone looked at his face..

But was it because it was such an unexpected appearance??

In a moment of silence where no one could easily speak, only the sound of the SUV's engine sounded..

Soon, Ahn Min-tae opened his mouth and called his name..

“······Choi, Sergeant Youngjun Choi?”

The one who is said to be the strongest among all AMT soldiers.,

And the one who will later be called the Sword Saint,

It was such a man's unexpected return from vacation..