Chapter 31
Episode 2: Exodus / Chapter 31: Wyvern of Destruction (7)
TL: emptycube
Edited: Obelisk
“Team 5! Go up!”
At Baek Seoin’s shout, team 5 of the suicide squad jumped up. However, there was one member who was too late.
Puakack!
The wyvern’s swinging tail was like a train travelling at full speed, comparable in both its size and power.
The member was crushed like a mosquito. The protect order from his armor and his 2-star Endurance stat were useless.
Fighting an apartment-sized monster was similar to fighting a calamity.
Only when you looked up until your neck felt like it was about to break could you see its face and flaming jaws.
To humans, fighting was looking at each other, gathering your spirits, and bashing into each other. However, what they were experiencing now were feet that fell down above their heads like a landslide. When the steep cliff turned around, its tail would come forth like a tsunami.
That was why the role of the commander was very important.
“Team 1! Team 3! To the left!”
The suicide squad that was near the wyvern couldn’t see its overall shape. All they could see was one leg and the tip of its tail.
Because of this, the existence of a commander who stood at a distance was crucial. And Baek Seoin was the right man for the job.
Baek Seoin grit his teeth as he performed his role as a commander. The reason for gritting his teeth was simple.
“Fucking bastard…”
It was because the wyvern was his sworn enemy that killed his parents. His anger had become even colder and sharper as he carried out his commands.
“Team 7! Jump in! Left foot!”
Team 7 charged in at his orders. The members of Team 7 lashed out at the wound left by Choi Hyuk’s blade. They were all armed with blunt weapons. However, when they hit the wound, it only let out a slapping sound, it didn’t seem like it actually hurt the wyvern.
“Kuaahhhh!”
Except for when Chu Youngjin hit it with bloodshot eyes.
Bang!
The sound his iron mace made when it hit was different. Scraps of its flesh exploded out.
And at its impact, the wyvern momentarily flinched.
Jung Minji had thoroughly resolved herself for this expedition. She had sent the strongest of her elites, Chu Youngjin, to the suicide squad. Chu Youngjin, who activated the innate skill {Berserker}, was able to double his Power and Speed.
However, it was still far from being enough.
{Kualaalaak!!}
Stomp! Stomp!
Shocked by the sharp pain, it stomped its feet like lightning. Baek Seoin’s orders couldn’t match its quick movements. 3 members of Team 7 became blood splotches at its feet.
But, the bigger problem was that the wyvern charged and attacked the main army. To the army, it was as if a fortress had suddenly fallen from the sky.
Baaaannng!
The large wyvern was swift as well. The moment one foot contacted the ground, it rotated its body and cleared its surroundings with a swing of its tail.
Crash!
In an instant, more than 100 people became plastered onto the ground.
“Charge the Ice Cannons! Fire!”
Bang, bang, bang!
Light beams shot out of the Extraordinary Dragon Cannons.
Crackle, crack!
The wyvern was, for an instant, frozen from head to tail.
“Team 9! Assemble the Extraordinary Dragon Battering Ram!”
Baek Seoin frantically ordered. The members of Team 9 each took a barrel-like object from their Handy Bags and assembled them together. A long, thick spear was formed after connecting 10 of these barrels. The 10 members of Team 9 stood on either side of it and held it up.
{Dragon Hunting Weapon – Extraordinary Dragon Battering Ram}, a spear made to slam into a dragon, was prepared. It took 30 seconds to fully complete it.
Choi Hyuk had taken action to gain that time. He was the only warrior who could clearly see the wyvern’s movements up close.
{Kualaak!}
The Wyvern of Destruction tried its best to smash the ice that covered its body. Crack! As the ice started to crack and fall apart, Choi Hyuk jumped onto the ice.
Bang!
On top of the shattering ice, Choi Hyuk madly charged. Avoiding the avalanche of falling ice, Choi Hyuk stepped and jumped as he made his way up.
And just as the wyvern was about to lift its head and shake its body.
Craack!
A long, thin blade of karma swept at the wyvern’s neck. Because of his insufficient strength, he wasn’t able to cut the nerve, but it was definitely painful.
{Kuaaaaaah!!}
As if hit by lightning, the wyvern jumped up and took a few steps back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One step, two steps, each step crushed a few tens of people, but the wyvern did retreat away from the main army.
And Team 9 who held the Extraordinary Dragon Battering Ram charged forth and slammed it into the wyvern’s right heel.
Boom!!
At the same time, the magic implanted in the Extraordinary Dragon Battering Ram exploded out. Instantly, the wyvern’s right foot was pushed back. It wobbled. However, the thing swung its tail to regain its balance and, instead, shot flames at Team 9.
Blaaaze!
“Uack!”
“Keahhh!”
One member was unable to avoid the flames and let out a wretched scream before turning to ash. Even the members who avoided the flames caught on fire so they drank a Recovery Potion and rolled on the ground.
{Grrr!}
The Wyvern of Destruction stared at the suicide squad who had spread out to avoid its flames. It was 40 minutes into the fight. During this time, they made it wobble and cry out so it seemed to be injured but… the Wyvern of Destruction was quite unscathed. Didn’t humans cry out in surprise when they were poked with a needle? It wasn’t very different for the wyvern.
The wyvern was quite annoyed and angry.
Thud! Thud! Slaamm!
It charged forward and ran through the suicide squad. It was unbelievable that an apartment-sized monster was able to move so quickly while swinging its tail. Baek Seoin didn’t even have the time to call out orders. Even the blocking attempt from the Extraordinary Dragon Cannon came too late. The suicide squad scattered to avoid it while the support troops switched the cannons to stealth mode then spread out and hid.
Grit.
Baek Seoin ground his teeth.
{Kuaaah!}
The wyvern cried out.
But, even during this time, Choi Hyuk was faithfully attacking the Wyvern of Destruction. He was with Lee Jinhee, making their way up its back.
“Leader. Do I really have to do this?”
“You said you wanted to conquer an apartment-sized monster.”
“Ah… damn… that…”
“Hold tight.”
Choi Hyuk didn’t even bother to listen to the rest of her excuses. He raised the Predator’s Blade extended with karma and sliced the wyvern’s thigh.
{Kuaaahh!!}
It slapped its thigh with its tail. However, Choi Hyuk and Lee Jinhee had already hidden inside its flesh that was dug out like a trench.
“Uack! I almost became a flattened bean!”
“Just hold tight and keep slicing. If we keep doing this, we should be able to slow it down.”
“My sword probably won’t even slice it well. Leader, you should just do it.”
“If I stay here, the ones outside are all going to die. And look.”
Choi Hyuk raised his blade to show a blade of karma that was as dim as a candlelight.
“I don’t know if it’s because we’re inside the monster but it’s unstable. If you understand, good luck!”
Choi Hyuk didn’t wait for a reply and ran down the wyvern’s body.
“Uahhh…”
Fortunately, since Lee Jinhee was experienced in parkour, she was confident in hanging on.
‘Wait? If I didn’t know parkour, would I not have been dragged here in the first place?’
With mixed feelings, Lee Jinhee stabilized her body with her two feet and started to carve the wyvern’s flesh. She first needed to create a stable foothold.
“Ah damn… The blade doesn’t even cut. Its. Flesh. Well.”
Stab! Stab! Stab!
She let her anger out on the wyvern but it only resulted in her hands hurting more.
**
The main army thought optimistically of the suicide squad’s fight since, from the beginning, their intention was to hold the wyvern back, not to kill it. Everyone besides Choi Hyuk thought that this was the case. Although there were times when the fight would splash onto them, it wasn’t to the point where they couldn’t handle it. It was still acceptable.
“Push! Soon the Weakening Barriers will become nullified!”
Kang Dongsoo shouted.
1 hour and 40 minutes had passed since the announcement had popped up. There were still 20 minutes left before the Weakening Barriers would become nullified. Though the Wyvern of Destruction wasn’t affected by the barrier, they had to at least kill more of the 200,000 monsters before the barrier lost its effect.
This desperation united them.
It was the same for those kings under Jung Minji who didn’t want to spearhead the operation.
“Bastards!”
Even the extreme self-preservationist, the Pig King Ma Dongshik, stood on the frontlines with a shield and axe splitting monsters’ heads. The Student King Min Kyungchul charged forward with the elite troops and broke through the enemy lines. The king who used to hide in the assembly area and whine to Jung Minji supported their backs. They even created a retreat route for Min Kyungchul who headed deep into the enemy lines.
All of them had become warriors who were used to fighting. They fought together as one. The past 30 days might have helped them differentiate when they should be political and when they should be wildly fighting.
“Damn it! You’re telling me I have to fight again after doing this shit? Fuck, just wait and see what happens if you forget your promise! Fuck!”
The Pig King Ma Dongshik loudly mumbled to himself so others could hear. With an “Urk!”, he pushed back a Bladed Ghost and embedded his axe in its head. Even 2-star monsters became weaker inside Weakening Barriers.
“Hey, hyungnim, are you a tsundere? Why are you like this when you were eventually going to do it anyways?”
It was the Slave King Song Simin who was shamelessly passing by. Song Simin held a large shield and behind him stood Yoon Girim with a determined expression. She held a two-handed sword that was as long as a spear.
“Why is she fighting next to the Slave King when she’s with us?”
An executive of Jung Minji’s troops, Kwon Saehyuk, clicked his tongue. However, Jung Minji looked at it optimistically. Since Yoon Girim became brighter and was even able to fight well when she was with Song Simin.
Song Simin would block with his shield and Yoon Girim would stab from behind. It looked like Song Simin trained her well as her unhesitating actions were quite good.
While Jung Minji was vacantly looking at her, Song Simin gave her a wink.
Everyone was fighting with their lives on the line. Even the cowardly Yoon Girim.
“Now that’s more like it.”
Jung Minji who was sweating profusely in her helmet smiled.
Three hours had passed since the war began. The humans had just obtained the escape code. They automatically obtained the escape code when they stepped into a suspicious looking golden puddle located in the center of the park.
{Escape code obtained.}
A light came down from the sky along with the message. A small wing was added onto the king’s unique symbols. In Jung Minji’s case, a blazing wing appeared on the right side of the bloody knight.
“Hoo…”
Jung Minji caught her breath and lifted her right fist.
“Uahhhhh!”
The escape code. For the past month, everyone only had the escape code on their minds.
‘I have to leave this horrific Kangdong District.’
‘Who knows, it might be peaceful outside of Kangdong District.’
‘I wonder what happened to my friends?’
They had finally survived and grasped the escape code in their hands.
The progress of the war was looking good.
The army of 200,000 monsters had scattered and the suicide squad was still blocking the Wyvern of Destruction. 13 people had died in the suicide squad… If you looked at how there were no casualties for the last 2 weeks, it was a big loss but in the grand scheme of things, it was quite small.
‘Time to go back.’
That was the thought on everyone’s mind.
And.
Riing! Riiing!
With the sound of a siren, red lasers shot up from different places. Everyone knew without being told.
“… Rescue signals.”
Were there still this many survivors? Red laser shot up from all over Kangdong District. With the ominous sound of the siren and red flashes, Jung Minji’s heart tightened in terror. Signals that erupted from everywhere. Cries for help. This was able to make Jung Minji feel like she was in hell.
She couldn’t delay it any longer.
“Let’s go.”
Jung Minji unsheathed her sword and took the lead.
“Urk… Ah, fuck…”
Even though the Pig King Ma Dongshik ground his teeth, he still followed behind. He even shouted with great force.
“Let’s go! To save everyone!”
The forces under Bae Jinman’s command stood next to Jung Minji. They were the spearhead. The army of 90,000 who had survived the fierce battle advanced towards the nearest rescue signal.
‘You better endure.’
Jung Minji glanced at the suicide squad fighting the Wyvern of Destruction one last time before charging through the monsters.
The fight was much harder than they had thought. The Weakening Barriers had lost their effect and they were completely exhausted after fighting for such a long period of time. They were diligently drinking potions but there was a limit to that.
Obviously, there were a variety of people who sent rescue signals. There were children who were hiding in the sewers but there were also adults who hid in assembly areas only caring for their own safety and delinquents who hunted humans rather than monsters.
The army quickly began to tire.
“This, it’s too difficult to go around all of Kangdong District,”
Suggested the Student King Min Kyungchul.
“We already talked about this.”
“… The losses of our troops are the highest. And, honestly, I don’t know why we need to spill blood for those pathetic bastards.”
Min Kyungchul said roughly while pointing to the rescued people. The children were fine but there were guys who called themselves adults who were passive towards fighting. They only asked, “So aren’t we going to get the escape code?” with obvious intentions.
“There are children.”
“… So let’s just search half the district. This isn’t something we can do with our strength. Even if we rescue people, they don’t help with our overall strength.”
Frustrated, Min Kyungchul looked at Song Simin. He only shrugged his shoulders.
Park Solam who was Jung Minji’s executive and dedicated supporter, stepped forward. As an ethics teacher, she received a lot of respect from students.
“Student King Min Kyungchul’s words are valid. However… isn’t this the time to use a bit more strength? Are there any forces besides ours who can rescue the isolated children?”
As she said that, another executive, Kwon Saehyuk, added in.
“The Crazy Knight King’s decisions haven’t been wrong until now.”
The members of her troops who were with her since Hanyoung High School had complete trust in her. Since she was the one who survived after taking down a countless number of strong individuals.
It was these people who made Jung Minji’s dictatorship possible. Jung Minji’s bodyguards. Their strength was extraordinary.
“Haa…”
Min Kyungchul only sighed.
“I’m sorry. I will definitely repay this favor.”
Jung Minji sincerely said to Min Kyungchul. Min Kyungchul replied with a complicated expression.
“Do what you want.”
Their small break concluded. The troops once again prepared to march. The sky was still red. The sky was embroidered with red lasers and the siren continued to ring.
Jung Minji felt like she would go crazy just listening to the sirens. One’s rescue signal would bring out a certain girl inside her. A girl covered with blood who didn’t receive any help. A foolish bitch who waited for someone’s help. She recalled the despair of a damned bitch.
Jung Minji felt like her mind was becoming distant. She couldn’t stop it. No matter how shitty it was, she had to go save them.
“Minji, are you alright?”
That moment, Yoon Girim approached her.
Park Solam and Kwon Saehyuk who always kept a close guard around her were unconcerned with her appearance. Because of that.
“Here, drink this.”
When Yoon Girim handed Jung Minji a water bottle she was about to drink and when Jung Minji grinned before gulping down the bottle and even the next scene, they were all too natural.
“You fought well.”
Perhaps this was the first compliment she gave Yoon Girim… and her last.
Jung Minji lifted her head to take another drink.
Cough!
“Huh?”
Jung Minji felt like her throat was burning. A burning something spewed from her mouth.
“Cough…?”
Bloody foam rose up from her mouth. She lost all strength in her legs.
“Yoon Girim?”
The ethics teacher Park Solam was taken back. A long spear-like sword pierced through her throat.
Splash!
Blood splattered into the air. It felt unreal.
‘Ah… Yoon Girim backstabbed me.’
Only then did Jung Minji realized what had happened.
The Slave King Song Simin held the blood-stained longsword as he patted Yoon Girim’s head. He shouted.
“You can’t let one bastard we discussed in the morning get away!”
Yoon Girim stood next to him as she shouted at Jung Minji with bloodshot eyes.
“You told me to kill whatever I was scared of!”
It was the words Jung Minji had said to her. Jung Minji wanted to reply but her throat felt like it was melting and no voice came out.
‘So I was that scary… damn bitch.”
Thump.
Jung Minji’s body fell to the floor. The rain-stained sky reflected in her eyes.
There was no one who could help her.
‘So tiresome.’
She thought about when she sent her one and only father to a mental hospital and afterwards when she reported her uncle who had sexually assaulted her. Even then, it was like this.
Because there wasn’t anyone who would help her, besides herself…
Her biggest enemy was her foolishness that was waiting for someone’s help.
‘You did good. Bitch…’
It wasn’t certain if she was saying that to Yoon Girim or herself. She wanted to say those words but the sounds escaped through the side of her throat.
Then she suddenly felt at peace. ‘Whatever, the world’s fucked up anyways,’ and her thoughts travelled to Choi Hyuk and the 100 members of the suicide squad… before cutting off.
Slide.
The troop that was known to be dominating even among the allied forces. Jung Minji’s troops had somehow increased to 5,000 people, but now the bloody knight that stood above their heads disappeared.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
And the forces under Jung Minji started to retreat. This happened 4 hours after the war had begun.
The exodus (mass departure) had begun.