Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Red Oak’s great chieftain, Kwi.

A respected hero who unified thirteen tribes upon unfamiliar lands.

He was also a brilliant strategist who united the fractious tribes through war against the Death Entra.

“Chuuk chuuk. By the will of the gods, we have achieved a great victory.”

Kui knelt, closed his eyes, and offered a prayer to the heavens.

Even in the midst of the battlefield, he never ceased his prayers.

It was a habit born after hearing the voice of the gods directly, and it was his very reason for being.

Prayer was the most crucial means through which he shared his entire life with the gods, expressed daily gratitude, and sought guidance for the events to come.

“Chu-chu. Grant me your teachings.”

The thousands of Red Oak warriors of the Kui Clan devastated the Death Ent colony in a single day.

While numerical superiority played a part, the system he devised proved decisive in securing victory.

Namely, the chain of command.

He felt that a structured chain of command was necessary to efficiently govern all the Red Oaks and thus created a vertical command structure.

This allowed him to employ tactics like rotating exhausted warriors, weakened by the Berserker spell, to the rear and deploying fresh warriors to the front lines.

All thanks to the mana that grew fuller with every prayer and the intelligence that rose.

“Chuuk! Chuuk! Oh, God!”

Kuiaga raised his arms and shouted.

Then, a chilling voice echoed in his mind.

[My faithful servant.]

“Chu-chu!”

As the voice reached him, an excited Kugiga exhaled a hot puff of breath.

[Humans are coming.]

“Chomp chomp?”

[Kill them. Kill the humans and bring them before me.]

“Sniff sniff! Sniff sniff! Understood!”

Kuiga’s eyes widened at the divine command.

The god desires humans.

What was the reason for waging war against the Death Ent?

Was it not to eliminate obstacles before the battle against humanity?

Since the God commanded us to kill humans, there is no retreat.

We march straight to where the humans gather.

“Chuuk! Chuuk! Sound the drums! Summon the chieftains!”

Kuiga shouted as he emerged from his hut.

The Red Oak waiting before his hut immediately ran off and began beating the drum.

Dong-dong-dong-dong-!

***

Dojae moved swiftly and arrived at his assigned area.

Climbing up a tree to survey the situation, he saw the battle was nearly over and the Red Oaks were resting.

Then.

Thump thump thump thump-.

‘What’s that sound?’

A thunderous drumbeat echoed from the north.

Judging by the direction, it wasn’t coming from our side.

‘Get up?’

The men rose from their seats in time with the drumbeat.

One by one, they grabbed their weapons and began moving somewhere.

Crackle-.

– Begin.

Just then, the order to commence the extermination operation came over the radio.

Dojae charged out, targeting the spot where seven Red Oaks were roasting and devouring a Death Ent as his first objective.

“Chomp?”

“Chuik!”

One Red Oak, spotting Dojae charging, snorted.

The other Red Oaks assumed combat stances.

Swish-.

Swoosh-.

Harpy Queen’s Full Moon swept through the waist of the Red Oak at the front.

The tough hide of the Red Oak was sliced like paper, and the Red Oak, its spine severed, lost its balance, folded in half, and collapsed.

“Kill! Kill!”

“Squeak! Human! Die!”

Dojae plunged into the herd of Red Oaks, taking their lives one by one.

In previous Red Oak hunts, the priests were the top priority. This time was different.

The plan was to exterminate every single Red Oak, so the goal was to kill as many as possible until his stamina ran out.

‘Slow.’

The Red Orcs’ movements seemed painfully slow to Dojae’s eyes.

And no wonder—Dojae’s current level was 59.

Considering he was only level 30 when he slaughtered that Greydon before, it was almost absurd to expend energy on mere Red Oaks.

Pssshh. Swish.

However, he wasn’t used to such chaotic combat. Despite the enemy being easy, he still allowed himself to be hit by a single, very light arrow.

Fortunately, he twisted his body to dodge it with animalistic reflexes.

‘I’ve grown too accustomed to the Golem Armor.’

If Dojae’s combat had a weakness, it was that it was far too one-sided.

His fighting style had developed because he fought by relying on his sturdy golem armor, absorbing most attacks without dodging and focusing solely on unleashing his own strikes.

‘Now that the golem armor is sealed, I suppose I should pay a little more attention to evasion.’

It is precisely the accumulation of these minor experiences that truly makes one stronger.

He had seen countless awakened ones meet unfortunate ends simply by relying solely on their own abilities.

Considering this opportunity good training, Dojae proceeded to take down the Red Oaks one by one.

***

At that moment, the other squad leaders and Kim Hwan-soo also began hunting the Red Oaks.

A battle fought alone, dropped into the heart of enemy territory.

In a way, it could be called nothing less than each for themselves.

But that’s a Chinese idiom only those seeking a way to survive would use.

Who were these men?

Aren’t they the awakened ones, those called superhumans, ranked C-class and above?

Especially the sight of Class 1’s captain, Kang Young-chan, was like a demon incarnate.

“Spit. Red Oak is still disgusting.”

Kang Young-chan spat out a reddish-brown lump from his mouth.

Over there, a Red Oak clutched his neck, blood spurting like a fountain, and collapsed.

“Heh heh heh. Just wait. I’ll kill you so fast you won’t even know when it happened.”

The last remaining Red Oak.

Born warriors from the moment they were born, Red Oaks craved nothing but battle.

Such a Red Oak couldn’t move instinctively, let alone understand Kang Young-chan’s words.

No, it had stopped thinking.

No fear, no dread.

Simply overwhelmed by Kang Young-chan’s presence, it could do nothing.

Swish-!

With the sound of something passing by, the immense presence vanished, and Red Oak’s brain began to function again.

And the first thing it recognized was its own body.

Thud-.

“Whoa. It’s over…?”

Dozens of Red Oak corpses piled up nearby.

But before Kang Young-chan could even say it was over, dozens more Red Oaks swarmed in.

“This… this… there’s no end to it!”

Kang Young-chan drove his foot deep into the ground.

Since he had been barefoot from the start of the battle, he sank deep into the ground.

Then he bent his waist, assuming a jumping stance.

Long, sharp teeth and claws, bulging arm muscles, and thick thighs visible through torn pants.

He looked like a savage beast.

“Kkuk. Yeah, let’s play some more!”

Kang Young-chan burst forward toward the Red Oak pack at explosive speed, spraying the blood that had been caked on him.

In stark contrast.

Kim Hwan-soo appeared remarkably composed.

Swish-.

Kim Hwan-soo’s chained blades, usually coiled up.

Now, that long blade was uncoiled and stretched out fully.

Kim Hwan-soo swung his arm with a fluid motion.

Swish-!

Bang-!

The blade flying from Kim Hwan-soo’s fingertips struck the air, producing a gunshot-like sound.

And the distance traced by its trajectory was 3 meters from Kim Hwan-soo.

This meant no Red Oak could enter within a 3-meter radius.

Swish-!

But he hadn’t come to defend; he had come to fight.

Like a rhythmic gymnast twirling a ribbon, he swings the blade once more.

Swish-!

Thud!

His chained blades flew in a serpentine curve, piercing the Red Oak’s heart with precision.

“Gah!”

Clang- Clang-!

This time, the blade bent.

Two bends.

In the process, two Red Oaks were pierced through.

Despite the sword clearly bending, its destructive power not only didn’t diminish but instead created an even larger hole than before.

Thud-thud-.

Bang-!

Thud-thud-.

Bang-!

Kim Hwan-soo advanced as if parting the water.

He walks leisurely through the red oaks without a single speck of dirt.

“Squad Leader, report the situation.”

Kim Hwan-soo, showing composure to even use the radio while in combat.

A reply came through immediately.

Static.

– This is the squad leader. It’s too quiet here. Not a single Red Oak in sight.

Kim Hwan-soo smiled at Song Hoon’s report.

His prediction had proven correct: if they stirred things up from below and moved upward, the Red Oaks would naturally retreat northward.

However, Song Hoon’s report gave him pause.

Six officers alone couldn’t possibly concentrate all these Red Oaks.

Unless they were magic users, there was a clear physical limit to how many Red Oaks a single person could handle.

So what were the remaining orcs doing now?

After a moment’s thought, Kim Hwan-soo gave the order.

“Advance to the Bravo Line.”

– Yes, understood.

The Bravo Line.

Kim Hwan-soo had divided Zones 3 and 5 into five stages total.

Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo.

Zone 3 is divided into three equal parts from top to bottom: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie.

Zone 5 is divided into two sections: Delta and Echo.

In other words, the order was to advance from the Charlie Line, where the unit was currently waiting, to the Bravo Line.

“Life in Gaeseong won’t last much longer.”

Kim Hwan-soo felt a sense of satisfaction.

The greatest obstacle in the Kaesong campaign had been the Death Ents.

Regardless of their strength or weakness, these creatures moved freely underground, making them incredibly troublesome.

But the Red Oaks had taken care of them themselves.

He planned to wipe out all the Red Oaks now, then eliminate the Hwain as well before returning to the Republic of Korea.

“I suppose I should start preparing to return to headquarters.”

***

Thump- thump- thump- thump-.

Footsteps echoed in steady rhythm.

The source of that sound, without a single second’s deviation, was the movement of fifty-one golems.

“Hey, I heard from that tomboy in Class 3. See that guy over there? The one who looks kinda dumb? She said she saw him fight with her own eyes.”

“Really? What did she say?”

“She said he’s strong. Despite looking clumsy, his speed is insane.”

“Huh, if that eccentric woman said that, that says it all, doesn’t it?”

The squad members followed behind, whispering and murmuring.

Then Song Ji-yoon poked her head out and glared, saying,

“Hey, you guys. You’re talking about me right now!”

“Uh… Huh? No, no. We weren’t talking about you?”

“Yeah, we were just talking amongst ourselves.”

“Really? I thought I heard something about a tomboy and a weirdo.”

“Nah. Must’ve misheard.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hmm… Really? Really… Ugh!”

Just as Song Ji-yoon rolled her eyes and was about to say something, Son Jeong-gyu grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

“Why! Those jerks were talking trash about me!”

“We’re on a mission. Don’t break ranks.”

“Damn it.”

Following Son Jeong-gyu, Song Ji-yoon returned to her original spot.

Son Jeong-gyu handed her a small, round pellet.

“The captain gave it to me. It’s a top-grade potion refined into solid form. Keep it in your mouth and bite it in an emergency.”

“Whoa, seriously? Our captain’s so sweet?”

“Don’t go biting it carelessly like an idiot.”

“Yes, yes. Got it!”

Song Ji-yoon placed the pellet in her mouth and used her tongue to move it into the space between her molars and cheek.

It felt slightly foreign, but she felt her mind calm down.

“Everyone, stop!”

The Bravo Line had arrived before they knew it.

Finally, the dense rows of Red Oak and the corpses of Death Ents became clearly visible.