By Zephyria 
71
Ho-eun stared intently at Tae-muk’s back, wanting to make him aware that he was still there, that he had been left behind. But Tae-muk didn’t turn around. Just as Ho-eun was about to call out to Tae-muk without realizing it, Gil-sang, who was beside him, said,
“Young master can come with me.”
“But……”
“The Captain will take care of things here and come to the hospital. Until then, you can stay with me. He judged that it would be safer.”
“……Yes.”
Ho-eun nodded slowly. He understood, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Tae-muk’s back. He was scratching the reins with his thumb.
Dong-ja, who was at the head of the group after Tae-muk, spurred his horse. And began to head in the opposite direction from where Tae-muk had disappeared. Gil-sang gestured to Ho-eun. It seemed to mean to follow. So all the remaining 250 or so soldiers moved, following Dong-ja.
Before long, they arrived at the east gate, which was quite intact. The arched gate was about five times as tall as Ho-eun, made of iron, and had minor flaws, but it was not at a level where it had lost its defensive power.
However, right next to the gate, the stone wall was shattered haphazardly. Splatters of blood were scattered here and there on the broken pieces of the wall. It didn’t seem like human blood. Judging by the looks of it, it seemed that the Devouring Ghouls had rammed the wall with their hard helmets.
Dong-ja went inside through the wide-open gate. The moment they passed through the thick gate, the surroundings became cool in its shadow. The cold, unique humidity of the wall was felt, and the winds that had been running along the ramparts all swirled at once.
Passing through such a gate, it felt as if they were heading into a new world.
“……”
The town they arrived at was unexpectedly quiet. However, although there was no noise, the sight was extremely chaotic.
The doors and windows of the buildings were all broken. There were places where the roofs or walls were pierced, whether something had popped out from the inside or gone in.
And blood was splattered everywhere. Whether someone had been eaten on the roof, blood seeping into the roof tiles dripped stubbornly down, and blood was thickly pooled on the dirt floor.
Above all, the place where the most blood was pooled was, of course, under the corpses, or rather, the remaining flesh. Several Devouring Ghouls, not very large in size, were burying their heads in the scattered corpses and devouring them, making sounds like chup chup, jjeop, eujeogeujeok.
Even though only bones remained and there seemed to be nothing more to eat, they put the bones in their mouths and crunched them, and they stuck their tongues into the already empty skulls and licked them.
“……”
At the utterly miserable sight, Ho-eun lowered his gaze without realizing it. He still couldn’t get used to seeing dead people. His blood ran cold, and his heart beat slowly. He felt a cold sweat breaking out.
At that moment, Dong-ja, who was at the head of the group, gestured to Man-soo, who was beside him. Then Man-soo turned around and waved his palm back and forth. It was a gesture to go back.
Then, half of the hundred or so people behind Ho-eun went to the breached wall and stood guard at the entrance, and the other half ran to the Devouring Ghouls nearby.
Kaaaack! Kack, Kaaaack!
Kaaaack, Kagak, Kack!
The soldiers and the Devouring Ghouls began to fight in a tangled mess. Perhaps because they were small, they all easily gave up their necks.
Meanwhile, Dong-ja took the remaining hundred or so people and entered the town. Ho-eun and Gil-sang also followed her. Gil-sang sped up a little and moved Ho-eun into the middle of the group.
The group led by Dong-ja ran along the road, passing large and small buildings. There were few Devouring Ghouls at the entrance of the town, but the deeper they went, the more there were. And the size of the Devouring Ghouls increased accordingly.
Unlike the corpses they had seen before, the corpses being torn apart had a lot of flesh attached. Each of them dragged a corpse into a corner and ate it, covering the corpse with their bodies in case someone would steal it. Blood flowed out from between their legs like a shimmering, thin stream.
“……”
Ho-eun bit his lip as he watched the man’s corpse heave and sway each time it was torn apart by the Devouring Ghouls. The Devouring Ghouls belatedly discovered the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers.
At the appearance of fresh and plump prey, they threw away the corpses they were biting and rushed in unison, their red eyes flashing.
Kaaaack, Kack! Kaaaack!
Keck, Keueeeeck!
Dong-ja, who was at the head of the group, pulled out the spear she was carrying on her back. It was longer than Ho-eun’s height and had wide blades on both sides. The pole part was also made of iron, which looked very heavy, but Dong-ja swung it with one hand.
She spun the spear once above her head, using the speed attached to the spear to slice the neck of a Devouring Ghoul that was rushing in. The tough leather was torn and sliced, making a tteudeudeudeuk sound. The heavy helmet of the Devouring Ghoul fell to the floor with a thud.
Keuiiiiik…….
The beheaded Devouring Ghoul groaned faintly. She didn’t stop there and continued to swing the spear. Each time the heavy spear cut through the air, it made a huung, huung sound. Each time, the necks and snouts of the Devouring Ghouls fell to the ground like ripe persimmons.
“Wow……”
Ho-eun forgot the situation and admired her purely. He knew that Dong-ja would be strong. She was a Crimson Rain Brigade soldier, and among them, she was high enough in rank to stay by Tae-muk’s side. But he didn’t know she would be this strong. He felt a different kind of awe than he felt for Tae-muk.
Dong-ja, riding her horse, swung the spear once to the left and once to the right, alternating. Sometimes the spear wasn’t long enough and only half of their necks were sliced, or only their arms or wrists were sliced off, and the soldiers who followed behind stabbed and pulled out the Devouring Ghouls’ helmets with spears forged in the shape of a cross.
Everyone seemed to have their own role, and they moved without the slightest deviation, as if they were used to this kind of battle, and dealt with the Devouring Ghouls.
The giant Devouring Ghouls fell like autumn leaves. The running horses didn’t stop or even hesitate. It was only a matter of time before they passed ‘Movie Restaurant’ and reached ‘Geumgyo Herbal Medicine Clinic,’ which was two stories high.
Ho-eun recalled the map he had seen before departure. At this speed, it seemed that it would not be difficult to reach the hospital in the middle of the town.
Had Tae-muk reached this location? Or maybe he had already arrived at the shelter. Because he is strong. Thinking that far, he felt relieved.
I’ll be able to see him again soon. I have to hold his hand tight when I see him again, he vowed, when suddenly.
Kaaaack!
A Devouring Ghoul, whose body was unusually large compared to other Devouring Ghouls, rushed at Dong-ja with its mouth wide open.
“Iyaaaaa!”
Dong-ja shouted and swung her spear at the Devouring Ghoul. The monster grabbed the spear that was coming towards its helmet. And pulled it straight towards itself. Dong-ja’s body floated into the air with tremendous force.
“Uh……”
Ho-eun gasped as he watched it. He felt as if time had stopped for a moment. Surprised, he was about to stop his horse without realizing it.
Dong-ja landed on the ground. She literally landed. She didn’t even scream as she fell, and the moment the ground got close, she rolled her body and bounced up. Then, she pulled out a dagger about three spans long from her waist and stabbed the jaw of the Devouring Ghoul, which was rushing in with its mouth open.
Cheok, Jjeok, Cheok, Kkudeuk, Jjeok.
Each time the dagger was stabbed and pulled out, the Devouring Ghoul’s flesh and red blood fell to the floor with a splat. But the Devouring Ghoul didn’t die or even feel pain. It glared and grabbed Dong-ja’s elbow. Then, it dragged her to its mouth. And the moment its teeth were about to touch Dong-ja’s forehead.
Pugeok.
Man-soo, who had jumped off his horse without hesitation following Dong-ja, slammed his spear down on the center of the Devouring Ghoul’s helmet. However, Man-soo was not the God of War, so he could not pierce the helmet in one blow. He lacked the strength. The tip of the spear only slightly pierced the helmet.
It wasn’t a fatal wound, but the Devouring Ghoul seemed angry and turned to look at Man-soo, shouting, Kaaaack! Its saliva splashed on Man-soo’s face.
And then. Dong-ja, who had jumped up from her spot, grabbed the spear that was stuck in the Devouring Ghoul’s helmet with both hands and used her weight to slam it down.
Ppudeudeudeuk, something seemed to break.
Kack…….
The head of the Devouring Ghoul, whose body had been pierced by the spear, went back to the sky. It convulsed for a moment before collapsing. The ground rumbled with its heavy body.
“You son of a bitch……”
Dong-ja put her foot on the Devouring Ghoul’s helmet and pulled out the deeply embedded spear. Then she threw it to Man-soo. Man-soo smiled slyly and snatched it.
But it wasn’t a situation to smile about. That’s because Devouring Ghouls had densely gathered around them in the meantime. The soldiers began to get off their horses one by one. Then, without hesitation, they rushed at the Devouring Ghouls.
“Euaaaaa!”
Kaaaack! Kack!
The soldiers’ shouts and the Devouring Ghouls’ growls were mixed up indiscriminately. Everyone was fighting fiercely, but Gil-sang didn’t get off. He was just on guard with his sword. So Ho-eun couldn’t get off either. He just kept glancing at Gil-sang.
But at that moment, Dong-ja, who had just cut off the neck of a rushing Devouring Ghoul, raised her eyebrows as she looked at Gil-sang. Gil-sang nodded at the sight. At the same time, Dong-ja shouted loudly.
“Clear the way! Clear the way!”
At those words, the soldiers stabbed the necks, chests, and bellies of the Devouring Ghouls with their respective weapons, then shouted, Euaaaaaaaa, and drove them towards the buildings. In an instant, a path stained red with blood was created.