BSW 256

He reached the apex in an instant. The Devouring Ghouls forming the sphere were still firmly clung to one another.

Tae-muk prowled atop the egg, searching for a suitable spot. Then, he drove his sword straight down into the head of the ghoul at the very top. A crunching sound of breaking bone vibrated through the blade. Tae-muk moved the sword up and down to create a gap, and then—

“Whew…”

He took one deep breath. Then, gripping the hilt of the sword, he leaped straight down.

The wind whipped upward, and Tae-muk’s hair surged toward the sky. The collar of his military coat fluttered, tickling his chin.

Tredededek.

Tredek, tredededek.

As Tae-muk plummeted, the sword in his grip fell with him. The blade sliced through countless Helmet Bones. Tae-muk occasionally shifted his wrist from side to side to make the fissures irregular. That was the only way to create gaps.

Once he had descended about two-thirds of the way, the egg split open, and a phlegm-like liquid [stolen content]stolen content -->began to ooze out sluggishly. Glimpses of offspring that looked like insects were visible within.

And at that moment.

“Dong-ja!”

Tae-muk called out to Dong-ja.

“Yes!”

She answered instantly, having been skewering the heads of the ghouls with her spear as if they were kebabs. She reached deep into the bundle she was carrying and pulled something out.

Round in shape, like a rice ball. It was a grenade. All the ones they had stockpiled were gone; this was one of the few, precious grenades they had managed to find by scouring the garrison like they were searching for lice.

Dong-ja gripped the grenade firmly after pulling the safety pin, leaning her arm and upper body far back.

“Hyaaap!”

With a shout, she hurled the grenade with all her might. Imbued with Dong-ja’s [unauthorized [unauthorized copy]copy]strength, the grenade flew in a straight line and was sucked right into a gap in the mass where the yellowish liquid was oozing. And then—

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, the egg exploded.

In the Torn Sun

Bang! Bang! Ba-bang! Bang!

Badadada! Badadada!

The sound of gunfire shook the mountain noisily. This was because rifles were firing from the bottom of the mountain and machine guns from the top. Ho-eun was hiding behind a rock halfway up the mountain, firing his rifle.

Bang! Click. …Bang! Bang!

However, unlike the other soldiers, his gunfire was irregular and slow. It was because he was targeting the Tentacle Plant Monsters. This was the matter he had asked Tae-muk’s understanding of before the operation began.

‘There is something I wish to do separately; would you permit me?’

‘I want to eliminate the Tentacle Plant Monsters while the enemies’ heads are soft.’

Whether the Tentacle Plant Monsters exchanged opinions to plan operations or whether someone issued orders unilaterally, it was certain that those tentacled things were at the center of it.

Ho-eun did not think that every single ghoul could be killed cleanly and without exception in this battle. At most, ten thousand, or at least several thousand, or perhaps several hundred would escape.

If any of the Double Horn Types or Fan Types were among them, another tragedy would occur elsewhere. Perhaps the day would come when they would have to repeat a great battle like this one.

Therefore, he had to kill the tentacled things in advance. For the sake of their future selves.

Bang! …Bang!

Ho-eun fired his gun slowly but steadily. Killing them was not difficult. As long as he hit anywhere on their flat heads, they died; it was as easy as pie. He couldn’t tell you how fortunate it was that the bones of these starving creatures had softened.

It was just as Ho-eun, having killed another Double Horn Type, was aiming at another nearby. Srrr. The cloak he was wearing slid forward, blocking his vision.

Ho-eun shook his head to push [[Read on Read BL Novels]style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">Read on Read BL Novels[Read on Read BL Novels]olute;left:-9999px;">]the cloth back. But as he aimed his gun again, the cloak slid forward once more.

“…”

Just as a frowning Ho-eun took his hand off the trigger to flip the cloak back, a careful hand did it for him. He flicked his gaze upward.

“…”

He saw Seong-im standing there, her hair now cut short.

“Thank you, Seong-im.”

Ho-eun offered a low word of thanks. Seong-im smiled brightly. Then, she moved her hands this way and that to convey a message. It seemed she was telling him that he must not take off the cloak. And for good reason; the purpose of this cloak was camouflage. Camouflage to keep Ho-eun’s appearance hidden.

Not only that, but behind Seong-im, Gil-sang and nearly twenty soldiers were surrounding him. They were on high alert, their senses sharpened as if they were in the middle of a battlefield. Gil-sang also kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, maintaining a posture where he could draw it at any moment.

It was to protect Ho-eun.

It might have seemed excessive, but there was a reason.

Just before the operation began, while spending a moment with Tae-muk, Ho-eun had cautiously brought up the moment he encountered a Fan-shaped Devourer during the attack on the garrison.

‘I felt as if my eyes met with that thing. It might have been a delusion, but for some reason, it felt unsettling… The way they are obsessively wary of the General, and the way they attacked the garrison as if they knew the relationship between the God of War and the Bondmate… I am concerned.’

At those words, Tae-muk had assigned an unusually large number of soldiers to Ho-eun’s side. However, no one protested.

Because something happening to Ho-eun was synonymous with something happening to Tae-muk. And something happening to Tae-muk was the same as something happening to the security of the nation.

Ho-eun agreed with that sentiment.

He hoped that no misfortune would befall him. Not for his own sake, but for Tae-muk’s.

“…”

Ho-eun pulled the cloak to cover his forehead and continued to pull the trigger. He skipped the Sprout Types and Leaf Types, dealing with the intelligent Double Horn Types and Fan Types first. Then, when a shimmering gold tentacle entered the sight of his gun—

Bang!

He fired.

Kieeeee…

Another Fan-shaped Devourer sprayed blood and collapsed backward.

By the time half a day had passed and a vermilion sunset began to seep into the sky, it seemed the outcome of the battle had been decided.

The soldiers of the Korean Empire were eliminating the ghouls at a speed entirely different from before. The ghouls tried to stop the soldiers by huddling and piling up to create walls, or by using their overwhelming numbers to target a single soldier as prey with five or six of them lunging at once, but it was futile.

The soldiers, now masters at dealing with ghouls, trampled them like horses treading on grass, smashed their heads by spinning their spears like pinwheels, and crushed their skulls by swinging maces like clubs.

In between, cannons fired with a thump! thump! This was because new units had joined while the battle was in full swing. Only four additional cannons had been added, but the rate at which the ghouls died doubled. To exaggerate slightly, it felt as if the number of ghouls had been halved in just half a day.

Accordingly, the soldiers’ morale soared, and their fear vanished. As time passed, the ghouls would grow hungrier and thus weaker, so it would not be an overstatement to say the victory was already decided.

Ho-eun continued to pull the trigger. Then, feeling a throb in his wrist, [unauthorized copyclass="wm" [unauthorized copy]style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">unauthorized copy]he momentarily let go of the trigger and shook his hand out.

“Whew…”

His shoulders ached and his back was sore from staying in one position for so long. But he had no intention of complaining. Nor did he intend to rest.

Just as Ho-eun caught his breath and placed his index finger back on the trigger, bringing his eye to the sight—

“Uh…”

The ghouls suddenly began to move somewhere all at once. Previously, they had been tangled without order, shrieking and wailing, but suddenly they moved in one direction, with perfect discipline. The sound of them kicking the ground as they ran created a subtle vibration.

Startled, Ho-eun looked up to observe their movement. The black mass of creatures was running toward the riverbank.

“…Are they fleeing?”

Gil-sang muttered to himself, frowning.

“Or are they going to save their offspring?”

Ho-eun continued the questioning. Even if that were the case, wasn’t the response too late? Tae-muk had already destroyed more eggs than he had fingers to count, and until now, only the ghouls near the eggs had swarmed; they had never all converged in one place like this.

But why now?

“Why…”

Ho-eun truly hated that word. It was because he was anxious.

Because the sudden behavior of the ghouls, their mysterious movements, had always brought blood.

Catch them! We can’t let them get away!

Run faster! Faster!

The soldiers busily chased after them. As they did, they slammed their respective weapons into the backs of the creatures’ heads. Previously, they had to dodge because the ghouls bared their teeth, but now, with their backs wide open, they were much easier to handle.

The soldiers’ morale rose even higher. They seemed to think the ghouls were retreating.

“…”

However, Ho-eun’s expression was dark. The ghouls could be fleeing. Given the situation, it was practically a defeat, so it was possible. Yet, he was still anxious.

Setting down the rifle he had rested on a rock, he slowly stood up. Then, looking in the direction the ghouls were moving, he tried to predict their destination.

On the riverbank where the ghouls were heading, there were many masses—that is, eggs—gathered. To protect them from Tae-muk, who was continuously bursting eggs, they had been moved back and back until they reached that spot.

From his estimation, it seemed they were indeed swarming toward that place. Specifically, toward one egg that was the farthest and deepest.

…Are they going to protect only one? Then what about the other eggs?

Thinking that far, he urgently pulled out his telescope and aimed it there. He saw the egg the creatures were swarming toward. It almost looked as if the egg was sucking the ghouls into it.