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n56. Save the Goblins

nA Gorgon’s size was quite comparable to most rhinos. Their iron horns were also huge. It was like a dump truck with a broken brake with that size, horn, and speed. Usually, it was an all-expenses-paid journey to the underworld via direct train along the Jordan River.

nHowever, the Goblins of Ashvilam were far from normal at any angle. Those huge biceps and forearm muscles, they pickaxed to hell and back… but no, they were strong warriors trained with the textbooks.

n“Stab!”

n“Move, stab!”

n“Whoaaaaa!”

nWhen Ko Byeong-gap sang first, Gobung echoed it. The first infantry poked their spears in unison at his command. The long spear, made by combining the bones and the skulls of Horned Gabris, boasted great power.

n“Gasp!”

nThe charge of the Gorgons broke down from the front line. The Goblins were pushed back a little, but they didn’t get swept away.

n“Get out!”

nKo Byeong-gap exclaimed coldly. The first infantry quickly retreated to the rear and regrouped. He and the attack squad filled their void.

nThe attack squad had started to learn the intermediate textbooks. The strength they radiated was shabby and crude compared to that of Ko Byeong-gap. However, that didn’t mean they were weak. At least against lower-level monsters, they had an overwhelming advantage.

n“Squeak!”

n“Keyuk!”

nThe Gorgons said goodbye to this life with screams of death. They died in different ways. Some died by being beheaded, some with their bodies split and crushed to death. Some burned to death, and some even exploded…

nDeath was a bountiful harvest. They sang a requiem!

n“Stab!”

n“Let’s go!”

nThe first infantry advanced again. The momentum was like a chariot that broke down gates. Their sharp spears were shot through the gaps between Ko Byeong-gap and the attack squad.

n“Coooooah!”

nThey didn’t let them get away with it either. One of them pushed past the rushing spears. It slammed a Hob Goblin with its forehead.

n“Gasp!”

nThe Hob Goblin was knocked out. Fortunately, he wasn’t stabbed directly by the horn, but the shock seemed pretty effective.

n“Coooooah!”

nThe Gorgon jumped up. All of the first infantry were soldiers, so they were less responsive to enemies who penetrated the middle of the camp.

n‘Dangerous!’

nThe Gorgon tumbled over the overturned Hob Goblin. Ko Byeong-gap immediately ran there but was likely to be late by a narrow margin.

nIt was at that moment, a silent sword flew in and cut the Gorgon’s neck. Thanks to this, the Hob Goblin was able to survive.

n‘Who is it?’

nKo Byeong-gap’s eyes widened in surprise.

n“Doran?”

nThe owner of the fierce sword was Doran. She stood triumphantly, propped up the ground with a very long two-handed sword.

n“Lord, I want to fight, too!”

n“Come on. I’m glad you’re here! Join us!”

n“Yes! Hurry up and get up, idiot.”

n“Oh, I got it.”

nDoran joined the war. Although she hadn’t mastered the textbooks, she was a reliable enough swordsman. Her level of force was never inferior to that of the attack squad. Also, she was the training instructor of the Goblins.

n“Attack!”

n“Turn around!”

nThe spears and the horns intersected. On one side, swords stretched out, with lightning and magic that rained down. Scary groans echoed from all over the place and wet the ground.

nA spear penetrated one of the Gorgon’s eyes and penetrated its brain. The thick saliva mixed with blood and brain water flowed down one after another.

nThe well-branched blades devoured the flesh of the enemy witchcraft attacks by Kiriyan and Dorma relentlessly destroyed the enemy camp.

nWhen the bodies of their enemy had piled up like a mountain, they climbed over them and cleared out the remnants. The battle was quickly brought to an end. Ko Byeong-gap and the Goblins enjoyed their planned victory.

n“We are victorious!”

n“Wow!”

n“Lord! Lord! Lord!”

nThe New Ashvilam Army’s first appearance ended successfully.

n***

n“Guys, we don’t have much time. Let’s move a little faster even if it’s hard.”

n“Yep!”

nThe battle ended faster than expected and was overwhelmingly one-sided. They decided to collect the meat while they had time. Even if they were one-eyed, weren’t they cows?

n‘I’m glad there were few injuries.’

nFierce battles always left scars in some form. There would only be a difference in the gravity of said scars, and in that sense, the damage suffered by the Goblins was minimal.

nin Ashvilam, so there’s no problem with treatment.’

nHe prepared cures before leaving for the expedition. The three kinds of healing dumplings from the Ancient Shop. Even with them, any trauma could be recovered as if washed away.

nThe transportation of the Goblins, who was bedridden on the second floor of the building, was complete. The meat collection work was also completed shortly after.

n“Well, let’s check the number of people! Come on, everybody!”

n“Gather up!”

n“Starting with Gobung.”

n“Standard!”

n“From the back. Start counting.”

nStarting with Gobung, the numbers passed quickly, and not a single one was missing.

n“Alright, get back to Ashvilam quickly. Treat the new kids well.”

n“Yep!”

n“I’ll go to Ashvilam as soon as I can. Until then, please stay safe.”

nThe Goblins returned to Ashvilam. Only a cold smell of blood remained in this area, which was heated with fighting spirit.

n“It’s not the time to procrastinate.”

nKo Byeong-gap teased his legs with all his might. He was worried if he could return to the campsite in time.

n“It’s a pain in the ass if I woke up the crew for no reason… Let’s hurry up.”

nHe also shook off some dirt on his body while he ran. It was no good to make it obvious that he had been fighting.

n‘That was close.’

nIt was 0:57 am. Ko Byeong-gap arrived at the campsite. Fortunately, Kim Dae-yeop didn’t make a fuss. The members were sleeping in the dark.

n“You’re later than usual today. I was worried about what was wrong.”

n“Ahaha… I’m a little confused about the way.”

n“Hmm?”

nKim Dae-yeop sniffed his nose. ‘The smell of blood?’ he murmured. He then looked up and down at Ko Byeong-gap.

n“Mr. Byeong-gap, where did you fight?”

n“Oh! You must be tired. So go hurry up and sleep. Is there anything you want me to take care of? Do you have anything to do? Uh, hurry up and go rest. Hahaha.”

n“… Are you sure you’re okay?”

n“Well, what’s the big deal? I was just taking a walk.”

nKo Byeong-gap pushed Kim Dae-yeop into the tent. After that, he sat on a folding chair and sat down his tired body.

n‘I’m tired.’

nHe had to fight a second battle with a deluge of sleepiness. Time flew by as usual. The night passed, and the day dawned. Group C began the day diligently.

n“As I told you yesterday, we will push up to the 25th point today.”

n“But will that work? I’d say it’s tight considering the facts, that’s all.”

n“We have to cut down on our meal times and extend our work. We can’t help it if we want to keep pace with other groups.”

n“Ha… Then let’s go.”

nGroup C was slower than other special forces because Jeong Seon-kyung took over the issue with Jo Gwang-heon, and she was away for two days.

nJo Gwang-heon. The psycho’s trial must’ve been over by now. Group C was immediately put on duty after they had breakfast for about 15 minutes.

nIt was around 10:30 am that Area 24-5 was closed. Hunters really caught monsters like rats.

n‘You’re saying we’ve been slow so far?’

nIt seemed to show in person that those with outstanding abilities could do this much if they did their best. Their porters sweated profusely to keep up with the hunters’ speed. It was okay for Ko Byeong-gap because he had already crossed the low-class category, but the other two were having a hard time.

nGroup C went straight to Area 25.

n“Let’s have lunch a little early. We’ll organize the 25th area in one-take, without a break, after lunch. Everyone, be aware of that.”

nThe three porters hurried to prepare lunch. He thought they would eat aggressively, but they didn’t. The lunch break went on in silence.

nThe members ate beef fried rice silently, which was better than wild vegetable bibimbap, and then out of the blue, exclamations burst out.

n“Wow, this is awesome.”

n“Hmm?”

nThe person who spoke up was unexpected, Shim Seung-seop.

nThe eyes of the team members were naturally drawn to him. Shim Seung-seop rarely spoke unless he spoke to his lovers on the phone.

n“Wow, yeah?”

n“Wow, is this true?”

nShim Seung-seop only sighed as he stared at his cell phone. Han Chang-hoon tried to look at his cell phone, pulling his head out curiously.

nShim Seung-seop kindly handed over his cell phone to show him.

n“Hmm, were you watching the news? Hmm? Someone’s dating rumor broke out? Huh? Huh??”

nHan Chang-hoon also freaked out. At that time, even Boo Young-geon, who seemed not to be interested in everything in the world, showed interest.

n“What’s going on?”

n“What is it? Ah, show me, please.”

n“What’s the matter?”

nThree people flocked behind Han Chang-hoon’s back. The porters looked at them with a blank stare.

n“What are you talking about?”

n“Wow. Is this real?”

n“It’s not a tabloid newspaper. I think it’s real.”

n“Where are we? I’ve never heard of it before.”

n“Isn’t he in Africa?”

nThe members were appalled. Everyone had a thoughtful look on their faces, and the atmosphere was extraordinary.

nAt that point, even Ko Byeong-gap couldn’t resist curiosity. What kind of article did they see that their reaction was like that?

n“What the hell is going on? What, is it a big deal?”

n“Hey Ko Byeong-gap, do you know where Sierra Leone is?”

n“Sie… What?”

nJeong Seon-kyung took his cell phone and approached Ko Byeong-gap. Shim Seung-seop muttered, “Ah… My cell phone.”

nJeong Seon-kyung showed the cell phone to Ko Byeong-gap. Other porters next to him also drew their attention to the screen.

n“There’s a Monster Wave in Sierra Leone, but the scale is crazy.”

n“Hang on. Let me read it.”

nKo Byeong-gap quickly read the article. His expression, which had been easy, was also gradually tinged with dismay.

nThe article’s content was as follows: Based in Korea, it was around 2 am that day.

nIt was just when Ko Byeong-gap was on duty. Around that time, a Monster Wave broke out in a country called Sierra Leone. It first occurred in Sierra Leone but was now spreading throughout West Africa.

nMore than an estimated million monsters were coming out of the cracks.

nIn terms of size, it was equivalent to 4,000 A-rank cracks bursting at the same time. Monsters roamed all over Africa with their unique mobility. An immediate suppression was launched, but the situation was futile since the neighboring countries, including Sierra Leone, were poor.

nIt was said that millions of people had already died horribly. They were still dying by the second. Right. There were as many as a million monsters. Even a strong hunter could hardly survive the storm.

n‘If that disturbance happened in Korea…’

nOn that day, Korea would disappear into the back of history. Just the thought of that sent chills down his spine.

n“Can we stay here like this?”

nJeong Seon-kyung asked, smoking a cigarette. It wasn’t specifically aimed at anyone.

n“Well, that’s a bit harsh, but isn’t it none of our business? It’s not even a neighboring country.”

n“What? More than three million people have already died!”

n“That’s sad, of course. But there’s nothing we can do right now.”

n“Oh my God, it’s like something big’s going to happen. What the hell is this?”

n“Come on. I think we’re almost done with lunch, so let’s get ready to move.”

nBoo Young-geon captured the chaotic atmosphere. Jeong Seon-kyung made a surprised expression.

n“Is the operation a problem now? Shouldn’t this be enough to call headquarters?”

n“If there were a problem, the headquarters would have contacted me first. We just do our job. If you’re here for work, you have to work.”

nBoo Young-geon was adamant enough to be considered cold-hearted. Actually, he was right.

nEven if the worst dungeon break in history occurred, it was across the sea, and there was no immediate physical damage to Korea. There was nothing much they could do by arguing there.

n“And…”

nBoo Young-geon stood up and continued.

n“Something unusual seems to be happening, so we have to end this expedition as soon as possible.”

n“What do you mean?”

n“Where do you think the most dangerous place in the world is?”

n“Africa, I suppose.”

nJeong Seon-kyung replied as if it was natural. However, she soon found the bones in Boo Young-geon’s words.

nAround the same time, Ko Byeong-gap penetrated his mind.

n‘The most dangerous country is…’

nThe most dangerous places were not the few countries in Africa that were currently in turmoil.

nSo where? Countries in the Middle East that were still fighting because they had not been able to put an end to their human-to-human conflict? No. That wasn’t it either.

nKo Byeong-gap turned his head and looked at the surrounding scenery. The mountain ridges, fields, and rubble of collapsed buildings caught his eye, and there were plenty of cracks that sat on it as if it were natural.

n“Ah.”

nHe sighed quietly. Yes. The most dangerous country was none other than Korea, a narrow country with hundreds of thousands of cracks above its head.

n“Come on, let’s move.”

nBoo Young-geon encouraged his team members. No one ever complained to him.

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