The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 78

The Returner Only Protects Me – 78

#78. Catapult

Humans are animals of war.

And war is a war of firepower.

The reason why the ROK [Republic of Korea] Ministry of National Defense is sometimes jokingly called the Ministry of Firepower is that it pours all available resources into firepower.

From the past to the present.

The development of weapons that can kill more people has been a driving force in the history of science.

Arrows for one person.

Bullets for several people.

Shells for dozens.

Missiles for hundreds.

And nuclear weapons for tens of thousands.

Slaughter has been intertwined with civilization itself.

Sion, situated on the rooftop of the police station, was looking out at the city in the dark night sky.

The city, where neon signs were unlit, was completely dark.

The operation had already begun.

Sion needed weapons of mass destruction.

He focused on developing firepower that individual soldiers could use, in addition to relying on the ogres.

The results were promising.

He was utilizing Nepenthes [a genus of carnivorous plants, here likely a fictional, highly flammable variant].

Existing Molotov cocktails had limitations in firepower, no matter how much they were improved.

They often went out mid-throw, and there were many misfires.

Furthermore, if that Molotov cocktail was loaded onto a catapult, it would extinguish mid-flight due to air resistance and wind.

However, when the cloth was replaced with Nepenthes stems, these limitations were resolved.

The Nepenthes stem proved to be even more flammable than the existing oil-soaked cloth.

This was because Nepenthes was a plant-based monster and contained a lot of oil in its body.

After discovering that fact, the Molotov cocktail was improved in the following way.

A glass bottle was filled with Nepenthes oil and then capped with the stem of the monster.

Molotov cocktails made in this way did not extinguish even when launched from a catapult.

The resources from the alien world were proving to be far more effective.

Of course, they didn’t explode 100% of the time, but this shortcoming was easily overcome by the catapult method.

At first, only oil-filled bottles were launched.

When dozens of glass bottles were shot into the air, they scattered and fell on the target area.

As the bottles shattered upon impact, the Nepenthes oil inside was dispersed throughout the area.

After that, a lit bottle was dropped, and a fierce fire spread indiscriminately.

This fire was incredibly deadly.

And in reality, the effect was significant.

* * *

Bisan-dong, Dongan-gu defense base.

There, the warriors of Dongan, armed with spears and knives, were guarding the barricades.

They were leisurely talking to each other or gambling.

This place was close to Madam’s gambling den.

Therefore, they never anticipated that Man-gyeong’s soldiers would attack.

But as always, carelessness led to their downfall.

Whoosh- Clang!

“……?”

“What is it?”

A glass bottle landed near the Dongan warriors who were playing poker.

The warriors, assuming someone had approached and thrown it, scanned their surroundings with weapons in hand.

But there was no one around.

“Did a flying monster drop it while playing with it?”

“I think so. These days, a lot of strange creatures are flying around.”

“Hey, hey? Hey! Don’t touch the cards! I saw everything!”

The Dongan warriors returned to the poker table.

But at that moment.

Whoosh- Clang!

The sound of a glass bottle breaking echoed once again.

The young warriors who were rushing to the poker table stopped and looked around.

And then.

Clang! Clang!

This time, two in a row.

Again.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

An endless stream of glass bottles rained down.

“Aaaaaaack!!!”

“Ugh……!”

No matter how fragile it is, a glass bottle can be lethal if it hits someone directly on the head.

The Dongan warriors hurriedly sought shelter inside abandoned cars or buildings to avoid the flying glass bottles.

But that was only the beginning.

“……I, is it over?”

“Hey! Assess the situation!”

When the glass bottles stopped falling, the warriors emerged from the building one by one.

And they noticed something strange.

“……?”

The ground was slippery.

Like oil.

Oil was spread everywhere, along with the broken glass.

The surprised defense captain looked up at the sky on the opposite side.

There.

Fireballs filled the sky, hurtling towards them.

The warriors were silent, transfixed by the sight.

The defense captain muttered with a wry smile.

“Fucking hell.”

Thud, Whoosh-!

* * *

Choi Myung-joon was chewing on the filter of a finished cigarette like gum.

It was a habit he had to extract every last bit of nicotine.

Then he asked a soldier who was observing Dongan-gu through binoculars from a high vantage point.

“Did we hit it?”

“……I, I think we hit it?”

“You *think* we hit it? What the hell are you talking about? Did we hit it or not? Tell me clearly.”

“Yes…… Yes. Yes! We hit it. For sure!”

“Oh, really?”

Thwack-.

Choi Myung-joon spat out the cigarette filter he was chewing on and ordered a reload.

Clang-.

With a clang, the ogre grabbed another Nepenthes stem, rolled it into a circle, and placed it on the catapult.

Then the soldiers came and set fire to the vines.

Whoosh-!

The stem loaded on the catapult began to burn.

A scout rushed over and said to Choi Myung-joon.

“But it landed a little further back. I think we should aim further forward.”

“……Really? Hey, math teacher.”

Choi Myung-joon turned his head and called out to a man wearing glasses sitting at a desk.

He was a math teacher who had been part of the second Man-an force during the subjugation.

He was also an expert who played a key role in building the catapult.

The spoils that Sion obtained while subjugating the second force weren’t just items.

There were also skilled individuals.

The math teacher sweated profusely and answered with difficulty.

“Yes? Ah, yes, yes! Ah, just a moment. So, this is set to this degree of high angle…… drawing a parabola…… the force is applied to this degree. Just a moment. I’ll calculate it soon. P, please don’t hit me……!”

Choi Myung-joon frowned at the math teacher’s trembling voice.

“Hey, teacher. When have I ever hit you?”

“W, well…… I, if I calculate a little slowly…… you, you smack my forehead. Y, you do, right?”

“No, isn’t that a sign of affection?! A joke between men. Isn’t that right?”

In fact, Choi Myung-joon and the math teacher were of similar age.

“Yes…… Yes. That’s not right.”

“What?!”

When Choi Myung-joon shouted, the math teacher tensed up and hurriedly grabbed a pen.

“Y, yes! It’s a joke. S, so, please bear with the joke. J, just a moment. I’ll concentrate a little.”

The math teacher, wearing broken glasses, began to calculate, relying on the torchlight.

In fact, it was optimistic to expect precise aiming from a catapult.

Rather than breaking down the enemy’s walls, the catapult’s role was more about launching something *into* the castle.

“Ah, isn’t it okay to just do it roughly? Why are you calculating so much?”

Choi Myung-joon, whose patience had reached its limit, strode towards the math teacher again.

Then the teacher lowered his head again, frightened.

“H, hiik……! D, don’t hit me.”

“I’m not hitting you. I said I’m not hitting you. Am I a psycho? Do I hit you whenever something happens? What’s the problem?”

“B, but aren’t you a gangster, Captain……? Gangsters usually solve things with their fists…….”

“Hey! Gangsters don’t use their fists much these days. Shut up and calculate quickly.”

“E…… Yes.”

The math teacher answered, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger.

Choi Myung-joon frowned, looking at his middle finger.

“Hey, did you curse at me?”

“Ah, no! This is just my h, habit…… Anyway, a, actually, isn’t the key to this battle an experiment with weapons, M, my Lord? S, so, rather than pouring out attacks recklessly, for a precise attack…….”

“So what.”

“S, so! I, I’m experimenting. I, in fact, precise a, aiming with a catapult is almost impossible. T, that’s why I put a lot of bottles in that bag. I, isn’t it?”

“Ah- so it’ll spread in the air?”

Thwack-!

Choi Myung-joon slapped the math teacher on the back as if he understood.

It was a sign of affection for Choi Myung-joon, but the math teacher who received it did not feel that way at all.

“A, again…… again. Y, you hit me…… Oh, geez…… Anyway, that’s right.”

The glass bottles filled in the bag spread in all directions when launched by the catapult.

Although precise aiming may be impossible, if the oil-filled glass bottles are scattered all over the enemy’s base.

It’s a success if you set fire to it even once.

Rather than a precision strike, it’s like grabbing a comprehensive area and bombing it indiscriminately.

“Ah, please move forward a little. Y, you need to pull that p, pillar a little more.”

The catapult that the second Man-an force made was elaborate and valuable, as they poured everything into it.

Sion’s experts reconstructed it and remade it to fit this side, so it was a state-of-the-art weapon at this time.

“I, I think this is about right.”

“Good. If it misses, you’ll get hit.”

“Yes…… Yes?!? W, why me?”

“Get ready and fire again.”

At Choi Myung-joon’s command, the soldiers hurried to move.

After adjusting as the math teacher said, they launched the catapult again.

Whoosh-!

The sound of glass bottles cutting through the air was sharp.

The burning glass bottles fired from the catapult left a trail like meteors.

The sight was so beautiful that everyone there was mesmerized.

“……Did you hit it?”

Choi Myung-joon asked the observer again.

The observer looked through the telescope and then shouted with a beaming smile.

“Ah, yes! This time it’s a hit!”

“Good.”

“O…… Oooo……! Th, that’s a relief. P, please don’t flick my forehead……! I’ll get PTSD……!”

Choi Myung-joon smiled.

This was revenge.

Revenge on Dongan-gu, who had been harassing our workers who had been raising water for the past few months.

And their revenge was not over yet.

“Hey, math teacher. Stay here and command. The boss ordered that the attack not be stopped until the sun rises.”

“Yes……? Yes?!? Me?”

“Yeah. I’m going out to play now. It’s been a while.”

“G, going out to play…… Where to?”

Swoosh-.

At that time, Choi Myung-joon took out a dagger.

It was a knife that Sion had given him.

Choi Myung-joon was still using the knife Sion gave him with care.

Then 100 elite troops following him raised their weapons all at once.

Choi Myung-joon smiled and looked at the math teacher and said.

“Hunting the hunters.”

Choi Myung-joon was very much looking forward to the long-awaited slaughter.

The moment he left for Bisan, 100 elite troops followed him.

The catapult continued to launch glass bottles.

The attack on Dongan will not stop.

Until the bastards’ defense forces become a sea of fire.

* * *

Sion calmly surveyed the battlefield from the rooftop of the Man-an Police Station.

Red flames rose in the dark city.

The attack had begun.

Jin Jae-hee, with a cigarette in her mouth, was by his side, watching the scene together.

The heads of departments were also there.

This was an observation.

An observation by high-ranking officials of the Man-gyeong forces to confirm the power of the new weapon.

“Y, you’re amazing……! Wow.”

The head of the work department started clapping first.

Following the head of the work department, other heads of departments also began to clap one after another.

They praised and complimented Sion.

But Sion did not react.

He was just silently surveying the battlefield.

“In fact, there was no doubt about the double operation. But that was all my complacent thinking. As expected, it’s the Lord’s plan. If this operation is successful, we will definitely be able to solve the drinking water problem.”

The head of the order department.

She had been talking to Kang Sion, who was the Lord, frequently about the drinking water problem recently.

However, a solution did not come to mind easily, and in the end, she wanted to take over the river by force.

And the head of the order department was impressed after hearing Kang Sion’s plan.

Because it was a genius plan.

“It’s all thanks to the Lord.”

Starting with the order department, the core high-ranking officials of the force bowed their heads and expressed their gratitude.

Even then, Sion still had no reaction.

But after the attack continued to some extent and the sea of fire swallowed the enemy’s city, Sion looked at the heads and deputy heads of each department.

“Are you convinced now?”

The reason Sion called the heads and deputy heads of departments, and the commanders of each army, was to give them confidence in the expansion.

War was not something that the Lord could carry out unilaterally.

Leadership can be secured by calling the key figures of each class to this place and instilling confidence in the war and confidence in victory.

In fact, Sion’s plan was working, and now there was no executive who would oppose the war.

Sion looked back at them and said.

“The war with Dongan will be inevitable, and it will take place in the near future.”

Sion didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

He was planning to consolidate Anyang by clearly organizing the weakened forces of Dongan-gu in this war.

All plans were already in place.

All that remained was execution and cooperation from each deputy head.

“I will schedule the war for a month from now. Until then, each department should thoroughly prepare for the war.”