Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 187

187. One Goal, Different Paths (2)

Krrrrrr.

The sound of a tank crossing a stream was deafening.

A company was marching, with a tank leading the way.

The closer they got to Pyongyang, the worse the infrastructure became and the more monsters appeared, slowing down their advance.

The roads were so bad that only tanks could move. Even units that usually rode in infantry vehicles now had to walk.

The monsters from the 3-star dungeon couldn’t be taken down by tanks, but it was enough for them to draw attention and take hits instead.

“Halt!”

The tank stopped abruptly, and a signal came from the front.

The soldiers stopped and guarded their surroundings.

The basic strategy was for the Hunter [a person with special abilities to fight monsters] to go ahead, followed by the soldiers to clear the area. However, there were not enough Hunters to eliminate all the monsters in some cases.

“What is it? Did monsters appear?”

“There’s no word yet.”

The platoon leader radioed to the front, but there was no proper response.

After a tense moment, a relieving answer came.

“It’s the Chinese army.”

“What? Again?”

“Those bastards are everywhere.”

The soldiers grumbled and complained, but secretly they were relieved.

Encountering the Chinese army meant that the front was safe.

There was dissatisfaction with them entering their land without permission, but at the same time, there was a sense of camaraderie in fighting against the common enemy, monsters.

The reason they were grumbling was simply because they had to march a long distance again.

This was not happening only here. It was happening on the front lines near Pyongyang as they got closer to the city.

“This is causing problems because there’s no cooperation or information sharing with them.”

“It’s become a battle of pride for the higher-ups, and we lowly ones just have to do as we’re told.”

The company commander reported the situation by radio to the battalion network.

As time passed, the soldiers could see the Chinese army approaching from the front. It was a small group, about the size of a platoon.

Judging by their relaxed appearance, there were no monsters around. Some of the soldiers were carrying noticeable heavy bags.

“Hey… the Chinese army has amazing gear.”

“Almost like the U.S. military?”

The Chinese army was equipped with surprisingly excellent gear, as if the saying ‘human wave tactics’ was a lie.

Some soldiers had exoskeletons, bulletproof panels, and even items [magical artifacts].

Even if they weren’t ability users, they could still use items, so the supply was always insufficient, and the prices were astronomical.

The fact that even ordinary soldiers had potions meant that they were not a regular unit.

The skull mark on their left arm stood out.

“Is that some kind of special forces?”

The soldiers whispered among themselves, and a few who knew Chinese tried to talk to them. But the Chinese soldiers passed by without a word. The platoon leader approached the company commander and asked.

“What are they doing? I heard this area is still far from the Chinese front line.”

“They seem to be moving faster than expected. They said they’re looking for something. But those Commies wouldn’t tell us.”

The company commander couldn’t hide his unease, but he let the Chinese soldiers pass.

He had already heard that the Chinese army was preparing to enter Pyongyang. It was natural that they were laying the groundwork in other areas as well.

The soldiers started moving again.

It was their job to thoroughly search the area, even though the Hunters had already cleared it and the Chinese army had passed through, so there probably wouldn’t be any monsters.

Someday, civilians would have to come and live here.

***

How much time had passed? The soldiers walking along the road felt a chill.

It was still early spring, but the air was so cold that it made them tense.

Before they knew it, a thick fog had settled around them. Although they were not Hunters, they were soldiers who had fought in quite a few battles with monsters.

“Company, halt.”

The company commander also sensed something was wrong and stopped the company.

It was a mountain, and it was early spring, so it could be just a sensitive reaction, but it was better to be sensitive in combat situations.

And his hunch was right.

A soldier guarding the perimeter discovered a silhouette approaching from beyond the fog, along with a rattling sound.

“Monster on the right!”

“Front left…!”

“Behind us…”

The voices burst out one after another. Confused glances were exchanged among the soldiers.

Before they knew it, they were surrounded.

Even with the fog, it was impossible for monsters to form such a silent and precise encirclement.

Gunfire erupted without a firing order. It meant the situation was urgent.

As battles started sporadically here and there, the company commander urgently ordered them to form a battle formation and put the tank at the front. When the tank fired, the heat swept away the fog for a moment.

However, the soldiers panicked even more when they saw the countless skeleton soldiers revealed in the cleared fog.

“No, why are there so many monsters? Those Commie bastards said there were no monsters!”

The situation was strange.

There shouldn’t be this many monsters in an area that the Hunters had already cleared, and above all, the Chinese army had just passed through.

The company commander urgently tried to radio for support from the Hunters. But the radio signal was poor. It seemed to be being interfered with.

‘Did a Flood [a large-scale monster outbreak] just break out?’

Screams and shouts were erupting from everywhere.

They could block it to some extent with magic bullets, but the amount of magic bullets they had was not large.

The magic bullets they received were for cleanup, not suppression. The company commander sensed that they would be buried here as they were.

“What is this?”

Suddenly, a voice was heard from above the tank. It was a barefoot man with his upper body undressed.

It was a bizarre sight, but the company commander immediately recognized the man’s face.

“M-Mr. Kang Hyun-moo!”

As the company commander tried to approach, Hyun-moo quickly raised his hand to stop him.

There might still be dust from Hell묻어 [a Korean expression for being tainted or stained] on his body.

He didn’t know where he had fallen, so he came running after hearing the loud noise, but he never expected the South Korean army to be surrounded by monsters.

“Let’s hear the details later. Let’s clear this up first.”

Hyun-moo took out Tam.

The number of skeleton soldiers was as large as if a Flood had broken out, but it wasn’t a problematic number.

Hyun-moo jumped down and swung Tam at the monsters on the slope below. At that moment, Tam split into dozens of pieces, sweeping across dozens of meters in front like a whip.

The tremendous air pressure instantly swept away the surrounding fog.

The soldiers were so surprised that they even forgot to shoot their guns.

It wasn’t just the soldiers who were surprised. Hyun-moo was also taken aback by Tam’s unexpected change.

‘Is this what it means to split?’

Hyun-moo repeatedly swung and stabbed Tam. The fragmented pieces of Tam cut through the skeleton soldiers and trees as if they were tofu.

If he stabbed narrowly, it seemed like it would extend up to several hundred meters.

He needed to check the range a little more, but since it was being wielded by a person, accuracy was hard to guarantee.

‘Even so… this is a perfect upgrade to what Park Do-ryeong has?’

The accuracy was a shame, but it could cut, stab, and even attack simultaneously with dozens of fragments.

The attack power was, of course, far superior. It exerted the best power up to about 10 meters, without feeling any difference in density.

As Hyun-moo began to rampage, the soldiers didn’t even feel the need to shoot their guns.

Hyun-moo pinpointed where the monsters were even in the fog, and slaughtered them in an instant.

‘It would be good to clear the fog first.’

He didn’t care, but it would be a problem if the soldiers were ambushed.

The moment Hyun-moo thought that, flames erupted and spread from between the split fragments.

The surging flames instantly evaporated and blew away the remaining fog.

It was the ability contained in Helburg’s twisted passion.

It seemed that he could use the built-in abilities if he thought it was necessary. The area where Hyun-moo rampaged was cut off and scorched, making it impossible to recognize its shape.

In less than 5 minutes, the traces of the monsters could not be found.

The sky where the fog had disappeared was clear. Hyun-moo, who had finished cleaning up, was about to store Tam again when he discovered black threads wriggling between the cracked gaps of Tam.

It was the black thread that had wrapped around Tam when he made and fed it an item with petrification.

He didn’t intend to take it out, but when he tried to pick up what was there, it disappeared as if it were melting.

‘What is it?’

Come to think of it, Hyun-moo didn’t even know what he had made and fed Tam.

Perhaps because he had fed Tam too many weapons, it didn’t even tell him what abilities it had.

He had no choice but to test them one by one.

“I-Is it over?”

The company commander looked around with a speechless expression.

Except for the area where they were gathered, it was devastated as if it had been dipped in hellfire.

When Hyun-moo nodded, the company commander clicked his tongue.

“This is… amazing. Are the other commanders as strong as you?”

“I’m a bit special.”

Hyun-moo replied without a bit of humility. But the officers and soldiers nodded their heads frantically.

Some of them had seen commanders fighting. But commanders don’t always fight flamboyantly.

Usually, the monsters on the ground are weak, so it’s natural to save their strength. So, in their eyes, Kang Hyun-moo couldn’t help but look the best.

He was also the one who saved their lives right away.

“So, what’s the situation?”

“We don’t know either. This area was definitely cleared by the Hunters, and we saw the Chinese army passing by. But suddenly, so many monsters appeared… I heard there are no dungeons around here.”

“The Chinese army?”

“Yes.”

Hyun-moo suddenly fell into thought. The Chinese army was outside of Hyun-moo’s interest.

He didn’t care what the shady Chinese army was doing, but he was concerned that other people might be behind it.

Chrome.

They were moving and accompanying the Chinese army.

If the Chinese army was carrying out a special mission, he thought there was a chance it was Chrome’s instruction.

He needed to find out the details, but there was something he had to do before he found out.

“First of all, I’m hungry. Do you know where the nearest JeonNeungRyun [a support organization for Hunters] camp is?”

***

North Expeditionary Force Commander Min So-ha was looking down at Pyongyang.

The place where she was was called Daesongsan Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery.

She didn’t care who was buried there or why, so she didn’t come to pay her respects.

She had only come for someone she was about to meet.

She touched the long scar that ran from the upper left of her face down to her lower lip.

It was a scar that narrowly missed her eye, but it distorted her face and split her lip.

Now, the sensation was numb, but sometimes she felt phantom pain in that spot.

“Commander Min So-ha.”

Lee Ji-tae’s voice was heard from behind.

A young and talented friend.

He seemed disappointed in her this time, but what was important to Min So-ha was not childish justice or karma.

Lee Ji-tae looked around and asked.

“It seems like the others haven’t arrived yet.”

“I told you the appointment time a little earlier.”

“Yes?”

Min So-ha whistled sharply. At the sound, like calling a dog, a person sitting at the end of the stairs quietly got up.

Lee Ji-tae’s face contorted as he discovered the man who had been hiding his presence.

A man wearing a durumagi [traditional Korean overcoat] and a mask.

It was Park Do-ryeong.

“There will be a meeting with the Chinese army soon, and I don’t want you two causing a commotion there. If there’s anything you need to resolve, resolve it before you go in. I don’t care if you punch each other or argue. Just don’t kill each other.”

Lee Ji-tae stared at Park Do-ryeong without a word.

He had declared to Hyun-moo that he could judge Park Do-ryeong, and that’s how he was able to prevent Hyun-moo from killing Park Do-ryeong. Park Do-ryeong had to be punished in some way.

It was also a matter of Lee Ji-tae’s pride and beliefs.

“Do you think this is a children’s fight? I thought Commander Min So-ha was a hero, but if you think this is a problem that can be resolved and reconciled like that, I’m disappointed…”

“It’s a children’s fight. Why wouldn’t it be, you son of a bitch!”

Min So-ha grabbed Lee Ji-tae’s collar.

Lee Ji-tae could have avoided her hand at any time, but he stood still. Min So-ha knew that too.

“In my eyes, levels, ability users, items! It all looks like a children’s game! But that’s what catches people, people! Do you know what that means?”

Min So-ha growled and snapped.

“Am I a hero? I’m just someone who survived by eating all my colleagues and superiors! Just because I happen to be a damn ability user!”

She was being called a hero simply because she had survived. Min So-ha had seen countless people who deserved that title more than she did.

“I just hope that this damn game ends someday with as little loss of life as possible. So, do whatever you want, reconcile right now or sulk and go home!”