The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 101

101. Anyang Station: All-Out War (2)

The news of the victory in Bisan-dong quickly reached Anyang Station.

The soldiers cheered at the news.

“Ah…! Just as expected of our Lord…! Great news from Bisan-dong!”

“Ah… That’s a relief. My cousin’s there, too…”

“Ah, that’s really fortunate. So fortunate.”

The soldiers rejoiced, but their commander couldn’t smile.

Which commander could smile comfortably with an all-out war looming?

The ruined outlet mall.

Light streamed through the broken windows, but the interior remained dim.

Melted snow dripped from the collapsed ceiling in steady streams.

Sigh… Hooo.

The cigarette smoke Jaehee exhaled dissipated in the air.

She watched the enemy’s movements through a hole in the wall.

‘There’s no chance of winning a head-on clash. We’ll lure them in as planned and wipe them out.’

Jaehee took a long drag of her cigarette and exhaled again.

The enemy’s main force approached.

They were close enough to be seen with the naked eye, advancing systematically and in good order.

‘…Bus tanks. I can’t believe Park Ji-soo thought of that. So early, too.’

At the front of the warriors, dozens of buses advanced side by side, enemy infantry sheltering behind them.

Jaehee had seen these in her previous life.

They were a siege weapon, quite famous, actually.

The crafting method was widely shared and a steady seller in the market for months.

That’s how effective they were.

Good for both defense and offense.

Of course, Jin Jaehee had told Zion about the bus tank crafting method.

But Zion hadn’t shown much reaction.

He judged there was no need to invest labor in building them.

Still, bus tanks were a formidable weapon.

“W-what is that?”

“Looks like a turtle ship [Korean armored warship].”

“How do we deal with that?”

“Damn it…”

The soldiers were terrified the moment they faced the bus tanks.

It was natural to be afraid, especially for those who weren’t players [individuals with enhanced abilities in this world].

Originally, the priority would have been to strike and neutralize the enemy’s bus tanks first. But Jin Jaehee noticed something else.

A man was walking between the buses.

A youthful-looking player named Haetae.

He clutched a huge double-edged saw, keeping pace with the bus tanks as he advanced.

Jin Jaehee narrowed her eyes as she looked at the man.

‘Strong.’

She recognized it instantly.

That guy was stronger than any player she had faced so far.

At that moment, Choi Hyun-ji, who was next to her, looked at Haetae and said.

“Hey, sis. What are you going to do? Frontal assault? Or backstab them as they are?”

Choi Hyun-ji took a sip of her cola and looked back at Jin Jaehee.

To her casual question, Jin Jaehee made a determined decision.

If the enemies were going to charge, they had to meet them head-on.

That was all.

“If a frontal assault is necessary, we’ll do it. Get ready, too.”

“……”

Jin Jaehee turned and walked away, throwing her cigarette on the ground.

Her cigarette hit the ground with a thud, and sparks flew.

Then, Choi Hyun-ji pouted and looked at Jin Jaehee, saying.

“But hey, sis. What did the Lord [referring to Kang Zion] promise you that you’re working so hard? Family? Younger brother…?”

Choi Hyun-ji, who had been a wanderer [mercenary-like players], was very curious.

She was good at reading other people’s emotions and could roughly figure out what they were thinking.

Wanderers were players who lived off information, so it was a natural skill.

“If it’s family, I have nothing to say… but you don’t look alike. The two of you. Or a lover…? That can’t be it. There’s quite an age gap? Ah, of course, I understand older woman/younger man relationships, but something about you and the Lord… No. No. It seems like our sis is especially fond of the Lord. I was wondering if there’s a reason…”

At those words, Jin Jaehee stopped walking and only turned her head to look at Choi Hyun-ji.

Choi Hyun-ji was startled.

‘…Scary.’

Whether it was Kang Zion or Jin Jaehee.

The look in their eyes alone was sharp enough to devour people.

“……”

In fact, Jin Jaehee couldn’t easily answer Choi Hyun-ji’s question.

Clearly, Kang Zion was the key to resolving this situation.

The first reason she came to him was because, in her previous life, Kang Zion was the only one who reached the final round in this league.

But in the first round at the shopping mall, Jin Jaehee was ready to abandon Kang Zion at any time.

If Kang Zion didn’t play his part in this life, Jin Jaehee was going to leave alone.

But at this point, what was she helping him for?

‘For Kang Zion’s sake,’ or ‘just to return the world to its original state?’

Jin Jaehee suddenly recalled the first round. The words she had said to Kwon Kyung-soo, who had opposed her.

-Don’t be ridiculous. You just want to relieve your guilt like this.

Guilt.

Clearly, Jin Jaehee was also human, so she had a revulsion to killing people.

But when she killed people, her thoughts were always the same.

It’s okay to die.

I’ll bring everyone back to life anyway.

Think of it as having a bad dream now.

So it’s okay to die comfortably.

‘…’

In her previous life, Kang Zion was a benefactor who had saved Jin Jaehee’s life.

So originally, the purpose of following Zion was exactly half and half.

To achieve her own goals. And to repay Zion.

But now, she didn’t know.

Nothing was certain.

It wasn’t because of her feelings or goals.

Now, she was serving Kang Zion as her Lord and simply following his orders.

Jin Jaehee looked at Choi Hyun-ji and said.

“…Focus on the battle in front of you for now. You should earn your cola money. You know how expensive it is.”

At those words, Hyun-ji scratched the back of her head and replied.

“…Ah. Y-yes… Sis. That’s right. Cola money. I should.”

After speaking, Jaehee activated her artifact and went down the stopped escalator.

Soon, lightning gathered in her right hand, and the sword hilt was gripped in her fist.

On the first floor of the outlet, Mangyeong’s soldiers were holding their breath, waiting.

As she came down, they all looked up at her.

Jin Jaehee ordered another subordinate next to her.

“…Start.”

“Yes.”

As her command fell, the soldier raised a flag and waved it.

Rumble-!

Then, hundreds of soldiers filling the first floor of the outlet stood up all at once.

* * *

Mangyeong’s arrows poured down on the bus tanks.

But the arrows bounced off the iron plates attached to the city buses.

Clang, clang, clang, clang-.

Only the warriors outside were being hit by arrows and dying.

The youthful commander watched Mangyeong’s soldiers from inside the bus tank.

Mangyeong’s soldiers were hiding in buildings, using them like walls to shoot arrows.

Confirming this, the youthful commander formed a building extermination squad and set out to hunt down the soldiers.

Soon, the youthful warriors wielding sashimi knives rushed into the building.

Before long, screams were heard.

Afterward, the youthful warriors flocked to Anyang Ilbeonga [district in Anyang].

A total of 5,000 people.

The sight of that enormous number of humans gathering and rushing forward was truly spectacular.

The youthful commander’s goal was to occupy all the ‘buildings’ first.

Mangyeong’s soldiers were using the buildings to wage a defensive battle.

“You. Stay in Ilbeonga and hunt down the rats hiding in the buildings. And you, come with me and charge into Anyang Station.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

At the commander’s order, the youthful army split into two and began to attack Ilbeonga.

A siege that Park Ji-soo was most confident in.

Another tank, the core of the youthful forces, approached the building.

Rumble…!

“……!”

“?!”

Mangyeong’s soldiers, watching the scene, hesitated.

It was a fire ladder truck.

Like the bus tanks, it had the same driving principle, but its capabilities were on a different level.

The youthful warriors used the ladder equipped on the truck to quickly infiltrate the upper floors of the building.

It was a different level of efficiency compared to the crudely made ladder trucks.

In the first place, the fire ladder truck was designed to go up to high floors at once.

Not only that. Even moving ladder trucks followed suit and began to attack Ilbeonga.

Following this, cement trucks and huge tower wagons arrived.

The huge tower wagons, which could not be compared to 1-ton trucks, were equipped with iron bars.

The soldiers did not know what function the tower wagons would perform right away, but they soon found out.

They were slave transport vehicles.

“Ugh…! Ugh!!”

“Kyaaak…! Aah…!”

“S-save me…! Save me!”

The youthful warriors did not kill Mangyeong’s soldiers right away, but captured them as much as possible and drove them into the slave cars.

The tower wagons, filled with dozens of slaves, turned the steering wheel again and again to return to their main force.

Not only the tower wagons, but also the youthful commander’s enormous army began to flock from all directions.

Mangyeong’s soldiers in front of them were helpless.

Is this what they say when there’s no matching such numbers?

Even this number was reduced because Zion had tied up more than 10,000 people in Bisan-dong.

In this way, the youthful commander was gaining the upper hand in the battle.

But heroes know how to wait for their time. The opportunity soon came.

* * *

Three hours into the battle.

The youthful player Haetae was just tanking the arrows flying from the building.

It was a reckless sight, even for his own colleagues.

‘Tch…! Monster bastard.’

Numerous arrows were stuck in Haetae’s skin, but no blood flowed.

He was no longer human.

But it wasn’t just the youthful Haetae who had surpassed human power.

At that time, a warrior rushed to the commander urgently.

“C-commander! Mangyeong sons of bitches…! X bastards…! It’s an ambush!”

“What?! An ambush?”

“The outlet we passed. From there…!”

Outlet…?!

At that moment, cold sweat formed on the youthful commander’s forehead.

It couldn’t be.

For today’s attack, the youthful commander had sent dozens of scouts for the past three days.

The youthful scouts went around secretly, one by one, around Mangyeong’s defense positions.

As a result of the reconnaissance, there was no one in the outlet, so the youthful army was advancing along that road.

But they had no way of knowing.

Mangyeong’s player, Choi Hyun-ji.

She was top-class even among wanderers.

She knew the secret paths in every corner of the city that no one else noticed.

What they suffered was because Mangyeong’s soldiers, guided by Choi Hyun-ji, had struck the enemy’s rear.

The youthful commander shouted.

“Damn it…! Don’t back down! Charge! …Euryah!!!! Ugh!?”

Thud!

The commander soon fell from the deer, shot in the forehead with an arrow and killed.

Mangyeong’s soldiers, who had rushed in from the rear, rushed towards the defenseless warriors.

“Uryaaa-!!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!”

“Geuaaaaaaaaak!!!”

The warriors and soldiers, facing each other, shouted at the top of their lungs and rushed in with their weapons.

Not in units of dozens, but in units of hundreds and thousands.

Mangyeong’s soldiers attacked, taking advantage of the youthful warriors’ disarray due to long-range strikes.

“Uwaaaaaa-!!!!”

A soldier rushed at Haetae in an instant.

Pooh-ook!

Clearly, the soldier’s attack had worked on Haetae, but he didn’t budge.

As expected, not even blood came out.

Rather, he grabbed the head of the soldier who had attacked him with one hand.

Thump.

And the scene that followed was shocking.

Crack-! Crrrack……!!!

“Keuheok…… Aaaaaaak……!!!”

Like crushing a walnut with one hand, the human head was finely shattered like a watermelon.

“……!!”

“Heok……!”

Mangyeong’s soldiers, facing it, were startled.

But the battle had already begun.

Haetae continued to advance, and the soldiers ran to the city bus to avoid him.

It was because of Kang Zion’s order.

If they thought they couldn’t handle it, they were ordered to avoid the spot and only deal with enemies they could handle.

That monster bastard was the player’s share. Mangyeong’s player would take care of it.

“Get on-!”

“Stab with spears!”

Several Mangyeong soldiers clung to the bus to stab and kill the warriors inside the tank.

Flames soared from the hit Molotov cocktails.

But it wasn’t easy.

The enemy had already embedded spears and thorns all over the bus, and attacks continued from the inside.

“Aak……!”

“Eok……!!!”

The soldiers approaching the bus tank fell helplessly one by one.

Not only that.

The youthful warriors following behind the tank, 2,000 of them.

They were already a veteran slaughter group that had fought in dozens of wars. They skillfully blocked the soldiers’ attacks.

“Kill them all!!!”

“No. Let’s make them slaves!”

“Charge-!!!”

“For our utopia! Uwaaa!”

The 8-lane road in the ruined city.

A bloody battle began on the cracked asphalt that stretched between the bent streetlights.

Swoosh-. Swish! Whoosh-! Pooh!

Meanwhile, Jin Jaehee, on one side of the battlefield, cut down every warrior who approached her.

Warriors fell one by one each time she swung.

The warriors were experienced, but they were no match for Jin Jaehee.

And finally, Jin Jaehee faced the youthful player Haetae.

“……”

“……”

Haetae, who was advancing, stopped in front of Jin Jaehee.

The guy took his double-edged saw off his shoulder and dropped it down.

Thump……!

It was an enormous force and pressure.

Jin Jaehee, standing in front of it, recalled her previous life.

It was the same back then.

When a player of this enormous size threatened her.

In her previous life, she sobbed and trembled.

-Heu…… Heu…… Keueueuk……!

She was scared. Back then.

Everything was new, and she didn’t even know why people had to fight each other like this.

She wanted to end this nightmare-like life.

Besides, in the early stages of the 3rd round of her previous life, Jin Jaehee had not yet been able to implement the Eunseong Sword.

But that was then.

Back then, she was only 25 years old, but what about now.

Since she had returned to the past, should she add to her age?

‘If I add it, thirty-five…….’

At that moment, Jin Jaehee decided not to add it. Because it was a meaningless act.

In her previous life, she didn’t know anything and was powerless, but not now.

‘……I’m not afraid at all.’

Rather, she was looking forward to it.

Now, a worthy opponent had appeared.

She swung her sword.

Swoosh-!

The silver blade passed from the top of Haetae’s head to his crotch.

Even after that, Jin Jaehee did not stop the blade.

Chwaajjwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwajwak-!!!!!

An incredibly fast slash that couldn’t even be seen.

After a while, Haetae’s entire body was diced and scattered.

The soldiers and warriors around him were surprised by the incredible sight.

Even Choi Hyun-ji, who was watching.

“……”

From now on, it’s the real deal.

There’s no time to test the waters.

The time had come to unleash the true value of the Regressor [someone who has returned from the future].

Jin Jaehee’s hair fluttered in the wind, and the flesh fragments that had been Haetae’s body fell to the ground like hail.

But it didn’t end like this.

Haetae’s diced body began to vibrate.

(To be continued in the next episode)