Chapter 21 – The Second Relic (2)
2.
Awooooh!
Werewolf, a giant werewolf over 2 meters tall covered in gray hair howled towards the sky.
It was howling like a typhoon.
It wasn’t a simple sound.
Furthermore, it wasn’t the howl of a lonely wolf.
The wolf’s howl was a cry aimed at its people.
Awooh!
Awoooh!
Naturally, the howls of the first werewolf was followed by more howls.
Kuhung, Kuhung!
The other howls did not belong to more werewolves, but instead regular wolves.
They clearly weren’t regular wild wolves.
Their bodies were 2 meters long even without including the tails.
Their fur was an ashen grey color.
Their heads were terrifyingly fierce. They had red eyes and two fangs like that of a saber-toothed tiger.
Saber-toothed wolf.
Kuhung! Kung kung!
The moment the werewolf’s howls rang out, the saber-toothed wolves ran out onto the car-filled highway.
At the end of their path was the dump truck.
Of course the dump truck itself was not their goal.
They were after the Mek Clan soldiers who were peeking with their rifles on the dump truck.
The soldiers were also after the saber-toothed wolves as well.
“Fire!”
The battle began as Kim Su Ji gave the order to shoot.
Tututu!
The soldiers’ rifles began to light up.
The bullets from the rifles mercilessly ripped through the saber-toothed wolves.
Ggeng! Ggeng!
The saber-toothed wolves that were hit yelped in pain.
That was all.
The shots from the rifles didn’t hinder the wolves’ charge.
The bullets did not lack power.
“d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n!”
‘Stop, hand please stop. Please stop!’
Deul deul deul!
The soldiers’ trigger fingers were trembling like those of a restless patient.
Awoooh!
The cause of their trembling was the werewolf’s howl.
The typhoon like howls were a source of power that was like giving the wolves wings, while also shackling the soldiers with terror.
If Ahn Sun Mi hadn’t made the pills beforehand, and if the soldiers hadn’t taken the pills beforehand, then they wouldn’t have even been able to pull the trigger on their guns.
Ting ting, ting ting ting!
Ting ting, ting!
“d.a.m.n those f.u.c.king cars!”
“Seriously what the f.u.c.k!”
The cars that filled up the highway was also a source of bitterness for the soldiers.
With trembling hands, not even Kim Tae Hoon was able to accurately hit the wolves that were bobbing and weaving between the cars.
Kuhung!
Utilizing any means necessary, four wolves were able to reach the dump truck with plodding steps. They had no thoughts of stopping. With one last attempt, they tried to throw themselves onto the dump truck’s loader.
It was Kim Su Ji’s cries that stopped their attempts.
“An attack!”
“An attack!”
A short two-word cry.
Kwa-kwa-kw.a.n.g!
Accompanying that noise, a claymore with hundreds of beads inside of it exploded.
Ggeng!
In front of the horrifying and inhumane weapon known as the claymore, the saber-toothed wolves could only whimper.
Those were just death throes. Riddled with holes, the wolves could only gasp a few times to breathe.
Awooooh!
Seeing what had happened, the werewolf howled again.
It was howling with more intensity and more anger.
Awoooh!
The other wolves began to resonate with the werewolf as they let out their own howls.
At that moment, a strange force began to twist around the battlefield. It wasn’t a vague feeling.
An incantation.
The incantation became a weapon.
Keureureu!
The strange power began to increase the intensity and savagery in the wolves’ eyes.
At that moment.
·····Oooooohb!
The werewolf howls suddenly stopped.
Oohb! Oohb!
The werewolf tried to howl again, but its snout would not open.
It was as though someone had tied up the werewolf’s snout!
Oohb! Oooohb!
In the werewolf’s case, it was a rather embarra.s.sing situation.
A water balloon was launched towards the werewolf. The water balloon flew in a parabolic shape before accurately landing on the werewolf’s eye.
Cheul puk!
The balloon popped and spread a black liquid all over the werewolf’s face.
Oohb!
Because of the liquid, the werewolf tightly shut its eyes and began to struggle against the pain.
It was a natural reaction.
The black liquid was a mixture of various toxic substances such as gasoline, pesticide, and insecticide. If a mixture of strong perfume and red pepper powder got into your nose and your eyes but you didn’t struggle against it, that would be strange.
“Alright!”
Having accurately tossed what was essentially a chemical weapon, Bang Hyun Wook clenched his fist and shouted.
“This is Bucheon’s 3rd draft pick starting pitcher Bang Hyun Wook! I’m the pitcher who gave the finisher from the National High School Baseball Phoenix Champions.h.i.+p! The Phoenix Champions.h.i.+p! 11 strikeouts! Bucheon’s Kershaw!”
Hearing Bang Hyun Wook’s excited shouts, the werewolf rubbed its eyes and turned towards Bang Hyun Wook.
At that moment, the power that kept the werewolf’s snout closed disappeared. The werewolf’s mouth opened with great force.
It let out all the rage that had been boiling inside it.
Keuuuuhng!
Kim Tae Hoon appeared by the werewolf alongside Bang Hyun Wook who held and irod rod in his hand like a baseball bat.
Tutu! Tututu! Tutu!
Kim Tae Hoon looked at Bang Hyun Wook and shot the werewolf in the back with his gun.
Puk puk, Pububuk!
The gun barrels were pressed up against the werewolf’s body and head.
A sure hit.
Of the seven gunshots, none of them missed the werewolf.
Keeng!
However, the werewolf did not fall.
Even having been shot in the head, the werewolf did not even get down on its knee, but instead cried out in pain.
‘Tough.’
It was evident that the werewolf possessed tough skin, strong and thick bones, and an uncanny vitality.
‘Making leather from it will be very useful.’
But in the end, it was really only something Kim Tae Hoon would consider under such circ.u.mstances.
The scary part about a gun was that a countdown started the moment the shots landed.
Blood starts to pour, joints and muscles are damaged, and movements become dull.
The werewolf felt strange.
The chemical mixture that Kim Tae Hoon had concocted was more effective than using other materials.
Kim Tae Hoon calmly and accurately rammed a bullet into the werewolf’s body.
Keuhung!
He also messed with the werewolf’s movements using his telekinesis.
In Kim Tae Hoon’s eyes, the werewolf was no different from a scarecrow with its limbs tied up with huge invisible chains.
‘Ah.’
At that moment, Kim Tae Hoon’s intuition warned him.
Following his senses, Kim Tae Hoon turned his gaze towards his left to see a saber-toothed wolf launching into the air like a spring.
It looked like it would be impossible for Kim Tae Hoon to dodge the wolf’s attack since it was basically already upon him.
So Kim Tae Hoon didn’t dodge.
Instead, he shot out his right fist towards the snout. His clenched fist had turned black thanks to Black Skin.
Bbagak!
His fist broke through the saber-toothed wolf’s saber tooth.
Puhwat!
Having punched through its teeth, he penetrated through the roof of the wolf’s mouth and turned its brain to mush.
“Hyungnim be careful······.”
Bang Hyun Wook’s startled warning had come after the saber-toothed wolf had already become a corpse hanging off of Kim Tae Hoon’s fist.
“······not to scratch yourself on the sharp bits of the wolf.” [TN: It’s kind of awkward trying to translate this into English. It originally says something like “Hyungnim watch out….. is not something you need to do”, except it makes sense in Korean. So I changed it to this so it flows.]
Bang Hyun Wook’s cry ended in a slight mumble.
Of course, Kim Tae Hoon paid it no heed.
Kim Tae Hoon inspected his rifle, and carefully observed his surroundings to make sure there were no other wolves nearby. Since there were no red flags going off in his intuition, Kim Tae Hoon began to unload the rest of the magazine into the werewolf’s body.
Tu tu, tu, cheulkuk!
When the last bullet left the chamber, Kim Tae Hoon began to reload while shouting.
“Commence battle! Destroy the enemy!”
Kim Tae Hoon’s shout was an invigorating energy that shook the battlefield.
3.
[Werewolf Crystal]
– Increases Strength when consumed.
– Increases Stamina when consumed.
– Increases the rating of Physical Defense when consumed.
– Increases the rating of Energy when consumed.
– Grants the werewolf ability [Howl] when consumed.
“Howl······ then that means before a fight, hyungnim will awoooooo! Will you shout it?”
Looking at the picture of the werewolf’s loot on the smartphone’s screen, he looked at Kim Tae Hoon’s while going awooooh. Imagining the scene where he would be howling, he giggled with a kik-kik.
However, he was the only one with a smile on his lips.
The Mek Clan soldiers, including Second Lieutenant Kim Su Ji, having had lit a bonfire in front of the dump truck, couldn’t afford to laugh as they trembled in front of the fire while trying to warm themselves.
It was the werewolf’s howl, the intensity of the ‘Fear’ it exuded was more intense than they had thought.
So being out in this weather where it would only get colder, the effect was doubled.
“Are you ok?”
Bang Hyun Wook worriedly asked Chang Sung Hoon who was a stone’s throw away from him. Chang Sung Hook could only shake his head while trembling.
“Definitely not. Are you alright?”
“I feel that it’s a bit hot.”
“Hot?”
“Energy has a duration, once it heats up, it doesn’t easily cool down. I can still feel it wriggling around in my gut.”
“I also feel like there’s something crawling around in my gut. d.a.m.n it.”
The two of them saw Kim Tae Hoon approaching them.
It looked like he was coming back after making sure there weren’t any more monsters around the Bow Museum.
Everyone who was warming up by the fire stood up when they saw Kim Tae Hoon.
“Chang Sung Hoon and Ahn Sun Mi.”
Kim Tae Hoon called out towards the two of them. The both of them nodded their heads.
They had no reason to ask any questions. It was something they had agreed to in advance.
Although it would be easy to tell if an object was a relic simply by taking a picture of it with a smartphone, Kim Tae Hoon had no knowledge of where to look for any of the hidden pieces.
So he decided to bring along Chang Sung Hoon who had that knowledge, and Ahn Sun Mi who had already discovered a relic in the past.
“Second Lieutenant Kim Su Ji will temporarily be in charge. Furthermore, Bang Hyun Wook will be in charge of offense.”
Instead of replying, Bang Hyun Wook fumbled a salute.
Kim Tae Hoon’s gaze briefly rested on Bang Hyun Wook before he headed towards the museum with Ahn Sun Mi and Chang Sung Hoon.
4.
Bucheon Bow Museum.
Located beside Bucheon Stadium, the museum housed a variety of bows, arrows, and other items related to bows.
Flash, flas.h.!.+
There were camera flashes all over the museum.
It was quite a spectacle for a museum curator to see.
Regardless, it was kind of a scary scene.
“Okay!”
Standing in the dark, a man broke a gla.s.s case with a hammer.
Jjeng!
The sound of gla.s.s shattering rang off the walls.
“It sounds just as awesome as those thief punks said. I can get addicted to this.”
Following that remark, a hand suddenly appeared amidst the broken gla.s.s. The hand grasped an arrow that was on display.
“What did you find?”
“What is that?”
A man and a woman crowded around the man who was holding the arrow, the arrow being baptized in camera flashes.
Instead of replying to them, he showed the two of them the screen on his phone.
[Sun Sin’s Arrow]
– Relic Grade: Grade 7
– Relic Rarity : Rare
– Relic Effect : An arrow containing the power of a great commander. The strength of the arrowhead’s penetration increases in relation to the user’s Energy.
Grade 4, rare······ the description was more amazing than was expected.
However, Kim Tae Hoon and Ahn Sun Mi’s eyes did not even look at the relic’s grade, rarity, or effect.
“Sun Sin’s Arrow?”
“Hold on a second. Is it that Sun Sin······.”
Sun Sin.
There is only one great commander by the name of Sun Sin in the history of Korea.
“Does it perhaps mean Admiral Yi Sun Sin?”
Kim tae Hoon did not answer Ahn Sun Mi’s question.
‘So it’s Yi Sun Sin······.’
No, that’s impossible. At this time, he couldn’t give an answer.
“Why is such a n.o.ble artifact in this museum?”
The one to answer was of course Chang Sung Hoon.
Chang Sung Hoon spoke while looking at the arrow in his hand.
“It’s actually the opposite. It would have to be at the level of Admiral Yi Sun Sin’s arrow if it were to stay in the museum.”
Chang Sung Hoon continued to look at the arrow with the light from his phone.
“Who would dare to take an arrow shot by the greatest commander of the Joseon Dynasty Admiral Yi Sun Sin? If it’s an arrow that a great Admiral like Yi Sun Sin-nim shot, then no one would take it home and use it as a decoration or a talisman, but would instead leave it in the museum so that its condition could be preserved even after hundreds of years.”
“No not that, why is such a precious treasure in this small museum······.”
Hearing it be called a precious treasure, Chang Sung Hoon laughed.
“Arrows aren’t treasures. If it’s not an arrow crafted for the purposes of serving as a temple’s emblem, then it’s just a consumable. Even if it’s an arrow that Admiral Yi Sun Sin shot over 10,000 feet. Arrows can be recycled. No matter how you look at it, a single arrow doesn’t have a unique name, right? This is not a treasure. A value of a treasure is determined by how much someone would be willing to pay for it, and how much of a supply exists. To be honest, it doesn’t matter. Of course, the story is different now.”
With those words, Chang Sung Hoon laughed.
“Please come take a look at this. The arrowhead flashes with a newly made light. Would arrowheads shot during the j.a.panese Invasion be so spotless like this? This could be a hint that an object has turned into a relic. Not only has its abilities changed, its appearance as well. If it’s not made of gold, then relics will be in a perfect state like this······.”
Chang Sung Hoon suddenly stopped talking.
The smile on his face disappeared.
Kim Tae Hoon and Ahn Sun Mi both looked at Chang Sung Hoon with a puzzled look on his face. The two of them waited for Chang Sung Hoon to keep talking.
“Hold on.”
After a while, Chang Sung Hoon opened his mouth.
“There is a point of interest we need to go to right now sir. We, we have to go there right now.”
“We have to go there for me to say what I need to say. Exactly where we have to go, and why we have to go.”
“There’s a European Porcelain museum. There’s a European Porcelain Museum in the Bucheon Stadium······ that’s why, that is there.”
“What is it?”
Ahn Sun Mi asked for an answer.
“Champagne gla.s.s.”
“Champagne gla.s.s?”
Ahn Sun Mi asked while Kim Tae Hoon furrowed his brow.
To dispel their reaction, Chang Sung Hoon swallowed his spit and then spewed out a long string of words that was spinning around in his head.
“The golden champagne cup that Emperor Napoleon used.”
Gulp!
Instead of words, Chang Sung Hoon heard the sound of gulping.