Chapter 46
[Paju Ecological Park]
[Please Do Not Litter]
The sign was destroyed by the vehicle’s grenade attack.
The APCs pursued the dwarves. Realizing they were no match against the brute features of the APCs, the dwarves hurriedly fled without putting up a fight.
The driver of the APC hit the gas. The vehicle accelerated and crushed the dwarves. It met little resistance and left behind unrecognisable piles of crushed flesh in its tracks.
Some dwarves jumped into a nearby small pond in an attempt to avoid the Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction. The vehicles which had been driving over the green bushes stopped and shifted their muzzles at once.
Bullets of varying sizes, from 7.62mm to 30mm, shot into the water. Given the shallow depth of the pond, the bullets. .h.i.t at full force and penetrated the monsters hiding in the pond easily. The initially clean pond became more and more contaminated, its clear waters turning black.
Other dwarves hid amongst the thick bushes. Thanks to this, they were able to avoid being hit by the bullets. However, they could not avoid the vehicles that charged into the ecological park.
Monsters were crushed as they laid low in an attempt to hide, and bodies were sprawled across the area.
“Confirmed destruction of Paju Ecological Park!”
The Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction defeated the nests located in the Paju Ecological Park and the Paju Industrial Complex. Initially, all of the troops had gathered together to deal with the situation—however, upon realizing the dwarves’ weak combat capabilities, they separated to divide and conquer.
Only a few of the dwarves had survived the artillery bombing and those few numbers were easily cleaned up by dividing the troops. Even though they were divided, the troops were mechanized infantry armed with machine guns and autocannons—a natural enemy of the dwarves who had no means of penetrating armor.
It was overkill, in a sense.
“What is the progress of the other troops?” Kw.a.n.g Hwi asked over comms.
“Progress at Paju Stadium has been completed.”
“Progress at Paju Ecological Stadium has also been completed.”
“a.s.sault on Paju LCD Industrial Complex still in progress!”
“Remnant forces at Byeokchoji Arboretum have been successfully suppressed!”
“Progress at Paju Samreung is nearly complete.”
The destruction of the monsters was going smoothly.
Kw.a.n.g Hwi ordered for the reserves. “Confirmed. Reserves, are you on stand-by?”
“Yes, Commander. Waiting for orders.”
“Start rescuing the survivors.”
The reserves, who had all been waiting outside of Paju, were now put into action. Hoping to prove just as effective as they were in the Blue House operations, the AH-6 Little Birds, a.k.a. dragonflies, entered into Paju City’s airs.p.a.ce.
However, unlike last time, a speaker was now attached to the dragonflies instead of a hydra rocket. The dragonfly helicopters played pre-recorded announcements as they flew around the city of Paju. “The Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction has a message for all survivors in Paju City! We are almost done with our operation to eliminate all of the monsters in Paju. Survivors, please join Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction if you hear this. We can provide safety, accomodation, meals and medical treatment.”
People in hiding stuck out their heads.
The Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction slowly went around the city to collect people. The survivors boarded buses that were acquired from another area. Even though they were not vehicles purchased from the Merit Stop, the symbol of the Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction was painted on a large scale.
“No need to rush! There are still many seats left!”
“Please maintain order!”
“Commander, this is the reserves. The rescuing of survivors is going smoothly.”
The main force led by Kw.a.n.g Hwi circled a military base of Paju. Paju was one of the frontline regions of South Korea. Therefore, many troops were stationed in Paju in case of an emergency attack from North Korea.
[2nd Armored Brigade 1st Corps]
They first headed towards the armored brigade base, but there wasn’t much to be salvaged. APCs and tanks were all damaged and unusable.
“Oh man, if only these were fine…”
“If these were fine, we wouldn’t be here, you fool.”
They were only able to obtain Light Tactical Vehicles with no weapon attachments and some engineer equipment.
The other bases—1st Division, 9th Division, and 30th Division—were no different. Fortunately, as expected of a highly military-concentrated region, many soldiers were found. 50 new soldiers were added to the combat force even after discharging injured ones and giving them civilian duties.
The Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction conquered Paju City within a day. Out of all the operations undertaken thus far, this was the smoothest yet.
[All monsters within Paju City have been eliminated.]
[You have obtained 100,000 MP as a reward.]
[Rumors of the Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction are spreading across Northern Gyeonggi Province and Kangwon Province.]
[Gyeonggi Province’s Paju City was added to the Controlling Area category.]
[It is strongly suggested to deploy troops in the area. If troops are not deployed, other forces may take over the territory.]
***
Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction’s next target was Yeoncheon County.
Located in the utmost northern part of Gyeonggi Province, Yeoncheon County prided itself as the holder of the lowest population in the province. Neighboring Yeoncheon was Cheolwon County, belonging to Gangwon Province. 98% of the county was off-limits to non-military personnel, but seeing how North Korea seemed to be wiped off the radar, none of that mattered.
The monsters in Yeoncheon County were known as Os. They resembled ostriches, if ostriches had a comb like chickens and sharp feathers encompa.s.sing their neck. It was a shame that these monsters flocked in small groups, making it unnecessary to use the SPGs. It would be a waste to use them.
In the end, Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction moved in directly to take them out after marking their whereabouts using the UAV.
“Night Intruder, how much farther do we have to go?”
“…turn left now!”
The APC that Kw.a.n.g Hwi was riding in made a sharp turn. The sudden turn caused the vehicle to graze the side of a building. Pieces of concrete scattered from the impact.
The sudden appearance of the APC Namer caused a ruckus. It was the thickest and hardest-looking APC the Os had encountered thus far. The formidable exterior imposed such fear that the monsters could not think to challenge it. Cawing furiously, the Os turned abruptly and ran.
The bipedal monsters stampeded furiously. They gained distance from the APC. It was unbelievable that such speed was possible with just two legs.
“Quite fast, huh?” Kw.a.n.g Hwi mused.
The Os were running away, and successfully at that, but he kept his cool. There was no need to be fazed. They might be fast, but they couldn’t outrun bullets.
The gunner operated the machine gun remotely connected to the control panel. The crosshair eventually overlapped one of the running Os.
A ray of light pierced through the atmosphere.
An unlucky Os crumpled, screeching pitifully
Panicked, the other Os worked their legs faster. Veins bulged from their already inflated thighs as if they were going to burst.
The Os steadily gained more distance. However, the average range of the machine gun was 1-2km. The distance the monsters gained wasn’t even close to 1km. The 7.62mm bullets penetrated the Os without mercy.
Suddenly, the Os changed direction.
A stray bullet streaked towards an idle vehicle in the corner. It missed its mark and pierced the window, boring a hole in the car.
The APC followed suit and changed direction as well. Just as it turned the corner, the Os rushed out. This startled the driver. He tightened his grip on the handle.
The Os flew about 5-6m into the air and rushed past the APC, heading in the opposite direction of Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s forces.
“W- We lost them!” cried the driver.
Kw.a.n.g Hwi observed the monsters through the exterior camera. He didn’t blame the driver. He radioed the pilot waiting behind him. “Dragonfly 3, it’s your turn.”
The helicopter following the APC proceeded to chase the Os. An APC’s movement was limited as it had to stick to land, but a helicopter followed no such rule. A helicopter created its own rules; after all, the sky was the limit. It just had to watch out for some skysc.r.a.pers and utility poles here and there.
“This is Dragonfly 3, target acquired. Engaging target.”
The 25mm autocannon rained down fire. The monsters fell without the chance to even let out a gasp as the cannons found their target. The dead ones brought down their brethren with them as their lifeless bodies crashed into them.
Flames suddenly sparked from the rear end of the Os.
The pilot squinted his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Huh?”
The Os’ body launched straight into the air. After rocketing dozens of meters into the air, the Os gently landed back on the ground.
“What’s wrong?” Kw.a.n.g Hwi asked.
“Th-There were flames coming out of the targets’ a.s.ses and… for a bit they flew into the air!”
“They were s.h.i.tting fire?”
Kw.a.n.g Hwi zoomed in the footage of the UAV to make sense of what he just heard. The footage showed the Os rocketing themselves into the air. It was as the pilot said. Pillars of fire were blasting out of their b.u.ms, just like a jet.
Kw.a.n.g Hwi wiped his forehead with his palm and ordered calmly,“…huuuh, whatever they’re s.h.i.tting out of their a.s.ses, eliminate all targets.”
“Roger that.”
The pilot came to his senses and pulled the trigger. The autocannons resumed hailing down pain upon the enemy.
The pilot generously fired round after round as if in an attempt to erase what he had just witnessed from his mind.
The Os, using their ultimate move, did their best to gain more distance, but their flames grew weaker and weaker after each use. Despite their fancy efforts, the Os failed to increase their chances of survival against a helicopter. To a helicopter, fire-s.h.i.tting Os were all the same—all destined to become mincemeat.
Dozens of Os stumbled past Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s APC. Several of them fell under machine gun fire as they neared Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s position. A wrong decision on the Os’ part.
Light Tactical Vehicles with heavy machine guns attached to them pursued the Os. The APC driver quickly followed behind.
The newly-found Os pack seemed smaller than the ones they had encountered so far. They looked like chicks yet to have entered adulthood. The little ones’ speed failed to match that of their adult counterparts. TheLight Tactical Vehicles were able to catch up and stay toe-to-toe to them.
The Os chicks glared at the vehicles that managed to catch up. The feather covering their necks started to shake. The machine gunner instinctively ducked back into the vehicle. What seemed like normal feathers at first launched out like knives.
But they were no match against the vehicle’s armor. The sharp feathers ricocheted off of the vehicle and pierced another Os chick instead.
Squawking, the chick writhed in pain until it was knocked to the ground by a bullet.
Black blood spat across a nearby vehicle. The monsters had fallen for their own trick.
The other Os changed tactics after watching their brethren’s blunder.
They jumped and landed on top of the Light Tactical Vehicles. The gunners frantically swirled the machine guns around to aim towards the Os, but their efforts were contested by the Os’ sharp claws. Some of the Os managed to catch a piece of the gunners with their claws as a few of them failed to dodge entirely.
The soldiers riding in the pa.s.senger seat quickly grabbed their rifles and aimed at the Os. They counterattacked from inside.
ManyOs flew back, gushing blood. The rapid gunshots scared off the rest and they jumped off of the vehicles.
The APC Namer that was trailing behind seized the opportunity and fired at the Os. The fire-control system offered pin-point accuracy.One by one, the Os fell as each round exited the barrel.
[All monsters within Yeoncheon County have been eliminated!]
[You have obtained 100,000 MP as a reward.]
[Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction’s reputation is spreading further in all directions.]
[Nearby monsters will now be cautious of the Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction.]
[Armata is scheming up a plan to prevent the Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction’s advancement into Seoul.]
[Gyeonggi Province’s Yeoncheon County was added to the Controlling Area category.]
[It is strongly suggested to deploy troops in the area. If troops are not deployed, other forces may take over the territory.]
— Ω —