Once again, the same time.
A combat site disguised as a joint training between the Haeun Special Education Battalion and the 998 Infiltration Training Brigade.
After crushing Kang Jinno and other miscellaneous soldiers, Ahn Sungho slowly walked towards the button.
“Are you watching, helicam?”
Those watching through the helicam could hardly imagine that 998 would press that button. Even if the front of the battalion was breached, the area where Ahn Sungho was would remain safe.
“Hmm. My body feels a bit stiff.”
Although Ahn Sungho seemed to be dying, he did not appear to be faltering.
“Ah, Sergeant, are you alright?”
“You’ve just arrived… or not. Did you time it on purpose?”
“My steps were slower than I thought! I’m sorry!”
Park Jinsung, who had been crouching under the stairs all along, acted hesitant. His acting was so terrible that anyone could tell it was a lie.
“Hmm. Are these guys still alive? Aren’t we disqualified?”
“Stop pretending you don’t know. Kang Jinno and I were out before we even fought. My bracelet broke when I was fighting Yuk Dongho, and for Kang Jinno, it was over when you injured his thigh like that.”
Ahn Sungho said, looking at Kang Jinno who could barely blink.
“I was planning to send him off with just a light touch. Sorry about that, hehe.”
“Heh. That’s a poor excuse. It must be a failure in controlling the Edeya.”
The fact that there was physical damage meant the bracelet was destroyed.
Originally, if the bracelet broke during the training, one was to receive a death sentence and leave the battlefield on their own.
As the training became more intense, the rules were not followed properly. There will be plenty of good evidence to refer to during the training feedback later.
“Are you scolding me in this situation? Hah. Sergeant, you’re too much like an NPC in fighting games. Even AlphaGo would think you’re a friend.”
“Ha ha. I don’t want to hear that from someone with a middle school syndrome.”
Park Jinsung and Ahn Sungho laughed with satisfied faces.
For both, it was almost their first meeting since the alley incident. This meeting felt like they were resolving unresolved feelings.
“Ah, our sergeant. Wouldn’t it be better to go see the nurse now?”
“I’m planning to wait here until the training is over. I mean it.”
“You’re already disqualified, aren’t you? What’s the point in staying? You should take care of yourself.”
“I want to watch until the end.”
“If the sergeant stays here, 998 won’t be able to press the button.”
“I said I’m disqualified already? I’ll move aside if they come this far.”
Ahn Sungho emphasized the last part strongly.
“…I was planning to let you have the last spotlight.”
“I’m already satisfied. Thanks to you, I’ve proven enough.”
“……”
“I express my thanks, Park Jinsung. You truly are the best team member.”
“Ah, really. The sergeant has increased my workload!”
“Entrust victory to me.”
“Ah. Understood. I will ensure victory. Leave it to me.”
“Yes, victory is assured.”
Park Jinsung casually saluted, seemingly annoyed, and Ahn Sungho received it with a slight smile.
The Haeun Battalion, having lost many top rankers, was in a more disadvantaged situation than expected.
On the right path, Sparrow-eyes had succeeded in breaking the shield formation, but it had cost them many allies,
[Ha! Private Park Jinsunggggg! I have penetrated the shieldssssss!! But I can’t advance any furtherrrrrr!! I’m really sorryyyyyy!!]
On the left path, the situation was barely balanced thanks to the chaos caused by Byun Kiyoung.
“Csik, Csik…”
It was a pity, but the central path, having lost Kim Seyun, was the most dangerous.
“Smile! You have to smile to make it work like a charm!!”
Although the Zombie Squad had made a tremendous impact, originally being only thirty, they could not cover the whole area. The central path was too wide for their typical collaborative attacks.
“Hold on! If you can’t hold on, the captain will laugh, huh…!”
“Csik, Csik!”
“Csssiiikkk, huhk!”
As the area without the Zombie Squad began to break, the squad itself ended up isolated against 998.
Surrounded on all sides, the Zombie Squad was barely managing to defend themselves, backed up against the guardrails.
“Get lost! You zombie freaks!”
“Csik is nothing! Stop laughing already?!”
Still, the Zombie Squad was performing far better than what Kim Seyun had shouted at them. Thanks to the Zombie Squad drawing significant 998 forces, the pathway managed to hold.
“Huff, huff. Cssik…”
“Cough. C, Csik should be…”
The combat power of the Zombie Squad was based on their superior physical stamina and collaborative fighting capabilities. The individual fighting strength of each member was not as overwhelming as their efforts on the battlefield seemed.
A dilemma.
Unable to advance or retreat.
A difficult situation where they could neither move forward nor back.
Their physical strength was waning, and one by one, their colleagues, who should have been collaborating, were falling.
More members were dropping out from exhaustion than being forced out by broken bracelets.
“Huff, huff, we are the mad zombies. Even if only the head remains, a zombie never stops!”
“Cssik.”
“Cssik cssik.”
“Crazy folks… Did you all devour a dose of middle school syndrome?”
“Zombies always end up being cleaned up by humans! Just die already!!”
998 soldiers mercilessly attacked the Zombie Squad. As limbs flew everywhere, presaging the grim future of the members,
“Heheh. To possess such great mental strength. All that time spent training you was worthwhile.”
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a bright red blade appeared and ruthlessly knocked down the 998 soldiers.
“Die! You zombie… huh? Gak!”
“Our zombies are beneficial to humans. So kindly scram. You inhuman creatures.”
With each sweep of the bright red trails, 998 soldiers were knocked down like sheets of paper.
Crack!
Park Jinsung quickly knocked out the target with the back and handle of his knife. Those who tried to block awkwardly and hit their bones wrong ended up with fractures as well.
“Captain?! It’s the captain!”
“Captain has arrived!”
Park Jinsung firmly stood in front of the Zombie Squad.
“Ah, everyone, are you alright?”
“Captain! Why are you so late?”
“If I didn’t say I was coming, how can you say I’m late?”
“Ugh. Where did this guy come from? We had 998 completely surrounded here… Huh.”
A 998 soldier with a crushed right arm lay on the ground looking towards his battalion.
It was supposed to be a path swarming with 998 soldiers, but even after scrubbing his eyes, he couldn’t find any.
“Could it be that you knocked them all down on your way here…?”
“Ah, don’t be too surprised. There weren’t many.”
Park Jinsung chuckled as he twirled his dagger.
In fact, there were soldiers.
“Ooooh.”
A soldier with broken ribs.
“Hueeeek! Huee! Hueeeek!”
A soldier vomiting after being hit in the abdomen, among others. They were all now best friends with the ground.
Glancing slyly at the Zombie Squad, Park Jinsung wore a secret smile.
“About half are left…”
Thinking about how the Zombie Squad had fought desperately as he had ordered, he felt a sudden twinge at the tip of his nose.
Actually, it would have been wise to head to the less crowded left or right to finish the situation with a victory.
‘You’ve done well.’
But knowing the efforts of the Zombie Squad, Park Jinsung couldn’t bring himself to turn his steps elsewhere.
If it hadn’t been for the Zombie Squad, the center would have been much more dangerous by now. It felt too cruel to think of them as mere pawns to be sacrificed.
“Members of the Zombie Squad, only those who feel they can still fight, follow me. It’s okay to rest now.”
“Huff, huff! The bracelet is still on. Can’t we obviously still fight?!”
“We’re here because of those who were disqualified. We must fight at all costs.”
“Huh. In that case, I don’t mind being ridiculed as having a middle school syndrome now.”
As the Zombie Squad gathered themselves, Park Jinsung stepped forward.
“Uh, ugh!”
“Don’t flinch, don’t, don’t flinch! Just attack!”
Park Jinsung, seeing the stiff faces of 998, twirled his dagger round and round.
Fingers, back of the hand, palm, wrist—the dagger slithered over his entire right hand like a snake. The rotation was so peculiar it was commendable just that he wasn’t hurt.
“Heheh. During guerrilla training, it was up to 200 people, but I wonder how many it could be now.”
Park Jinsung scratched his head with the handle of the dagger.
“998, advance! Overwhelm those fearless bastards of the battalion!”
“I’m the original Csik, you jerks.”
Park Jinsung was faster than the oncoming 998, running towards them.
As soon as Park Jinsung entered among 998,
Thud, crack!
“My arm!”
“Arghh!!”
The soldiers at the front immediately fell to the ground with broken arms.
“Heh, let’s take a few hits first.”
The sounds of the soldiers getting hit were far more prevalent than any clashing of sergeant bars.
Park Jinsung fought using not only his dagger but also his hands, feet, and even his head.
He twisted an opponent’s arm with his left hand and pushed, while simultaneously striking another’s abdomen with his right foot. The guy who lunged from the side got a headbutt to the face.
Since he couldn’t kill them, he rotated his dagger so that the blade faced upwards.
“It’s going to hurt as much as dying.”
Those hit by hands and feet were somewhat fortunate. Those struck by the dagger always suffered terrible injuries.
Hitting with the handle, pressing with the back of the blade, and striking repeatedly.
“Argh! I was wrong! I can’t take this anymore!”
A 998 soldier, who had been resilient, after getting hit repeatedly, finally burst into tears and crashed into the guardrail.
“Is that Park Jinsung?! Catch that bastard Park Jinsung!”
“Ah! He’s too fast!”
To avoid being surrounded, one must subdue an opponent while keeping the next one in sight.
“I’m the one who can handle this tough job!”
Park Jinsung moved with every fall of his targets timed, knocking them into other targets to disrupt their formation.
“Oh boy, that’s a lot.”
He wasn’t yet tired enough to rely solely on his blood-draining dagger. Even though he had a relatively large amount of stamina, the overwhelming numerical disadvantage was frustrating.
“Follow Park Jinsung and the Zombie Squad!”
“Show the battalion’s might to these 998 brats!”
Members from the second company followed up to where the Zombie Squad was.
“Yeah! Follow the captain! Second company, let’s go!”
“Second company’s collective Csik! Take that, you 998 jerks!”
Although about half of the Zombie Squad was left, the number of remaining 998 was still daunting. Choosing the central path was a calculated risk, but the reality was more challenging than anticipated.
‘…Let’s give it a try.’
Seeing the advance of the second company and the Zombie Squad, Park Jinsung steeled himself.
After the battle with Kang Jinno, Park Jinsung had grown somewhat accustomed to the instinct to kill. It became easier to focus it in his right arm, and he decided it was okay to expand its area a little.
‘Here goes…!’
He directed the killing intent from his right arm up through the back of his neck to his eyes.
His sclera turned blood-red, and the flesh below his eyes trembled as if equipped with motors.
Slowly, menacingly.
Pupils dilated and contracted repeatedly, subtly shedding tears of blood.
‘What I need now is a vision that can dominate the battlefield. I must not let the killing intent reach my brain.’
Before the killing intent could spread throughout his body, Park Jinsung sealed it tightly again. He confined the killing intent to his eyes and right arm and calmed his wildly beating heart.
‘I am different from Kang Jinno! I can handle this! I’ve worked hard enough to demand control over at least one part of my body!’
Drip, drip… The tears of blood that had been flowing like a stream stopped.
[Partial Killing Intent]
World Soul Rank System: A⁻⁻ (A⁻⁻⁻↑)
*Successfully controlled the killing intent forcibly, but the quantity was relatively small.
Can identify the vital points and Edeyas of a target when focused solely on one.
Can perceive the most efficient route to destroy a target, but reflects only the most difficult route.
The difficulty standard is based on the condition being at its best.
*Acquired Part: Both Eyes
Overall Combat Ability: A⁺ (A↑)
Park Jinsung’s eyes glowed a bloody red. They were not quite like Byakugan but were far from normal.
“…This should be enough.”
He frowned, and the Edeya of the person in front of him became visible.
[The more you tremble, the weaker you become]
World Soul Rank System: B
The owner’s courage and strength are directly proportional.
Overall Combat Ability: B
“Ugh! This guy’s eyes…!”
“Don’t be too frightened. It’s a pity to waste such a good Edeya.”
It was ironic for someone who had just brutally knocked out soldiers and was still smiling with bloodshot eyes.
“Ugh!”
“Hehe.”
Swoosh!
A bright red line was drawn around a terrified soldier.
It was a line that went around to the back of the neck, connecting to the arteries there. It was a difficult but certain deadly route.
‘I can’t kill them, but there are ways to use everything to its full potential.’
“Hee, heeek!!”
Park Jinsung charged towards the soldier who had just wet his pants.
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