Apocalypse in Water - Chapter 128



Only Krnovel

Episode 128

【Tosengwon and Byeoljubu】

The guy who landed seemed to be an agent specialized in landing operations.

The helmet’s sun visor was black, like sunglasses, as if flash grenades were intended from the beginning.

The movements were also typical of a raiding party.

He protected his shoulders and torso with a circular shield and fired a pistol.

The intention was to buy time and space for follow-up forces to arrive safely, rather than attack the enemy.

I had no intention of allowing that kind of time and space.

He raised his shield and rushed at the guy.

The black helmet fired its pistol furiously at me as I ran towards him.

But the bullets did not penetrate the golden shield, and the pistol’s magazine quickly ran out.

The black helmet threw away his circular shield and drew a long knife called a dagger.

The dagger was similar in size to the daggers that gangsters carried, but unlike the daggers, it was sharp on both sides like a sword.

Although I was an uncommon swordsman, I had danced with countless gangsters.

It may not be exactly the same as the sword dance, but judging by the shape and size, it will likely be operated on the same basic principle.

The range of fire will also be similar to that of a sword.

People usually think that range only applies to long-range weapons like guns and bows, but close-range cold weapons also have range.

The distance at which a blade can strike an enemy is the range of a close-range cold weapon.

That’s why the longer the day, the better.

Does that mean a long spear is the best weapon?

That’s not necessarily the case.

Since a long length means a large radius of operation, the number of vulnerabilities increases accordingly.

If you draw a circle with a protractor, you can know it at once.

A larger radius means a larger circumference, so it takes longer to draw the circle.

This means that the enemy has more time and space to dig in.

So are swords and swords the best weapons?

It’s a great topic for debate among martial arts fanatics and weapon nerds, but my experience tells me that it depends on each case and situation.

In that respect, the dagger he is holding now is an excellent choice for an assault team.

The moment you break through the barrier, you can quickly rush in and stab the enemy with your dagger to finish them off in one blow.

Even if the enemy blocks it, the dagger has a relatively narrow radius of operation, so it can quickly change direction and bite the enemy.

This will buy time for follow-up units.

But the Black Helmets made a big mistake.

The weapon set he brought with him was basically for offensive use, including a pistol and a dagger.

But instead of attacking, they focused on passive defense, digging their own grave despite having good materials.

The best weapon is not a sword or a spear, but the weapon that suits the situation.

You can either create a situation where your weapon is optimal, or you can have the optimal weapon for that situation.

A master creates situations to suit his weapon.

Because it is impossible to equip yourself with the optimal weapon for every changing situation.

However, I had a variety of weapons and weaponizable tools in my backpack, tool belt, cross bag, and X-band.

Among them, there was a weapon suitable for this situation.

He took out a three-section spear from the pocket on his thigh.

The three-section spear is a spear that has been used since the time when dealing with water zombies. It is a spear that has the length of a three-section staff increased and a modified knife welded to the end.

It was shorter than a typical spear, about the length of a so-called single spear, but it was easy to carry because it could be folded like a three-section staff.

In addition, it is made of carbon steel and steel alloy, so it is durable and elastic.

And above all, the three-sectioned spear was much longer than the dagger.

As mentioned before, the weakness of the spear weapon is its long and wide operating radius.

If the Black Helmet were to sneak in through that gap, the tables would turn and the dagger would be the optimal weapon.

But just by looking at the posture of the black helmet, you could tell that that would never happen.

The center of gravity of the body determines whether an attack or defense is in progress, and the center of gravity of the black helmet was far back.

He clearly showed his body’s will to never move for the landing of follow-up troops.

Well then, I’m very grateful.

Because I’ve been in the field so much, I’ve always had a keen eye for fighting, but after practicing the West Sea’s Dongjeong Jinkyung, I think I’ve improved by leaps and bounds.

He placed the end of the spear on his shoulder and bent his waist slightly.

Then, like a bull in a bullfight, he charged towards Black Helmet’s chest with his horns raised.

The black helmet’s foot instinctively tried to retreat from the sharp spear tip, but the black sun visor stopped with strong will.

But it wasn’t hard to see that he was in a difficult situation.

If he had been a bullfighter, he would have fluttered his red cloth and dodged in style, but the black helmet couldn’t retreat an inch.

This was because follow-up personnel were landing right behind them.

That’s why, from my perspective, I can’t afford to waste time.

Because the moment one more person lands, the black sun visor will turn into an offensive.

I just slammed my three-pronged spear into Black Helmet’s chest.

Anyway, since the three-stage spear is longer, no matter how hard the black sun visor stabs and swings, it won’t reach me.

And the pistol would be blocked by the golden shield anyway, but there were no bullets.

All the black helmet could do was block the three-pronged spear with its dagger, but the dagger was not a weapon suitable for defense like a shield.

All he could do was calculate the timing and swing his three-pronged spear down like Bruce Lee striking arrows with the blade of his hand.

Black Helmet swung his dagger down with all his might before it was stabbed in the chest.

However, the three-tiered window did not budge at all, with only a small scratch.

The blade pierced the chest of the black helmet it was targeting without the slightest hesitation.

“ah!”

The black helmet screamed in agony, but the blade did not pierce its heart.

He was wearing a uniform with the Coast Guard mark on it.

But even if you were wearing a bulletproof vest, the impact from a bullet was so severe that you would collapse.

My dash was quite powerful, and the tip of my spear was as sharp as a bullet.

The black helmet tried to fall forward from the impact, but was pushed back by my unstoppable dash.

The Black Helmet, which was helplessly backing up to the side of the ship, collided with a pirate who was landing.

The two collided and became entangled, then lost their balance and fell into the sea.

The pirate who was preparing to land following behind also almost fell, but barely managed to keep his balance.

“Whew~!”

But, as the saying goes, there is a mountain beyond a mountain, and the pirate raised his head with a sigh of relief and met my eyes right in front of him.

He pursed his lips and frowned.

I couldn’t hear their voices, but I could tell they were begging for help.

But without a moment’s hesitation, I pushed him with the tip of my spear.

It was obvious that if I spared him, he would come over and try to take my life and that of my comrades.

“Damn it! Retreat! Everyone retreat! You damn little salty bastards!”

Lee Su-ho, who sensed that the landing had failed, shouted and cursed.

You’re a salty little brat.

What the heck, you knew who I was from the start.

When he was leaving the police station after his final questioning, Lee Su-ho shouted at me as if he wanted me to hear, “You damn little punk!”

The pirates on the rope began to retreat.

However, it was slower than a snail because I had to push the rope with my hands while jerking my butt as if a car was going backwards.

Moreover, since my colleagues were following me one after another, it was not easy to turn back, as if I was stuck in traffic on my way to work.

“This butler, no, Mr. Lee Su-ho! All of your subordinates will fall into the sea. Why don’t you just give up and surrender? I’ll take good care of you.”

I urged Lee Su-ho to surrender.

But Lee Su-ho answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Don’t talk nonsense, sir. In the previous world, I had no choice but to bow my head and be punished when my country persecuted me, but in this world that is underwater, I would never do that.”

* * *

I recalled the memory of investigating Lee Su-ho.

In some ways, it could be that he was pressured from above to disciplinary action, as Lee Su-ho said.

Or maybe he really did commit professional negligence or corruption.

People thought he took responsibility for everything because he didn’t want his subordinates to suffer as well, but the truth was different.

During the investigation, he kept changing his story.

“We have received reports that it was not a capsize, but a simple grounding.”

“Captain Lee Su-ho. What do you mean? Last time, you said you heard from Sergeant Cha Jun-hee, the communications officer, that the fishing boat was capsizing.”

“After giving my statement, I thought about it carefully and realized that I heard the word ‘overturn’ not before the crackdown, but after the crackdown.”

Lee Su-ho’s face was filled with created confidence.

This guy is trying to get out of the mud.

This type of shifting of blame is common during accident investigations.

At first, he pretends to take responsibility for everything, but then changes his statement because he feels it is unfair that he is the only one being sacrificed.

Such obvious contradictions can sometimes be disguised as truth.

The human instinct for self-preservation is so powerful that it can manipulate the brain’s memory.

Memories become distorted unconsciously, even when the person does not intend to do so.

That is why he can reverse his statements up to now without changing his expression.

In a way, even though it is a distorted memory, it is neither perjury nor a lie because it is a statement made according to memory.

That is why accident investigation is a process of finding the truth amidst people’s distorted memories and lies.

“Here is what I stated yesterday. Please take a look and then tell me again.”

I handed the printed survey form to Lee Su-ho.

But Lee Su-ho spoke confidently without even looking at the investigation report.

“You don’t need to look. I just split the memories one by one and checked them by hour throughout the night.”

“But I heard that Officer Cha Jun-hee clearly reported to Captain Lee right before the crackdown that a rescue request had been received from the capsized fishing boat.”

I pushed the investigation report a little further towards Lee Soo-ho.