Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 323



Only Krnovel

Episode 323 129. Voice (3)

The well-known types are easy to deal with.

Because being widely known is another way of saying that all the patterns and characteristics are known.

But the word convenient can never be used in the same sense as easy.

How many of them are widely known yet still difficult?

Even in boxing, it is said that every movement of a champion’s habits, customs, and techniques is analyzed frame by frame, every 0.1 second.

Praetorians are that type.

A guy who has been thoroughly analyzed, but is still not easy.

When I was in China, I immediately handed him over to the artillery or aviation corps.

As its name suggests, taken from the legendary Roman Praetorian Guard, it is a perfect killing machine, both offensive and defensive.

While the Annihilator type we faced previously could completely destroy a group of humans within a medium range with devastating firepower, this one moves at high speeds, unlike other monsters, and sprays projectiles that mimic human rockets, annihilating entire groups of human troops.

It’s impossible to engage in close combat with a thing the size of a large trailer that hovers like a hovercraft at a speed of about 35 km/h, but that doesn’t mean it’s weak in close combat.

Although it has no limbs, it swings its thick, strong, whip-like tentacles like ship’s ropes, and can literally cut in two any human who dares approach it.

The smartest way to kill him is with expensive weapons.

Anything is fine, whether it’s an airplane or a helicopter.

It can be dealt with by shooting a weapon with a near-sonic projectile with a homing function from outside the reflection field.

If that doesn’t work, then by artillery fire.

Well, even if it’s the Praetorian type, if it gets hit by a barrage of fire when crawling out of the kill zone with another guy, it’s no more or less than a common monster.

The problem is when the guy gets out of the kill zone and roams around freely.

“Can you handle that?”

Kim Byeong-cheol also seemed to know the Praetorian type.

It looks particularly tense compared to other monsters.

He shook his head.

“It’s on a different level from the necromancer type. It’s a combat type, not an infiltration type. I can’t do it with my own strength.”

“Then what should I do?”

“I’ve planned it out in advance. But first, I think it would be better to evacuate the people below The Hope.”

“Let me just talk about it. I wonder if they’ll listen to me.”

The plan for the Great Pretoria Safety Operation was relayed to Kim Byeong-cheol and then sent to his colleagues.

Everyone was waiting for me.

There was none of the usual discord or awkwardness in it.

Perhaps one of the few positive functions of a monster.

The enemies of humanity sometimes unite humanity.

“Skeleton. What’s going on?”

Hong Da-jeong asks.

“First, we have to fight. But that medium-sized creature is no match for a team of hunters. This battle will be fought only with soldiers’ equipment.”

This is not hunting.

It’s a battle.

No one raised an objection, but Cheon Yeong-jae brought up a name he had momentarily forgotten.

“By the way, what happened to the chief? Is he coming here? Or is he leaving?”

My name is Woo Min-hee.

okay.

There was that guy too.

I thought maybe he wouldn’t come, but I’m not sure.

There is no news, no sign.

Given his personality, I’d bet he’d come here.

Well, I guess it’s a good thing.

A tough fight lies ahead.

Maybe I’ll have to risk my life.

*

“No target. Approaching.”

The Praetorian type was observed through military equipment.

There are no signs of extinction.

After exiting a rift, most monsters will disappear within 24 hours or so, but this one doesn’t have that.

Perhaps they were avoiding extinction by staying in eroded areas.

The easiest one was the one that was broken, but I didn’t expect that from the start.

There are the following numbers:

This is a rockfall attack using a building.

In fact, this is the only method we can use against the Praetorian type.

They say there are two dumb chariots, but dumb chariots are only effective against small species. Against medium-sized species that mimic humans or larger, they are nothing more or less than wheeled cannons.

It is said that the moment a medium-sized creature attacks, it is torn apart like paper.

Kim Byeong-cheol needs a tank to survive.

Therefore, we must risk our lives by taking advantage of falling rocks that could destroy buildings.

One consolation is that we know where it’s coming from.

He follows the voice of the dead.

The voice echoes from the basement of The Hope.

If you know your destination, calculating the route is not difficult.

There are three main routes coming here from the northeast where the guy is.

Two of those points are blocked by barricades.

For a monster with a speed of 35 km/h, it has quick maneuverability and prefers to maintain speed and turn around rather than being blocked in its path.

“If I give the signal, just blow it up.”

There is a drone floating in the sky.

The guy who flew at high altitude to avoid the monster’s large drone wave provides us with a distant view of the ruined Seoul.

“Target approaching from the northeast!”

I watch the location of the guy approaching me every moment.

The operation is simple.

When the guy reaches the rockfall point, he presses the button.

That’s all.

however.

“hmm?”

Kim Byeong-cheol tilted his head.

It can’t be helped.

The Praetorian type has gone off course.

To be exact, we passed right through one of the buildings we had assumed to be an obstacle.

It went straight towards us, breaking through the thin, high retaining wall built for construction purposes and passing between the bare pillars between the buildings.

“Hey, what do we do now?”

Kim Byeong-cheol asked urgently.

“Evacuate everyone.”

I jumped down immediately.

“Where are you going!”

“I’m trying to lure you.”

“Luring a monster?”

There’s a saying that soldiers should expect the worst and prepare for it, but I don’t like that saying very much.

The fact that it’s a worst-case scenario means that things didn’t work out well.

It means that there will be damage.

But it’s better than being hit without any preparation.

I guess so.

“Mr. Skeleton?”

“Come out for a moment. I’ll drive this car.”

The place I headed to was the basement of The Hope, the government’s secret warehouse where the dragon was.

“Oh, what should I do?”

“I’m trying to lure a monster.”

I just drove the car.

Booooooooooo—

The trailer raced forward with a powerful engine noise.

Thud- thud-

I can hear the power cable connected to the rear snapping.

But the transmission will continue.

I looked at the panel installed next to the driver’s seat.

– Switch to emergency power.

“This is Park Gyu. Where is the Praetorian?”

“The Hope 2km ahead! Moving towards the main road!”

“i get it.”

I turned the steering wheel sharply and entered the road, waiting for the car to stabilize before stepping hard on the accelerator.

Booooooooooooooo—-

The roar of a large vehicle’s engine has the power to calm people.

What can I say, I feel confident that I can do anything even though I am just a human.

Beyond the quickly passing scenery, a scene of soldiers hastily removing barricades passes by.

From now on, it’s hostile territory.

It is a land of zombies, monsters, and mutations.

I turned the steering wheel west.

Unfamiliar territory.

Going full speed ahead.

While crushing zombies, debris and other debris with its heavy body.

“This is Park Gyu. Where is the monster?”

And wait.

The answer is more than I was hoping for.

After a moment of silence, a reply came.

“No target! Change course! West! Heading west!”

I closed my eyes and sighed.

My hard work was rewarded.

That’s right.

Dead man walking.

It’s not the voice of the dead that he discovered.

It is the whisper of a monster, an enemy of humanity, from beyond the rift.

The strange waves gave him powers that seemed miraculous.

I am sure.

Dead Man Walking may have discovered the voice, but what he knows about it is no different from what I know about it.

“Target! Change course to the north!”

It is true that 35 km/h is a very fast speed by human standards and difficult to keep up with.

If a monster the size of two trailers overlaps and moves at that speed, there would be no way to stop it with human power.

For human tools, the speed is infinitely slow, a speed that cannot be expressed even when horns are honked from behind.

We lured him back into the trap we had set, feeling like we were just wandering around.

Once the monster had deviated from its path, it moved surprisingly obediently as I wanted.

“······.”

I can’t even explain what kind of feelings it made on me.

All I can understand is that we, the human race, are standing on a great turning point that we have longed for so desperately?

It may not be comparable to Armstrong standing on the moon, but we humans have crossed a ridge.

That’s for sure.

“Target no! Reaching the impact point!”

“blasting!”

Beyond the soldiers’ thunderous communications, a powerful explosion occurred in the ruined building.

Immediately after, a monster moving at 35 km/h reached the area where the rain of death was falling, and the rain of destruction fell on it.

Kookung! Kookugung!

The cheers of the soldiers can be heard.

“······.”

But I park the truck and stare at the rubble.

The particles are not visible.

That means the guy isn’t dead yet.

“Do you have any explosives left?”

This needs to be dealt with quickly.

There is no second time.

All monsters have self-repair abilities.

This means that unless it is damaged to the point of becoming atomized, it will eventually wake up and move again.

And that too in a very short period of time.

“Hurry up!”

He took a bag full of explosives and ran to the ruins.

I could hear the cries of the zombies lurking around, but I paid no attention.

What I’m looking at is the shadow of a collapsing building, and the enemy of humanity crouching beyond it.

there is.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A disgusting gray-white monster that pushes away the debris covering its body while emitting shock waves that beat like a heart.

Praetorian type.

He and I are 50 meters apart.

I will not use firearms.

Before that.

Shririk—

Because the guy wields the whip of death.

Thud!

The tentacle whip, as thick as a human thigh, struck with such force that it bent the pillar I was standing against.

It’s a blow that makes your guts tremble even though you’re not even back to back.

If this happens, it’ll split in two.

The threat isn’t just the whip.

Phage crackle—

I feel a strange current.

This air current.

“······.”

Detonator.

The monster’s power to detonate most gunpowder weapons.

The moment I made up my mind, I instinctively threw the bag of explosives high into the sky.

and.

Boom!

A merciless explosion went off at close range, and the tyranny and the roar of the explosion and the flash of light took away my consciousness.

Buss …

When I came to, I was lying on the floor.

My body doesn’t move.

Gulp-

Blood runs down his forehead.

I took a breath.

It’s exhaled.

No lung damage.

What about the arms and legs?

No, there was something I needed to check before that.

I looked for traces of a monster as I saw an axe in his hand that I didn’t even know when he had pulled out.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh of pain.

It is visible.

Particles of light.

Beyond the collapsed rubble, fleeting and beautiful particles of light are scattered.

It has been disposed of.

Another enemy of humanity.

“······.”

But my end may not be far away.

Thud thud-

The zombies are coming.

To explore the feathers of a bird that has lost its wings and fallen.

“······.”

Suddenly, a fragment of a story I had heard before flashed through my mind.

Being killed by a zombie is more painful and longer than you can imagine.

Well, it must be quite painful to be slowly bitten to death by a 65kg bite force.

“Senior Park! Where are you?!”

“Park Gyu! Answer! Respond!”

People are looking for me, but the zombies are already right in front of them.

I’ll be dead before they get there.

Luckily, I still have a sharp axe in my hand.

If I just cut my carotid artery, I’ll be able to go to the other world without pain.

But I have no intention of taking my own life.

I will fight until the end.

I will face my death.

No matter how brutal and horrible it may be, I will see my end with my own eyes.

That is the fate that we hunters must endure.

Jerk- Jerk-

The zombies are coming.

Broken teeth and twisted hands, pale, gray-white eyes gleaming ominously.

I tried to force my body to move, but it still wouldn’t listen.

The zombies’ eyes gleam.

They’re all running towards me.

I wait for my death while glaring at them.

“Come.”

I still have the axe in my hand.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

As zombies cover the field of vision.

thud!

I feel the shock wave.

The next moment, something flashed before my eyes.

explosion.

A strong wind blows while the view is dark.

Debris, dust and acrid air fill the surrounding area.

He coughed and focused all his attention on his vision.

As my vision slowly returned, an unpleasant, eardrum-piercing sound echoed from beyond.

Kkirrik- kkieeeeee—

I cast a blurry gaze there.

There was a large hole in the concrete.

And beyond the hole stood a tall, thin woman, her prosthetic hand swinging like a hook.

“haha······.”

I’m not the type to smile on the battlefield, but I ended up smiling unintentionally.

Squeak—

The woman came toward me, scraping the floor with her prosthetic leg.

“I think my senior is the coolest when he’s hurt and bleeding.”

Yes, that’s right.

The unexpected savior is my junior, Woo Min-hee.

Woo Min-hee held out her hand.

Her face, which had been obscured by the backlight, was slowly revealed.

“Right? Um Chang-ah?”

My junior was smiling.

*

Crackle- crackle–

Broadcasting equipment extending powerfully upwards from under the sky, not underground, spreads and receives radio waves that are invisible to our eyes.

“Ahh. Ahh. What is this? I had a strange feeling from the moment I got here.”

Even in front of numerous hostile soldiers surrounding him, Woo Min-hee acted calmly and comfortably as if it were his own home.

To be exact, it feels like it’s not even there.

Even though Kim Byeong-cheol was standing right in front of her, she didn’t even glance at him.

“What is this?”

As always, she does whatever she wants.

What interests her now is not me or the government’s hidden assets, but a strange voice that only she can hear.

She asked, glaring at the equipment standing tall against the trailer.

“Is this what you mean?”

“Yeah. Um Chang-ah.”

“It’s not Eomchang, but why do you keep calling it Eomchang?”

“Yes. Yes. Senior Eomchang.”

Woo Min-hee smiles strangely.

“But why do you like padlip so much?”

“?”

“Isn’t that guy called Doctor Emiris also your senior’s clone?”

“What are you talking about······?”

Well, unless you’re an animal, you should be able to tell.

In fact, it has already been revealed that I am more than 90% of the truth.

It’s just been confirmed this time.

Still, I think that the human charm of this Park Gyu is that he sticks his neck out to the end.

“Mr. Skeleton!”

Valentine jumped out of the trailer.

“It’s almost done! Are you receiving it?”

Valentine, who encountered Woo Min-hee, changed his expression like litmus paper that came into contact with an alkaline substance.

He had a keen eye for people and recognized her at a glance.

How dangerous this woman is.

Woo Min-hee looked up at the equipment and asked me on behalf of Valentine, who was unable to continue speaking.

“Is that why you came here?”

He nodded.

“huh.”

Look at your phone.

The antenna is floating.

The number is one to one and a half.

I turned on the Internet.

And wait.

The promised dead man’s voice reaches my phone.

[ F. Sawyer, M. O’Connor, and For the Lovely Red One ]

[ Welcome to the noisy city of death . ]

– If you are dead, press enter –

I handed my cell phone to Woo Min-hee.

“Huh? What is this?”

“It’s a necropolis.”

“Necropolis? Oh. That’s what Western kids write about?”

She looked around.

“Was it something like this?”

“How does it feel to you?”

I wait for an answer, staring into her unusually bright eyes.

Woo Min-hee looked around for a while with the face of a curious girl that was not typical of her, and then gave me an answer with a meaningful smile.

“voice.”

Her words are ambiguous.

Are the strange radio waves surrounding us the voices of the dead, or the voices of the cracks?

Either way, one thing is proven.

We at least found the voice of the crack.

It’s been over 20 years since the cracks appeared in this world.