22 . Operation: ‘Bait & Ma.s.sacre’

In the recent battlefield of the now half-wrecked Dongd.u.c.h.eon Stadium, a black bomb fell . Destruction ensued with a loud boom, causing a shockwave to spread out from the center . The floodlights and grandstand seating, that was somehow still standing, were flattened immediately .

Watching the events from afar, Kw.a.n.g Hwi grabbed his radio .

“It’s too close . ”

— “Readjusting the target . ”

A few minutes later, the gunner gave another reply .

— “Ready to fire with the new corrections . ”

“Fire . ”

Though it was his imagination, the thunderous sound of the artillery fire seemed to be right next to him, shaking his eardrums and causing his guts to squeeze .

The second bomb fell outside the stadium, creating a mushroom cloud of smoke and dust . The asphalt debris was thrown out in all directions and the smog barred the vision of the soldiers .

— “How was that one?”

“Looks good . ”

— “That’s a relief . We’ll stand by for further orders . ”

Kw.a.n.g Hwi turned to face the men standing at attention next to him . They were in charge of driving each vehicle .

“You saw that? That’s where it will fall, so find cover around the corners . ”

“Yes, sir . ”

“Everyone on board . ”

The men that had been observing from outside rushed into the car . Most of the combat force of the Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction was present here, witnessing the scene and preparing themselves for the upcoming fight . They came fully prepared for this campaign .

There was the APC Namer, Light Tactical Vehicles with machine guns, and even a Medium Tactical Vehicle mounted with a grenade launcher . All combat a.s.sets except those tasked with guarding the power plant and HQ were deployed for this cleanup operation .

The Kw.a.n.g Hwi Faction returned to the stadium with the armored vehicles leading . The roads were rough from all the sh.e.l.ling, but military vehicles were designed to be used in such conditions in the first place, so they continued without any hiccups .

Each vehicle stopped in one corner of the stadium . Their positions were some distance away from where the sh.e.l.ls were expected to land, with a small hill on their rear .

“Everyone disembark and begin the operation!”

The men got off the vehicles and stuck close to the carrier compartment . From there, they carried out blockades and obstacles such as sandbags and mobile barricades and began to set up a defense . Most were of considerable weight and were st.u.r.dy enough to take a beating .

“Make sure they are installed properly . ”

Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s subordinates walked around while supervising the work and spitting out orders . There weren’t only setting up obstacles . The soldiers were also preparing to engage in battle . Ammunition was stockpiled and the medical personnel was brought into the rear just in case . They were laying the groundwork for any unforeseen accidents .

“Boss, all the preparations are ready . ”

“Really?”

All that remained was for the monsters to gather and come to them .

“Jackson, you take charge . ”

“Y-you want me to?”

He seemed a little reluctant, perhaps due to what happened yesterday . Kw.a.n.g Hwi placed his hand on Jackson’s shoulder to encourage him .

“You’re the only one I can trust here . ”

“Leave it to me!”

Jackson’s expression became firm with determination as though the hesitation he just showed was never there . Kw.a.n.g Hwi pursed his lips to hold back his laughter .

“Get ready and go around the perimeter to become familiar with the roads . ”

“Of course . ”

With a quick salute, Jackson ran towards the Light Tactical Vehicle . He took along a new recruit who had been standing around somewhat idly . Without clearly knowing what was going on, the recruit was taken away by the veteran .

“Ahem . ”

Clearing his throat to hide the smile, Kw.a.n.g Hwi turned to his radio . It was time to get serious .

“Operation Bait and Ma.s.sacre, begin . ”

The Light Tactical Vehicle in charge of baiting sped off . With a heavy foot on the pedal, the vehicle quickly left the stadium, leaving the men in antic.i.p.ation of the upcoming fight .

Kw.a.n.g Hwi entered the APC . A temporary operations headquarters was set up inside: a screen connected to the UAV, a digital map showing the nearby geography, and a communication line to the SPG .

Jackson was doing a great job as bait . The operation was simple with the following steps:

1 . Using information from the UAV, go to where the monsters are concentrated .

2 . Draw their attention by firing the machine gun .

3 . Maintain a proper gap, large enough so that the vehicle is not caught by the monsters but also short enough to not lose the monsters .

4 . Attract as many of them as possible to the stadium .

Kw.a.n.g Hwi looked at the screen . The UAVs were following Jackson’s movements and accurately displaying the current situation . The Light Tactical Vehicle was driving around like crazy . Occasionally, there would be abandoned cars blocking the road, but Jackson’s vehicle slipped past them, barely avoiding contact . The driving was even more dangerous than that of a racing maniac or a biker gang . It was apparent that Jackson was driving .

The recruit that had been dragged along in confusion was now diligently firing the machine gun towards the rear . Yellow tracers streamed towards the Keku . The monsters shot by the bullets would fall, but it didn’t make a difference . Instead, the sound of the gunfire attracted more monsters to join the chase . It was evident that they were performing brilliantly and no mishaps had occurred so far .

‘That’s a lot of them . ’

Kw.a.n.g Hwi thought as he scrutinized the numbers of the monsters . Nevertheless, that was not all of them . It was only a fraction of what was being dragged in .

— “B-boss! ETA 3 minutes!”

“Affirmative, ETA 3 minutes . ”

Communications were being made on an open channel . Members hiding behind the barricades checked their weapons . They fiddled with their equipment one last time to check for any damages . Who knew whether their last-minute check would save their lives .

The roar of an engine was heard in the distance . The familiar sound of the Light Tactical Vehicle could be discerned and the men quickly readied their guns, pointing the muzzle forward .

— “We’ve arrived!”

The vehicle leading the monsters quickly moved off to one side . Kw.a.n.g Hwi and the others could see the monsters with their eyes . Their savage appearance had now become a routine to them . They were not as nervous as their first time .

“Fire!”

— “K-9 Firing!”

Sh.e.l.ls from the SPG fell on the monsters’ heads and the dust enveloped them . There wasn’t time to even frown at the explosion . The ones lucky enough to be out of the explosive range were scampering away from the front hurriedly .

Primary arms, machine guns, and grenade launchers saturated the air with metal . The cacophony of sound almost caused everyone to become deaf . There was carnage everywhere with the blood and flesh of the monsters flying in all directions, scattering through the air and gra.s.s . The ground was dyed red with bullet sh.e.l.ls dotting it like a painting—a b.l.o.o.d.y artwork with the bullet sh.e.l.ls as stars and the blood as the night sky . The ferocity of the monsters died away in front of the barricade—a monster-grinding barricade .

Droves of monsters died every time a 155mm sh.e.l.l landed . A large hole would form in the black crowd, but it would quickly close up as more numbers filled the area . More Keku piled in from the rear as if they were attracted to their deaths like moths to a flame .

Abruptly, the machine-gun fire came to a halt . Its magazine had been exhausted as the smoke was released from the heated muzzle . There was a rare moment of relative silence . The a.s.sistant gunner next to him hurriedly pulled out a new magazine and connected it to the machine gun .

“Reloaded!”

The gunner nodded his head and loaded the chamber once more . The empty sh.e.l.ls spewed from the side of the machine gun on to the floor as it began another round of firing . The bullets rained at the monsters like water droplets falling from the sky . The a.s.sistant gunner that helped with the reloading quickly grabbed his own gun .

There were only the screams of gunfire and monsters . Amongst the chaos, Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s gaze was fixed on the screen connected to the UAV as he observed the overall situation and kept close of note of everything .

“SPG, cease fire!”

— “Cease fire!”

In only a few minutes, the majority of the monsters Jackson had drawn in had been defeated . There was no need to use artillery fire on the numbers that remained . Following the SPG, the grenade launcher also stopped firing . The seemingly endless gunfire gradually subsided and the battlefield calmed down .

“Casualty report . ”

— “One minor wound . No serious injury or death . ”

Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s face creased . There should have been no monsters close enough to the barricades, so why was someone hurt?

“Who the h.e.l.l was injured by an enemy with no ranged weapons?”

— “…I’ll give him additional disciplinary training . ”

“Straighten him out! Equipment status check . ”

Reports from those in charge of the SPG, machine guns, and grenade launcher came in one by one .

— “SPG, no issues . ”

— “Grenade launcher operating normally . ”

Thankfully, there was nothing to worry about as everything was going smoothly, except that rookie .

“Jackson!”

— “Yes, boss!”

“Go out one more time . ”

— “…Do I have to go again?”

There were still plenty to kill and they wanted to have more fun .

The streets became cleaner with each pa.s.sing round . The city was still quiet, but it was certainly different from before . The Keku that would wander around the city had disappeared, as well as the Black Wolves that would search for the survivors with their keen sense of smell . By the fifth cycle, the survivors that had stayed hidden for so long came out one by one . How many times was the operation carried out? Kw.a.n.g Hwi noticed that there was no need to continue as the area had been pretty much cleaned up .

『All monsters within Dongd.u.c.h.eon City have been eliminated . 』

『You are the first to acquire a city . 』

『You have obtained 300,000 MP as a reward . 』

『Rumors of the ‘Kw.a.n.g-Hwi Faction’ are being spread slowly by word of mouth of the survivors . 』

『The ‘Lord’ ent.i.ties in other regions have acknowledged the existence of the ‘Kw.a.n.g-Hwi Faction . ’』

“Boss?”

Kw.a.n.g Hwi raised his head to look at his men . Everyone acted like they were fine, but their tiredness was evident from their faces . They had definitely worked hard for it as they had been fighting intensely for three days . There were no fatalities or serious injuries, but the physical and mental fatigue had built up due to the long fight .

“Dongd.u.c.h.eon City is now in our hands . If we continue eliminating monsters like this, we’ll be able to reclaim our lives . We will once again live as we had back when there were no monsters . ”

None of the men thought Kw.a.n.g Hwi’s words were nonsense . They may have had such thoughts before joining the Kw.a.n.g-Hwi Faction, but they had experienced fighting back against the monsters several times now . The monsters they had once feared were shot and killed by their own hands . There was no other armed force like them in the world . As their a.r.s.enal become larger and more powerful, someday they would be able to drive out the monsters completely .

“Good work, everyone . Let’s go back!”

“Yes, sir!”