Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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113. The Beginning of War (4)
“…The vanguard unit has gone silent.”
Gone silent.
That meant they were annihilated.
Was that why?
Upon hearing the report, Hwang Gyeong-sik let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded, then asked again.
“Is it the work of the Jungnang-gu Alliance?”
“Yes.”
There had been no report of direct contact between the Jungnang-gu Alliance and the vanguard unit.
But his subordinate, judging by circumstantial evidence that it must have been their doing, answered in haste.
It didn’t matter if it wasn’t.
The Jungnang-gu Alliance was the largest force in the Dobong-gu area where the vanguard unit last made contact.
Anyway, they’d already decided to annihilate them.
The subordinate answered confidently, and as Hwang Gyeong-sik watched him, he furrowed his brow, then nodded and issued his command.
“Gather all the Marauders. It’s war.”
“Yes!”
As the subordinate bowed and left at the command, Hwang Gyeong-sik called to a man standing nearby.
“Park Gwang-chul.”
“Yes.”
At the sound of his name, the man stepped forward at once, prostrated himself, and bowed his head.
“From now on, you will command the vanguard unit.”
“I shall serve with utmost loyalty!”
Despite the sudden promotion, he swore his loyalty as though he’d been waiting for this very moment.
Hwang Gyeong-sik, quite pleased by this display, chuckled softly and called to another man.
“Park Mu-yeol.”
“Yes. You called for me.”
“How many Unawakened are left?”
“Four hundred twenty-two remain.”
“Hmm.”
As Park Mu-yeol answered, Hwang Gyeong-sik stroked his chin for a moment, then, as if a decision had been made, continued with a smile on his face.
“Infect them all and hand them over to the vanguard unit.”
“All of them… you say?”
At a command he hadn’t anticipated, he hesitated, and Hwang Gyeong-sik’s brow furrowed.
But as if deeming it a waste to kill Park Mu-yeol given his talents and abilities, Hwang Gyeong-sik spread one finger and spoke.
“Those who must perform better than anyone in the coming war cannot afford to be low level.”
Realizing this was a signal that he would be given one more chance, Park Mu-yeol bowed his head at once.
“…Understood. I will proceed immediately.”
As Park Gwang-chul and Park Mu-yeol left, Hwang Gyeong-sik wiped his face with a look full of anticipation.
And at the same time….
He rose abruptly from his seat, hefted his Greatsword high, and nodded.
Slide.
“I cannot meet an old friend I’m encountering after so long in such a wretched state.”
Hwang Gyeong-sik gazed at his reflection in the Greatsword and chuckled, then began to draw up his Mana with his eyes closed.
Soon after….
Opening his eyes, he saw a notification for the first time in ages and laughed heartily.
[You have been given a Job-Exclusive Quest.]
– Achieve 10,000 Chaotic Points. (9437/10000)
With no further explanation, merely a notification to achieve Chaotic Points, he went outside with familiar ease.
* * *
“So the Jungnang-gu Alliance has confirmed it too.”
Having received a message from Kim Tae-sik, Lee Gang-hyuk relayed the situation to his team.
“So our prediction was correct.”
The confirmation meant that someone within the Jungnang-gu Alliance had received a Job-Exclusive Quest, and Kang Pil-du looked at Lee Gang-hyuk with genuine curiosity.
He seemed amazed that Lee Gang-hyuk had deduced the condition with only a few clues.
“So we just need to focus on completing the Quest now?”
At Seo A-rin’s question, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded, then warned with a bitter smile.
“Yes. But if the vanguard unit was completely annihilated, word will have reached Chungmuro’s ears as well, so it would be wise to remain cautious for now.”
“It’s fortunate the base hasn’t been exposed.”
The exact location of the base is unknown even to the Jungnang-gu Alliance, which could be called our allies.
Naturally, Chungmuro is no different.
As Kang Pil-du nodded with relief, Seo Hwa-rin asked cautiously.
“…What about the children?”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm.”
“…….”
In response to her question, the three men groaned and let out small sighs.
Now that they had annihilated the Chungmuro Alliance’s vanguard unit, war had already begun.
That meant….
They would have to kill people from now on.
If they were merely dealing with Zombies, there would be no particular issue, but no one wanted to drag the children into the killing of humans.
Was that why?
The four of them, whose eyes had met in the silence, seemed to understand each other without a word, smiled bitterly, and nodded.
The children would be sent to the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek.
There was no other way.
They thought it better to evacuate the children to a safe place than to have blood on their hands.
“Since everyone seems to agree, the children will go to Pyeongtaek….”
The moment Lee Gang-hyuk opened his mouth to announce the decision.
A cool breeze blew in, and the front door, which had been shut, suddenly swung open.
“We don’t want to go!”
“We’re going to stay here!”
As the children they’d thought were asleep came in, they realized the children had been eavesdropping on their conversation through the breeze.
They’d learned to control their Core Power like this—who would have thought.
It was astounding.
It was absurd.
But no one blamed the children.
Rather….
There was only worry in their eyes about whether the children would be endangered by what lay ahead.
“…If you stay here, you’ll be in danger.”
They might have to kill people.
Leaving out that part and speaking only briefly, the children shook their heads in defiance.
“Even so, we want to be here.”
“That’s right! This is our home now, so why would you send us somewhere else?”
“…….”
At the children’s words, Lee Gang-hyuk couldn’t find a response.
Home.
In that moment, hearing that word, he understood why he hadn’t insisted they leave for Pyeongtaek.
It was because he’d realized how the children regarded this place.
As Lee Gang-hyuk and the others fell silent, the children continued.
“And we don’t even have a Hot Air Balloon to ride to Pyeongtaek.”
“If something happens to us while we’re going to Pyeongtaek alone, what would we do? So we’re staying here. We’re going to stay here and help you, and the older ones, and the uncle. We’re going to protect our home with our own hands!”
“You all…….”
It was true—the Hot Air Balloon was broken, so sending only the children to the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek would be difficult.
Even if he’d thought that asking the Jungnang-gu Alliance and Kang Pil-du might make it possible somehow, Lee Gang-hyuk furrowed his brow, and Yu Ha-neul bit his lip and spoke again.
“To be honest, we understand too. What you’re worried about. But if we’re in danger, that means everyone here is in danger too. So we’re going to fight with you.”
“…We don’t want to lose our family again.”
“…….”
As soon as Yu Ha-neul finished speaking, what Yu Bit-na said through tears seemed to be the deciding blow.
“Sigh.”
Lee Gang-hyuk exhaled and looked around at the others.
He was seeking their opinion on what to do.
But they all seemed equally uncertain and could only sigh.
‘There’s no helping it.’
Forcing the children to go to Pyeongtaek wasn’t realistic.
More than that….
Looking at their eyes, he suspected that even if by some fortune he sent them to Pyeongtaek, they would sneak away and return to the base.
Since that could lead to real disaster, Lee Gang-hyuk, having made his final decision, sighed and spoke.
“I understand what you want. But you can’t fight.”
“But… but….”
As Yu Ha-neul began to object, Lee Gang-hyuk spoke with firm eyes.
“This is something adults must do.”
“…….”
“But I’ll give you a role you can play.”
At that, the children’s eyes widened.
But only for a moment.
The children opened their eyes wide and looked at Lee Gang-hyuk.
They wanted to show their resolve.
Was that why?
Lee Gang-hyuk, meeting the children’s eyes, continued.
“I don’t know what will happen or how it will unfold, but you must protect this place. So that we can return…. I’m entrusting our home to you.”
“Protect this place?”
As Yu Ha-neul expressed confusion, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded.
“Yes. If this place collapses while we’re fighting, it’s meaningless. So you manage the base here, and if an emergency arises, alert the others. That’s a task only you can do for us.”
“…….”
A moment of silence followed.
A role had been given, so they could stay instead of going to Pyeongtaek.
But guarding the base meant they couldn’t fight alongside them, so they chose silence, unsure how to respond.
At this, Lee Gang-hyuk ruffled Yu Ha-neul’s hair and continued explaining the role.
“It’s an important task. This place is precious to you, just as it is precious to us. That’s why I’m entrusting it to you. Protect our home.”
A precious place.
The moment they heard those words, the children understood it wasn’t a role meant to exclude them, but a genuine plea to protect this place, and they opened their lips and began nodding earnestly.
“Yes!”
“We understand!”
Protecting the home.
So that their brother and older ones and uncle could return anytime.
Once everything was over, they could all live happily together.
The children kindled that resolve within themselves.
* * *
After entrusting the base to the children.
Lee Gang-hyuk and his group focused on completing the Job-Exclusive Quest.
Seo Hwa-rin joined them from that point on.
If she remained at the base, the children would unconsciously come to rely on her.
So she was brought along so the children would guard the base among themselves.
Thus, while Seo Hwa-rin did participate in the hunts.
After each hunt, upon returning to the base, she would go to the tent set up in the underground parking lot and exhaust all her remaining Core Power, collapsing from exhaustion.
Seo Hwa-rin’s efforts had increased.
Yet her expression remained bright.
With each exhaustion and recovery cycle, she felt her Core growing little by little, a sensation of steadily growing stronger.
And so a week passed, and just as Lee Gang-hyuk’s group was adapting to their current life.
A message arrived from Park Mu-jin.
[The movements of the Chungmuro Alliance are becoming unusual. Please be cautious.]
‘They’re beginning to move in earnest.’
In that instant, Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression hardened.
While the Chungmuro Alliance had begun to move.
This side had yet to complete the Quest. To be precise, only he and Kang Pil-du remained.
Seo A-rin had completed the Quest long ago and obtained a new skill, and Seo Hwa-rin was one more exhaustion away from finishing.
‘The remaining levels are….’
[Quest Status]
23/25
Two levels remained.
This was the result of hunting Zombies and Yetis from sunrise to sunset.
Kang Pil-du, whose level had been similar to his own, likely had the same amount remaining.
Growing anxious, Lee Gang-hyuk looked at his resting team and, urging them on, spoke.
“Let’s hurry. We need to finish the Quest before they arrive.”
“Good.”
At the urging, Kang Pil-du nodded as if he’d been waiting for this, and rose from his seat.
At this, Seo A-rin sent out her Water Snakes and searched for prey.
“There’s a Yeti to the left, deeper into the alley. Five of them.”
“Yes. Charge!”
The moment he was about to issue the command upon hearing this.
Seo A-rin raised her hand with a hardened expression to stop him.
“Wait, there’s someone on the other side!”
“Stop.”
At the sudden words, Lee Gang-hyuk issued a new command to halt the Skeletons, then.
He immediately entered the building and climbed the stairs to the highest floor.
Now that the Chungmuro Alliance was on the move, any stranger was a potential threat.
So they claimed the high ground, both to avoid people and to get a better vantage point, and as soon as they took position, they asked Seo A-rin.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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