Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 22: Entering Paris

“Ah, another van? This is driving me crazy. . . .”

‘Ogre’ grumbled in a harsh tone, looking at the parked vehicle.

“It’s still better than that junk car though.”

‘Imp’ retorted, circling the black van.

As he said, the van parked on one side of the airport was different from the scratched-up junk car they had ridden in Somalia.

It was in a clean state, without a single scratch, as if someone had meticulously maintained it.

“We’ll have to remove the seats to load the equipment.”

Jin Beom-Min stepped forward as ‘Sandman’ spoke, having opened the car door and looked inside.

“That’s easy.”

Jin Beom-Min drew his knife and infused it with Mana. Then he began to cut the brackets holding the seats in place one by one.

With each swing of the knife, the thick metal brackets were cut like tofu, and Jin Beom-Min lifted the cut seats with one hand and tossed them outside.

“Ooh. . . .”

“Don’t just stand there admiring, go to the transport plane and bring the equipment. Bring as much ammunition as you can.”

At ‘Sandman’s’ command, the Ghost Squad members headed towards the runway in unison.

The transport plane they had taken from Korea was being refueled for its return.

Normally, the transport plane would have waited here until Ghost Squad and Jin Beom-Min completed their mission.

However, that was not possible in a situation like this where the safety of the base could not be guaranteed.

The transport plane pilots were probably grateful to be able to fly back into the safe sky.

The inside of the van was empty after Jin Beom-Min removed all the seats except the driver’s and passenger’s seats.

The ride wouldn’t be very comfortable, but it was better for shooting out the windows or replenishing ammunition.

When the returning Ghost Squad members loaded the equipment and ammunition into the car, ‘Sandman’ spread a map on the floor of the van and gave instructions for the operation.

“Our top priority is to find the ‘Knight in Blue Armor’.”

After defeating the zombies at the main gate of the air base, the remaining French soldiers had completely changed their attitude.

They realized that Ghost Squad and Jin Beom-Min were truly a support unit that had come to help them.

‘Sandman’ elicited information from them in fluent French.

He obtained various pieces of information, but the most notable among them was the eyewitness account of the ‘Knight in Blue Armor’.

Several soldiers said they had seen the ‘Knight’ through the footage taken by the reconnaissance plane, and some even claimed to have witnessed him directly.

Their explanation was that the ‘Knight in Blue Armor’ was impervious to bullets and could cut through tanks as if they were radishes.

Only then did Jin Beom-Min remember something he had forgotten.

Necro Guardian. Also known as the Guardian of the Dead.

A powerful zombie… no, an undead that a high-ranking Necromancer could create.

The corpses resurrected by a Necromancer could utilize their knowledge and skills from their lifetime, but they could not use Mana.

This meant that no matter how powerful a warrior or magician they were when alive, they were no different from other zombies after death.

However, the Necro Guardian was different.

Even after being resurrected, it could still use the Mana it had when it was alive.

Therefore, a Necromancer with a certain level of skill would spend a long time creating a Necro Guardian and use it as their bodyguard.

The purpose was to protect themselves, as they were vulnerable to close-range attacks in exchange for being able to command the dead.

In other words, where the Necro Guardian was, the Necromancer was.

“Can’t we use French reconnaissance assets? Then we could find it quickly. . . .”

‘Wraith’ answered instead of ‘Sandman’ to ‘Reaper’s’ question.

“I checked earlier, but while the facilities are intact, the encryption key and control device are missing. It seems the officers took them when they fled.”

“What kind of bastards are they. . .?”

“Ah, don’t get so angry. If it were our country, the higher-ups would probably have been the first to run away.”

‘Sandman’ let out a light sigh as if agreeing with ‘Ogre’s’ words and pointed to a spot on the map.

“Since this is where the Knight was last seen, let’s start searching around here.”

“From here. . . Let me see. . . It’s about 20km, isn’t it?”

“We have to break through and go somehow.”

“Can’t we do it with a drone?”

Again, ‘Wraith’ answered.

“The drone’s radio reception range is only 2km. If it goes further than that, it automatically returns.”

“. . .So we have no choice but to go ourselves.”

When ‘Sandman’ declared, everyone nodded. Realistically, there was no other way.

“Time is of the essence, so let’s depart. The French friends said they would also provide support as soon as their remaining troops are gathered, so let’s look forward to that.”

“Oh, like that’s going to happen after all the higher-ups have run away.”

‘Reaper’ scoffed, but ‘Sandman’ ignored him and instructed each of them on their positions.

“‘Ogre’, you’re driving. I’ll take the passenger seat. ‘Imp’ will defend the left side of the vehicle, ‘Reaper’ the right. ‘Wraith’, you check the reconnaissance drone thoroughly from the back seat. And. . . .”

Before ‘Sandman’ could finish his instructions, Jin Beom-Min tapped on the roof of the van and said,

“I’ll ride on the roof.”

“Huh? On the roof. . .?”

‘Reaper’ asked back in disbelief.

“I don’t have a gun anyway. And someone has to clear the front.”

“Clear the front?”

“I can swing my sword if I’m on the roof.”

“Hmm. . . . Well, if zombies swarm the front, the road could be blocked. . . .”

‘Sandman’ nodded after a moment of contemplation.

“Alright. Be careful not to fall.”

“This is nothing.”

Jin Beom-Min lightly jumped and climbed onto the roof of the van.

Clang!

The roof of the van was dented with the sound of twisting metal. The roof of the car couldn’t withstand his weight and crumpled.

“Whoa, be careful! The roof’s gonna cave in!”

“It’ll be fine.”

“Then let’s go!”

‘Wraith’ launched the drone into the air, and the Ghost Squad members took their positions and checked their weapons and ammunition.

Even though they had removed all the seats inside, the 9-seater van felt cramped with 5 heavily armed soldiers and various equipment and ammunition inside.

Jin Beom-Min, sitting comfortably on the open roof, tapped on the car roof and shouted.

“Alright, let’s go!”

******

The road to the center of Paris seemed smooth.

Perhaps all the zombies around the base had flocked to the air base, as they didn’t see a single zombie even after driving for several minutes.

However, the story changed when they reached a half-collapsed checkpoint past the highway.

Dozens of zombies were wandering among the cars that had stopped haphazardly.

“Hold on tight!”

‘Ogre’ shouted and stepped on the accelerator.

Jin Beom-Min, sitting on the roof of the car, grabbed the edge of the roof, and the metal plate was dented in the shape of his hand.

Crack!

As the van carrying Ghost Squad and Jin Beom-Min crashed into the checkpoint’s barricade, the zombies wandering around the road turned their heads in unison.

“Don’t let them cling to the car! If the tires get damaged, we’re dead!”

‘Sandman’ shouted, aiming his rifle out the window. ‘Imp’ and ‘Reaper’ were already prepared to attack the moment the zombies appeared.

Rat-a-tat-tat! Boom!

When ‘Imp’ fired his light machine gun in short bursts, the zombies rushing towards the van staggered and fell to the ground, and ‘Reaper’ blew off the head of a large zombie with a shotgun borrowed from ‘Wraith’.

Woooong! Slash!

Jin Beom-Min also swung his sword, thinly coated with Mana, at the zombies blocking the van’s path.

“Kyaaa!”

Every time his sword flashed, five or six zombies were cut in half and collapsed on the ground.

Thud! Crunch!

The heavy van’s tires mercilessly ran over the bodies of the fallen zombies, and the car body shook with a dull thud.

“Ah, this is exciting!”

‘Ogre’ chuckled as if he was having fun, despite the shaking of the car body.

“Hey, drive carefully! I can’t aim because it’s shaking!”

When ‘Reaper’ complained, ‘Ogre’ glanced back and replied.

“Ah, a sharpshooter is whining about this much!”

“Ah, alright, just look ahead! Ahead!”

‘Ogre’ hurriedly stepped on the brakes and swerved the steering wheel. The van tilted slightly and barely passed a large bus right in front of it.

“Whoa, that was close.”

“I’d rather die from a gunshot than a car accident!”

“It’d be best if we didn’t get shot in the first place.”

“Ahead! Look ahead!”

“Ah, I’m looking. Don’t worry.”

Ignoring the two who were exchanging words that were either curses or jokes as usual, ‘Sandman’ asked,

“‘Wraith’, what’s the situation ahead?”

“Zombies are swarming! I still don’t see him!”

“We’ll be surrounded if we stop. Check the route carefully! If it’s blocked, tell us the detour!”

“Roger that.”

Bang! Bang!

Amidst the occasional gunshots, ‘Sandman’ leaned out the window and asked Jin Beom-Min,

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, it’s refreshing and nice.”

Jin Beom-Min replied leisurely, holding his sword in one hand and gripping the roof of the car.

‘Sandman’ nodded and returned to his seat, unfolding the map.

They still had more than 10km to go to the last point where the Knight in Blue Armor was sighted.

“Alright, we’ll proceed like this. Watch out for flat tires, and conserve ammunition as much as possible!”

“Yes!”

“Roger that!”

******

Downtown Paris.

Zombies were everywhere.

Roads, flower beds, rooftops, even the bottom of the stream were filled with zombies with blank expressions, looking around.

The homeless in shabby clothes, the fashionistas dressed to the nines, the police with drawn pistols, all revealed bloody wounds and looked around with blank, unfocused eyes.

At first glance, they seemed dazed, but they had only one mission.

To attack and kill everything that was alive.

That’s why they weren’t moving anymore.

Except for the few survivors who were lucky enough to survive and hide, there was nothing alive around them anymore.

But suddenly, the zombies, who had been swaying their bodies blankly, stopped moving in unison.

Then, as if listening to something, they tilted their heads and looked up at the sky with stupid expressions.

A new order had come from the Necromancer.

The zombies, who had been slowly flailing, suddenly started running.

Thud-thud-thud-thud―

As hundreds, thousands of zombies started running at once, the sound of footsteps echoed loudly through the buildings.

The corpses of the office worker in a suit, the firefighter who risked his life to save people, the old lady who was walking her dog, all ran towards one place.

They all surged towards one place like waves heading towards the sea.

Towards the black van that was spraying bullets, flames, blood, and Mana.