Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 34: Ambush

“Jin, Jin. Honey, wake up.”

Bright light seeped through his thinly opened eyelids. A soft, sweet scent tickled his nose.

“Wake up, Jin. You have to work.”

Jin Beom-Min opened his eyes wide. She was there, in front of him.

A round, oval face with large, innocent eyes. A sweet, peach-like scent.

“. . . What. . . is. . . going on. . .?”

“The work you’re best at.”

“. . . Tiles?”

“No.”

“Then. . .?”

“Killing.”

She said with a soft smile.

That smile.

The smile that had brought him comfort for the first time since he came to Earth.

Seeing the smile of his deceased wife, Jin Beom-Min realized he was dreaming. But he didn’t want to wake up.

“Can’t I. . . sleep a little longer?”

“Well. . .?”

Beeeeeeeep―

A sound of something cutting through the air came from afar.

An arrow. The sound of a magic-infused arrow flying towards them.

Jin Beom-Min shouted, opening his eyes wide.

“Get down!”

Kwaang!

The shabby North Korean military vehicle running ahead of the truck was thrown into the air. Simultaneously, the fuel tank ignited, erupting in heat and flames.

“Whoa, what the!”

Ogre quickly turned the steering wheel to avoid the debris of the vehicle.

“Whoa!”

Wraith, who had switched seats with Imp and was sleeping in the cargo bed, barely managed to regain her senses and staggered at the sudden change of direction.

“Be careful!”

Jin Beom-Min grabbed Wraith’s hand as she was about to fall and pulled her in.

“What’s going on?”

“Sniper! Everyone get out of the car!”

“Sniper?”

Everyone asked back in bewildered voices.

“Just get down!”

Screeeech!

As Ogre slammed on the brakes, the well-trained Ghost Squad, as if they had never been asleep, quickly gathered their weapons and got out of the car.

Beeeeeeeep―

Jin Beom-Min shouted loudly, leaping towards the direction of the sound.

“It’s an arrow! We need to retreat more than 500 meters in the opposite direction!”

Clang!

The arrow, enveloped in light green magic, was deflected by Jin Beom-Min’s sword and plunged into the ground.

Kwaang!

The ground where the arrow landed exploded, turning upside down. It was a common arrow, but the magic contained within it was quite powerful.

‘A Ranger…! ’

If it was a Ranger, they could accurately shoot magic-infused arrows from a very long distance.

The sharp vision and archery skills of a Ranger. And if the arrow was imbued with missile-level magic, it wouldn’t be impossible to shoot down a ballistic missile.

Furthermore, a Ranger with that much experience and skill could easily tame a dangerous beast like a Manticore.

‘Oh no…! ’

The moment that thought crossed his mind, a massive object that looked like a rock among the bushes leaped at Jin Beom-Min.

It was a Manticore, a ferocious monster with the body of a lion and the face of a human, as large as a bus.

“Kyaoooong!”

Crack!

Jin Beom-Min hurriedly swung his sword down, blocking the Manticore’s claws. However, due to his unstable posture, a long gash was left on his thigh.

“Ugh!”

Jin Beom-Min landed on the ground, glancing at the Ghost Squad members.

As expected of the Ghost Squad with ample experience in battling monsters, they were already retreating a good distance away. They all knew that it was more effective to retreat safely and support Jin Beom-Min than to rush in and help unnecessarily.

Shuuuuu―

Thanks to the effect of the Iron Troll armor, the long wound on his thigh healed instantly.

However, it wasn’t without impact. The Iron Troll armor only healed the wound, it didn’t restore his stamina. The blood lost from the wound and the energy consumed for healing were definitely a significant loss.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been ambushed.”

Jin Beom-Min got up with a bitter smile. The Manticore’s chilling face, located far above, at the height of a two-story building, let out a low growl.

Jin Beom-Min kept his eyes on the Manticore and slowly spun the white skull-emblazoned ring on his left hand with his finger.

“Guardian of Necromancy―.”

Crack―

Thud.

The eyes of the skull engraved on the ring glowed red, and dirt and stones rose from the ground beside Jin Beom-Min. And from within, like a ghost rising, a knight in blue armor appeared.

“. . . So. . . . You are the one. . . who awakened me again. . . .”

Kuen seemed to have the talent to make a disappointed expression even with his rotten and decayed face.

“Because there are two opponents, Senior.”

“. . . Opponents. . .?”

“Wouldn’t you like to hunt some monsters after all this time?”

Only then did Kuen notice the Manticore standing before him and let out a cry of delight.

“Oh. . . Ohhh. . .!”

“Do you like it?”

Kuen’s skeletal jaw dropped. If it weren’t for the lumps of dirt and flesh spilling out from between them, it would have been a passable smile.

“. . . Since I became like this. . . .”

Kuen said, tapping his head with the tip of his sword.

“Bound by an irresistible force. . . I have killed innocent humans for. . . how many years. . . . If I can just. . . kill these abominable creatures. . . I will gladly. . . postpone my rest. . . .”

“Then let’s have some fun.”

“Woooh. . .!”

Kuen and Jin Beom-Min simultaneously charged at the Manticore. At the same time, the Manticore roared loudly and raised its claws.

Beeeeeep―

Beeeeeeeep―

Arrows imbued with powerful magic began to fly in succession.

******

Kwaang! Kwaaaang!

The Ghost Squad ran with their breath catching in their throats, leaving the roar of battle behind.

Sandman looked back even while running and surveyed the surroundings. Then, pointing to a gently rising hill, he shouted.

“There, up to the high ground!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Ghost Squad members all ran towards the hill.

The hill, which was too small to be called a mountain and a little too high to be called a hill, was barren, like most of North Korea. There were only short shrubs scattered around; nothing taller than a person was visible.

“Huff. . . Huff. . .!”

The Ghost Squad members, having reached the top of the hill in one breath, caught their breath and looked down at the fight between Jin Beom-Min and the Manticore.

“Whew, whew. . . . But, whew, that.”

Reaper said, gasping for breath.

“That, whew, knight in blue armor, isn’t he? Why is he fighting with, Jin, Jin. . .?”

“How would I know? Whew, anyway, he seems to be on our side for now.”

Sandman shrugged and gave a firm order.

“Wraith, launch the drone and find the sniper. Reaper, prepare for counter-sniping, and Imp, assist Reaper. Ogre, stay with me and secure the perimeter. Execute.”

“Execute!”

“Move!”

The Ghost Squad didn’t want to remain mere spectators in this fight.

Because it was their duty to fight with all their might, no matter how insignificant their power might be.

******

“Kraoong!”

The Manticore roared loudly and swung its tail. The sharp thorns that were densely packed on its tail flew like bullets and struck Kuen’s shield.

Clang!

“. . . Be careful. . . . Those thorns are coated with. . . a terrible poison. . . .”

“Yes, thanks to you, it’s a lot easier.”

It was the first time Jin Beom-Min and Kuen had fought together. But surprisingly, they worked well together.

Kuen flawlessly blocked the Manticore’s ferocious attacks with his sturdy shield, and Jin Beom-Min concentrated high-density magic to inflict deep wounds on the Manticore’s body.

Originally, the Manticore’s hide was very tough and resilient, and it had resistance to magic, so it would only be slightly singed by the attacks of ordinary knights.

However, Jin Beom-Min was not an ‘ordinary’ knight, and his sword, imbued with concentrated blue magic, inflicted definite wounds on the Manticore’s body.

However, the reason the Manticore could still endure, even while limping and bleeding, was thanks to the powerful arrows shot by the hidden Ranger from afar.

“. . . You seem tired. . . .”

“I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Kwaang!

Kuen took another arrow attack.

“. . . Aren’t you a little. . . too old to be. . . losing sleep. . .?”

“I’m not that old yet, old man.”

Kwak!

“Kyaoong!”

The Manticore roared as Jin Beom-Min’s sword sliced off one of its long claws. The claw, almost as long as an elephant’s tusk, flew far and embedded itself deep into the ground.

Whirrrrrr―

Suddenly, a strange sound echoed in the air. It was a strange sound, like a whistle or a horn.

Upon hearing the sound, the Manticore suddenly turned and started running towards the open field.

“Hmm. . .? What’s that. . .?”

Kuen instinctively turned and chased after the Manticore.

“Wait. . .!”

Jin Beom-Min tried to stop Kuen, but he was already far ahead.

Swoosh!

An arrow with tremendous force flew almost parallel to the ground. It was completely different from the previous attacks that came from a high angle, in terms of both power and speed.

“Kuen!”

Clang!

A deafening roar split the air.

Thud!

Crack―

Kuen quickly blocked the arrow with his shield, but the angle was not good. The magic contained in the arrow was absorbed by the shield, but the force of the arrow itself was so strong that his body was thrown into the air and he collapsed on the ground.

“Ugh, I was careless. . .!”

The moment Kuen tried to get up, the fleeing Manticore turned around and violently swung its front paws.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Jin Beom-Min, who had quickly rushed over, blocked the Manticore’s attack. However, the attack was so fierce that even he couldn’t block it all.

Rip! Thud.

“Ugh. . .!”

Jin Beom-Min’s shoulder was torn, and his bulletproof vest fell to the ground. As the torn vest fell, the radio cable connected to the helmet’s headset was severed.

“Oh no. . . .”

Although the wound healed quickly this time as well, Jin Beom-Min’s stamina seemed to have visibly declined.

However, the Manticore didn’t attack anymore, but retreated a distance and growled.

“. . . They changed their. . . tactics. . . .”

“Indeed.”

“. . . It’s going to be. . . a little tougher. . . .”

“Are you going to talk about dying? When you’re already dead. . .?”

“. . . I have to. . . say something.”

******

“Found him. 1.5km ahead, northeast!”

“Reaper! Can you get a lock?”

“Just a moment!”

Reaper aimed her rifle towards the northeast. The high-magnification scope showed low-lying bushes and dead trees. However, no human figure was visible.

“Jin is struggling! We need to find him quickly!”

“I’m looking, I’m looking!”

Suddenly, a human figure appeared in her field of vision as she scanned the ground.

No, it looked like a human, but it wasn’t.

A humanoid species with dark blue skin and grayish-white hair.

His thick arms held a massive bow and arrow. It was the sniper they were looking for, the Ranger.

“Found him!”

“Imp!”

“I’ve got him too. Distance 1,573 meters!”

As Imp, acting as the spotter, announced the distance measured with the observation telescope, Reaper adjusted the zeroing of her scope.

“Almost no wind! Altitude minus 16 meters!”

“Zeroing complete!”

As Reaper reported, having finished her preparations for the shot, Sandman gave a firm order.

“Fire when ready!”

Reaper held her breath slowly, keeping her eyes fixed on the target. The scope, which had been shaking slightly, stopped moving.

Gently, Reaper’s finger went over the trigger.

Meanwhile, the Ranger continued to shoot arrows, twice in a row. Even from afar, the power was tremendous.

“Slowly. . . . Carefully. . . .”

Sandman muttered in a low voice.

1,500 meters. A long distance where it would take two seconds for a bullet to reach the target even if fired.

If she didn’t aim perfectly and predict the movement, she wouldn’t hit.

Reaper quietly pulled the trigger at a slow and steady pace.