Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 5: A Double Test

Under a low hill thick with tall bushes, six people sat quietly, peering at a small tablet screen.

Five fully-armed soldiers were, needless to say, Ghost Squad.

And beside them sat Jin Beom-Min, quietly wearing a bulletproof vest over his armor, along with a mask and helmet.

While his armor alone was sufficient to defend against monster attacks, Lee Sang-Jun had advised him to wear a bulletproof vest as a precaution against grenades and shrapnel.

Furthermore, the vest proved useful for attaching auxiliary equipment like an action camera for real-time situation relay and a communicator.

The mask covering his face was also something Lee Sang-Jun had recommended.

‘Wouldn’t it be troublesome if your face was exposed?’

Jin Beom-Min couldn’t refute Lee Sang-Jun’s words.

Even in rural Vietnamese villages, there would be people with smartphones, and if a video taken by someone was released online, it would only be a matter of time before Jin Beom-Min’s identity was revealed.

His identity being exposed meant that Seong-Gyun and Su-Yeon’s identities would also be exposed.

He didn’t want his children to be involved in this incident under any circumstances, so he accepted Lee Sang-Jun’s suggestion without complaint.

In any case, with his broad physique honed from childhood training, the dark grey armor and bulletproof vest, and the mask and helmet, he looked quite formidable.

However, a more terrifying scene was unfolding on the tablet.

A vast farmland with a few farmhouses scattered like pebbles.

It was late afternoon, and the sun was slowly setting, but the reason the ground was stained red wasn’t just because of the sunset.

Countless bodies of civilians and soldiers, covered in blood, were strewn across the farmland.

Few bodies remained intact. There were far more corpses that were torn into pieces or missing parts.

It wasn’t uncommon to find bodies crushed beyond recognition or brutally ripped apart.

Among the dozens of scattered corpses, the wreckage of armored vehicles and cars were also occasionally visible.

Witnessing this horrific scene, Jin Beom-Min felt a surge of rage.

It was a completely different scene from Seongsu-dong a few days ago.

Back then, monsters appeared in the city center, but since it was the heart of Seoul with convenient transportation, it was easy for civilians to evacuate.

Moreover, information was quickly relayed through TV news and the internet, allowing many people to avoid the attack.

Therefore, despite the considerable scale of the attack, the casualties, including soldiers, were limited to only 16.

But now, there were at least 50 corpses scattered in that place, visible at a glance.

And about half of them were children even younger than Seong-Gyun and Su-Yeon.

“Horrible……”

Jin Beom-Min muttered under his breath, biting his lip.

The death of children was something that anyone with a normal mindset would be enraged about.

It was even more so for Jin Beom-Min, a father of two.

Having spent his childhood filled with training, battles, blood, and death, he had witnessed the deaths of children more than anyone else. But being accustomed to it didn’t mean his feelings had dulled.

“There’s something in the northwest.”

The leader of Ghost Squad, a man called by the callsign ‘Sandman’ instead of his name, spoke.

Despite the horrifying scene on the tablet, his voice was calm and resolute.

At his words, ‘Wraith’ of Ghost Squad, who had just launched a reconnaissance drone, nimbly manipulated the controller.

Soon, the drone’s trajectory changed, and a half-collapsed farmhouse was captured in the center of the screen.

The first things that caught the eye were two large trolls with bumpy green skin.

These cannibalistic monsters, known for their fondness for human flesh, were roaring towards a group of twenty or so prisoners tied together with ropes.

And around them, about ten lizardmen were seen struggling to control the trolls.

Unlike the lizardmen that appeared in Russia, these were equipped with dark leather armor and crude broadswords, suggesting they were somewhat prepared this time.

And in front of the collapsed farmhouse stood a monster draped in colorful cloth and wielding a bizarre staff.

“An Orc Shaman……”

“A Shaman? Is it dangerous?”

‘Sandman’ asked in response to Jin Beom-Min’s unintentional remark.

“If it were alone, it wouldn’t be a problem……but with the prisoners, it’ll be tricky. And there are two trolls……”

[Just in case, I’m telling you……]

At that moment, Lee Sang-Jun’s voice came through the communicator. He was currently at a temporary command post set up at the Vietnamese Air Force base, receiving the video feed in real time.

[We must rescue all the hostages.]

“Of course.”

“Of course.”

Jin Beom-Min and ‘Sandman’ answered simultaneously.

Then, Lee Sang-Jun added in an awkward voice.

[Ah, yes. Just in case. We’ve taken quite a diplomatic risk……If even one hostage dies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will tear me apart alive.]

“Then you should have sent us to the scene sooner.”

‘Sandman’ replied in a sharp voice.

In fact, they had arrived at the Vietnamese Air Force base four hours ago, when the sun was high in the sky.

But even after the transport plane landed, they had to wait endlessly inside the plane for three hours.

This was because the Vietnamese military’s field commander desperately opposed their deployment.

In the end, Lee Sang-Jun had to make numerous phone calls from inside the plane, applying diplomatic pressure, before finally obtaining permission for deployment.

It wasn’t Lee Sang-Jun’s fault, but things might have been different if they had arrived a little earlier.

[Sigh, please understand. It’s only been forty-some years since our country came here with guns and intervened in the war. They’re not exactly thrilled about it.]

“……Understood. Let’s formulate a plan of action.”

‘Sandman’ reluctantly replied and then gestured to Jin Beom-Min. He was asking for his opinion on how to proceed.

Although he was undoubtedly a skilled commander, he was willing to accept the opinion of Jin Beom-Min, the monster expert.

Jin Beom-Min pondered for a moment.

Two trolls, fifteen lizardmen. Even with the Orc Shaman, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to handle them alone.

But before going solo, there was something he wanted to verify.

It was Ghost Squad’s capabilities.

Their assistance would be crucial if he had to continue fighting monsters in the future.

Even at the Hero Academy, cooperative tactics with regular soldiers were considered one of the most important subjects.

Fighting in cooperation with skilled and well-coordinated soldiers was far more advantageous than fighting alone.

He could conserve his stamina by having the soldiers deal with relatively weak monsters, and they could even defeat powerful monsters that were difficult to handle alone through cooperative tactics.

Besides, there were numerous tactical advantages to be gained through soldiers, such as procuring supplies, emergency treatment, and gathering information through reconnaissance.

Of course, this was only possible if the individual combat abilities and mental fortitude of the cooperating soldiers were excellent.

For the sake of future endeavors, he needed to test Ghost Squad’s capabilities and see if they could fight without flinching in front of monsters.

In other words, today’s battle was a stage to test not only Jin Beom-Min’s abilities but also those of Ghost Squad.

Jin Beom-Min asked ‘Sandman’ in a serious voice.

“Do you have any tracer rounds or incendiary rounds?”

“We don’t have tracer rounds, but we have two incendiary smoke grenades.”

“Incendiary smoke grenades, you mean white phosphorus grenades?”

“Yes.”

Jin Beom-Min nodded and spoke meaningfully.

“Then, Ghost Squad, please take care of the two trolls.”

******

“Krrrl……Kraak!”

The troll growled, drool dripping from its mouth filled with dirty fangs.

It was understandable. Its favorite food was spread out right before its eyes. Having just massacred dozens of civilians and soldiers and tasted blood, its appetite was even more ravenous.

However, the troll’s attempts to shove the prisoners into its mouth alive were repeatedly thwarted by the lizardmen, who brandished torches and hissed warnings.

Of course, under normal circumstances, it would have snatched a lizardman in one hand and bitten off its head, but even a troll blinded by hunger remembered one thing clearly.

If it laid a hand on a lizardman, it would be turned into a pile of ashes by the Orc Shaman’s flame magic.

The lizardmen, who had to confront trolls twice their size, were on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but thanks to them, the prisoners were safe.

Just as one of the trolls, after licking its lips, was about to curl its lips and bare its fangs again, a strange thing happened.

One of the troll’s eyes disappeared.

Where the troll’s bloodshot left eye had been, there was now a fist-sized hole, gushing blood.

“Kueh?”

“Shick?”

As the staggering troll and the startled lizardmen simultaneously let out cries, a sharp sound rang out.

Tang-!

It was the gunshot of a sniper rifle, belatedly following the supersonic bullet.

“Kr……! Krwawawa!”

The staggering troll roared and ran towards the direction of the gunshot. The other troll, which hadn’t been hit, did the same.

These creatures, who had only been drooling over the food in front of them, sensed the appearance of new prey.

In this sudden situation, the lizardmen’s gazes all turned to the Orc Shaman.

The Orc Shaman then waved its staff and growled an order.

Four lizardmen hurriedly chased after the trolls towards the hill, while the remaining lizardmen surrounded the Orc Shaman, guarding its surroundings.

Thus, the situation Jin Beom-Min desired was perfectly created.

******

“They’re damn fast. ‘Reaper’, put a few more rounds in their legs.”

The largest man in Ghost Squad, ‘Ogre’, said in a thick voice. ‘Reaper’, who was looking through the scope of a sniper rifle about a hundred meters away, replied.

“Yes. But that monster, its eyeball has already regenerated.”

‘Reaper’ was the only female member of Ghost Squad, but her voice held no trace of tremor or tension.

“That’s their regeneration ability or whatever. Just slow them down.”

“Yes, sir.”

Simultaneously, a gunshot rang out. The knee of the charging troll shattered, and it tumbled to the ground.

However, the other troll didn’t seem to care and continued running towards the hill without slowing down.

A few seconds later, the fallen troll got back up and started running again.

Its shattered knee still had exposed bone, but muscles and nerves were already wriggling, regenerating rapidly.

Still, it seemed to be in pain, as the troll’s bluish-purple face became even more grim.

“50 meters to point A.”

‘Wraith’ reported, observing the video transmitted by the drone in the air. ‘Sandman’ sent a message in a serious voice.

“‘Imp’, ‘Ogre’. Situation report.”

“‘Ogre’ ready.”

“‘Imp’, ready to go.”

‘Sandman’ nodded and spoke quietly.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got, Knight.”

******

50 meters behind the two trolls running and roaring.

Four lizardmen were desperately chasing after the trolls, struggling to keep up.

However, there was a significant difference in leg length, and the ground was a muddy rice paddy. Even with ‘Reaper’s sniping slowing the trolls down, it was impossible for the lizardmen to catch up from the start.

But if the lizardmen didn’t control them, the trolls would rampage freely and devour any human in sight.

So, the lizardmen had no choice.

If they wanted to increase their captives, they could only hope that at least one human would remain alive until they arrived.

Thus, the four lizardmen, panting heavily, passed point A, a low rock in the middle of the rice paddy.

At that moment.

Swish!

Jin Beom-Min, who had been moving stealthily and hiding behind the rock, sprang up and drew his sword. Almost simultaneously with the draw, four heads flew into the air.

Four pairs of eyes, unable to comprehend what had happened, scanned their surroundings before falling onto the ridge of the rice paddy.

Thud!

[Whoa!]

[Damn, that’s brutal.]

Exclamations from the Ghost Squad members came through the headset.

But Jin Beom-Min immediately sheathed his sword and ran towards the farmhouse. At a speed that rivaled the trolls……no, even faster.

[Tango one, Tango two, maintaining course. Operation continues.]

‘Wraith’, observing the situation through the drone, reported that the trolls’ trajectory remained unchanged.

“Here we go!”

Jin Beom-Min sent a message while further increasing his speed.

A while ago, Jin Beom-Min had asked Ghost Squad to handle the two trolls, using the excuse that it would take too long to deal with them himself and the hostages might be in danger.

However, their reaction was different from what he expected.

He thought they would be surprised, but ‘Sandman’ simply nodded in agreement.

The other members of Ghost Squad were the same.

Despite having to face trolls that looked terrifying enough to make a grown man wet himself, they showed no signs of agitation.

Whether it was the soldier’s inherent ‘do as you’re told’ mentality or confidence stemming from their abilities, he couldn’t tell.

Either way, the outcome would be decided in five minutes.

In truth, Ghost Squad didn’t have zero chance of winning.

Trolls had a naturally high magic resistance, making it impossible to cast defensive magic on them, so Ghost Squad’s weapons would be somewhat effective.

However, the troll’s most powerful weapon wasn’t magic resistance, but its regenerative ability.

It was difficult to inflict fatal damage on trolls with firearms, as they could regenerate even critical wounds in an instant.

The only way for Ghost Squad to survive was to use the troll’s biggest weakness: fire.

Incendiary smoke grenades using white phosphorus, which wouldn’t extinguish even in water, could potentially roast a troll whole.

However, dealing with two trolls using only two incendiary smoke grenades was no easy feat. If even one missed, they would be out of options.

Therefore, Jin Beom-Min had to eliminate the lizardmen and the Orc Shaman as quickly as possible and return to Ghost Squad.

Even if it was a test, he couldn’t allow precious lives to be lost.

Contrary to Jin Beom-Min’s anxiousness, ‘Sandman’ gave instructions in a calm voice.

[Roger that. ‘Imp’, commence firing.]

Rat-a-tat-a-tat!

Soon after, the cheerful firing sound of a light machine gun echoed from the top of the hill.

Jin Beom-Min suppressed his impatience and focused on his target, the Orc Shaman, who was now right in front of him.

The lizardmen surrounding the Orc Shaman roared and raised their broadswords, but he didn’t need to worry about them.

Whoosh!

As the Orc Shaman chanted a few spells, a large ball of fire formed at the tip of its bizarrely curved staff.

The lizardman blocking the Shaman’s front flinched and jumped aside in surprise at the heat.

When the Orc Shaman swung its staff, a large fireball shot towards Jin Beom-Min.

“Devouring Wolf……!”

Jin Beom-Min muttered the name of his weapon as he extended his left hand.

The moment the wolf emblem engraved on the gauntlet covering his left hand emitted light, the large fireball vanished without a trace.