chapter 18
caang- caang- caang-
A huge iron stake was hammered in three times.
She kicked the stake to make sure it was secure and settled down next. And hammering was repeated.
caang- caang- caang-
The sound of driving the stakes spread like an echo. If someone else was doing this on the plains beyond Frantimo, they might think they were crazy enough to want to die.
It was a sound that could be summoned by all the monsters within a radius of 1km.
However, the direction of actual violence always happened in the opposite direction. What the end of the monsters led by the sound was like remains around the construction site.
Dozens of corpses of varying degrees of decay were scattered there. It was all her work. There was no sign of being cut somewhere on those monster corpses. She crushed or minced the monsters that came to her.
The Ohamma she handles weighs 80 kg only in net weight.
She was the only one here who could fight like that. And she had a nickname that was more famous than her name.
“Hamma Azime!”
“uh? Have you come?”
With a nod, she straightened her back and looked at the soldiers walking by. About 400 meters away, a familiar face was waving. To be honest, I thought it would be more accurate to say that I was dragging my legs rather than walking.
“That, facial expressions, spectacle. Anyone who sees it will know that they have saved the country three times.”
“Wow, is that the first greeting? The weather changed like a crazy bitch, so I came here after struggling.”
“under! Being a soldier is becoming insignificant… . Oh, good. While you guys are here, clean up some corpses around here and go.”
“Eh?”
“Don’t pretend to be deaf, get rid of it quickly.”
“What? We should get some rest.”
“yes. Put it away and rest.”
It was never a joke. In an instant, Hansoo reacted.
“No, why is Ajime like me when she sees me!”
Probably because he was tired. Hansoo put his hand on the hilt without realizing it. Seeing Hansoo like that, Hamma snorted.
“Hansoo Yogo, you’re acting cute again after seeing you for the first time in a while.”
“We have to listen to what Ajime said? Ajime’s organization is different from us… .”
bang. she stamped her feet. As if stepping on Hansu’s protest that was about to continue for a long time and cutting it off.
Visible tendons sprouted from her mortar-sized calf. Ohhamma, the length of which would reach near the chest of an adult if left alone, was held in her large hand, so it looked like a hammer.
After drawing the attention of the members, she spoke casually.
“Come to think of it, it reminds me of 20 years ago.”
“… suddenly?”
“At that time, there was a boy who acted as cute as you… .”
Then, Hansoo felt uncomfortable. It was because Hamma had an expression that seemed lost in memories.
“Then, that boy… Do you know what is going on?”
“… how do i know Why did you say goodbye?”
“no.”
The next moment, what came out of her mouth was not a sad story. Hamma released the lion’s roar.
“From the other side! You’re eating while crying, man!”
Hansoo wasn’t the only one who was awakened by that powerful voice.
Birds clinging to the trees flew up with the sound of flapping their wings. Even the members of the crew who tried to help with the word that they were going to do the work shrank and retreated.
And then a dwarf man walked out with a shy face.
“honey. I’m done… .”
“uh. Did you put in a lot of chili?”
“yes.”
“Okay, good job… . If I knew they were coming, I would have just let them do it. Anyway, let’s eat. Hansoo! You guys, put them away and rest or sleep!”
More at NovelNext com
No one dared to think of a word of protest at her words. Only Hansoo grumbled a little.
“I’m proud to have gotten married to a bossam.”
I don’t know if it’s time to laugh, but Adrine wasn’t in the mood to laugh either.
“Hey, hey, John?”
“yes. I heard. Now that I’m awake, you can let go of your hand on the back of my head.”
There was no fatigue from the long march. It felt like waking up from a deep sleep. Yohan, who came to his senses by bending his neck here and there, looked at the characters in front of him.
Hansoo and Hamma.
Hansoo’s [Status window] lists the small skills that she forged through her long military service, and Hamma’s [Status window] lists her unreasonable body specifications.
“It brings back memories.”
A smile came to John’s face.
Both of them were their favorite characters.
***
What people usually think of when they hear the word ‘battle’ is the sight of the land. Soldiers lined up in a long line or knights advancing on horseback.
However, if that person were a wizard, he would think of a slightly different scene. Their battlefield is the place where the flow of chi unfolds, that is, the sky.
That’s probably what my favorite character, Hamma Crescendo, is looking at. She wasn’t looking up at the sky to check the weather.
“That girl, her skills are getting better day by day.”
Only Hansoo and I would know who the ‘girl’ she was talking about was. It refers to the witch of the plains, Carnes. While we were undressing and tidying up, she gritted her teeth with a small twig after a stormy meal.
“Hey, Hansoo. I’ll just clean up and come back while you guys are gathering like that and chatting.”
“Take all the red pepper powder out of your mouth and tell me. Did the rice go down your throat well in front of your starving son?”
“uh. My husband and I are doing well. When are you going to clean it up? It will be over.”
“No matter how many people do it, it’ll just have to be cleaned up, kid… mind! Neg Ham Moibaba.”
Except for me who used [Auto Skip], everyone was exhausted. We cast lots to get rid of the body. And the winner was a girl with a weak stomach.
“Ugh. body… How do you touch it?”
It was a girl who had grown up beautifully. I didn’t want to stand out, so I didn’t want to use resources. I couldn’t manipulate the lot, so I had no choice.
I quietly raised my hand and said.
“I just do it for you.”
Of course, I didn’t volunteer for the girl. However, the woman, thinking of this as a sacrifice, raised her hand after me with her teeth clenched.
“I help too.”
It was Adrin, who suffered death.
It may seem like a touching scene to some. Everyone is extremely tired from walking long distances.
“Hoo~.”
Hansoo spat out a short exclamation toward me and Adrine. Then he spoke to the boys who flirted with Adrin.
“mind. did you see Clapping is waiting like that. It’s so cool.”
“… … .”
The words ‘I’ll help too’ didn’t come up again. All the boys looked at me and Adrinne as they walked toward the corpse, then quietly lowered their eyes again. A noble character like Adrine is not created by just anyone.
After moving a little away from the members, I asked indirectly.
“Why did you dare to step out, Adrine?”
“I’ll return the question as it is, John.”
“For personal reasons.”
“I will return that answer as it is… What are you doing?!”
I put Mulcan’s sword in the stomach of a goblin. My sword easily stirred through the decaying corpse, and eventually came out with a small piece of metal that looked like copper.
“Among the monsters, there are those who especially like shiny things. They also swallow things like jewelry. That’s why I volunteered to see if there was anything useful like this in the stomach.”
Having said this, I am surprised at myself for being unemotional while rummaging through a corpse.
but.
I was like this when I cut the corporal’s body in half.
I tossed the goblin with its stomach ripped out of the construction site far away, then put the sword back into the next corpse.
“What is your personal reason, Miss?”
Adrine spat out an exclamation of ‘Ugh-‘ at the sight of me digging through the corpse with a bloody sword. But he didn’t dodge my question.
She said, mimicking my tone.
“Some people have something shiny. They tend to blossom it into something great. I volunteered to see what you have.”
I got a small snag.
“I don’t have anything that great.”
“Perhaps someone saved through you will think differently. Was the false student named Sabaki?”
“Okay.”
I shrugged.
If you think of Sabaki’s character setting, there’s a high probability that he’s burning hostility towards the person who destroyed him rather than thanking me.
I continued to dig into the bodies of the monsters, and Adrinne carried the dismembered corpses away and threw them away. Adrine cynically called this an ‘academy-type funeral director’s job experience’.
There were a lot of monsters, so it took quite a while to clear them out. When she and I returned from clearing away the corpses, a savory smell wafted through the ranks of the soldiers.
“Wow, really mouth-watering… .”
“I’m going to get sick from the smell.”
The sound of children swallowing saliva continued. Hamma was a big woman anyway, and she handed over a wild boar in exchange for the carcass. It was enough for everyone to eat.
This may be the reason Hansu, the headmaster, dared to draw lots for the young students to touch the corpse. To quickly feed students who are exhausted physically and mentally.
He lifted the ladle from the tight jar and blew on it, giving it a taste. Then, he asked us first.
“The man and woman who touched the corpse. Neg, do you have a good stomach?”
“yes.”
“no.”
“Well… , Gramun Musma came first. The young lady will come later.”
Hansoo passed the crowd of children and held out a bowl containing a large piece of meat to me. Taking a bite of my teeth, I felt the tip of my nose get cold.
I took a seat a little away from the crowd with my soup bowl in my hand. Sitting on the wall of the building under construction, I quietly savored the taste.
It was a dish that Miri often made.
***
“John. It’s our turn.”
Hearing the woman’s voice calling my name, I forced my eyelids up.
The seat I was lying on was hard, so my back hurt a little. The pitch-black sky that stretched out before my eyes was like a large, deep well.
The night sky embroidered with so many stars cannot be seen in Seoul. Plus three full moons of different sizes. This is a sight that cannot be seen anywhere else on Earth.
“So, let it be a sign.”
“… yes?”
“This is a game world.”
“game… world?”
Looking at the bewildered Adrine, I stood up. Perhaps it was the arrangement of leader Hansu that she and I had the same night watch.
I looked towards the clock tower. It was 11:27. Before going to bed, Hansu, the leader of the group, said that there would be a night march from 1:30 in the morning.
“Night watch, is it the last time?”
“Right.”
“… It seems that the captain took care of it.”
Adrine nodded. Needless to say, the first and last hours of the wake are the least stressful.
There was a moan of ‘Kkeu-eung-‘ among the children lying down. It was an understandable sight. There are 20 people in a group.
Since night shifts are paired with two people, each person sleeps for nine hours.
However, considering the lengthy march and the damn weather, this is an extremely short time. It’s because we’ve come this far while facing the witch’s hindrances.
“Are your legs okay?”
“it’s okay. I couldn’t wash it because it was outdoors… Please understand this level of transgression, John.”
“It’s a mistake. I don’t mind.”
Even if she said that, Adrine had even finished her simple makeup. That attitude of giving perfection to one’s appearance must have been taught to the core since he was born as a member of the imperial family.
I stared at her status window.