The First Hunter

Chapter 45. Musical Chairs, Part I

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

1.

Tututu!

Kkieee!

The ear-splitting gunfire and screams from monsters shook the city area of Daedong County, South Pyongan Province.

“Shoot!” The main characters of the gunfire were the soldiers who wanted to defend the final defense line built around Pyongyang.

Kkie! Kkiee! The main characters of the scream were the giant Wolf Ants covered with shaggy hair.

“Fuck, we’ve met the ones we didn’t want to see most.”

Wolf Ants.

The monsters who started to appear on the Korean Peninsula recently were very scary and threatening ones.

“Captain, I think we’ve lost the draw.”

One, each individual was strong. The lower-class Wolf Ants with red eyes could not be killed with one or two bullets, and the strength of the yellow-eyed Wolf Ant leaders was the highest level of yellow-grade monsters. But the scariest thing was not the strength of such an individual, but the habit of the Wolf Ant race.

“The proportion of Soldier Wolf Ants is high, and they must have come to build nests, not just search stations.”

The Wolf Ants had the habit of crushing everything in their territory and building their new own nests there.

“We have to stop them unconditionally. When the nest is built…”

“Yes, the queen will come.”

And as soon as a nest was built, the Queen Wolf Ant would move there, with hundreds and thousands of troops!

“We must stop the Queen Wolf Ant from settling here. If they take over this place, Pyongyang will be very dangerous.”

The distance between Daedong County and Pyongyang City, where the battle was now being held, was less than twenty kilometers in a straight line, and in the middle of it was just a plain.

“If the Queen Wolf Ant settles here… it might be an hour to Pyongyang.”

At the words of the soldiers, Captain Park Il-sung, who led the 9th squad under the Armored Hunting Unit and was in charge of guarding Daedong County, gave a short sigh.

“What about support?”

“We’ll need a battalion force to deal with the Wolf Ants, and I expect it will take more time for backup.”

“Then, we’ll hold on until backup comes.” Il-Sung clenched his teeth tightly after sighing. “I am sorry, but there’s no retreat.”

If they were other monsters, he would have been willing to retreat, and join the backup forces and sweep away the monsters. But the Wolf Ants were different. As said before, the moment the Wolf Ants built a nest in Daedong County, the Queen Wolf Ant would come here.

Building the nest did not mean building a splendid palace, but the moment when the Wolf Ant recognized Daedong County as their home.

That was why they couldn’t retreat. Until the backup forces came, they had to convince the Wolf Ants that Daedong County was not their home.

“You don’t have to be sorry, we’ll be able to hold on until we get the backup.” At the words of Captain Park Il-sung, the subordinate soldier replaced the answer with a determined smile instead of a desperate expression.

“Captain!” A soldier rushed in, with a hail of gunfire sounding behind him.

“Support troops have arrived!” Then he said something everyone wanted to hear.

Of course, Captain Park turned his head back, but his turned face immediately stiffened, because there was no sign to be seen after he turned his head. “What do you mean support? Where are the backup forces?”

At the words of the question of Captain Park, the soldier pointed to the north, the front which the Wolf Ants were advancing in a rush. “There!”

“What the hell is that nonsense-” At that, Captain Park turned his head to the battlefield again with a strange expression.

‘What?’ And he could see that the Wolf Ants who had been running madly toward them turned their heads and ran backward.

Boom!

He also saw that the dead bodies of the Wolf Ants scattered all over by a huge explosion.

‘Could it be…’

The most powerful support force in the world had arrived.

2.

“The landscape is always the same every time I meet you.” Colonel Lim looked at the scene in front of him for a while. The dead bodies of the powerful Wolf Ants were scattered all over. It was the scene which Kim had made.

“Are you looking for the most dangerous place on purpose?”

It was always like that. When Kim returned to Korea after finishing his work, he appeared in the most dangerous place and made it the safest place.

“I don’t want to waste time walking down the flower path.”

It was not a coincidence, and it was intentional. Kim always focused his five senses when he returned to Korea, and he headed toward the place with the most gunshots and screams in the crowd.

Colonel Lim smiled lightly at Kim’s appearance, not hiding his admiration. “That’s great.” It was an admiration for the existence of Kim, who allowed a smile in a world full of monsters, and in a situation where everyone risked their lives to protect their country from monsters in the world.

“Please report the situation.” However, Kim was not happy with the admiration.

Colonel Lim erased his smile and started reporting. “We are currently building a defense line around Pyongyang. The immediate threat is the Queen Wolf Ant and Wolf Ant army in Kaechon City, South Pyongan Province. The number of Wolf Ants now is about twelve hundred, a mixed number of lower Wolf Ants and Soldier Wolf Ants.”

“I’ll remove the Queen Wolf Ant tomorrow. I want you to organize a backup unit. Anything else special?”

“After discovering a group of Russian survivors in Rason City, we’re currently investigating them. One of them has identified herself as an SSO operative.”

SSO… the word changed Kim Tae-hoon’s eyes.

Colonel Lim immediately began a briefing on the reaction, as if he had expected such a reaction from Kim. “She is twenty-nine years old, and her name is Maria Alexandrovich Solovijov. As she said—”

“She must have said that after working for KGB for three years and becoming a member of SSO, she was in Syria and Libyan Civil War until the monsters appeared.”

But the briefing was over immediately.

“Do you know her?”

“She is a daughter of Victor Solovijov, Deputy Director of the FSB.”

“The daughter of the Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Security Agency?”

“She was originally a member of the Alpha Group, a Counterterrorism Unit of the Federal Security Agency, and was recognized for her ability to intervene in the Syrian Civil War. She made such a great contribution that the Syrian government officially obtained support from the Russian army.”

Colonel Lim’s expression began to harden at the story that was much more amazing than expected. “… I think there’s an amazing story, so what’s your relationship with her?”

“I saved her life three times at the request of our government.”

In this part, Colonel Lim shook his head. It was pointless for Kim to get his briefing if they were in such a relationship.

“Then it’s you’d better meet her than I do. She’s in detention in Pyongyang now. I’ll arrange the meeting now.”

Kim did not nod at the proposal. “I’ll kill the Queen Wolf Ant first.”

“You don’t have to hurry-”

“It’s much more important to hunt the Queen Wolf Ant and reduce the damage to soldiers and hunters than to talk to a smuggler from Russian whose intentions are unknown.”

“… I’ll prepare for it right away.” Colonel Lim did not try to persuade Kim. What he had to do was not to stop Kim, but to provide full cooperation and support for what Kim wanted to do.

“Captain Park Il-sung!”

“Yes, Commander.”

Colonel Lim called Captain Park, who was standing nearby as firm as a mannequin.

“You’ll lead the 9th squadron to help kill the Master’s Queen Wolf Ant.” He ordered on the spot. It was not really an order to those who had risked their lives to defend Daedong County until just a while ago, and those who had not even taken a proper rest yet.

At the order, Captain Park shouted as hard as he could, since there was no safer order in the world, “It’s an honor!”

3.

There was a room full of frustration, and a small light the only illumination. A woman was sitting in a chair. The tall woman’s hair was very short, and yet she had a beautiful appearance that was not lacking for all her nearly 180 cm height.

Maria Alexandrovich Solovijov was the name of the beautiful woman, who was still attractive even after a wound that passed through her nose.

But those who knew her remembered her by a nickname, rather than a real name.

“It’s been a long time, Writer.”

Maria turned her head at the word “Writer” from the man standing by the now-open door. She was surprised, “Messiah?”

The man who appeared was Kim Tae-hoon.

“You call me Messiah?”

“Because I owe you three lives. Rather, why are on earth you here?”

“From this side, I want to ask you why, of all occasions, the person from Russia is you.”

Maria answered Kim’s question immediately. “I have only come this far since I ran away; it is such a world, isn’t it?”

There was no problem with that remark. Maria’s expression was showing her feelings, as well. There was nothing to find fault with.

Kim did not think she had any fault.

“If the opponent is another person, it will be no problem, but not you.” The only problem was that the opponent was Maria. “You always move to write a scenario.”

Writer.

Even in the Alpha Group, Russia’s leading special forces, the nickname was not fit for a soldier who had been recognized for her ability. Nevertheless, it was because of her role that she had such a nickname.

Before the advent of the monsters, the world powers longed for the pretext to exert overwhelming violence in an era where violence could no longer be exercised, and they tried to create a cause.

Maria was a writer who wrote the necessary scenarios to make the cause.

‘It was Maria who was able to intervene in the Syrian Civil War.’

It was the Syrian civil war that showed the most promise. If she hadn’t caught the weak spot by entrapping a CIA agent inversely who had been caught in the Syrian Civil War, the U.S. could not have just watched a blatant intervention of Russia for its ally, the Assad regime of Syria.

It was Kim Tae-hoon who saved her and her Unit when they were in danger of an ISIS attack after that had happened. And as she said, it was the third time. He moved to rescue her whenever she was in a crisis while carrying out a very close scenario.

“Don’t play a clumsy trick.” Naturally, Kim knew what kind of scenario she wrote every time he went to save her. “I have no intention of playing with you, and there is no time.”

With the words, Kim immediately took off his pack and started putting it on the desk. He down put his bag first and then put two Swords on the desk. As soon as he sat across from Maria, he grabbed the Sword of the Imperator, which he put on the desk, and pulled it out.

Tsreung! The Sword sounded eerie and revealed its hideous nudity. The naked body of the Sword was covered with blood that smelled rotten. The evidence showed that Kim was in the bloody battlefield just a little while ago.

Maria’s eyes changed before the evidence. Suitable for her nickname as a writer, she understood the meaning of Kim’s actions. ‘Kim Tae-hoon will kill me without hesitation, the moment he judges me to be a threat.’

Maria also knew Kim as much as the man in front of her knew her. That was why at this moment she was able to see the priority of what she had to do first: she did not play tricks on Kim. ‘The first thing is to prove that I am not a threat.’

“Do you know the current situation of our country?”

“I ask the questions.” Kim also had no intention of letting Maria off because he knew her. He had a slight acquaintance with her. Never have they been together in the concept of co-workers.

‘There is a possibility of contact with the Six Snakes.’ Above all, it was more likely that she came here because of the Six Snakes. ‘If I find any problems with her, I will kill her.’

If she showed any signs of working as an agent of the Six Snake, Kim would kill her with a single stroke, and he showed it without hiding it a bit. That was why he took a Sword and wiped the blood of the Queen Wolf Ant on the Sword. It was a blatant threat.

Maria, sensing the meaning of the threat, did not play any tricks.

“Russia has become a zombie-overflowing world with the advent of Chernobog.” She only talked about the truth that she knew.

“Tell me about Chernobog.”

“I don’t know its identity. There is only a vague clue about a monster with a wolf figure, but no one knows exactly what skin color of the Wolf or what size is. No witnesses survive seeing it that close. Instead, I’m just sure it has purple eyes.”

“Abilities?”

“The places where Chernobog has passed are full of zombies. The dead rise and use violence. I’d be glad if it was just people, but it’s crazy and includes monsters.”

“Is it a virus?”

“Fortunately, it’s not contagious. Being bitten by a zombie doesn’t make people a zombie. Of course, it’s not certain.”

“What is the Russian government’s response to them?”

“Nuclear weapons.”

At that moment, Kim stopped wiping the Sword and raised his hand. The conversation went off without a hitch. Soon afterward, he tapped into space with his hands as if he were knocking on the air. Tap tap tap!

The door in the distance knocked on its own. Immediately a man opened the door and came in. The man had a kettle of boiling water, a coffee dripper, and a tray of crushed coffee beans.

Maria sighed briefly at the sight. Drinking coffee instead of polishing a sword, she didn’t have to explain which was less threatening.

Kim used his Telekinesis to move a coffee draper and a kettle in front of Maria. He continued his talk after lowering his coffee, using his Telekinesis.

“In winter, zombies freeze and cannot move, and it the only time a nuclear operation can perform. But if it had been simply because of that, Maria, you wouldn’t have come to the Korean Peninsula… You are opposed to the plan.”

Maria nodded at the remark. “That’s right. I’m against using nuclear weapons. Of course, this is not because I am an opponent of nuclear weapons. All I’m worried about is…”

“It’s a case where they can’t get rid of Chernobog with the nuclear weapons.”

“That’s right.”

“What you need is some forces to support the opposition.”

Finally, Kim stopped talking and immediately picked up a cup of coffee.

Then he drank coffee. The hour of silence had begun.

After the silence, Kim said, “I’ll help you.”

Maria did not cheer in his reply. “What do you want?”

She knew that Kim’s answer was never an answer from justice and charity.

And as she thought, Kim wasn’t helping her for charity and the right value.

“Everything.”

“All?”

“The cost of helping is all the resources and supplies Russia has.”

At the words, Maria revealed her feelings for the first time. She shouted with a surprised look, “What’s that nonsense? It can’t be possible, right? Does it mean we should actually be a colony?”

Kim responded calmly to her reaction, “Ask Japan whether it is possible or not, Of course, if I have a chance.”

Kim Tae-hoon, drank his coffee and closed his eyes.

Maria clenched her teeth at the sight and racked her brain.

‘Kim Tae-hoon is a cool-headed man. He is not talking nonsense. He knows his ability better than anyone else.’

She imagined why Kim said this, and she made a story out of her imagination.

‘He really wants everything, so he asked for it all. And… he thinks he is worth asking for all of it.’

In the end, she was able to come up with the most obvious way to sort out countless stories in her mind.

“I want to know your ability. That way, I can decide whether to bet or not.”

At the words, Kim once again knocked into the air. Tap tap tap! There was a knock again, and the man who brought some coffee came back. Kim said to the man, swallowing his coffee. “Deliver my order to Colonel Lim, get ready to climb Mt. Baekdu.”

And Kim, who had his coffee again, thought, ‘Six Snakes, I’ll take the place you’ve fled to.’