A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 58. The Promise (1)

A white flare illuminated the sky from beyond the horizon.

The first to react was Meursault.

“Your Excellency…!”

Panic-stricken, Meursault instinctively started to dash in that direction, but then hesitated and turned to look at me.

I was currently in charge of leading this team.

No one was allowed to leave the formation without my permission.

Meursault barely managed to keep his composure as he asked me, “Lord Haydam, what will you do?”

Even though he asked, Meursault looked ready to rush off to check on the commander’s safety, with or without my approval.

Before responding to him, I raised my head and counted the number of white flares launched into the sky.

‘One, two… it looks like there are more than six.’

White flares were used to signal the sighting of a large-class monster.

If more than six flares had been fired, it meant they had encountered at least six monsters.

But something about the situation felt off—like this hadn’t been a regular sighting during a search.

For one thing, multiple white flares had been fired all at once.

Normally, to avoid overlapping the signals and making it difficult to count the exact number, flares would be shot one by one with a time delay.

However, the signals floating in front of us were all jumbled together.

‘This doesn’t look like a typical situation.’

Judging by the erratic pattern of the signals, it seemed likely that the team members had suddenly encountered the large-class monsters and hastily fired off the white flares they had.

Still, if they were that shaken, it probably wasn’t just one or two monsters they had come across. Even if it wasn’t as many as six, there were likely more than three spotted at the center.

We were the team farthest away from the center.

Other teams had probably started moving as well, and even if we rushed over, we would likely be the last to arrive. But ignoring the signal would be risky for both my status and Meursault’s.

‘And…’

If there really were six monsters that appeared at once, the commander’s life could be in danger.

Even if he had learned how to visually locate the jewel within large-class monsters, applying that knowledge in real combat wouldn’t be easy.

Especially if the number of monsters he had to face was high.

Besides, large-class monsters didn’t usually appear in groups, which made it all the more suspicious that so many had shown up at once.

After a brief moment of thought, I turned to Meursault and asked, “How many bikes do we have right now?”

“Two.”

The snow bikes, designed with wide boards instead of wheels to glide effortlessly over the snow, were brought to transport heavy materials like tents.

They were large and not typically used in hunting missions, but since the number of personnel had been reduced for this mission, these vehicles had been introduced.

I glanced at the new officers before giving my orders.

“Lucas, Bones. You two will come with me and Meursault to the center. The rest of you stay here and wait.”

“Yes, sir!”

Although it was possible to transport everyone by using the sleds attached to the bikes, I decided to only bring a portion of my team as I headed to check on the commander’s safety.

This area had already been cleared of monsters, so it would be safe for the new officers to stay behind. Besides, bringing them into an area with multiple monsters might not be very useful.

Meursault must have been thinking along the same lines, as he immediately ordered the new officers to unload the supplies from the bikes.

After removing the attached sleds and loading only guns and ammunition, the bikes looked much lighter.

“Are you going to drive?” Meursault asked Bones, holding out the bike key.

Bones, with a stiff expression, replied, “I don’t know how to drive a bike.”

Given his demeanor, I almost thought he’d be able to ride standing up.

“I know how to drive,” Lucas said unexpectedly, but fortunately, he could handle the bike, so the key was handed over to him.

As for the bike I’d be riding, I naturally left the driving to Meursault.

I knew how to ride a bike, of course, but my current physical condition wasn’t ideal for it.

“Meursault and I will go ahead. You two follow at a distance,” I instructed.

“Yes, sir.”

After giving the orders to the two, I approached the bike I would be riding, where Meursault was already seated with a tense expression.

‘Honestly, it’d be better to leave him behind, too…’

Our original plan had been to scout on the first day, and then systematically hunt down any large-class monsters we found from the second day onward.

We had anticipated some unexpected developments, but we hadn’t expected multiple monsters to appear where the commander had gone for reconnaissance.

In other words, under normal circumstances, Meursault should have stayed in the operations room.

Whether or not Meursault would be of any help was uncertain, but he was, after all, the commander’s adjutant.

He was supposed to assist the commander, but because of my special status, he had ended up here instead.

With the commander possibly in danger now, it was only natural that Meursault would be the most anxious.

“Meursault.”

“Yes, Lord Haydam.”

“Just so we’re clear—don’t head straight for where the flare was fired. We’ll keep our distance, get off the bikes, and proceed on foot.”

“…Understood.”

Judging by the look on his face, if I hadn’t said anything, he might’ve rushed straight in on the bike.

I mounted the bike behind him, wrapped my arms around his waist, and pulled down the goggles that had been resting on my forehead.

“Let’s go see what’s happening. Whatever it is.”

* * *

As we sped across the snowfield, we spotted a few bikes ahead of us that had arrived before us.

It seemed like other teams had also hurriedly sent personnel.

Upon getting off and inspecting the area, we saw that the tracks starting from the bikes were scattered messily across the snow.

All the tracks were heading in the same direction, and it was clear from the distant shouts and gunfire that a significant number of people were already engaged in the hunt.

“Try the radio,” I ordered.

Meursault attempted communication, but no response came back.

Maybe they were too busy dealing with the monsters to answer the radio.

That wasn’t a good sign.

“We have no choice but to go in…,” I said.

I was about to suggest going ahead alone while telling the others to stay behind, but Meursault stepped forward as if he had read my thoughts.

“I’ll go with you.”

“You sure?”

“You’ll point out the jewel locations for me, and… you know how much my shooting has improved, Lord Haydam.”

It seemed Meursault was still embarrassed about how he had left everything to me during our first hunt, as his marksmanship had improved considerably since then.

He wasn’t the type to show off in a situation like this, so maybe I could trust him this time.

Since we didn’t know how many reinforcements had already arrived over there, it seemed like a good idea to bolster our numbers.

As we stopped the bikes and began to prepare our weapons, Lucas and Bones, who had parked their bikes nearby, approached us, armed and with tense expressions.

“Are we going in right away?”

I nodded and gave the briefest instructions possible for the operation.

“I’ll go in first, so make sure to keep your distance as you follow. If you get too close, you might get hit by bullets from our side.”

“Understood.”

“When I identify the jewel’s location, I’ll shoot first. Meursault, follow up with your shots. Lucas, Bones, stay at a safe distance and aim for the monster’s eyes to cover us.”

“Got it.”

After checking that Lucas and Bones were properly armed, I turned to see Meursault looking at me with slightly fearful eyes, and our gazes met.

“Why?”

“…I was just thinking, if I were in your position, Lord Haydam, would I be able to stay as calm as you are in this situation?”

Perhaps because I had been giving commands so smoothly despite the sudden crisis, Meursault was staring at me as though he were looking at a complete stranger.

It seemed Lucas and Bones were no different. Until a moment ago, I had thought their anxiety was just due to the unexpected situation, but after hearing Meursault, they both nodded faintly in agreement.

Lucas murmured seriously, “I already knew you were something else, but seeing you now, it’s clear you really are on another level.”

‘Hmm…’

It looked like these guys were getting scared.

Since they were afraid, I probably seemed more impressive because I appeared unaffected.

In a way, this worked out for the better.

It was more helpful for them to follow me with trust rather than running away in fear.

As I’ve said many times, this situation wasn’t a typical one.

The only reason I was staying so composed was because I was a veteran of this game. Even seasoned soldiers could easily make mistakes when faced with this kind of chaos.

Ironically, the lack of experience in these two was probably why they could remain as calm as they were.

I decided it was better to offer some reassurance at this point.

“If you’re already this impressed, you’re in for a tough time. I’m about to show you something even crazier.”

At my words, Bones let out a chuckle.

“Ha! If you get any crazier than this, the team leader’s going to be scarier than the monsters.”

“Bones! I’ve told you not to speak like that to Lord Haydam anymore,” Lucas immediately scolded Bones for his casual tone, but the fearful atmosphere had already lightened a bit thanks to the exchange.

I had chosen these two new officers for exactly this reason.

During the training simulations, both of them had demonstrated relatively cool-headed judgment and a sense of responsibility, even when they perceived the situation as dangerous.

Especially Bones, who never lost his sense of humor, even when cornered. People like him always find a way to survive when pushed into a tight spot.

Although I personally thought Lucas had better qualities as a leader, I preferred teammates like Bones.

The two of them seemed to work well together, so I’d keep an eye on them going forward.

Now that the mood had lifted a bit…

‘It’s time to move.’

I looked at Meursault, who nodded, signaling that he was ready. I adjusted my weapon and jerked my chin toward the direction we were heading.

“Don’t forget what I told you, and follow me.”

After watching the three of them nod, I began to glide across the snowy terrain.

As we headed toward the center, there were sections where the snow was piled thick. Occasionally, shorter team members would sink deep into the snow if they stepped wrong, but for a veteran like me, I could clearly see the safe path even if the snow had covered everything in white.

Since some of the others had already charged ahead of us, it seemed the ones behind me were having no trouble following.

After running for some time, following the footprints left in the snow, what came into view first was the head of a monster resembling a dinosaur.

The furry, dinosaur-like creature was a commonly seen large-class monster, but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Just within my line of sight, the number of large-class monsters far exceeded six.

As I closed in without slowing down, I saw a massive reptile lying on the ground, and scattered around the snowfield were motionless figures, sprawled out like ragdolls.

‘What the hell…’

It wasn’t that they had fired six flares. They had only managed to fire *six* before they were overwhelmed.