A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 60: The Promise (3)

While the soldiers cleaned up the corpses of the large-scale monsters, the commander and I sat facing each other in a makeshift tent.

“What happened?”

“What happened?”

The commander and I asked each other the same question at almost the same time, briefly furrowing our brows in unison.

Although I wanted to hear the events in chronological order, as a subordinate, it was my duty to answer first.

“I thought I misfired the signal flare. I judged that there were fewer than six monsters, so I brought only Meursault and two new officers. But that was a miscalculation. If I had known there were nine, we wouldn’t have come alone.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

The commander, looking more confused than ever, asked me again.

“How did you drive them away?”

Ah. That’s what he wanted to know?

But I didn’t know why they had suddenly fled either.

Honestly, it left me feeling a bit uneasy.

Though it was a relief that they ran, not knowing the reason could mean they might attack again.

Still, simply saying I didn’t know wouldn’t satisfy the commander.

There was no choice. I had to mention Meursault’s hypothesis.

“The truth is… even in the area we scouted, there wasn’t a single large-scale, medium, or small monster in sight.”

“Not a single one?”

“According to my team’s report, it seemed as if something had frightened them all, and there were only footprints left behind as if they had fled.”

“Just like the ones that fled earlier.”

The commander’s expression became peculiar.

“I can’t believe it myself, but… it looked like they were fleeing from you. If the monsters had already retreated from the area where you scouted, then you’re probably the reason they fled.”

“But I don’t know why they would run from me. Before I killed the first two monsters here, they didn’t seem particularly afraid of me.”

“That’s the strange part. It’s not as if you suddenly changed during the battle.”

Something did change mid-battle, but I couldn’t tell the commander it might be due to my title, so I had to come up with a reasonable response.

“Could it be that after seeing me easily kill two of their own, they became scared?”

“That seems the most plausible, but right before they fled, they looked like they were enraged at you for killing their comrades.”

“In that case, I really have no idea why they ran.”

I had done my best to answer the commander’s questions.

Now it was my turn to ask him.

“So, what happened? How did you end up fighting nine large-scale monsters?”

The commander sighed deeply, replying in a voice heavy with worry.

“I don’t know either.”

“What?”

“You know as well as I do that large-scale monsters don’t normally travel in groups.”

Of course, I knew that very well.

Large-scale monsters were notorious for devouring anything in their path, even their own kind.

The fact that they would even eat other large-scale monsters was well known, so rather than forming groups, they usually avoided each other at all costs.

“But after several hours of nothing during the central sweep, they ambushed us from behind. In a group.”

“Large-scale monsters ambushed you as a group?”

As I’ve mentioned before, the smaller the monster, the smarter they tend to be, while the bigger ones are generally more brute and brainless.

But for not just one or two, but nine large-scale monsters to plan a sophisticated tactic like an ambush?

‘Now that I think about it, there *was* one clever monster among the ones we fought earlier….’

In the heat of the moment, I hadn’t given it much thought.

The way it raised its head to avoid getting hit in its gem was also not something you’d typically see from a large-scale monster.

Was that the one leading the ambush?

“Then, only six signal flares were fired….”

“Exactly. Four of our men were swept away in the first ambush. They died instantly, it seemed. We desperately fired the signal flares, and fortunately, Team 2 was nearby on a sweep of their own, so we survived. Afterward, more teams joined after seeing the signal, which is why we’re still alive now. Not everyone made it, but the damage was less than I expected….”

The commander trailed off and then looked at me firmly.

“This is all thanks to you.”

Suddenly?

“I arrived last, didn’t I?”

“No, I’m not talking about just your direct assistance.”

The commander propped his chin on his hand, gazing at me intently.

“Yes, you saved many soldiers directly, but more than that, it’s because our numbers were small that so many survived. If we had formed a larger subjugation force like usual, the damage would have been far worse. With such a large group trying to flee from the monsters’ ambush, we wouldn’t have been able to form a perimeter so quickly. The monsters, seeing that we had fewer men than them, blocked each other’s paths, which slowed them down. That’s how we managed to escape to where Team 2 was….”

The commander paused, then asked me with a mix of suspicion and expectation in his eyes.

“Did you know this would happen?”

Hmm.

That’s right, I had already told the commander I was a regressor.

It wasn’t unreasonable for him to think I had foreseen the large-scale monsters’ ambush and changed the subjugation teams accordingly.

He probably suspected I was withholding information since I hadn’t mentioned this future event, but also hoped I could resolve the situation, having foreseen it.

However, the truth was that organizing the teams was purely for efficiency, and I wasn’t really a regressor.

Even in the game I played, there wasn’t a storyline about large-scale monsters ambushing in groups.

The commander, seeing my expression, seemed to realize I had no prior knowledge of the situation, as the suspicion and expectation faded from his eyes.

“I suppose you didn’t know.”

“This wasn’t part of the future I know.”

“Then… could *he* be involved?”

“He?”

“The one from Unicorn Zone—whether a player or regressor.”

When I was attacked by the player from Unicorn Zone, I had mentioned to the commander that the person could be either a regressor like me or a player like my mother. It seemed he hadn’t forgotten.

The commander’s guess that this could be related to that person wasn’t entirely far-fetched.

If something that never happened in the game was occurring here, the most likely explanation was the intervention of a player.

While the other zones were simply sending people to monitor mine, the advanced technology of Unicorn Zone meant they could very well control large-scale monsters if they wanted to.

However…

‘I doubt they would bother.’

That guy had already shot at me directly before.

There was no reason for him to go through the trouble of orchestrating a large monster attack just to cause problems for us.

Moreover, if it were that guy’s doing, it doesn’t make sense why the monsters retreated so easily.

“I doubt someone who shot at me directly would bother using monsters.”

“I heard the one he originally intended to kill was that kid, Darling Outsider. What if he’s targeting your friend again?”

“It’s too inefficient to go after Darling. If that were the case, he should’ve sent the monsters toward the team that guy was on, not my father’s Team 1. It’s also unclear if he was targeting my father, especially since the monsters didn’t even glance in his direction when they retreated.”

After my rebuttal, the commander pressed his hand to his forehead as if he had a headache, leaning back into the makeshift chair.

“…Should we head back to the zone?”

We had taken down five monsters, so we’d achieved a decent portion of our subjugation mission.

Those nine large-scale monsters were probably all that roamed this area.

It might be wiser to return now rather than stay here where strange things were happening, risking further danger.

Although it was unsettling to leave four monsters behind, it would be difficult to subjugate them if they fled upon seeing me again.

“Your Excellency.”

At that moment, Meursault pushed open the tent flap and entered.

“Reporting in. We’ve subjugated five monsters in total. Six people died in combat, and we’ve yet to recover two of their bodies.”

“What about the wounded?”

“There are three seriously injured, and 21 with minor injuries, making a total of 24 injured. All personnel who were waiting in other areas are confirmed safe, and they are being led here by Lieutenant Plato. The monsters’ corpses are ready for transport… What are your orders?”

It seemed Meursault had come to ask whether we would return.

The commander looked at me, his expression asking what we should do.

…Was he seriously expecting me to decide?

“How many of the 21 lightly wounded can still drive their bikes?”

As if he had anticipated my question, Meursault answered immediately.

“All 21 of them can at least drive a bike.”

“Then let’s send the bodies and the wounded back to the zone first.”

The commander looked at me quietly and asked, “Do you intend to continue the sweep?”

“We should stay at least until the wounded are safely on their way. There’s no guarantee the monsters won’t ambush us again.”

The commander and Meursault exchanged glances, then nodded simultaneously.

“We can’t send the wounded back alone, so we’ll need to assign a few soldiers to escort them.”

“We’ll have to reorganize the teams.”

In no time, they decided which personnel would return and reduced the number of teams from 10 to 5, assigning 11 people to each team.

The team leaders were selected from the survivors of the commander’s Team 1. Since Team 1 had veterans with extensive combat experience to support the commander, the loss of four team members was now keenly felt.

Including the commander, six people from Team 1 had survived, so one person was excluded from being assigned as a team leader and was instead tasked with leading the injured back to the zone.

As for my Team 10, which had suffered no casualties or injuries, it was composed entirely of new officers and was divided among the remaining five teams.

Naturally, Meursault and I joined the commander’s Team 1, but I was surprised to see that the commander included BangguseokYeoBo in the team first.

“You’re taking him along?”

“That kid was running toward you before the monsters fled, wasn’t he your friend?”

So he had noticed BangguseokYeoBo running toward me in the chaos.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether he had been helpful or not, but seeing him rush to my aid in that situation had impressed me with his growth as well.

Just then, Meursault looked at me as if he’d just remembered something.

“Now that I think about it, Private Outsider was standing outside the tent, looking pale as a ghost….”

“He’s outside the tent?”

“If His Excellency and I handle things here, wouldn’t it be best for you to check on your friend?”

At Meursault’s suggestion, the commander nodded, indicating I could leave.

Since it seemed I didn’t need to worry about the team arrangements anymore, I gave a slight bow and exited the tent.

As soon as I stepped outside, I felt a hand grab my arm tightly.

“Dopa… Haydam!”

From the way he looked pale, Meursault’s comment hadn’t been an exaggeration.

BangguseokYeoBo was as white as a sheet, as if he’d seen something truly terrifying—more scared than when he’d nearly been killed by the Unicorn player.

Even I found myself asking, “Are you… okay?”

“Those things… those things!”

BangguseokYeoBo shook his head repeatedly, as if he hadn’t heard me.

“Something’s wrong… something’s seriously wrong…!”

Now that I noticed, his hand, which was gripping my arm, was trembling too.

It seemed like more than just a reaction to fighting large-scale monsters—it was too extreme for that.

“Calm down. I also thought it was strange that they ambushed us in a group, so I was going to look into-”

“That’s not the problem!”

BangguseokYeoBo suddenly shouted, and I quickly clamped my hand over his mouth.

The commander and Meursault were just a thin tent wall away behind us.

BangguseokYeoBo shot me a resentful look, but given that he had almost called me “DopamineAddict” again earlier, my actions were justified.

I dragged him further away from the tent, checked to make sure no one was around, and then released my hand from his mouth.

“First, calm down.”

“…”

“Now, tell me what the problem is.”

“Those things…”

BangguseokYeoBo swallowed hard before continuing.

“I saw them… I saw those things eating people.”

I nodded in understanding.

“That must have been horrifying.”

I tried to empathize, but BangguseokYeoBo shook his head violently.

“No! It wasn’t horrifying. That’s the problem—it *wasn’t* horrifying!”

“What are you talking about?”

I frowned, growing tired of trying to understand him.

In a mumbling voice, BangguseokYeoBo replied.

“I’m telling you, I *saw* it. The bodies of the people who were eaten by those things….”

He looked at me with trembling eyes and slowly spoke.

“As soon as those bodies touched the monsters’ teeth, they disappeared… into blue particles.”