Kill The Dragons - Chapter 46

“Let’s follow the smoke. It could either be a crashed plane or Jose making the smoke.”

Kijo nodded and immediately asked Han.

“What could be the thing that attacked the planes?”

“It wasn’t any kind of military power that exists in the modern age.”

Upon Han’s words, the air froze over.

“It ca-can’t be dragons?”

“Dragons would have flown over to us and attacked. Also, we would have spotted such a large existence. Don’t jump to conclusions. Let’s hurry, we have no time to waste.”

Han sounded calm, but inside he was burning with anxiety. He couldn’t help but worry about all the squad members.

‘Please be alive.’

Han didn’t wish to lose another person in his life. The drill instructor’s death swirled in his mind. All of Squad 10 had died upon the plane explosion. A human’s life could instantly disappear in vain. Han had known of this reality already.

Ba-du-duk ba-du-duk.

Han and Kijo broke the tree branches as they travelled forward. They periodically made huge knife cuts into significantly large trees. They expanded out into their surroundings as per manual instructions. They made visual markings so that they would be able to find a path around the forest.

Hwa-ru-ruk.

A fire sparked. The site of the first smoke had been a crashed plane. The crashed plane was a gruesome sight.

“It’s the second plane. The eighth squad was on this plane.”

Han peered into the opened hatch. Kijo darted outside immediately and threw up. Han peered inside with chilled eyes. He could make up parts of human bodies strewn about.

The situation inside was worse. Nobody had survived. Upon crashing onto the ground, the impact had smashed everyone.

‘If we had not jumped out, we would have ended up like this.’

“Huuak, hhaak.”

Kijo could only return to normal after throwing up. He stared towards Han’s stoic face.

‘Do-doesn’t this guy have something called feelings? He doesn’t even blink after seeing such a gruesome sight.’

Kijo looked to Han with newfound fear. The more diabolical the situation, the more Han’s mind chilled.

“If you’re done throwing up, we will be moving out again.”

“You don’t feel anything?”

“People die time to time in Ark as well. It shouldn’t be the first time you’ve seen a corpse.”

“Still… this is gruesome.”

Kijo mumbled and followed after Han.

Aaaah—ohhhh!

The sound of a wolf could be heard in the distance. This wasn’t the sound of your average wolf. Their bodies felt a feeling of danger immediately after they heard the howl. The howl carried a deeper, muckier, and dreadful horror to it.

“Han.”

Kijo called Han. Even if the two didn’t exchange another word, the two understood one another. They stood in battle stances. Something was hacking away the forest while it ran at a fast speed towards them.

‘Werewolf.’

The other-dimensional wolf with thick, grey fur. These were the dragon army’s minions and a legendary monster. A single werewolf was sprinting toward Han.

Ta-dak.

Han jumped onto a tree behind him and jumped again. He jumped over the wolf.

Kwajik.

The werewolf swung its arms, causing a deep gash in the tree. It let out a chaotic beaming gaze toward Han and Kijo while it glared on.

Kijo’s legs trembled violently. Han wanted to give up and simply escape from this place. His reflexes told him to run away.

‘However, once we start running with our backs faced toward it, we will die. Werewolves are naturally faster than us. We have to kill it here.’

“Kijo, look for something useful inside the plane. A rope or anything is fine. I will distract it.”

Han said to Kijo. The inside of the plane was smothered in smoke. It was unknown when it would explode once again.

‘If I escape using Han as bait….’

The thought passed Kijo’s mind, but he erased it from his mind. He was also a youth of Ark. The training he had received from Ark did not allow such cowardly behaviour.

Although he was cowardly and petty, there was no way a person who would cowardly abandon their peers would be able to make it past year one of Ark.

“I’ll return fast. Endure, squad leader.”

Kijo dashed into the plane that looked to be on the brink of another explosion. Inside, there were many corpses that maintained their seatbelts. The smell of blood pinched his nose. Kijo pushed back the vomit that was trying to make its way up again.

Wwwoooo!

Outside, the werewolf cried out. Han used the tree and the strewn broken structures to barely dodge the werewolf’s attack.

“%$#@, the R-2 group doesn’t have a single survivor.”

Kwang!

The engine under the left wing exploded. The plane shook. Kijo’s face paled. While he scavenged, he found a steel rod. This was originally stuck on the plane ceiling, used as a handle for moving around without falling. It was half broken and swung back and forth.

‘Han’s main weapon is a spear. With this….’

Kijo clenched his jaw and pulled on the rod. It wasn’t fully detached from the plane.

“UUAAAGH!!”

Blood vessels popped from Kijo’s burly arms. The rod snapped and his body slammed onto the ground.

“Cough, $#%3. $#%%.”

Kijo endlessly cursed. It would be hard to cope without doing so in this situation. He took out his knife and attached it to the end of the metal rod. He had tightly wound it together with a ripped cloth.

KWAANG!

“%$#@, I’m leaving! I’m leaving!”

Kijo hurriedly sprinted out of the plane. Outside, Han was tirelessly running between the trees.

‘Kijo.’

Han and Kijo made eye contact. Kijo gulped his saliva and shook his spear.

“WAAAAAH! Come on! You sick mutt!”

Kijo shouted out. The werewolf that had been chasing Han turned around toward Kijo.

‘Han will understand my actions. That guy is $#%$$^% smart!”

The werewolf fiercely chased after Kijo. Kijo threw the rough spear to Han. The spear didn’t reach Han and struck into the ground just ahead of Han.

‘He’s telling me to attack the werewolf from behind. Kijo has made himself the bait.’

Han made a quick decision. He chased after the werewolf. He reached out his arm and used his telekinesis to drag the spear to his hands.

Wwwung.

‘Stabbing its body is no use. The werewolves have fast regeneration, a simple wound won’t affect it in the least. The only place I should aim is its head.’

Han focused to his limit. A single mistake would mean the end of Kijo’s life. The werewolf’s fearsome agility didn’t match its huge body.

Kijo threw remnants of the broken plane with his telekinetic power. It hit the werewolf square on its head. The werewolf’s head got pushed back a bit, its eyes flashing red and seeming more determined to hunt down Kijo.

“Uuaaak!”

Kijo screamed. It was too late to run away from the werewolf.

Puhak!

A spear penetrated the back of the werewolf’s head and popped out from its jaws.

Han hung onto the werewolf’s back while twisting and stirring the spear. The werewolf wailed out, screamed and fainted. Kijo got squished below the werewolf and got splattered in its blood.

“Hhuu, huuk. Is, is it dead?”

Kijo crawled out from under the werewolf’s corpse. He had an unbelieving expression.

“Yes. You did well, Kijo.”

Han’s face was pale. This had been the minion that he had only heard about before. It was unknown how many more minions were around this place.

“Uugh.”

Kijo groaned. His whole body ached. He had overtaxed his muscles unknowingly.

Han and Kijo did not rest before leaving to the next smoky area. Their bodies were fatigued, but there was no time to rest.

“The rescue squad should arrive from Ark. Just endure for now.”

Han said while carefully leading the way. This time, it had not been smoke from a crashed airplane. Someone was making the smoke on purpose. Jose, Canute, and Kuro were gathered around the area as well as two more from other squads. Han’s still expression softened into a faint smile.

“I knew you would come if we made smoke.”

Jose said. Han nodded. They quickly reported their current situation. Han told them about their meeting with the werewolf. The remaining squad members’ expressions turned dark. Wuxiaworld for visiting.

“So that howling sound belonged to the werewolf….”

“Yes, a werewolf. Minions wander in the immediate areas of the dimensional gate. We don’t know their numbers, and they are hostile towards us. It should take a minimum of five hours for Ark’s rescue team to arrive. This is on the assumption that they can arrive here as fast as possible. Until then, we must endure.”

This was a seriously hopeless, unpredictable unfolding of events. The youths looked anxious and fearful. However, after they had rejoined with Han, it seemed their nerves had loosened by a degree.

‘Han always leads us while considering the best decisions. Now that Han is here, we will be able to pull through somehow.’

Squad 13 held limitless trust toward Han. Han had shown surprising results time and time again. Now that their trustworthy leader was here, they wouldn’t need to worry about the little details. They simply needed to trust in the leader’s decision and move forward. All decisions would be shouldered by the squad leader now.

‘I must take responsibility for them.’

Han understood how much his squad members trusted in him. Kijo, who had quite the nasty personality, also trusted and followed Han. A squad leader has the responsibility to make decisions and lead his members forward no matter how hopeless the situation may turn. They must not give in to the external pressures of the situation and run away. Han closed his eyes and opened them again. He chose a suitable place on the dirt ground and started to draw a map.