Marauder of the Apocalypse
Chapter 124: Moving

My companions dragged in people who had survived despite being shot. The survivors in the watchtower-like building shouted something but didn't dare attack. They were afraid of hurting the living hostages.

A companion asked:

"Should we treat their wounds? They'll probably die soon from the gunshot wounds if we leave them."

"Just take off their outer clothes and use them to apply pressure to the wounds."

I didn't want to waste our resources. These people were disposable, weren't they? Disposable items are used and thrown away, not cherished and repaired.

I grinned as I dragged the townhouse leader, who still hadn't regained his senses, forward.

I stopped at a distance where my voice would carry but their bricks couldn't reach.

"Can you see? Your leader has been taken hostage."

I shouted toward the people gathered in the watchtower-like building, but there was no particular response.

Was it because their leader was in my hands? Was there no one to command the survivors without the leader? Was this an organization that couldn't function properly if one head was removed?

I narrowed my eyes and wrote a scenario in my mind.

'What would happen if I gave them time? Would they divide? Unite?'

Could I shake them with various means—hostages, threats, persuasion, sowing discord?

...No, it was impossible. I'd moved too aggressively. I'd made captives charge forward and used fire as bait to lure them out and kill them. Not even the most basic trust existed, so I couldn't draw them in.

In that case, attacking now was the best option. Before they could unite, while they were still in shock.

Just then, the townhouse leader barely regained consciousness. After uttering incomprehensible groans, he painfully turned his neck to look up at the watchtower.

"Run, run away."

He seemed to have belatedly decided that escape was the best option. But unfortunately, his faint voice wouldn't reach them.

"Run? No way."

I forced him to his knees and struck his crown with my hammer. Everyone who harbored hostility had to die. Who knew if they'd survive and come looking for revenge later?

Leaving the corpse behind, I returned to my companions and spoke briefly.

"Let's attack. Since getting hit by a brick would hurt, let's use the hostages as shields. Right. Let's also quickly modify the cart."

"Understood."

***

Preparations were completed quickly. We emptied the transport cart, brought tables from cafes or convenience stores below the townhouse, placed them on the cart, and tied the hostages on top.

My companions crawled under the tables, slowly advancing with duck-like steps.

This tactic was designed to block the bricks, which were mass weapons.

Bricks rained down sporadically, but with less force. Either they couldn't bring themselves to attack the hostages, or their numbers were few.

Of course, we couldn't approach too closely either. We'd die instantly if a refrigerator fell from a window.

The situation involved sporadic exchanges of attacks.

"Let's see. We'll go around the side."

After observing quietly, I gathered my criminal companions. While the others fought at the front, I would infiltrate the townhouse. No matter how many fences were in place, thieves couldn't be stopped.

We had two thieves—an electricity thief and a real thief.

Park Yang-gun quickly surveyed the surroundings, then grabbed several leather garments from the transport cart.

"I think we can use these to climb over the wooden fence."

"Excellent."

He was confident that while we couldn't scale the tall construction soundproof walls, we could climb over the pointed wooden fence by just throwing a blanket over it.

We quietly slipped away from the formation, crossed a path full of weeds, and reached a fence out of the watchtower's line of sight.

The fence was made of timber that was neither thick nor thin. The bottom was deeply buried in the ground, and the top was covered with rusty nails. Climbing over bare-handed would mean accepting injury.

Park Yang-gun quickly covered the fence with the leather clothes, layering them for safety.

"This should be safe enough."

Park Yang-gun demonstrated by lightly climbing over the fence, and a jingling bell sound followed. From beyond the fence, Park Yang-gun said:

"They've installed bells or wind chimes. Probably to detect people approaching at night. ...There might be traps or alarms inside the townhouse too. Hurry up and come over."

I blinked. The top of the fence was lumpy despite being covered with layers of leather. It didn't look feasible. While lightweight people like Park Yang-gun or Jeon Do-hyung could climb over, it seemed impossible for bulkier people like Sa Gi-hyeok and me.

Sa Gi-hyeok, who wasn't physically adept, hesitantly stepped back.

"I can't do it. Really, I can't."

"Um... it looks difficult for me too."

Park Yang-gun shook the bell angrily.

"So I'm supposed to go in there alone?"

"I'll go with you."

After several failed attempts, Jeon Do-hyung somehow managed to climb over the fence. As expected of two thieves. Unlike Sa Gi-hyeok and me, they could easily overcome such obstacles.

I nodded slightly in admiration and spoke quietly.

"Then I'll leave it to you two. We'll try to go around further back."

"You're really not coming? What are just the two of us supposed to do?"

Park Yang-gun's grumbling voice.

"You don't necessarily need to go deep inside or approach the watchtower. Just gunshots from the rear will shake them up."

"We'll handle it. Depending on the situation."

That's right. My criminal companions were people who could pull their own weight even without me.

I pulled Sa Gi-hyeok along and walked a bit further along the fence. I heard Sa Gi-hyeok's voice from behind me.

"I can't do things like that... I'd probably slip or get hurt on the nails. But."

After an awkward pause, he suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

"Is it the same for you, Mr. Da-in? Haha. I may not have good coordination, but are you actually afraid of climbing that?"

Did I have to hear this from Sa Gi-hyeok? From Sa Gi-hyeok who stumbled just walking alone? I opened my mouth but only managed a sigh.

Honestly, I wasn't particularly physically capable either. If anything, I was closer to being incapable. When I fired a pistol, 5 out of 6 shots missed, and in equal hand-to-hand combat, I'd probably lose even to a zombie.

I was only reasonably good at confirmation kills, ambush kills, or tapping heads with a hammer.

"Let's focus, Mr. Gi-hyeok. We're in the middle of a battle."

Bang, bang, occasional gunshots could be heard. This might not be the main battlefield of the watchtower, but it was still a battlefield.

Sa Gi-hyeok answered awkwardly. He understood.

As we walked, we eventually reached the upper part of the townhouse.

The rear of the townhouse where a landslide had occurred. A point where the fence was broken. A point where the fence met a mound of dirt, forming a wall.

I quickly surveyed it. There was definitely no proper path. The mound of dirt that had slid down formed a steep slope, making it difficult to climb.

Sa Gi-hyeok stepped forward and stuck out his tongue.

"We can't approach from this direction, can we?"

Was there really nothing we could do? Really? I quietly looked at the fence. Here too, nails had been placed on top to make it difficult to climb over.

Just in case, I tapped it a few times with my hammer, but the fence didn't budge at all.

"...Let's go back."

"Yes. Well, we all have things we're good at, don't we? This isn't our job."

***

Back at the townhouse entrance.

Sporadic exchanges of fire were still ongoing. My companions were having a hard time shooting while maintaining a proper distance, as getting too close meant death by falling furniture.

The townhouse survivors were enthusiastically throwing bricks, as most of the hostages were already dead.

We were losing momentum.

'I wonder what Park Yang-gun and Jeon Do-hyung are doing.'

At this point, disturbing their rear would be advantageous.

And just then, gunshots rang out. From the rear, from inside the townhouse. The townhouse people seemed momentarily flustered, as the rain of bricks stopped.

Soon, their movements changed. Whatever they had discussed while fighting, the protruding staff slings moved quickly. It looked like they were moving down from the rooftop.

"Are they running away?"

It didn't seem like they would simply flee.

Indeed, they weren't. People on the second floor who had been waiting for us to approach frantically threw refrigerators and furniture out the windows. The furniture crashed down with loud thuds, further blocking the already barricaded road.

Were they blocking the exit? No, there must be an escape route that Sa Gi-hyeok and I hadn't found. They were blocking the main entrance and escaping that way.

I quickly shouted:

"Forget defense and attack!"

I didn't just talk—I showed with action. I shouldered the machine gun that had been mounted on the combat cart and moved forward.

"Yes!"

"Ow, my legs!"

My companions immediately stood up. Though they limped because their legs had fallen asleep from crouching, they walked forward with their guns aimed at the enemy.

We climbed over the barricade that looked like a mix of a junkyard and a garbage dump, and reached the main entrance without hindrance. Being closer, we could better sense the people's movements.

People escaping not through the watchtower door but through windows, using buildings as cover as they fled. Red flames visible from the watchtower windows and black smoke rising.

I caught a rough shout.

"Set fires and escape through the mountain path!"

Petty tricks to disperse our forces and hinder us.

I pointed to several companions who were limping.

"You guys handle the building fires! Machine gun, guard the main entrance! The rest, follow me! We're going up to the top of the townhouse!"

They mentioned a mountain path. The only escape route from this enclosed townhouse had to lead to the mound of dirt created by the landslide.

While they circled between buildings, we would secure the escape route first.

'Once we secure the escape route, they're all like rats in a trap. We can kill them all.'

I walked briskly despite carrying the heavy machine gun. As I did, Park Yang-gun and Jeon Do-hyung poked their heads out from a house with its front door wide open, pointing their guns.

"Here. We've secured the house with the solar power generator."

"Great! Keep guarding it!"

Did the electricity thief secure the electrical facilities first?

I just thought this without even glancing their way as I rushed to the top of the townhouse. Traces of detached houses swept away by the landslide. And a few people escaping over that mound of dirt.

Those people had gotten away. They were already far enough. What's more, they seemed to have created their own paths, moving forward without hesitation.

I checked the footprints left in the dirt pile, then caught my breath and turned around.

"Shoot and kill everyone who approaches. Understood?"