Marauder of the Apocalypse
Chapter 142: Flames

To me, raiding was both a means of self-realization and the goal of life itself, but not everyone thought like me.

For many people, raiding was merely a means of survival. Without a firm vision as a marauder, they simply took from others because raiding was the only way to make a living.

You could call it the difference between professional marauders and subsistence marauders. Not that the latter should be underestimated. In some ways, those raiding for survival might be more desperate.

"The alliance is a subsistence marauder... No, they have the military too."

I tilted my chair back and stared at the ceiling. Various words flashed across the dingy surface, forming a scenario in my mind.

How would the alliance or the military act with the harsh winter season approaching? Subsistence raiding, of course. Unless they could purge their own people to reduce the size of their group, killing others for resources was their only option.

Even if they had enough resources to survive winter, food wouldn't magically appear when spring arrived.

Moreover, the alliance and military weren't ignorant of raiding. Every member of the alliance was a lunatic in their own way, and the military had been honed into killing machines through the apocalypse.

So what should I do? At this visible end, what should I pursue?

A chuckle escaped me. What was there to change?

Pillage. The act of destroying everything in a house. Creating a ruckus with much commotion. The act of plundering or looting others' belongings.

Creak. I straightened my chair and tapped the armrest with my fingers. A voice mixed with pleasure, venom, and malice flowed from my mouth.

"Living a year is already a long time. Let's all die together, shall we?"

The vague thoughts I'd been having lately had finally crystallized.

Rather than surviving pathetically as a survivor, I'd go out gloriously as a marauder. Instead of holing up in a fortress for the advantages of the townhouse, I'd crash into enemy territory with skull-splitting intensity.

The future was unnecessary. I'd focus on the present, where I could ignite the biggest flames.

With my purpose clarified, the scenario wrote itself easily. How to deal with enemies like the alliance and military—numerous, better armed, and unusually vicious.

'More intense malice. I'll show these amateur marauders what a real marauder's malice looks like.'

Ambush, burn, kill. Leave nothing but ashes and corpses.

My laughter echoed in the empty room.

It was time to show these fake marauders, whose goal was survival, what true madness looked like. Not the malice of someone with nothing to lose, but the malice of someone whose purpose was loss itself—how vicious could it become?

***

December had arrived. The weather was beyond cool—it was cold enough to die. As if the long drought might finally end, murky clouds formed a ceiling that covered the sky. The sunlight that pierced through these dull clouds painted the world gray.

A world as if covered in ash. The trees on the mountains were left with only bare branches, and concrete houses reflected a mineral-like light.

Perhaps due to the environment's influence, glimpses of depression appeared on my companions' faces.

I gathered all my companions and their families in the street and began speaking.

"As some of you may know, our resource situation isn't good. We can only hold out for about a month."

"Ah, I thought so..."

My companions sighed, apparently having already sensed it. Even the most carefree among them must have noticed the warehouse emptying with each meal.

I paused briefly. To manipulate these companions according to my will, I needed to dazzle them with hope. I had to present a plausible path to survival that would make them charge headlong down the wrong path and crash into the alliance.

"Has anyone thought of any solutions?"

When I asked with an attitude suggesting I'd respect their opinions, my companions shook their heads. That's how impossible this problem was to solve.

But Sa Gi-hyeok, after some consideration, raised his hand and spoke.

"If we restrict our food intake, we could somehow last until the end of January. With additional income sources, we might even make it through February."

"That won't work."

I cut him off immediately. What kind of marauder practices economy? And above all, there was another problem.

"The alliance is suffering from food shortages just as much as we are. They'll attack us soon. We can't just think about the food problem."

It was a time when the whole world would turn into marauders. Like a jar of trapped insects devouring each other, a time of people killing and being killed.

After presenting this logic, Park Yang-gun, a master of betrayal and escape, spoke up.

"Are you thinking of escaping the city? One big score before we leave?"

"Yes, that's right."

No, it wasn't. I would burn the world and make winter the season of death.

But stating this purpose directly would invite rebellion, so I disguised my objective with a plausible excuse. We would relocate, and before moving, we'd raid extensively to survive the winter.

Before proposing the alliance raid, I cleared my throat and thought of various people. People I'd encountered in the apocalypse.

'Professor, Pastor, Sa Gi-hyeok.'

All experts at manipulating human psychology. Like the professor persuading people with logic, the pastor brainwashing people with hope, Sa Gi-hyeok exploiting people by empathizing with their greed...

Then I suddenly felt my companions' gazes. They were waiting for what I would say after clearing my throat.

These companions weren't people I'd persuaded by imitating someone else's method. They were drawn to my own approach—benefit and loss, planting fences in minds, pushing backs over the line.

I smirked. Why imitate anyone? This might be my last raid, so I should be true to myself.

"We'll attack the alliance, steal their resources, then gather at the meeting point and escape the city."

"The alliance?"

Park Yang-gun, who avoided combat, frowned as if uncomfortable. Jeon Do-hyung's face also seemed to turn slightly pale.

I pulled out a map from my chest and spread it out. The operation I'd prepared to strike the alliance.

"Arson is essential. We'll set fire to the townhouse, and focus on burning the northern part of the alliance's survival zone. Non-combat personnel armed with pistols will infiltrate under the pretense of trading essential goods, while combat personnel with rifles will raid from the south of the survival zone."

I was telling them to use fires to disperse the alliance's manpower and morale, while my companions and their families looted the warehouses.

The response from my companions wasn't good. The opponent was the alliance, after all.

The cup noodle mercenary hesitated before putting one arm around his son and saying:

"My son is too young for this kind of thing..."

"Send him to the meeting point first. Is there anyone else who can't participate?"

Saying his son couldn't go meant he could go himself. That was enough. Of course, being a child didn't mean he couldn't shoot a pistol, but if I tried to move according to my own greed, I'd lose control of my companions.

Then Jeon Do-hyung raised his hand.

"This, this isn't right. If we start fires, everyone will die. Other people will freeze to death in winter."

"Then suggest another way for us to survive. I only thought this was our only path to survival."

I spoke persuasively. That from a benefit-and-loss perspective, this was the best method.

"If we stay put, we'll either starve to death or be killed by the alliance. Quietly escape the city? Can you be certain we'll find food after escaping?"

Whether in the city or outside, things would likely be the same. Production had stopped, and logistics weren't flowing. If many people had survived, they would have consumed resources long ago, and even if only a few people survived, resources would still be running out by now.

Jeon Do-hyung kept his mouth shut but clenched his fist, making his hand tremble slightly.

I suddenly remembered that Jeon Do-hyung's girlfriend was in the Hope Community. This could potentially become grounds for betrayal.

"...But don't worry too much. Your girlfriend won't get hurt. Our target is the food warehouse. Even with fires, the alliance can withstand it."

I really didn't know for sure. No matter how much fire I set, the alliance's resources weren't ordinary.

The firefighters might have done fire prevention work in advance, or they might have prepared fire trucks with fuel from the Delivery Vigilantes. Even if firewood disappeared, they might operate radiators with electricity.

Also, even with insufficient resources, they might survive by reducing their numbers through fighting us.

Jeon Do-hyung lowered his head slightly, casting a shadow across his face.

Sa Gi-hyeok looked at Jeon Do-hyung with concern before turning his gaze to me.

"Are our chances good? It's a gambling attempt, but if the odds are high, we could try it."

"Of course. I'm not just recklessly charging ahead out of desperation."

I spoke with confidence. I genuinely felt confident. If I'd thought we were dying meaninglessly, I wouldn't have attempted this.

They wouldn't expect us to strike first with the intention of escaping the city and burning everything down. And that complacency was their weakness.

After briefly summarizing these thoughts, I continued speaking.

"The alliance won't expect us to attack so radically. They're probably wondering how to eliminate us without suffering damage themselves. So."

I made eye contact with each of my companions before speaking in a strong voice.

"Today, we'll kill the two riders meeting with the flies and steal two more motorcycles. Tomorrow, we launch a surprise attack."

The double-agent flies were no longer valuable. They were a liability. So we'd eliminate them immediately and push forward with lightning speed.

Attacking at a timing the enemy doesn't expect—isn't that the essence of a surprise attack?

My companions seemed to ponder for a moment before one by one, they began nodding. After all, they were marauders who understood the principle that others must die for us to live.