Chapter 158: Chapter 158- Clearing Out Seoul (Part 1)
*1 Week Later*
*GRAWR*
A giant bear growled loudly as it charged toward a group of humans at top speed. Its hideous appearance and sharp fangs made it seem way more terrifying than a normal bear should be.
The survivors took a fighting stance immediately as they got ready to fight it. Even with its terrifying presence looming over them, none of them lost their composure. Instead, they simply put their entire focus on it.
When the monster reached them, it slashed down with a mighty force. Immediately, the survivors dispersed, letting the claws hit the ground. Then, they quickly surrounded the monster and attacked it ruthlessly.
*GRAAWWWRRR*
The creature shrieked when it felt the weapons piercing through its skin and tried to frantically push them away. However, the survivors were anticipating that and quickly dodged the attack before they resumed their assault.
The battle continued for a while going back and forth. The survivors strategically attacked and retreated as they chipped down at the monster's strength without rushing. This wasn't the first nor the last time they had fought this kind of creature so they knew very well what its behavior was like.
With that, the plan slowly manifested in reality and the monster's resistance weakened as the injuries accumulated on its body.
In the end, the monster fell to the ground dead.
"Yes! We did it!" One of the survivors exclaimed with a smile on his face.
"Another one down!"
"Let's keep up the rhythm guys! We're on a roll!"
The group celebrated the kill as they felt their pride and ego grow higher and higher. They were now able to take down monsters way bigger than them with ease. It filled them with a sense of accomplishment.
However, at that moment, they suddenly heard a loud bang. Quickly, they looked up to the other side of the street. There, a swarm of the same type of bear was attacking what seemed to be a single person.
-read-now
Their arms flew everywhere as they violently rampaged around, trying to squash him to death. Much to their shock, that single individual suddenly disappeared like a flash as he passed through the monsters in the blink of an eye.
When he appeared on the other side, he had in his hand multiple giant monster cores. Then, a moment later, blood exploded from the monsters' bodies as they fell down one by one like flies.
"Wha…"
The students were completely stunned by what they saw. In less than a second, 5 of these terrifying monsters were down on the ground when 6 of them took 4 whole minutes to kill one. The more shocking fact is that… this individual didn't even use their weapon.
*Drip* *Drip*
Talon looked down at his bloodied hands with a calm look. "Sigh, this is seriously messy." He murmured to himself.
"He killed them… With his bare hands." One spoke as his mouth hung open.
"The leader… is something else…"
"Yeah…"
As they watched their leader in awe, Talon turned around and secretly through the monster cores in his storage space.
"I'm glad I can stack up cores in one bag inside the storage instead of each one taking an individual slot."
Even though so far, he only had three slots, Talon made full use of them and they turned out to be pretty useful in most situations. Not only did they give him a place where to put his things without worrying about them getting stolen or being an extra weight on him but it also gave him the element of surprise when needed.
For his enemies, if Talon approached them barehanded and then suddenly manifested a weapon at the last second, it would most likely take them by surprise each time. It was perfect in fights where Talon had some kind of disadvantage or had to finish the fight quickly.
"Hey, are you ok, folks?" Turning around, he called for the group, shaking them out of their trance.
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, you can take a break now. We already cleared this street. We will continue in 15 minutes." Talon said.
"Yes, sir!"
With that, the group quickly prepared a small area where they could rest for a while and eat some food to restore their energy.
Talon sat down against the wall on his own and left the students to eat and talk jovially. Stretching his neck, Talon closed his eyes. He took a few seconds of silence before he slowly moved his hand to his pocket and pulled out a small notebook and a pen.
Opening the notebook, he flipped through a few written pages before he ended up at a fresh new page. Then, he started writing.
'Today is the 20th of March, the weather is cold, slightly windy, and perhaps a little cloudy too. It has been a week since we started the operation of expanding to the south. We have cleared almost 30 kilometers worth of areas and we secured the buildings in them. The process has been smooth so far with no major problems.
If we continue at this rate, we should be able to clear a path out of Seoul in a few more days.' After writing that, he read it again once before he nodded his head and closed the notebook.
Ever since he started this mission, Talon had been writing down the process in a notebook. He had no particular reason to do that except to document everything he does for the future. It also was a perfect way to get all of his thoughts out.
"Do you want some snacks, leader?" As he was like that, a girl called his name, making him look up.
"No, it's fine, you guys eat. I'm not hungry."
"If you say so…"
"Don't forget to skin that bear when you finish eating. They have quite strong hides so they can definitely be used as armor."
"Yes…"
'Didn't he just pierce through that hide with his bare hand?' The group thought to themselves.
"Hey, Leader, can I ask a question?"
"Hmm…" Talon hummed as he wiped his hands with a wet towel.
"Can you give us love advice?"
The moment Talon heard that question, his movements halted as he looked up. "What? Love advice?"
"Yes. I have never had a girlfriend before and I don't know how to approach a girl. I thought any advice you might give me would be really helpful." The male student smiled.
"... And why do you think I might know anything about that?" Talon asked back with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on, we all know that you're very good at it. Isn't that right, guys?"
"Yes."
"Definitely."
"He's the best to ever do it."
Seeing everyone nodding their heads, Talon frowned. "Huh? I'm really not that good at it. I'm as inexperienced as you guys or probably less."
'Well, except for that one time.' He added in his head as the image of a particular girl flashed in his head for a split second before vanishing.
"The leader is so humble."
"Yeah, if I was in his place, I would definitely feel really proud or even brag about it."
"That's the difference between him and us."
"Guys, guys, hold your horses right there. I really don't know where you got the idea that I'm experienced. I really am not."
"Huh? You're not?"
"Yeah, I am not."
The students looked at each other confusedly as if they couldn't believe it at all.
"Then… You asked the president out just like that?"
"Hmm, maybe it's because the president is also not accustomed to such things."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
As the students started conversing, Talon was frozen in his place.
"I asked Hyun-Jae out? When did I do that?"
"Please, leader. We already know that you two are dating. You don't have to hide it, hehe."
"Since when… Sigh, wait, hold on a second…" Rubbing his temples tiredly, Talon slowly started to understand what was happening.
'Is this some kind of dumb rumor? There was also that girl who thought I could enter Hyun-Jae's tent just like that. Oh no…'
"Listen here, guys, I will make it clear once. I am NOT dating Hyun-Jae. We are simply friends and partners. Just like you all are my partners in this. This rumor is wrong and stupid." He said.
"... So… We were wrong?"
"Yes."
The students were stunned for a few seconds as they stared at Talon. Then, they suddenly bowed.
"We're really sorry, leader!! We didn't know that!"
"It's fine, geez. You don't have to apologize. You probably heard it from the others and believed it."
"Y-Yes…"
'Sigh, there are Hyun-Jae's feelings, and now this… I don't know anymore.'
Even though Talon immediately shut down those rumors. Deep down, he didn't actually hate the idea of being linked with Hyun-Jae that way even if it was not true. His mind wasn't opposed to the idea.
'If things continue this way, those rumors might not remain false…'
"Ok, guys, enough chit-chat, time to get back to work." Shaking those thoughts away, Talon stood up as he clapped his hands. "We must finish this area by the end of the day. So, brace yourself!"
"Yes, sir!"
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading 😀