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< To Busan (3) - On the way >
A single, crimson combat truck was roaring across the devastated desert.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!
A sandstorm following its tail woke up the calm desert.
Startled lizards hid under rocks, and desert-adapted beasts and monsters watched them from afar.
A city once called ‘Daegu’.
As he passed through the land that had now turned into a desert, Choi Seong-min, who had been working temporarily as a truck driver, spoke into his radio.
“Vice President. If we maintain our current speed, we should be able to reach our destination before nightfall. But, I…”
There was no answer from the elder, but Choi Sung-min continued speaking quickly in his desperation.
It was because of the extremely difficult obstacles that lay ahead.
“There is a forest of man-eating cacti ahead. Wouldn’t it be better to turn around and go back? … Vice President?”
This time, there was no answer.
Seongmin Choi looked at the huge cactus forest in front of him with an anxious expression.
This is an area where tens of thousands of man-eating cacti, which are tens to hundreds of meters tall, have taken root, and they were the main culprit that turned Daegu into a desert.
‘Each and every one of those cacti is a monster.’
Gulp.
Choi Sung-min swallowed as he looked at the vast forest.
The man-eating cactus was a monster that absorbed nutrients from the soil, drying out the land, and if necessary, moved to catch and eat its prey.
Since that forest took root, Daegu has turned into an uninhabitable desert.
‘It’s crazy to go through there. If we go back, it’ll take a few more hours to get to our destination…’
If it were normal, it would be an area I would have to return to unconditionally. That’s because even large monsters don’t come near there.
“Vice President. I think it would be better to turn back at least from that place.”
Even though there were inhuman Cheonmasingyo drones riding on this truck, Choi Sungmin wanted to avoid that forest.
‘Besides, those people must be tired from fighting all the time.’
In Choi Sung-min’s eyes, the warriors of the Cheonmasingyo seemed like a race born for battle.
But they also clearly had physical limitations.
“Vice President. What should we do?”
The cactus forest was getting closer and closer. But there was still no answer from the man.
“···Vice President?”
Why is there no answer?
Seongmin Choi, who was wondering, suddenly had an idea.
‘Are you testing my courage?’
Before leaving, what Daein asked of Choi Sungmin was simple.
It will take the shortest route to get to your destination as quickly as possible.
There were no other requirements, such as safe driving.
‘···It’s a test.’
Yes. This was a test that the landlord gave to Choi Sung-min. It was a question asking if he was willing to continue to go with him.
If you choose to go back through that forest here, the landlord will find a new driver to join you in the future.
Although the man simply did not answer the question, Choi Sung-min quickly came to that conclusion.
Then, don’t you have no choice but to choose?
“···shit.”
Choi Sung-min stepped hard on the accelerator.
Booooooooooo!
The battle truck sped up and raced toward the cactus forest. The distance between them quickly decreased.
Choi Sung-min shouted with firm determination.
“I will stake my life on you, Vice President!”
It was then that Lily’s voice was heard over the radio.
[Sir, are you sleeping now?]
“What the XX XXXXXX!”
The moment the six-letter words that could not be put into words poured out of Choi Sung-min’s mouth, the combat truck had already entered the cactus forest.
Dddddddddd!
Dddddddddd!
Cacti dozens of meters tall leaned toward the truck, some of them rooting out of the ground as they approached.
And only then did the awakened man mumble in a sleepy voice over the radio.
[Uhm… Kid. Why? You’re here already?]
“It’s still a long way to go!!”
[···Really? Oh, it’s here. An aloe farm···.]
With a sleepy voice that burst the driver’s clothes, the monster cacti’s merciless attack began.
Hooooooooooo!
Hooooooooooo!
Huge branches with thorns as big as his forearm flew in from all directions like whips. Choi Sung-min gripped the steering wheel tightly and braced himself for the impact.
Choaaaah!
At that moment, two lines were drawn in the air, and all the cactus stems were cut off.
“We will stop it.”
“Keep going.”
It was Bloodthirsty Asura and the Demon King. The warriors of the Heavenly Demon Sect followed them up onto the trailer and brandished their weapons.
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Chook, chook!
As they had done so far, the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Sect blocked all attacks from the incoming trucks and cut down the enemies.
The gazes of Bloodthirsty Asura and Yeomra met for a moment.
“Don’t disturb me.”
“You or something.”
The two drones, with their heads turned in opposite directions, cut down more enemies than anyone else.
But the cactus forest was much more difficult than the path they had passed so far.
Boom! Boom! Kwaang!
The attacks that the Cheonmasingyo’s unmanned forces were unable to block began to fall on the truck one by one. The truck shook and slowed down.
At that moment, a voice that sounded a little less sleepy than before was heard over the radio.
[Kid. Do you want to do it this time?]
[huh!]
With a cheerful answer,
-Pubberbuberbuberbubeong!
The cactus stems flying towards the truck exploded in the air all at once. The fragments of the exploded stems fell on the truck like hail.
“omg···!”
Before Choi Sung-min’s eyes, who was surprised, he saw the back of Lily flying ahead of the truck.
Whoosh whoosh!
Red, yellow, white, and blue flames bloom as if protecting the girl.
With her red hair blowing wildly in the wind, Lily looked back at Choi Sungmin with a bright expression.
“Driver, don’t worry, I’ll protect you!”
Kyaaaa!
The shawl wrapped around Lily’s neck like a scarf roared.
“Ah, yes···.”
Even though she was a child much younger than him, Choi Sungmin could not dare speak informally to Lily.
Lily lifted her finger and pointed to the cactus forest spreading out to her left.
“Red flame.”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The red flame flew to the left and set the cacti on fire.
“Yellow flame.”
As Lily’s finger pointed to the right, this time countless blooming yellow flames flew to the right and exploded.
“And, white flames.”
Lily’s fingers drew a circle in front of her. The white flames that poured out in front of the girl’s fingers swept across the front like a breath.
-Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!
The battle truck raced along the open road. Lily continued to create flames, burning any enemies that got in her way.
Choi Sung-min, who was watching the scene in real time from the front, had a blank expression on his face.
“oh my god···.”
Lily.
The youngest superhuman of the White House, a cute mascot-like being, and a rare user of natural attributes.
However, few people, even within the White House Guild, knew the extent of his abilities.
No, there was no one.
Except for one person.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had chicken.”
The man who climbed up onto the trailer whistled while looking at the spectacle Lily was creating.
Certainly, a disaster is a disaster. For a moment, the image of Seoul in the past turning into a sea of fire overlapped.
“Oh, Mazda···.”
“That is the true Flame God Art···.”
The warriors of the Heavenly Demon Sect, who had been relieved thanks to Lily, were also absentmindedly watching the inferno the girl was creating.
Phew! Phew! Phew! Phew!
Whoosh whoosh!
There were successive explosions, and flames spread throughout the forest. The cacti screamed in agony with their whole bodies instead of their nonexistent mouths.
Dddddddddd!
Dddddddddd!
They beat the ground with their trunks to put out the fire that had caught on them, and they pulled out their roots from the ground to escape the flames. Some of them even fell down after bumping into each other.
But not all cacti chose to flee the fire.
-Kugugugugugugu!
In the center of the forest, an overwhelmingly huge monster cactus approached, digging into the ground.
It was hundreds of meters long. It was a monster made up of dozens of colonies. Just the shadow of it darkened the surroundings.
The man muttered as he looked up at the vast height.
“It’s been a while.”
The man was face to face with that giant cactus.
A monster that would have been clearly a ‘disaster’ if it had fallen in Seoul.
‘It was about 6 years later. I participated in the suppression operation here… It was really tough back then.’
Well, in the old days, was there even a single day without hardship?
The old man shook his head and asked Lily.
“Little one. If you’re having a hard time, can I help you?”
“No! I can do it by myself!”
Perhaps because she had been exerting herself so much for the first time in a long time, Lily had a slightly excited expression. The girl’s eyes were glowing redder than usual.
“There’s still blue flame left!”
As Lily raised her arms towards the sky, blue flames bloomed in all sorts of shapes across the sky.
Mainly my favorite foods.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lily blasted them all towards the monster cactus. The cactus’ stem and the sparks collided in midair, exploding one after another.
Phew! Phew! Phew! Phew! Phew!
The air became hot in the aftermath of the explosion.
Every time the stem of the giant cactus hit the ground, an earthquake occurred, and the battle truck was lifted into the air and hit the ground several times.
The winner of that terrifying showdown has been decided.
The monster cactus, which had lost half of its gigantic body, slowly collapsed.
-Kwakwakwakwakwang!
The earth shook and a huge cloud of dust rose.
“I won!”
Kyaaaaak!
The man shook his head at the sight of Lily fondling him, rubbing her cheeks with her soft toy.
‘Sometimes I don’t know what I’m growing.’
The man looked around the burning cactus forest.
At this point, recovery is impossible.
The cactus forest will disappear, and Daegu will become a habitable land again.
‘As long as you finish well, that is.’
The man said to Choi Seong-min.
“CEO Choi. I’ll get off here for a moment, so you go first.”
“···Yes? Oh, yes. Okay.”
Choi Sung-min, who had lost his mind for a moment, barely regained his composure and answered.
WHEEK!
As the man jumped to the ground, Lily flew to him and said.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“I’ll take care of something for a bit. You go first.”
Lily narrowed her eyes, perhaps sensing something fishy.
“What? Can’t I come with you?”
The man said, pretending to pull down his pants awkwardly.
“I’m going to take a dump, do you want to watch?”
“Dirty! sh*thead!”
Lily was terrified and flew away.
“······.”
The man waited until Lily’s figure grew smaller. He watched the red dot recede and muttered.
“It’s not a very nice sight for a little kid.”
The man walked towards the center of the forest.
To where the largest monster cactus Lily had ever defeated had taken root.
“I think it was something like this.”
The man who arrived there stamped his feet.
Kuung!
Although it was a light movement, the force exerted in that movement was by no means light.
A strong vibration spread out from the person in question. The vibration soon grew uncontrollably large.
-Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa!
As the earth was pushed away, the sight below was gradually revealed. The man looked down into the underground with indifferent eyes.
“······.”
There were countless piles of human and animal bones.
All living creatures were taken by the monster cacti and turned into nutrients.
And further down,
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
A giant leech, probably hundreds of meters long, was coiled like a snake.
“Even now, it’s still dirty and big.”
That guy was the real owner of this forest.
A monster that grows cacti, turns cities into deserts, and captures humans to suck their nutrients.
Contrary to his appearance, he is quite intelligent, and in his previous life, the punitive force failed twice.
“I just happened to be passing through today.”
Kiyaaaaaaaaaa!
The leech raised its head and screamed, as if it was uncomfortable with being exposed to sunlight.
“There are also things I want to try out.”
Perhaps sensing no particular threat from the man, the leech leapt its huge body up to the ground. In an instant, the sky was obscured.
“Since the land will increase in value later, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to organize it in advance before buying.”
As the man snapped his fingers, the three swords hanging from his waist rose into the air at the same time.
Kiyaaaaaaa!
As if sensing something ominous, the leech tried to dive back into the ground.
The man smiled and snapped his fingers.
“And since I suffered because of you in the past, I’ll vent my anger a little.”
At his will, three swords shot out like lightning.
*
*
*
That night, the rescue team arrived safely in Busan.
< To Busan (3) - On the way > End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
