Chapter 79 – Cranky Tang Tang E-Class Gate Subjugation Operation (4)

The morning in the woods was accompanied by fog. A campfire glowed like a fog lamp in the damp steam. I squeezed the tips of my feet to extinguish the breath of the pyre that had burned me during the evening. The bonfire ran out of breath with a push-like sound as if submerged in water. Ichie was tidying up the tent, and Yujeong was checking the location of the boss while combing her hair roughly.

The boss monster was not leaving a certain area. Senior Yoo Jung said.

“I’m the type to live in my own territory. If that’s the case, there’s a good chance it’s either Strong Boar, Gorbas, or Mushman. According to the data, it will depend on what terrain is over there.”

I knew all three monsters. Mushman was a mushroom that hit a honey chestnut that broke the head of a C-class hunter a while ago, and Strong Bore was a monster that Yujeong and I used dragons to catch. And Gorbas was a D-class monster that made the hunters in trouble by spewing poison in the safety training video.

“There is no other line to go to.”

“Because the magic stone itself that maintains the gate is large, usually a lot of big guys appear as bosses. Even if a small guy becomes the boss, he will appear bigger because of the magic stone. Have you ever seen Jungle Cat appear as a boss? That little guy has become the size of a tiger and runs at it?”

“Uh.”

It was terrifying to think of a guy who didn’t even look cute and boasted of his big size. I shook my head and tried to erase the imagination that had popped into my head. The terrible dream I had last night was enough.

Ichie said.

“The tent is finished.”

The neatly dried tent fit into my bag like a gimbap lunchbox. Seeing the clean workmanship, I gave Ichie a thumbs up. Ichie drew me a V. Senior Yoojung suddenly came out and crossed her arms. Then he said as he lifted the tracker.

“Then, since I’ve cleaned up, shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Following Yu-jeong’s urging, we started walking in the direction of the boss. As soon as senior Yoo Jung entered the forest, she fell away from me and went to the rear. With Ichie in the middle, I moved slowly while keeping an eye on the front. From the point where we camped to the area where the boss is, it was an unexplored area. We didn’t know what monsters were waiting for us, so we moved cautiously.

If there was a pile of suspicious grass, he stabbed it with a spear, and if the bush was overgrown, he held out his shield and advanced. As if all the monsters had been annihilated by the search team, there was no movement in the forest. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t relax. Accidents happen when you’re relieved that you’re always okay.

Tung!

Suddenly a crash sounded. Ichie drew her sword and Yujeong-senpai took a stance. I lowered my stance and held her spear high. The good thing about holding up my spear and shield was that it seemed like a quick defensive move to cover myself with the shield even when I shivered like a girl in fright. I grabbed my startled chest and examined the fallen figure beyond the bush.

The light didn’t come in, so a rough iron section could be seen through the shadows of the dark forest.

I carefully tapped the cross section with my spear and confirmed its identity.

“Sign?”

“It’s a sign.”

Senior Yujeong nodded her head and said with a serious expression. I couldn’t figure out why this is here. It wasn’t even our signboard. A billboard with complicated characters that could be used in Arab countries was put down in the middle of the gate. As if they couldn’t handle the aftermath of the shock earlier, the bushes were smashed flat, and acrid dust rose. Senior Yoo Jung said.

“This is a bad sign. This is what happens when the gate is unstable.”

“Does this happen often?”

“It’s not that common, but it’s something we see often.”

After saying that, Senior Yujeong took her gauntlet out of her backpack. She slipped the gauntlet on her arm and opened her tracking device again. The boss was now close by. Senior Yoojung said.

“When a gate becomes unstable, there are cases where other gates absorb and spit out objects from the open area, or drag monsters from other gates. This is the E-class gate right now, but if a C-class or B-class monster suddenly appears, it would be a big deal.”

“So we have to get out now too?”

Ichie asked. Senior Yu-jeong shook her head and said.

“No. We need to report the phenomenon now and close the gate by defeating the boss as soon as possible.”

Senior Yoojeong pulled out a small walkie-talkie from her waist. When she came in, Yoo-jeong slapped her walkie-talkie, which she had never used before, and she heard a strange noise. Senior Yu-jeong put her mouth on the walkie-talkie and she said.

“Ah, this is the Subjugation Team. The gate team, please respond.”

A thick voice answered through the crackling noise.

“Our gate team. I want to see it.”

“We observed instability inside the gate. Please evacuate nearby civilians.”

“Good reception. Returning side, did you find the current C-class or higher monster object?”

“No. In the early stages of the gate instability, goods from other regions are currently being transferred.”

“Notice that the road in front of the gate site is currently congested with vehicles going to work and is uncontrollable on our line. Instead, I will wait for the high-ranking hunter to be called according to the unstable state manual.”

“All right.”

Senior Yoojeong sighed deeply and put her walkie-talkie back into her waist. I said to senior Yoo Jung.

“There is also a walkie-talkie.”

“At gates like this, we make sure to give the team leader a walkie-talkie. This is so that we can recognize each other when there is a gate instability or an emergency outside. There is really nothing to write about. Unless it’s very urgent, the soldiers don’t radio first. Even inside the gate, we don’t have to radio.”

In other words, it meant that the situation was quite critical. Ichigo also nodded with a nervous face.

“I need to get rid of it quickly. Hurry up.”

Now, there was only a 30-minute walk to the boss. We lowered our posture even more and approached with a cautious attitude. It was because if you rushed to stimulate the boss at this time, it would stretch more.

I didn’t know that the first subjugation battle would be so spectacular. Ichie was also holding the handle with a very nervous face. I walked carefully, clearing the tree. Bright light was filtering through the trees. Senior Yoojung said.

“Right in front. It’s over there.”

We lowered ourselves as low as we could in the bush and looked ahead. Strong Bore. An ignorant monster that roamed the ground on its strong legs was walking around with a purple aura all over its body. As if he had poison, he had a reluctant appearance, so I frowned involuntarily.

For some reason, his muscles looked more swollen, and his tusks looked sharper. Ichi also narrowed his eyes when he saw the strong bore. Only Yoo-jeong remained calm.

“The monster that became the boss is often stronger than the existing monsters. Still, it’s fortunate that it’s a strong bore with a large weakness and a simple behavior pattern. With this, I think I can finish it in one shot.”

Senior Yoojeong lifted up her gauntlet and said. That gauntlet felt more trustworthy today. Senior Yoojeong lowered her voice after making us gather. Whether aware of our assassination plot or not, Strong Boar snorted and made no attempt to hide his ferocity.

“First of all, Mr. Suhyeon, step forward and get Strong Boar’s attention. In my experience, the strong bores I met during the subjugation were not particularly faster, and since they act so simply, you should be able to avoid them easily.”

And senior Yoo-jeong said to Ichie.

“Miss Ichie, that… Can you use something like a special move? I heard from Hayeon unnie the other day, and she said that there is one room.”

“I can write.”

Ichie nodded her head and said. Her eyes glowed red. Senior Yu-jeong nodded her head and designated her location.

“Then Ichie-san, stand on the other side of me and aim for her leg on the other side. Because Ichie-san is capable of long-distance interception. First, a slap in the leg to get more attention. In the meantime, I’ll put the gauntlet on and finish it off.”

Senior Yu-jeong stroked the tip of the vicious gauntlet and nodded her head. She had a plan as well, but senior Yoo Jung’s weapon seemed so strong. We smiled for some reason at the thought of finally completing her mission, and our eyes met again. Yujeong-senpai and Ichie carefully crawled toward the location.

Strong Boar was wandering in the middle of the plain. She seemed to be playing alone, as sometimes she would dig or stomp. I watched his life and waited for the signal to come. In the diagonal direction from me, senior Yoojeong raised her hand. He looked the other way, and Ichie also had a drawn knife and was waving it at me.

I nodded, broke through the bushes, and jumped out. Strong Boar hadn’t seen me yet. I shouted as I struck the shield with my spear.

“Hey bitch… !”

Bang!

Dirt rose up. The spot where the Strong Boar had been a while ago exploded. Did Yoojung sunbaenim do something? I looked at Yoo-jung with a puzzled face. Senior Yoojung also looked at me with the same expression as me. We shook his head at the same time.

And we turned our attention to Ichie. Ichie, who was looking at the dust with a blank expression, also shook his head.

What? What happened?

Soil that soared high into the sky fell in torrents. It was as if a waterfall had formed in the air.

“Queeeee Geeeeek!”

I heard the sound of a pig picking. I cautiously backed away and went back into the bush. It was because I instinctively felt a sense of danger. In the dust, white arms and legs were exposed. I saw a strong bore floating in the air.

Several slender arms were holding on to the strong bore. As if claiming to have just come out of the ground, his body was full of dirt. Big eyes and mouth. A monster resembling a caterpillar I had never seen before was eating Strong Boar’s head.

Senior Yoojeong was radioing with a pale face.