Chapter 27

**Thud…!** A massive tremor shook the truck from the outside.

“……! ……!!!”

The soldiers’ voices rang out along with it.

Sitting inside the trailer compartment, I could roughly guess what was happening.

“Another battle, huh.”

This was the fourth one since I boarded the truck.

After a while, the commotion outside began to subside.

Someone opened the trailer compartment door and reported, “The battle’s over. We’re moving the monster corpses in here, right?”

“Good job.”

It was Sergeant Lee Min-jae.

Several soldiers joined him, starting to haul the carcasses of the hunted monsters into the trailer compartment.

“Five wounded. One is seriously injured and has been moved to the medic vehicle for intensive care,” Min-jae reported nonchalantly.

It was an update on the battle outside.

“Looks like we’re still taking some hits.”

Despite my cooking and Lieutenant Kim’s command buffs, enhancing the troops’ capabilities significantly, we were still constantly under attack in unfavorable conditions.

Injuries and serious casualties piling up slowly.

I asked Min-jae about something that had been on my mind.

“Are the battles getting more frequent, or is it just me?”

“It’s not just you. The noise from continuous battles seems to be attracting more monsters. We tried to minimize gunfire for this reason, but…”

Min-jae sighed deeply.

“I guess it didn’t help much.”

“We should be thankful it’s only this bad because we saved ammo. Anything you need my help with?”

“We’re still good with the combat rations for now. I’ll report, if anything changes.”

By then, the task of moving the monster corpses into the trailer compartment was complete.

In a low voice, I asked Min-jae about the soldiers’ morale.

“How are the soldiers holding up?”

“Not great, as you might expect.”

Min-jae sighed briefly before continuing.

“While the combat rations you’ve made are a big help…”

“There are still complaints, huh?”

“Yeah. No matter how good the rations are, there’s grumbling about you staying out of the fighting.”

Battles with monsters—I’m the only one not directly involved.

“It’s natural for some to find it odd.”

While the combat rations I prepared were undoubtedly helpful, my role seemed quite different compared to those fighting on the front lines.

It wasn’t surprising if some saw me as choosing a safer path by staying in the rear.

Min-jae glanced around the trailer compartment and said,

“You have your reasons for what you’re doing. Don’t worry about the soldiers’ complaints; I’ll handle them.”

In the unit, I had my fair share of frontline combat experience.

I had considered joining the fights, but my combat skills were, at best, average among the warriors.

As a “chef,” I contributed to the battles through the rations, but my direct combat role wasn’t as impactful.

“Better to stick to what I’m good at.”

With that Min-jae left.

The inside of the trailer compartment was filled with the stench of blood.

I continued to process the monster corpses.

Separating skin and flesh, tenderizing the meat, and adding a bit of sauce were repetitive but necessary tasks.

There were several more battles.

Screech…

Suddenly, the truck I was in came to an abrupt stop.

From outside the trailer compartment, I could hear the soldiers’ voices buzzing.

‘It doesn’t seem like another attack.’

Something must have happened.

I opened the trailer compartment door and stepped outside.

Upon emerging, I saw soldiers gathered and murmuring amongst themselves.

“Excuse me, let me through.”

“Sergeant Shin?”

I pushed through the gathered soldiers to the front of the crowd.

Then, I saw what had startled them.

In the distance, near the road, there was a figure wandering.

“Grrrr…!”

Rotting skin, a severely broken and limping leg, and a familiar military uniform draped over its body.

“I hoped this wouldn’t happen…”

The two drivers, Corporal Kim Jae-min and Corporal Gwag Seung-ho, who had died while descending the mountain, had now appeared before us as zombies.

‘Are we near that cliff from earlier?’

We had to take a long detour down the mountain, so it took a while, but this place didn’t seem far from the cliff where we found the overturned vehicle.

“That’s a zombie…?”

Yes, that sentence is correct. However, it could be enhanced for flow:

“Many soldiers were visibly shocked at the sight of their former comrades transformed into zombies.”

However, we couldn’t just stand there in a daze.

“Grrrr… huh?”

Noticing the commotion among the soldiers, the zombie soldiers turned their faces toward us.

And then—

Click.

‘…Click?’

Of course, they had been supplied with guns and bullets.

The soldiers sent to make contact with the higher-ups due to the monster attacks now pointed their weapons at us.

This is insane.

“Everyone, be careful!”

The typical zombie cliché is that they only rush at you like beasts! These zombies were pointing their guns at us.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

The two zombies unleashed a barrage of bullets from their guns.

* * *

“Shieldmen!”

“Yes!”

Warriors with shields hurriedly moved to the front lines.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—

“Hup…!”

The awakened soldiers with defensive traits reinforced their iron shields, deflecting the zombies’ bullets. However, some bullets still found their way towards the soldiers.

“Argh!”

“Min-cheol!”

One soldier staggered who was hit by a bullet.

I quickly rushed to him.

“Private Park Min-cheol! Are you alright?!”

“Ugh…”

“Damn it. Hold on, I’ll get the medic—”

No one could be fine after being hit by a bullet. As I was about to call for a healer, the soldier groaning in pain spoke.

“I’m… I’m fine.”

“What?”

The soldier was clutching the area where he had been hit.

However, there was no sign of bleeding.

“I think the uniform saved me. It hurts like hell though… ugh.”

[Steel Leather Combat Uniform]

Ordinary bullets required an entire magazine to bring down a monster, and even shots from an awakened marksman could only hold them off for a few rounds.

These uniforms were crafted from the processed hide of those lizard monsters.

The zombies’ shots were merely regular, unenhanced bullets.

Despite the significant impact, no one sustained fatal injuries from bullet penetration.

‘Thank goodness.’

The soldiers, initially shocked by their comrades turning into zombies, quickly shifted their emotions.

Anger of the enemy firing on them outweighed their confusion.

“That bastard shot Min-cheol!”

“Zombie or not…!”

Several enraged soldiers rushed forward, quickly eliminated the two zombies.

Though the zombies fired their guns, they lacked the intelligence to reload.

Once their bullets were spent, they were relatively easy to handle.

Seeing familiar faces being crushed by hammers wasn’t pleasant, but—

“They’re dealt with!”

“It seems like the problem is solved—”

“No.”

The issue was far from over.

‘It’s just the beginning.’

After the zombies fired at us, strange noises echoed throughout the mountain range.

Caw…!

The sound of crows startled by the gunshots, followed by—

Rustle.

Rattle.

Cawww!

The eerie cries of creatures moving violently within the mountains.

“Sergeant Shin… that sound…”

“It’s probably exactly what you think.”

We were already in a situation where the noise of battles had attracted nearby monsters.

Now, gunfire had echoed through the area.

The noise of gunfire was much louder than the sounds from the awakened fighters’ battles.

“All the monsters in this area are likely converging towards us.”

“After all the effort to conserve ammunition, this happens.”

Despite our careful movement to avoid attracting monsters, the gunfire had effectively lured them right towards us.

After a brief moment of contemplation, I made a decision and spoke.

“Our careful movement ends here.”

“Pardon?”

“Marksmen, switch to full auto. Mages, unleash your full firepower.”

Several soldiers voiced their concerns.

“Is that really, okay?”

“The noise from the battle might draw even more monsters than before.”

“That’s why we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

Battling in the mountain range puts us at a severe disadvantage.

However, once we escape the mountains, the situation could improve somewhat.

I glanced around and recognized the familiar path.

“Driver!”

“Yes, sir!”

“How much farther until we’re completely out of the mountains?”

“We’re almost there! If there are no monsters, we can escape in about 30 minutes.”

Not much time left until we’re out of the mountains. The path ahead is relatively clear and less dangerous.

“All long-range awakened, board the Deuce and a Half and provide covering fire from the vehicles! Warriors, sprint ahead and deal with any monsters that get close!”

“All long-distance awakened people board the Retona and provide support fire from the vehicles! Warriors run at full speed and only deal with monsters that stick to them!”

“Yes, sir!”

There’s no time to hesitate.

After issuing the commands, I quickly grabbed onto the trailer compartment of the truck I was in.

Awakened soldiers without the physical abilities of warriors hurriedly climbed onto nearby vehicles.

“All aboard!”

“Go! Full speed ahead!”

Vroooom…

The vehicles roared to life and started moving, with the warriors sprinting alongside them at full speed.

Shortly after we began moving,

“From the right! They’re coming!”

I looked in the direction of the shout and saw around 15 monsters approaching at incredible speed.

“Marksmen, commence interception!”

“Wipe out them!”

Orders came from Corporal Seo Su-hyeok, leader of the marksmen, and Sergeant Lee Min-jae, leader of the mages.

The bullets from the already powerful marksmen, combined with the mages’ unleashed firepower, spread across the mountain range.

Tat-tat-tat-tat—

Boom, boom—

The thunderous noise reminiscent of war echoed through the air.

“They’re coming from behind…”

“And from the front…”

“They’re closing in from all sides!”

Unlike the previously spread-out unit, we were now facing a mountainous terrain filled with large trees and rocks, limiting the effectiveness of long-range firepower.

“There are too many!”

It was different from the unit that used to mow down enemies with firepower before the powerful lizard monster could even approach.

Enemies were converging from all directions.

The marksmen and mages couldn’t eliminate them all.

‘We’ll have to face some of them head-on.’

It seems like it’s time to use what we’ve prepared.

I opened the door of the trailer compartment I was hanging onto and stepped inside.

Roar!

The sound of monsters was almost right in front of us.

“Hold them off!”

“Push them back!”

The warriors running alongside the vehicles swung their weapons at the approaching monsters, preventing them from latching onto the vehicles.

These warriors had experienced many battles and could handle most monsters that came their way.

“But if the enemies were not the familiar lizard creatures, we were accustomed to facing…”

By the time we were halfway down the mountain, we encountered many unfamiliar monsters.

‘This isn’t the territory of the lizards anymore. It must be them.’

It certainly wasn’t a good sign.

With so many unfamiliar monsters, it was hard to guess their abilities.

Roar!

The warriors continued to push back the monsters clinging to the vehicles.

However, some of them showed abnormalities.

Warriors wielding their weapons, leaping high.

“What the hell!”

“What’s that!?”

A grotesque creature with unnaturally long legs and six eyes.

Its appearance hinted at formidable strength.

The creatures, leaping over the weapons wielded by the warriors, soared towards our formation.

Or, to be more precise,

they were descending towards me.

“Sergeant Shin!”

The soldiers, seeing the monster fall near me, shouted in alarm.

“Aaaah!”

Seated inside the trailer compartment of a running small truck, I watched as the incoming monster pierced through. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

A creature resembling a beast with green fur.

At first glance, it looked somewhat like a wolf with an odd skin color.

However, its legs were unnaturally long, and it had six eyes.

Had it been starving for days?

The eyes of the attacking monsters were filled with life.

Unlike the warriors, I was alone without any formation.

This must be an enormous crisis.

So, I…

“Here.”

Swiftly,

I tossed prepared chunks of meat to them.

“Aaaah… What?”

The charging monsters bit into the meat I threw.

I was able to divert the attention of the rampaging monsters, who were intent on tearing apart their prey before them.

“Aaa…”

The momentum of those monsters noticeably diminished.

“W-what’s happening?”

“The monsters, they seem… subdued?”

A clear change.

The soldiers rushing to help me noticed the shift and murmured in surprise.

Whether it was related or not.

[Skill – ‘Chef’s Eye’ has been activated]

[Analyzing ingredients]

[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Light Foot Slypa Preparation Method] 

An enlightenment surfaced in my mind.

The ‘effective method of handling it’ was visible before my eyes.

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Translator: One Force

TL Note:

3 more chapters coming soon (1 regular chapter + 2 additional chapters for NU voting)

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