Zero Point

#022

Thump. Thump.

His heart began to beat at a pleasantly fast pace. Eunseok drew a gun in his right hand and a dagger in his left.

Oh Seongeun, standing in front, grasped his stick with both hands and extended it forward. Immediately, a large flame erupted in front of Han Cheolyong, who was at the lead, and then shot out in three directions.

The flames shot out in straight lines, instantly burning away the grass. Small explosions occurred as the flames collided with something that had been quickly approaching while hiding in the grass.

Screech-! Squeak!

Short screams were followed by the sound of crackling flames. Through the red flames, the monstrous creatures finally revealed themselves.

Eunseok instinctively frowned with disgust at the sight of the giant monstrous creatures, standing just under a meter tall. Ants? No, they were more grotesque and bizarre insect-like monsters. There was probably a complex scientific name given by scholars, but he couldn’t know that.

The insect-like monsters screamed and burned in the extended flames. Some died quickly, crumpling their bodies, but those that could still move trampled over their fallen comrades and charged madly.

The air filled with the acrid smell of burning protein and smoke.

Bang-!

Han Cheolyong at the front collided strongly with an approaching creature using his shield. Then he began the battle by swinging his longsword at the monsters rushing in one after another.

The close-range fighters, Moon Bora and Shin Jeongho, stepped out to either side of Han Cheolyong and swung their weapons. With each swing, the legs and bodies of the hard-shelled monsters were easily sliced off as if cutting radishes. Oh Seongeun remained in place, creating flames at points where monsters gathered in swarms, dealing area damage.

The tank, Han Cheolyong, seemed to have some kind of skill. Most of the monsters targeted him. The two close-range fighters easily dispatched these monsters.

This is more of a massacre than a battle, Eunseok thought as he watched the combat situation.

Each time a body, head, or leg was severed, sticky green liquid splattered everywhere. The light-colored clothes of the three people fighting in front quickly became stained with green blood. Eunseok thought that Moon Bora was right to have packed spare clothes.

In just over 10 minutes, a pile of insect-like monster corpses had already accumulated in front of the three. Han Cheolyong occasionally kicked away the fragmented bodies to maintain combat space. The teamwork of the members was so well-coordinated that they didn’t even need to communicate verbally or with hand signals.

Instead of trying to rashly join the battle, Eunseok focused on guarding Ji Taeuk, the healer, while keeping watch in all directions. At the same time, he supported the team members by spreading wide-area Guiding.

“Thank you!” Moon Bora shouted excitedly as she swung her sword, feeling the Guiding.

“We’ll start pushing in to approach the queen specimen soon,” Han Cheolyong said loudly as the number of approaching specimens began to decrease slightly. The team members followed without a word, seemingly accustomed to obeying the B-rank hunter. It was evident that Han Cheolyong was trusted by his team members.

The team began to move forward while maintaining their formation and dealing with the monsters.

Han Cheolyong drew aggro, while the two close-range fighters and the ranged attacker took down the monsters rushing at Han Cheolyong. This series of actions was very smooth. It was perfect teamwork.

After moving about 2 kilometers while defeating monsters, a mound of dirt resembling a shallow volcanic peak, out of place in the grassland, came into view. Insect-like monsters were pouring out from the middle of this mound. It seemed to be the entrance to an ant colony.

As they approached the entrance, entities far different from those they had faced until now began to pour out madly. If what they had dealt with earlier were worker ants, these seemed to be soldier ants specialized for combat.

The ferocity of the monsters whose nest had been invaded intensified. Han Cheolyong continued to draw aggro at the front, but due to the sheer number of specimens, more and more began to slip past to the sides. However, no one showed signs of tension or panic.

Oh Seongeun threw a massive fireball at the entrance of the ant colony. The creatures pouring out were roasted with a loud noise. As the large fireball entered the tunnel, foul-smelling smoke rose from the burning monsters.

Centered around Han Cheolyong, Moon Bora and Shin Jeongho maintained a triangular formation, protecting Ji Taeuk and Eunseok while frantically dealing with the monsters.

Bang-! Bang-!

Eunseok, keeping watch in all directions, turned and fired without hesitation at the head of a monster trying to flank them. The target was so large that careful aiming wasn’t necessary. The specially made hollow-point bullets penetrated the monster’s hard head shell and exploded inside.

“Ugh…”

The monster’s blood, its head burst by the hollow-point bullet, splattered on Ji Taeuk’s face and shoulders. Ji Taeuk grimaced and wiped his face with his sleeve.

“Thanks.”

Ji Taeuk said, his face smeared with green blood. Eunseok silently fired another shot over Ji Taeuk’s shoulder.

The three people maintaining the formation at the front glanced back to check. After confirming Eunseok’s clean disposal of monsters charging from the sides and rear, they returned their focus to their own battles.

“This is getting boring. Seongeun, are you ready?” Moon Bora asked while swinging her sword. Oh Seongeun quickly checked the numbers on his watch and replied, “I’m ready.”

Realizing that Oh Seongeun was preparing something big, even checking numbers, Eunseok literally slammed a powerful wide-area Guiding towards him.

Was the Guiding too strong? Oh Seongeun noticeably flinched his shoulders and glanced back at Eunseok. Then, turning his gaze back to the ant colony entrance, he grasped his stick with both hands and shouted.

“Ant colony elimination, beginning now!”

A massive amount of energy could be felt gathering in the stick Oh Seongeun held.

Right on cue, Han Cheolyong thrust his shield forward with a short shout. Amazingly, a translucent hemisphere expanded from Han Cheolyong’s body, gradually enveloping the team members. The next moment, Oh Seongeun raised his stick, and a long, massive flame revealed its majestic form above the ant colony. The heat was so intense that Eunseok could feel it on his skin even from a distance.

The giant flame spear created in mid-air plunged towards the ant colony like a torrent. And a few seconds later…

Boom-!!

A massive explosion echoed from deep underground beneath the ant colony entrance, and the ground shook violently.

The ant colony entrance, spewing intense flames, resembled an erupting volcano. The foul smell of burning protein and enormous amounts of smoke rose endlessly into the sky. Fragments of monster bodies and green blood caught in the explosion rained down like hail on the translucent protective barrier Han Cheolyong had created. Eunseok was momentarily overwhelmed by the incredible effectiveness of this superhuman ability, which seemed beyond human power.

The volcanic-like flames began to subside gradually. The rain of exploded body parts also lessened accordingly. The semicircular barrier enveloping the team members disappeared smoothly, having served its purpose.

“It should be coming out soon,” Han Cheolyong warned, adjusting his grip on his longsword.

Is this not the end? Eunseok fixed his gaze on the ant colony entrance spewing flames that seemed incapable of allowing any living creature to survive.

Rumble rumble rumble-.

The ground began to vibrate slightly. Then, a massive black monster crawled up through the flames, revealing itself.

Its size was entirely different from the specimens they had faced so far, with an enormous body.

“That’s the boss,” Ji Taeuk whispered, informing them.

Even without Ji Taeuk’s explanation, it was easy to guess that this was what people commonly called a boss monster, judging by its size and intimidating presence.

The queen ant, as large as a small two-story building, fully revealed itself. The muscles throughout Eunseok’s body tensed tightly, and his heart began to beat heavily. Adrenaline surged through his blood vessels. Eunseok reflexively holstered his handgun and aimed the automatic rifle slung over his shoulder at the queen ant.

“Be careful…!”

As Ji Taeuk shouted, looking at Eunseok, a large white hand stretched out from behind and firmly covered both of Eunseok’s ears.

“…What…?”

Before Eunseok could properly react to the sudden touch, the queen ant’s mouth opened wide. And soon, an incredibly high-pitched, monstrous scream erupted.