Benjamin Howard.His expression was no different from Yevgeniya Ivanov’s.“Finally, the time has come.” From afar he could see the citizens’ faces and hear their sighs of relief. There was none of that weighty sense of duty or responsibility. None of that mattered in this moment. He was simply intoxicated by the knowledge that he was useful. A thrill coursed through his whole body. Still, he wasn’t so weak as to be consumed by that crude emotion. He kept his gaze coldly fixed ahead. “From now on we move by squad! I’ll take Squad 1! Squad 2 goes to ‘Melanie Marilie’! Squad 3 is with ‘Wei Dao’! Squad leaders — move with coordination! Maintain line formation!”“Yes!”“Understood! Ben!”“All except the machine-gunners — set fire to single-shot! Do not waste ammo on automatic fire!!”“Yes—understood!!!” Crackle—“We’re commencing the operation.”—Please.“Move out!” The moment his voice echoed, eardrum-shredding gunfire followed.Rooooar—!! Automatic rifles that used 6.8 mm rounds. Even old models, designed to pierce body armor, shredded the creatures apart.It was, if anything, close to a one-sided slaughter. Riflemen in the squads took single shots and finished targets one by one; when things grew urgent the machine-gunners opened bursts.Grenade launchers kept pouring sustained fire into densely packed areas. Many of the creatures, already reduced to rags by repeated explosions, couldn’t even react properly. Of course, exceptions existed. When apparently intact creatures charged at a speed that was hard to believe, some soldiers panicked and fired into the air. Whenever that happened, the ones who stepped up were Benjamin and the squad leaders.Ta-taang!Ta-aang!“Get your head in the game!”“S-sorry!” It was unavoidable. No matter how well-trained, for those with zero combat experience an operation like this felt foreign.Still, Benjamin’s expression was not entirely displeased because their performance exceeded expectations. ‘Did Mr. Han even account for this?'He felt uneasy about the larger-than-expected number of creatures, but the tide was overwhelmingly in their favor. Maybe Kyle had expected this too? There was a sense that he might have. “Squad 3 is advancing too quickly, Dao!”“I’ll adjust!” If things continued like this, the operation would be completed without issue — and they might even rescue survivors. An unconscious smile tugged at the corner of Benjamin’s mouth. “Reload!”“We’ll cover you!” Ideal. Except — he’d forgotten something. A hulking creature. Its figure pushing through the graves of other corpses caught Benjamin’s eye. Then an epileptic roar burst out.“Everyone, get ready! It’s changed its target to this side!” Benjamin had briefly forgotten the overwhelming threat in the middle of the pressure. Like madness-fueled forgetfulness, the gorilla-type mutation bellowed.KROOOOOAR!!!!!!“Damn.” Benjamin’s gaze dropped, heavy. The machine-gunners opened up first.Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tang!!!!!!Quick response, but it did little meaningful damage to the leaping monster. Then a heavy crack.Rooooar-!!A shot aimed at the chest lodged in the shoulder. It was Melanie firing her sniper rifle. KROOOOAR!The situation changed noticeably. Even though it seemed the bullet must have passed through the shoulder, the creature only thrashed more fiercely. But that was just before Benjamin, with cold eyes, finished aiming.Bang—!A single shot directly to the head.KROOOOAR!‘What a waste.’He had aimed for the brow — the space between the eyes — but because the beast was flailing wildly the round hit the crown instead. Still, he didn’t have long to regret. The creature’s attention shifted to Benjamin. “Ugh!”He instinctively rolled across the ground.Thud—!As he steadied himself and looked up, the gorilla was right in front of him, grinding its molars. “D-damn—!!!”It was terrifyingly fast. Due to its enormous size, even when bullets lodged in it the damage wasn’t great. What could he do? A rational decision came quickly.‘I’ll give up my arm.’If it bit him, infection was certain — but he planned to sever the limb immediately. He reached his hand out, intending to sacrifice his arm and then cut it off. At the same time he shouted, “Fire—!!!”If they could focus and bring it down while he offered his arm, it would be doable. But the expected gunfire did not come. More creatures had begun to pour through the gap the beast had forced open. He was about to have his arm bitten off pointlessly. His face twisted. Then, for some reason he couldn’t explain, Benjamin let out a strangled shout when he recognized the familiar back standing between him and the creature.“Get out of the way!!!” Fwokahak—!!Kraaaargh!The sound of tearing cloth answered his cry with cruel mockery. Benjamin was speechless at what happened. A sword was driven into the monster’s jaw. A black-haired man clicked his tongue in that same disappointed way Benjamin had just done.“Tch.” He barked toward those around him.“Get him! Now!” Even while Benjamin was being pulled away by his comrades, he couldn’t help but let out a dazed voice.“Mr. Han……” --- [‘Enhanced Senses’ activated]It had been close. They could have lost a valuable person. Mr. Han hurriedly pulled the sword, Zero, out of the beast’s jaw. At the same time, Jimba let out a roar and swung both arms wide. Gwoooaaar!A blow like that could have pulverized anyone—each strike fatal. But Han was far from helpless. Han snapped his waist back with lightning speed. His spine arched like a bow as he evaded the arms, stepping backward.Thud! “Phew……”Fortunately Benjamin was rescued by his comrades. That didn’t mean worries were over. Jimba’s assault had briefly broken their formation. Creatures were surging in through that momentary gap. Fast traffic control was necessary. “I’ll handle this side! Benjamin! Concentrate on the rest of the creatures!”“But—!”Perhaps because he had just been the one facing it, Benjamin’s eyes wavered. He likely thought he couldn’t handle it alone. “I can manage by myself.”“Han!”“Move!” The enemy wouldn’t pause for words. Jimba lunged in fast, and Benjamin’s breath was thrown off so his stance was weak. The creature swung a massive arm and lunged, rotating its body as it jumped. Swooooosh—Wind passed his ear. Even though his powered suit helmet was activated, he could hear air rushing. Cold shot down his spine for an instant, and he convulsed. Still, he didn’t simply let himself be hit. The long gash on the creature’s bicep showed as much. “Huff……”Benjamin exhaled and watched Jimba. It attacked without rest and its wounds were even regenerating. That implied one thing. “Guh!”He confirmed again as he slashed its charging shoulder — it was true.‘It’s already begun cannibalizing its own kind.’Because it rampaged with such a huge body, it required tremendous energy. Considering the scarcity of humans nearby, it wasn’t surprising. It was a grim truth: the tactic of slowly injuring it and wearing it down wouldn’t work. ‘We have to land a single, fatal blow.’He gauged the gap between them and Jimba. Even seeing Zero stuck in its jaw gave a rough sense. Without skill, it couldn’t be torn apart. He lowered his stance. The tip of Zero trembled slightly toward the ground. As Jimba charged— [Issen Lv.3](literally “One Flash” — a single, high-speed, lethal sword strike)The sword met the creature.SLAASH-!!KROOOOAR!!“As expected.”A long cut was carved. Blood spurted belatedly. But that wasn’t the end. The creatures didn’t feel pain. Jimba’s next attack was threatening — it chose to ram forward with its massive body. After swinging the sword, dodging was nearly impossible. Behind them, piercing scream cut through the chaos “Mr. Han!!!”“Get out of the way!!”Ta-aang!A calm supporting shot came but with little effect. It was time to rely on his own strength. His activated enhanced senses let him predict the flow of the attack.Whooosh—!He chose offense, not defense. He cut into the charging beast. [Slash Lv.1]He severed it.SWOOOOSH!!!!GROOOOAR!!An arm tumbled to the ground. Jimba’s cries, now wild and directionless, sounded pitiful. The momentum had shifted completely. ‘Done.’“Hgh!”He lunged to behead the staggering creature. But at that moment— “…!!?”It was beyond expectation that the beast would grab its fallen arm and swing it. Its body surged forward with startling speed; the arm came whipping at him with the same velocity. He sensed it.‘This is unavoidable.’If they collided, he would be pulverized. Had he acted too rashly? Short, anxious judgments followed. He changed his posture — there was only one way. He rolled with the thrown body, drew the sword back from its swing, and launched both feet forward. At the moment of impact— “Ugh!”Ignoring the pain in his soles, he used the swinging arm as a springboard to launch himself into the air. The impact was minimized, but he was vulnerable. Jimba didn’t miss the opportunity. Gunfire and people’s screams faded from his perception. Perhaps he was too deeply focused. But that focus was another chance. The beast was also vulnerable in that moment. For a breath, time seemed to slow. Sweat on his brow slid down to the bridge of his nose. For some reason everything flowed in slow motion. He asked himself a question repeatedly: could the blade he would drive from this posture sever the beast? The answer didn’t matter much. What mattered was that it was the only option. The sweat bead fell from his nose. As he spun his body and lifted the sword Zero in an upward arc, the blade traced a line. [Slash LV.1]Ting![“Legendary Swordsmanship Talent” effect activated][Status: ‘Extreme’][You may use one higher-tier skill.][Slash II Lv.1] ‘Slash… II?’ If an 11x multiplier stacked on the previous 7x correction, it would break the sound barrier. A sonic boom. An unbelievable roar burst forth from the sword. KRAAAANG!SWOOOOSH-!!!!!!In that instant, the mutated Jimba’s massive body split cleanly in two, severed from top to bottom.--- “Insane.”Everyone was forced to marvel at the noise. Perhaps because a sound in the supersonic range — impossible for human bodies — had been ripped through. Even amid the urgent cleanup of creatures, everyone’s pupils lost focus. “Fuck, is that even possible?”It was clearly impossible but the evidence was undeniable. The worst monster they had imagined was cleaved in half by a blade. The man who had created that horror collapsed to the ground and groaned. “Uuuugh……”How were they meant to accept that? Even if they thought it a dream, it wasn’t — it was too vivid. “H-ha…ha…”An awkward, hollow laugh did nothing to dispel their confusion. Ta-aang!! Bang-tang!!Even trying to steady themselves and return fire was hard. Thankfully, the situation was nearly over. “Mr. Han!”But apart from these emotions, worry began to surface. His groaning and the look in his eyes said his condition wasn’t intact. “Are you okay?!”“Kuh — ugh.”The man gasped. Cold sweat drenched his brow and his eyes were bloodshot. Even his trembling muscles showed he was not well. Still, he said composedly,“Please — finish cleaning up the situation.” Only then did the defense forces begin to come to their senses. They realized they needed to concentrate on /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ the more important things. At the same time, a fighting spirit bubbled up. The operation was, for all intents and purposes, already a success.

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