Chapter 112 – Back to Yeongdo (1)

The container ship’s engine started 10 minutes after Zahina pushed the ship.

When Zahina moved the ship, I immediately launched myself onto it.

Though I fell into the sea midway since it moved faster than expected, people standing at the railing lowered ropes so I could quickly climb onto the deck.

The undead that invaded the dock kept jumping into the sea chasing after the departing ship.

Fortunately the water was deep so the jumping undead couldn’t climb onto the ship, but I remained tense.

Things had never gone according to plan.

This time too, zombie mermaids might appear and jump onto the ship.

Fortunately no undead climbed onto the ship until the engine started.

*hoooonk*

Shortly after, the ship began moving with a long horn blast.

The container ship started moving within the port without a pilot boat, leaving the port with rough movements.

As the ship passed by, the rushing undead kept jumping into the sea.

It felt strange watching undead continuously jumping in while passing along the long dock.

“It’s scary. Though they became zombies, seeing so many people jumping into the sea one after another… Really makes me feel again how terrifying the world has become.”

I tilted my head at Ye-rim’s words beside me.

It was somewhat hard to understand for me who no longer thought of undead as people.

“Is that so…”

“What do you mean ‘is that so’! When the holy maiden speaks, you should quickly agree!”

Immediate objection came to my ambiguous response. The person picking at it was the union chief who was with Ye-rim.

“Please stop calling me holy maiden.”

Though Ye-rim waved her hands at the union chief’s words, he spoke with a serious face:

“You saved the injured and turned me back from a zombie to human – if that’s not a holy maiden what is? Bring anyone who says otherwise. I’ll set them straight.”

He spoke to Ye-rim while clenching his fist.

Seeing that fist, I could roughly guess how he would “set them straight.”

While the engine was starting, he had completely returned to human.

Though traces remained where veins had bulged, perhaps from treating too late, after regaining consciousness he paid no mind to the marks on his body.

“I thought I’d definitely die and become a zombie, but since I survived like this, these scars are honorable medals.”

When Ye-rim looked sadly at the marks left on his body, he laughed heartily while grabbing and shaking her hand.

“The person to thank isn’t me, but the knight. You wouldn’t have survived if he hadn’t brought you.”

“Of course, I’m grateful to the armored knight too. How could I not be? I saw with my own eyes him sending zombies’ heads flying as they swarmed from all directions.”

He gave me a thumbs up at the railing then spoke to Ye-rim again:

“But young lady, no, holy maiden, that doesn’t diminish your grace. You turned someone who became a zombie back into a human. You still don’t realize what a great miracle this is.”

Since the injured man who was awake when he woke kept calling her holy maiden, the union chief also started calling Ye-rim holy maiden.

“No, I can’t turn zombies back into humans either. I just purify death energy before people completely turn into zombies. I can’t revive the dead.”

“Ah, right. Zombies were dead people.”

At Ye-rim’s words, the union chief’s expression darkened again, but he soon brightened and spoke energetically:

“No, still amazing. It gives us hope.”

After praising Ye-rim highly like that, he spoke to me and Ye-rim:

“Later if the knight or holy maiden need my help, just say so. I’ll definitely help.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely say if I need help.”

Ye-rim smiled and nodded at his serious words, but I shook my head instead.

Better if he had no occasion to help.

In this world, if normal people needed to help, it could only mean life-or-death situations.

While thinking that, the captain approached where we were standing.

He looked at the union chief and spoke with a slight smile:

“Oh? You really survived. Heard you became a zombie and thought we lost another person, but you’re quite tenacious.”

The union chief answered showing his fist to the captain:

“I can’t die easily. More importantly, is it okay for the captain to be out here?”

The captain answered watching the receding dock:

“Well, we’re out of the port so the navigator can handle steering. More importantly, the ship was abandoned too long, need to check directly if there are any problems.”

“True, it’s amazing it even moves after being neglected like this.”

“Well, we weren’t the first ones to move the ship.”

The captain looked toward the bow.

Zahina still stood there looking out at the distant sea.

Her spread mana still remained in the sea.

Actually, safely leaving the port without a pilot boat to guide the large ship was thanks to Zahina continuously moving the seawater.

Spraying and freezing water on the walls, moving this massive ship with seawater.

Though Zahina had accomplished amazing things today, she was still maintaining mana.

Hearing from the captain that we had left the port, I headed to the bow.

Quickly arriving at the bow, I stood behind Zahina and spoke to her:

“You can rest now. Seems you’ve used more mana today than most mages.”

At my words, Zahina spoke looking down at the sea:

“There are dead ones under the sea.”

Zahina hadn’t just moved seawater with mana. She was observing under the sea.

Undead under the sea.

Unable to swim, the undead could only walk on the seafloor below.

All the undead that just jumped from the dock, and those who jumped into the sea before, would all be at the bottom.

Zahina raised her hand pointing in two directions:

“Even now the dead ones keep walking. There to the west and south.”

The directions she pointed were toward Japan and Jeju Island.

In that world, fighting undead on land meant we couldn’t know how undead behaved in the sea.

Of course, we knew undead were dead people moved by death energy, and had seen them walking across rivers and lakes, so could expect they could move in the sea too.

But Zahina said the undead that entered the sea were walking in specific directions.

Their directions were toward Japan and Jeju Island.

Though uncertain if undead could cross the Pacific to America, they could certainly reach Japan and Jeju Island.

Like the fallen mainland, islands and countries floating on the sea weren’t safe from undead either.

Shortly after, Zahina withdrew her mana, and the ship that left port turned west around Gadeok Island.

The ship’s next destination was Yeongdo.

* * *

“No, Private Woo! Sergeant Park! After I treated you so well all this time… In the end it comes to mutiny, fragging!”

Lieutenant Im made a crying face seeing his soldiers approaching.

“Sergeant Han saw too. How much I worried about getting shot. Yet in the end, gun barrels turn on me.”

At Lieutenant Im’s words, Sergeant Han sighed.

“What fragging, what fragging. Are there cases in the world of enlisted men like me getting fragged?”

“Well, you tormented the unit members a lot too. This is karma coming back.”

“That’s enough nonsense. Near death you just spout nonsense.”

Sergeant Han clicked his tongue cutting off the words.

“This was always my personality. Just restrained it becoming an officer.”

“Yes, yes. More importantly, this sucks. Having to shoot unit members.”

Sergeant Han aimed his gun at approaching unit members with a gloomy face.

“At least you have bullets left. I don’t even have bullets. Used up even the suicide pistol.”

Lieutenant Im waved the pistol in his hand then threw it at the approaching unit members.

*thud*

The unit member hit in the head by the pistol opened his mouth toward Lieutenant Im.

*growl*

Black blood flowed from the mouth making beast-like sounds.

Another unit member beside him raised his hand scratching at the trench.

His fingers broke off as he tore the sandbags lining the trench.

Sand poured out of the bags.

*rustle*

Hearing the pouring sand, the two shook their heads.

“This trench won’t last long. Once this breaks, it’s over.”

At Sergeant Han’s words, Lieutenant Im looked at the detonator in his hand.

After sending off the U.S. forces and people from another world, Lieutenant Im and Sergeant Han had luckily managed to return to Jodo.

Avoiding zombies that climbed onto Yeongdo, the two who arduously reached Jodo were immediately deployed to defend the Korea Maritime University breakwater connecting Jodo and Yeongdo.

Jodo with Korea Maritime University was connected to Yeongdo by a short breakwater less than 100 meters long.

People who escaped to Jodo built trenches on the breakwater under Lieutenant Colonel Park’s command.

Three layers of obstacles and trenches made by piling sandbags.

When Lieutenant Im and Sergeant Han arrived at Jodo, battle was already ongoing at the breakwater.

The lieutenant’s unit members were pouring bullets into zombies at the front, and the arriving lieutenant and sergeant joined defending the line with unit members.

At first they could maintain the defense line.

Though there was a two-lane road, the breakwater wasn’t very wide, so concentrated fire could incapacitate incoming zombies even if not killing them.

Dozens of zombies with broken legs and shattered bodies writhed on the road.

After continuously blocking incoming zombies like that, eventually bullets ran out.

“So it ends like this.”

The soldiers defending the breakwater attached bayonets and blocked rushing zombies.

One by one they were bitten by zombies, and the defense line collapsed in sequence.

Lieutenant Im’s unit members lost their lives one by one.

The soldier manning the radio, the private who bantered with Sergeant Han, the soldier who shouted about killing officers… all became zombies.

Even after losing unit members like that, the lieutenant and sergeant couldn’t retreat.

Not just because of the mission given by the retreating lieutenant colonel, but the two could no longer retreat.

“But you’re sure you weren’t bitten? Tell me for sure. Annoying to turn gun barrels again.”

“It’s just a tear! Though gouged to the bone, wasn’t bitten! More importantly, shouldn’t you give me the gun? You were bitten!”

“Wasn’t bitten hard. I’ll last longer than you Lieutenant so don’t worry.”

Two wounded sat in the trench made of sandbags.

The sandbags were burst in places with sand pouring out, and unit members turned zombie surrounded them.

“Still, as comrades they remain here.”

“Must be accumulated grudges.”

At the lieutenant’s words, the sergeant pointed inland.

“Wonder if inside is okay?”

“Who knows. Still hearing gunshots so seems they’re holding… but won’t last long now that the breakwater’s breached.”

At the lieutenant’s words, the sergeant pointed at his hand.

“Then should we detonate soon?”

“Not yet. Once we detonate, there’s no going back.”

“Isn’t it the same even if we don’t? Honestly hard to hold out.”

Saying that, the sergeant threw his gun to the lieutenant.

The sergeant’s face was full of veins.

Shortly after, gunshots rang from inside the trench.

*bang*

Throwing the smoking rifle, the lieutenant muttered:

“Damn, when is that ship coming?”

That’s when.

A ship’s horn sounded from far away.

*hooonk*

Lieutenant Im smiled hearing that sound.

And he pressed the detonator.

*boom*

With the explosion, the trench burst apart.

It was a huge explosion enough to collapse the breakwater.

Even I on the ship could see the explosion.