Published at 29th of March 2019 12:59 am

Chapter 69: To Survive and to Live (Part 1)

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Zin pondered for a while and started talking. “I do think that hunting the devil is the priority.”

“Why is that?”

“It is better because there are lesser casualties. An internal division of Wargrave would result in death of soldiers, but a devil will kill many people. And without mercy.”

“Is that so…”

“And that war within Wargrave will eventually happen at some point. A war will start whenever there’s a good enough reason. If a war is going to happen anyways, it’s better for the war to happen when there’s no preparation from both sides. If you pursue and kill the undercover agent, a war of larger scale will happen later on.”

Zin had lived for a long time, and he looked at matters with a broader perspective. He believed that a lopsided war was better for everybody. A longer war meant that everyone would sustain more damage. If both sides were given more time to prepare, the war would become more destructive and take longer.

Zin believed that it was far better for the war to start and finish as quickly as possible.

Ramphil felt strange that Zin was only talking about the possible outcomes. Zin’s explanation made sense, but he was very coldhearted.

“The White Witch is not any ordinary devil.”

The appearance of the White Witch could bring a huge disaster that could not be compared to Wargrave’s war. Even though it was a single devil, Zin thought that the worst disaster could happen if the White Witch was not taken care of right away.

Zin was trying his best to hunt the devil at all costs.

“So you are saying that if I kill the undercover agent, it would bring more damage to the world?”

“Yes. And by the way, you don’t have to think about this too hard.” Zin spoke as if it was a trivial matter. “We don’t live in a world where we care much about what is right. When we face dilemmas, it’s best to attack the common enemy.”

Being involved in Wargrave’s internal war meant that one had to determine which side was right, and one had to figure out what actions would be beneficial. And usually, it was not an easy decision to make.

It was better to pick the easier choice, such as hunting a devil that was full of hatred towards humans.

Zin’s words were not the answers, but they helped Ramphil calm down a bit.

“Wow… I was thinking about this for a long time, but you know too much about Wargrave.”

“Well… you know. I am a very interesting man.”

Ramphil smiled as Zin showed off. Ramphil brought the subject of the undercover agent, but it seemed like Zin already knew about the full story. However, Ramphil did not press him about what he knew.

Ramphil was able to learn battle skills from Zin. Zin executed attacks that Ramphil was unable to think of. Zin was even able to execute attacks even without discussing with Ramphil.

Zin, the devil hunter.

He was the first ally Ramphil did not have friction with. Ramphil had never met such a comrade in the Wargrave organization, and now he was able to meet one outside Wargrave.

During many battles, Zin taught many battle tips to Ramphil at some point. There were many tips that could not be learned from the books. Ramphil was learning many things while fighting alongside Zin.

Ramphil realized that there were many battle skills that could only be acquired through a seasoned veteran like Zin.

Zin didn’t actively teach the skills to Ramphil, but Ramphil was learning the skills from Zin through their battles. Although Ramphil was travelling with Zin to hunt the witch, he realized that it was very beneficial for him to travel with Zin.

Ramphil promised to himself that he wouldn’t bother Zin with the policies of Wargrave while travelling with him.

“Hey, you have been gazing at me for a long time. What’s the deal?”

“No, it’s nothing.” Ramphil shrugged as Zin spoke up with an unpleasant look.

It took a single day to take care of the two groups of Reavers in Harbin. A couple of days ago, Zin spent over thirteen hours to hunt down seven Reavers. This time around, Zin killed hundreds of Reavers with the help of the cyborg soldier.

Zin did not always fight with the same strategy. He changed his plan of attack depending on the circumstances. For the last fight, Zin felt the need to be aggressive, and he killed the Reavers aggressively.

After completing his mission, the two of them headed back to the fortress. Zin and Ramphil had to go through an extensive and extra long sanitization process before entering the fortress. They went straight to the office of the Warlord.

Usually, a hunter needed to bring evidence to prove the completion of the request, but Zin didn’t need one as he was accompanied by the executor.

“Hmm… that’s complicated.”

The existing Reavers didn’t attack a Wargrave vehicle, and Ramphil and Zin searched and destroyed the Reavers hiding in the south part of Harbin.

The Warlord asked Ramphil, “The existing Reavers… you told me that they collected left hands. Why did you kill them?”

“They were despicable.” Ramphil explained his emotions and the reason for the massacre in a single phrase. The Warlord gave Ramphil a strange look, and then he nodded slowly.

“They must have acted inappropriately. Very well then, thank you so much for your help.”

The Warlord knew that the policy was just a guideline. If the executor felt offended, it was not an issue for an executor to kill thousands of Reavers.

The Warlord was okay with Ramphil killing the Reavers, even though he didn’t know about Ramphil’s background.

The Warlord was a soldier who had served at the fortress for all his life. However, there was a bigger problem than the two Slaughterhouses.

“The Group…”

Several groups of Reavers forming a powerful organization. And it was expanding its territory aggressively.

The Warlord was cautious. Wargrave fortress were spread around the world, and many organizations existed near the fortresses.

“Similar to the ‘Ragnarligion’ and the ‘Worshippers of Hunt’ groups, the Group may not be interested in us…”

There were fortresses in Southeast Asia where Ragnarligion was located, and in India where the Worshippers of Hunt were located. The two groups did not interfere with Wargrave. Wargrave cared only about internal affairs, and other groups did not interfere with Wargrave.

There was no reason for Wargrave to be wary of the Group, if the Group remained indifferent about Wargrave. Ramphil nodded as he heard about the two groups.

However, they were not Reavers. If the crazy group of people were to form a crazy army, he wondered what kind of insane actions they would take. The Warlord was the person who had to take action against the Group, and Ramphil and Zin were simply the messengers.

“I will have to submit a report for now. Thank you, both of you. Hunter, here is the promised reward.”

The Warlord took about a chipbox from his desk and passed it to Zin. Zin received 750 chips, and a chipbox manufactured by Wargrave. A chipbox was a simple expendable good for Wargrave. However, a Wargrave chipbox was an excellent product for the people living in the wilderness.

The chipbox didn’t have a self-destruct capability, but Zin put it away with a big smile.

“Warlord, I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“The hunter would like to use the Wargrave production facilities, will that be okay?”

In most cases, the Warlord would reject the request, but Ramphil explained the reason behind the request. During the last battle, Zin used up all the 7.62mm ammunition that he had.

“Hmm… so you’d like to manufacture ammunition?” the Warlord asked.

“That’s correct.”

Access to the production facility was highly restricted. It seemed like the hunter knew how to operate the production machines in the Wargrave facility.

Anything could be manufactured in the Wargrave facility. The machines manufactured anything by using lasers.

It was possible to manufacture a pen or a armored vehicle from the facility. Access to this very important facility was not given to anybody.

“It’s at the request of an executor, so I can’t reject it… But we would need a technician to accompany you all the time.”

Zin nodded, as he understood that the Warlord wanted to make sure nothing was manufactured without permission and then stolen.

The armored vehicle requested by Ramphil was ready, and Zin was ready to leave for the Heavenly Power castle as soon as he finished his work in the facility.

The Group was highly likely to attack the Heavenly Power castle.

“By the way, that little kid.”

As the Warlord spoke up, Zin became serious.

“… Did she cause trouble?” Zin would not be surprised if Leona started some trouble.

As Zin had an unpleasant look, the Warlord said hastily, “Oh no, my daughter really likes her.”

“?”

Zin and Ramphil were not able to understand what was going on. As the Warlord started talking about his daughter, he came closer to Zin and asked, “Are you and the kid related?”

“… no, we are not.”

A hunter and a little kid who wandered around the wilderness –

The Warlord was puzzled what the relationship between the two could be.

“I won’t ask why you two are travelling together. But, it’s certain that the wilderness is a tough place for the kid to live.

“It’s dangerous out there, and it’s dangerous for everybody. And it’s especially true for a kid.”

Zin knew what the Warlord was going to talk next.

“Frankly speaking, I think it would be good for my daughter’s new friend to stay in the fortress instead of wandering the wilderness.”

Similar to how the Warlord of the Seoul fortress took Ramphil with him, it was not difficult for a Warlord to have a wanderer settle on the fortress as a resident.

“What do you think?”

And so the opportunity to settle down came to Leona…

After a long pause, Zin replied, “It’s not for me to answer the question.”

That was his only answer.

The Warlord didn’t expect such an answer from Zin, but he thought that what Zin said made sense. Ramphil and the Warlord remained in the office to discuss other matters, and Zin was planned to head to the production facilities.

She should be at the entertainment facility. It’d be good for you to visit the place, and talk to her about it.

Zin decided to head to the entertainment facility first, as he wanted to let Leona know that he was back from the mission. He wore the Wargrave clothes, and the people did not look at him strangely.

The entertainment facility was pretty big, and people were enjoying the games and taking breaks. There were card games and video games. Wargrave was making every effort to relieve the stress of the soldiers.

People in the fortresses lived in the underground all their lives. Such an entertainment facility was needed in order relieve stress. Residents of the fortresses were confined in the fortress from birth to death.

In fact, Wargrave HQ had a dedicated department to develop games.

People in the Wargrave fortresses had a lifestyle similar to the lifestyle of pre-apocalyptic days. Zin felt strange looking at such a lifestyle. It was not too hard to spot the kids.

“Wow! Look at that! We won again!”

“Sis! You are really good at this!”

From the top of the stairway, Zin found the kids gathered near the area where there were video games. He was not able to tell what games they were playing, but the kids who surrounded Leona were screaming and shouting with joy.

Zin felt strange looking at the children playing. Leona was extremely focused and staring at the monitor. She was using a keyboard and mouse to play the game.

Zin was surprised to find that Leona was as able to use a computer. At the same time, he wondered.

In order to type something with the computer, one needed to know how to read.

Did she know how to read?

Zin felt weird that he hadn’t realized this simple fact. Zin had travelled with Leona for a while, but he wasn’t curious about her past.

“Hey, hey! Let’s form an alliance! If we want to win against Leona, we need to team up!”

“Yesss!”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

The two kids teamed up and the little girl behind Leona started to complain.

The kids who were shouting seemed to be playing a fighting game, and the other kids surrounded the three of them. Leona was sitting in the middle seat and continued to look at the monitor. She was smiling and seemed to be happy.

She wasn’t smiling because she felt peaceful or calm. She was smiling because she was purely happy.

“Leona! These cowards need to get beat up.”

“Hah! Teaming up will not work. Come and get me. I will kick your butt!” Leona yelled.

As Leona started cussing, the kids started to laugh out loud. Zin was looking at Leona from far away. He knew that she was not shy meeting new people, but he didn’t expect her to make so many new friends in a short period of time.

It was clear that the kids were amused watching her, an outsider. The kids did not despise her, but were displaying friendliness towards her.

The little kid who was used to hostility probably didn’t expect such goodwill. However, after a couple of days, Leona opened up and mingled with the kids. Zin found it weird that Leona was talking and joking around with her peers naturally. She probably was a good girl at first, but the environment that she was in probably changed her personality.

She probably had to disguise her true identity in order to survive the rough wilderness.

Zin thought that perhaps Leona was a well-rounded kid.

Zin quietly looked at the scene before turning his back.

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