The wind breezed through the forest, making a swooshing sound. Joonbum pulled up his jacket and shivered. He put both hands over his mouth and let out a gasp.
“Hmph!”
“I like peeing outside in cold weather.”
“Ugh, don’t look at me when you’re peeing.”
Joonbum scowled as he noticed Jinpok watching him from the distance as he peed to the side of the trees. He then came back.
“Let’s eat instant ramen.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s the best thing in the morning!”
Jinpok shouted and ran to the Marauder in search of the necessary tools. He took out a pot and a portable stove to begin boiling water.
“To think that I was going to eat ramen again! Coffee, cigarettes, soju, crackers, ham…”
Jinpok mumbled as he prepared things. All the items he mentioned were things one could not acquire in this world. They began eating steaming hot ramen and finished the meal with a hot cup of coffee. Jinpok took a sip and turned to the moving shadows in the far distance.
“They’re moving now.”
It was the troops from the Barisman Kingdom.
“Crazy bastard. It’s the start of winter! I think he’s mad now.”
“Huh?”
“The duke! Isn’t he seventy-seven years old? His brain must have gone mad!”
“Oh, I see. He also might have hated me, so…”
Joonbum spoke as he thought.
“But it’s good for us.”
The war slowed down a bit in the hottest days of summer, but it began to gain momentum as fall came. Torian armies were sent on multiple occasions against the Khalodians, only to fail. The death of leading commanders comprised of nobles and knights left the land in disarray and new, lower-ranking nobles began revolting left and right to take the chance. Torian Kingdom was now falling apart, losing one-third of its land to the neighboring countries which were slowly invading from all sides. But it was now coming to another resting phase as winter started.
“So they have ten thousand soldiers? That’s a lot! And that’s a lot to kill!” Jinpok mumbled as he watched. He was eager to fight thousands of men, when they were only two. But with the Marauder, it was possible. The Marauder was equipped with a heavy machine gun this time.
“Hey, can I be Rambo?”
“Ugh.”
Joonbum frowned as he heard Jinpok jokingly asking him.
“You should be careful. An arrow can still kill you.”
“I know, I know. I will wrap myself to the nails.”
They talked to each other as they drank the coffee and stood up. Both men hopped on the Marauder and started the vehicle. It let out a huge and low roar, rumbling from within.
“This is crazy! Like a real monster!” Joonbum commented as he prepared the ammo for the machine gun.
“Are you done?”
“Yeah, I’m done. I’m all covered up with the armor too. No need to worry about an arrow.”
“Be careful of the spears too. You might get hurt from the impact too.”
“Don’t worry.”
“I don’t want to deal with your wife when you get hurt.”
Joonbum spoke to Jinpok with a concerned look. Jinpok, however, was excited to test out the weapon.
“Let’s go then!”
Joonbum stepped on the accelerator and vehicle began moving out. Both were now coldly looking in front of them, preparing for the upcoming battle.
“Something’s coming!”
“M-monster!”
“It’s MONSTER!”
“RUN!”
“ARGH!”
The Marauder jumped out of the forest, into the advancing armies. It stamped everything down in its path. Whether it was a wooden structure or a human, it did not matter. The formation was destroyed immediately as men screamed in terror and agony. They tried to shoot arrows and spears at the machine, but it was futile.
“IT’S THE KHALODIAN MONSTER!”
“It’s a monster from the witch!”
Soldiers began realizing that they had heard about the monster they were facing. They remembered the rumor of the Red Monster that rained hell upon the Horun Empire’s forces during their last war. But it was too late to do anything but run.
