The Little Prince in the Ossuary
Chapter 84

00084 — #Night at the lake–

#Night at the lake (3)

A troop totaling thirty-five headed to Salinas Dam, including Gyeo-ul, twenty-seven soldiers from Charlie Company, a medical officer, three engineers, and four tank soldiers. They rode in nine Humvees and one bus. Despite their troop size, the fortress command’s consideration for Gyeo-ul had allowed them to bring such a large number of vehicles.

Gyeo-ul had persistently refused to bring tanks, but the commander had forced it upon him, explaining, “I want to minimize the possibility of losing you.”

In the commander’s view, this was more of a necessity than a personal favor. At that time, there were only a few Americans who did not know the boy officer. If he ended up perishing in the operation, more than a hundred million people would be upset.

Gyeo-ul was sitting in the front seat of a Humvee. The rainfall and fog had reduced vision to an extreme extent. It was quite hard to see a hundred meters with the naked eye. Things were a little better for Gyeo-ul, though, who had received eye correction with “personal firearms skill” and intuition correction with “battle sense” and “survival sense.”

The road south was cut off in many places by traces of the bombing. There were many places where the ground had receded and collapsed and, depending on the location, muddy torrents flowed.

Gyeo-ul, who had spotted one such torrent, raised his hand. It was a stop sign. The shooter in the vehicle following delivered the signal backward, and the ranks then stopped in order. The gap between cars was narrow, but there was no chance of a collision because they had not been speeding up in the first place.

One person got out of each car and came to the front of the line. Gyeo-ul jumped sideways off the roof and pointed toward the torrent.

“Doesn’t that look a little dangerous?”

The road had collapsed at about twenty meters ahead of them, and the water was passing through it. Several streams were merging, the surface choppy because of them crossing into each other. Even though their ears were full of wind and rain, the sound of water flowing was clear to the soldiers.

Jeffrey, the platoon leader, nodded in agreement.

“It does. The depth isn’t a problem, but I’m afraid the cars will be swept away.”

As Jeffrey said, depth was definitely not a problem. By looking at the trees on the side of the road that were still holding up against the current, the depth could be roughly estimated at a meter. Each vehicle had a chimney-like snorkel, giving it the ability to pass through water that would reach its roof’s height. The tank had no snorkel, but it could still overcome up to 1.2 meters without any special equipment.

However, the current was another thing altogether. Gyeo-ul approached and dipped his open hand into the water to measure how strongly it pushed back.

‘I’m not sure.’

Combining the weight of the number of people on board, equipment, ammunition, and other loads, each Humvee weighed just under three tons. There was a high possibility of them being swept away by the current. It would be better to put the bus ahead here. The U.S. military tank (M1A2) weighed more than sixty tons. It would hold on strongly.

Gyeo-ul inquired, “Shall we winch each car across, with the tank at the front?”

“I was just about to suggest that.” Jeffrey grinned. He couldn’t speak as comfortably as before, now that the boy officer was of a higher rank. However, his attitude was generally the same whether speaking casually or formally. That was good for Gyeo-ul. It was much better than some soldiers who froze in his presence every time they met, as if they were seeing a general.

Gyeo-ul considered, looking at the bus that was moving to the front with its turbine making a lot of noise.

‘But it’s worth bringing it here.’

There was a ring on the back of the tank that was made to be used at times like this. The same went for the Humvees. Gyeo-ul pulled out the lead Humvee’s winch and hung it on the back of the tank. Soon, the signal came back that the connection had been completed on the last vehicle. Finally, Gyeo-ul signaled the tank commander to move. He saw the tank commander say a few words into the tank’s radio; then the ranks slowly began to move. Ten vehicles had been connected, so it should not make a difference in speed.

The heavy tank slanted into the water. Rather than going sideways of the current, it was to resist diagonally. The vehicle carrying Gyeo-ul then went into the water. Rough and dangerous vibrations wound around it. It felt like it was being pushed to the side little by little and getting caught. It was proof that it was pulling hard from the front and the back.

The water bubbled up, a myriad of drops of water running up towards Gyeo-ul. The dust crumbs remained in the area. However, it didn’t last very long, and it was all because of the heavy rain.

‘Can they see?’

Gyeo-ul wondered about the driver’s vision. Sneaking under the turret, he saw the water currently covered half of the car’s windows. The soldier behind the wheel stood up from his seat; taking a half-standing position, he was apparently eager to snoop around to see the front somehow.

Gyeo-ul ordered loudly, “You don’t have to look directly at it! Just maintain the direction and drive! If the direction changes, I’ll let you know!”

“Oh, yes, sir.”

Even after sitting down, the driver was on edge the entire time. He must have been trained to cross water in the car, but reality was always different from training.

However, it was a quick crossing, and the rest of the vehicles also began escaping the current. However, everyone felt more anxious when only the rear vehicles were left since there was little or no power holding them from behind. In consideration of this, the vehicles that had come ashore continued to pull.

Finally, the last vehicle climbed ashore. Although they tried their best to wind the winch, they succeeded in landing without a hitch. The guards from each vehicle waved and cheered. The noise worried him, but Gyeo-ul didn’t say anything. Their destination was still far away, after all. Even if there were mutants who followed after hearing the noise, all they’d see would be tire marks.

All the vehicles were disconnected and started running again. There was mud all over the place, but the speed did not decrease. This was down to the wisdom of an engineer, who’d suggested before their departure that they put snow equipment on the Humvee. Snow equipment in name, anyway, but it would be good for passing through the mud. Gyeo-ul had accepted his opinion, so now they removed the Humvees’ wheels and placed triangles of Mattracks on them. This way, the vehicles’ weight was dispersed so that they were less likely to be buried in the mud.

Fortunately, they didn’t encounter many mutants.

‘Is our average speed about twenty kilometers per hour?’

Under the sunset sky, Gyeo-ul unfolded the map without any light. It was Gyeo-ul’s role as commander to determine the tricky paths. Investment in「Map reading」 was inevitable. To Gyeo-ul, it seemed unnecessary. It would be helpful to have, but it wasn’t too bad without it.

‘But it’s much better than going the wrong way.’

They had accumulated many experience resources so far, so this waste was affordable. It was difficult to identify distant terrain, and the road had now twisted so often that there was no more necessary skill right now.

The line of cars soon entered a familiar road. It was the route to the Black Mountain sawmill. An abandoned village could be seen on the front, the name of which was Creston. It was a small residence only three blocks across. Gyeo-ul decided to push through it, though the vehicles following seemed a little surprised when the signal was delivered. Of course, they had expected to take a detour.

Still, the radio was quiet. The instructions to keep radio silence were being followed. Instead, a senior-level soldier in the front seat asked, “Are you really going through the town? What if the enemy ambushes us?”

Gyeo-ul replied, “There could be mutants, but it wouldn’t be an ambush. How would they know we were coming?”

‘A few of them could pop out,’ he thought.

The noise of the Humvees and the bus was being washed away by the rain and wind and buried in thunder. The mutants’ vision would have been reduced, too, so it was as Gyeo-ul expected. The first mutant to discover the line of vehicles saw them only after the leading vehicle had entered the village. The entrance to the village protruded from the first house and then opened its mouth wide.

“Kya- [Tuk!]”

It was a cry intended to call another mutant, but the drawn-out sound was broken by the low, dull noise of a shot. The bullet broke the mutant’s teeth and went into its skull. Before the staggering mutant even collapsed, the leading car had already passed by it.

“Speed up.”

Gyeo-ul sent a signal to the driver, and the ranks accelerated, which led to their noise increasing. Fortunately, the number of mutants popping up all over the village proved to be meaningless. Gyeo-ul shot some of them as soon as he could and ignored the rest. The shooters from the subsequent vehicles then dealt with the remaining mutants with their own skills, although not as neatly as the boy. It was a three-point shot and auto shot.

Some mutants who managed to chase them to the edge of the village without being killed were swept away by the shallow current. Although the vehicles were heavy enough to pass through it, the mutants—whose weight couldn’t be more than a human’s—were in a different situation. It was the type of current that was only a few centimeters deep, yet could still kill a person. The mutants fell like someone had grabbed their ankles and floundered down.

The soldiers, hungry for laughter, laughed out loud.

It was night by the time they came to the entrance of the Black Mountain. A sky without stars and an eight-kilometer mountain path to pass in the dark. Gyeo-ul thought that it would be the tensest part.

California Route 229, which ran north and south through the mountainous area, was a narrow, open, one-way road. They knew that the vehicles would need to pass this point carefully. The only condition was that the lights could not be used. The Humvee drivers would have to rely entirely on the narrow vision of their night vision goggles. Meanwhile, the tank was equipped with basic infrared surveillance equipment, but it was hard to say if it was any good.

Even if there had been no other enemy, the environment itself turned out to be an opponent. It was okay when there were black forests on the left and right sides, but the tension rose when cliffs and slopes appeared in their place. Even the laid-back Gyeo-ul couldn’t relax, and the drivers themselves looked sick.

Due to the muddy water flowing from high places, the roads were not properly visible. The road was no longer flat because it was filled with dirt, and the spots that had collapsed now looked flat with water. There was a high possibility of getting stuck in the wrong place with just one mistake.

As a result, their speed was far slower than walking. The speedometer’s needle did not exceed two or three points. The driver stopped frequently, measuring the road before moving on again. They also had to be wary of the possibility of falling rocks.

‘Did I pick the wrong way?’

Gyeo-ul stopped the entire caravan. He signaled that there was no need for anyone to get out, and when he got off the turret, he tapped the driver on the shoulder.

“I’ll get out of the car and lead you. Follow me.”

The driver instantly freaked out. “What?! It’s too dangerous! Didn’t you see the mutants earlier? If you get swept away, we won’t be able to find your body! You could misstep on a puddle and fall!”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll put a winch on my belt. If you think it’s getting too dangerous, pull it.”

The winch’s motor, which ran on the Humvee, could hold 6,000 pounds (2.7 tons). It wouldn’t struggle to pull Gyeo-ul. However, both the driver and another soldier shook their heads.

“Oh my God, and what are you going to do about the rocks? I’ll work harder, just stay inside.”

“Listen to him, lieutenant. At this rate, there will be no problem in completing the mission. I don’t think the dam will collapse in just an hour or two. And it can’t be helped if it collapses. Between the dam breaking down and losing you, there’s a lot more damage in the latter.”

‘It’s going to be too difficult to persuade them. We need to save time.’

Gyeo-ul shook his head. “This is a decision I am making as a commander. I won’t take any counterarguments.”

The order was absolute. There was no further backlash.

However, the senior soldier made a grave expression, entirely out of concern for the boy officer. While feeling good about it, Gyeo-ul got out of the car without saying a word. Splash! The shallow current split around his heel, and about half of his ankle bone was submerged under the water. Gyeo-ul felt a gentle resistance to one side. It wasn’t at all dangerous.

Gyeo-ul pulled the winch out and hung the hook on the end on his belt, pulling it tight to ensure it was engaged properly. This behavior was not for himself: the soldiers in the two front Humvees were watching. He couldn’t see their eyes because of the night vision goggles, but he thought they were probably not blinking, not at all.

The boy smiled and waved his hand. The driver hit his head against the steering wheel, and instead of looking at Gyeo-ul, the soldier sitting in the shooter seat stared at the dark sky, shoulders drooping.

This was not just a reckless move. If the “survival sense” reached the realm of genius and the “crisis detection” of ten grades, the chances of dying in accidents in these places were greatly reduced.

‘Still, it doesn’t mean that the risk is zero.’

However, Gyeo-ul had decided to take the risk. After all, this tense situation would also be good for audiences from other worlds. He stepped through the water and began to move slowly.