WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 273: Boar Hunt (1)

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Gyeoul listened to the independent company singing.

「Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand. Between their loved home and the war’s desolation. Blessed with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.」

It was the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. Only, this was the fourth verse, one people rarely heard in ordinary life. The person who had first ordered the members of 2nd Platoon to memorize the song was Jin-seok, their platoon leader.

“Other Americans may not need to know it, but we cannot afford not to. Isn’t that right?”

That was what Jin-seok had told Gyeoul, along with the insistence that not only Jin-seok’s platoon, but the entire company ought to know it. Jin-seok always put survival first, and stayed wary of the strange times they lived in.

In any case, it was not a bad idea, so Gyeoul asked the company members what they thought.

No one objected.

「Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just. And this be our motto: In God is our trust. And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave. O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.」

Everyone was anxious. Even during a brief stop to inspect the vehicles and refuel before deployment, they gathered in small groups and practiced it from memory.

“This is embarrassing. I only know the first verse myself.”

The one who spoke to him was Captain Singh, the executive officer. But among Americans, Singh was actually on the better side for feeling embarrassed about that. More than half of Americans could not recite the full first verse.

Still, not knowing the national anthem did not matter.

“What matters is the heart.”

Gyeoul meant it.

“That is true, but... hearing it at a time like this feels different.”

The captain’s impression came from the militant lyrics. Unlike Korea’s national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner was a song of war and victory from start to finish. It spoke of seeing the glare of shells bursting over the ramparts, defeating the arrogant enemy and the terror of silence, and washing away the enemy’s foul footsteps with the enemy’s blood.

The sunset was turning pale. Gyeoul stared at the horizon where the sun touched the earth, and at the plain beneath it. Crops that had grown wild across the abandoned farmland had failed to endure the brutal summer and the dry, scorching ground. Everywhere he looked, they had withered yellow.

“It’s desolate. Even if this place becomes safe, restoring it will be a lot of work.”

Lieutenant Murray answered him.

“Isn’t it fortunate that restoration is even possible? Victory is not far off.”

The intelligence officer was sitting on the command armored vehicle. The air-conditioning had been turned off while the vehicle was being serviced, so sweat shone on Murray’s forehead. Even so, Murray looked cheerful. The war was going well.

The wind blowing from the western ridge carried a terrible stench of rotting corpses. Most of it had to be the smell of things already dead, but Gyeoul sensed battle within it.

“The wind is lukewarm now too. It’s about time for them to start crawling out. Tell each platoon to finish maintenance and board within thirty minutes. Report as soon as they’re ready.”

“Understood.”

Captain Singh turned Gyeoul’s instruction into detailed orders.

The plain where the company prepared for combat was the field of Boar Hunt. It was an operation to pursue and annihilate mutants trying to escape North America. The pattern of combat looked like shooting down a herd of fleeing boars, so people had started calling it Boar Hunt, and somehow that had become the official operation name.

“Oh. Are the batteries already dead...? I’ll need to get new ones.”

That was Schultz’s voice, coming from beside a nearby Humvee while Schultz checked rifle accessories. In addition to a laser sight, Schultz used a dot sight with a magnifier attached, a holographic reflex sight. It performed excellently in close- and mid-range engagements, making it well suited to Boar Hunt, where they chased down enemies and shot them dead. And with fewer Tricksters around, the burden of powering electronic equipment had fallen too.

Gyeoul, though, did not need to rely on a sight. Because of that, the batteries issued as supplies always piled up unused.

“Take these.”

Schultz barely caught the batteries Gyeoul threw.

“Whoa. Thank you. But are you sure you don’t need them? The moon will rise late tonight.”

“My bare eyes are enough. And it would be a problem if a Trickster happened to self-destruct.”

“I envy you. You really were born with it.”

It was admiration that needed no answer. The panting dachshund barked too, as if joining in.

“But are you not throwing that monstrosity away?”

“Hmm? Ah.”

Gyeoul felt along his ammo belt. What his fingers found was an apotropaic charm carved from a lion’s bone. The small ritual doll, which looked like a person from one angle and a monster from another, had yellowed from handling.

“I had completely forgotten it. It was a gift, so I didn’t think much of it... but it would definitely look inappropriate to other people. Considering the thought behind it, throwing it away would be awkward too... Hmm. Schultz, do you want it?”

Since Gyeoul received national attention, he always had to be conscious of how others saw him. A doll easily mistaken for black magic would make for bad gossip. When he detached it and held it out, the sergeant recoiled in disgust.

“I’ll pass. It looks more likely to curse me than protect me from infection. I’ll start dreaming about mutants. Maybe that Nigerian regimental commander hates you a lot, Company Commander. You know, according to soccer players from that part of the world, there are curses that steal the other side’s energy too.”

“No way.”

Gyeoul laughed lightly. The small ritual doll had originally been a treasured possession of the Nigerian regimental commander from the UN forces stationed at FOB Olema. After the Calpine 5 incident was settled, that regiment took over the Aidlin Geothermal Plant that Gyeoul’s independent company had defended.

The enlisted soldiers of the independent company had been reluctant to leave a base they had worked so hard to defend, but after seeing a shaman from the Nigerian regiment bury a buffalo skull in the center of the defense line and chant a spell, they became desperate to leave as quickly as possible. Schultz had been one of the people most visibly horrified at the time.

‘They even said that shaman had originally been a Christian chaplain.’

Gyeoul had politely declined the chaplain’s blessing. Rather than some uniquely African culture, it was probably better to see it as faith distorted in the face of biological disaster.

“I think there’s a good chance it’s a curse.”

Schultz was needlessly serious. It seemed worse because it concerned Gyeoul.

“That regimental commander was terribly jealous of us, wasn’t he? Said they wanted to fight too. Said they were unhappy because they had too few chances to earn merit.”

“That’s understandable. Given their position.”

“It doesn’t look good to me. Feels like they want to slide in once the war is going our way... But is it really impossible?”

“What is?”

“Deploying the United Nations forces into real combat. Maybe it was different before, but now it’s a one-sided sweep, so I wonder if morale or combat strength really need to be that high. Like you said, it would also be good to raise their spirits.”

A few enlisted soldiers besides Schultz showed interest in this conversation.

Blockade Command had handed Aidlin Plant and the lure beacon over to the Nigerian regiment and ordered the independent company to join Boar Hunt. In other words, it meant they judged Gyeoul’s independent company to possess more combat power than that regiment.

From Gyeoul’s perspective, though, that combat power did not simply mean firepower.

“Schultz. Think about why we’re stopped here.”

Even now, mechanics were sweating over each vehicle. They had no room to breathe because Gyeoul had ordered them to finish the work within thirty minutes. Soldiers without maintenance skills had limited ways to help. Among soldiers from the mainland, quite a few had learned basic vehicle maintenance through their own cars, but that did not apply to soldiers from refugee backgrounds.

On the other side, Corporal D'Angelo was listening to the technicians complain over a small drone with its wings removed. Something did not seem to be going well, because she scratched the inside of her ballistic helmet irritably.

Before the company stopped, three of the four small drones in a set had malfunctioned. It was the result of long exposure to blazing direct sunlight that tested the limits of their durability, and to fine dust.

The same went for all kinds of vehicles and cooling equipment. It had cooled compared to the scorching afternoon, but that was why soldiers were still out of their vehicles at sunset, with the temperature still above thirty degrees.

Schultz already looked convinced, but Gyeoul explained anyway. The soldiers might have complaints. The company had gone a long time without rest.

“We’re practically operating in a desert. Overworked equipment is breaking down at all hours. Even we’re in this state despite receiving proper logistical support. Now imagine sending the United Nations forces into actual combat when their equipment is all over the place. The operation would run into problems constantly. And replacing all their equipment would be difficult too.”

That meant it was better to assign them to rear base defense.

‘The navy is different.’

That side had different combat power to begin with, and both the degree of help the U.S. military needed and the environment were different.

“Phew. I understand what you mean.”

Schultz clicked his tongue, and the dachshund licked Schultz’s combat boot.

Gyeoul rolled the detached ritual doll in his palm, then noticed the communications officer Evans watching it.

“Do you want it?”

“I’d be grateful, if you’re giving it away.”

“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you liked things like this.”

“It’s unique, sir. And it’s an item that passed through your hands. It’ll be good for putting my friends in their place over drinks.”

“So you won’t sell it off somewhere.”

“Of course not.”

After hearing Evans’s firm answer, Gyeoul handed over the charm. But Captain Singh, who seemed like the type to be tolerant about this sort of thing, looked surprisingly displeased. Evans, who had been happy, seemed a little flustered and managed their expression.

“Captain, is something wrong?”

When Gyeoul asked, Singh denied it vaguely.

“It’s nothing.”

“If there’s something, say it.”

“It really is nothing. Seeing that charm just reminded me of the way things have been going lately.”

“The way things have been going?”

“You know. Things like the Templars and the Skeleton Madonna. It’s sad to see people falling into fanaticism.”

“...It’ll get better.”

“I hope so.”

The Templars were something he had heard about once from the military priest before leaving Olema. Along with Christ's Militia, they were a heresy spreading in the South, and the Catholic Church was taking them seriously.

The true identity of the Skeleton Madonna, meanwhile, was Santa Muerte, an indigenous faith from Central and South America. Of course, Skeleton Madonna was not the official name. It came from a sensational article title about the situation in Central and South America. It was hard to believe the reporter had not known the real name. The religion had been famous even before the plague spread.

The problem was that the faith had come to the forefront as a symbol of the drug cartels.

‘It’s amazing that irregular military organizations have survived until now.’

The private armies of drug dealers, armed to the level of regular troops, had fought the plague in maze-like city streets created by the lack of urban planning and in jungles familiar to them. During that time, the United States had supported them with weapons, ammunition, and food to ease the pressure on the quarantine front. People who knew their past relationship could only laugh in disbelief. Joanna herself had been in a position to crack down on them, and they were the reason she had developed a mild fear of heights.

In truth, their survival was probably a miracle made possible because the mutants had concentrated on breaking through the blockade lines. The mutants might even have left them alive on purpose.

But that fight was now at its limit. The plague forces pushed back from the mainland quarantine front were moving south on a massive scale.

Americans wanted to look away from the people spilling out into the sea. Right-wing media trying to paint them as cultist groups came from the same context.

‘The bigger problem is that it’s close to true...’

Even good-natured Captain Singh showed only disgust toward fanaticism.

“Sir. Report says half of the Ravens will be hard to reuse after all.”

It was Corporal D'Angelo. Raven was the name of the company’s unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. In other words, it was the technicians’ declaration of surrender after wrestling with all those minor faults.

“I’ll tell First Sergeant Merriweather to request new ones.”

“They said the control unit (GCS) also needs its circuit board replaced.”

“I’ll remember. We should be able to get through today somehow, at least. Good work.”

The corporal returned to her place.

A little later, reports came in from each platoon at intervals of several minutes, saying maintenance was complete. It was around the time sensory correction began growing even denser. Gyeoul transmitted on the company channel.

“Company, prepare to move.”

Aerial reconnaissance had caught mutant movement. It was a large group that had hidden in the mountain range circling the plain to avoid the brutal heat and airstrikes. Precise bombing was being carried out even at that moment, but because the mutant horde was focused solely on preserving its numbers, its density was low, and the airstrikes were not very efficient.

========== Author’s Note ==========

#Lindsey Pavao, “Say Aah”

Someone once asked me about the songs I enjoy listening to, so I said I would share them one at a time.

This is the first. Though I’m sure many of you already know this song.

#Q&A

Q. CurryRice: @Putting all talk outside the work aside... the more I look at Chairman Go Geon-cheol, the more I feel he resembles Yang Yongbin Shangjiang. To put it badly, as expressed in the novel, he feels like someone with a consistent madness. To put it nicely, he has a clear conviction in his duty, as a soldier or as a merchant. Personally, I think he’s closer to the former...

A. As you said, they are similar but not the same. Shangjiang is someone who gives off a sense of cognitive dissonance.

Q. Kyogre: @The people saying it’s a shame because it’s a reality part are probably people who want the game content to progress. Therefore, the peerless sword technique called “double release,” where you upload the chat and then immediately upload the story progression too... mph mph. I’m kidding. I’m sending a manuscript coupon to strengthen your mental fortitude.

A. Double release... sob.

Dear readers, please read the novel with peace of mind! The author’s mental state is safe!

Q. Deathandeath: @Among the 18,000 or so people reading this, fewer than a hundred say they’re dissatisfied with the chat parts. People like me, who like the comment parts and actually wish there were more of them, don’t bother leaving comments. We’re satisfied. But reducing the parts because of opinions that barely number a few dozen feels a bit off. In my case, whenever a chat part appears, my interest in the story shoots up. Of course, since some people may be uncomfortable with them, I can’t tell you to increase the amount, but I hope you at least include as much as before.

A. Thank you for the opinion. But I decided on the current ratio and placement after thinking over many things, so I think it will remain this way in the future.

Q. Eeiko: @Author, do you know that the previous chapter has more comments than the kiss scene? As expected, the people here really like you, author...

A. Hehe... thank you as always. Still, the view count can’t match when the kiss scene came out. Back then it was more than twice what it is now...

Q. Luka: @ To recharge your childlike innocence, I would like to recommend two works on Joara. Gunther, a rare orthodox fantasy these days, and Kardashov Infinite Corporation, which has an awful update schedule but is a decent mix of The Martian and Dimensional Mercenary.

A. Thank you for the recommendations. I’ll read Gunther and The Martian when I have time. I remember reading Kardashov up to around episode 100 and then stopping. It copied and pasted Warhammer 40K’s Pariah setting to such a degree that... it made me frown.

Q. Refreshing Rain: @ Author, by the way, does Parang not throw tantrums at Gaeul, saying they want to see their older brother? Will Parang appear in the future?? I feel like seeing cute Parang would fill me with childlike innocence, hahaha. And please accept this manuscript coupon! I reject your refusal.

A. Parang will probably appear once or twice. This is only a plan, so it may change. I’ll gratefully accept the coupon.

Q. Asirien: (omitted) @ As of now, have the episodes and amount until completion increased? As a reader, I would be nothing but happy, but... when will the Yang Yongbin foreshadowing be resolved? @ Is Gyeoul suspicious about that fanatical church in the camp and what happened on the Pacific ferry? Can he return to the camp?

A. Predicting length is always hard. My goal is to finish within the next 100 chapters, but I don’t know if it will go as planned. / He has suspicions, but there are many other things going on right now, and he has no way to act on it, so it has been put off. Whether he returns to the camp is a question that would become a spoiler, so it’s hard to answer.

Q. PleasePickUpSoap: @There is no such thing as a good reader in this world. If you are a Great Old One, you must have seen countless dimensions of the universe, so why do you still believe they exist?

A. Because they really exist. Santa Claus may not exist, but good readers do. There must be at least one reader who presses recommend on every chapter, reads The Wind and Star Cluster, and is ready to allow the author to rest at any time.

Q. fnlshsk: @Hey, author fellow, when is the book coming out?

A. I sent the short extra story to be included in Volume 3’s appendix today. It will go to print soon, so you should be able to see it within this month at the earliest, or sometime next month at the latest. :)

Footnotes:

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