Marauder of the Apocalypse
Chapter 121: Moving

Our resources had grown during the move. We'd completely cleaned out the small stockpiles the moths had accumulated, and we'd filled our ranks with personnel we could use in limited ways.

I briefly thought that nomadic life might not be bad—roaming the city and raiding like nomads, if only we had enough ammunition.

Of course, it was just a momentary fantasy. Wandering without a destination would be too difficult.

"Ugh, my bones."

"Dad, my feet hurt."

Evening had arrived at our temporary campsite, an empty commercial building. My companions and their families groaned as they moved tables and chairs around the store.

They were setting up temporary barricades. While adults stacked the barricades, children meticulously tied table and chair legs together with banner strings.

Meanwhile, others were putting firewood into stoves to cook meals, preparing food, and figuring out how to block the light from showing outside.

Every building in the world might be a raider's home, but there were quite a few things to set up temporarily each time we moved. It would be better to settle in a place with decent facilities.

While this was happening, the moths kneeling in the corner of the store quietly spoke up.

"What's going to happen to us?"

I turned to look at the moths. They were gathered in the corner of the store. Several companions watching them kept their distance of about six meters, guns pointed.

"There's something I need you to do tomorrow. Once you do it, I'll let you go."

A lie. Why would I let them go? They were potential enemies with combat experience against us. There was no benefit in releasing them.

The moths looked around with unreadable expressions, then spoke calmly.

"I don't know what you're planning to make us do, but we need to eat to have strength to work. At least give us some water."

"No, that's fine. Going hungry for a day isn't going to prevent you from doing what we need."

These people were disposable. No need to feed them. As I grinned while speaking, the moths narrowed their eyes. I caught glimpses of them subtly moving their hands or feet, but they quickly went limp again.

I laughed and approached them.

"Why? Want to eat and gain strength to escape?"

"If possible. You're planning to kill us after the job is done, aren't you?"

An honest answer. Ordinary lies didn't work anymore. Fundamental distrust lay between people, making everyone suspicious of every word.

I glanced at their limbs. Their ten fingers, pressed together like they were clapping, were bound with cable ties, and their wrists were tied with rope. Their ankles were bound like handcuffs using their own shoelaces. They could walk, but with an awkward gait.

These restraints were designed to prevent them from having any opportunity to escape if they momentarily let their guard down.

Looking at their pale white skin, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

'Should I put nooses around their necks too?'

Should I hang nooses around their necks like for an execution, keeping them standing? So they'd die if they tried to run or relaxed their bodies to sleep?

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything suitable to tie knots to. Nothing on the ceiling.

Lowering my gaze, I looked at the moths again.

"If you do a good job tomorrow, I might let you live."

"Haha."

The moths let out hollow laughs. They openly scanned the Immortal personnel and examined the building structure, clearly looking for escape opportunities.

I watched them for a moment, then gestured to Jeon Do-hyung.

"Let's tie them more thoroughly."

"They're already tied pretty thoroughly, aren't they?"

"Not just their limbs, their necks too."

I waved my hand at Jeon Do-hyung, who was looking at me quizzically, and explained the knot I had in mind.

"You know those knots that tighten when pulled? Like cowboy or hangman's knots."

"Yes. But there's nothing to hang them from on the ceiling."

"Not the ceiling. Around people's necks."

Make hangman's knots on both ends of a rope and place them around the necks of two people paired together. If one person runs too quickly, the nooses tighten, and if one person dies, it becomes a horrible burden on the other.

Jeon Do-hyung obediently searched for rope and took it in hand, but exhaled with disgust.

"You're really going to go this far?"

"They'll be sleeping in the same space as us. If we make even a small mistake and give these people freedom to move, we're dead."

The moths, who had been complying with their captivity, looked at me in disbelief and couldn't hold back a curse.

"You sick bastard."

"I'm just not letting my guard down."

***

That night, I didn't sleep deeply. Not because I was in an unfamiliar sleeping place, but because of the potential threat from the moths.

I woke repeatedly to check on the night watch and the moths. During one of these checks, an incident occurred in the early morning.

"My neck, my neck! I can't breathe!"

Two people were flapping like fish, having apparently pulled their knots tight while sleeping. The night watch approached in confusion, and I moved silently to grab his shoulder.

"Ah! Who's—Captain?"

"It's so noisy I can't sleep."

My head was still foggy from having briefly fallen asleep. Even the dim lantern light looked blurry.

My companion was gesturing with his gun toward the flailing moths.

"They look like they're dying, so I was just going to loosen the knots on their necks a bit. If we want to use them tomorrow, they need to be alive."

"No. If they're going to fight well tomorrow, they need to sleep well."

Rubbing my eyes, I strode between the moths and crouched in front of the two people making choking sounds. Their hugely dilated pupils looked at me, but in the dim light of the deep night, only black shadows seemed to be reflected in them.

"Please... help us..."

"Stay quiet when others are sleeping. Don't you know basic etiquette? If you're this noisy, I'll have no choice but to close your mouths myself."

I reached out and grabbed both of their heads, pulling them in opposite directions. The knots tightened with a constricting sound. Now these two moths couldn't even moan. They flailed their bodies and wriggled their bound limbs but couldn't properly resist.

After some time, when their breathing had stopped, I threw their heads roughly to the floor.

A moth who had been sleeping with a stiff posture nearby flinched. I whispered.

"Don't be noisy and let them die. Whether you're hungry, need the bathroom, or your neck is being strangled, ignore it. Your job right now is to shoot and kill these guys if they try anything funny. Not to help them."

"Yes, yes."

It didn't matter if half of them died. We'd already raided their resources. It wouldn't be a big problem if we couldn't use them in combat. Even if they were usable manpower for battle, they could still die.

This moment was more important than future battles.

Giving them any leeway would be the bigger problem. Why do so many movie villains cause problems by responding inadequately with their futuristic and humanitarian approaches?

"Make sure to brief the next night watch during the shift change."

"Yes."

I glanced at my companion, who had stiffened like a disciplined soldier, and returned to my sleeping spot. Thanks to the warning, the store was completely quiet.

***

The next morning.

Everyone walked weakly with dark circles under their eyes, as if they hadn't slept. Their concentration seemed scattered, and their bodies lacked strength.

At least the slow pace made it bearable for everyone.

I looked at the group of moths walking at the front of our column. Paired in twos with red hangman's knots around their necks, they stumbled forward, pushed by the pressure of gun barrels behind them.

When one person fell, the rope pulled and tightened the knots around both people's necks, constricting them.

My companions stopped walking.

"What should we do?"

"How can we use people who can't even walk properly in battle?"

I approached with my hammer and tapped their heads lightly. These moths were prisoners and potential threats. Since they couldn't be motivated by benefits, they had to be paralyzed by fear.

I smiled as I wiped the blood on my hammer on one moth's clothes.

The moths, who had shown some spirit before, appeared drained overnight. Gaunt complexions, trembling eyes, dirty clothes.

They hadn't eaten, barely had water, couldn't sleep, and weren't allowed to use the bathroom.

At some point, one moth screamed out.

"If you're going to kill us, just do it! Stop draining our blood! Why are you torturing us like this!"

"Torture?"

Me? When? I just maintained the minimum necessary vigilance. If it were torture, I wouldn't have done it this way. I would have shined flashlights in their eyes all night...

No, I don't torture people. I genuinely didn't understand and asked with confusion.

"What would I gain by torturing you?"

Isn't it just a waste of time? Why do such things? I wasn't making scarecrow-like symbols for intimidation, or using them as bait to lure others.

The moth yelled.

"Then what is this? You keep completely disregarding basic human rights!"

"What a strange person. You seem to have a headache—let me treat you."

A few strokes with my hammer would cure it completely. My hammer gently tapped the crown of his head, and the moth stopped spouting nonsense.

"I told you I have a use for you—is your memory bad? Does anyone else not remember?"

I looked around at the moths. They avoided my gaze. I returned to the combat cart and spoke briefly.

"Then keep walking. Don't get in the way."

After walking for a long time in silence, we arrived at the townhouse.

A townhouse built at the end of a road leading up a small mountain. Identical single-family homes clustered closely together on both sides of the road.

The real estate guy pointed to it and said.

"That's the townhouse."

"Looks heavily guarded."

I quietly looked up at the townhouse grounds.

The road that could be called an entrance was blocked. A barricade made of cars. The two houses adjacent to the barricade seemed to function like watchtowers.

There were actually human shadows standing on the townhouse rooftops. They seemed to be moving busily, having spotted us coming up.

'An uphill road. We're positioned below. The sight lines and other factors are disadvantageous for us.'

But it was awkward to turn back. Construction site soundproof walls and wooden fences surrounded the townhouse grounds.

"Let's try attacking."

"It doesn't look easy. Are you sure about this?"

Park Yang-gun said worriedly. I grinned and pointed at the moths.

"Let's make these guys charge the front, and we'll shoot from behind. At least we can figure out what kind of weapons they're using."