Chapter 232

“……”

Hoeun worried his lower lip between his teeth.

He couldn’t predict how the monsters would cross the river.

Would they simply charge in like the advance troops?

All at once?

All of them?

That recklessly?

Of course, if they did, it would be ideal for them.

Before the Sikgoe crossed the river, Hoeun expected them to pause.

To reorganize.

Scout the surroundings.

Do something.

Instead, the creatures at the front marched straight into the water.

“……”

Hoeun pressed the telescope tighter to his eye, watching each monster carefully.

The Sikgoe moved without hesitation.

It wasn’t even that they knew the area was safe.

It felt more like…

they simply didn’t think.

As if they couldn’t tell whether what lay before them was land or river.

Some flailed so clumsily it was hard to tell whether they were swimming or drowning.

At that pace, all hundred thousand crossing would take all night.

That was good.

Their objective was to stall for time.

Relieved, Hoeun lowered the telescope and rubbed his tired eyes.

Then—

“Crazy…”

Dongja noona cursed.

Startled, Hoeun looked at her.

Her gaze was locked on the river.

He immediately raised the telescope again.

The moment he saw it—

his mouth fell open.

“……”

The Sikgoe…

were building a dam.

The monsters that had seemed to be flailing in chaos were actually stacking themselves.

Layer by layer.

Double.

Triple.

Creating a low, crude barrier across the river.

From above, it almost looked like a dock.

Of course, it wasn’t enough to stop the water completely.

But more monsters kept entering.

And more.

And more.

The line extended.

Some shoved their heads and bodies into gaps to reinforce the structure.

Others climbed atop their own kind, making the barrier higher.

A black line slowly appeared across the once-blue river.

When the barrier reached a third of the river’s width—

water began pooling behind it.

The suddenly blocked current surged violently.

The creatures at the edge were swept away immediately.

But no one cared.

No one hesitated.

If one was washed away, two replaced it.

If two disappeared, three came next.

It didn’t take long.

Soon, the barrier stretched all the way across.

“……”

Hoeun bit his lower lip hard.

Something about that thick black line cutting across the bright blue river made his chest ache.

It felt as if invaders had drawn a line through their precious homeland—

without permission.

“They’ve crossed rivers before.”

Dongja said darkly.

Hoeun nodded.

“Yes.”

“They’ve already destroyed three countries.”

“This can’t be their first crossing.”

The moment he said it, realization struck him.

The Sikgoe were battle-hardened.

Just like Jeokudae.

They had conquered three entire nations.

Underestimating their strategy or combat ability would be fatal.

Hoeun swallowed.

His throat burned with tension.

His shoulders ached from how tightly he’d been holding himself.

The monsters kept reinforcing the dam.

Water pooled higher and higher behind it.

Naturally, the downstream current weakened.

The river became shallower.

Slower.

Then—

once conditions were stable—

the crossing began.

Water still rushed over the surface.

But for creatures several times larger than humans—

it only reached their waists.

They crossed the great Amnok River.

Walking.

When the leading creatures had crossed halfway—

the giant spherical clusters finally entered the water too.

They looked cumbersome.

Heavy.

Yet the Sikgoe forming those spheres didn’t move at all.

Not even slightly.

As if frozen.

As if maintaining that exact shape was critically important.

And through all of this—

Jeokudae did nothing.

Every instinct screamed to attack.

Kill as many as possible.

Now.

But no one moved.

Eventually, the first monsters reached the opposite shore.

“……”

Hoeun licked his dry lips.

He instinctively retreated farther into the tent.

He knew they couldn’t be seen from here.

Still.

He wanted to hide.

Not because he was scared.

Because they couldn’t be seen yet.

The first monsters spread out, creating space.

Among them were various antenna-bearing Sikgoe.

Yet they didn’t appear to give special orders.

Or receive them.

They simply existed within the swarm.

Like every other creature.

“……”

Hoeun scanned the ground where they stood.

He was worried their weight might collapse the pit Jeokudae had spent days digging.

Thankfully—

the ground held.

Time passed.

The first spherical cluster fully crossed.

It moved forward to make room for those behind.

Closer.

Closer.

To the trap.

“……”

Hoeun stopped breathing.

“……”

Dongja clenched her fists.

Finally—

the sphere reached the hidden pit.

And then—

BWOOOOOOOO—

The war horn roared across the sky.

The sound was deafening.

Buried ropes suddenly surfaced around the pit.

Then—

snap.

Snap snap snap.

All at once.

The ropes securing the wooden gates beneath the ground had been cut.

The released ropes lashed wildly through the air like thrashing fish.

Whip! Whiiip!

Nearby Sikgoe were struck.

Limbs were severed cleanly.

Then—

once all ropes snapped—

the earth trembled violently.

Dust exploded upward.

The ground shook as if it would collapse.

The Sikgoe panicked.

They scattered in confusion.

Then four lines split across the earth.

Forming a massive rectangle.

And—

the ground dropped.

Entirely.

KIEEEEEEEEK!

KAAAAAK!

The monsters—

and the enormous sphere they supported—

plunged straight into the pit.

They flailed wildly.

But escape was impossible.

Forward.

Backward.

Upside down.

They crashed into the pit, piling over each other in writhing chaos.

The monsters still on the opposite side erupted in frantic movement.

Far more of them rushed into the river now.

Crossing at incredible speed.

They looked ready to reach land in moments.

But Jeokudae had no intention of letting them claim this land so easily.

Hoeun suddenly looked up toward the mountain.

All he could see was tent cloth.

Still—

instinctively—

he thought:

Now. Right now.

At that exact moment—

BWOOOOOOOO—

Another horn sounded.

Then another.

Farther away.

Then another.

Even farther.

The calls echoed outward.

One after another.

Spreading.

Reaching farther and farther.

Until they were too distant to hear.

Yet Hoeun knew.

The signal was continuing.

All the way to the farthest point.

Meanwhile—

the Sikgoe continued crossing in frenzy.

Still—

Jeokudae remained hidden.

This horn wasn’t a signal to charge.

“……”

Hoeun stared at the river.

More precisely—

the water.

“Faster. Faster. Faster.”

Dongja pounded the ground.

Waiting.

Then—

KRRRRRUMBLE—

The earth shook.

Not like before.

Not like when a hundred thousand monsters moved.

This was heavier.

Bigger.

As if the earth itself was tearing apart.

At the same time—

the river began to surge violently.

From above, it looked like a giant water serpent twisting awake.

And then—

KWAAAAAAAASH!

A monstrous wall of water came crashing from upstream.

A flood.

At terrifying speed.

It surged down like a waterfall.

Straight toward the lower river.

Then—

CRAAASH!

It slammed into the monster dam.

Water exploded skyward.

The dam shattered instantly.

The Sikgoe forming it—

along with thousands crossing—

were swept away.

KIEEEEEK!

Their screams mixed with the roaring water.

“That’s it!”

Dongja clapped in delight.

Hoeun allowed himself a small smile.

Jeokudae had predicted the Sikgoe would cross somehow.

So they built a dam upstream.

Dongja noona and many others had worked day and night to block the flow.

Then, at the horn signal—

they destroyed it.

The plan had worked.

But that didn’t mean victory.

There hadn’t been enough time to store a massive amount of water.

The current was fierce now.

Too strong to cross.

But once the stored water ran out—

the river would calm again.

Not completely.

But enough.

And then—

the Sikgoe would build another dam.

They had the strength.

And the numbers.

So before that happened—

Jeokudae needed another way to stop them.

That method was—

…