A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 75. Divorce (1)

“Have you heard about General Max?”

“Why? What about him?”

Inside the barracks of a sentry stationed at the most remote part of the Zone, a soldier who had just returned from leave started to share some news he had heard from the central area with the other soldiers.

“They say General Max admitted to ordering Lieutenant Bones’ murder, and now it’s causing a huge uproar in the central command.”

“Did he really admit to ordering it?”

“I can’t believe it. Is General Max really the type of person to do something like that?”

“Well, I don’t believe it either, but since it came straight from his own mouth, we can’t exactly ignore it.”

“Yeah, if the person himself confessed, it’s not like we can argue against it.”

“To be honest, I had my doubts about Lieutenant Bones.”

“Same here.”

The incident where the 2nd team, led by Colonel Samson, was killed during an extermination operation was widely known even among the regular soldiers. Naturally, Colonel Samson’s testimony—claiming that General Max had ordered the murder of Lieutenant Bones—had spread throughout the Zone. However, there were so many soldiers who admired General Max’s character that hardly anyone believed it.

Some said it was suspicious that Bones had survived even though the Colonel had supposedly tried to kill him. On the other hand, others argued that if Bones had really staged a rebellion, would he have been able to kill not only the Colonel but also several veteran officers beneath him?

But who could have predicted that the matter would be settled with General Max’s confession?

“There’s a rumor going around that there’s actually a different culprit.”

“A different culprit?”

“Well… you remember how Captain Josef passed away recently, right?”

“We all lined up for the funeral. I still can’t believe he died so tragically during training…”

“It wasn’t just an accident.”

“If it wasn’t an accident, then what was it?”

“Divine punishment.”

“Divine punishment?!”

The soldier who had been telling the story hastily put a finger to his lips, motioning for the others to lower their voices.

“Keep it down! You know the Colonel will flip out if he finds out we’re gathered here talking about this!”

“Okay, okay… but what do you mean by divine punishment? Did he get struck by lightning or something?”

“Exactly.”

“What?”

“He was struck by lightning and died on the spot during training.”

When the soldier made a slicing motion across his throat, the others stared at him with expressions that said, ‘Can something like that really happen?’

“But why would that be considered divine punishment? Isn’t that just bad luck?”

“And what does this have to do with a different culprit?”

“There’s talk that Captain Josef was the one who actually ordered Colonel Samson’s death and was punished by the heavens for it.”

“What?! Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”

“The thing is, the source of this rumor comes from the officers. There are quite a few soldiers who overheard them talking about it.”

“Wow…”

Now that it was said that the officers had been discussing it, it didn’t seem quite as far-fetched. Emotionally, too, it made more sense to suspect Captain Josef rather than General Max.

Besides, since many of the soldiers had already been internally denying the possibility of General Max committing such a crime, the idea that Josef had been the true culprit and received divine punishment for it felt strangely comforting.

As the soldiers fell silent, lost in their thoughts, the one who had just returned from leave still had more to share, and he opened his mouth again, speaking with an ominous tone.

“But do you guys know this?”

“Know what?”

“Don’t ask, just tell us already, you bastard.”

“Do you know the real reason why Lord Haydam is called the Miracle of Crevasse?”

“Isn’t it because he fell into a crevasse and survived?”

“I’ve heard about that too. But what I find even harder to believe is that he supposedly killed four large monsters with just four bullets.”

In fact, Haydam had only killed two monsters, but the story had been distorted among the soldiers. It became a rumor that ‘Lord Haydam had killed four of the five large monsters hunted during the extermination mission. One was taken down by a boy soldier, two were killed by Lord Haydam, and the remaining two were crushed by the monsters Haydam had killed, making them easy to finish off. We’re alive today thanks to him,’ according to the officers who participated in the mission.

“You could say it was luck that he survived the crevasse, but you need real skill to take down monsters.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard the story about Lord Haydam killing four large monsters, but this is the first time I’m hearing he did it with just four bullets.”

“Right? That means he took them down with a single shot each. Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?”

“It’s true.”

“It’s true?”

“I asked if you know why Lord Haydam is called the Miracle of Crevasse. He isn’t called a ‘miracle’ just because he survived.”

“Then…?”

As the curious soldiers leaned in closer, the returned soldier lowered his voice even more to make the story sound more eerie.

“Lord Haydam is called the ‘Miracle of Crevasse’ because when he was rescued, there was a massive monster lying dead beside him. A monster that had never been seen before in the Zone.”

“Oh, that…”

One of the sentries who had been listening spoke up.

“Are you talking about that furry giant they brought into the Zone recently?”

“Exactly.”

“Wow, I wondered where they found that thing after the extermination mission was over.”

“I heard that the monster had been threatening His Excellency, and that’s why Lord Haydam jumped into the crevasse to lure it away.”

Hearing that, all the soldiers listening to the story were shocked.

“What? He didn’t fall by accident—he jumped in on purpose to save His Excellency?”

“Wait a minute, but didn’t you say that the monster was already dead? Are you telling me Lord Haydam killed that monster while he was still down in the crevasse?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“This is insane…”

“But do you know how that monster died?”

The soldiers, already shocked by what they’d heard so far, were now listening with tense expressions, realizing the story wasn’t over yet.

“How… how did it die?”

“They say its head was impaled by a gigantic icicle.”

“Whoa, so the icicle fell and saved him?”

“Even though Lord Haydam fell into the crevasse, they say he didn’t have a single injury. He sure was lucky.”

The soldiers seemed to assume that there was no way Haydam had killed the giant monster himself. Seeing this, the returned soldier shook his head and spoke again.

“This is where the real eerie part comes in. That icicle didn’t fall naturally.”

“What do you mean?”

“They say it was shot down.”

“Shot?”

“You’re not about to tell me Lord Haydam shot it, are you?”

“Why would Lord Haydam shoot something like that?”

“He must have shot at the icicle to make it fall on the monster’s head.”

“Wait, so you’re saying Lord Haydam shot the icicle to make it fall, and it perfectly pierced the monster’s head, killing it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

The barracks fell silent for a moment.

It was an utterly ridiculous story.

Surviving the fall into the crevasse was a real event, something they could believe. But the idea that a ten-year-old child could make such a cold and calculated decision against a massive monster, hundreds of times his size, and successfully carry it out—it was hard to accept.

“No way, that can’t be real. Isn’t the commander’s residence just hyping him up?”

“I heard His Excellency actually didn’t want Lord Haydam to join the extermination mission.”

“Why not?”

“He was afraid it was too dangerous.”

“What? We go out there every year! Is his child the only one that matters?”

“Well, that’s just how normal people think, isn’t it? Usually, it’s orphans like us who are sent out on these dangerous missions.”

The atmosphere in the barracks became somber, quite different from just a moment ago.

“So… even though it was dangerous, Lord Haydam insisted on joining the extermination mission?”

“From what I’ve heard, he was extremely eager to participate. You know that Lord Haydam was the one who changed the mission to a small, elite force this time, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Our Colonel was grumbling non-stop about not being able to go.”

“The Colonel was upset about not getting the chance for glory, but honestly, we were relieved. For regular soldiers like us, going on those extermination missions usually means being in the front lines and getting killed or maimed.”

There wasn’t a single soldier there who disagreed.

This was the outermost edge of the Zone.

A place constantly under the threat of monster attacks.

It was a place where orphans who had joined to survive, but with no sponsors, were eventually assigned—pushed out by the soldiers who did have backing. These soldiers had been sent out on extermination missions the most, and had seen the highest number of casualties.

“But this time, they say there were fewer than thirty wounded. And most of those weren’t even regular soldiers like us; it was mostly officers. And except for the soldiers killed by Colonel Samson, only six died. Have you ever seen so many return alive?”

“No… never.”

“Then why did Lord Haydam suddenly switch to a small, elite force for this mission?”

“Well, that’s another thing that makes Lord Haydam special.”

The returned soldier, still full of stories, puffed out his chest.

“From what I’ve heard, Lord Haydam lived in the slums after going missing as a child.”

“Missing?!”

“He wasn’t raised at the commander’s residence?”

“Is that why he suddenly appeared? I never heard anything about him having a child before.”

“I thought they were hiding him this whole time.”

“Maybe that’s why, unlike the people in the central area, he values our lives more.”

“Come to think of it, doesn’t Lord Haydam host charity parties every month?”

“Yeah, he does.”

“Wait, wasn’t it during that officer’s meeting where General Batom died that Lord Haydam returned? That’s when people started talking.”

“I heard about that in the central area too. Apparently, General Batom really deserved to die.”

“Wasn’t it because of something about his attitude that Major Meursault shot him?”

“Actually, it’s because he insulted Lord Haydam’s biological mother right in front of him.”

“What?!”

“Damn…”

The soldiers, who had been instinctively cursing at the mention of an insult to Haydam’s mother, felt something was off and asked again.

“Wait… biological mother?”

“You mean Lord Haydam isn’t Lady Daphne’s child?”

“That’s right. It seems he had a fiancée before marrying Lady Daphne.”

“Then why did he marry Lady Daphne?”

“Apparently, his fiancée suddenly disappeared from the Zone, so he had no choice but to marry Lady Daphne. But I’ve heard that now that Lord Haydam has returned, they might be getting divorced soon.”

“Whoa, divorce from Lady Daphne…”

As they listened to the increasingly intriguing story, one of the soldiers felt a sense of unease and asked a question.

“Who did you hear all of this from?”

“Lieutenant Lucas.”

“Who’s that? A new officer?”

“He was on Lord Haydam’s team during the extermination mission. It seemed like Lieutenant Lucas really admired Lord Haydam. When he talked about him, I honestly thought he was in love.”

“Isn’t Lord Haydam only about ten years old? Admiration?”

“After hearing all this, you’re still worried about his age?”

“But he is young, isn’t he?”

“That’s what makes it even more impressive. Besides, Lieutenant Lucas probably saw Lord Haydam in action during the extermination mission.”

“After hearing all this, I’d really like to see him for myself. I wonder if he’s truly different from ordinary people.”

Out in the outer barracks of the Zone, as the soldiers were growing more and more fascinated by Haydam…

Lord Haydam, someone truly different from ordinary people, was at that moment pressuring his father for a divorce.