Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 99.3: The Four Axes (3)

Back in school, we never had sword-fighting classes or dueling lessons.

In combat between humans, only guns mattered—everything else was meaningless.

Even Instructor Jang Ki-young, who had his head stuck in romantic ideals, used to say, "If you're going to swing a sword, you might as well carry another handgun."

And he was right.

I had rarely used melee weapons against humans in real combat.

Blades were only ever tools—used when overwhelming an enemy who couldn’t resist.

So this Chinese Hunter wasn’t some refined swordsman either.

Their training didn’t even last a year.

They were nothing more than academy hunters—shoved through a fast-track survival program and thrown onto the battlefield.

Maybe this guy was an exception—a bit more seasoned than the rest, trained just enough to swing a fancy polearm.

But it didn’t matter.

“...”

I stepped down the stairs, glaring across the plaza, where the combined light of headlights and flares cast chaotic shadows.

At least ten Chinese soldiers stood there, guns trained on me.

And at the front, arms crossed, standing at an arrogant tilt, was the man holding the Qinglong Yanyue Dao—straight out of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He said something in Chinese.

I still didn’t understand Chinese.

And I had no intention of learning it.

I shrugged, making it clear that I didn’t understand.

One of his men translated into fluent Korean.

“He’s asking if you’re really ‘Professor.’”

A Chinese-Korean?

Mild curiosity flickered in my mind, but I ignored it.

“Yes,” I said.

The man with the Qinglong Yanyue Dao spoke again.

The translator relayed, “Why don’t you have the Golden Fleece?”

I scoffed and locked eyes with Bai Tou.

“Do you wear all your medals everywhere you go?”

The translator repeated my words.

Bai Tou laughed loudly.

One of those exaggerated laughs straight out of a cheap martial arts film.

Then, he started walking toward me, spinning the Qinglong Dao in his hand.

More Chinese words.

The translator spoke.

“Bai Tou Hunter says he won’t kill you.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“He says his skills far surpass yours, so there’s no need to. But he will capture you as a prisoner and...”

“Torture me?” I cut in.

“We are civilized men. He will take you prisoner and lodge an official protest with the South Korean government.”

Bai Tou twirled his polearm and muttered something.

The translator smirked.

“And he says he’ll take the Golden Fleece as your ransom.”

I just stared at Bai Tou and grinned.

Short-cropped hair.

A chiseled, battle-worn face.

Not particularly tall.

Not handsome by any means, but his legs and core radiated strength.

And most importantly—his eyes.

The sharp glint of someone who had won battle after battle.

Ssshhh—

I drew my axes and stepped forward.

This didn’t need to be a fight to the death.

All I needed was time.

“Park Gyu,” Ha Tae-hoon called from behind.

He looked worried.

“Win.”

I raised one axe behind my back in response.

I had no intention of losing.

I had no intention of giving up.

I was greedy.

I would save my team, retrieve John Nae-non’s disk, and escape.

Which is why I hadn’t turned off my comms.

“Oops.”

Through the speaker, Da-jeong’s voice came through.

“I got the axes, but John Nae-non’s arm came off...”

I chuckled and charged Bai Tou.

The Qinglong Dao twirled like a dance, its red tassel slicing through the air as it cut off my approach.

Fast.

Clang!

“...”

And strong.

Much stronger than I expected.

His frame was deceptive—his waist and legs housed tremendous power.

My axe was forced back.

I stepped back to stabilize my stance.

Shhh!

Bai Tou flicked his blade, its red tassel blurring, and thrusted again.

I dodged.

But the tip of his weapon barely grazed my coat.

Then, in midair, he redirected his attack—stabbing again.

Clang!

This time, I blocked with both axes.

Bai Tou’s cold gaze locked onto mine.

And he smirked.

He said something I didn’t understand.

I ignored him and pushed back with all my strength, breaking away.

That was our first exchange.

“...”

I steadied my breathing.

He was fast.

Strong.

And experienced.

Even worse, he was toying with me—choosing not to kill me.

Most of that came from his weapon’s advantage.

For a brief moment, I silently cursed my instructor, Jang Ki-young, for making me use dual axes.

“Enemy drones approaching,” Da-jeong’s voice cut in.

Even in a fight like this, she was still focused.

“This time... I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I might lose.”

“That’s fine,” she replied.

“Skelton.”

“But do your best.”

“Yeah! I’ll fight just like you!”

I couldn’t see what was happening in the tomb.

But Bai Tou suddenly turned and spoke to his translator.

The translator called out loudly.

“Bai Tou Hunter says you’re impressive. He says it would be a waste to kill you.”

“Oh?”

“He’s offering you a deal. If you surrender now, he will honor you as a prisoner of war.”

“In other words?”

“If you acknowledge defeat, you will be treated with respect. A captured officer, not a common grunt.”

I pretended to think about it.

I hadn’t forgotten my true objective.

I was buying time.

Beyond the headlights, I watched the three illumination flares descending.

They had once soared high.

Now, they had drifted down.

Soon, they would hit the ground.

And darkness would return.

“The answer?” the translator pressed.

I exhaled slowly.

Bai Tou and his men still °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° thought they were in control.

They thought I had no choice.

They thought I was afraid.

They didn’t know who I was.

I stared straight into Bai Tou’s eyes.

And I answered.

“...I am Professor.”

Bai Tou’s eyelid twitched.

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“Professor.”

He spoke my callsign aloud.

I nodded.

And charged again.

Bai Tou grinned, lifting his blade once more, the cold steel gleaming under the flares.

He muttered something in Chinese.

Probably along the lines of, "I won’t go easy this time."

That was fine.

His weapon’s reach was still a massive advantage, but I had a way to negate it.

The secret that made humans the dominant species.

Throwing.

As I accelerated, I locked onto the tip of his Qinglong Dao, watching it expand in my vision, aimed straight at my throat.

I threw my first axe.

Bai Tou reacted instantly, twisting his blade to deflect it.

At the same time, I threw my second axe.

Double Throwing.

A technique I almost never used.

Because in a sense, it meant discarding all my weapons.

But.

Clang!

I only used it when I was certain.

Bai Tou successfully parried the first axe.

But the second one, rotating violently, shot toward his knee.

At an awkward height.

I already knew his physical capabilities—his earlier movements proved how explosive he was.

With barely any preparation, he leapt.

A clean, controlled jump—dodging the second axe with ease.

For a moment, he looked down at me midair.

And grinned.

Certain of his victory.

But I had thrown three things.

The third was myself.

Boom!

Over the comms, I heard a deafening crash—the sound of a tin can being smashed.

A celebratory gunshot.

As I lunged, Bai Tou’s Qinglong Dao sliced through the air, just missing me.

I was inside his range.

And he was still airborne.

My first axe hadn’t even hit the ground yet.

I went for the one weakness of polearms.

The one vulnerable point that was always theoretical, but almost never exploited.

Grab!

I seized the shaft of his weapon.

The blade twisted.

But I was past it.

Thud!

I landed.

“What—?!”

Bai Tou’s Chinese exclamation was barely out of his mouth before—

I yanked.

Even with his strong legs, there was nothing he could do in midair.

Like Antaeus, the mythical giant strangled by Hercules, Bai Tou plummeted toward me.

And as he fell, I stepped forward.

And drove my elbow into his jaw.

Crack!

Bai Tou’s head snapped back.

His eyes rolled back.

For a split second, the word victory flashed in my mind.

But at the same time—I felt a rare moment of admiration.

Even unconscious, Bai Tou refused to let go of his weapon.

As his body collapsed like a bag of straw, my two axes hit the ground, filling the silent plaza with the clear ringing of steel.

I exhaled.

And spoke into the comms.

“This is Professor. Bai Tou is down.”

Murmurs.

Disbelief.

The Chinese soldiers, frozen in place.

I grabbed the closest axe, hoisted Bai Tou upright, and pressed the blade to his throat.

Then wrenched his arms, forcing him to drop the Qinglong Dao.

He was now my shield.

Bang! Tatata!

Gunfire still echoed over the comms.

I stared down the Chinese troops.

Their faces were unreadable behind the headlight glare, but I could hear their shaken breath.

I could feel their hesitation.

And I waited.

Waited for the inevitable darkness.

A few seconds later.

The three illumination flares hit the ground.

And.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Six rapid shots.

Targeting one thing.

CRASH!

The headlights exploded.

Darkness swallowed us whole.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Tatatatatatat!

The shroud of blackness was torn apart by the new gunfire.

And this time, there were screams.

I dropped Bai Tou and sprinted for the stairs.

"Park Gyu!"

Ha Tae-hoon was waiting at the top, his face pale.

He held out a rifle.

“You... you’re insane.”

I smirked.

“Could you stop being so impressed?”

I turned toward the window and opened fire.

Tatatatatatata!

Screams.

Shouts.

Engines revving.

The Chinese forces were in full retreat.

“They’re pulling back,” I reported.

And finally—after a long silence—Cheon Young-jae burst out over the comms.

“Holy shit. Go the fuck back to your shitty-ass mainland, you motherfuckers!”

“Well done, Young-jae.”

“Compared to you, I didn’t do shit.”

“It’s not over yet.”

And it wasn’t.

The most important fight was still happening.

I turned to the monitor.

The tablet screen was filled with darkness.

A shaking, chaotic camera feed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Drone gunfire.

Inside the flickering server room, the dull green glow of a nuclear battery pulsed eerily.

And in the center of it all—

John Nae-non.

His armless corpse, frozen in time.

Bang! Bang!

Then.

The screen went black.

“...Shit.”

Ha Tae-hoon frowned.

“Did the camera get hit?”

No.

The feed returned.

And then.

BANG!

A metallic crash boomed over the speakers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound grew louder.

Then.

SPARK!

A burst of light flared in the corner.

Bang!

And.

Da-jeong’s voice.

“Hah... tough bastard.”

She was breathing heavily.

“Oh, shit. My IV needle came loose.”

There was a pause.

Then her voice brightened.

“Skelton!”

She called my name.

I smiled.

And answered.

“Yeah.”

“We won.”

“Good job.”

Two critical fights.

And we won both.

And at the heart of both battles—

Four axes.

But the war wasn’t over yet.