The Military Chef of a Ruined World

[Heh heh…]

The being lying in the water inside the temple stirred.

But then…

‘How much bigger is it going to get?’

Two meters… three meters…

It rose further from the water, stretching its legs, straightening its hunched back, and lifting its head.

[You’re quick to notice, you bug.]

Once the creature stood fully upright, it towered over Sergeant Jeon Gwang-il, more than twice his height.

It was nearly five meters tall.

It had been sized for this thing’s movement.

This being, which not only created the dungeon but also tried to communicate in strange ways, had more than just its massive size to offer.

[The strong survive. It’s true. But we’ll see who survives in the end.]

Gulp…

The sound of soldiers nervously swallowing followed after the giant’s declaration.

But…

There was no need to be too scared.

“This thing tried to convince us with words and deceive us! Do you know what that means?”

I shouted without breaking eye contact with the giant.

I could feel the people behind me focusing on my words.

“It means we’re a threat to this creature!”

Before entering the dungeon, there had been some fear of whether we could defeat a monster capable of creating such a place.

But now…

That fear was gone.

“If it were truly an overwhelmingly powerful being, there would be no need for these tricks!”

If it were so powerful that we couldn’t stand a chance, it wouldn’t need mind games. It would have simply crushed us.

The fact that it hadn’t done so meant only one thing.

“It’s a monster we can definitely take down!”

The creature had just confirmed it was not an absolute, unstoppable force.

Rumble…

“Combat vehicles! Ready to go!”

The temple was built to accommodate something as massive as that giant. Even the main doors were designed for its size.

‘Big enough to allow combat vehicles to pass through.’

The vehicles, now modified for underwater operations, wouldn’t be able to charge as they would on land, but they could serve as mobile barricades.

“It’s huge, so even shooting randomly will hit! Fire away!”

“Don’t be afraid! Just treat it like training against a giant monster!”

The high-ranked soldiers encouraged the others.

“That… that bastard tried to deceive us?”

“In the end, it wanted to drown us all in the water. Damn it!”

Up until a moment ago, the awakened individuals from the city were preparing to flee.

However, now they too were enraged, drawing their weapons and entering the temple.

As I watched them form up, I drew my knife, preparing for the battle.

It was a formation set to fight against a massive monster.

Just before the formation was perfectly established…

[How pathetic I’ve become. These insects I could have easily crushed them before…]

The giant muttered in a somewhat sorrowful tone.

[To think I’d be struggling like this.]

The giant, who had just risen from the water, began to collapse backward.

‘Huh?’

Boom!

The giant, over 5 meters tall, plunged back into the water.

A massive wave crashed over our formation.

* * *

Boom…

“Cough! Ugh!”

I was swept away and pushed back by the huge wave.

The enormous wave caused by the giant throwing his body into the water…

‘No, this isn’t just any wave.’

Even though I may lack proper combat skills, my stats alone are second to none.

Yet, a wave powerful enough to knock me back?

‘It’s been enhanced by some ability.’

I tried to gather my senses and check my condition.

Fortunately, or perhaps it was my luck, I wasn’t seriously hurt.

Despite its intensity, it was still just a wave.

No one should be gravely injured by this.

But the real problem…

“Our formation is broken…”

As I slightly lifted my head, I saw the giant in the distance, the one who had caused the wave.

Thud… Thud…

It seemed that the giant had risen specifically to create the wave.

Now, it was crawling through the vast temple in a grotesque manner.

The sight could have been comical, but its speed and presence were too intimidating to let my guard down.

And then—

“Sp-spare me…!”

[Die, insect.]

Crack.

The giant slammed his palm down on one of the city’s awakened individuals.

A moment later…

Thud…

The body of a man who had been fleeing on the water floated to the surface.

It was unclear whether he was dead or unconscious, but one thing was certain: he had been incapacitated in a single blow.

‘His plan is to collapse our formation… and then take us down one by one.’

That man wouldn’t have fallen so easily under normal circumstances.

If the unit had maintained formation, even a large monster wouldn’t have broken through so easily.

That creature knew exactly what it was doing when it broke the formation.

“Damn it. What kind of monster thinks like that?”

“Sergeant Shin!”

“Gather the scattered men! Restoring the formation is our top priority!”

Some soldiers, barely regaining their composure, started to gather, but it was clear it would take time to regroup.

“Restoring the formation is one thing, but…”

“It won’t just stand by and let us do that.”

Well, of course.

There’s no way it would just sit idly by and watch us rebuild what it worked so hard to destroy.

Sigh.

With a short sigh, I spoke.

“We’ve got some work to do.”

“Sir?”

“Trust me and focus on restoring the formation. And… Jeon Gwang-il! Seo Su-hyeok!”

At my call, the two who were busy organizing their troops turned to face me.

“You’re coming with me!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir, yes sir!”

As the two followed me, I gave them their orders.

“Our mission is to buy time.”

“…I had a feeling it would come to that.”

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok, checking his rifle, nodded.

“We’re going to hold that monster off until the formation is restored. It makes sense… but do you think three of us can manage it?”

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