The Conscript Wants to Be Discharged!

Our Hundred-man Unit is composed of a total of 5 teams.
Each team has 20 men assigned, and it’s divided into Team 1 led by me, the Hundred-man Captain, and Teams 2, 3, 4, and 5 led by team leaders, a system that allows for flexible response when combat situations arise.

“From now on, we’ll search for the ghouls’ nest in the forest.”

Looking at my subordinates lined up around a rock about the height of an adult man, I explained this mission.

To repair the village and prevent possible unidentified corpse dumpers from invading the village, we left 20 soldiers along with a few injured men in the village and entered the forest. We decided to split our group in half at a location slightly away from the position the young man had told us about.

“I’ll now explain the mission we’re about to carry out.”

We will exterminate the ghouls that have made their nest in this forest.
We will search the forest, exterminate the ghouls’ nest and the ghouls inhabiting it.
We will collect the belongings of the villagers killed by the ghouls.
After collecting their belongings, we will gather the corpses in one place and incinerate them.

“Since we have 4 teams, we’ll bind two teams together and search the forest. Using this large rock as a reference point, I and the 2nd team leader will go to the right, and the 3rd and 4th team leaders will move together to the left. When the sun starts to set in the afternoon, quickly gather back here. Understood?”

“Yes!”

Nodding at my subordinates who answered vigorously, I was about to move for the search when something bothered me, so I delivered one additional point.

“…Before we go into the forest to search, one more thing. If you find corpses and, while investigating traces of ghouls, you discover any other suspicious traces, immediately report to your team leader, and make sure to report to me as well.”

“Suspicious traces, you say?”

One of the team leaders tilted his head and asked about the additional point I delivered.

“Yes, it’s my personal suspicion, but there are many suspicious points about this ghoul attack. It’s suspicious no matter how you look at it that there were corpses of people unknown even to the villagers abandoned in the forest.”

“Are there corpses other than the people who were attacked?”

“Yes, so pay attention to your surroundings when searching, and be sure to report if you find anything strange.”

“Yes, understood!”

“And kid, you’re not cute, so why are you tilting your head? Pak! Want to die?”

“…Why are you getting angry at me? Are you cute or something?”

The sight of a man in his 20s with a face full of scars tilting his head and asking questions greatly irritated my aesthetic sense, so I snapped at him out of annoyance. I heard the team leader who had been scolded by me grumbling quietly, but I ignored it and released my subordinates into the forest.

“Anyway, if you understand, let’s depart. Move out!”

“Move out!”

“Ah! If you find corpses, absolutely do not touch them with bare hands! And cover your respiratory tract! If any of you catch a disease, you’ll die by my hand that very day!”

“Understood!”

I wonder if those guys really understood what I said? I heard the guys following behind me whispering.

“But why did he tell us to cover our respiratory tract?”

“You idiot, the Hundred-man Captain is worried we might catch a plague because of the curse of the dead.”

“What does a curse have to do with breathing?”

“Ignorant fool, the curse emitted by the dead floats in the air and enters our bodies when we breathe, it’s a similar reason for not touching them.”

“Ah, I see!”

Watching my subordinates explain and understand in a medieval way the reason I told them not to touch corpses with bare hands and to cover their respiratory tract, I smiled slightly.

‘That’s not it.’

It’s to be careful of various bacteria and microorganisms that form as corpses decompose, and the gas built up inside the corpses, and to prevent infection from viruses by touching corpses that are surely in an even more serious state due to the saliva and excrement of ghouls. I don’t know anything about the curse of the dead and the plague caused by it either.

‘There’s no way to explain that there are tiny, invisible germs, and in a world where magic and monsters exist, it’s hard to assert that such things don’t exist, and it’s not bad if they understand and are careful like this.’

Thus, our Hundred-man Unit, having reached an agreement in understanding from different perspectives, began to roam here and there in the forest where ghouls lurked.

About 30 minutes after parting with half of the unit.
Following the disgusting smell of corpses carried by the wind in the forest, we found the place where the villagers had been attacked.

“Ugh, this corpse smell never gets familiar.”

“The ghouls’ excrement smell makes it even worse.”

“The condition is terrible too.”

The condition of the corpses we found was indescribably bad.
Flesh torn and ripped here and there, organs spilling out and cut off from split abdomens.
These were scattered all over the dirt ground, creating a very grotesque scene.

“First, everyone cover your respiratory tract, and gather suitable wood from around here. Absolutely do not touch the corpses with your hands!”

“Yes!”
“Understood!”

Upon discovering the corpses, we quickly covered our faces with cloth and such that individuals had, and began to gather or cut and make sturdy branches to use when moving the corpses, along with firewood from the surroundings.

“Hey, hey, hey, move them carefully! The intestines are all spilling out!”

“Oh shit! Didn’t that eyeball just move?”

“Its mouth just opened! I think it spoke! Did only I see that? Did only I see it?!”

“You guys, it’s not like you’re seeing corpses for the first time, why all the fuss.”

It’s truly amusing to see these guys, whose daily routine includes moving the corpses of fallen comrades after battles on the battlefield and burying them in sunny spots, trembling in fear at corpses that have merely been attacked by monsters.

Of course, I was watching them from a distance slightly apart from my subordinates.

“Hundred-man Captain, aren’t you going to work?”

“I am working, aren’t I? Management and supervision.”

“…”

“What? Why? What do you want me to do?”

After forcefully repelling the 2nd team leader who was glaring at me with eyes full of dissatisfaction, I again entered into the weighty duty of management and supervision.

It is the natural duty of one holding the position of Hundred-man Captain as a commander to manage and supervise whether subordinates are carrying out operations efficiently!

Of course, honestly, I didn’t want to touch the corpses.

‘Honestly, it’s uncomfortable to touch them.’

I’ve seen many corpses stabbed by swords or with burst heads, but it’s still difficult to touch corpses that have been dismembered and soiled by monsters’ excrement like that.

‘I need to make a suitable excuse and get out of here quickly!’

I decided to quickly escape from the disgusting smell tormenting my olfactory nerves through the cloth covering my mouth and nose.

“Now, those who want to go with me to search for the ghouls’ nest that might be nearby, raise your hands! First come, first served, 5 people.”

“Me! I want to go!”

“Hundred-man Captain! I was a hunter before being caught in the army! Please take me with you!”

“Take me too! Take me too! Take me too! Take me too! Take me too! Take me too! Take me too! Take me too! Take me too!”

As the fervent requests from the Hundred-man Unit members were pouring in, the 2nd team leader came forward and calmed down the noisy subordinates.

“Everyone shut up!”

“…”

“There might be ghouls around, and the Hundred-man Captain explained this morning that there might be unidentified and unknown enemies, how can you make such a commotion?”

At the 2nd team leader’s rational and appropriate explanation and fierce gaze, the subordinates closed their mouths.

‘Oh~ 2nd team leader, what’s gotten into you?’

Usually, the team leaders were something less than human, lazy and fond of hiding somewhere when it wasn’t time to fight, but as we’ve spent nearly 5 years on the battlefield, they properly perform their inherent roles when necessary.

“Hundred-man Captain, I’ve prevented the subordinates from running wild, unable to overcome their personal desires.”

“Yes, well done.”

“The subordinates who haven’t rolled on the battlefield for long don’t seem to know the basics of search operations – stealth and quietness.”

“And?”

“Therefore, I think I must be deployed for the important mission of searching for the ghouls’ nest with the Hundred-man Captain.”

“Hahaha, I knew you’d say that, you bastard.”

The 2nd team leader’s scathing betrayal! At this, the subordinates expressed their discontent with violent indignation.

“Booo! 2nd team leader is trash!”

“I believed in you! I believed you were a true soldier!”

“Trash superior who abandons his subordinates for his own desires!”

Of course, mindful of the existence of unknown enemies the 2nd team leader had mentioned, they considerably lowered their voices, but the criticism towards the 2nd team leader was fierce.

“What? Why? What do you want me to do?”

The 2nd team leader ignored their criticism.
Looking at the 2nd team leader who had unleashed “If you’re not happy, why don’t you be the team leader” towards the subordinates, I opened my mouth.

“You can’t go.”

“Eh, why not?”

“Why? If I’m not here, you need to manage these guys.”

I pointed to a spot slightly away from the corpses.

“You, supervise them from over there.”

“I will properly carry out that important duty, Hundred-man Captain.”

At my order to supervise the subordinates instead of clearing the corpses, the 2nd team leader smiled and saluted, and I picked 5 guys with decent armament from among the subordinates and set out to search the forest near the pile of corpses.

Having escaped from the pile of pitiful corpses defiled by ghouls, I and 5 subordinates began searching for traces of ghouls nearby.
As we were examining every corner of the forest for traces of ghouls, enjoying the forest scent full of phytoncides after escaping from the indescribably disgusting smell of the corpses, we were surrounded by ghouls who had come out to greet us directly, as if they knew we were looking for them.

-Grrrr.
-Kieeek!

“Hun-Hundred-man Captain, ghouls have appeared.”

“Wh-what should we do? Should we charge?”

“Wait, man, don’t be hasty, stay calm.”

Restraining the subordinate who was thinking one-dimensionally, ‘If we can’t avoid it, should we just charge in?’, as if he were a deer facing a truck, I looked around.

Six in front, three on the right, and five behind.

“Damn, there’s a lot of them, these rotten bastards.”

The thought ‘I should have just stayed and supervised the corpse clearing’ flashed through my mind, but what’s needed now is not such regret.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

“Prepare for battle!”

Looking at the ghouls surrounding us and drooling dirty, sticky saliva from their mouths, I placed my hand on the hilt of the sword at my waist.

“You filthy monstrosities, let’s slaughter them!”

“Yes!”

“You damn monster bastards! I’ll kill you!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

Watching the encirclement of ghouls slowly closing in around us, we steeled our resolve for battle.