"That motherf*cker is somewhere around here! Spread out and... Argh!!!"

In a dark alleyway in a big city dozens of thousands of kilometers away from where Drake was, a group of about ten hooligans and thugs were searching frantically for their target. They were all well armed, and from their movements and tactics, it could be seen that each of them was an experienced veteran, who had gone through hundreds of life-or-death situations.

And yet, such group was panicking and cowering, experiencing fear like they never felt before. Their enemy was just one person, but he might as well have been a ghost. Just now, one of their comrades was speaking, but was suddenly interrupted. His bloodcurdling scream, and the eerie silence that ensued left no doubt as to what his destiny was.

Unnerved as they maybe be, they were still professionals. Even if they had lost over half of their group in their pursuit of the target, they had managed to severely wound him. They knew he was on his last stand, but they also were aware that a cornered beast would fight back with all it had.

Their thoughts were proven right when one of the thugs heard a sizzling sound to his left. Instinctively turning around and pressing the trigger of his sub-machinegun, he was greeted by a tongue of orange flames large enough to engulf his whole body. Screaming, he stumbled backwards, and fell. Rolling on the ground to try and put out the flames, he didn't notice the shadow flying over his head, and neither did his companions.

Without so much as a sound, a woman lost her head, and the Ifere next to her was cut in half by an invisible blade. Two more Iferes dropped dead in the next few seconds, this time killed by bullets. The people who were still alive turned to the origin of the shots, but saw nothing.

"Ack!"

This time, the one who screamed in pain was a man, holding a bloody cut on his shoulder. Once again, no one had seen or heard the attack. The pursuers couldn't help but let a glint of fear flash through their eyes, and wonder who exactly was the prey, and who were the hunters. Before, they thought that was pretty clear, but now... They weren't so sure.

"Over there!"

Seeing a shadow on the corner of his vision, one of the thugs fired in that general direction. The figure staggered, hit, and leaned against a wall. Slowly, the group encircled the person, who made no motion of fighting back. However, even though it seemed like they had managed to capture him, none of the veterans lowered their guards. Whatever it was that set one of them on fire, and decapitated another, it was still out there. They didn't dare to be careless.

"Haha... Hahahahaha... Cough! Cough... Hahaha..."

Seeing the humans and Iferes keeping an eye out for their surroundings, the wounded person laughed out loud. He was a black man, with a shaved head. There was a nasty gash on his temper, the blood around it already dry. A newly opened hole in his leg stopped him from running. His laughter was interrupted by bouts of coughing, on which he even spat some blood. However, the mad grin never left his face.

"Cartman must be real f*cking desperate if he called for mercs like you. Haha... I wonder if what he is paying is worthy seventeen men and nine Iferes?"

If Drake was there, he would have long recognized his ranger friend, Ben Higler. Only he would be crazy enough to provoke his opponents while they held him at gunpoint. However, the thugs - no, mercenaries - kept their cool.

"Tell your companions to show themselves, and stand down, ranger, or we are gonna kill you."

"Ah, go f*ck yourself. If you want to kill me, just do it at once, or you won't have the chance anymore."

"Won't have the chance? You are good, pig, I will admit that, but you are only one."

"Hahaha... You sure about that?"

The mercenaries knew that Higler was trying to buy time, but they also knew that if they killed him now, his companions would go mental. They had to convince him to call them, so they could end the ranger and his Iferes all at once. Unfortunately for them, that was easier said than done, especially because Warkin went mental anyway.

Without any warning, an Ifere five or six meters long dropped from the sky, causing the pavement to crack. After having used Energy Injection, Warkin couldn't think straight anymore. He bit two Iferes, tearing them apart, covering the ground in blood and gore. Several bullets impacted on his giant body, leaving bloody holes, but he ignored them, and used Heatwave to set everything around him - including three of Higler's attackers - ablaze.

But Warkin wasn't alone. A bird-like Ifere let out a high-pitched cry, and swung it's glass-like wings at the empty air in front of it. Two mercenaries felt impending danger, but didn't manage to dodge on time, and their heads went flying.

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Meanwhile, Higler ducked forward, avoiding a few bullets, and tackled the leader of the mercenaries to the ground. For a few seconds, they struggled, one trying to overpower the other, but the ranger came victorious. When he got up, his opponent had a knife stuck on his chest.

Panting, Higler looked at the gruesome scene around him, and smiled. The alleyway was like a landscape from hell, with blood and bodies everywhere, and parts of it on fire. To him, it was paradise, because all his enemies were dead. He patted Warkin, who had already shrunk and fallen asleep, and the other Ifere.

"Didn't they teach you in merc school, bastard? Rangers are never alone."

...

A long while later, a limping Higler dragged a beaten up man, and threw him in front of a cop. The man on the ground struggled weakly as he was taken away, making the ranger chuckle.

Pulling out his phone, he saw that he had gotten a call from Drake. Frowning, he clicked on his name, and brought the device to his ear. Normally, his phone would be turned off, or even left behind. The only reason he had it on him now was because he needed to call his superior to confirm that his mission was a success. He just hoped that whatever Drake needed to say to him wasn't important, because it had been almost two days since he called.

"Hey, Ben! How are you doing?"

The ranger looked at the new scars he had acquired, and grinned. Unfortunately, Drake couldn't see it, or he wouldn't even have asked.

"Pretty good. And you, kid?"

"I sent a corrupt army major to prison, so I'm pretty happy with myself. Haha!"

"Oh? That's a story you will have to tell me later. So, what do you need?"

There was a slight delay from the other side of the call, probably Drake organizing his thoughts. That made Higler raise an eyebrow. The kid that he had gotten to know wasn't so shy.

"So, you know how I want to become a ranger, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, there might be a small problem with that, and I wanted to ask for your advice."

"Oh? What problem?"

"I was forced to join the Menoraz Army. Conscripted, even."

It was the ranger's turn to be stunned. Never had he expected to hear that. For Drake, who was almost as rebellious and undisciplined as him, to be forced to join the army, and apparently be willing to stay, something big must have happened. Knowing that he would tell him the 'whys' and 'hows', Higler kept quiet.

"Long story short, I stumbled in a war. Lapidum Kingdom is invading Menoraz. A lot happened midway, but I ended up talking with General Isabella Lilac..."

"Uff... That's a bigshot. I imagine it was her who enlisted you?"

"Yeah. I'm a scout slash spy under her... Wait! Why don't you sound surprised? About the whole war thing, I mean."

"Err..."

What could he say? There were just a bit over two thousand rangers in the entire Confederation, responsible for covering millions upon millions of square kilometers of ground. And yet, not only did they do so, but they also managed to acquire a reputation nearing that of legends and myths. One could imagine how big their intelligence network was. There was no way Lapidum could move hundreds of thousands of troops without them knowing.

"Wait, you knew that a war was about to start?!"

"For a few months now. A few other rangers tried to stop it before it began, but to no avail."

"And you didn't think about telling me?"

"I couldn't. Until you become a full-fledged ranger, there are many things you aren't privy to. Besides, matters involving two kingdoms are... Delicate. Rangers aren't supposed to have any affiliation, so if I told you about Lapidum, and you went over and told the higher-ups of Menoraz, it could be considered as me helping, understand? At the same time, if we said nothing, we would be endangering even more innocents... There is no easy solution. Sorry."

"That's f*cked. But it's not your fault. Sorry I blew up in you."

The range chucked, not at all angry. Drake didn't seem to have caught up to the subtleties in his words. The rangers had told Menoraz about the impending war, but in their own way. How, he wasn't sure, since he wasn't the one responsible for that assignment.

"Don't lose sleep over it. I can guess what you wanted to ask, too. You are afraid that by joining the Menoraz Army, you won't be able to become a ranger anymore, right?"

"Yes..."

"Don't worry. Everyone is born somewhere, so is understandable that they will have certain attachments to their original kingdoms. Rangers are no exception. As you adventure, you will see that people are the same no matter in which kingdom, and this will stop being important. That's why I said you needed more experience before joining the rangers. As horrible as it is, a war will provide said experience. Just make sure not to see all Lapidum soldiers as monsters, and Menoraz's as angels. That's not how the world works."

"Uhum... I got it! Thanks, Ben."

"Dontcha you worry, buddy. Being a ranger is a noble goal, but you can do just as much good to this world in countless other ways. Stay true to your ideals."

After exchanging a few more words with Drake, Higler hang up. There was something that he didn't tell Drake, so as to not discourage him. Once you become a ranger, unless there was no other option, you weren't given an assignment that took you to your kingdom of origin. Even if you weren't on a mission, and were just wandering around, you couldn't visit your birthplace. Only when you were on leave you were allowed to go there. Higler had never gone back to his home since he became a ranger. There was nothing for him there anyway.

"I suppose he is going to discover that when the time comes..."

"Who will discover what?"

Higler turned around, and saw a beautiful blonde woman staring at him. Her hair was tied up on a ponytail, and she was wearing tight-fitting clothes. Like him, she had a ranger badge on her chest. Oh, and she was carrying enough guns to fight an army. The black man sighed.

"A kid I met. He is a good seedling. A little naive, but he is learning."

"Oh? To have our mighty Benjamin 'Red Moon' Higler praise him, he must be something special."

"I told you not to call me that."

"And I told you that I'm going to. So, is this boy the mission that the boss gave you last month? We were all surprised when you were warped away all of the sudden."

"Yeah, although I'm still not too sure why the hurry. Guess we will see when the time comes."

"That's what I like to hear! Come on, let's grab some grub!"

Higler raised an eyebrow at the extremely loud woman, but she just laughed even more, and pushed him. Sighing in resignation, he followed her, but couldn't hide a small smile. There were all kinds of people amongst the rangers, but he had yet to meet one he didn't like, and the boastful lady was no exception.

"What's your next mission?"

"Nothing yet, I just have to make sure Cartman gets to prison alive. Shouldn't be much trouble. You?"

"Got a bunch of pirates destroying small settlements in Mare. Boss's gonna give me a ride there tomorrow."

"Poor pirates..."