Under the moonlight, nine individuals were looming around a compound that seemed to belong to extremists. The compound was located in the middle of a forest with only a few roads leading towards it. These roads also had checkpoints, making it impossible to enter using those routes. The last resort for Task Force 141 was to jump from the sky.

After landing and walking for almost fifteen minutes, they successfully arrived at the compound. According to the information they gathered, the leader of this extremist group should be inside.

Taking advantage of their advanced technology compared to the guerrillas, the group easily moved in the pitch-dark night. They stopped right next to the compound's concrete wall. Zed, being the leader, was at the forefront of the team. Turning around, he signaled to Ghost. Ghost moved next to him and opened his backpack, then pulled out a drone, turned it on, and surveilled the area. A minute later, he nodded at Zed, indicating it was clear to breach. Zed then signaled to Gaz, who walked forward, opened his backpack, and pulled out a rope. Throwing it over the wall, they started climbing inside.

A few minutes later, the group was inside the compound. Once everyone was ready, they split up into three groups. Zed, Price, and Gaz moved towards the suspected location of the leader, while the others went to clear two other buildings inside the compound. Their plan was to finish this quickly without alerting other members of the group, so everything had to be silent and stealthy.

Once Zed and his group were in front of the building, Gaz quickly checked the door to see if it was locked. Surprisingly, it wasn't. After seeing that, they made a quick entry, covering the whole floor. The building had four floors, and Zed's group was just at the entrance floor.

After securing the first floor, they found only one guerrilla who was in the restroom. It was the most embarrassing time for him to die. After taking care of him, they lined up at the stairs. When they were ready, the group rushed upstairs. The second floor had a hallway with two doors on each side, a challenging setup for any unit attempting infiltration.

Price looked at Zed and readied himself. After all, his commander was something more than human, who could revive the dead. Zed also observed the hallway and decided it was better for him to check if there were any enemies waiting. Using his skills, he scanned the rooms and found no one inside. He only did this to avoid being surprised, not because he feared an ambush. On the contrary, it would be much more fun.

After clearing the second floor, they moved to the third floor, which was a bit more problematic. It had two open areas at the entry with nothing to cover other than a few pillars. Even though Zed wanted to scan the room, he resisted the urge and walked in. Suddenly, he heard a clicking sound across from them. Even though he wasn't a soldier in reality, because of the abilities he had acquired for this operation, he could tell the difference between the click of a gun loading and a natural click.

"Take cover!" he shouted, rushing towards one of the pillars. Following him, Price and Gaz also moved and took cover as loud machine gun fire echoed through the forest.

"Shit, we've been compromised," Gaz said using his com.

"No kidding," Ghost replied through the com.

Bullets whizzed past them. Using his natural night vision, Zed saw guerrillas appearing on their sides. Two were on his left, while three were on his right. From the looks of it, they had just woken up and rushed here without even wearing shirts.

"Two hostiles at three o'clock and three hostiles at nine o'clock," Zed said, aiming at the two guerrillas. With precision, he killed them using only two bullets. While he took out the duo, Price and Gaz handled the others.

"Commander, these pillars won't last long," Price said as the high-caliber bullets from the machine gun shattered the pillar he was hiding behind, sending shrapnel flying.

Hearing him, Zed decided to use his skills since he couldn't aim and fire while under suppressive fire from the machine gun. Creating a shadow soldier right next to the guerrilla using the machine gun, Zed successfully killed him.

When the loud noise from the machine gun ceased, they walked out from the pillars they were hiding behind and secured the floor. Apparently, this floor was designed to welcome unwanted guests.

They moved towards the upstairs, staying alert as the enemy was aware of their presence. Reaching the threshold of the staircase leading to the last floor, they peeked inside to see if someone was waiting to ambush them. Seeing no one and nothing suspicious, they moved in and searched the floor. Despite their thorough search, they couldn't find the leader.

"Ghost, what's your status?" Price said using his com.

"Been worse. Is the target eliminated?" Ghost replied. Gunshots could be heard as he spoke.

"Negative, the target is not inside this building," Price replied.

"Steaming hell. This building is clear too," Soap replied, still engaged in fighting against the guerrillas.

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"Ghost, he must be inside that building. Don't let him escape. We'll move out to help now," Price said. As he finished his words, the group quickly descended the stairs with the goal of reaching Ghost.

"Negative, the building is clear," Ghost replied. Hearing this, Zed's group halted. Not wanting to play hide and seek, Zed used his powers to search for the leader. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any traces of the leader.

"All units, we are extracting immediately. The target is not inside the compound. I repeat, we are extracting immediately," Zed communicated over the com before rushing out.

"I'm at the rendezvous location, Commander," Nikolai said through the com.

Once outside the building, Zed's group was greeted by multiple guerrillas aiming at them. Quickly taking cover, they dodged the bullets raining over them. Then they returned fire and killed them easily.

"Price, Gaz, you guys go help Soap. I will help Ghost," Zed said, rushing toward the building Ghost's group had entered. It had only two floors, but its entrance was the problem—it was so narrow that two people couldn't walk side by side. Surprisingly, when it came to strategic building, this group's achievements were praiseworthy.

When Zed reached the building, he saw a total of ten guerrillas taking cover behind their off-road vehicles, aiming at the entrance. Quickly grabbing a grenade from his vest, he pulled the pin and threw it toward them. Shocked by the sudden movement, the guerrillas had no time to react. The explosion rang through the forest, making everyone stop whatever they were doing.

"It's clear, Ghost. Move out now!" Zed commanded using his com. Hearing him, Ghost and his group walked out of the building. Then they rushed toward Zed. Once they regrouped, Zed inquired about the situation on Soap's side.

"Price, what's your status?"

"Everyone is okay, Commander," Price replied.

"Good. Let's regroup at the infiltration point," Zed said. Then he moved, followed by Ghost, Alejandro, and Yuri.

Once they arrived at the regrouping location, they climbed the wall again and left the compound area. While they were leaving, approximately hundreds of armed individuals were rushing toward the compound.

After escaping from the compound, the group went to the extraction point where Nikolai awaited them with a helicopter. Quickly boarding the helicopter, they left the war zone.

"Damn, where did he go?" Gaz said with frustration.

"Maybe there was a secret passage we overlooked?" Price suggested.

"No, there weren't any secret passages. The only possibility is that our intel was wrong," Zed said, looking out the window.

"That's impossible. Ramirez is an honest boy; he wouldn't lie about something like this," Alejandro said.

"I don't mean that he was lying. Maybe he thought he had seen the leader. After all, your informant is just a fifteen-year-old teenager," Zed replied, not looking at him. After he finished speaking, there was silence inside the helicopter.

"Alright, it's not a big deal. I know all of you want to make him pay for the ambush, but from what I saw at that compound, he's a very clever leader. Even though his men aren't reliable, he uses good tactics to make up for that. Now because of our attack, he'll probably go into hiding for a while. While he's hiding, we'll attack his outposts, factories, and such. We need to cause enough damage to lure him out of his hiding spot. We can also work with the legitimate government, but it's risky because of their possible backstabbing. There's also the option of working with the Republicans in the south. Their relationship with our country is good, so they wouldn't try anything funny. Nevertheless, there are multiple ways to take revenge on him, so don't get demoralized. We lived today to fight another day," Zed said, trying to cheer them up, and apparently, he was successful as the team relaxed and started chatting among themselves.

——

Name: Zed Atlas

Age: 21

Godhood: God of Life.

Believers: 0

System Evaluated Power Rank: S-

{Divine—Tier}

Mana Wielder Rank: Tier-5, Supreme Archmage.

Chi Cultivator Rank: N/A

Mana Veins: Cosmic Artery Mana Veins.

Mana Heart: Cosmic Spark Mana Heart.

Chi Heart: N/A

Chi Veins: N/A

Martial Arts:

- Obsidian Shade Arts

Skills:

- Celestial Restoration

- Unified Skill Set: Master of Darkness

1. Shadow Manipulation

2. Darkness Absorption

3. Night Vision

4. Necromancy

5. Dark Energy Blasts

6. Fear Inducement

7. Curse Casting

8. Umbral Teleportation

9. Darkness Shield

10. Soul Siphon

11. Eclipse Domain

Body Enchantments:

- Umbral Eclipse Enchantment

- Body of Celestial God

Weapons:

- Shadowblade

Abilities:

- Universal Awareness

- God's Charm

- Aimbot

- Combat Awareness

- Strategic Thinking

Coins: 7.005.750

——

Looking at his status, Zed smiled. The amount of coins, which once seemed impossible to earn, was now at his disposal to spend. With this wealth, Zed could become the real god of this world. But that's a story for another day.