""……..""
They were all inside the gym when the announcement resounded through the whole military camp.
"I guess… It’s our time now."
Andrew, the one who played the role of a hunter, the guy who was after Darius at the parkour session, and another guy who saw Darius in the arena stared at one another with firm but hopeless eyes, as if all of them were saying: I guess everyone’s indebted with a life.
When the announcements for assembling squads were made, it normally meant two things:
Monsters escaped the chaotic continent and are terrorizing the human cities or villages around, or... They need other people for their crazy experiments to turn elite soldiers into artificial superhumans.
Well, I already know what’s happening, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Having already gone through all of this, Darius knew that there was no experiment planned for them. But there is a nasty mission ahead.
After gearing up with weapons and accessories and all armored up, even with gas masks and helmets, three groups of five soldiers each stood tall at attention inside a room filled with tables and chairs like a classroom. In front of this classroom, there was a video projector that showed on the white wall a paused video that seemed to have been taken with a phone. The first image was already spelling trouble: it was the image of a snowy mountain lit up by fires from the buildings around, while weird shadows were visible as if jumping from one place to the other. The image was moved and blurry, but they all knew what it was about.
"Alright. Everyone’s here? Good."
The door opened, and one of the generals entered the room with a document in hand. With no greeting or further questions, he got right down to the subject and started the video:
"As you can see in the video, a group of Miasma Spiders invaded a touristic point up in the Northern Mountains. We don’t know their numbers, we only know the monsters are between Lowest and Low-ranked. The possibility of there being Mid or higher remains valid. They are agile to the point where they could easily ambush you all in mere seconds, while the Miasma spiders are known to have a thick carcass over their bodies, so normal bullets might not work against these bastards. Better take some penetration."
What a useless report.
Darius snickered annoyed. Although they were the elites among the elites, it wasn’t because the army or the human coalition was investing great resources in them and helping them grow, but because the tough lived while the weak died. The training was also tough, and if the commanders saw you falling behind your peers, if you weren’t kicked out, then surely another squad would be created with you and others just as weak as you and sent into perilous missions like these ones to sacrifice your lives as scouts to gather information.
"Oy tool, did you just laugh at me?"
The general walked closer to Darius while nobody was moving a muscle.
Right. That’s what we are to them. Tools. Nothing more than slaves with some physical abilities.
-SLAP!-
A strong slap sent Darius’ mask flying on the wall, and the general asked again.
"I asked you a question. Was I funny?"
"No sir. The mask gave me a hard time breathing. Apologizes for the inconvenience."
"Listen to this fucker. Where did you learn how to speak like this? Did you hide some books under your bed, huh?"
"Sir, I don’t. I can’t read."
"Heh, right. I almost forgot, but anyway."
The general turned back to his place, and after finishing his report, he said simply,
Now, after hearing everything, you have 5 minutes to embark on the first plane."
He then closed the door, and Darius went to grab his mask and go outside the door, when Andrew quickly stopped him.
"Wait. We didn’t get the order that we’re free."
"He intentionally didn’t say anything. Let’s go. If anything, you can say I forced you."
"W-what? Darius, since when were you like this?"
Andrew and the others were all baffled. They were all living inside the barracks since forever. They’ve seen many brothers come and go, die, get sick, and be left behind for simple reasons like coughing in front of the generals and interrupting their commands.
Everyone wanted to leave this place, but nobody could since no one had anything to their names but incredible combat skills. Some of them would be lucky enough to land a job as a bodyguard for a big name, but not always for a great person because they were essentially just tools and occasionally treated like playthings.
Many thought of the elite soldiers of the Main Army as the greatest individuals in the army, but in truth, they were simple slaves who became elites not because they wanted but because they had to, so they could survive since they were nothing but orphans.
If anything, anyone who actually required a bodyguard would hire a mage who’s already a few times stronger than a normal human. And since the elites don’t even know how to read, for the ones in power, their existence was even more disregarded than that of normal soldiers. While those who work with elites always end up left behind by their unrivaled abilities. After all, the ones who respect the elite soldiers are other soldiers.
"As I said, we have already wasted one minute here. We must rush and grab as many penetration bullets as we can, maybe even some explosive bullets. We also need night vision equipment and miasma detectors. We die because of insubordination or because of being poorly equipped, but if we die either way, then tell me, why the fuck are we faltering?"
"……"
"If you all want to stay, then fine. I’m out."
Darius opened the door and rushed out, the others looking at one another and faltering for another second, only to quickly follow him outside the room.
"This bastard will get us all killed…."
"I’d rather die by those Miasma Spiders than by the general’s hands... Now that I think about it, should we return?"
"Eh? Shall we?"
Oh, come on. Have some spine, would you?"
Everyone started to have cold sweat run down their spines, with only the hunter getting annoyed at everyone else as he gazed with respect at Darius’ back.
"At least he has a point. If we were to die anyway, would you rather die as a tool? Or as a free man?"
"O-oy, that’s dangerous."
"As if I care at this point."
He smirked, amused by this newfound confidence, then rushed his steps to catch Darius from behind.
After they quickly grabbed as many magazines with penetration and explosive bullets as they could, Darius quickly grabbed five night-vision glasses while the hunter grabbed miasma detectors and then ran towards a plane that was just about to leave them behind if they were only 1 minute slower.
"Took your sweet time, tools! What the fuck was that?!"
The captain of the plane shouted furiously, but the three squads focused on sharing bullets, gadgets, and magazines with each other, with Darius being the only one to answer.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"Apologizes, captain! Not gonna happen again!"
"Fucking trash… Let’s go!"
The captain put on his headphones and started the engines, ready to raise in the air.
The aircraft was a hybrid between a helicopter and a plane, named Boeing. It was used in military missions because of how quick it was and its large capacity for transport.
"Oy Darius…"
"Hm?"
Hunter, who was right beside him, whispered in a low voice, making Darius instinctively answer back just as quietly.
"Dude… Why are you covering for everyone like this…? I also heard you killed a mid-class in the arena solo? You’re attracting too much attention, Darius…"
"….."
Although normally it would be for the best to show your leadership skills and combat powers, if an individual proved to be too great while only as a simple tool, then everyone feared for the second coming of Spartacus from the legendary slave revolution in the Roman Empire, affraid that such an individual might begin a revolution within the military groups.
Everyone was already glancing at Darius with admiration, interest, or even worry that he might suffer because of all this attention, but the only indifferent one was Darius himself.
"Listen up, Jack. I’ll be leaving this hellhole soon. But I must first finish something."
"L-leave? You have somewhere you can leave to?"
Jack was baffled after hearing about Darius’ desire to leave.
Normally, you were free to leave the military grounds since you were supposed to be something like an employee. However, once you left, then the military would do everything it could to stop anyone else from employing you again, forcing you to return since you'd only risk dying of hunger as a homeless beggar. Because they didn’t teach you anything else but military knowledge, you weren’t good at anything else either. The seniors taught the juniors directly, with no books or notes, maybe only by using some drawings and symbols at most. They also taught each other calculus rather than receiving instruction from a teacher, while the commanders taught them how to read a clock so they could always be on time.
They had no phones, while their earphones were always connected to radio stations since they couldn’t read anything like messages or applications.
Once outside, their only end was to either become a bandit or a mercenary. But because mercenaries were so poorly paid, with such a high chance of death, or so easily tricked for not knowing how to read or write, it was safer to just remain as an elite inside the military camps rather than wander around a world that was excommunicating you or wanted you dead.
Truthfully, everyone admired the title of an elite soldier, but everyone also feared an unaffiliated killer who most probably suffered from PTSD and had anger issues.
Nobody would welcome him, and for sure nobody would want such a person nowhere near them or their workplace, making the best warriors the greatest outcasts.
Darius understood what Jack was thinking, but he simply smiled calmly and patted his shoulder.
"Don’t you worry. I will fill you in with more details. For now, just do as I say, and everything will turn for the better."
I will be sure to first clean up as many of these fuckers as possible.
3 in his own team, 2 more in squad 1, and 4 more in squad 2. That was the number of spies that happened to join this mission with Darius.
"Well, you know better, Darius."
Jack said no more while scratching the back of his head, and Darius smiled calmly. Jack wasn’t a spy, but just like him, he was also betrayed by Andrew, having his brains blown right in front of Darius by a bullet shot by Andrew.
In this life, I will save you and many others who died for nothing.
After half the night passed, they finally arrived at the destination at around 3 a.m.
The mountainous area was white from the snow and lit up from the full moon that shone brightly in the night sky. If not for the terrifying fact that monsters were swarming inside the thick forests, it would’ve been a dreamland.
"Alright, we’re here! Now get out and do your job! After exactly 24 hours, I want you bastards back from where I left you; otherwise, I’ll leave you useless shits here to die frozen! Now move, move, move!"
All three squads got out, and through their earphones, we got a general command:
[Squad 1, search the village at the bottom of the mountain. Squad 2, keep a lookout in the forest. And Squad 7, you have a rescue mission of a VIP group at a tourist resort on the peak of the mountain. You will see it since it’s connected to the ski lift. Move out!]
[Roger.] x15
The three squads separated, and Darius and his team quickly rushed on their way up the mountain. There were no further details, no further coordinates, no nothing. It was literally as if their superiors said, Go there and do something useful!
At this point, I’m not even mad anymore. Wasting too much energy.
Darius sighed as he remembered how in his past life he would normally get so irritated that his face would turn red from anger.
Funny enough, not even 10 minutes later:
-BAM BAM BAM!-
Multiple gunshots were heard from inside the forest, with squad 2 most likely having already met with the enemy.
[Shit! Squad 2! Report!]
[Squad 2 here! We’ve met with the targets! 4 small Shadow Spiders! Took out 2, we’re chasing the other 2.]
[Alright! Great job!]
Through the radio, Darius was able to hear the conversation, and a short smirk appeared on his face as he continued on forward.
He remembered how in his past life he uselessly interfered by assisting Squad 2 since he had the feeling that most probably the lesser Shadow Spiders would attract them towards a trap where more Shadow Spiders waited for their prey. And of course, it happened just as he felt. However, this time he had no intentions of saving a squad almost completely filled with cultist spies. Although that meant he would leave an innocent brother die eaten by monsters, Darius was not the type to worry about saving every single person, but simply to lower the number of victims.
To think that these bastards I saved would come back to bite me later. That’s what I deserve for not keeping it to myself.
After continuing up the mountain, a dark shadow flashed over them, and Darius quickly took out his knife and parried a razor-sharp dark spider leg that was just about to penetrate his back from above.
"Shoot the trees!"
"From above!"
"Quick, get down!"
Darius cut down the leg, then pulled the monster off the tree. While the monster tried to regain its footing, Darius had already emptied about half the magazine on it, killing it instantly.
The others were also on the ground while shooting at everything that resembled even a shadow of a spider, revealing the other two that were hiding and waiting for the opportune moment.
-KHAAA!-
Making sharp noises, the spiders fell down the trees and immediately rushed at the group with their sharp legs, wanting to impale the first person in front, that one being the guy whom Darius spoke with at the parkour session.
"Shit! They’re quick!"
He quickly dodged multiple attacks, then fell on his back, but before the spider could land the finishing blow, Andrew penetrated its head with a buckshot from a shotgun with explosive rounds.
-Click, BOOM! click, BOOM!-
About four rounds were needed to completely kill the monster.
"Damn. These things are ugly."
On the other hand, Hunter, also known as Jack, also dodged a charge from the second spider, which landed right in front of the man from the arena. With the spider right in front of him, he quickly took out his knife and swiftly cut off the spider’s head, killing it in an instant.
"They sure are…"
After killing the three spiders off, they all turned into dark smoke, one of them leaving behind a small red stone about as big as a nail. That was an energy stone, and since it was from a lowest-rank monster, it could be considered to be worth about 500 rozoni. That was enough for 5 days in a decent hotel, with lunch included.
"Oh, hey. It dropped an energy crystal."
"Nice. Now you can buy a new basic knife and a few bullets for your gun."
"Okay… Now you make it sound lame."
At Darius’ comment, Andrew answered annoyed and placed the crystal in his pocket, resuming the advance towards the peak of the mountain.
"We better keep a formation. Andrew, since you’re at the back, be sure to watch our 6. Jack, watch closely the trees from our left, Dave, and you, the ones from our right. Michael, you stay in the middle and keep a watch on the miasma detector while also looking around. I’ll be in front and secure our advancement."
Dave was the guy who saw Darius’ battle in the arena, while Michael was the person from the parkour session. Since it was dark, they had no light source except for the few moonlights that penetrated through the trees’ branches filled with snow, and since the road was surrounded by trees left and right, it was for the best to keep a closed formation while advancing with quick steps. Although they had night vision, the bright moonrays that penetrated through the thick forest would make their eyes hurt with a sudden flash of light, forcing them to use it at a minimum.
""Roger.""
They all answered together and stood in a rhomboid formation, with Michael in the middle. As they advanced, a distressing signal was sent their way through the radio station. Darius was the first to connect the signal to them, and then a panicked voice resounded.
[Squad 2 here, we need help! I repeat! Squad 2 here, we need help! About 6 low-ranked spiders and 4 mid-ranked spiders have surrounded us! Two of us died, and three are now on the run! Squad 2 here, we need help!]
Next moment, another signal resounded,
[Squad 1 here, we received your signal! Report your position! We’re coming for assistance!]
Squad 1 was quick to hear the call, and by the sound of it, they must’ve already made their way towards them.
Everyone expected Darius to say something, but since he said nothing, the others looked at one another in distress, and in the end, Jack was the first to lose his temper.
"Oy! Why are we not going back to help?! There are about 10 damn monsters chasing our brothers! Why are we not doing anything?!"
At his question, everyone turned to Darius, and he simply answered in a cold voice. But not to Jack, but through the station.
[Squad 1, standby. It’s a trap.]