Kang Chan went around the corner with his back slightly turned, keeping his right side pressed against the building.

There’s no way they’re all sleeping. Why aren't the lights on?

Haah. Haah.

It occurred to him that this could be an abandoned base and that was why the rebels at the entrance of the cave weren't following him.

However, at that moment, he heard dirt crumbling from the end of the cave that Kang Chan had just walked from.

Kang Chan swung up the rifle in his right hand.

If Enzo had been here, he would’ve called Kang Chan crazy. He would also have glared at Kang Chan with sharp eyes, demanding that he leave quickly.

You’re not the only one with a bad temper. Can’t you guess my personality when I volunteered to be here at this age to do this? You said that you liked the look in my eyes, right?

Kang Chan slowly inhaled, then slowly exhaled.

He didn’t know how many people would be in the base, but it didn’t matter. Kang Chan wouldn’t stop until he had all of their enemies, shot, or stabbed in the neck like Enzo.

Rattle! Rustle!

Crouching, their enemies walked toward the building.

Those dumb fuckers! The grass is too short to hide in, you fucking idiots!

It was funny. Kang Chan also came all the way here like that.

With his back still slightly against the wall, Kang Chan pointed the muzzle of his rifle at the forehead of the enemy leading their approach.

If his enemies had even the slightest bit of common sense, they wouldn't have walked over in a single line with the moon so bright. Their formation made it easier for one person to eliminate them… just like now.

Kang Chan couldn’t help but be curious about who their commander was and why he’d allow people like these to engage in combat.

Haah. Haah.

Kang Chan waited for them to narrow the distance between them so he could get a clearer shot. It sounded like an Olympic slogan, but the closer his enemies were to him, the clearer his view of victory became.

It wasn’t clear when his enemies had last washed their hair, but the strands were so oily that they lay flat against their heads. They also seemed malnourished—as evidenced by their sunken cheeks—and were only wearing old shirts, shabby pants, and yellow fabrics worn on top like skirts.

Armed with rifles, knives, and determined glares, they closed in on Kang Chan one after another. Considering they didn’t approach in groups and used signals, it was clear that they hadn’t even undergone basic combat training.

Kang Chan remembered the moment Enzo was killed. They stabbed him in the back, the left side of his neck, and then the right side of his neck.

You know what? We’re all here to faithfully carry out our respective duties even if that means fighting each other to the death, so there’s no point in questioning what you bastards are wearing or how you look. You're following orders to target me, and I'm going to kill you to live and avenge Enzo.

Kang Chan firmly put his index finger on his rifle’s trigger.

Haah. Haah.

Goodbye, fuckers. A piece of advice: when you get to the other side, don’t go anywhere near Enzo if his legs are fine. He had such a fucking deadly look in his eyes before he died.

The muzzle of Kang Chan's rifle lined up exactly with the center of his target’s forehead. With a pull of the trigger, gunshots abruptly broke the silence.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Some enemies dropped to the ground on their stomachs, some crouched, and some turned around to run away. However, they all met the same fate; bullets pierced through their skulls, making their heads explode like a watermelon on a stick.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Clank!

Kang Chan’s brows furrowed as he swept his rifle from left to right, finding no survivors. The others had probably quickly hidden themselves in the cave or were lying flat on slightly incurved ground.

Clank! Clunk!

While reloading his gun, he came to a sudden realization.

‘It’s empty.’

Considering no one had come out despite the firefight outside, then the base had to be empty.

Looking at the entrance of the cave, Kang Chan smirked.

Now, the tides had turned. Who would be more advantageous if they had a gunfight outside the cave—Kang Chan, who was properly trained, or some stupid motherfuckers who knew nothing but kill people?

***

With his headset on, Pierre Raon urgently flipped through his notepad.

“All that we’ve confirmed so far is that a gunfight occurred at Abdul Janelle's base. Our troops are currently standing by near his base just in case he engages in combat.”

- We found circumstantial evidence that Ethan made a move, Pierre. If he gets his hands on the Eye of Ndulele, your life won’t be enough to take responsibility for it.

"I'll send the men, sir,” Pierre Raon answered urgently, then swallowed dryly.

It took a bit of time before the person on the other end of the line responded.

- Who’s commanding the men out in the field?

"Sharlan—”

- Then the soldiers engaged in the gunfight are Enzo and the new recruit?

“The new recruit’s name is Kang Shany[1], sir.”

- Chan?

"Yes, sir. It’s Channy.”

The name was very difficult to pronounce.

- Order the men to move in exactly twenty minutes from now. Have them kill everyone at Abdul Janelle's base. As soon as they finish the operation, send Sharlan and his men to Borough[2].

"Yes, sir."

- We'll be sending fifteen soldiers and two squad leaders from the training center at 11 am tomorrow. Have them guard the base again.

"They won’t have a commander to lead them, sir."

- If Enzo and Kang Channy[3] survive, assign one of them to the position.

"What should I do if they both die, sir?"

For some reason, Pierre didn’t receive additional orders. When the silence lingered, he hastened to acknowledge the unspoken demand.

“I'll take care of it, sir.”

The comms were disconnected immediately after.

***

With his lips thinned, Sharlan glared at Abdul Janelle's base.

They didn’t receive any orders even though they heard multiple gunshots.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Sharlan knew that Enzo couldn’t endure something like this. If so, then the recruit from South Korea had to be the one holding out against the rebels. South Korea didn't have firearms or any kind of military training in their high school curriculum, though.

It would be a mistake to think of this battle as insignificant simply because they were fighting against rebel forces. No matter how much one was trained, shooting someone for the first time would never be easy. Moreover, if over sixty enemies surrounded two people, they would be too terrified to take proper aim.

‘Kang Chan killed them all with just a bullet to the head each?’

Sharlan was struggling to wrap his mind around the fact that Kang Chan had managed to hit the forehead of an enemy who was in a prone position from thirty meters away. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, his bullets pierced through their heads and exited through the back of their necks.

‘Was he a shooting athlete before coming here?’

Sharlan glared at the dark and silent Abdul Janelle’s base with deeply troubled eyes. The damn Asian recruit was messing everything up.

Has the DGSE prepared for something like this? Is that why they sent that kind of monster with the new recruits? If they did create that monster, then at least this situation would be somewhat understandable.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed toward Sharlan from Abdul Janelle's base.

What's going on over there? Are you trying to kill everyone on your tail alone?

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sharlan tightly clenched his fist and swallowed dryly.

Those gunshots all came from one person. Moreover, they didn’t sound like the rebels’ AK-47s.

Sharlan wanted to run and confirm what was happening with his own eyes. However, right now, he had to wait for orders from their awful intelligence bureau.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow!

Sharlan heard more bullets being fired. For the first time, AK-47 gunshots followed after Kang Chan’s.

***

Abdul Janelle glared at the front of the car with an uncomfortable expression.

The trucks that his subordinates were in were guarding the front and back of the American jeep that Abdul Janelle was in.

The Eye of Ndulele was small for a Blackhead. Why did France’s DGSE and the UK’s intelligence bureau want it so badly? They were far from jewelers.

If they were going to make a weapon out of this, they could probably also make guns and cannons out of diamonds. That was simply far too unrealistic, but the damned DGSE and the UK’s intelligence bureau couldn’t have simply made a bet on who could make a ring out of this Blackhead.

Abdul Janelle glanced behind him and frowned, thinking he heard a gunshot somewhere.

He was afraid.

Though he did order his men to attack the special forces team with nothing but knives, that still didn’t explain how one person managed to fight against that many people by themselves. He was even forced to send reinforcements armed with rifles and even RPGs.

The soldiers that the DGSE had created were truly terrifying.

Soldiers like them weren’t created just from training. They were born with special instincts—human weapons created with a bit of training and extreme combat experiences.

Vroom! Clank! Clank!

Abdul Janelle softly sighed in relief when the jeep took a wide left turn from the curved road.

Traveling with the Eye of Ndulele was dangerous, but what else could he do? The DGSE had sent a fearsome soldier, which meant they were going to kill him and take the Eye of Ndulele by force.

He felt anxious about leaving the base with the Eye of Ndulele, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that he had no other choice but to find a way to survive.

After ten more minutes on the road, he should arrive at his meeting place with Ethan, the rising star of the UK’s intelligence bureau. From there, their fate would be tied together.

If he could use this to get paid handsomely and form a good relationship with the UK’s intelligence bureau, he would become the secret big shot in South Africa.

Crackle! Bang!

Abdul Janelle's forehead exploded. His blood spattered on the broken windows.

Crackle! Bang!

Crackle! Bang!

Two more bullets flew into the jeep, hitting his throat and face.

Crackle! Bang!

Crackle! Bang!

Even his driver was shot and fell to his side, making the jeep slide to the left.

With his face completely destroyed, Abdul Janelle collapsed toward the window.

***

Chk.

“Begin cleaning the villa. I repeat: you may now clean up the villa.”

Sharlan—who was still frowning—handed the radio to one of his subordinates, then pointed to the front with his index and middle fingers.

They had clearly ordered him to ‘clean’ the villa. In an operation against the rebel forces, a command to clean up meant killing everyone in the designated area.

Sharlan could still hear gunshots, which made him want to go over quickly. However, he couldn't act as fast as he wanted. After all, he couldn’t neglect his duty to guard their territory.

It would also only take one RPG to eliminate him and his men.

***

You sons of bitches!

Kang Chan kept his rifle aimed at the entrance of the cave. He had just killed all of the enemies that crawled out of it, plunging his surroundings into silence once more.

I’ve used about half of the ammo in my new magazine.

To avoid running out of bullets in the middle of the firefight, Kang Chan had been reloading before he could empty his mags.

So far, he had killed about forty people.

Kang Chan sighed as he leaned his left shoulder against the wall. He then lowered his rifle's muzzle.

He had never thought that he lived a normal life. Still, he felt as though he had just entered a path that he could no longer turn back from.

Amid his thoughts, Kang Chan heard someone approaching from behind him. He turned around, but he failed to see anything.

Rustle! Rustle! Swish!

However, he soon saw human silhouettes quickly approaching his location. He could tell from the way they moved that they had undergone proper training.

Damn it! Is it really over now?

Kang Chan put his index finger on the trigger.

It seemed he’d be going down in his faded ash-gray military uniform and military boots. Fortunately, he’d at least die with a rifle in his hands.

Kang Chan came to the Foreign Legion because he didn’t want to resent his parents or anyone for that matter. He also didn’t want to live like a coward that others oppressed endlessly.

Still, he didn’t expect to meet his end so soon.

Would I have survived if I followed Enzo’s advice and ran away?

Kang Chan smirked.

If he hadn’t done all of this, he wouldn’t have been able to live comfortably since Enzo’s last moments would’ve haunted him forever. Furthermore, he would have turned into a killer who’d shoot people who looked like rebels. He wouldn’t even bother to ask who they were.

I have to shake off these clingy emotions!

Kang Chan lifted his rifle until the muzzle was lined up just slightly above his shoulder.

Since the enemies were approaching from behind, they would surely crawl out again from the front as well.

If I’ve got moles popping up in front of me, I wonder what’ll appear at the back.

At that moment, a person’s head came up from behind the hill at the back.

Clunk! Clunk!

Kang Chan immediately took aim. When he saw the man’s hat and rifle, he stopped himself before he could pull the trigger.

“Enzo?” the man asked as he slowly stood up straight. He kept his rifle aimed at Kang Chan. “I’m Sharlan, the Lieutenant of the Foreign Legion’s 13th Regiment.”

Upon confirming that the stranger was Kang Chan, Sharlan finally relaxed. Near him, the other soldiers slowly approached the South Korean while still crouching.

Kang Chan didn’t lower his rifle, though. For some reason, his instincts were telling him not to let his guard down.

1. Pierre says his name incorrectly here ☜

2. Borough is a town in Uganda ☜

3. Kang Chan’s name is said incorrectly again ☜