Kang Chan met James’ gaze.

“It’s the rebels!” James urgently exclaimed, clearly caught off guard.

Unexpectedly, though, Kang Chan remained calm. He even thought that this was an obvious outcome—like a ghost appearing in a horror movie at the exact moment he predicted.

“How far away are they from us?” Kang Chan asked.

“About a hundred meters, sir. We haven’t figured out their numbers yet.”

Kang Chan looked at the natives’ village again.

The rebels knew this land’s geography better than anyone else, yet they still chose to make their presence known right before Kang Chan and his men entered the village.

‘Why push us into the village? What are they planning?’

Kang Chan wasn’t sure if he was smart or the rebels were just stupid, but it was a very obvious trap. Since he could come to any conclusion he wanted, he chose to believe that he got this all figured out because he was smart.

From the back, people had to walk uphill to reach this area.

“We need extra magazines!” Kang Chan yelled.

The soldiers urgently took out the magazines that they had placed at their waists.

“Sniper, you’re going up with me. James, guard that side! The rebels could come at us from the front! Let’s go!”

After placing five magazines inside his belt, Kang Chan went up to the hill with the sniper.

Rustle! Rattle! Rustle! Rustle!

Even though the mountain was covered in thick trees, dirt still crumbled and fell whenever they took a step. Thirty meters up, Kang Chan finally got a view of around forty rebels approaching them on the road.

Perhaps it was because of the hot temperature, but the air glimmered near them. Nevertheless, the rebels continued walking toward Kang Chan’s men amid the heat haze. One of them had an RPG slung over his shoulder, and the rest were proudly carrying Ak-47s.

Kang Chan smirked. Even though he and his men were new recruits, they were still properly trained soldiers.

Even so, the rebels approached them as if they were showing off their numbers, possibly because they believed that they had killed many of the soldiers.

“Once I start shooting them, you are permitted to open fire. Kill as many as possible,” Kang Chan ordered.

The sniper grabbed his sniper rifle and then got into a prone position.

Kang Chan continued, “You focus on their right flank and rear. I’ll take out their left flank.”

“Oui,” the sniper answered, then pulled the breechblock.

Clank! Click!

Kang Chan also pulled his gun’s breechblock and then slung his rifle on his shoulder.

Surprisingly, the noises reached the rebels in the distance. They scanned the area for the source.

Amid their confusion, Kang Chan pulled the trigger.

The head of the rebel walking in front of their formation snapped back. In response, the others urgently jumped toward the hills flanking them.

Kang Chan and the sniper easily shot the rebels from above. Considering they would’ve still been able to hit their targets in the head even if their targets ran around crazily, there was no way they wouldn’t hit some rebels hiding beside nearby hills.

With each pull of the trigger, Kang Chan sent a bullet into his target’s head. It pierced through their skull and hit the ground, making dirt rise and form a cloud of dust.

One after another, the rebels’ heads exploded.

Kang Chan could tell that the rebels hadn’t had proper training or experience just from the way they fired their rifles. Though they seemed familiar with shooting a gun, they lacked form and accuracy.

The rebels attempted to return fire, but it was clear that they were flustered and panicking.

Meanwhile, Kang Chan just kept shooting them in the forehead. With each gunshot, a rebel’s head snapped back, sending them falling backward. Blood sprayed from their heads, and dirt rose from behind them.

Kang Chan and his men didn’t ask for this fight; they never coaxed the rebels to approach them.

On the contrary, the rebels were the ones who chose to close in on soldiers who had undergone months of training to kill people.

Soon, only a few rebels were left standing. Two tried their hardest to run back down the path they had come from.

You were the ones who tried to attack us first, yet you’re all now running for your fucking lives? Why did you bastards even send women and children strapped with bombs after us?

Click!

Kang Chan aimed at the back of one of the runners’ heads.

Bang!

The rebel fell forward with his arms stretched out, making him look as if he was yelling, “Hip hip hooray!”

Kang Chan targeted the other runner next. Aiming at the back of their head, he immediately noticed the rebel’s stark terror.

You son of a bitch! Why would you make those women and children go through something so despicable?!

Bang!

The rebel fell forward as if somebody fiercely slapped them from the back, ending their brief battle. They had killed over forty people this time.

Kang Chan sighed. Placing his rifle down, he leaned back against the hill.

This wasn’t a game. With a few pulls of the trigger, he had killed an absurdly large number of people.

Although Kang Chan had killed them to survive and see through someone’s plan, he couldn’t help but sigh softly.

“Guard this place for now. We don’t have enough people, so just request assistance if the rebels appear again,” Kang Chan ordered their sniper.

“Oui.”

Kang Chan went down the hill, leaving their sniper behind. On the way, he kept having absurd thoughts.

If the rebels ran out of bullets, would they try to attack us with knives?

When he rejoined the rest of the group, he noticed that the soldiers had a different look in their eyes.

“What’s going on?” Kang Chan asked.

“Nothing, sir.”

Why are these fuckers bullshitting me when I’m already in a bad mood?

“Smithen,” Kang Chan called.

“Oui.”

“Still can’t move your neck?”

“Pardon?”

Smithen shifted his gaze between Kang Chan and James.

Should I make it so that he can’t move his eyeballs as well?

As if reading Kang Chan’s mind, Smithen quickly answered, “I can move my neck, sir.”

He didn’t forget to frown as if to show that he was in pain, though.

Kang Chan smirked, making the pain quickly disappear from Smithen’s expression.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this fucker?

Kang Chan sighed softly, then turned his head toward Maxon.

“Maxon. We’re going into the village. James, if more rebels approach us from behind, assist the sniper and shoot them down; we’ll leave as soon as we hear gunshots. If you hear gunshots coming from the village, just hold your positions,” Kang Chan said.

“Oui,” James answered.

Smithen was nervously gauging people’s moods. Meanwhile, Kang Chan checked his magazine and pulled the breechblock.

Clank!

Maxon and Smithen pulled their breechblocks as well.

Kang Chan continued, “I’ll take point. Maxon, cover our left. Smithen, our right.”

Back at the training center, they were taught to use this formation to search for something.

After issuing orders, Kang Chan lowered his stance and headed toward the village.

Instead of following the curved path, they advanced in a straight line, pushing their way through the trees.

Rattle. Rustle. Rustle.

They could easily get their heads blown off if hostiles were hiding behind the mud walls. Hence, they scanned their surroundings as thoroughly as they could even though it made their advance slower.

Kang Chan’s heart felt as if it would jump out of his chest whenever he noticed a hole in a mud wall or a small crevice in one of the roofs made out of tree branches and leaves.

Clatter. Clatter. Rustle. Rustle.

They kept hearing different noises with each step. However, it was at least better than hearing gunshots. Likewise, it would be fine not to notice everything for as long as they didn’t miss a muzzle aimed at them.

Cutting through the curving road, they came across a round mud hut ten meters ahead. They also noticed a passage behind the hut that was barely big enough for Kang Chan to enter crouching.

We have to search all of these mud huts?

That was going to take a lot of time, but they had to do it. They were still about six kilometers away from their target location. To ensure they could leave this place and get there alive, they had to clear the mud huts first.

Kang Chan used his left index and middle fingers to designate Maxon a position.

Swish!

As ordered, Maxon stood against the mud hut on the very left and took aim. Meanwhile, Kang Chan pointed Smithen to the second mud hut from the right.

Whoosh! Bam!

Smithen roughly ran to the position but ended up slamming into the mud wall, causing Kang Chan and Maxon to flinch at the same time.

Motherfucker! Didn’t he say he has experience serving in the military?!

If Smithen survived searching this place, Kang Chan thought it would be a good idea to look into what kind of experience he actually had in the army.

Kang Chan approached the mud hut at the very front.

Whoosh! Clank!

He initially couldn’t see much due to how dark it was. However, he still had enough vision to distinguish people even if they had the darkest skin tone.

Kang Chan slowly swept through the area with his rifle. Finding it uninhabited, he headed to the next mud hut.

Whoosh! Clank!

It was completely empty as well.

After securing his location, he assigned Maxon and Smithen to new positions.

It took them fifteen minutes of searching to check most of the mud huts. Only two remained, both of which were slightly far away from them.

Kang Chan ordered Maxon to move first. Just as he looked at Smithen to give him new orders, they heard someone cough, though it sounded muffled.

“

Keugh!

”

Click! Click!

Kang Chan and Maxon turned their rifles toward the direction of the cough. Unlike them, Smithen only looked toward it.

Kang Chan pointed Smithen to a position with his index and middle fingers and then assigned Maxon to a new position as well. Afterward, he slowly headed toward the direction of the sound. He planted the butt of his rifle against his shoulder and put his index finger on the trigger.

Shoot! Just shoot the suspicious huts. Why bother searching each one like this?

The sunlight, the earthy smell from the mud walls, the smell of leaves from the mountain, and the shadows of the huts and trees urged Kang Chan to pull the trigger.

After posting Maxon on his left and Smithen on his right, Kang Chan thought about just firing toward the direction of the cough and riddling the two remaining mud huts with bullets. That way, they could just take their time searching through them.

Kang Chan didn't even hear their footsteps. Moreover, his nerves were so on edge that he kept putting pressure on the trigger.

Haah. Haah.

Fortunately, he could still hear his breathing.

No, I shouldn’t shoot. The rebels might not be here, and innocent women and children could be inside those huts.

Click!

Kang Chan pointed his rifle into the first mud hut, finding no one inside. He slowly turned toward the last mud hut.

Haah. Haah.

If the enemies had guns, then they should’ve shot us by now, so they’d probably jump at us with a knife or some sort of weapon. Only then will I shoot. Otherwise, I’ll be no different from a murderer.

As Kang Chan turned toward the entrance of the last mud hut, he froze.

He probably wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t been in a cave before, but the layers of mud on the mud wall looked exactly like the layers on the entrance of the hill cave that Enzo had guided him into.

With a nod, Kang Chan gestured at Maxon to head toward the front of the mud wall that continued up the hill.

Maxon nodded in response. He then slowly approached the cave.

“

Urgh

!”

They could hear someone crying inside the cave now.

Whoosh! Click! Click!

Kang Chan immediately ran and aimed his rifle inside the cave. Within its dark, low, and small interior, women and children were sitting on the floor, hugging each other. Some looked at Kang Chan with bright eyes, while others hung their heads, avoiding his gaze.

Click!

Kang Chan swept through the area with his rifle just to be safe. Fortunately, he didn’t see any hostiles.

“Come out, slowly.”

Kang Chan spoke to them in French, but it seemed like they didn’t understand him.

“Out!”

With a glance from Kang Chan, Maxon spoke to the natives in English. In turn, the women quickly exchanged glances.

“Ask if they understand English,” Kang Chan ordered.

Maxon spoke to them again, and the natives responded in broken English. To Kang Chan, it didn’t sound like they were speaking English, but the native woman was communicating with Maxon.

“Check if there’s men or armed people first,” Kang Chan said.

Maxon talked to the natives again, and the natives responded in broken English.

“They say there are no men here. They only hid because they heard gunshots,” Maxon said.

Kang Chan sighed softly and started to exit the cave. Before he could, a woman asked something.

Maxon listened to her, then turned to Kang Chan. “They’re asking for some food and water if we have any.”

Kang Chan sighed deeply.

Since he had lost some of his men, they now had extra food that could cover lunch and dinner for ten people. If Kang Chan and his men could walk the last six kilometers without eating, they could even give them the surviving soldiers’ food as well.

They found around seven skinny women and nine children with swollen stomachs. Unfortunately, Kang Chan didn’t have the faintest idea of what they should do in this kind of situation.

“Maxon, go up over there and stand guard; I’m going to bring our men over. Smithen, you guard this place,” Kang Chan said.

“Oui.”

Once Maxon had secured a good vantage point, Kang Chan walked back to James.

Why are things getting so complicated?

Having Maxon watching over the village and their sniper guarding their rear made Kang Chan feel a bit at ease.

“James! I want all men to head down to the village—”

“

Aaghh

!”

The piercing scream from below abruptly cut off Kang Chan.

Click! Click! Clank!