Chapter 471: Stick Close and Don't Ever Leave (2)

“

Huff, huff

!”

Panting nearly as heavily as an asthmatic, the researcher looked at Kang Chan, leaving the latter no choice but to take a break now.

Kang Chan clicked his tongue twice, signaling Éiric to come over. He then used his index and middle fingers to point the soldiers behind him to four different locations.

While the others quietly secured the perimeter, Éiric and Montechelle walked over to Kang Chan. Kang Chan pointed at his eyes and then ahead of him twice, telling the two to scout twenty meters ahead. Éiric and Montechelle nodded and disappeared back into the darkness.

Watching the quiet commands, the gleam in the soldiers’ eyes, and how they scattered without a word, Morrison finally seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. When Kang Chan took out a water bottle and drank, the researchers swallowed nervously.

Damn it! They didn’t even bring a single bottle of water in their backpacks?

There wasn’t much else to say in this situation. Kang Chan quietly handed the water bottle over.

Gulp! Gulp!

The silence they had maintained was completely shattered when the researcher choked on the water.

“

Gack

!

Cough

!

Cough

!

Cough

!”

Noticing Kang Chan’s sharp glare, the researcher covered his mouth with his hand. However, he couldn’t stop coughing.

Kang Chan turned to the path ahead. If he kept staring, he felt as though he’d snatch the water bottle and hit the guy over the head with it.

‘He’s a civilian. He’s a civilian. I can’t just hit him for that.’

As Kang Chan repeatedly reminded himself of the researchers’ position, Gérard and Bricks handed water to the other researchers.

Gulp! Gulp!

The others were quieter, but they still made noise.

The researchers clearly had no clue about the dangers that came with the darkness of Africa. They didn’t know that the smallest mistakes here often meant the death of their comrades.

That sticky, unsettling feeling was still clinging to Kang Chan.

Fuck. Something feels off.

Kang Chan sharply scanned the surroundings.

“

Tsk

,

tsk

!”

Éiric’s signal came from ahead. Kang Chan immediately raised a finger to his lips to silence everyone. As Morrison looked over with an expression that seemed to ask, “What? Why?”

Ever so quick on the uptake, Gérard gently pushed the researchers off to one side.

Rustle! Rustle!

Their footsteps kept making noises as they moved, but it couldn’t be helped. Once the researchers had been gathered, Gérard and Bricks stood guard in front of them.

Éiric then appeared in a crouching position, an unmistakable tension on his face. He raised his right hand, made three circles in the air, and then pointed ahead twice. It meant there were unidentified people twenty meters ahead of them.

How many?

Catching Kang Chan’s gaze, Éiric extended his thumb and pinky finger, waving them twice—they numbered around thirty.

Damn it! Damn it!

When Kang Chan glanced back, he found Morrison and the researchers staring at him with a mix of curiosity and fear. It was best to deal with this quietly if possible. Besides, it would be dangerous to leave it all to Montechelle.

Just as Kang Chan signaled for Mazani, Smithen, and Dayeru to move, the piercing gunshot of Montechelle’s sniper rifle cut through the darkness.

Boom!

Ratatat! Pew! Ping! Bang! Ratatat! Pew!

There was no longer any reason to maintain silence.

“Gérard! Bricks! Hold this position! Smithen, cover the rear!” Kang Chan ordered. He then quickly moved toward the direction of the gunfire.

Ratatat! Ping! Bang! Pew! Bam! Pew!

Montechelle and two soldiers were behind a rock, continuously shooting at their enemies. Kang Chan, Éiric, Mazani, Dayeru, and one more soldier soon reached their position.

Clank! Clank! Splat!

Keeping his head down, Montechelle clearly and decisively reported, “It’s the rebels! They’re armed and heading straight toward us!”

Thud! Whoosh! Thump! Whack!

They’re coming straight at us?

Kang Chan quickly turned around. “Éiric! We’re retreating! I’ll clear the way! Follow me and cover the rear! If anything goes wrong, regroup at Lima, Alpha!”

“Oui!”

Lowering his stance, Kang Chan sprinted toward where the researchers were.

If we get surrounded here, we’re all dead!

Clenching his teeth, he ran as fast as he could.

Ratatat! Ratatatat! Pew! Pew! Pew!

As he feared, gunfire came from where the researchers were.

“Smithen! Break through the front! Gérard! Bricks! Move!”

Pew! Pew! Pew!

When Kang Chan arrived at the scene, he found Gérard firing his rifle toward the area below them.

Ratatat! Boom! Ratatat! Ping! Pew!

“Go!”

The gunshots rang in the researchers’ ears. Whenever one saw the ground or trees next to them explode, they naturally froze in their tracks.

“Morrison! Move!”

Kang Chan grabbed Morrison by the collar and dragged him in the direction they had come from. As Morrison stumbled forward, the researchers, crouched low, followed behind him like frightened sheep.

“Hurry up!”

Gunshots erupted from the opposite side of where Gérard was shooting.

Pew! Ratatat! Boom! Pew! Ratatat!

“Bricks!” Kang Chan called. Bricks quickly headed to the opposite side of Gérard.

Pew! Ratatat! Pew! Ratatatatat!

As Kang Chan practically dragged Morrison forward, the sound of Bricks’ rifle echoed in the background.

Ratatat! Pew! Pew! Pew!

The enemies were blocking even Smithen now.

Damn it! Why hasn’t my heart raced yet even though things have gotten this bad?

There was no time to think about that now, though. They had to get out of here.

Click! Pew! Clang! Pew! Clang! Pew! Clang!

Kang Chan fired at the enemies blocking the path that they had come from. Empty casings clanked as they hit the rocks on the ground, seemingly terrifying Morrison even more.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

What probably looked like mere hunks of metal before, this battle had awoken into instruments of death.

Ratatat! Boom! Ping! Ratatat!

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

As the battle raged on, Morrison finally fully understood that the dark, battered rifles in the soldiers’ hands were meant to take lives. While Kang Chan engaged the enemies in the darkness, the gunfire from Éiric’s location intensified.

Ratatat! Boom! Ping! Ratatat!

“Smithen!” Kang Chan called out. He then grabbed a grenade from his vest. “Get down!”

Ping! Ping!

He pulled the safety pin with his index finger and immediately threw the grenade in the direction of the gunfire. Right after, he pushed Morrison and the researchers to the ground.

Boom! Kaboom!

Rustle, rustle!

The explosion shook the ground and sent dirt and debris raining down from the sky.

Click! Pew! Clang! Pew! Clang! Pew! Clang!

Kang Chan shot downward and then glanced back. “Éiric! Fall back! Gérard! Bricks! On Éiric, now!”

He then turned back to the front.

“Smithen! Throw a grenade!”

Smithen nodded and quickly pulled out a grenade.

Ping! Ping!

Hearing the safety pin being pulled, Morrison and the researchers instinctively buried their heads in the ground.

Whoosh! Boom!

Just before Smithen’s grenade exploded, Kang Chan once again shielded the researchers.

Boooom! Boom!

The researchers likely had no idea a grenade could shake the ground this much.

Rustle-!

Click! Bang! Clang! Bang! Thud! Bang! Clang!

Kang Chan rained bullets on suspicious areas. He then reloaded his magazine as he rose to his feet.

Click! Clang!

“Cover me!”

He dashed downward immediately.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Gunfire, unmistakably Gérard’s, echoed, signaling that he had joined the fray. Bricks, the fool, was still stuck fighting the enemy and hadn’t managed to extract himself.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

There weren’t many enemies at the rear. The ones who had moved in from deeper into the mountain had clearly been spotted by Éiric and Montechelle, preventing them from properly securing this position.

Ratatat! Boom! Ping! Ratatat!

Gunfire erupted from the position that Gérard and Bricks had been holding.

“Smithen! Bring the researchers down! Gérard! Cover the rear!” Kang Chan ordered.

Right after, he shot an enemy who had raised his head, the bullet piercing through his forehead. He then looked upward.

Bang! Thud! Ratatat! Boom!

They were climbing along the ridge, so enemy fire from the sides hadn’t reached them yet. This was their only chance to escape. If the enemy got any closer, they’d lose this position and have to face direct fire.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

Kang Chan fired at his flanks.

Rustle! Thud! Slide!

The researchers, practically sliding and rolling, made their way down. Smithen and Gérard accompanied them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ratatatat! Thud! Bang! Thud!

Ratatat! Boom! Ratatat! Boom!

The enemies, seemingly determined to trap Kang Chan and his group, continued firing recklessly.

Click! Ratatatat! Thud!

Kang Chan shot an enemy through the forehead just as another grenade explosion came from Éiric’s location.

“Smithen! Gérard! Get the researchers out of here! Now’s our chance!”

As Kang Chan provided cover fire, Smithen and Gérard grabbed the researchers by the collars and dragged them forward.

Kang Chan kept shooting nonstop to provide cover and kill as many enemies as possible.

Ratatat! Bang! Bang!

At that moment, Éiric, Mazani, Montechelle, and Dayeru approached his position. Mazani and Dayeru were each carrying a soldier on their shoulders.

“Get moving!” Kang Chan shouted, and the soldiers quickly descended.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Boom!

“Where’s Bricks?”

“I haven’t seen him! I thought he made it down!”

Damn it!

“Go! I’ll catch up!”

Kang Chan immediately moved up the ridge again. He heard frantic gunfire behind him and a groan, but there was no time to look back.

Running uphill with his rifle aimed, Kang Chan cursed himself for not keeping that chick, Bricks, closer to him. He should have kept him right by his side, even if it meant tying him down until he had sent him elsewhere.

Clang! Clang!

Kang Chan could hear Dayeru following behind him. He wondered if that earlier groan was from an injured soldier, but there was no time to question it.

Click! Click!

Panting heavily, Kang Chan turned his rifle toward the position that Bricks had been holding.

“

Argh

!”

Down near the middle of the slope was Bricks. The moment Kang Chan spotted him, time seemed to slow to a crawl. The wind, the gunfire around him, the blades of the enemies surrounding Bricks, and the desperate screams as the knives slashed down—all of it moved painfully slowly.

Bricks, soaked in blood, looked at Kang Chan with terrified eyes.

Thud! Shhk!

“

Uurgh

!”

Bricks tried to aim, but two knives plunged into him. With more than eight enemies stabbing at him, it was impossible to block all the blades at once.

Clang!

Even the noise of Kang Chan aiming his rifle seemed to be in slow motion.

Baaaaang! Thuuuud!

One of the enemies' foreheads exploded, sending blood and brain matter flying in all directions. Kang Chan fired again, aiming at the enemies who raised their heads in response.

Baaaaang! Thuuuud! Claaaang!

When the empty casings hit the ground, the world snapped back to its normal speed.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Boom! Boom!

Kang Chan had taken out four enemies when Dayeru began firing beside him.

Slash! Thud!

Kang Chan threw himself toward Bricks. Even in his half-lying position, as if sliding down a chute, he kept pulling the trigger.

Enemies fired wildly from a short distance away, and Dayeru fired back at them furiously like a madman.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Kang Chan grabbed Bricks’ face as he lay on the ground.

“

Grrrk

!”

There were so many holes in Bricks' chest and stomach that it was clear he wouldn’t make it.

“Let’s go! I’m taking you with me!”

Thud!

Blood mixed with tears flowed from Bricks’ eyes. Soon, his head dropped lifelessly.

Pew! Boom! Pew! Boom!

“Captain!” Dayeru urgently called out. He was changing his magazine.

Click! Clang!

Kang Chan wanted to stop and give up right there. However, he didn’t know why, but he couldn’t just leave this dead rookie behind. If he left him here, Bricks would surely be decapitated, and his head would be thrown into a fire—Kang Chan knew this all too well.

Pew! Pew! Boom! Boom!

“Captain!” Dayeru yelled, snapping Kang Chan back to reality.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

I know I have to go. I can’t stand here and watch that idiot Algerian die. You know that, right?

We have more people to protect than just that Algerian fool!

Clenching his teeth, Kang Chan raised his rifle.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

As he fired at the enemies aiming for Dayeru, multiple other rifle gunshots rang from above.

“Hurry up and get up here, Captain!” Éiric shouted.

Kang Chan ran uphill with all his strength.