Boom!

Kang Chan kicked the center of the door with his foot.

There was a lobby in the center, stairs to the second floor, and hallways lined with doors on both sides.

Creak! Creak!

The doors burst open, and enemies jumped out.

Pew! Thud! Peew! Pew! Thud! Peew! Thud! Pew!

However, they fell to the floor just as quickly. Mazani, Dayeru, and the other two soldiers dealt with the survivors.

“Éiric!” Kang Chan called. He then dashed up the stairs.

Click! Click!

The others ran after him with their rifles at the ready.

Kang Chan and Éiric aimed upward while Gérard and another soldier covered their rear.

As soon as an enemy looked down the stairs, Kang Chan shot him in the forehead, sending him falling over the railing.

Swish! Splat!

With the path clear once more, Kang Chan went all the way to the middle of the staircase.

The most annoying thing in these situations was when the stairs weren’t spaced evenly, like now. A misstep could trip him up or, worse, send him tumbling down.

Pushing further up the stairs, they heard loud gunshots.

Ratatatatatat! Bang bang bang!

Montchelle’s sniper rifle gunshot followed.

Chk!

“The enemies have been eliminated!”

Peew! Bang bang bang bang! Peew! Bang bang bang! Ratatatat!

Before Montchelle could even finish speaking, they heard loud gunshots that surely woke all of Mangala from its slumber.

Ratatatat! Bang bang! Ratatatat! Bang! Peew!

Gunfire echoed outside and in the hallways of the second floor.

It had been about thirty seconds since they entered the building. In the next four minutes thirty seconds, they had to eliminate Absala and join Pygmy. ŕἁƝo͍ᛒΕŠ

Ratatatat! Peew! Ratatatatatatatat! Thud thud thud!

The battle in the second-floor hallway stopped for a moment.

Kang Chan quickly signaled to Éiric and Gérard.

Swoosh!

He then tossed himself into the hallway and opened fire.

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

Éiric, his partner, and Gérard followed Kang Chan, shooting the other side of the hallway as fast as they could.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Bang! Ratatatat! Thud!

The hallway Éiric was in charge of only had a few enemies.

All they had to do now was take out Absala.

Click! Whoosh!

Kang Chan scrambled to his feet and ran to the leftmost room.

Gérard rushed in and flanked the door, while Éiric and another soldier stood by, aiming down the opposite hallway.

Receiving a look from Kang Chan, Gérard kicked the door open.

Bam! Whoosh! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Ratatatat!

They shot two men in the forehead, but no Absala.

Click! Click!

Kang Chan changed magazines and then went into the next room. Meanwhile, Gérard moved every corpse aside with his foot.

Ratatatat! Bang bang bang! Ratatatat!

A series of gunshots continued to echo from downstairs.

Whoosh! Bang bang bang bag! Bang bang bang bang bang!

The battle outside also raged on.

Chk!

“It’s the enemies in the village! Pygmy is on them!”

The longer they stayed here, the more danger they were in.

Haah. Haah.

Bam!

Click! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

Enemies almost shot Kang Chan due to how close they were. However, he managed to shoot them in the foreheads first, their blood splashing wildly on the glass, wall, and floor behind them.

“

Hah

!

Hah

!”

Absala wasn’t in this room either.

Gérard gasped for air as they exited the room.

Peew! Peew! Peew!

Enemies jumped out from the far side of the hallway. However, dÉiric and his partner immediately dropped them dead.

Just as they were about to move into the next room, Kang Chan suddenly pulled Gérard back.

The enemies weren’t stupid. If they continued to rush in the same way, the bastards would eventually learn to wait in front of the door and shoot the moment they entered.

Gérard’s eyes wavered.

Was that why he had been gasping for breath when the blood spurted in the room a while back?

Gérard turned away, seemingly avoiding Kang Chan’s gaze. He then pressed himself against the wall.

They couldn’t afford to hold back anymore. More than two minutes had already passed.

Clink! Cink!

Kang Chan took out a grenade and removed the safety pin. He then kicked open the door from the side and hurled the grenade inside.

A frantic shout followed. Not long after, a deafening explosion echoed through the hallway.

Whoosh! Click!

Kang Chan ran in.

From the doorway, Gérard fired down the hall repeatedly. It seemed someone had jumped out from a room further down the hall.

Haah. Haah.

Looking around the room, Kang Chan found an enemy giving his all to raise his head and look at him. He was a mess.

Kang Chan felt bad about killing enemies like this. However, if he let his guard down now, his subordinates could die.

Kang Chan headed back to the hallway only to find Gérard shooting corpses.

Éiric and his partner glanced at Gérard and Kang Chan.

There really was no time.

Kang Chan pulled Gérard by the nape of his neck and looked him straight in the eye.

“Gérard.”

“Captain?”

His wavering eyes, between his helmet and bandana, quickly stabilized. Kang Chan wanted to send him back. However, there was nowhere to send him to right now.

“Reload and stay behind me.”

Kang Chan hurried to the inner room.

It had been some time since enemies had jumped out of this room. It was suspicious. However, the gunshots echoing from outside the building seemed to be urging them to hurry.

Ratatatat! Bang bang bang bang! Ratatatat!

This was the last door.

Since Éiric wasn’t watching his back, searching for Absala like this would be difficult. If Absala wasn’t in this room either, Kang Chan would have to look through the four rooms in the other hallway too.

Bam!

Kang Chan kicked open the door before Gérard could even stand next to him. Bullets immediately flew toward the wall right in front of the door.

He had predicted as much.

Whoosh! Click!

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

The difference between trained special forces soldiers and rebels was that the former only needed a split second to shoot their target. The latter often just fired wildly.

That difference dictated life and death.

After killing the three people in the room, Kang Chan quickly rushed inside.

Finally, he had found Absala. The man, still holding his AK-47, had been shot right through the forehead. Nevertheless, Kang Chan shot Absala in the neck, heart, and right chest.

Chk.

“This is Zulu! We got the target! I repeat! We got the target! We will now retreat! Pygmy, cover us!”

Kang Chan turned around, finding Gérard looking shaky again.

Kang Chan couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Gérard had never acted like this in previous battles.

Hence, he tightly gripped Gérard’s helmet with both hands.

“Gérard!”

His shaking eyes quickly calmed down upon seeing Kang Chan. “Captain?”

“Get your shit together! If we take too long, Éiric could get killed!”

“Oui!” Gérard confidently responded. It was as if he didn’t know his eyes had been wavering.

There was no time to figure this out now, though.

Kang Chan and Gérard burst into the hallway and turned to Éiric and his partner, who were holding grenades in both hands.

Kang Chan nodded.

The two removed the safety pins and ran ahead.

However, at that moment, a powerful burst of gunfire erupted from inside the door. Éiric and his partner were sent sprawling on the floor.

“Éiric! Get out of there!”

Kang Chan ran toward Éiric.

Éiric was still holding grenades. If he tossed them, his partner would be blasted into pieces.

He glanced at Kang Chan and turned around with gritted teeth.

“Éiric—”

Before Kang Chan could finish, Éiric kicked the door in front of him.

Boom! Ratatatatat!

Two grenades exploded in the room Éiric ran into and two more in the hallway.

With an ear-splitting explosion, glass shattered, and the entire building shook violently.

“Gérard! Head down!”

Kang Chan quickly ran into the room that Éiric had entered.

Click!

In front of Éiric, who had fallen sideways on the floor, bloodied enemies struggled to lift their rifles.

Kang Chan quickly eliminated the enemies and held Éiric’s upper body.

Éiric smiled with difficulty.

He was shot in the neck just above his vest; it didn’t look like he would survive.

“G-go… Hurry…” The blood from his throat gurgled and spurted out of his mouth with each word.

Éiric had told him to go, but he still gripped Kang Chan’s arm tightly. He wasn’t afraid—he just felt sad that he had to part with Kang Chan.

“Captain…”

He seemed to be trying to smile again, but his head dropped before he could do it.

Ratatatatat! Bang bang bang! Ratatatat! Bang bang bang!

Chk!

“Captain! The trucks are here! Let’s go!” Montchelle urged Kang Chan over the radio.

I’m going. You would understand if I prioritized looking out for the others, right?

Kang Chan tapped Éiric’s helmet twice and stood up.

It hurt. It hurt to leave Éiric like this, but he had to take care of the rest of his men.

When he turned down the hall and descended the stairs, he saw Gérard, Mazani, and another soldier.

“Where’s Daye?”

“He went out the door over there, toward Smithen!”

“Just get out of the building for now!”

Kang Chan rushed outside.

Peew! Pew! Peew! Peew!

With things already getting out of control, the Pygmy Unit had come to the entrance of the village to help them.

“We’re heading back! Hurry up!” Kang Chan shouted.

Just then, Smithen came running from the other side of the building.

Kang Chan grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.

“Smithen! Where’s Dayeru?”

“I haven’t seen him since I left the building!”

This motherfucker!

Kang Chan didn’t have time to kick his ass.

Ratatatatatat! Ratatatatatat!

Bang bang bang!

Chk!

“Zulu! We’re running out of time!”

“Mazani! Cover the entrance with Montchelle. If I’m not out in three minutes, just leave!”

Kang Chan turned and ran inside.

Gérard stayed close behind him.

Kang Chan glared at Gérard sharply.

‘Captain! I can’t stay here alone!’

For a split second, Gérard’s thoughts flashed through his eyes. It made him feel the same was as when Éiric had squeezed his forearm until he succumbed to his wound.

Fine! Let’s go! If you would rather die together than die alone, then stay behind me!

Kang Chan ran inside, and Gérard quickly followed.

Kang Chan ran into the building and out the other door.

Where did he go? There should at least be a body!

It was getting brighter outside.

Ratatatatat! Bang bang bang bang! Thud! Thud!

Kang Chan’s eyes caught sight of an imposing building at the front of an alley. It had bullet marks on the door and walls.

If Dayeru wasn’t there, it would be almost impossible to find him unless Kang Chan searched every house in the neighborhood.

***

Chk!

“This is Zulu! We got the target! I repeat! We got the target! We will now retreat! Pygmy, cover us!”

Ratatatat! Bang! Ratatatatatatat! Bang! Ratatatat!

Seeing that the building in front of him was under fire, Dayeru ran out the back door. He found Smithen scaling the right wall of the building, also having heard the radio transmission.

A barrage of bullets flew from the windows of the building in front of the alley.

Bang! Ratatatat!

They wouldn’t be able to get out of this place without taking out that building. After all, if they fell back now, those inside the building could attack them from behind. Knowing Kang Chan, he wouldn’t let his men handle those enemies either. Kang Chan or Gérard would ultimately end up being the one in danger.

I have to get them somehow!

Dayeru gritted his teeth.

Boooom! Booom! Booom! Boooom!

Huge explosions reverberated from the second floor of the building. The enemy fire stopped momentarily.

Whoosh!

Dayeru ran like a madman toward the building in front of him. He planned to get to a hut right next to the building. From there, he could throw grenades through the window.

This would’ve been so much easier if that asshole Smithen was covering him.

Dayeru stuck to the front of the building. Meanwhile, his partner hid in the opposite building.

‘There!’

A series of gunshots echoed from where Montchelle was.

Click!

Dayeru lowered his rifle. Before he could take out a grenade, two men lunged at him from the back of the hut he was leaning against and choked him.

Jab! Jab!

Short knives dug into Dayeru’s shoulders and waist. Rifles then crushed his neck and head. Afterward, the men dragged Dayeru and his partner into the building that he’d been trying to throw the grenade into. They then tied them to a chair and gagged them.

“

Mmm

!”

Even now, the gunfight outside still hadn’t stopped.

Shing!

A dozen enemies unsheathed long knives and looked outside, waiting for the reinforcements that they had called in.

They couldn’t do much else, so they took comfort in the fact that they captured Dayeru and his partner.

“

Mmmph

!”

He wasn’t afraid of dying! However, he was worried about his partner dying and upset about not seeing Kang Chan again.

“

Mmmh

!”

Dayeru twisted around, making the enemies look at him curiously. They then turned their knives on his partner, seemingly wanting to put Dayeru in even more pain.

Dayeru locked eyes with his partner.

Swish!

“

Aaargh

!”

His partner’s eyes widened in terror as his neck was twisted grotesquely.

“

Aaaaah

!”

Dayeru kicked and struggled as the enemies walked toward him. One of them pressed their knife against his throat.

‘Captain! I’m leaving first! It was nice to meet you! Next time, I hope we meet somewhere more livable for humans.’

The rebel pushed his knife toward his skin even more, yet Dayeru just kept looking at him with bloodshot eyes. The time from when he met Kang Chan to now flashed through his mind.

He wished he could see Kang Chan’s smirk one more time and hoped Kang Chan and the others managed to escape.

In the face of death, Dayeru made one last ridiculous promise to himself.

‘Someday, I’ll kill you bastards!’

At that moment, the door burst open with a loud bang.