V36
Sky positioned himself on one of the vantage points in the area overlooking the other side of the place.
After a long time of bombardments very few places remain standing, even more so the closer it is to the borders.
Even though they are on standby he continues to watch the battlefield, for there is no real assurance in war. He knows this first hand. How many times they have suffered what could be an easy battle.
And how many territories they have lost even after claiming it was impregnable. Ever since he and his group arrived here. He has been woken up countless times, from many of his delusions regarding the war.
And because of that many of his brothers and sisters have paid the heavy price for his arrogance.
Coming here with superior equipment and body enhancement, he was arrogant and reckless but all that had long disappeared, unfortunately, others have paid for his shortcomings. Those regrets he will carry for the rest of his life.
Looking around it was almost peaceful, he didn't hear any gunshots or explosions and the many traces of war have been mostly covered by snow. If he were a stranger to the place, he would never have thought that the war is still ongoing.
His daydreaming only lasted a few seconds, because he noticed the movement on the other side, using special glasses and superior eyesight he can easily detect, movement from a few kilometers away.
Especially the young man beside him, their famed sniper.
If he can only notice the movement, the kid can probably see even their facial expressions. It's a gift only the kid possessed. The special glasses can only filter those smokes and fogs, but ultimately one still needs to rely on their eyesight. Advanced telescopes can easily be countered by the enemy's technology.
The enemy's technology is almost on par with their own, the suits they wear can block many spying technologies. Telescopes that rely on heat sensors and other similar things can easily be blocked and used against them.
And so many soldiers only use the most basic spy glasses that can only filter smokes and fog. And rely on their ability and instinct they honed on the battlefield.
Of course, many newbies ignore those warnings and heavily rely on sophisticated equipment, only to pay a heavy price later on.
Sky experiences the same thing. He and his group used to rely on their advanced technology, especially those high tech devices to detect enemies, if not for their superior's enhancement and instinct many more would have died.
Of course, when they first arrived they had been briefed about it, but he just didn't listen.
And now besides their armor who can help them in their movement, and weapons, Sky basically didn't use any of the other technology they possessed.
Even drones, which is one of their biggest advantages, can easily be countered by their enemies. Ground drones and space drones, even though they are both called Drones the technologies they possessed are very different.
Ground-level drones have shorter operating times and weaker firepower. After all, they weren't going to fight heavily armored Battleships. And because of gravity, they cannot be equipped with too heavy a weapon.
And so Sky only used drones as support and was manually controlled. But he does like using kamikaze drones though. Unfortunately, he has a limited number of those. So he only used those for emergencies.
Many of their automated equipment are now switched to manual mode.
Boom!, Bang!… "So it started" Sky whispered.
Sky nodded at the young man beside him. After that, the young man jumped down and disappeared.
The participation of the young man can save many lives. And with their dwindling numbers, every life he saves is important. And besides almost everyone who remains can be considered an expert, and losing just one is a heavy blow to them.
At first, there were many Adventurers and Mercenaries who accepted the commission here, but now with the Redline being opened to everyone many independent forces switch their focus there as it is a more lucrative place for them.
Here they will only have to rely on their paychecks. After all, real Ganesh is very rare here, mostly only Kampons are fighting here. And those guys were basically useless unless they could salvage their equipment.
Only a Ganesh Body has value, Kampon doesn't.
And so despite the generous paychecks, many opted to try their luck in space fighting the real Ganesh.
After all, just a few carcasses of Ganesh is almost equivalent to several months of their paychecks here. Not to mention they don't have to answer to anyone.
The Kid immediately looks for a good place to nest. He was an orphan but unlike the many soldiers recruited by the Grand Army, he didn't have a tragic background like many of them. Besides being an orphan, and living on the street he didn't suffer much. At least not like many of his friends in the streets.
His name is Crow and the people who know him call him little Crow, because of his dark hair and dark eyes, and his hair is like a crow's nest. His real name is Thomas Linch, but he barely uses that name sometimes he even forgets that is his real name.
And before being recruited by Tom and Jerry he was a leader of a group of pickpockets. And he made a mistake on picking Jerry's pockets only to be caught.
He knew the consequences of being caught, as many of his friends have experienced, and being beaten half to death is the lightest punishment. Some if not many were being sold as slaves by the corrupt officers who caught them. Some are being used as target practice for many elites in their hunting games.
He himself was beaten many times, fortunately, that all he ever got from being caught.
But Jerry instead of beating him up even treated him for a meal and offered him a chance of a lifetime. Of course, he didn't easily believe it. Growing up in the street he has witnessed the absolute worst of humanities have to offer.
Many of his female friends were abducted and raped. Many simply disappeared never to be seen again, while some turned up in gutters somewhere.
He has witnessed these things many times. In other words, he only trusts himself, even those who he considers friends he would never trust his backs to them. Betrayal is the most common thing on the street.
But Jerry among all the people he met was quite different; he never once forced him, after making an offer and treating him to a meal, and after giving him a way to contact him he left laughing and cheerfully.
Months passed and he almost forgot about Jerry's offer. Until one day he made another blunder he accidentally picked pockets the son of the local tyrant, normally he would never make this kind of rookie mistake but who would have thought that the son of the local tyrant would disguise himself as a regular man to secretly film for his blog. Without any bodyguards, one look and Sky only saw an easy target.
So not only he pickpockets a young master he was filmed doing it.
And when the young master's father found out about it, he ordered his men to look for Crow.
And after being betrayed by those so-called friends of his, he has no choice but to run and hide. It was then he remembered the man trying to recruit him a few months ago. After giving a man a call only to be greeted by an answering machine, frustrated he was about to hang up but decided to leave a message behind just in case.
Not knowing that he was spotted when he made a phone call.
That night he was cornered, beaten black and blue he knew it was over. Looking around blood dripping on his forehead and his mouth all he saw was the grinning face of the men beating him.
"Hoho, kid you finally decided to call, and I was beginning to think you're not interested." When suddenly he heard a joking voice.
The men beating him immediately stopped, trying to find the source of the voice.
And in the alley where he was being beaten, in the corner, a silhouette of a man appeared.
"Fuck off, old man!" Said one of the teenagers beating him.
But Jerry never once looked at them, he continues to look at him with a slight smile on his face, he also continues to walk towards him.
"Old man, if I were you I would walk away. You don't want to get involved in this believe me." Said the leader of the group. He looks around 20+ years old.
But Jerry seems to not see or hear him, he continues to walk towards the kid looking at him. "So kid, do you accept my offer, you should know once you accept it there's no going back."
Crow looks at Jerry and thinks the man is crazy, or he is simply an idiot. And yet unconsciously he began to nod.
Jerry, seeing Crow's nodding, gives a huge laugh, "good, good stand up let's go."
The leader of the group. Instinctively knew the man that appeared is different, instinctively he knew he was bad news. During his time as part of a gang, and now a leader of a group under a local tyrant. He has seen many weird people and none of them are good news.
But he has his order, so can't just walk away. So he pointed at his best men. Men who have been with him for a long time and are great fighters.
"You guys cripple him and bring this kid back home. The boss would want to see him."
Five men immediately rush to Jerry, but like a hallucination, Jerry's body seems to blur, and five of his men who are rushing the man, were instantly thrown back, sweats immediately build in his forehead, he knew he fucked up.
He looked at where his men ended up and saw all four of their limbs twisted in unnatural ways. Fortunately they all knockout, or they would be screaming in pain.
The rest of his men were so stunned their mouths remained open, while juice began to flow out of their pants.
And when he looked again to look at the man he saw him standing in front of him. With an evil smile on his face.
"You want to cripple me?" Said Jerry.
"I.. no..I.. we.... th, th..this.."
Cracked, cracked! He heard cracking sounds followed by intense pain. "Ahhhhhh…" he screamed as his four limbs were broken.
Then everything went blank, he passed out.
Jerry looks at the remaining men who were paralyzed by fear. "Take them back, and bring my message to your boss, I'll be seeing him soon"
Crow looked like he was dreaming, everything he saw was like a dream, he looked at Jerry now standing in front of him. "What are you"
"Stop asking stupid questions kid, stand up and come with me, your life no longer belongs to you. But don't worry kid I mean what is said before. As long as you work hard your life would never be the same again, one day you will look back and think that this is the best decision you made in your entire life."
Jerry looked around and saw the men he ordered were still crippled with fear and were still standing there like statues.
He looked at them "are you going to move or would you like to join them?" said Jerry with an evil smile on his face.
Like cold water being poured in them, they immediately started dragging their fellows who passed out, And yes they didn't carry them, instead, they started dragging them out of the alleyways.
And that's how Crow became a part of the Grand Army, and it was also then he discovered the talent of his. His uncanny sharp eyes and his steady nerve made him perfectly suited to be a sniper, and what's more, he seems to have an affinity with a sniper rifle. As he can instantly treat it like an extension of his arm, something that needs a long time to do for many soldiers.
He chooses a slightly elevated place but not too elevated as to be an easy target. He lay down and made small holes on the wall, just big enough for him to see the other side but small enough to be hidden. Those small holes are enough for him.
On the side, Crow's whole body is hidden by a thick wall impossible to see, and the two small holes he made are almost invisible even if one is close by.
His sniper rifle leaves no trace, and no sounds when fired and with a max range of 6 kilometers. It's a deadly weapon capable of piercing even the toughest body armor.
It has a maximum of six rounds per magazine. And with forces dispersion technology there's no recoil.
This gun is one of those only the Grand Army is allowed to use. If anyone else uses it, it will immediately self-destruct.
Sky fired... "That's one.. more to go," he smiles.