Nahel Keith Rashford, this kid had committed an act of such violence that even me the God of war recognized his brutality. Setting fire to an airship full of wounded was a cut above anything he had ever done. After hearing about his father's capture he left his camp without telling anyone and went to one of his weapons caches. There he had come across 2 people who had had the same idea as him.
-Jessie... Blanka.
-I take what i need and I leave. That's all. *Blanka said.*
-And you, Jessie?
-I needed more firepower to destroy those tanks don't mind me.
-No, on the contrary, you are right on time. Forget the tanks Jess we have a bigger problem.
- So I join the little party. *Said Maggie who had just arrived.*
-Looks like the frustration had just won over everyone.
Later in the evening Nahel had already placed his pawns, all that was missing was the start. They had synchronized their watch, the goal being to strike everywhere at the same time to prevent the enemy from reacting correctly. Also at 5 o'clock Maggie detonated the most powerful bomb she had ever created. The airship which was just passing on the side of the mountain, was blown off by the equivalent of a C-4 bomb, the flames engulfed the observation airship at the border and it crashed. Blanka with the precision of his shots opened fire with incendiary bullets and damaged the engine of the airship loaded with ammunition. Jessie when she blew up the transport airship with a homemade Bazooka. A portable platform that fired incendiary rockets that Seb himself had made. Equipped with the same model, he blew up the last airship which crashed in the forest 3 kilometers from the outpost.
6:30 a.m. the entire workforce of the outpost was engaged in combat with the rebel forces. Beowulf tried somehow to get his men out of the wreckage of the aircraft, but it was with helplessness that they observed the rebels torn the survivors of the aircraft before taking them away. Despite the fact that the Spooky was still in the air he couldn't decently open fire without taking the risk of hitting his allies especially since the enemy was now fighting in the safe zone.
- Hold your positions do not let them approach the airship. *Lars yelled.*
- Yes, boss.
-Light them fucking up. *cried Streiss angrily.*
-AYe Sergeant.
It was a deafening uproar between the sound of grenades and machine guns and rifles. No one heard the orders anymore. Swan Der Linde had remained on his hill and from there Frederick Thibault was showing him the targets he was sniping at.
-Shot...
-Hit...
-Shot...
-Hit
-Shot
-Hit
Hit hit hit, he kept repeating until he stopped pointing out targets and just let Swan kill them. The Lieutenant was angry and we can see that on his face. The war had taken a decisive turn until it became extremely personal. But let's leave the noisy conflict playing out in front of our eyes for a moment and focus a bit on the war we don't see.
3 days earlier. Lobisomem unit.
After the assault of the first day our team had been given a slightly more delicate mission. As a reminder, the number of prisoners to be recovered is 15 thousand, but in one day's work the number that we have recovered is around 5 thousand, which is to say 1/3 of the objective. Our mission was therefore to find the other positions where the rest of the prisoners could be. We therefore advanced slowly in the snow, being careful to get caught by booby trap. The mission was led by an expert Master Sergeant Decken. Although a little young to have such a rank.
-Here Corporal Eastal, we managed to sabotage the last enemy anti-aircraft guns and eliminate the sentries.
-Copy that. *replied the sergeant*. Join me at the rally point.
Eastal was one of the few girls in the unit to pass the BTO entrance test. Finally I say that but they were only 2. In my team we had Creuyf, he should have turned to a sports career but he joined Beowulf instead. Today he makes holes in people's skin. Ridley was a special case. He should have gone to prison but the new law allowed him to choose the army. His crime being classified, no one in the unit knows what he did but he has the sergeant's full trust so there's nothing we can do about it. After regrouping away from the artillery outpost the Sergeant gave his final instructions. We separated into several groups of 10 and dispersed across the mountain. I was....
-It's going to be okay, can you keep up ? "asked the Sergeant*.
- Yes, don't worry.
- So let's move.
The rest of what I learned comes from different versions told by members of the BTO rather than what was mentioned in their report. Our units would have identified and noted on maps, all known enemy positions, in passing they blew up several depots of ammunition and fuel. The majority of their force was fighting in the south so there was no one to defend those key locations. Our unit went even further north, we captured and cooked the soldiers about the place where the prisoners were held, the Sergeant knew how to be persuasive and if necessary Eastal also gave a hand. Believe me this woman is dangerous.
2nd day: Morning
Our mop led us to find ourselves in a former labor camp. According to the last person we questioned, it was here that they forced the prisoners to work to extract metals and rock for them.
-50, 60, 90,..... I counted 150. *Said the Sergeant.*
-Same here. *Eastal replied.*
-So are we good? *I asked.*
- We have no way of knowing if the target is here, so...
- We're going on foot, right? *pouted Creuyf.*
-What are you complaining about, you're the athlete here. *Laughed the Sergeant*. Lets' go. You stay here. *he told me.* Provide Overwatch
We stayed only 2 on the hill while the other 8 entered the camp. At first nothing happened and we began to fear the worst for our guys, after an hour of watching without moving, an explosion sounded and the enemy garrison woke up. Shots rang out everywhere as I saw on my telescope 3 other teams of the unit entered the camp. If I have to summarize what happened, the sergeant once inside managed to provoke an insurrection among the inmates, he then placed charges at key points in the camp and blew everything up. From what we will mention in the report, this camp will be the only one where the hostages we came to free were killed. Thirty of them perished in the insurrection but they managed to catch and eliminate their enemy before taking a hundred prisoners.
-Thank you Sergeant, where are the rest of your men? *asked the captain*.
He was surprised to see that it was just us. Barely thirty guys for a hundred enemies.
-But... It's madness, I should never have listened to you. *he said*.
- Save your reproaches for when you are at home captain. *the sergeant told him.*
He showed him a picture and questioned him for a while.
- Who is in the photo? I asked Eastal.
-My sister in-law. Now shut your mouth. *she ordered.*
-Okkk...
After dropping instructions and promising them reinforcements, we continued our little scout hike. The point is that our men would have to wait for reinforcements that we didn't know were coming Yet. The more we advanced the more I asked myself questions about the purpose of our mission, I have friends in the other units, they are risking their lives at the moment while we are.
-Do you have a problem Rookie? asked the sergeant.
- No, I'm just wondering what we're doing. Obviously our squad isn't looking for the last prisoners, rather we're looking for something like a VIP. A noble, right?
-So just obey orders, that's all. Said Eastal getting angry.
- No, he's right. We need thinking soldiers, that's why we created the BTO. *Said the Sergeant*.
-It means that Creuyf has a brain sergeant? Ridley scoffed.
-Fuck you man. Fuck you.
- No vulgarity soldier. *Said Eastal.* Ok if you want to know Rookie we are looking for a VIP indeed.
-To be even more honest this mission has nothing to do with the war. *Said the Sergeant.* It's personal, both to me and to Lieutenant Cailum. Tell yourself that if we succeed he will be in debt for life to all of you.
-Hey Decken don't say too much. *Say Eastal.*
A debt for life? With Lieutenant Cailum? I would ask to live in a castle then. No I'm kidding but still this person must be super important for him to deviate from his mission to the point he sent an elite squad to retrieve her.
-Hey Sergeant, look there...
We stopped immediately. Just in the distance I had spotted a jeep which was going at full speed. In my glasses I saw a man sitting at the wheel, he had an angry look, he was black with silver hair.
-Wow this guy...
-I do it to myself? *I asked.*
-Don't do a damn thing. *The sergeant had said*. This guy is dangerous.
I saw the sergeant's hyper-serious look and I understood that he didn't mess around. Besides, I saw that this guy glanced in our direction. Impossible that he saw us at 800 meters but it was as if he had felt something.
-Fine he passed. You got good eyes Rookie.
-Why are we hiding Sergeant? *Ridley asked*. There are more of us.
-Certainly but I felt that this guy was not normal. Besides, he is alone.
At the same time I spotted a second Jeep. Another black man but with normal hair this time. Just sitting in the back was a little girl with silver hair like the previous one, she had a sniper rifle with her.
-These are within our reach. *Said Eastal* We tail them?
-As discreetly as possible. We cut through the mountain.
So we disappeared into the darkness following our new target without knowing that it was going to lead us straight to our main objective. We followed them with horses that we had picked up at the previous camp, it was much easier to move around with them than to follow them on a motorbike. They even took a night break.
-He doesn't seem in a hurry, our man, it seems. *Said Crueyf* Someone remind me why we're following him already ?
-My instinct. *replied the sergeant who was cleaning his weapon*. This guy is probably an important guy just like the other one.
-Except that this one looks less dangerous, right?
-Exactly. Alright, I'm going to take a little nap. Don't lose sight of him rookie. *Said the Sergeant patting me on the shoulder*.
- It's safe, sir.
-And don't stare at the kid. *Eastal added.*
- Yes boss.
I kept an eye on him almost all night. At Sniper training we were taught to stay awake for a long time so I was the one on the team with the highest sleep tolerance. So in the morning of the 3rd day at the first light of dawn we could hear on our short wave radio.
-Ghost leader here Assassin leader.
This nickname gives me chills. We don't know who this assassin leader is and since everyone in Lobisomem covers their faces, it could be any squad.
-Ghost Leader here Assassin Leader. Have visual on the AR target. Acknowledge.
The "ghost leader" our sergeant immediately grabbed the radio and answered.
-Ghost Leader we have visual on target. Assassin team is about to intervene.
-Give me your whereabout Assassin team, and keep your position we will join you on the spot.
-Sergeant, he's starting to move. I said. This Dude gets up super early.
-I wouldn't be surprised if he was a former soldier. *Said Ridley who loaded his gun.*
-Leader assassin, we're taking care of something and we'll join you in 10 minutes.
-You heard the Sarge Lobisomem. *Yell Eastal*. On the way.
-HAIL ARES.
We set off again to follow this guy, taking advantage of the snow and the trees. I admit, move on horseback it was terrific but we had sunk so deeply in the North that no airship could support us nor extract us. And how did Team Assassin get this far north without getting killed?
*Declassified: They infiltrated by taking the dead enemy's clothes and one of their vehicles.*
We end up arriving in a place that seemed to be a... Ranch? A ranch? In the north ? I've heard reports but seeing it in person was amazing. In addition it was super well maintained and too well built. Am I still in Elysion there?
-Ghost Leader the target has just been visited by a vehicle.
-Describe the vehicle Leader Assassin.
-A gray jeep with a bullet hole in the windshield.
- This is our target. Leader assassin we will infiltrate the enemy building.
-Well we stay in position and cover you.
-Thank you assassin copy that.
We dismounted and took up position 500 meters from the house.
-Rookie you will put yourself in position with the sniper in height. I want you to cover the building as best you can. With the rest of the team we enter the room, we recover the target AR and we get out of here neither seen nor known. Our friend will surely have reservations so if he ever interferes, we shoot him. Questions ?
-Yes I...
-There is not any. Let's move.
*He didn't even give me time to talk. In short, we settled in a high position from where we could see both the road and the interior of the house up to a certain point. Assassin team was on the opposite site on moutain. We were easy at 650 meters but we saw our guys approaching the house to try to recover AR. But who is this target so important to the lieutenant?*
-Are you ready Cody? *I asked our Sniper.*
- Whenever you want.
-OK. Above all, don't miss it.
I am the pointer but I also have training as a shooter. If Tamer loses his concentration, I get the gun.
But to know what happened in this house that day you have to know the other side of the room. But before that let's first go back to our friends around the burning airship.
-Damn... The bastard won't let us near him. *Ruben shouted*.
-Fight like men yoj coward.
Nahel's men had recovered the majority of the wounded and survivors leaving only the bodies. Given the number of dead one could easily guess that he had recovered more than thirty survivors, however he vanished into the wild leaving the Elysians surrounded by hordes of fighters. No one was going to be able to help the rescuers. Seb had withdrawn with his men leaving the other tribes to take care of the rest. The Beowulf task force only owes its salvation to one thing that day.
-Lieutenant Van Elysée has come. The cavalry guys landed with their light gear and saved our lives. *A wolf later testified*.
The tanks had difficulty maneuvering in the forest but there were still some light vehicles like Hafltrucks and armored jeeps. With this they were able to break the encirclement and force the enemy to fall back. That day Zell hugged his cousin so tightly that he could have broken his back many times. Despite his black sunglasses you could see his tears escaping from his eyes. He wasn't going to ask him how he was alive, he had been living in permanent hell for two days, all he wanted was a little respite. The Elysian soldiers took their dead and brought them to the outpost. But the nightmare was far from over. A few hours after the destruction of the dirigible a man advanced in the direction of the outpost. He walked quietly but the men of Der Linde recognized him. Swan also took out his rifle and aimed him.
-This time I'm not missing you son of a bitch.
About ten meters from the entrance he took out a white scarf which he threw on the ground. This man was none other than Nahel Keith Rashford.
-I ask to speak to the manager.
-Fuck you son of a dog.
Ruben opened fire but he was shaking so much he missed.
-SCHEISSE. *he shouted.*
He was trying to put the cartridge back in his gun but his fingers were shaking. Early this morning he still had Ludmilla's lifeless body in his arms, she had a steel rod in her stomach and blood was pouring from the back of her neck. Ruben was so furious that he couldn't even hold his gun properly.
-SCHEISSE.
It was then that the person in charge of the place appeared. The head of the outpost at least the one who was able to answer. He lowered Ruben's rifle, who calmed down when he saw that his superior looked surprisingly calm. All the guns were pointed in the direction of Seb. The man was only wearing his shirt as a top, it was covered in blood, that of his many fallen men.
-You have some nerve to show up here after what you did. What do you want motherfucker?
-I kept a beautiful scar from our previous confrontation. *He said pointing his neck*. Otherwise it was I who blew up the airship.
Swan refrains from jumping at his throat to strangle him, he was so angry that he would have changed into the Hulk if he could have.
-Are you aware of the number of guys you killed? They were wounded, they were defenseless.
-Like the civilians you cut to pieces at the factory. Sorry but I came to tell your boss that if he's ready I'm willing to negotiate.
-You're kidding us. After all you've done?
He suddenly threw a murderous look at Swan and the latter took a few steps back.
-Don't test me asshole I said I came to negotiate and I'm serious. And I'm not talking about a simple prisoner exchange, I want to talk about peace and the future of the Apochrypha peoole in Elysion.
- Are you tired of the war? It's funny I thought you loved it.
-I've been fighting since I was 10, do you really think that's the kind of life I wanted? War has become a way of life whereas for you it's just a job. You are unable to understand us.
-What makes you think we want to negotiate with you already?
-Arianne Rhodes.
Just mentioning that name froze time. Swan knew more than anyone what that meant. Nahel turned around.
-Tell your leader that if "Golden Hair had Discuss with red skin a genocide would have been avoided."
-Hey what? He talks like Zell. *Swan thought*.
- Don't worry, he'll understand. The time and place of the appointment are indicated on the back of the scarf.
With that he left the outpost under the frustrated gaze of the Elyos soldiers who only cursed him and cursed their own impotence.
-Son of *************. SHIT.
To be continued