Compared to being high up on the wall or the large tower, the cold was unbearable, and the stench of burnt flesh and rotting corpses permeated the air making it almost impossible to breath normally. Sunlight was blocked out by ash and large grey clouds, and the brunt, broken, muddy landscape they stood on made walking a difficult task. Embers and ash rained from above landing on the smaller-than-platoon-sized element walking through a place where no man should be. A heavy mist fell upon them as they stood in the middle of nowhere.
Sergeant Randall had observed the burning camp from his small perch on a mound of dirt. He didn't need binoculars to see the heavy smoke or red-hot fire cutting through the mist. It wasn't long before he spotted what looked to be a patrol sized group escaping from the base. The smoke, mist and multi-colored clothing he wore hid him and his fellow Rangers from any visual vulnerabilities they posed when walking alongside the Princess and the three knights Marco, Eugene and Anne. Though it wasn't BMNT, or Begin Morning Nautical Twilight, it was more than enough to stay hidden from the naked eye.
The frozen wind bit against his skin and blew against his back. He lowered himself from his observation point and lowered himself into a small ditch to discuss what he had seen with the others. After divulging the information, a decision was made to either eliminate the group, or hopefully, pass by without incident. Their primary mission was to secure or kill what was believed to be the base commander, and it would be beneficial if they didn't get it to needless engagements with an unknown enemy.
Wandering in the direction of their primary target, it was an hour before they even got close enough to another scouting element. Concealing themselves in the nearby craters caused by God-knows what, the Rangers that still had their night vision capabilities, Green, Malkovich, Richard, and Simon kept watch as they stared at their secondary targets three-hundred meters ahead. Contemplating on how to proceed, Thompson directed his men to two firing positions where they would have the best fire lines to set up a kill-zone.
The idea was to set up a crossfire so that the enemy would have no chance to properly respond, yet the captain remained cautious as Patterson and Malkovich notified him that they were in position with Princess Lecca who was also participating in the ambush.
Taking out the patrol silently would be the key to getting to their primary target. Stabilizing his rifle within the confines of his shoulder, the captain took aim and slowly breathed out as his gloved finger wrapped around the trigger of his firearm.
"Got two-look to be team leaders at the front, by the ember covered wood." Malkovich's deep-soft voice played over the radio in a low hum, the white noise behind his words filled the captain's mind.
Spotting the targets at the designated azimuth angle, Thompson slowly maneuvered himself, for what felt like the hundredth time and aligned the horse-shoe reticle above the chest above one of the target's chests allowing his rangefinder, within the reticle, to do the heavy-lifting.
"Fire." Depressing the trigger, Thompson sent a three-round burst into the center of the first man's chest. Mike and Green followed up by double tapping the secondary target in the head and pelvis, a pool of blood emerged from what had been a head less than a second ago.
Even with the suppressors attached to the majority of the Ranger's gun-barrels, the remaining hostiles within the group reacted to the sudden sound, with two moving towards their comrades that had just slumped to the ground with gaping holes in their bodies.
A second wave of quieted gunfire quickly dispatched the remaining five targets, the holes in their bodies ranged from clean kills to bloody messes.
"They're down!" Simon shouted as he rose from his position of fire alongside Eugene and Marco, weapons drawn and raised.
Several more shouts of an unknown language came from afar as more soldiers silhouetted themselves against the smoke and mist. One of the soldiers, a young woman drew her blade as she suddenly sprinted forward at inhuman speeds towards the three that rose from the ground.
Reacting quickly to the threat, Lecca fired a mana bullet towards the woman's abdomen, deafening her ears momentarily. The bullet pierced through the woman's stomach making her gurgle on the flood of blood and spit that filled her mouth. Being wide enough, the woman's entrails spilled out on to the muddy ground as she fell to her knees. Placing a follow-up shot through the woman's head, a sickening scream was hear as brain matter was splattered on the ground, Mike readjusted his aim as he re-engaged the reinforcements.
Soon after the rest of the hostiles fell backwards, their corpse laid on the cold-wet ground.
Moving quickly, Thompson once again led his men. It felt different; being under the command of the princess, then immediately reigning in control during combat, it was almost as if he were cooperating with a CIA or foreign asset that would've been assigned to his squadron or platoon during an operation in another country.
Clearing some of the mist a small amount of rain fell from the grey and blackened clouds. It pelted the battlegrounds and made his clothes wet. Not far ahead, there was a large collection of the unknown soldiers running across the no-man's-land, each seemed to be guarding a central figure in the center of the formation. Thompson assumed it was the target, yet at three-hundred meters, he wasn't sure at all if his assumption was correct.
'Don't bother with those thoughts Focus on the mission; get this guy, then return home.' Thompson told himself as he and the others marched forward towards the next firing positions, they would each occupy.