"We're up against the enemy's whole vanguard team," I whispered. I felt their stunned gazes digging into my head. "One trap will not be enough to take most of them."
Osprey glowered at me and said. "I don't know how you can affirm that confidently, but what are we going to do?"
I took a stick and started drawing on the land. "We're here," I said and drew a circle. "Here's Kaye's trap." I drew another circle. "And the biggest and nearest enemies around are over here and here."
All of them listened quietly.
"Arley, Thorn, Marlo," I turned and faced them. "Bring Ogress safely to this point and wait for them." I drew an X. "Take down as many enemies as you can."
I watched their determined faces listening to me like their lives depended on it. "Ogress, try your best to find a spot that will be best to erect the Vulcan and hard for them to shoot you down."
"How about the two of us?" asked Thorn.
"Shoot as much enemy as you can and make sure Ogress lives long. The victory of your mission will depend mainly on the Vulcan. We're fighting numbers here. The Vulcan is our best chance of winning."
"What if we fail?" Arley asked, and Ogress nodded with distress.
"That's what teammates are for," I said. "We'll come over as soon as we deem that Kaye's trap effective. Remember, we can't let anyone pass Kaye."
They smiled at me quietly. "Now go."
Kaye's trap went to action, and Ogress's team took it as a cue. The four of them dashed off, leaving Osprey, Sedano, and me behind. From a distance, we watched as the enemy scrambled for cover the moment they saw the grenades land on the ground. I quietly commended Kaye's wits. The grenades exploded the moment they landed. She accounted for the three-second interval before explosion right before dropping the grenades.
Boom.
Ten men down. Just when I thought Kaye was about to climb down unscathed, she jerked midway to the ground. I pulled Osprey down when he attempted to come to her aid.
"Stay put," I said, widening my eyes at him. "There's a sniper!"
A sniper nearby for the support! Of course!
"Wait here," I told them, and they snorted at me. "I'd try luring the enemy here, so try your best to make an efficient trap. But leave once---"
"Whatever," Sedano answered smugly. "Once we render you dead, we're going to support Ogress and the others. We're leaving."
I dashed off to the left, ignoring what he said. I chose the denser path and tried my best to circle around as silently as I could. I listened intently to every sound I could hear. I crouched low and started to crawl, heading to where the enemy came from. I heard voices, then I peeked through the bush and found three snipers talking.
"… It's the first encounter."
".. Let's be careful. We lost ten and them--- one."
".., they're out there alright."
"…They managed to set a trap right under our noses."
"…How are they doing it?"
"…Barrel even assured us that the vanguard will be just fine with long-range support."
"…we saw them slowing down just before they got covered with foliage."
"…and as expected, they took a stop, and we saw that!"
"…we only saw some of them under the trees' cover."
`"… that's probably when some of them set a trap."
"… They halted a distance away from the predicted conflict zone."
"…Which is pretty weird. I wanted to shoot the tree climber when she first climbed a tree to scout. If I knew she'd be taking out this many, I should've shot her right there and then."
"Yeah. So how did they know?"
"… the trap should've worked. I mean, Barrel showed them the location of the rest of the vanguard to lure them while those ten continue through the ambush."
"Barrel's strategy should've been foolproof."
".. we should've had the element of surprise."
They're trying to reflect where they made a mistake. They're attempting to conclude what they're up against. One must indeed know the enemy.
I noted the fact that none of them has a mid-range weapon, nor did they have a midrange sentry around. After a couple of minutes, I heard the first sign of life--- Ogress's machine gun sprawling into action. I grabbed my knife and took a deep breath. After a while, I watched them leave, heading to the next battleground. I knew I needed to take the snipers out. I'm going for the silent kill.
I paced and quietly closed in the distance. They're running in a single file formation--the formation that they think will be the safest. The three of them halted and made a detour. I saw a massive rock formation nearby. Elevated, and indeed, it is the best spot for snipers. I distanced myself from them and approached the rock from another direction.
I watched them erect their weapons and readied to shoot. I strolled towards them and dug my toy knife into the back of his neck. The blade vibrated, and the sniper's suit did the same. The two snipers saw me now, and I grabbed the other guy's weapon just before he shot me and redirected it at his teammate.
The other guy fell down, frowning at me, then settled into a smile. I faced the last sniper and slashed my knife on his neck, making a slitting throat gesture. The blade vibrated in contact with the suit.
They're now grinning at me sluggishly. Speaking after being rendered dead by the suit is prohibited. But the other guy who got shot still had vitality left in him.
"Damn it, you got us," he said. "Tell us. How many are you on the neutral grounds?"
He finished talking right before his life ran out. I answered since they're dead anyway.
"Eleven." Their eyes widened in doubt. I took one of the sniper's weapons and used the scope to see my teammates' current situation.
"Come on, team," I whispered when I saw the pile of bodies on the ground. As expected, the collision point is where I thought it should be. The exchange of gunshots continued. I stood up and slid the knife into my knife scabbard. I grabbed the rifle strapped on my back and ran towards them.
Ogress is down while Arley and Osprey are wounded. Then, there are Marlo and Thorn, who are still firing at the enemy. I looked for Sedano and saw him lying on the ground, pissed that he was deemed dead by the suit. I shot at the enemies from the left side. Some fell on the ground, and a few seconds later, Yetti's group arrived. They hit from the left flank. Someone managed to shoot Marlo down. And then Arley and Osprey ran out of vitality. Fren got shot the second he stepped into the war zone. Doesn't he know how to hide? Reyna fired for a few seconds but fell down when someone managed to shoot her in the head. I took down the guy responsible for that. I may not be a great shot, but Private Stiles is a very dedicated teacher.
A couple of minutes later, the exchange of shots subsided. Five of them managed to escape and retreated back to their territory.
"Chief!" Yetti called the moment I stepped out on plain view. Every eye glanced at me. "I'm sorry we're late! Fren.. he--- "
"It's okay, Yetti," I said and started grabbing and inspecting spoils of war.
"We got twenty-two, Chief," Thorn said as he approached. "What happened to the snipers?"
"There were three. Took 'em down before I head here," I picked up a handgun on the ground and checked the ammunition. I lifted it up and pointed at the guy who I noticed made a slight movement.
"You did?! No way---" one of the enemies lying on the ground asked incredulously. I shot him down without giving him a glance. My attention was fixated on every weapon at our disposal sprawled before our feet. I noticed Yetti jumped in surprise.
"Ogress," I said when I saw her. She smiled at me shyly. I shook my head and smiled back. "Don't be ashamed. You did great."
I turned to all my dead teammates and commended their feat. "And Fren? Next time, please study how to hide. You're a soldier, not a sitting duck. I don't know how some of you died but next time, think before you charge into hostile territory. I'm quite sure I warned you all where the encounter might take place. Next time proceed with caution."
Thorn, Yetti, and Jacob are the only ones alive. There're four of us left, including me. Will we be able to cross the neutral territory still? Minnie and Loki must have just entered the neutral zone right now. We may have taken down thirty-five in total, but there's still a lot more of the enemy left. And once we step foot on the enemy territory, we will be welcomed mostly by traps, not troops.
They lost thirty-five men while I lost seven. A ratio of one is to five is not that bad, right?
I looked at Jacob, and he cowered before my gaze. He bowed down and clapped his hands together, begging. I noticed how he cowardly hid behind a massive tree until the tumult subsided.
"I'm sorry I was such a coward," he said, knees shaking. "I- I don't want to get a bruise from those bullets… I got scared and..."
I looked at him, and somehow I was feeling nothing but contempt. I took a step toward him, and he took a step back. "Do you want to retire now, or would you rather have a chance to redeem yourself?"
"I…" his jaw dropped when I pulled out my knife.
"This wouldn't hurt, nor will it leave a bruise," I said and raised a brow suggestively. "You are being deadweight now, Jacob. And obviously, being useless won't help anyone."
Yetti put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from forcing Jacob to retire. She shook her head, asking to give the coward another chance. I knew that this is just a game, and I thank God it really is just a game because if it's not…
How wretched of me to have a coward watch my back.
"They're coming," I told them and turned to face north. "We're going to rejoin the vanguard. They'd be arriving in a minute. Take the spoils you think are helpful."
Yetti, Thorn, and Jacob complied quietly. For some reason, everything felt dull. I suddenly felt disheartened.
I want out.
As expected, Minnie's troop arrived. I removed my headgear and shoved it casually on Loki's face when he tried to talk. It fell on his hands while I dropped my gear on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Minnie asked, bewildered. "Are you quitting?"
"Take the last of my team members if they still want to continue with this farce," I told her and quietly cursed myself when I realized I sounded like a brat.
"You can't do that---"Loki said.
"We had annihilated more than half of their vanguard team," I told them and nodded at Minnie. "I think no one expected that from a puny team such as mine."
"Meow," Minnie said warningly. "Be a sport. Stay."
I ignored her and walked away. I head straight to where Private Stiles is. When I arrived at the tent, I quickly noticed Private Loopa's expression. He looked like he'd won already, smiling like a lunatic. Private Stiles, on the other hand, was glaring like a madman. I ignored them and walked back to the actual base. I was welcomed by a soldier when I approached the gate.
He harrumphed, shaking his head in dismay. "You were excellent back there. I didn't know you were a quitter." Obviously, the match is being broadcasted throughout the base like some sort of entertainment show.
I shrugged. "I don't see any merit in wasting my energy for such a stupid task."
"Trivial, huh!" he simply said. "You know if this was a real war, you'd be deemed as a deserter."
And the gate opened before me. I stepped in and headed straight to my room. It hurt to be branded as a deserter, but I just couldn't stomach the fact that I would've watched my comrades die had this all been real.