"Hey, you bunch of slow learners!"
Under the collapsed half of a ruined house, a black barrel extended, pointing towards the distant position of the Spanish government forces.
Behind the barrel crouched two German snipers dressed in "garbage suits" with camouflage paint on their faces.
They seamlessly blended into the surrounding environment, mocking the soldiers on the opposing government forces who frequently exposed themselves. These overconfident fools believed their agility could evade sniper bullets, not realizing that what saved their lives was not their presumed skill but rather their military ranks.
This expeditionary force included a group of snipers.
They had spent a considerable amount of time training in sniper school, pulling the trigger countless times daily, aiming at targets.
Day after day, year after year, they had no chance to engage in actual combat.
This time, the Spanish Civil War seemed to unleash their long-suppressed desires suddenly. Any enemy that entered their crosshairs became a ghost on the battlefield.
Soon, the government forces resorted to the most primitive anti-sniper measures, randomly shelling whenever a sniper's trace was detected.
Although it didn't cause substantial losses to the German snipers, they became more selective in their targets. Unlike before, they no longer shot at every soldier, whether an ordinary soldier or an officer.
They had been lurking here for over two hours, letting countless government soldiers stick their heads out. Their aim was to wait for a significant figure worthy of their attention. After all, such concealed positions were not easy to find, and the cost of revealing their location should be at least an officer's life.
"One o'clock direction! A Major Officer!" After an unknown amount of time, the spotter suddenly issued a brief alert.
The sniper almost instinctively aimed the barrel at the one o'clock direction but found nothing. The spotter, sounding frustrated, muttered, "Damn, this coward!"
He had just seen a government officer in uniform climb onto the position. However, before he could warn, the officer swiftly retreated into the trench, not even lasting a second—such speed almost made him doubt his eyes.
"Eleven o'clock... Damn it!" The spotter cursed with some irritation. He was sure it was the same Major Officer from before. If every enemy were as cautious and agile as this guy, their achievements might be meager.
Not to repeat the same mistake, the sniper's scope was now pointed at twelve o'clock. Soon, a head popped out of the trench. Instinctively, he pulled the trigger.
"Bang!" A gunshot, and the bullet instantly pierced the Major Officer's forehead as he retracted into the trench.
"Beautiful!" The spotter exclaimed. Through his high-magnification telescope, he clearly saw a blood hole appearing on the Major Officer's forehead—undoubtedly fatal!
"Let's withdraw." After a successful shot, the two didn't dare linger. They quietly crawled out of the ruined house, only flipping back into the trench not far away. It wasn't until they zigzagged quite a distance that they heard the retaliatory artillery fire from the government forces.
"Their reaction is a bit slow this time!" The spotter checked his wristwatch and shook his head. "With this level of competence, they are just wasting artillery shells."
After walking for a while, they arrived at a shelter. Seeing the occupants inside, the two instinctively straightened up and saluted. "Good instructor!"
The middle-aged man, watching the Spanish artillery scene through the observation hole, turned his head, glanced at them, and spoke. "Hmm, they are shelling again. Did you take them out?"
The spotter reported, "Yes, just took out a company commander."
As they spoke, an artillery shell fell not far away, and the explosion's shockwave blew dust into the observation hole. The instructor waved his hand, took a few steps back, and asked, "How many points now?"
The spotter proudly replied, "35 points, instructor. Our score is the highest now, right? In a few days, we'll be able to get a sniper rifle personally signed by His Highness."
Wilhelm had a somewhat twisted sense of humor, turning the sniper's achievements into a point system akin to a game.
One point for killing a soldier, two points for a squad leader, four points for a platoon leader, eight points for a company commander, fifteen points for a battalion commander, twenty points for a regimental commander, thirty points for a brigade commander, forty points for a division commander, fifty points for a corps commander, and a hundred points for a commander-in-chief. Killing an enemy sniper earned twenty-five points. Of course, he didn't believe any sniper would be lucky enough to kill a commander-in-chief. Killing a division commander was already considered extremely fortunate.
"The strong have their own methods.", said the instructor, handing a box to the sniper, smiling. "This is a reward worth twenty points—a six-fold magnification scope. I just came from over there; a guy killed a company commander this morning. His score is now 38 points, leading you guys."
The spotter couldn't help but widen his mouth. "Ah?! What incredible luck!"
After sending off the instructor, the spotter watched as the sniper leisurely opened the box, taking out a brand new scope. After replacing the original 4x scope, he looked around and casually said, "Heh, it's a really good thing. Do you want to take a look?"
The spotter absentmindedly shook his head. "Look at what? My telescope is still 8x." Saying this, he walked to a corner with a makeshift stove, set up a small pot, took out a vacuum-sealed bag from his backpack, and emptied its contents into the pot.
Inside were not only potatoes and vegetable leaves but also several pieces of beef. The treatment for these snipers was among the best in the military; they could almost eat meat every day. Moreover, this beef was precooked, so it only needed reheating. In no time, the two divided the boiling soup into two portions and started chewing heartily.
Halfway through the meal, the sniper suddenly spoke. "Look over there."
"Look at what?" The spotter followed his pointed direction but didn't see anything unusual.
The sniper raised his hand and pointed into the distance. "That water tower."
Glancing at the water tower, the spotter grew even more puzzled. "What about the water tower?"
"That water tower is the tallest structure within a five-kilometer radius."
Upon hearing this, the spotter finally understood. "You're not thinking of climbing up there, are you? Are you out of your mind? It's much closer to the enemy positions than here."
The sniper dismissively smiled. "There's a saying, 'Do not enter a tiger's den without a tiger's cub.' If you don't take risks, how can you gain anything?"
"I can't do anything with you." After working together for so long, he naturally understood the guy's personality. He was quite competitive and absolutely unwilling to fall behind. Although there was no immediate reaction when the instructor mentioned someone leading them, it was clear he was already keeping that in mind. "But we'll need to find a rope first. You can't climb down slowly from such a height; the enemy would turn you into a sieve long before you reach the ground."