"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The silenced shots were not entirely quiet; the bursts hit the four-legged monster, making it roar in pain.
"We need the silver grenades!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three chained explosions were heard, tearing through everything in their path. Anton, from an elevated position, shot, aiming at the creature's head.
A few minutes later, there was no trace of the beast. Anton signaled his soldiers to stop; his gaze pierced through the smoke, but he couldn't see anything.
Anton jumped from the tree, aimed his modified rifle, and walked towards the left area to clear the path.
"Zz. Everyone stay alert!"
The surroundings were filled with thick smoke, obscuring everyone's vision.
"Where are you?" Anton stopped, feeling a presence that he couldn't quite pinpoint.
Crack!
At that moment, Anton heard the crunch of leaves behind him. He quickly turned, dropping his modified rifle, and in seconds, he drew his pistol.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The loud, harsh sounds of the shots alerted all the soldiers next to Anton.
Arghhh!!!
Anton was surprised to see a human with a deer mask. The masked figure had tried to stab him, but Anton's special gloves had stopped the blade, leaving him unharmed.
"A human..."
"You won't escape the great creator; you will all be killed by the beasts of calamity." The deer mask's voice made Anton smile slightly.
Killing wasn't the difficult part in this world; the challenge was getting others to value your work.
"May God light your path." Anton, after saying these words, used his left hand to hold a knife and stabbed the man in the forehead, likely one of the people involved.
Anton crouched down, removed the mask, and saw the symbol similar to the other sect they had exterminated in the town.
"Zz. The beast has fled."
"Zz... It's getting dark; that creature is probably trying to eliminate us at night."
"Zz. Prepare the night vision goggles!"
"Zz... Understood."
Anton observed all the data this person had offered by coming here.
"Wouldn't it have been better to keep him alive for questioning?" Akira approached where Anton was.
"It doesn't work that way."
"People with faith are the hardest to break." Akira thought, surprised.
Boom!
"Zz... It appeared again; it tore off my companion's arm."
Anton didn't remain idle for long; he quickly grabbed his weapon from the ground and joined the group to hunt the creature.
…
In a location not far from Anton's group, Luke was with his friends, sheltered in their tents.
"What the hell was that thing?" Hulch couldn't believe that his friend Tom had been attacked hours earlier.
"We didn't know where they were coming from."
Paul, the quietest of the group due to taking a vow of silence for a year, broke his silence and said, "We need to run."
"What have we been trying to do for the last three hours?"
"We're just going in circles, unable to find the way out."
Luke was about to say something when they suddenly heard gunshots.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Everyone down!" Luke and the others waited until the gunfire stopped.
"Are those hunters?"
"Those weapons can't be used by hunters."
"Could it be those people we contacted?"
"Whatever it is, we need to run." Luke stood up to run, but when he looked at his friends, he saw they were all silent, staring at him with pale faces.
Luke asked, surprised, "What happened?"
"Behind you, Luke..."
Luke turned around only to see a dozen figures aiming automatic rifles at him, all of them with night vision goggles.
"Who are you?"
Akira, who was part of the advanced group, aimed her pistol at Luke and said, "You will be placed under arrest; if you resist, you will die."