"Ah, fuck. I knew this would happen," Slick Nick finally ended his session of teasing Leo. Then, he quickly continued, "So... I also secretly took a lot of extra anesthetic bullets from the warehouse!"
Slick Nick's laughter boomed with satisfaction. He thought he had successfully lured his comrade into his little dramatic act.
The atmosphere, completely inappropriate for a war situation like this, though, was strangely entertaining and tested Rour's patience.
They were still kids, after all.
Leo, as Rour recalled, had officially become a Patrioteer after three years of training. This was his second year in service as a Patrioteer, meaning he was probably around twenty.
While Slick Nick, on the other hand, had just turned eighteen last month. He had completed his training in just over a year. And had only joined as a Patrioteer for two years.
"I was right about my instincts all along. No mistake—I'm good!"
"Woah! Our instincts are amazing then!" An exclamation escaped from between Leo's. His expression changed instantly as excitement took over.
A second later, both of them eagerly showed off their pockets, revealing dozens of rounds of anesthetic bullets. An amount that far exceeding the maximum standard allowed during war.
However, a sense of pride and pretentiousness gleamed on both of their faces as they showed off their little act of rebellion—a serious crime, to be exact. They looked like children who did not understand the concept of rules or why they existed in the first place.
"Make sure you hit the bullseye. I'll kill you if you waste all that bullets," Rour finally exploded.
While he kept launching several shots at the spots he had predicted beforehand.
He focused even more as the monster flinched and momentarily lost its balance before letting out an even more disturbing groan of pain.
Rour straightened his posture.
Through the rifle scope on his weapon, he monitored the areas where his shots had landed. It was as if he wanted to confirm something.
His head tilted slightly as he realized that none of the previous attacks were aimed at the points he had marked.
Then, without hesitation, in a flash he fired his anesthetic bullets at the spot and observed the monster's reaction afterwards.
Rour repeated his action three times in a row. Each time, the monster staggered, reacting in the same way.
His eyes narrowed.
He had just shot into the monster's nostrils—twice on the left, and twice on the right.
And the monster always staggered, lost its balance. Its reaction indicating that the mosnter was responding to the substance.
"You two. Aim for its nostril. Fire simultaneously. As much as possible, at the same spot. Nick, left. Leo, right."
"Yes?" Leo was somewhat confused by the sudden command.
"Hurry up!" Rour shouted impatiently.
Rour then pulled back from his scope just enough to get a full view of the monster's body, closely monitoring its further reactions and movements.
"Remember, your shots must be precise! As many as possible!"
Leo swallowed hard, then answered almost in unison with Slick Nick.
"Start!"
Just as expected. The monster staggered and almost faltered every time it received a relentless shot from Slick Nick and Leo.
As if it sensing something unnatural happening to its body, the creature grew more erratic. He thrashing wildly, moved in circles as it shook and bowed its head.
No longer able to maintain their aim, Slick Nick and Leo ceased fire.
The monster's voice screeched as if in pain. But its roar no longer sounded as ferocious and thunderous as before.
"Was that it?" Leo asked, breathless.
Slick Nick felt like saying yes. But seeing that the monster was still standing, he hesitated.
If they had truly found the Weak Spot, the creature shouldn't just be staggering. It should at least be struggling to stay upright. Yet, it remained strong enough to move around.
"I don't know... Maybe?" Slick Nick shrugged.
"Commander," Rour called through his in-ear comms. He spoke immediately after it connected, "Commander, can you hear me? Commander."
Static crackled on the other end before a voice finally broke through.
"Yes? What's wrong? Where are you?"
"I think I know where the Weak Spot is."
"Huh?"
"The nostrils. Tell them to aim for the nostrils. Hit it with a heavy dose of anesthetic."
"What? Are you sure?!"
"Fifty percent sure. Our shots threw the monster off balance. But it looks like it needs a higher dose."
"Okay!"
"Commander," Rour continued, "do we have any missiles capable of penetrating its nostrils?"
Slick Nick and Leo exchanged glances, finding this development oddly fascinating.
"The missiles can be directly loaded with a very high dose of anesthetic. That would be more effective than firing countless rounds of ammunition. If its nostrils get clogged before it's fully sedated, this will be much harder."
"I'll find out. Which nostril are you referring to?"
"Both. Left and right."
Rour then ended the call and turned his rifle back to the rampaging monster, observing.
"Did you see that?" he asked just as the creature faced them while its mouth opening wide. Slightly revealing a short tongue.
"What?" Leo asked.
"Its tongue. It looks like a snake's tongue," Rour hissed, not entirely sure of what he had just seen.
"Can you confirm when it opens its mouth again? It's short, but I'm sure it looks a reptilian's tongue."
He narrowed his eyes, reloading his gun with standard bullets, and fired at the creature's face to provoke it into opening its mouth again.
Rour fired repeatedly, watching closely for another glimpse of the tongue.
"Snake! Yes! I see it!" Leo exclaimed.
Rour's mind raced, recalling the Weak Spots of snake-like monsters.
While his eyes flicked toward the hills, searching for the Commander's whereabouts and the missile teams.
But because he was in the forest area, his visibility was limited. What he was looking for was blocked by the dense forest canopy.
"Commander?"
Rour tried to make another contact to report his recent discovery about the monster's tongue.
He needed to confirm whether they had noticed its tongue, and if they were adjusting their attack to it.
But there was no response from the other side. Only silence.
"I can't find the Commander from here. I'll go down to make sure and let them know," Rour declared.
"But Mr. Walden—" Slick Nick barely had time to protest before Rour was already halfway down the massive tree.
Slick Nick's forehead creased, thoughts racing.
Should he follow Rour? Or should he stay put in the safety of the treetops, waiting for something uncertain?
He admired Rour immensely—saw him as if he were his own mentor. But now, his comrade was heading into the chaos alone, without anyone to escort him.
Still, if he left this hidden vantage point, who knew what horrors awaited him down there?
From this height, he could see the chaos unfolding below.
The Patrioteers were running in all directions. Driven into a madness by the merciless creatures.
In this case, the hidden place where he was at the moment was a better choice than having to expose himself to that cursed creature.
At least for now.