The Chinook approached the canopy, almost touching it. Ariba hurriedly hid in the lush foliage but didn't consider the parachute Mu Ssang shed. The wind from the helicopter made the canopy undulate like a blanket hung on a laundry line.
"Sir, it's a parachute."
"Clear," Singleton answered simply.
The pilot pressed the launch button. Two 2.75-inch rockets trailing long tails of smoke directly struck the undulating canopy.
The explosion that shook the forest was unprecedented. Ariba was away from the center of the explosion but still didn't fare well. Fifteen-meter wide holes were made in the green carpet. A 3,500-meters-per-second wind enveloped him. Debris from the crushed and burning canopy dropped to the ground.
Ariba, unwinged, fell helplessly. Unless providence was provided, no human would be intact if they fell from a height of 70 meters. His neck snapped and a sharp piece of wood penetrated his chest.
"I knew it! Assibal jotto!"
Ariba's consciousness was extinguished. The last swear word was a Korean slur that became popular at the DGSE.
* * *
"Major Singleton, what is your current location?" McKinley called urgently.
The Shadow agents were eliminated. There were only five survivors. A squad of Shadow agents was said to eliminate an infantry company. Yet, it only took less than 10 minutes for the six Shadow teams to be eliminated. Considering the combat power of the Shadows, it was a quite nightmarish reality.
McKinley felt his chest tighten at the thought of death. The lethal VX was useless. The man was a vicious shadowy ghost. He made a hole in the head of each Shadow agent that gave up fighting and hid. The most terrible fact was that he didn't see a trace of him until all 60 were eliminated.
"We are here."
"Operate. The Shadows are almost eliminated."
"Really?"
A surprised voice resonated with the communicator.
"It's urgent. What about Little Bird?"
"It is spraying VX."
"Make it stop. It will only hinder our operation."
"Roger."
The Chinook hovered over Edos. The rocks were pushed away and two heads emerged. It was Sun Woo-hyun and Zulu who had taken cover there.
"I will welcome them with passion. Land now."
Sun Woo-hyun took out a pouch of grenades from his backpack. He was mesmerized by Black Mamba who hurled grenades as if he was a grenade launcher. He must not let jealousy get the best of him. Now was his chance to shine.
"This is not in the plan."
The doors of the helicopter were slammed open. Fast ropes were hurled out and men wearing gas masks slid down, like sweet potatoes still attached to their stems. Sun Woo-hyun was perplexed.
He didn't expect them to throw the ropes from 40 meters above. Some even jumped out mid-air without using the ropes. The thugs had completed their landing in mere moments. The Chinook raised its RPM with a deafening buzz.
"Mr. Lackey, we are ready to give them trouble."
Zulu shouldered the MGL grenade cannon.
"If you are ready, fire at will!" Sun Woo-hyun yelled.
He was starting to feel overwhelmed even by Zulu, a rookie much to his junior. Balls of flame soared from the ground.
"Ah!" The pilot screamed.
The large, stocky Chinook couldn't even enter evasive maneuver in time. One struck the lower armor plate and the other struck the propeller in the back. The 25mm armor plate made of an alloy of titanium withstood the 40mm grenade but the pieces of the broken back propeller rose into the air.
The Chinook that lost torque balance lost the upward momentum and revolved in place. A subsequent grenade blasted the bulletproof glass of the cockpit. Shards of glass ground everything in the space like a hand mill. The pilot became a sludge of flesh and blood.
The vast mass of iron faced the sky 70 meters above the ground, then fell like a wild goose struck by an arrow. The Chinook exploded as soon as it collided with the ground. The formless glob of metal burned bright.
The SEALs absentmindedly stared at the burning helicopter, having forgotten all about the manual. They didn't have time to notice it, let alone defend it.
Singleton felt chills in his chest. The entire Haunters almost perished there like a burning can of meat. Their gas masks were the problem. The masks hampered their senses, allowing the enemy to strike surreptitiously.
"Oh, yeah!"
Zulu aimed for the SEALs.
"It's gas!"
Sun Woo-hyun considered their gas masks just then.
"Idiot, you will get me killed as well."
Sun Woo-hyun held Zulu by the scruff, pulled him down, and closed the hatch. His quick action saved both of their lives.
Little Bird, that was showering the ground with gas canisters, swooped in and scorched the ground with rifles. Edos was now a sea of fire. There was an explosion not far from there. A faint scream was heard.
"Oh!"
There was no time to hesitate. Singleton let Little Bird handle the enemy grenade launcher and sprinted elsewhere.
* * *
"Singleton cannot be subdued with personal firearms."
McKinley was feeling as anxious as his face looked fatigued. The three Shadow agents protecting him also looked quite overwhelmed.
"He's gone completely insane!" said Singleton in his mind.
Singleton clicked his tongue. Strength is subjective. The Shadow agents were still human. They were no match to someone who was no longer human anymore.
"Two AT4 anti-tank cannons, four MGLs, six Minimis, six MEG heavy machine guns, five RPG7s. We have two Stingers but it is no use in ground combat."
McKinley frowned. Those were far too many weapons for a few special ops agents but it was still lacking if they were to fight a formless bastard that moved at lightning speed. Even the TOW missiles mounted on Humvees were useless against him.
"He is able to teleport. Subsonic firearms cannot get him. Stingers don't have a high-angle safety lock. With their angle modified, they can be used on the ground."
The Shadow agents were decimated because of Mu Ssang's supernatural powers. They sprayed the grounds with VX to get the teleporting enemy, but it only hurt their own forces. It only hampered the combat power of the Shadows.
"We needed more than the Shadows, to begin with. You should request authorization to use Predators."
"I already did. It will take time for them to get here."
"The enemy is but one man. The Black Eye will soon be here. With its potent thermal imaging camera, we will be able to get him."
"Oh, the Black Eye!" McKinley marveled.
The Black Eye was a supporting flying unit designed for nighttime non-standard combat. Unless he was a real ghost, he could not hide the heat his body gave off. If they could figure out his location in real-time, they would be able to kill him with focused fire.
"It's here!"
Singleton took out a palm-sized pad from his pocket. On the dark screen, there were dots of orange light that were living beings. There was a human figure distant from all the other dots.
"02-03-170!"
With the launcher with its angle lowered, two Stingers shot out. Stingers are anti-air missiles. Their warheads only weighed three kilograms but when they exploded, they scattered shrapnel 50 meters around. In terms of speed and explosive power, the RPG does not even compare.
Heavy AT4 anti-tank grenades, which were called M136 in the United States, and 40mm grenades followed suit.
"What is this?" said Mu Ssang in his mind.
Mu Ssang felt electricity in his temple. A heavy object was heading his way. It was a missile. He instinctively fired the MGL he took from a fallen enemy and ran with all of his might. The grenades shattered a gigantic tree.
Before the Stinger warhead could pick up speed after shedding its boosters, it detected the intense infrared from the fuming grenade. With its heat sensor, the warhead turned that way.
There was a flash of light. The anti-tank cannons and grenades that flew in subsequently added to its magnitude. The primal forest was smashed and set aflame. Shrapnel and shockwave scoured 100 meters around. The resonance field of the explosion almost surpassed the strength of a 155mm heavy cannon.
"Oh!"
Mu Ssang surrounded himself with a thick layer of Resonance Wave that gushed out from the sole of his feet as soon as he teleported. A giant tree could be uprooted by a typhoon but a frail leaf rode along. He rode the shockwave of the explosion and got out of the blast zone. His head felt clear after getting out of the momentary peril. He had underestimated his enemy. It was a wasp, not some flies.
"Huh!"
Mu Ssang teleported away and struck the area where the RPG and grenades came from. A heavy machine gun chased him with bullets as if it had eyes.
"Now this!" said Black Mamba.
His location was being identified in real-time and focused fire followed him around. Spotting the anomaly, Black Mamba fled 500 meters. The attack ceased as soon as he left the battlefield.
"Could it be that?"
It was not visible but he could hear it. A flying object was orbiting 3,000 to 4000 meters above the ground. The newly deployed enemy troops tracked him down without hesitation. Their directions were accurate and their speed betrayed the surety of their action. The object was transmitting his location to them from above.
"Is it a Predator? Then I should not hesitate."
Mu Ssang grinned widely. A machine was a machine. No matter how superior its features were, it lacked the faculty of decision-making. He could just mix in the enemies. He mounted the Dragunov on his backpack and held his kukri.
He wanted to obliterate them with Vajra but every tool had its proper application. The Asura shot up into the clouds to welcome the Predator.
* * *
Sergeant Jonathan Tieu, a Vietnamese American, joined the Navy SEAL three years ago. Born in California, he was bullied by racists throughout his whole adolescent years. He roamed the dark back alleys of the city in his late teenage years and was arrested when he tried to rob a grocery store.
The plainclothes detective gave him a choice whether to be imprisoned or enlist in the military. He chose the latter willingly. He was trucked away to an unknown location. He had no memory of the next two years.
When he regained consciousness, his body changed. It could not be penetrated by any blade. Small bullets bounced off his skin. Big bullets were flung back by the unharmed flesh.
He had overflowing strength. He could beat a large alligator to death with bare hands, smash a lion's head, and snap a gorilla's spine. He could finish 100 meters in six seconds. He could run all day and never get tired.
His body was strong and he provided for everything he needed in life. He lost his sexual function and had a bad memory but never had any complaints. His life was ruined anyway. He even wanted to thank the plainclothes detective who sent him to the military.
He was aware that he belonged to a group of ESPers under the guise of Navy SEAL. If the entire Navy SEAL were as strong as his team, the United States would have conquered the world without even having to rival the Soviet Union.
Explosions and gunfire ceased at once. Tieu was hiding in a shrub under a tree wearing a Ghillie suit. His senses were most alert and his breathing was subdued.
Again, he felt as if a thread had just snapped in his head. This meant one of his colleagues was killed again. Their consciousness was grouped together. His muscles trembled imperceptibly. He was reunited with a feeling called fear that permeated his mind like fog. His opponent was the devil himself who could kill his colleagues as if they were flies.
"Huh!"
A steely palm covered his mouth and nose. Tieu's eyes bulged out of their sockets. His head was snapped 360 degrees.
"Aargh!"
Tieu glared and opened his mouth wide. It was like a scene from a horror movie. Circular saw blades made of compressed air swooshed out of his mouth. This wasn't the first time. These things struggled until the last moment. Mu Ssang's neck was snapped back. The saw blades swished away into empty space.
"Just die without trying in vain."
The blade of Mu Ssang's hand was buried into Tieu's chest and his heart was in Mu Ssang's grasp. Tieu stared at the devil with pleading eyes. He desperately wanted to live now. His heart was wrenched out and a sheen of a blade flashed across his neck.
"The devil!"
Haunter unit 25, Tieu's consciousness was turned off.
* * *
"What could this thing be? Is it really an extraterrestrial monster?"
Singleton was on the verge of losing his mind. There was just now the tenth victim. The man wreaked havoc like a weasel in a chicken coop. The Black Eye was blinded. His soldiers were killed like walls crumbling down in a flood.
"William, Guderian, Hammer, Gulich, Tieu..."
He called each member of his team just to be sure. Blood rushed out from his face. Only three responded. At that precise moment, the very three were killed off by the monster.
Only Black Mamba could show such prowess other than a Grandmaster. Everyone had been deceived. He was intact. Singleton gave up.
"Commander, confirm the Shadows."
"They are all gone! No one is left."
"He is Black Mamba. We need to retreat."
"No. The Predators will be here soon."
"Good luck."
"Hey!"
Singleton exited the battlefield calmly. The Predators will be here in mere 20 minutes. Yet, they could not hold for a mere minute, let alone 20. He didn't want to be another entry on the bastard's long list of victims. He could even eliminate a super Grendel and neutralize a combined attack of Chifon and Matilda.
"What a cold-blooded bastard!"
Cold eyes glared at Singleton's back. Black Mamba was hiding in a swamp, avoiding the gaze from the sky.
He could easily pick off enemies that lost their calm and were overcome with bloodlust or lost their resolve and were overcome with fear. Someone like him who moved calmly without any trace of fear should be dealt with caution.
The next deployment mainly consisted of humanoid monsters called Haunters. Their skin was harder than an iron plate and their bones were as strong as steel pillars. Their senses surpassed most wild animals.
Even Samdi could not handle their synchronized mass offensives based on their strong bodies. Sun Woo-hyun could defeat them in a one-on-one but not as a group. That's why he ordered Sun Woo-hyun to hide and entered the battle himself.
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