After the visit to the grave, I, alongside my squad and Captain Pierson, headed back to my house. I met my grandmother and Aldrin.
"Be careful, son," She said while hugging me.
"Yes, I will be."
The rest met her, hugged her, and we left for Egnisk. As we left, Aldrin waved at us.
"The break is over. You have a new mission. An important one, but…" Captain Pierson paused.
"But?" I asked him.
"Nothing, never mind."
"Is something wrong?" Ferry asked.
"No…You will be informed once we reach Egnisk."
His response was blunt. We didn't ask anymore and began to wait for the journey to come to an end. Driving through the same barren and lifeless road, we arrived at Egnisk.
"Go and wait in your room. I will call you after Colonel Yornus arrives." He said and then left. And we headed back to our room.
"He seemed tense, and…" Barnett spoke as we entered the room.
"Worried," Alfred completed her sentence.
"Is the new mission dangerous or something?" Valkin asked.
"All of our missions are dangerous," Ferry answered.
"But this one must be different," I responded.
We looked at each other and began to think about what the problem might be.
"For now, all we can do is wait for Colonel Yornus to arrive."
We began to wait, and after a while, a sergeant came.
"Captain Pierson said that the colonel has arrived. And he is calling you to his office."
"Okay. We are coming." I responded, and he left. "Come on, let's go."
We left our room and headed towards the colonel's office.
After knocking, we entered the room. The captain and the colonel were present there. And there were documents and maps scattered across the table. My guts were correct yet again. This isn't just another mission.
"You are here." Said the colonel as we entered. "Martin, come here. The rest of you sit."
We followed his orders, and I stood on the opposite side of the table. There was a picture on the table, of a general belonging to the Hectagon army. I picked it up and began to examine it. The person wasn't human. His eyes, his posture. Those weren't just of a general. He was someone special, and deadly at the same time.
"Who is this?" I asked.
The colonel took a big sigh. "He is the second-in-command of the United Hecatgon Army, General Argen. He belongs to the Empire of the Phoenix. He is just 45, but he is a real menace. He is exceptionally genius, and one of the best strategists in the whole world. He has led 431 operations. And he… he has lost none of them."
"He was the one who led the Phoenixian invasion of the Lornik Islands 20 years ago. And in one night, they defeated their most powerful city, Lornik City." Captain Pierson spoke.
Lornik City was the most powerful city in the world. It was an undefeatable fortress. For someone to defeat it in just one night. I can't believe it. He is something else.
"He is a major problem. Although he is a four-star general. The General of the Army is no match for him." The colonel continued. "General Yarna and I had an encounter with him at Narkin. His moves, his plans. They had no weakness. He always found an opening against us. We were unable to interpret his moves. We survived due to the arrival of reinforcements."
He took a pause. I knew what he was going to say. So I asked.
"We have to kill him, right?"
"Yes," The captain responded.
The colonel began to stare at me. He demanded an answer, but his eyes had pity. I turned and looked at my friends. They seemed tense like me, but their eyes told that they were ready. They were ready to do the impossible. I gave a little thought. And gave my answer.
"Fine, we will do it."
"Look, Martin, this mission is going to be something you have never done before. It's far dangerous, risky, and… It's literal suicide." He was staring at my eyes. Deep inside them.
"Sir…you know it better than me. We signed up for this. We won't defeat him if we keep hiding. We have to face it, and survive or…vanish." I stared back at him. He understood that I was serious, and I wasn't going to sit and run away.
"Fine," He said, opened his drawer, and took out some papers. He searched through them and handed me a sheet.
"I always write the strategies the enemy uses. All the moves Argen made are written there." "I have handed the mission details to Pierson. May the mercy of God be with you." His words worried. They had pity.
We saluted each other and left the office. Pierson followed us to our room. He closed the door, pointed to Valkin to bring a table. And he opened the file.
"The main problem of the mission isn't just the general. The mission is in enemy territory. Tomorrow at noon, his convoy will pass through the Filken Valley. It's 60 kilometres from here. As you have to infiltrate, I advise you to move tonight or tomorrow before sunrise."
"What does his convoy consist of?" Ferry asked.
"According to our intel, they have a total of 11 vehicles. Three jeeps in front and in the back. In the middle is his SUV, which is surrounded by four SUVs, all armoured. They are in the order of front, back, left, and right."
"Okay… We'll move out in an hour. Do all the necessary preparations." I picked up my cap and commanded.
"What? You aren't going to make a plan?" The captain was flabbergasted.
"He is someone who can pull any move at any moment. The colonel's notes say the same. So making plans here is useless. I will devise strategies according to the situation we face." I answered.
"Don't worry, have faith in us," Said Ferry.
We left the room and headed towards the armoury. And began to choose our equipment.
"The SVD won't penetrate the SUV's armour. What will you use?" Alfred asked me as he examined his FN SCAR.
"It's armoured, so probably an AMR." I examined the guns. "M95 is light, so it will do."
"Only five bullets?"
"That's all I need."
They looked at me and resumed preparations.
In thirty minutes, we were ready.
"All done?" I asked
"Yep," They replied in unison.
And then we headed out. It was two hours before sunset.
From the base, we began to walk southeast. Marching for 25 minutes, we reached a hill. It was 2 kilometres from the occupied territory. We climbed the hill and stood behind the trees. I took out my binoculars and the map and began to examine the area, then my map.
"We will move forward through the southern forest line."
"Further south, there are fewer patrols. Shouldn't we take that route?" Ferry asked.
"By the time we reach there, it will be dark. And the area is open. We will be easy targets for the thermal drones." Barnett answered. "We have the cover of the trees there."
"And we have to be fast," Alfred spoke.
"Okay, we are moving now," I said, and placed my map inside my bag.
We went down the hill and began to move south through the forest. We moved cautiously, quietly, but rapidly. As we moved, I heard a vehicle. I signalled to get down. And we went prone. It was a patrol jeep. We hid under the bushes and let them pass. Just as they did, we got up and resumed our march.
Five hours in, and we were deep inside enemy territory. We were twenty kilometres from the ambush point. We continued our march through the forest, avoiding patrols, drones.
Thirty minutes after midnight, we reached the ambush point. I stopped and placed my gear on the ground.
"We are stopping here." I signalled them to stop.
"Here?" Ferry asked me.
"Yes…Sit, I will explain." I sat on the ground and opened a map of the terrain.
"The four of you will be down, behind the trees. I will be here. From this point, I will snipe. The four of you, being in front, will confront them head-on. It will be 8 am by the time they arrive." I said and closed my map.
"Wait, just this?" Ferry was shocked. "Martin, you have been acting strange. You took only five bullets of the AMR. And this bland plan. You will be facing the sun; it is totally unfavourable for any sniper."
I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Ferry, they know that we are here."
"What?" Valkin flabbergasted.
"Yes, Valkin. What do you think? They can't spot us? Even without drones, they know who is crossing their borders. They don't know that we are in Filken Valley. But they know that we crossed the borders. That's why I made this bland plan. The convoy we will face will be a decoy. Don't worry, I have something in mind."
"Oh…okay."
They nodded, and we moved to our positions.
The plan was ready, and the pieces were placed. All that was left was to wait. I knew that through this plan, we wouldn't win. But it narrowed the possible counters he could do. And expanded our window of retreat.
It was now time to face the devil itself.