⟐
Ten minutes later...
"Permission to speak my mind, captain?" The soldier with a sniper rifle asked with a soft grin, while periodically glancing at Justing Hang.
"Be mindful of what you speak, Staff Sergeant Ryand. They may be trailing behind us, but their ears are sharp, and we don't fully know what other abilities they have." Captain Wendell reminded with a whisper.
"That depressed looking guy with the huge sniper rifle. I think I know him from TV." Staff Sergeant Ryand whispered, nodding his head.
"An actor?"
"Child actor, rather. I think we're the same age. I recognized him from that Going Little show."
"Oh, that show. What do you want me to do with this information, Staff Sergeant?" Captain Wendell asked, raising a brow.
"Nothing, I just wanted to let you know."
"Get back to position." Captain Wendell rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
⟐
Captain Wendell raised his hand and ordered everyone to lie low. Peering through the trees and foliage, everyone could see the well-fortified compound of the communist insurgents.
The compound was heavily fenced, and guards were patrolling everywhere outside.The bamboo huts inside were adorned with the hammer and sickle symbol.
"Oh no..." Captain Wendell muttered, face scrunching up.
This wasn't a simple compound or an outpost. This was one of the insurgent's headquarters, one of the major ones in this state, cleverly hidden beneath the very tall trees.
In the middle of the compound was a small celebration.
There were children whose faces were painted in black and red, and on the left side was the hammer and sickle symbol, painted in yellow. The children were singing while marching, putting on a show for several officers who were clapping along with the music's rhythm.
The tables were adorned with food, from roasted to fried, and every table was full.
Captain Wendell faced his men and the Status Quo group.
"Listen up, that right there isn't an ordinary compound. It's one of the insurgents' major headquarters. That must mean there are more than three hundred tangos inside."
"This was not part of the plan." Another soldier muttered.
"We should go back and report." Sergeant Ryand suggested.
"No. We continue our mission." Hei de la Roxas interjected, looking up ahead with determined eyes.
"Are you fucking crazy?" A soldier backpacking a huge radio on his back retorted, glaring at Hei.
"Those are trained armed insurgents. From what I've read in all your files, you people mostly deal with petty criminals or drug dealers." Sergeant Ryand barked, glaring at the distant compound.
"We can't turn back. I know it, and your captain knows it." Hei barked back, exuding an intimidating pressure.
"It doesn't matter whether it's an enemy camp or compound, our mission still stays the same. This is a high-priority operation, and besides, we've been through worse." Captain Wendell said with a focused look, unbothered by the odds.
The soldiers looked at each other in disbelief, murmuring in disagreement. They were heavily outnumbered, military-wise; retreat seemed the only logical option.
"Hei, order your men to charge ahead while we flank them from behind." Captain Wendell ordered as he gestured for his team to follow, breaking away from Status Quo.
"You heard him, who wants to go first?" Hei said, staring at Justing, expecting him to go first.
"Let Frizz go along with Nathaniel; they have the most defensive capabilities," Rylai said with a confident tone, pointing at the two.
Frizz sighed and then glanced at Nathaniel, who was already walking ahead. "Let's get this over with."
"You two charge ahead, we'll follow shortly," Divine added, winking at both of them.
"Remember, no fatalities and don't target the non-combatants." Hei reminded them of the rules of engagement.
"Yeah, yeah," Frizz said dismissively.
(I don't earn a lot of experience by incapacitating enemies, but there are three hundred of them. I can level up at least once here.)
Frizz said, pulling out two baseball bats from his inventory.
(Plus, there are a lot of weapons and ammo loot.) Frizz mused, barely hiding his excitement.
Nathaniel and Frizz stepped out of the foliage, revealing themselves to the nearby insurgents. Captain Wendell gestured for his squad to pause for a moment, curious about what the two levelers would do.
The insurgents ahead were shouting aggressively, telling the two to stop, but they kept walking forward, unbothered by the warnings and threats.
"Hey, what's up?" Nathaniel mockingly hollered to the nearby insurgent who was already pointing a gun at him. "Air Cannon." He chanted, blowing away the insurgent with a powerful shot of air, knocking them out instantly.
"We got intruders!"
*Whomp!* The insurgent collapsed, heaving heavily, after being struck to the chest.
Frizz made the two baseball bats float and whisked his hand, tearing apart the metal gate and sending it flying.
(Whoa. I just wanted to open it.)
Frizz said, glaring at his hand while subconsciously ordering his two baseball bats to strike three charging insurgents.
(The range has increased, too. My telekinesis has a forty-nine-foot radius range, but that was way more like one hundred feet at most. I love this perk, it evolves along with me.)
The performance in the middle of the compound stopped, and the child performers retreated into the huts while the insurgents grabbed their rifles and ducked behind cover. Nathaniel held out both his hands, shooting powerful bursts of air.
The insurgents opened fire, but the two kept walking forward. Frizz was protected by his telekinetic force field while Nathaniel was protected by his spherical barrier. The two were like walking tanks, ignoring the overwhelming hail of bullets.
The insurgents were panicking, but they kept on firing.
Nathaniel extended his barrier towards Frizz, noticing that his force field was weakened.
"I was trying to test out the limits of my force field. I guess I need more levels." Frizz said, nodding his head in gratitude.
"Your perk.... It's growing along with you." Nathaniel said, furrowing his brows. "Only talents do that," Nathaniel commented, knocking out five insurgents with the air cannon.
"Hmmm..." Frizz replied with a hum, extending his two hands and waving them around like a conductor in an orchestra. He hummed as his two bats slowly dwindled the insurgents' numbers, one by one.