22:09, outskirts of the forest near Hanko.
A military-green off-road vehicle was concealed among the trees. Wearing night-vision goggles, the four of them stepped out of the car.
Ritsu handed out the earpieces he had prepared in advance. After confirming that the signal and team channel were working properly, he reminded them once more, "If anything goes wrong, report immediately. No matter what happens, don't get into a prolonged fight, especially you two handling the breach."
"Understood. We're not going to gamble with our lives," Rena replied, slipping the earpiece into her right ear as she attached a suppressor to her handgun. She turned to Irish. "Let's go."
Irish nodded, then looked at the two carrying sniper rifles. "You guys be careful too. Finlandia's a crafty one, I've dealt with him twice before."
"Got it. We'll be careful."
They split into three groups.
Following the original plan, Ritsu reached sniper point A on the castle's left flank. The distance here was about 600 yards, well within his range. The only drawback was its proximity to the sea; the waves at night weren't exactly calm, and the sound was somewhat distracting.
After setting up his rifle, he took out the Organization's newly purchased thermal imaging scope. With a detection range of up to 1200 yards, it could easily identify targets in the darkness.
While it made night feel almost like day, it had a drawback. The field of view was reduced, making it harder to initially locate targets.
Lying prone on a rock, Ritsu observed the situation through the scope. Confirming that there weren't many mercenaries guarding breach point A, he reported through the earpiece.
"There are four mercenaries at breach point A. They're equipped with submachine guns. Irish, Kir, are you in position?"
Crouched behind a bush, Irish lowered his voice. "We're in position. Awaiting orders."
After attaching the suppressor to his rifle, Ritsu aimed at the leftmost mercenary.
"Chianti, create a small disturbance on the right flank. The rest of you, move on my shot. I'll take care of the one on the far left."
He paused briefly. After noticing something on the man's waist, the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"I'll take out two to three of them."
"Roger."
"Understood."
At sniper point C, Chianti licked her dry lips and squinted through her scope at a mercenary who was yawning.
"Welcome to my hunting ground, Mr. Prey."
Bang!
A red streak cut through the dark night as the bullet shot toward the unsuspecting mercenary rubbing his eyes. Whether he was truly that sleepy or not, he yawned again but this time, he didn't get to close his mouth.
Even Chianti hadn't expected it. The bullet that should have pierced his forehead was swallowed instead, tearing through his entire oral cavity and exiting through his upper cervical spine, leaving a gruesome, gaping wound.
The mercenary remained frozen in mid-yawn, mouth wide open, eyes bulging, before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
The sudden death of their companion immediately put the remaining three mercenaries on high alert. One of them quickly opened the side door and grabbed a radio to report the situation.
It didn't take a genius to know he was calling for reinforcements and reporting the intrusion.
The moment Chianti fired, Ritsu had already locked onto the grenade at the waist of the leftmost mercenary. Shooting a grenade to trigger an explosion was no easy feat, you had to hit the detonator precisely. Even the slightest deviation could result in failure.
Before the man could react or move, Ritsu pulled the trigger. The bullet sped straight toward the grenade.
Clink!
The crisp sound of metal contact rang out. The mercenary hadn't even realized what happened before—
Boom!
The grenade at his waist exploded instantly.
The blast, combined with over a thousand embedded steel fragments, tore him apart beyond recognition. The two mercenaries beside him, wearing only light body armor, were also caught in the explosion. Even the one furthest away collapsed, writhing in pain.
Massive internal bleeding and multiple fractures left them with no chance of survival, especially the one closest to the blast, who died on the spot.
From behind the bushes, Irish and Rena hadn't expected Ritsu to create an opening like this. After a brief second of shock, they immediately rushed the side door with their weapons raised.
It was Rena's first time witnessing such a scene. The sharp smell of gunpowder hung in the air, mixed with the thick scent of blood, bringing back memories of her father's death a year ago.
Gripping her gun tightly, she followed behind Irish. Bursting through the door, she raised her suppressed handgun and fired without hesitation, two shots, both clean headshots. Without helmets, they were just ordinary men, fragile and easily killed.
"Point A breached successfully. Requesting cover."
By now, Ritsu had already slung his sniper rifle and moved to a slightly higher slope. Narrowing his right eye, he replied, "Received. Chianti, what's your situation?"
Gone was the nausea he had felt when he first joined the Organization. After years in the operations division, he had taken countless lives. Sometimes, he even felt no different from Gin and the others.
Different motives, same actions. They were all taking lives, even if the targets were criminals.
"I've taken out three mercenaries. One got away," Chianti reported, scanning through her scope. "Security here has tightened. There's a fully armed six-man squad with night vision and helmets. Macallan, I don't think I can stay here."
"Relocate to my position. Finlandia has likely sent a team to find the sniper."
"Roger!"
Observing the second floor, Ritsu spoke calmly, "Irish, take out a fragmentation grenade. Time it and throw it toward the 20-degree northeast angle."
"Heh, all right."
Counting silently, Irish followed Ritsu's instructions and hurled the grenade toward the second floor. From inside, someone shouted,
"Fire in the hole!"
Unfortunately for them, the grenade had already been primed. By the time it shattered the window and they realized the danger, it was too late.
Boom!
The explosion answered immediately. That warning became the man's final words.
Watching the second floor through his scope, Ritsu said, "Chianti, move to the tree stump near breach point B. We'll regroup there."
"Got it!"
"Irish, Kir, stay alert to your surroundings. Once we break through point B, head straight to the second floor."
"Roger!"