God of Blackfield

The situation here was similar to the previous village.

Leaning against a wall, an old woman cried and wiped her puffy eyes while an old man was clutching his chest, trying hard to accept his middle-aged son’s death. A boy continued to hit his head as he wailed.

Kang Chan couldn’t comment on their actions. After all, it was their unique way of expressing their sadness.

He looked down at the two soldiers whom they had laid at the entrance of the village. The soldier whose eyes, throat, and chest were shot through had died on the spot. The other had been in anguish until he died a moment ago.

Snap. Click.

Kang Chan put a cigarette in his mouth and took a deep drag.

“Hoo.”

With the cigarette still in between his lips, he exhaled smoke. He tried his best to suppress his anger, but after slowly putting his lighter back in his pocket, he bit down on his cigarette as if trying to break his teeth.

The soldiers quickly gauged his mood as he breathed out another cloud of smoke.

Hold in my anger? Why should I just leave that bastard alone? He got two of his colleagues killed by running out late alone even though he had been ordered to cover them!

Swoosh!

Kang Chan turned around and threw a right straight at Smithen.

Pow!

“Urgh! Cough! Cough!”

Smithen blocked his upper body, thinking Kang Chan was about to hit him in the stomach, but he ended up grasping at his throat, struggling to breathe.

“Captain!”

Reznov tried to stop Kang Chan only to flinch and step back. Kang Chan had already unsheathed his bayonet.

Stab! Stab!

“Argh!”

Kang Chan stabbed both of Smithen’s collarbone muscles. He then consecutively kneed him.

Crash!

Smithen fell backward and collapsed against the wall by the deceased soldiers.

“Reznov!” Kang Chan called.

“Oui!”

“Take all of this motherfucker’s weapons! From here on out, he is no longer a part of my unit!”

When Reznov didn’t answer, Kang Chan turned his head to him.

“Oui!” Reznov finally replied in front of the frightened soldiers.

Smithen groaned, which sounded like a sob. However, Kang Chan had not even a drop of pity or sympathy for him.

“Smithen,” Kang Chan called.

“Oui.”

“You are hereby discharged from my unit. If you’re ever caught with weapons, I will take it as your intent to kill me or other soldiers and kill you on the spot.”

When Smithen glanced at Kang Chan, Kang Chan stomped on him as if he was actually trying to kill him.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

“Use those eyes of yours to look at the soldiers you got killed, you son of a bitch!”

Pow! Pow! Pow!

“Those men trusted you to have their backs! They trusted you with their lives!”

Pow! Pow! Pow!

“Captain!” Reznov clung onto Kang Chan and barely managed to separate him from Smithen.

“Haller! Forman!” Kang Chan called.

Two soldiers quickly stepped forward. They, too, rushed in late because they waited for Smithen’s orders.

“Look at your fallen colleagues and engrave them in your memory! They ran into danger thinking you motherfuckers had their backs!”

The two soldiers looked away, clenching their teeth.

“I said look at them, you fucking bastards!” Kang Chan growled.

Perhaps out of shame, guilt, and fear, the two subconsciously turned away instead.

Kang Chan twitched, ready to attack them with the bayonet in his hand.

“Captain! Please! Those two idiots were just following orders!” Reznov clung onto Kang Chan’s arm like an abusive man trying to stop their significant other from leaving. “If you stab them as well, it’ll be difficult for you to avoid punishment even with a hundred medals!”

“You two will remain here until further instructions,” Kang Chan ordered.

“Oui,” Haller and Forman answered weakly.

Right after, Reznov held out a cigarette toward the hand that Kang Chan was using to hold the bayonet. He hoped it would make Kang Chan sheathe his weapon to accept the cigarette.

Fortunately, it worked. With his bayonet back in its sheath, Kang Chan took and bit on the cigarette that Reznov had handed him. However, the sight of his fallen men still enraged him. At this rate, he’d eventually end up causing an accident.

Clank. Clank.

Kang Chan walked out of the same entrance that he had run into earlier. Reznov jerked his head at Smithen, ordering the others to treat him, before quickly following Kang Chan.

The 11th unit of the Foreign Legion’s 13th Special Forces Regiment was famous throughout Africa.

Even after earning the God of Blackfield title, Kang Chan continued to rack up achievements. It came to the point where every recruit would hear about his first and second battles at least once before even joining the Foreign Legion.

Reznov stared at Kang Chan’s back as the latter smoked and stared at the desert that they had run from.

Under the intense sun, the white cigarette smoke rose in front of the blinding sand. It then went past Kang Chan’s head and vanished into the air.

Kang Chan’s capabilities were evident in the recent battle as well. He rushed forward, entered the tunnel, and quickly eliminated fourteen hostiles by himself using only a bayonet and a rifle.

Reznov was a sniper. Although CheyTac wasn’t a standard issue sniper rifle for the Foreign Legion, Kang Chan still managed to give him one. He knew that remarkable snipers would never be picky about guns, but all snipers had a gun or two that they had always dreamed of using ever since they were given the role.

In any case, as their sniper, Reznov always watched Kang Chan from the back. That was why he knew how scary Kang Chan could be when he was charging toward their enemies. However, that was also what made Reznov realize that their young Asian commander couldn’t handle his men dying.

That could be the only weakness of the God of Blackfield, the bringer of death.

The other soldiers probably had no idea how much of a strong impression the back of their commander left whenever he ran toward their enemies to protect his men.

However, Reznov was all too familiar with it. He had even noticed that Kang Chan always moved and fought with the soldiers following him in mind. Their commander would always take on the most dangerous tasks and kill the enemies who posed a threat to his men first.

The cigarette smoke that Kang Chan exhaled scattered and disappeared into the air again.

Right now, their young Asian commander was mourning the deceased soldiers in solitude. He was blaming and getting angry at himself for failing to protect them.

Reznov sighed softly.

He wanted to stay by this person’s side for as long as possible and witness what Kang Chan would look like once he had grown even stronger.

They had lost two men, but they also won another intense battle under the banner of the Foreign Legion’s 13th Special Forces Regiment.

Kang Chan was the pride of the Foreign Legion’s special forces.

Reznov shook his head and looked behind him, finding two soldiers helping Smithen move to the side.

Most would have trouble handling Smithen because he was born with the innate ability to endure attacks. However, he had met his match.

***

Sharlan continuously received urgent messages on the radio requesting assistance.

[The third company's the second platoon are calling for aid from Echo and Lima!]

The situation was getting worse.

“Have everyone fall back!” Sharlan ordered through gritted teeth.

The soldier manning the radio glanced at Sharlan. If everyone below withdrew in this situation, the enemies would all flock above, where the 11th unit was positioned alone.

Even during that short moment, soldiers continued to urgently call for help and report their situations through the radio.

Sharlan met his subordinate’s eyes. As if to confirm his decision, he reiterated, “Tell them to retreat!”

“All soldiers, fall back to the Bisons’ Nest! I repeat! Abandon your positions and retreat to the Bisons’ Nest!

After relaying Sharlan’s orders, the soldier stared blankly at the radio. Even if they sent a helicopter now, it would take more than an hour and a half to go around the enemy base and reach the 11th unit.

It wouldn’t take long for their enemies to notice that the Foreign Legion was falling back, so every second counted.

The soldier looked at Sharlan again, who still hadn’t dispatched their helicopter.

“I’ll meet the soldiers at the Bisons’ Nest,” Sharlan said as he stood up.

“What about the 11th unit, sir?”

Sharlan only glared at the soldier in response. Shortly afterward, he left the situation room.

“Haaa.”

The soldier collapsed back into his seat.

Thud.

The gruesome battlefield noises that the radio transmissions had picked up a moment ago were still ringing in his ears, making him feel as if he could already see the future of the 11th unit.

***

The sun was now shining down at the back of their heads.

They had already fought in two battles and lost two soldiers.

‘What should we do?’

The next village was fifteen minutes away from them.

Kang Chan glanced back. Since the boy hadn’t hit puberty yet, his cries sounded more sorrowful and desperate than a girl’s.

That boy was constantly crying and hitting his head with his palm. The man sprawled out in front of the boy still had the rope around his neck.

While Kang Chan was busy mulling over his thoughts, rebels were likely hanging nooses around people’s necks and beheading someone in the next village.

If he turned a blind eye and pretended that none of that was happening, then he could spend some time here to smoke and drink water. He wouldn’t be going against orders.

Kang Chan looked ahead, which was where the sun rose.

He had never found killing people pleasant. In fact, he wanted to stop.

“Kyaaa!”

Kang Chan looked behind him one more time. The boy who had lost his father was still hitting himself in the head. In front of him was the body of a middle-aged woman.

“Argh! Agh!”

For some strange reason, Kang Chan felt as if the boy’s cries were being engraved in his heart.

“Reznov!” Kang Chan called.

“Oui!”

“We’re leaving!”

“Oui!”

He wouldn’t argue with his men if they grumbled that they had met the wrong commander. After all, they were right. Nevertheless, if they were standing in front of civilians in military uniform, shouldn’t they at least do what was right and be ready to aim their guns at their enemies?

Clank. Clank.

The soldiers gathered in front of Kang Chan.

“Our orders were to secure a position and remain on standby, so I’m leaving this area solely for the sake of a personal operation,” Kang Chan said as he looked at his men, who had their rifles slung over their right shoulder. “We will be advancing to the next village. Our entire unit was entrusted with the duty of killing all of our enemies and saving the natives, and I will faithfully follow that command.”

The soldiers glanced at the crying villagers.

Kang Chan added, “In accordance with the tradition of the 13th Regiment, you will not be shamed for choosing not to join this operation. Quietly walk to that side if you don’t want to participate.”

A brief silence followed.

Reznov nodded toward the direction that they had to go. “We’ll follow you, sir.”

Kang Chan smirked. He stepped forward and started walking to their destination. The soldiers fell in formation right behind him.

Clank. Clank.

With Kang Chan at the forefront, they followed the path made of hot sand.

***

Vasili’s thin lips curved into a strange smile.

“All that’s left is for you to decide, Vasili,” Alexei said. Sitting in front of Vasili, he squirmed to overcome the overwhelming aura that Vasili exuded. “Wouldn’t it be helpful in many ways if I become the president?”

“How will that be helpful?”

“I can help you continue using the KKB.”

“I can’t believe you just said I need your help in using the KKB even though it’s already mine. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard recently,” Vasili commented.

He held up a ceramic teapot. As he poured black tea into a cup, he continued to raise the teapot until it was almost his eye level.

“Alexei.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yes?”

“Have some black tea.”

Vasili then pulled the cup toward him.

They were in a large, desolate office. Only he and Alexei were sitting at the large, circular table in the middle of the room.

Security guards that used to be in the KKB were standing in front of the door with their hands clasped in front of them. They were trying hard not to miss even a small movement from Vasili.

After having some black tea, Vasili wiped his thin lips with his index finger. “We have a specific way of taking care of those who betray us. We cut their shoulders, thighs, sides, and shins with a knife.”

When Vasili turned his head toward the agents, one quickly approached him.

“Bring some vodka,” he ordered.

The agent bowed and glanced at the agent in charge of drinks. The latter then brought vodka and shot glasses to the table.

After filling Vasili’s shot glass with vodka, the agent quickly headed to the door as quickly as he approached Vasili.

“Where were we?” Vasili asked Alexei.

“Um… you were talking about cutting traitors with a knife.”

“Ah! That’s right. After that, we tightly tie their hands and feet before burying them, leaving only their head above ground. We make sure they’re lying flat on the ground before burying them. That way, centipedes will smell their blood and eat into their body.”

Vasili took a sip of his vodka before adding, “Do you know how many people I had to feed to the centipedes to get to my position? What were you doing while my precious men were turning into cold corpses in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Ukraine?”

“Vasili, we had different roles. I’ll cooperate as much as possible, so please tell me what you want.”

Vasili, who had been pouring vodka for himself, glanced up at Alexei. “Europe is changing. New weapons far superior to nuclear weapons are about to appear. Phew.”

Vasili slammed the bottle of vodka down on the table, making Alexei flinch.

“I’ll operate Russia’s intelligence bureau as a completely independent organization. In return, I’ll make you the president. Keep in mind that the only reason I’m not taking the seat myself is that I’m trying to prevent the Europeans from killing us.”

Alexei swallowed dryly. “Alright.”

“Anyway, you are to discuss all matters related to national defense and diplomacy with the intelligence bureau before you take care of them.”

When Vasili glared at him, Alexei quickly answered, “I will. I promise.”

Vasili nodded toward the door.

It was a humiliating command. Nevertheless, Alexei awkwardly left the office. Although forced, he faintly exuded his determination to not lose his nerve.

Click.

Once Alexei had left the room, Vasili looked at an agent, who in turn quickly approached him.

“Get rid of the woman Alexei is dating today. Search through that bitch’s phone and delete all of her bank transactions and everything with her name in it. Kill everyone who lives in the houses in front, behind her, and next to her home so no one will question her death. You can also just sentence all of them with life in prison in Siberia.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ah! Do the same for that bitch’s parents, siblings, and the children of her siblings.”

“Yes, sir.”

The agent stepped back, his eyes now glinting.

Vasili took another shot of vodka.

“I can’t believe I have to pay attention to all of this when I’m already busy trying to figure out what Lanok is planning. Well, I guess that’s the reason Alexei is fit to become the president of Russia,” Vasili said to himself.

Glaring ahead, he thinned his lips.