PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

It took time for mankind to realize this, but for unknown reasons, sea life had a higher rate of evolution than other beasts. For coastal countries, such as Country C, this was like a cheap shot that came after a lasting beating.

What was once a blessing was now a cruel curse that lashed the shores of Country C, reducing its territory to a great extent. Originally, country C bordered its northern border with country F and the country to the west of country F, but that changed after the reduction of territory.

From a historical point of view, country C’s misfortune was hilarious since its geographical position had allowed it for years to have its two neighboring countries eating out of the palm of its hand. But now, Country C was in a highly awkward position where a lack of resources was beginning to erode its potential.

Proving that humanity hadn’t changed a bit, Country C turned to one of the oldest enrichment tools; war. With country F’s recent enrichment and development, it became a perfect target for country C.

In the three months following the winter, Country C did everything it could to prepare for war, while Country F tried to recover from its battle against the mutated beasts and worked to strengthen its military might.

After almost four months of preparations, the first military operations by country C had begun. Due to the topographical characteristics of the area, the C Country troops could only advance through the bottleneck where Green Seed City was located.

With the mountain range and the number of mutated beasts in the forest stretching for hundreds of miles, Country C first sent out several scouting squads, hoping to find a suitable area or terrain to amass forces.

Due to the downfall of many of earth’s core technologies, the war took several steps back. With almost all satellites in the atmosphere reduced to scrap, reconnaissance and surveillance tasks had to be done based on human resources and portable exploration tools.

.....

Given that Country F was aware of a possible invasion by Country C, the amount of military force gathered at the Green Seed bottleneck was not inconsiderable, but, at the end of the day, at least for the initial stage of this confrontation, everything would depend on the result between the exploration squads and the surveillance squads of both countries.

On the side of the scouting squads sent by country C, only in terms of numbers did the advantage become clear. Treating this war as a gamble, Country C had also staked considerable funds on military equipment. With the manpower and equipment, the officer in charge of the exploration operation was confident of obtaining favorable results.

Steadily, status reports continued to arrive at the command center set up by Country C in a somewhat hidden area outside the forest. Hidden by a few hills and a sea of ??trees, the military station was operating at total capacity coordinating the advances and discoveries of all the scouting squads.

All went smoothly for an hour or two, without any significant hiccups, but at the three-hour mark, an anxious radio message reached the command center.

“Bzzt... team six delta, reporting, shots, and explosions were heard east of our position, we tried to contact the team in charge of that area, but they don’t respond.”

After sharing some pre-assigned military codes, the communications operator verified the identity of the person who passed the message and quickly tried to contact the squad mentioned above.

After a couple of tries, the comm operator’s expression worsened. Based on the signal he was receiving, the radio devices of the squad he was trying to contact were still working, so he could rule out a malfunction or no signal; the problem was that no one answered. With no other choice, the communications officer passed the news to the commanding officer of this operation.

“It can’t be helped. We knew beforehand that military forces were patrolling the area; probably, our squad was wiped out by them. For now, keep me posted on any changes in the situation and send three squads to check the area.”

Without realizing it, the officer who gave the order had just sentenced almost forty people to death, although it was unknown if he still cared as he seemed like the kind of person who only saw the end result.

While this conversation took place in the C Country command center, Desmond gave his squad the order to stand down. Immediately some were not satisfied with the withdrawal order. With Silvia and Claire in the lead, these people didn’t want to be treated as useless. Still, with a sharp glare from Desmond, all opposition was forced into silence.

“I don’t want to hear another word; this is an order. I told you from the first day I accepted you into my squad, I don’t want heroes or brave warriors; I want people who are alive tomorrow so they can hug their loved ones.”

Desmond’s words were like a hundred-ton truck hitting the whole group hard; by the end of the day, everyone present had joined the army without much choice, but over time, everyone came to realize what their position meant to their families. For all Desmond included, it was not loyalty to their country that motivated them to fight, but the desire to protect or possess something.

Except for a couple of exceptions with more basic and selfish desires, the members of Desmond’s squad were entirely moved by his words. Knowing that her words wouldn’t change anything, Claire only tried to assuage her concern by saying a few words to Desmond.

“Just be careful, please.”

“Don’t worry, I sent you all back because the situation is too uncertain. We have no intelligence on enemy activities, and the terrain works against both sides; we cannot risk running into an ambush and falling victim to a hail of bullets. However, all of the above only involves you... I am strong enough that all these details do not matter at all.”

It was hard to tell whether Desmond’s words came from well-grounded confidence or blind arrogance. Still, everyone knew two things: first, their lieutenant colonel was obscenely strong, and second, their lieutenant’s smile was terrifying right now.

Seeing Desmond act like a wolf craving a good hunt, Claire shook her head helplessly; she knew this side of Desmond and that no force in this world could stop him. Claire almost felt sorry for the people who crossed the path of her beloved.

Almost prophetically, Claire’s pity soon became necessary when Desmond encountered three enemy scout squads. Desmond didn’t know what kind of events took place in the enemy command center, but judging from the formation and the area he found the three squads in, he could get an idea.

“I don’t know if you are very smart or foolish, but even a rabbit knows that the corpse of another of its kind is a sign of danger.”

The sarcastic comment caught the enemy forces off guard, many almost wanting to scoff that someone would be so stupid to announce themselves by discarding the element of surprise, but that thought quickly changed.

While the colors of Country C’s military uniforms were relatively simple, the man who appeared was wearing an elegant but ominous formal military uniform, perfectly combining black and red.

Even the colors the man wore were too conspicuous, but no one had a chance to think about it due to the man’s position.

The man appeared three meters above the ground, headfirst, with both arms outstretched, holding two abnormally sized silver pistols. As if all of the above wasn’t enough, the man wore a futuristic-looking black visor and a metallic mask with hexagonal patterns.

The man’s strange but elegant and deadly figure in the air was etched in everyone’s retina; unfortunately, the amount of time it took them to process said information was enough for death to rain down on them.

As he spun in the air, a volley of bullets rained with terrifying precision on everyone on the ground, even upside down; Desmond had no problem picking out targets. It was a process of aim, shoot, confirm and repeat, during which Desmond didn’t make a single mistake.

Each bullet was like a pillar of death, raining down on each of Desmond’s targets. In just eight seconds, Desmond had emptied both modified sixteen-round magazines and had selectively killed the most capable elements among the enemy forces.

Due to the way Desmond hunted down those with the shortest reaction time, by the time the bullets in his pistols ran out, only four people were left alive, and even then, these people weren’t even close to being ready to engage.

Having no need to reload his weapons, Desmond brandished both pistols like giant blunt machetes and slaughtered the last four people by cracking their skulls in one blow.

To Desmond, this level of combat, with opponents this weak, didn’t make much sense, but somehow being able to have fun with his new toys brought great satisfaction to the young hunter. Only God would know what kind of reaction the people who had died in a bloody way would have if they knew that the person who brought them death had only one thing in mind; his own amusement.