“Wha-“
Before the Raktor guard could even shout, Kyle lunged and crushed his windpipe in an instant, killing the man on the spot.
<table> <tbody> <tr> <td>
[System Message]
</td> <td>
<strong>Killed [Raktor Private], +50 EXP </strong>
</td></tr> </tbody></table>
He grabbed the body before it could make a sound, instead gentlyying it on the floor, his eyes darting around to check his surroundings. Luckily for Kyle, the guard chose a good ce to skive, hidden behind two makeshift rectangr tents.
ncing around for a ce to hide the body, Kyle couldn’t find any. “Feldon, please tell me there’s somewhere I can hide this body nearby. I’m at Sector 29G.”
[Sector 29G… found you. The tent right in front of you was marked as logistics.]
<em>Good.</em> No lights were visible through the thin fabric of the logistics tent, allowing Kyle to silently use the thunder sword to slice an opening, enabling him to enter.
The tent was a storage area, filled to the brim with crates with no one inside. Kyle tapped lightly on a few crates, finding one that was empty before shoving the dead guard inside. He noticed a table in the very middle of the tent with a few stacks of paper on it.
Just as he was about to walk to the tent, his arctech radio blurted out.
[Boss, twoing!]
Kyle reacted on instinct, quickly opening the empty crate with the dead guard inside and hiding in it, closing the lid. He breathed slowly, quietly exhaling while footsteps could be heard outside, along with an angry voice berating someone.
“What the fuck did I say about skiving? You’re part of the damn military now, you understand? Not part of the skiving unit! This entire fucking row of logistics tents will be even more important than your wife for the next few days, you hear me?!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
“And don’t think I don’t know about Poe skiving off as well! You two better fucking make sure no one gets in or out through the entire night without my say-so, got it?!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
“Don’t even try to skive halfway through – I’ll be back.”
Kyle grimaced as he pulled his legs in, leaning and squishing against the dead guard behind him in the crate. He quickly turned off his arctech radio to prevent Feldon from tipping off the two guards that were now entering the logistics tent.
“Man, fuck that sergeant. It’s barely even the first day of the war, and he’s being a fucking ass.”
“Why the hell are we even taking the k for Poe?! We should be the ones skiving instead of him!”
“Yea, wasn’t he skiving behind this tent? POE! You bettere out, you fucking rat.”
The two guards moved out of the tent, prompting Kyle to move as silently as he could without making a sound. As soon as he got out of the crate, he tiptoed out of the logistics tent, sprinting straight to the neighbouring tent, hiding in it.
Except this time, the tent wasn’t empty. Sure, the arctechntern hanging in the middle of the ceiling wasn’t on, but it wasn’t stopping a Raktor infantry soldier from masturbating behind the crates, his eyes staring widely at Kyle as he was caught right in the act.
“Sir, I can exin – “
Kyle didn’t waste any time, killing the man immediately in a simr fashion. None of the regr soldiers was a match for his speed, allowing him a clearbat advantage in such a scenario.
Explicitly avoiding the dead soldier’s boner, he stripped the uniform off before wearing it over his own, allowing him to blend in. He checked his name tag printed on the brownish uniform that was meant to camouge with the soil. <em>Kerin, got it. </em>Checking his unit badge, he noted down the toon and squad he belonged to.
Shoving the dead body into yet another crate, this time he had enough time to check the table in the middle, his eyes darting around as he nced through the list of items written. <em>Mostly support equipment and food supplies – nothing essential.</em>
That was to be expected: nopetent military nner would ever put their critical supplies in a less-guarded section. It did not matter to Kyle, though he took note of another piece of paper which denoted the expected shipments that wereing in from the Yual Dominion. “Feldon, record this down.”
[What..? I don’t have paper with me!]
“Memorize this.” Kyle recited the shipment timings as well as the city or town they wereing from, as well as wagon size, convoy length, the officer in charge and so on. Feldon recited it back, engraving it in his memory.
The moment Kyle stepped out of the tent in his stolen military uniform, the two guards who were searching for Poe behind their tent came out and spotted him. “Hey, Poe!”
Kyle turned around, earning a look of confusion on the two guards’ faces.
“Wow, when the hell did Poe get so handsome?”
“Idiot, that’s not Poe! Private, report your name and unit!”
“Private Kerin, 180 Brigade Company 4 toon 4 Squad 2.”
The two guards look at each other weirdly. “Err… okay. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I got lost; I don’t know theyout of the base very well.”
“Fucking hell, didn’t you do basic military training back in Raktor?!”
“Come on, man, cut the guy some ck. It’s the fucking first day of the war. You wanna be a dick like that sergeant?” The other guard calmed the first guard down.
“Fine. Walk right down this row of tents and turn right. Past the mess hall. Your bunk is fifth on the left.”
“Got it, thanks.” Kyle turned and walked off, ignoring the weird stares of the two guards.
As he walked briskly through the tents, he began to look for anything pertaining to chemical warfare, trying to spot the extinguisher wagons. He diverted from the direction the guards had told him, clearly avoiding any areas where other soldiers would be able to recognise him. <em>Going back to the squad would be stupid – they would know I am not Kerin in a heartbeat. </em>
The mess hall was rowdy, with the militarymanders ordering alcohol to be served to the soldiers. Many Yual Dominion citizens had not tried it before, drinking happily for the first time in their lives thanks to the prohibition back home.
“Hey, isn’t this illegal?”
“Fuck if I know, we’re not in Raktor anymore. This is Versian territory, which means beer for days! COME ON, DRINK UP!”
Naturally, the soldiers were drinking not because they were alcoholics but mostly because they were nervous. The alcohol served as a good way of drowning out their fears, though some would get a massive headache the next morning.
As Kyle delved deeper and deeper into the military camp, he hid behind tents, crates, pirs and stationary wagons, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Feldon whispered movements on the arctech radio at every avable interval, allowing Kyle to get a good view of everything around him.
Something felt wrong about the entire camp. <em>There doesn’t seem to be sixty thousand men in the camp at all. More than a third is missing. </em>He noted that entire brigades were missing for some unknown reason.
Soon, he finally reached the extinguishers, heading straight to their container storages, where tons of the pressurised purple liquid were stored in metal canisters. Sneaking past the guard, who was already dozing off, he made it into the makeshift warehouse that had been rapidly set up, quickly cing his hand on the canister.
<table> <tbody> <tr> <td>
<strong>[SYSTEM MESSAGE]</strong>
<strong>Item</strong>
</td></tr> <tr> <td><strong>[Compressed Invigorating Potion (Intermediate)]</strong></td> <td>
<em><em>Boosts morale and positive emotions</em> </em>
<strong><em> Rmended Dosage: One-tenth of a sk for an adult human male for one hour</em></strong>
<strong><em> Ingredients: Poair Leaf, Greis Powder, ???, ???, Water</em></strong>
<strong><em> Cooldown: One hour</em></strong>
<strong><em> Warning: Overconsumption may lead to unintended side-effects</em></strong>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<em>Wait, it’s not a neutraliser?! Then there''s no chemical attack?</em> Kyle waspletely confused, unable toe to terms with the fact that his assumption had been wrong, but soon Feldon’s urgent voice came in over the radio.
[[Boss, you got to move, there''s activity all over the camp!]
"Have I been exposed?"
[I don''t know, but everyone seems to be mobilising for something!]
Kyle had no time to think, quickly finding an already used canister with lower pressure, opening the valve and filling up his potion sks. “Where’s the nearest exit?”
The xons began to wail in the camp, shaking the drinking men out of their stupors while others who had turned in early were woken up, scrambling to get their equipment.
[Alert: All units to fall into their designated assembly areas immediately or face disciplinary punishment.]
[Go north of the warehouse; everyone is congregated towards the west!]
<em>Weird. I haven’t been spotted, so why is the camp mobilising?</em> Kyle rushed out of the canister warehouse towards the north, heading in the opposite direction in which he entered in.
The spotlights that were originally aimed outside of the camp were all turned inwards, sweeping the tents as groggy soldiers rushed to their assembly point. Just as Kyle started to run through the tents, he ran across a sergeant yelling.
"Form up, maggots! HEY, YOU! Why aren''t you heading to your assembly area?" A sergeant spotted Kyle running the other way, ring at him.
"Sir, I left my rifle in my bunk."
"Huh? Don''t fuck with me! Your bunk is the other way!" The sergeant examined Kyle''s uniform, knowing exactly which squad the guy was in.
"Sorry, sir, I got lost. By the way, what was that announcement for?"
The sergeant squinted his eyes. “You didn''t attend the briefing?! Who the hell are you? You''reing with me!"
<em>Wait, he doesn''t know about me? </em>Kyle was confused, but he had no time to think any longer.
<em>Penchant for Violence!</em>
In one single clean motion, Kyle punched the sergeant and knocked him out immediately before sprinting away as fast as he could, no longer worried about being spotted. Naturally, the unconscious sergeant was immediately found by other soldiers.
"What, there is an intruder here?!"
"Surround him!"
The camp surged into a frenzy as the reports of Kyle''s location began to spread through the base, the spotlights all locked on his figure as he dashed wildly, moving so fast that even the trackers failed to keep up.
"Where did he go? Left"
"Shit, we lost him!"
Kyle was like a blur, pumping his legs as fast as he could. The effects of Arcia reinforcement began to surge through his body, his ambient arcia energy boosting his muscle strength even further in an explosive st.
Even Feldon lost track of him, unsure of where Kyle was until Kyle reported back on the radio. "Sector 1G, pick up there!"
[Got it, Boss! But how do I contro-ARGH!] The venom-spitting ho immediately nosedived towards the designated meeting point, causing Feldon to scream wildly though it could barely be heard from a kilometre above.
Just as Kyle reached the end of the military base, he spotted the armoured arctech knights that were already deployed along the perimeter, locking down the area. Brandishing the thunder sword, he rushed straight at three of them, having no time to waste lest he gets surrounded. Even he did not believe he could take on all sixty thousand men himself. More importantly, he didn''t want his face to be spotted.
"He''s here! Shoot!"
<em>This is My Turf!</em>
The pellets never made it to Kyle, stopping and ricocheting off the invisible barrier as he charged at them, swinging the thunder sword at close range while activating its skill. <em>elerate!</em>
In a blur, the sword arced forward like a lightning sh, elerating Kyle''s swing along with his entire body, boosting the speed. The sheer kic energy caved the armour of the knight in, cutting deep into the bone of the knight''s blocking arm.
Kyle didn''t stay around to finish them off, utilising the one-minute defensive barrier he had to leap over the fence and sprint into the forest again.
"Search the forest! Find out what he took!"
The Raktor corps did not move out all at once, many staying behind to ensure that there wasn''t a second intruder. Arctech spotlights sted the darkness of the forest to oblivion, with hunting squads sent out to track Kyle down. However, Kyle’s running speed was unmatched, allowing him to outrun the range of the hunting parties easily.
[Boss, right ahead of you, keep running!]
Within a minute, a shimmering blur coalesced like converging pixels in front of him in the distance, marking the stealth ho with Feldon waving at him in a distorted vision.
Kyle rushed onto the ho and ordered it to take off immediately, soaring away up into the air and into the clear.
"Did you get the neutraliser?" Feldon hurriedly asked as the wind howled around them.
"I didn''t find it. I found something else." Kyle showed off the purple sk. "And the corps is ridiculously underprepared for chemical warfare. I don''t believe they are going to gas the city."
He had misjudged Count Leon, thinking that he was simr to the generals of the Gctic Era that he had fought before. Despite the callousness of Count Leon, it seems that the nobles of the Yual Dominion still held a certain respect for the enemy.
More importantly, Kyle now understood that Count Leon was doing this purely for respect and prestige. Enacting genocide on the people he was about to conquer was not a good look for both when he won and for his image as a noble in the Yual Dominion. Even his supporters may not be enthused to know he killed an entire city recklessly. <em>At least I verified the capabilities of Count Leon''s forces. </em>
"Then what the hell is that purple sk for?"
"We''re going back to Desham to find out."
Just as he said it, arge explosion suddenly erupted in Ocra, the mes lighting up the night sky from a distance. Feldon''s face nched as the sounds of fighting began to erupt from within the city itself, rm bells ringing throughout the buildings.
At the very same time, the military camp that was hunting for the intruders got ready, mobilizing out to re-engage the defenders in the trench lines. Kyle grimaced as he knew exactly what was happening, his eyes recognising the source of the explosion to be the same river port that he used when he travelled from Raktor. <em>They are trying to st through from within!</em>
“Bring me to Ocra. We need to stall the pincer attack!”