Under the Veil of Night

(Special mention for web novel [without space between the two words] reader Piku1309)

…

BAM!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound of gun shooting filled the area. Ferdinand was crouching on the ground. His body was a total mess covered with scratches and burns. He lifted his eyes, looking towards the group of soldiers before him. In the center, a middle-aged man was standing beside a soldier who was holding a nearly unrecognizable soldier.

Based on the clothes of that soldier, Ferdinand could guess that he must be a soldier from his country. His heart was stricken with trepidation from the realization of what Country M had done.

They tortured his comrade in order to gain information about this house.

"Well, well, now this is quite a view," The middle-aged man smiled as he looked towards the destroyed house. "I have never expected them to send so many soldiers here. Unfortunately, our country is also the best at espionage. Do you think that you can come here and walk out unharmed?"

The captain was coughing up blood. When he rushed out earlier, some of the bullets hit his body. He was trying to stand up as he looked towards the man before him with his heart boiling with rage.

"You b*stard!"

The man laughed. "You're the one who's trespassing my country. In any case, you wouldn't be able to survive. Farewell."

The soldiers behind him raised their gun towards the surviving soldiers. The man himself was amazed by these people's tenacity. They still could survive despite facing the sudden grenade thrown into their room. He was sure that they must be the elites from one of the neighbouring countries.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

As the sound of the gun shooting reverberated in his ear, Ferdinand could see his comrades fell one by one. They all had stayed together through thick and thin for many missions. Some of them had accompanied him from his very first mission until now. But today, they all died in front of him before he could do anything.

 'If only I can be as fast as the bullets….'

Ferdinand's body was hurting badly, but he paid it no heed. He had to move. If he didn't want to lose more of his comrades, he had to move!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The sudden scream startled the soldiers. As they were about to react, Ferdinand had disappeared from his spot. Blood flowed out of the corner of his eyes as he ran towards the group of soldiers from Country M. His right hand was holding a gun while his left hand was holding a knife.

Slash! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The man was stunned speechless. The speed that Ferdinand suddenly showed was something that he could never have imagined to be possible for human beings. In a panic, he began to give the order.

"Shoot him! Kill him!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Sound of gunshots filled the area. Ferdinand did not care for his own safety. All he could think at that time was how he could kill everyone. His body moved at rapid speed, killing everyone around him that he could possibly reach. Even if his body was screaming in pain, he didn't stop.

Plop!

As the last soldier fell onto the ground, Ferdinand stood still in his place. His body was riddled with wounds, yet all he did was looking around him with a pensive expression. His erratic breathing didn't slow down as he walked to his teammates.

His tears had changed into blood and continued to flow out as he looked at his comrades' dead bodies. Slowly, he pulled out a long cloth and put his comrades' body there. He noticed that there was someone who was still alive.

Aria looked at Ferdinand, who was extending his hand to him. "Come on. We need to get out of here."

"You should just leave me here."

"I'll leave no one."

….

In the headquarter, Richard was looking at the communication device with trepidation. He was waiting for any news from the special team that he sent to Country M. It had been three days, yet he had not received any contact at all.

"Commander, I think they all have already died. It's an impossible mission in the first place."

Richard waved his hand. "Country M has been revelling in front of our eyes for years. Do you think I'll let them get ahead just like that? This is the perfect chance for us to make a comeback and make a living hell out of that country."

The soldier could only smile bitterly. He understood that Commander Richard wanted to make use of this chance well, after they managed to find out the coordinate of Country M's secured base. However, the lack of information was what made this mission hard.

They had a long debate over how they should infiltrate and how they should get out of Country M.

Commander Richard was pacing around the room when his communication device rang. He quickly picked it up.After listening to the report, he hung up and stood up.

"I'll be going"

"Sir?! How about work?"

"Leave it to the others."

Richard was not in the mood to care for his task. He had just received news from the border that a soldier came while dragging the bodies of fallen soldiers. From the direction where they came from, he believed that they had succeeded in completing the mission that he entrusted and somehow managed to make their way out.

No matter what, he needed to go for a visit.

It didn't take long for Richard to arrive at the border. His eyes showed apparent happiness when he saw the young man who was sitting on the bed. Even though his body was riddled with wounds, it was clear that he managed to come back safely.

"Ferdinand! You have returned. I know that you can do it."

Ferdinand moved his arm carefully as he nodded to his leader. He passed the flash disk that he kept inside a secure box to his boss. "This is the information that we have gathered."

"The others…?"

"Dead."

The cold tone that Ferdinand used made Richard unable to say anything else. The coldness that seemed to seep out from the bottom of Ferdinand's eyes seemed to tell him so many things.

Eyes are the windows to the soul.

Richard gritted his teeth and patted Ferdinand's shoulder. He knew that sacrifice was always inevitable, but the death of fallen soldiers would never be easy. They had lost their comrades who were staying with them for years and grew up alongside them.

"I'm sorry."

Ferdinand raised his head. "It's my duty as a soldier to fulfil the task the country gave to me."

"You're right."

In this country, they would select some people from many different cities in order to serve in the military. Ferdinand was one of the most promising youth, and they had placed him in the special soldiers' group. Even though he was still in his twenties, Richard knew better than anyone that Ferdinand was much more capable than anyone else.

If they became special soldiers, they wouldn't be able to contact their families anymore. Many were regarded as already dead by their family members because of their special status. This naturally included Ferdinand.

"There'll be a large-scale war, Ferdinand. You're going to be the leader with rank as colonel upfront along with Aria. Will you take this responsibility?"

Ferdinand raised his head with surprise. Allowing him to become the colonel and lead the soldiers meant that he would become a 'normal' soldier and have his own achievement recorded down. At the same time, it meant that he would no longer be part of the special soldier.

"Commander, this…?"

"After the war is over, I'll let you visit your wife and son."

Hearing that, Ferdinand nodded his head vigorously. He was raised in poor condition because of both of his parent's backgrounds. When he was about to leave for the military, he decided to marry his childhood sweetheart and had a child with her as fast as possible. Because of that, his wife was conceiving his child when he departed from that city a few years ago. From Richard, he had heard that she had given birth to a son. Afterwards, the military had no longer paid any attention to her.

Thinking of how he would be able to return to his family, Ferdinand felt happy yet at the same time bitter. He understood that his comrades would never be able to return back.

They all had died before him.

Richard looked at Ferdinand's expression. "Keep in mind that they thought you've died."

"Yes."