Book 2 Chapter 8.2 - Scorpions of the Night
Two hours later, more than ten experienced soldiers proceeded through the boundless darkness towards the distant position that they had scheduled in advance. They were all excellent shooters, and their strong points were best displayed in this hilly terrain. Every soldier had their own battlefield communication system, allowing them to exchange information with those in the back.
Su stood on the peak and watched as the soldiers disappeared one after another into the darkness. He began to feel a slight uneasiness, as if he was watching the soldiers gradually walk towards the underworld. Moreover, Su seemed to smell the scent of blood from the night wind that blew against his face.
Su was actually quite clear on the fact that he didn't notice any abnormal signs. The night wind was extremely cold, bringing with it the chilliness that was often present in the wilderness, but it didn't carry the smell of blood, not even the slightest bit. This was a feeling of danger, as well as his own body's feeling, one that used this method of reminding Su.
Su peered into the depths of the darkness, but under the thick darkness of night, even with glimmer sight, infrared sight, and other strengthened perception abilities, what he could see was still far less than what he could during daytime. When he looked around like this, Su didn't notice anything. He brought out the tactical lens and once again swept through the mountains covered in darkness. However, after switching through all of its modes, Su still couldn't find where the danger came from, so he could only put the binoculars away. The one he had on him was a cheap good after all and couldn't be compared to those high end toys.
Just when Su felt as if his sensation of danger was mistaken, a blue flame suddenly lit up from the distant mountain ridge! Then, the miserable cry of a soldier right before death sounded, and what followed was a muffled gunshot.
Sniper! Su suddenly turned around, and his eyes rapidly shrunk.
From a different point, blue lights continuously shone. What came afterwards were interweaving miserable cries and gunshots.
There wasn't only a single sniper.
Su took a deep breath and removed the rifle from his back before rushing into the boundless world of night. Under the darkness, only an indistinct dark green radiance flashed past. Then, everything became dark again.
Su tossed the numerous and complicated matters that he experienced today out of his head and silently sped through the darkness. Even though just now, the soldiers died a miserable death and most likely had no chances of surviving, Su was feeling a strange feeling of joy. He liked this type of situation. In the darkness, in the wilderness, as well as fighting alone was the world he was familiar with.
Su threw himself towards the first spark of flame, which was also where the first sniper was located. He completely blended into the darkness, as if he could feel the great earth, or maybe even the entire world's pulse. When Su had already reached 1000 meters from the hidden sniper and could vaguely sense his position, that sniper had yet to discover Su.
Su stopped behind a rock. He then supported his sniper rifle and aimed at a mound at the center of the hilly region in the distance. That sniper was hiding right behind that mound and was still trying to find the location of the other soldiers. The other snipers had either withdrew or were moving around. Only the fellow that had fired first did not decide to relocate.
"A rookie…" Su already learned many words veterans like to use. Their words were usually vulgar and vile, and many times, they carried a sharpness that hits the nail straight on its head. In order to become a good sniper, accurate shooting was one of the less important parts. Meanwhile, in order to become a dancer of darkness like Su, even more was required.
Tong! When the gunshot sounded, Su already began to move.
The mound in the distance was completely blasted apart. This type of soil, even if it was frozen until it was extremely solid, still couldn't block the 14mm caliber sniper rifle's power. Along with the earth that flew up were large amounts of body flesh and half a part of a human leg. Su's shot struck the lower body of the Blue Scorpion sniper and did not shoot him dead immediately. It wasn't that he couldn't do so, but rather to allow the dying sniper to disrupt the enemy and draw attention to himself. Just like a light within the darkness, no matter how concentrated one's willpower was, there would always be those that unconsciously took aim in this direction.
That sniper continuously rolled on the ground while howling miserably. There might be a computer chip inside of him, but the chip only controlled his mood and emotions and not his sensation of pain. Su's shot completely cut off his legs at the base, and the amount of pain this brought about was not something a human could bear. Even though the damage was fatal, he wouldn't immediately die. That was why this light in the darkness would continue to shine for some time.
When he found himself on the battlefield between life and death again, Su's heart became ice-cold and as steady as a rock again. His methods were lightning fast, fierce, and decisive.
That sniper's miserable cries immediately sounded far into the distance. Two Blue Scorpion snipers stopped their steps and turned around, and during this moment alone, Su who was moving stealthily through the darkness already locked onto their whereabouts.
Su soundlessly moved towards one of the snipers. 1000 meters or so was only a few minutes of time.
Blue Scorpion's attack was sooner than what they had expected, and the very first attack was actually a team of snipers. In the wilderness, only snipers could deal with another sniper. At least a part of these words was true.
That sniper quickly selected a new sniping position before concealing himself. This group of Blue Scorpion snipers were well trained and silently understood what they had to do. A group of people advanced, and another group of people set up ambush sniping positions. After roughly ten minutes, they then proceeded to find another position.
Under the cover of hills and dim light of night, this was originally an excellent plan. Unfortunately, Su was also a great master of sniping.
The sniper quickly found a new target, and he steadily placed the target within his weapon's front sight. Meanwhile, at this time, his opponent was still completely unaware of him. The target was lying on the ground and trying his hardest to find his enemy.
The sniper's breathing was calm and steady. He was just about to press the trigger when a hand suddenly closed around his mouth and nose, rigidly pulling his head upwards. Then, with a forceful twist, the sniper's cervical vertebra immediately released a light crack sound, and his entire body became limp.
Su half-squatted by the sniper's corpse, and only after more than ten seconds, when he had determined that he had died did he lower his body and speed towards the other hidden sniper.
In the blink of an eye, Su had already silently dealt with four Blue Scorpion snipers. Every single one of them had their neck bones snapped. In the darkness, Su once again found the feeling he adored so much. His movements became more and more fluid, agile, graceful, almost as if the night wind was gently supporting his body.
It had already been a while since a Blue Scorpion fired. One reason for this was because a large half of the soldiers Su brought out with him had already died, and the other reason was because quite a few snipers had died under Su's hands.
The mountain ridge in the distance flashed with blue light, and a miserable cry immediately followed in the curtain of night. Su gave that direction a look, and then he immediately raised his rifle to lock onto the sniper that was currently relocating. However, the moment Su was about to open fire, the Blue Scorpion sniper's body suddenly swayed, and then his entire shoulder exploded!
Su was stupefied. Only when the gunshot sounded did he realize that the one that opened fire was one of the soldiers he brought with him. Su never expected there to be such an exceptional sniper among his own soldiers. His marksmanship wasn't outstanding, but his patience, concealment, and willpower were all exceptional enough.
Su finally felt as if the weight on his shoulders could be shared a bit. His rifle that was held steadily suddenly made a half circle and locked onto a sniper that had just exposed his position. He then pressed the trigger.
When that Blue Scorpion sniper had just used his night vision lens to lock onto Su's soldier, his head suddenly exploded together with a large portion of his shoulders!
After firing the shot, Su didn't even look at the result and began to quickly move. He just exposed himself just now, so he had to compete in mobility against the Blue Scorpion snipers. Only now did the war truly begin.