Chapter 29: First Shot

In the forest not too far from the town Gamora the commander of task force X could be seen standing at a spot as if waiting.

A masked man appeared out of the blue with a woman carried in his arms. He stopped in front of the commander and looked into his eyes, sending a chill down the commander's spine.

"Welcome back young master"

The commander greeted the masked man, his tone carried a hint of decadence and his posture rigid.

One would think he was talking to one of his underlings

"Is everything set"

The masked man asked without removing his gaze from the commander

"Yes, the strike shall begin at any moment, but our instructions are to make sure that none should be left alive, the woman in your …."

An enormous pressure was emitted from the masked man enveloping the commander and forcing him down to his knees and cutting his speech short

The masked man raised his foot and placed it on the commander's head, forcing him into a bowing position, the commander clenched his fists and gritted his teeth but could not go against the pressure

"Make no mistakes, We are not equals. I do not care about your others or your lives, you all could perish for all I care

You're nothing but dogs doing the bidding of those in higher positions, and I am one of those in the higher positions

You do not instruct me nor do you go against my wishes, do I make that clear?"

He uttered as he applied more pressure oh his foot forcing the commander's face into the ground, not waiting for a reply he removed his foot, and walked to a clearing

A seat appeared out of nowhere and the masked man sat on it, his position like a king watching over his subjects.

He placed the woman on his laps and begun stroking her hair with a gentleness and care he didn't show to the commander that was still groveling on the floor

He placed a bracelet on the woman's left hand while making sure she was as comfortable as she could be. The woman was Diara, the priestess from the town

While he was able to take advantage of Diara's trust, making her let down her guard, he still had to give credit to the department of research and development.

Their gadgets were what he used to isolate the temple from the rest of the town, making sure the sensitive priestess had no idea what was about to happen or sense the presence of intruders.

Even the bracelet on her hand now was one such creation.

Retracting his aura, he looked at the commander, motioning for him to get up

"Begin the strike"

"As you command, Sir"

The commander got up this time his actions and mannerisms carrying respect and his subserviency towards the masked man. He pulled a flute-like object out of his pockets and blew on it.

The signal had been sent to all combatants, it was time they attacked.

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The masked members of task force X received the signal from their commander and began their operation.

They had already surrounded the town from all sides and it was just a matter of attacking each person they found one by one until they wiped them all out.

The members formed three teams, the first started the farthest from the town, their objective to stop and silence any stragglers, the second team to fight and kill anyone they laid their eyes upon and the first team, singled out and targeted the ones with the strongest presence.

The third team had 50 members each at equal distance from each other while forming the net across the town.

The second team had to make sure the strong presences didn't have the backup in the form of those wandering around so the first team could concentrate on taking out the strong presences.

The second team on the other hand consisted 36 combatants spread out across town, they had no actual targets and their jobs was just to indiscriminately slaughter all they set their eyes on

Would be best if they could even set the town into chaos while there were at it

The third team had discovered 4 strong presences and they were on route to them. Their team was 16 members strong, which meant 4 members would approach one target.

As for how much of an overkill that was, they knew it was anything but that, what they could sense from those presences and what their insider had told them let them understand that if they went one on one, or even two on one, their chances of survival wasn't much.

As for how a little town held such monsters, it was a mystery even to them, their insider didn't provide that much Information, they split up and each approached their targets.

According to their Information, the total population of the town was barely in the eighties range, seventy eight to be precise, with only sixty capable of combat, so this operation should be a success according to paper.

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Five members of the second team where the first to spot members of the town, two men, most likely drunk as the way they walked and laughed was very funny, each supporting each other as they walked into a building.

The five masked men exchanged signals and decided to take out those two first.

Three were going to head in with two outside keeping watch, ready to take out any that might stray into their range.

As they had decided their roles, they acted on it, with the three members sneaking into the house, they tried to find the two who walked in a few minutes ago only to their dismay to find no one

"Something is wrong"

One of the masked men said as he stepped back trying to retrace his steps until

*Click*

He stepped on something

He looked down to see what he stepped on but

*Boom*

An explosion engulfed the house, instantly killing the 3 of them.

The two outside where thrown away by the force of the explosion and they catapulted into the houses nearby, each to a different one.

But before they could get themselves back together, they both were silenced, one by a woman with a cleaver in her hands, the other by a man, he had his head ripped from his body.

"That was fun"

The man said as he dropped the masked head on the floor, preparing to find his next victim.

The first shot of the night had been fired, but it wasn't by the assailants, it was by the inhabitants of the town.

War had come but they were ready to face it, as for who would be the hunter and the hunted, only the night would tell

The two drunk men who lured the masked men into the trap popped out from a hole on the other side of the street, unlike before they were now suited in a coat of armour, one with a sniper rifle, the other with a bow and quiver behind him.

Their killing intent was radiated in full force as they prepared to defend their town, their lives and all about them.

Since they had already made such noise, they was no point in hiding anymore.

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Ivern was just the butcher in town, the only distinctive features about him were his hulking figure and the cleaver in his hands which he used in treating the game he brought from the forest.

He was one of the old fogies that had helped Valdor in planning his trip to the lava bath and was also the first to suit up to go find them when they were late.

Now he was suited up in a battle outfit, something loose and flexible enough to move around in yet had heavy metal parts attached to it to provide protection in parts were needed.

He was standing in a clear area with no one in sights, his hand crossed behind his back as he stared into the night sky.

He took a deep breath, and the air moved outwards as if pushed from him.

"I know you're out there so why not spare this old man the misery of having to find you and just come out here

This old bones really are in no state to play hide and seek with you youngsters"

As he said those words 4 people popped out, surrounding the man on all sides

"Good, you're all here, I won't bother asking stuff like who are you and why are you here, but as a good guest, the least I should do is entertain you"

He smiled as he stretched his hands, a giant broadsword appearing in the air above him and the wing begun picking up speed, yawning the broadsword fell into his arms and he placed in over his shoulder with his right hand

"Now which one of you is gonna come first"