God of Blackfield

The rain showed no signs of stopping, making it seem as if a humidifier had been turned up high or the morning dew had settled near a reservoir. Nevertheless, the truck continued bumping along the road, which was laden with the earthy scents of Africa.

Beside the sniper, Kang Chan kept a sharp eye on the hills.

What if I had stopped the truck back when my heart was pounding?

Thud-! Clank!

The truck shook violently for a few seconds, causing a groan to come from the back. If one had to describe it, it sounded like a defeated dog lowering its head and whimpering.

When Kang Chan turned his head, he saw the soldier sprawled on the truck bed struggling to sit up. He had a cut in the area between his eyes, making it seem as if he had sliced himself with a razor blade. However, in truth, it was a clear sign of a swollen injury being struck.

The soldier grimaced as he tried to raise his head. Considering Kang Chan had twisted his neck and stomped on his nape with his boot heel, his struggle was understandable.

Kang Chan banged on the roof of the vehicle. “Stop the truck!”

As commanded, the truck screeched to a halt. Kang Chan then immediately walked to the back.

The soldiers watched silently with their mouths shut tight. In situations like this, most would think to help the guy up and offer him a cigarette.

That would certainly be a kind and humane gesture, but this bastard doesn’t deserve it. Even now, he’s still looking for an opportunity. Idiots who know nothing but bark like him get weird ideas if they’re given a cigarette.

‘You act tough, but you’re scared, aren’t you?’

Moreover, he had to protect his pride in front of the sixteen other recruits.

As Kang Chan approached, the soldier clutched his stiff neck and slowly leaned back just to be able to look up. Despite his swollen and torn face, the man still glared at Kang Chan defiantly.

I knew you’d keep acting like this, you fucking bastard. You picked the wrong person to mess with, though. I have smashed the faces of people tougher than you and forced them to cling to me. One of them was even crazy enough to attack with a broken arm.

Whish! Thud!

Kang Chan stomped on the back of the man’s neck with his boot heel as hard as he could.

“Ugh!”

The soldier wobbled but didn’t fall.

This kid can take a hit, I’ll give him that.

Whish! Thud! Whish! Thud!

He had to stomp on him two more times before the man finally crashed onto the truck bed. A couple of the soldiers looked at Kang Chan with dissatisfaction.

It’s fine. Come at me if you want to fight.

Letting everyone know that I have a natural talent for combat can be beneficial at times. It’s a hassle, but I’ll just have to deal with those who have to experience it before they understand.

Kang Chan walked back to the sniper and banged on the roof with both hands.

“Keep moving!”

Vroom! Rattle! Clank!

It would still take them about fifteen more minutes to reach the hills. Fortunately, nothing special happened as they drove through the wet landscape of Nudle. Kang Chan’s heart didn’t race as it had before either.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. The driver, unfamiliar with the inner part of the hills, stopped the truck at a distance and waited for orders. It wasn’t even 8 am yet.

The area was peaceful, serene, and covered in mist. It was hard to believe that just two days ago, dozens of heads had been blown off and Enzo had been stabbed in the neck here.

“There’s a path inside! Go further in!” Kang Chan shouted, and the truck started moving again.

Driving deeper into the hills, they finally came across a path that dug into the right side.

Rattle! Clank! Rattle! Screech!

Finally, they reached a point where the truck could go no further. If they followed the path over the hill, they would find the enemy base, which was now completely empty.

Kang Chan turned around. With a swift nod from him, the soldiers quickly disembarked from the truck. However, the one who had been lying down struggled to sit up.

Kang Chan smirked and walked straight toward him.

“I’ll follow orders,” the guy muttered urgently.

Kang Chan stood over him, looking down for a moment. It didn’t matter if the man lost his combat ability. After all, that would be better than having an armed soldier gnashing his teeth behind him. If the rebels showed up and this bastard disrupted things, things could quickly turn into a mess.

“Haaa.”

Kang Chan sighed softly.

What are we doing? Why are we fighting among ourselves with rifles and bayonets in this strange place?

He decided to give the soldier one more chance.

“Get down.”

The guy flinched at the command, but he soon twisted around. With his ass on the floor, he dragged himself with his legs toward the edge of the truck.

Scrape! Scrape!

What a pathetic sight.

For the soldier, moving had to hurt as much as having a broken neck.

“Ugh!”

The guy stifled a groan as he forced himself off the truck, clutching his neck with both hands as he moved.

“Sniper, stay here!” Kang Chan ordered as he got out of the truck. He then walked toward the soldiers.

“James!”

“Oui.”

“Take three men and scout ahead. Make sure to check if the houses ahead are clear.”

“Oui.”

James nodded at Maxon and two other soldiers, then headed onward.

“Gegen! Go up that hill and keep watch.”

“Oui.”

Regardless of nationality, the first lesson they learned in training was to respond to orders in French. They were then taught the instructions that Kang Chan had just issued. Afterward, they underwent a lot of really awful training, which drastically reduced the number of recruits.

Gegen, who had gone up to the hill that Kang Chan indicated, raised his rifle and scanned the area slowly. Western soldiers looked good doing that sort of thing.

“Everyone else, take a break,” Kang Chan ordered again.

They had only been on the truck for about twenty minutes, yet his men soldiers seemed elated to be given the chance to rest. They probably expected to march the rest of the way to their destination in the formations that they had been trained on. To those who had passed the Foreign Legion training, that's what they expected the 10-kilometer march to seem like.

They’d have to wait here for thirty minutes total; fifteen minutes up, then another fifteen to head back down.

Kang Chan took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it with his lighter.

These soldiers had heard Kang Chan was in charge. After all, he had arrived in Ndulele three days earlier. That experience was the difference between him and the recruits.

It didn’t matter if they treated each other casually. Thanks to some weird military discipline, they made no personal insult. Moreover, those who defied orders in the Foreign Legion would be heavily punished.

There were only two ways a soldier who got beaten up could rebel. Fight Kang Chan and win or convince all the recruits to shoot him and then falsely report that he died under enemy fire. In combat, he could certainly be shot from behind, but he wasn’t foolish enough to fight with an enemy behind him.

“Hooo.”

Because of the humidity, the cigarette smoke could only linger lowly before disappearing.

He felt so fickle. He hadn’t eaten much, but the moment he put a cigarette in his mouth, he thought of coffee with just the right amount of cream and sugar.

Hot, sweet coffee and cigarettes enjoyed in a humid place would be nice.

He smirked and thought of the instant coffee packets he had seen in Korea. If he ever had time, and if he could go to France, he would buy a whole box. He wouldn’t have to rely on anyone for coffee, and he wouldn’t have to carry cream and sugar separately.

Time passed slowly. There was still an awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere among the soldiers, and the injured guy struggling to move his head only made it worse. It was like a boring class where no one could fall asleep.

Soon, James’ team returned.

“All the buildings were empty, and we didn’t see anything suspicious.”

Though it was easy to understand his report, the lack of suspicious signs bothered Kang Chan. That could either mean someone had cleaned up thoroughly or James wasn’t observant enough to notice them.

“We’re moving out! James!”

“Oui.”

“Take two men and lead the way. Gegen! Bring up our rear with Maxon!”

“Oui!” Maxon and Gegen responded loudly.

With an eye gesture, Kang Chan had James start leading the way.

Having trained for situations like this endlessly, their formations now looked pretty good.

Clomp. Clomp.

As the soldiers began to march, Kang Chan spotted the sniper peeking from atop the truck.

That kid has no sense. Then again, after seeing that guy get beaten up for disobedience, he probably doesn’t want to move without orders.

“Come on over!”

As Kang Chan commanded, the sniper jumped down from the truck with a relieved expression.

Click!

Kang Chan pulled his rifle from his back to his front. As he walked, he placed his right index finger on the trigger, ensuring he’d be able to respond to any situation.

They marched on peacefully yet anxiously. After all, they didn’t know when or where their enemies would fire an RPG or rain down bullets on them. The atmosphere was also getting more humid, slowly turning into a sauna.

James’ squad was walking about fifteen meters ahead, while Gegen was about ten meters behind.

Finally, they came across the empty houses. They had to pass through those buildings and go through the mountain. Fortunately, considering its size, it shouldn’t pose a problem to them.

Kang Chan grew even more vigilant as he inspected the ground and the spot where he had shot the rebels the previous day. Just as James had said, there were no signs of anyone having died there.

To their left was the entrance to the cave that he had fought in a while back. They could have checked it briefly, but Kang Chan didn’t feel like doing so. He wanted his last memory of it to be the one where Enzo was standing proudly and smoking a cigarette with him.

Watching James’ back, Kang Chan shook his head. The fact that James failed to notice the cave entrance when he scouted this area meant that he probably wasn’t very observant.

Amid their march, bright sunlight suddenly shone down on Nudle. With the sun finally out, Africa smelled significantly cleaner.

Some soldiers had their arms slung over their rifles, some carried their rifles with the muzzles pointed down, and some leisurely looked around as if they were just here to sightsee. No matter how they walked, they all moved with an air of ease. Kang Chan didn’t feel like criticizing them for that, though.

After about ten more minutes of walking, the empty building started to disappear behind the hills.

Everything was going smoothly. At the pace they were going, they would likely reach their destination today.

They continued down the winding path. Eventually, hills about sixty meters high came into view on either side of them.

“Stop!” Kang Chan ordered in English.

The soldiers gave him looks that seemed to ask, “What now?”

Should we just walk through? Or should I send the unobservant James ahead to scout again?

Kang Chan looked around, both ahead and behind. If a machine gun fired at them from the top of the hill, they’d likely be wiped out here. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the time or manpower to comb through all the hills around them.

“James! Scout twenty meters ahead!”

Following Kang Chan's order, James and another soldier moved even further away from their group.

“Spread out more! Gegen! Double the distance you’ve been following!”

“Oui!” Gegen replied.

As James moved a sufficient distance ahead, Kang Chan nodded to the soldier in front to proceed. Including Kang Chan, they numbered eighteen in total. James and another soldier were twenty meters ahead, leading the way. Behind them, the men walked in pairs two meters apart except for Gegen and Maxon, who were bringing up the rear twenty meters behind.

Some would likely ridicule Kang Chan for being overly cautious or think he was being overly pretentious just because he had arrived a few days earlier and had been promoted.

However, he couldn’t care less. On his first day here, he already experienced an RPG blowing their truck up and having rebels charge at them with knives. Hence, he couldn’t help but be cautious.

Kang Chan’s throat felt dry. He wanted to drink some water and take a short break somewhere to smoke a cigarette.

Slowly scanning the area ahead, he noticed that the path stretched further into the gaps between the hills.

Should we find a suitable spot to take a break? We could rest on a hill with a good vantage point. If we continued like this, we would arrive in no time.

Kang Chan looked around slowly in an attempt to find a suitable hill for resting.

Why are the hills here so barren?

The hills were so dry and sparse that if they threw Tarzan here, he would be complaining of mental instability within a day. However, this also meant that their enemies didn’t have anywhere to hide.

Dense jungles, long vines stretching down, monkeys running along them, lions in the distance, and something like a deer in front. That was the scene I was expecting to see here in Africa.

It seemed like the lessons they had about Africa needed to be redone.

Kang Chan chuckled to himself, but it was cut short when his heart started beating strangely.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

It reminded him of the moments before they got hit with an RPG on his first day.