King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

The jungles of North America are far more forgiving than those in Africa, yet shooting range remains a huge issue.

Depp, the leader of the HRT Fallen Angels Squad, had undergone intensive training and was relatively adapted to North American jungles, though this was his first actual jungle combat experience.

Compared to battle-hardened veterans like 'Spur' and 'Orange Cat,' Depp's rhythm always seemed a beat slower.

The instincts honed through high-intensity training still proved somewhat rigid under the test of gunfire and explosions...

In close-quarter encounters, this rigidity manifested most prominently in accuracy rates.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Depp felled a mercenary with a burst of gunfire. As he prepared to press forward, a bullet struck him in the chest, and he dropped to the ground as if hit by a sledgehammer.

"Tap, tap."

When Depp prepared to retaliate, two bullets whizzed past where he'd just been standing, striking a gunman crouched behind a pine tree 40 meters away.

Through his night vision goggles, Depp clearly saw one bullet shatter the night vision goggles on the enemy's face, while another pierced his lower jaw as his head rocked backward in recoil.

In the night vision display, the top of the gunman's boonie hat erupted into a misty spray of bright red blood.

Depp froze for about two seconds, just as medic 'Bandage' was about to rush over to check on him. Then Spur shouted loudly, "Leave him! Keep your eyes forward!"

'Spur' unloaded a stream of bullets into an enemy moving in the distance, roaring "Reload!" before surging forward a few meters to take cover behind a large tree. Only then did he glance in Depp's direction and yell, "Quit zoning out! Get up! Push forward! Push forward! Nobody's dying here!"

Depp stumbled a few paces forward, dropped to the ground under a tree, and emptied a magazine toward the enemy ahead. As he swapped magazines, he muttered bitterly, "I've been shot, for fuck's sake. Give me a damn second to breathe."

Some 10 meters away on the flank, 'Orange Cat' raised her M4 shotgun and fired three successive rounds, flushing out a mercenary hiding behind a tree. Soon enough, a barrage of machine-gun bullets came tearing into the poor bastard...

Laughing maniacally while reloading shotgun shells from her pouch, 'Orange Cat' shouted, "Don't stop now! The boss said to annihilate them all—right here, right now! We in P.B. don't do patience...

Trust me, taking a bullet isn't fatal. You'll get used to it eventually. Hahaha!"

'Orange Cat' spun about, firing again as she laughed. She wasn't aiming to kill—only to drive the mercenaries from their cover and open them up for her team and the boss behind them.

Four rapid shotgun blasts left a pine tree with a fist-sized cavity. As one mercenary hiding behind it tried to mount a counterattack, a single bullet slammed into his knee. As his body buckled forward instinctively, another bullet struck his cheekbone.

The bullet shattered his cheekbone, ricocheted through his nasal cavity, twisted violently inside, and exited from the other side, ripping out a chunk of bone and flesh along the way.

The unlucky sod didn't die instantly. Clutching his blocked-up, blood-soaked face, he staggered forward several steps in a daze.

No matter how desperately his comrades yelled for him to stop, he seemed deafened, wandering into an open clearing and kneeling down to let out pitiful moans...

The horrific sight prompted a curse from Depp...

Uncertain of what to do, he hesitated. Clearly, the mercenary had lost his will to fight and seemed salvageable. As part of a hostage rescue team, Depp instinctively paused...

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"

A volley of bullets struck the branches around Depp, sending splinters flying as he dove forward, shielding his head.

He rolled twice, scrambling behind a tree. Watching a green trail of machine-gun bullets whip mercilessly into the assailant's position, Depp gave a thumbs-up toward Ayu—the monstrous machine-gunner—before discovering, during a magazine change, that he'd taken yet another bullet...

"Shit~"

Discarding the damaged magazine, he grabbed a fresh one, loaded it, and listened intently to the commotion ahead. Rolling out of cover, he fired a full burst toward muzzle flashes glowing in the woods...

He rolled back into cover, swapped magazines again, and shouted, "I'm down to three mags!"

"Fuck! Why the hell are you such a pain in my ass?"

'Spur' cursed in response, dashing several steps forward to use a pine tree as cover. He unfastened a magazine pouch from his waist and hurled it forcefully toward Depp...

"Bang!"

A stray bullet hit the airborne pouch. Moments later, machine-gun fire rained on Spur's position, shredding his pine tree hideout into splinters.

Being targeted by a machine gun was more than exhilarating; it was sheer terror. Spur crouched at the tree's roots, curling himself into a ball as he grimaced and yelled, "Boss, we need cover out here!"

As Spur shouted, a booming blast echoed in the distant jungle...

A Springblade 600 drone rained devastation on 'Bloody Mary's' entrenched machine-gun position. One drone was followed by another, descending like a barrage from above...

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

'Bloody Mary's' defensive line crumbled instantly. Seeing things take a dire turn, team leader 'Cactus' had no choice but to order his men to hastily erect a makeshift defensive line while calling out, "Fall back to the east! Eastbound retreat! Move! Quickly, move!"

A Latin man, his face smeared with camouflage paint, clutched his machine gun to the ground and unleashed suppressing fire toward Spur's group...

"Boss, the National Guard's to the east!"

Having heard the machine-gunner's shout, 'Cactus' pressed his firing trigger repeatedly toward a distant silhouette and barked, "Yes, exactly! That's why we head that way. They've got suicide drones—we need chaos for a chance to escape. Go! Hurry up!"

As 'Cactus' shouted his orders, gunfire erupted in the eastern woods...

Three spectral figures darted through the jungle, mercenaries shouting in panicked Spanish to surrender only to be ruthlessly executed.

By then, 'Bloody Mary's' men realized the ridge-line snipers had descended.

Without questioning 'Cactus' further, the two machine-gunners unleashed streams of gunfire toward Spur's crew, buying their comrades precious moments to flee.

Equipped mercenaries sprinted frantically eastward during the brief pause.

After running a few hundred meters, they collided head-on with a crew of National Guard troops arriving to escort a rescue helicopter.

The mercenaries struck first, initiating fire almost immediately. The eight National Guardsmen didn't survive even a single exchange, wiped out where they stood.

'Cactus' rushed to the bodies, surveying the gruesome carnage of slain guardsmen...

Pointing for his squad to seize their machine guns and ammo, he picked up a radio and tuned into a channel. After listening briefly, he pointed toward a nearby patch of jungle and ordered, "Head there. Capture the helicopter pilots. We'll use them as hostages to negotiate with the National Guard..."

As 'Cactus' desperately carved out a path to survival, Joe Ga and his team rendezvoused with Squad C.

Depp watched as 'Scorpion' emerged like a Ghost Shadow near the two cover machine-gunners, baiting their attention with gunfire, while two smaller figures darted from behind them...

Poison Snake drove a knife into one gunner's brain stem, snuffing him out instantly.

Poison Wolf hacked off the other machine-gunner's left hand, spun inward to evade his grasp, and plunged his blade deep into the man's abdomen, dragging it viciously...

The medic 'Bandage' watched helplessly as the gut-shot gunner failed to hold back a gruesome flood of intestinal contents spilling to the ground...

"Oh shit! His guts are coming out!"

'Spur' glared at the medic with disbelief, slapping his helmet in exasperation and remarking, "Newbies, man. You bastards are embarrassing the lot of us..."

Gesturing toward Joe Ga who was catching up, Spur said, "Boss, this ain't reflective of HRT's true standards. Depp's boys are just green...

So what now?

Do we keep chasing them?"

Joe Ga tossed a pouch full of magazines toward Spur, replying, "Sit tight for now. We've got people flanking us from the north...

Take them out first. Otherwise, we'll be caught between enemy crossfire.

Fuck, Cooper's such an absolute tool..."

...............

Meanwhile, amidst the heated firefight in the mountains, 10 kilometers away at the Reed family farm...

The tall and vigorous Tom Reed hung up his phone, frowning in thought before standing at the ornate wooden lodge's entrance steps.

Scanning his surroundings, he grabbed an iron branding rod meant for livestock, walking across the lawn toward a middle-aged man holding champagne and chatting with others...

Flashing a smile to those nearby, Tom Reed suddenly raised the branding rod amidst startled gasps and slammed it into the man's knee...

As the man collapsed, screaming in agony, Tom Reed relentlessly struck him across the head and body until his limbs were mangled beyond recognition. Then he tossed the rod aside.

Turning to face his daughter, Grace, who held a baby in her arms, Tom Reed nodded firmly and stated, "I'll have a helicopter prepped. I'm heading to the state government to rip that bastard's guts out myself.

Grace, the Reed family stands by its friends..."