Warlock of War: My Ares System

A shame, huh… I guess.

…

About two more weeks had passed, and it was obvious we finally shook the trailers of our tail as there had been nobody in sight for the past few days.

But, that didn't mean we took our time to relax as we needed to get to the meeting point between the two important figures in two days.

The walk was about two days more, and our energy restores were running low.

Everything felt groggy, and practicing with my left hand while also practicing the breathing technique didn't make my experience any better.

I'd say my mental stamina is pretty good compared to other people, but when compared to Simo, mine was practically an ant before an elephant.

He's been giving me three-fourths of the chocolate bar each day as well, meaning his body's stamina is also through the roof.

"Say, kid, did you grow up with a hard childhood or an easy childhood?" Simo suddenly asked me as we trudged through the thick snow.

It was currently hailing as well, so we had our hoods and scarf-like masks on, which muffled our voices slightly.

"You could call it hard, but there is a different interpretation for everybody, so my childhood might've not been as hard as yours," I responded.

"I see…"

And with that, he didn't talk for the rest of the day.

…

Finally, we had reached the meeting point described in the letter we had received a few days prior to the last two men in our unit killing themselves.

Though, the delivery was made by a snow-white hawk that looked almost invisible as it maneuvered nimbly through the tree branches.

And after delivering the message, it flew high into the air, fading into the cloudy sky.

"So this is the spot, huh…." Simo muttered as we looked down at the base camp about a kilometer and a half away from us.

We took a tall setup in order to ease some of the bullet drop that was going to be much worse with the high-speed winds today.

It was an unlucky day for us, but it didn't matter as we still had to proceed with the mission.

"How long are you able to hold the breathing technique?" Simo asks as I set up my gillied sniper after removing the silencer.

We were far enough from the base camp where it would be hard for them to hear where the shot was coming from.

We just needed to be wary of the tint in our scopes since it would stand out on this semi-foggy day.

"About a minute. Progress has been slow, but I feel like I've gained enough practice to be able to actually put it to use," I said.

"Good… One minute should be enough," Simo said as he then proceeded to set up his own sniper.

We were both going to take a shot at the two individuals as they came to greet each other just inside the barb-wired walls of the base.

The only reason they're doing this is that they're cocky and believe that the hundreds of bodyguards surrounding them will make it easier for them to stay alive, just in case there is a sniper.

Cockiness and arrogance will be the death of you in any life or death situation.

"Hey, why do you think they're meeting? Wouldn't sending private messages to be smarter? I mean, I'm sure they have the hush money if they needed to bribe somebody anyway,"

"I don't know. I just follow the higher ups' orders…."

"I see…"

A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

"Hey… If I die… I want you to live. Live a happy life. Marry somebody and don't live as a killer like me. A kid like you should have a future," He said, and for the first time since coming to the past, to this strange snowy world, to this death-ridden battlefield… he smiled.

He then ruffled my hair a bit, his callused hand brushing against my scalp.

It was rough but warm… similar yet different from my mother.

"Hey, you're pretty cool," I said, and I gave him a fist bump with a wide smile, and his smile continued to persist.

We were definitely both going to survive this no matter what.

…

A few hours had passed, and we finally saw a single car built for the rugged and rocky terrain driving towards the entrance.

Soldiers immediately surrounded the car from the base, but after seeing what looked to be an envelope, they let the car pass into the base.

But, they didn't get to travel any farther as the wheels were then trapped by spikes hidden underneath the snow caped ground.

It was a betrayal by the enemy.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

The car was lit up by bullets, and a long trail of blood flowed out from both sides of the car, painting the snow beneath a dark red.

It seems they already had enough information as torture was useless to them now…

And then, the matter we had previously discussed arrived.

"It's been a while… Simo,"

…

(A few hours ago | Orion POV)

"Kid, I've been trying to withhold this information for as long as possible, but the more I sit on it, the more I'm coming to believe it will come true," Simo suddenly said, and I slowly glanced at him since the air around him became more serious than ever.

"What is it?" I asked and the cold eyes that I have come to know over the past month or so wavered a bit.

"There was somebody in my unit that I thought had died. He was proficient with an AR and was the main backbone behind protecting all the snipers. But, after the tiny bit of grief had faded away, it began to slowly fade into my mind that his death was weird,"

"How so…"

"He died just like that. His heart stopped one day whilst in the midst of an enemy attack… No bullet wounds, just instant death. We didn't even get to retrieve his corpse since the enemy was pushing too aggressively,"

"Ah, so you think it was a setup?"

"Yes. I believe he made a deal with the enemy,"

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because I believe the tip was made by this man. The tip described was a bit too detailed, as the way he described our side of the army… was too good,"

"So, you think this is a trap for us?"

"This is definitely a trap, so stay alert,"

"Yes, sir,"

…

(Present Time | Orion POV)

"It's been a while… Simo,"

A single man with dark brown hair, cold black eyes, and bushy eyebrows stared right down at us, and his appearance didn't even make a sound.

But, we were already prepared.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

A few mines had erupted from behind the man, frightening him as he was blasted towards us.

"Let's move," Simo said.

The mines did very minimal damage, and he was about to come to attack us, full-on enraged, but our first most worry would be the people revealing themselves from behind the trees.

They immediately began to spray us with sub-machine guns, but we slid down the small hill and continued to run as fast as we could.

We were also forced to leave our snipers… our or so precious snipers. But if it were for survival, we would easily give them up.

Our moves were perfectly calculated, and as we were now using the breathing technique, predicting the bullets' paths was easy as pie.

But, I had only a minute, so we needed to be fast and lead the entire group to where we had set up another field of mine.

Would they fall for it? Well, that was entirely up to fate.

Krkkkkk

For some reason, there was a bit of an icy patch beneath the snow we had just slid down, so my legs were being scraped.

The pain was pretty bad, but enough for me to suck it up and focus on my goal of survival.