God of Blackfield

Fighting through the vibrations and deafening roars of the truck’s engine, Kang Chan drove in the direction that Enzo pointed. Above, the big moon and cluster of stars lazily followed them through the African night.

Clunk! Clunk!

Kang Chan’s gaze naturally shifted to Enzo’s leg with every bump, but Enzo was holding up well.

They had been driving through the African grasslands for twenty minutes, moving further and further away from where they had encountered enemies. Enzo would occasionally shift gears as Kang Chan followed his instructions.

Eventually, they came across the same hill where rebel forces had blown their truck up with RPGs. This time, however, they were on the opposite side. After about ten more minutes, they finally reached its foot.

“Take your foot off the right pedal.”

Unfortunately, Kang Chan didn’t hear him over the roar of the engine.

“I said take your foot off the pedal!” Enzo repeated. Only then did Kang Chan follow his instructions.

The engine quieted down, seemingly relieved to be getting some rest at last. However, from under and behind the driver’s seat, the two could now hear all the noises the engine had drowned.

They began to slow down. Not long after, the engine shut off on its own.

Clutter. Clunk!

The silence quickly engulfed the truck and drifted between Kang Chan and Enzo. At the same time, tension rushed in.

“We’ll head over there.”

The hill was about three stories tall.

He had no idea what awaited them there, but he had no other choice right now but to follow Enzo’s instructions.

Kang Chan got out of the truck and moved to the passenger seat.

“Get the weapons first!” Enzo quietly ordered as he grabbed the inside of his knees and lifted them toward the door. It was kind of ironic that they had been so loud on the way here, yet he was now lowering his voice.

Rustle, rustle.

Kang Chan slung two rifles diagonally across his left and right shoulders, and one more around his neck.

Then, he lifted the backpack containing food, water, and medicines and slipped his hands into his suspenders.

Click, click.

Afterward, Kang Chan walked over to the passenger seat and turned away from the door, facing his back toward Enzo. Enzo leaned in, gripping the door frame for support.

Clunk, click.

Kang Chan wobbled as he carried Enzo, the three rifles weighing over ten kilograms, and the three-kilogram backpack. At least his arms were tightly gripping Kang Chan’s shoulders and neck, making it just a tiny bit easier than it would have been otherwise.

Clunk, clunk.

The galaxy in the night sky seemed to watch as Kang Chan and the wounded Enzo walked toward the hill.

Enzo weighed down on Kang Chan’s shoulders and spine more than he could bear through clenched teeth. However, he had to push it through it.

Upon finally reaching the hill, Enzo pointed in a direction with his right index finger.

Clunk, clunk.

The closer they approached the hill, the softer the dirt felt.

“In there.”

At first, Kang Chan thought he misheard. Enzo couldn’t have just asked him to go through the hill.

Noticing Kang Chan’s hesitation, Enzo pointed again with his index finger.

Click, click.

Enzo was dying, but he wasn’t crazy. Hence, Kang Chan decided to believe him; he silently walked in the direction he pointed.

To his surprise, there was a path between two hills.

Clatter!

As Kang Chan followed the turn, he stumbled on the uneven ground, causing him and Enzo to groan at the same time.

They had to hurry. Kang Chan had a twisted shoulder and spine, and Enzo had been shot in the leg.

After covering another five meters, they came across a small cave.

Enzo didn’t have to say another word.

Click, click.

The clattering of their weapons echoed loudly in the cave.

“We’ll rest here.”

Kang Chan had never been so glad to hear an order from Enzo.

Thud!

Kang Chan slowly lowered his stance and leaned against the wall as if bumping into it.

“Arrgh.”

He couldn’t even imagine the pain Enzo was in. A truck had destroyed his feet, and he had been shot on top of that.

Thud! Clunk! Clunk!

Kang Chan took off his backpack and the rifle that he’d worn in front, then set them on the ground. Intense pain kept shooting up from his right leg, but all he could do right now was endure it.

The cave was less than two meters wide.

Kang Chan leaned back against the wall opposite Enzo. Digging into his backpack, he pulled out a bottle of water and tossed it to Enzo before drinking one himself.

They only had three bottles left.

“I found this place when I was wandering around on my own after dropping off the soldiers at Point Alpha,” Enzo disclosed, his words echoing as if he was using a cheap karaoke machine microphone.

Moonlight slanted in and out of the entrance, leaving the inside relatively darker. Fortunately, the walls and ceiling were so comforting that Kang Chan wondered if this was why people built and lived in houses.

“Give me a cigarette.”

It would be suicide to make a fire in here.

Kang Chan looked at Enzo questioningly.

“Our truck’s out front, and our enemies can just follow the tire tracks we left behind. If they find us here, we’ll be done for anyway.”

“Then why did you come all the way out here?”

“Considering you killed all sixty men that were sent to surround us, I have no doubt they’ll be using any means necessary to kill you next time. At the very least, this place is better than the open space our barracks are in since it gives our allies a chance to find us before our enemies do.”

Enzo held out his hand and shook it, urging Kang Chan to give him a cigarette.

Fine, whatever! You can’t kill a man twice.

It would be funny if he couldn’t smoke in a cave when he used to smoke in restrooms at school.

Kang Chan fished out two cigarettes from his pocket.

The backpack he was carrying earlier had deformed the cigarettes, but it didn’t affect the flavor at all.

Click!

Kang Chan carefully opened the lighter and quickly lit the cigarette.

“Hoo!”

It was killer. Smoking a cigarette while hiding from death in a cave was delicious.

It was comparable to secretly smoking in the restrooms away from the teachers.

“I’ve lost too much blood.” Enzo had taken a drag before speaking, causing smoke to puff out of his mouth. “I brought a Monaco citizenship and joined the Foreign Legion.”

Frenchmen could only apply as officers. Hence, Kang Chan heard that if they wanted to join and enlist as regular soldiers, they would have to use the nationalities of other countries.

“I wanted to be a good soldier. That’s why I signed up for combat.”

Enzo took a deep drag on his cigarette and let it out in a long puff.

“Channy.”

“Oui.”

“If a battle breaks out, run deeper inside,” Enzo ordered with the same glinting eyes he had when Kang Chan first saw him. He looked like a growling wolf trying to lick his gaping wounds.

“There’s a passage leading upstairs. Go through it, and you’ll find the rebels’ base. Take a right there.”

“What about you?”

“Chick, someone has to stay here and hold them off. They probably need a head to present to their superiors too.”

Kang Chan smirked.

“Don’t smirk like that to provoke me. I’m not going to put up with a chick’s arrogance just because you saved my life.”

Kang Chan blew out a long puff of cigarette smoke, which slowly spread through the cave. “If I follow your instructions, is my survival guaranteed?”

“For someone like you, sure.”

“You got me all wrong.”

“If you die, you’ll just be a stinky fucking corpse. Rescuing me and killing all those enemies will be for nothing!”

The wounded yet still ferocious wolf looked as if he would pounce and bite at any moment.

“If it were the other way around, I would have already left you behind. We can’t both get out of here alive, so stop with the nonsense and pray the enemies don’t find this place. If your prayers don’t get answered, then run deeper into the cave!”

Enzo looked Kang Chan straight in the eye. “Answer me, Chick!”

He pulled out the pistol that hung from his waist.

Had he really lost his mind now that he was closer to death?

“I said answer me.”

“Alright.”

They shared another moment of silence as their gazes remained locked on each other.

“Another cigarette,” Enzo demanded, and Kang Chan silently pulled out a cigarette and handed it to him.

***

Had his prayers not been desperate enough?

An hour or so later, a truck’s engine rumbled into the cave.

Enzo, who was leaning against the wall, opened his bloodshot eyes and looked toward the entrance.

“If they fire RPGs at us now, we’re dead. Leave. Now.”

“It could be friendlies.”

“No, their engine sounds different. Even though we’re in Africa, the trucks we brought are still a little more advanced than those.”

He tilted his upper body to the left, moving around as he scraped the ground like a rowboat.

Clunk!

After crawling to where he could probably see the entrance, Enzo lifted his rifle.

Never before had Kang Chan seen up close the eyes of a man who was truly prepared for death. They were a strange mixture of sharpness and futility, making them seem more melancholic. It was a far cry from the men who simply boasted that they weren’t afraid of death.

Click.

Kang Chan picked up his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and swung it behind his back.

The engine noises were now coming from directly in front of them, accompanied by the shouts of a man and heavy yet quick footsteps. Weapons clattered as they heard people jump out of trucks and rush toward them.

Clunk!

Kang Chan picked up the one remaining rifle and slung it over his shoulder. He then saw Enzo swallow dryly, his Adam’s Apple moving pitifully.

“Take the backpack.”

So much for acting tough! He’s clearly scared!

“I’m going, Enzo.”

“No matter what happens, don’t you fucking look back.”

The footsteps had reached the front of the cave now.

Kang Chan looked down to see Enzo lying on his stomach, rifle in front of him.

Enzo gave him a dependable smile and then nodded at him, urging him to leave.

I can’t argue against the smile of a man who has already accepted his fate.

Haah. Haah.

Kang Chan could hear himself breathing slowly again.

As the broken moonlight perfectly illuminated the shadow in the crinkle of Enzo’s eyes and mouth, a startled cry came from the entrance of the cave.

Still, how could you order me to run away? I came all the way here because I didn’t want to be a coward! I fought tooth and nail so I wouldn’t lose anyone! Your legs are missing, and you’re cowering! How can you expect me to leave you behind with nothing but a single rifle?

Haah. Haah.

Fine! If you insist, then I’ll fucking run!

Whoosh! Click! Click!

Kang Chan charged toward the entrance of the cave.

“You little—!”

Enzo got cut off mid-curse, but Kang Chan couldn’t care less. He would kill every bastard waiting for him out there even if he had no personal grudges against them!

He had no intention of sticking his neck out to die for people who were after his life.

The approaching enemies were no different from the bullies who had surrounded him in an alleyway.

Haah. Haah.

Hearing his own breathing calmed him down. It awoke his senses, causing the world to seemingly slow down.

Kang Chan was about two meters from the entrance when a black shadow burst into the cave.

Click! Bang! Thud!

One down!

Kang Chan pushed forward.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

Gunshots echoed in the cave. He felt as if he could hear the sound of foreheads popping too.

With each pull of the trigger, he saw the head at the end of his muzzle exploding like a watermelon.

That’s not important right now! I have to kill! For me and Enzo!

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

Kang Chan killed every enemy in sight, but the enemies’ bullets soon stopped him, breaking parts of the walls in front of and behind him.

Rumble! Pow pow pow! Du du! Thud! Du du du du! Pow pow pow pow!

In the short gap between their barrage, Kang Chan raised his rifle above the dirt wall.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud!

Du du du! Du du! Bang! Bang! Du du du!

It didn’t matter if he was in the moonlight, in darkness, or under the stars. He would kill those who stood in the way of his survival. They surrounded Kang Chan, who ducked under the dirt wall in front of him to avoid the bullets.

Swoosh! Baang! Thud! Baang! Thud! Du du du! Du du!

He didn’t know how many enemies he was up against. He could’ve gotten an idea if he had seen the number of trucks, but he hadn’t.

Du du du! Du du! Du du du du du! Du du! Du du du!

The enemies charged and fired at him far fiercer than they ever had.

Swish!

Amid the firefight, a black shadow jumped in front of the cave.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Bang! Thud! Du du du du!

The last enemy whom Kang Chan had shot in the forehead stumbled backward just as they pulled the trigger of their rifle.

Du du du! Pow pow pow! Du du! Pow!

Whoosh! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wasting no time, Kang Chan shot the enemies in the distance. However, as he unleashed the fourth round, an eerie whistle rushed toward him.

Peeeeeew!

Kang Chan ran as fast as he could into the cave.