God of Blackfield

Ratatatatat! Thud thud! Thud! Ratatatatat!

Firing like that in full auto made Kang Chan worry more about running out of bullets than James dying. Panting heavily, he finally reached the top of the mountain. If he climbed over the bulging dirt mound in front, he’d quickly reach the other side. Kang Chan put his index finger in front of his lips and showed it to the soldier following him.

“Huff. Huff.”

The soldier’s heavy breathing sounded like an excited pervert’s, but it was better to be cautious.

‘I’ll go over!’

Kang Chan gestured with his left hand, showing that he would climb over the dirt mound.

‘Cover me if you hear gunshots!’

The soldier nodded.

Thud thud! Thud! Bang! Thud thud! Ratatatat!

The sound of gunfire had changed dramatically. They were probably running low on ammo and couldn’t fire indiscriminately.

Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

Kang Chan pressed his body close to the dirt mound and climbed up. Finally, his head reached the same height as the mound.

“Hup!”

The scariest part was not knowing the rebels’ numbers. Bullets could rain down on him as soon as he stuck his head out, or a sniper could eliminate him while he was aiming at an unsuspecting target. Kang Chan carefully gazed above his cover.

Thud thud! Ratatatatat!

The rebels, dressed in their characteristic loose clothing, kept shooting at them with their AK rifles, causing white smoke to billow out of their muzzles.

Where the hell is that sniper?

The rebels still firing at the opposite hill evidenced that James was still holding his ground.

Why won’t that bastard send a couple of rounds my way?! I could really use some help locating him!

Ratatatat! Bang!

The rebels peeked out and fired wildly, As James returned fire, a gunshot echoed from the bushes right in front of Kang Chan. The next moment, he saw the sniper’s head.

Good job, bastard!

Kang Chan slowly raised his rifle.

‘One! Two!’

He fired two shots at the sniper. Right after, he shot every rebel head in sight.

What now, motherfuckers?!

The rebels stopped shooting carelessly at the opposite hill and ducked for cover.

Bang! Click! Bang! Click! Bang! Click! Bang!

Due to the short distance between them, most of the bullets pierced through their targets and hit the ground behind them, kicking up dust.

As Kang Chan switched magazines and slowly raised his upper body, the soldier he had ordered to provide cover finally came up beside him. Trusting such a man felt ridiculous, but he had no choice. He carefully surveyed the area below. �

Ratatatat! Thudududud! Ratatatatat!

Rebels were shooting at them diagonally opposite where James was.

These bastards are a fucking pain in the ass!

Click!

Kang Chan aimed at the direction of the smoke. Just to be safe, he fired three shots.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thud! Rustle! Rustle!

He saw a man roll down the hill as if he had slipped off.

“You! Make sure you cover me properly this time! James! I’m coming down!”

“Oui!”

After hearing James’ response, Kang Chan slowly moved toward the fallen rebels. He then grabbed one of their AK-47s.

Rustle!

With every step Kang Chan took, the dirt crumbled beneath his feet.

***

It was an exceptionally long day for Pierre Raon. He had just finished work and was considering stopping by a bar when a soldier burst into his office and urgently called for him.

“Sir! We’ve just received a radio transmission from the Foreign Legion’s special forces team!”

The report snapped Pierre Raon to attention—they had been waiting for this. He quickly stood up and followed the soldier to the basement. He then put on the headset.

“This is the situation room.”

He hoped desperately that this day would finally end. Once the new recruit had been dealt with, peace would return to the DGSE’s South African branch.

[The delivery has arrived!]

Pierre Raon stared blankly at the radio.

[Among the four deliverymen, one is seriously injured. They also brought a few irregularities.]

The voice sounded hoarse, almost as if the wind was disrupting it. However, it was still easy to understand.

“Irregularities?”

[They arrived with natives. Seven women and eleven children. How should we proceed?]

A wry smile crept onto Pierre Raon’s face. He then laughed deflated.

“Stand by and await further orders!”

[Yes, sir.]

After setting down the headset on his desk, he slowly headed toward the basement stairs.

They made it? They actually reached their destination?

“Hahaha!”

And with natives, too?

“Puhahaha! Wahaha!”

How would the DGSE respond to a report about the rebels and natives calling the recruit the God of Blackfield?

“Wahahahaha! Woo-hoo! Hahaha!”

Crazy fucking monster! I can’t believe he actually made it through that path alive!

Pierre Raon wiped his tears with the back of his hand and sat down at his desk.

Just when he thought he had calmed down, he burst out laughing again.

“Wahaha! Heeheehee!”

The man was just fresh out of training. Nevertheless, he managed to drag Enzo along and stir the DGSE. Moreover, he had just survived certain death and arrived at his target location.

This should be a headache, so why do I find it funny instead?

Pierre Raon took out the documents about the new recruit, which he had set aside on the left side of his desk.

“Ha! Let’s meet the God of Blackfield, then!”

Rustle.

He flipped through the papers, then glared at Kang Chan’s photo.

“Now that you’ve gotten this far, you better keep surviving as a member of the special forces team. Get that residency permit and live proudly.”

Pierre Raon picked up a pen.

The new recruit had survived, which meant he was now out of Pierre Raon’s jurisdiction. Instead of stamping ‘Deceased,’ he stamped ‘Transferred’ on the file. He then drafted a new report tracking his movements. This time, though, he found himself enjoying the extra work.

Scratch. Scratch.

At the bottom of the report, he wrote “God of Blackfield” in the reference section. He then placed the paper in the approval box to his right.

***

It was a peaceful and abundant evening.

As soon as Kang Chan and his team arrived, the Foreign Legion’s 13th Regiment provided a large tent for the natives and Kang Chan’s group. Smithen and the other seriously injured soldier were taken to a different tent for treatment, leaving only James, Maxon, and one other soldier with him. On one side of their accommodation was a pile of C-rations and water bottles, which looked like a bountiful harvest to them.

Kang Chan gave the tent to the women and children and sat at the table in front of it.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Maxon, who was sitting with him, asked.

“Sure! Cream and sugar?” Kang Chan replied.

“Got it.”

Maxon headed to the tent next door.

“Do you really have no military experience?” James asked Kang Chan mischievously. “I heard the way people praised Abdul Janelle. Even though I saw it happen firsthand, I still can’t believe you managed to take out his entire force alone.”

“We did it together.”

James shook his head with a bitter expression. “That’s not true. Everyone knows that if we weren’t around, you would have finished the mission much faster. Conversely, if we had gone alone, none of us would have made it.”

“Here! Hot coffee!”

Maxon walked over, his fingers adorned with mugs. Kang Chan reached out and took the one filled with creamy coffee. Only then did he realize how amazing coffee could smell.

After taking a sip, Kang Chan took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Click!

“Hooo!”

He exhaled the smoke pleasantly toward the creeping darkness.

“Half of the special forces team is moving tomorrow morning. While making coffee, I saw them selecting personnel.” Maxon now spoke with a bit of familiarity.

If we already had this much trouble against an unorganized rebel group, how horrific are the conditions that the special forces have to face?

Kang Chan shook his head and decided to focus on enjoying his coffee and cigarette instead.

“By the way, where do we go next?”

“We’ll get orders. Just follow them,” Kang Chan answered.

James and Maxon nodded.

Amid their conversation, an officer of the special forces team walked toward Kang Chan.

“Kang-chani.”

“It’s Kang Chan, sir.”

The officer didn’t seem to care about Kang Chan’s correction, though.

“From now on, you’re assigned to the 11th platoon of the Foreign Legion’s 13th Regiment. We leave tomorrow at 07:00. Report in an hour for your orders and weapons.”

What the hell just happened?

“Answer, Kang-chani.”

“Oui.”

The officer nodded as if satisfied. He then turned and left.

The Foreign Legion Special Forces was not a division that just anyone could join. Soldiers had to have over a year of combat experience and six months of special training to get in.

“Captain?”

James, Maxon, and the other soldier with them looked more surprised than Kang Chan.

“What’s going on?”

“They want me to die, I guess,” Kang Chan answered.

It was just a joke, but the three men looked at him as if they had heard such orders before.

God fucking damn it. At least let me finish my coffee.

Kang Chan lifted the mug to his lips. He then finished his cigarette.

“Hoooo!”

Things had been getting messier right from the beginning. Although he couldn’t quite understand the reasoning behind the order, he figured it would be best for him to learn how to survive in the special forces team anyway.

Contrary to Enzo’s expectations, Kang Chan managed to survive for seventy-two hours. However, it only resulted in him being assigned to a much more deadly environment.

After about an hour, he reported in to receive his weapons.

So this is the special forces team.

Instead of a FAMAS, he was issued an MP5SD with a silencer attachment, magazines, and pistols. Even the uniform was a different basic color than what he had worn so far.

Kang Chan felt like a new recruit at the training camp again, but he couldn’t back down now.

The special forces soldiers shot intense glares at Kang Chan. They all had strong jaws and were covered in numerous scars.

If they challenged him, he would gladly accept. However, he had no intention of starting a fight. Hence, he just accepted his equipment and returned to the tent.

Creak. Plop.

As he put down the items on the table, he heard the women and children laughing inside the tent. They seemed more relaxed now that they had gotten to eat and sleep.

That laughter is enough. I can’t ask for a better reward.

He hoped that after he left tomorrow, they would be sent to a safe place where they could live a better life.

When it was time to sleep, Kang Chan lay down in a makeshift tent with the three other soldiers. This was the first comfortable night he’d had since coming to Ndulele.

***

Waking up at dawn, Kang Chan washed up with a bottle of water, put on his uniform, and gathered his weapons. He packed everything else he needed into a large backpack. Fortunately, he didn’t need anything particularly heavy, so it didn’t weigh him down too much.

He then enjoyed a hearty meal with the remaining three soldiers. They had canned food, bread, butter, and jam, and coffee.

Finally, it was time to go.

“I’ll never forget you, Captain,” James said.

Kang Chan shook hands with him, Maxon, and then the other surviving soldier.

“I’m off! Let’s meet again if we get the chance!” Kang Chan shouted.

The three soldiers stood at attention and saluted. After responding with a smile, he headed toward the special forces team’s rally point.

It was still early, so everyone was lounging around with their backpacks beside them.

Creak. Creak.

Kang Chan placed his backpack on a nearby empty table and stretched his arms. He was sick of carrying stuff on his back, but at least the bag didn’t smell bad.

He glanced down the path they’d be taking. Since they were halfway up a hill, it would likely take them about twenty minutes to reach the end of it and board a truck.

“Hey, Rookie!” a man with a heavy Arabic accent called mockingly.

Kang Chan had experienced this in training camp. Knowing it was best to just ignore it, he focused solely on the path ahead.

“Ha! Hey! Rookie!”

Unfortunately, no one even tried to stop the man. Hence, Kang Chan decided to use his experience to handle it.

He turned around with a faint smile.