Under The Veil of Night

Chapter 728 Side Story 1: A Soldier Named Ferdinand 1

(Special mention for web novel [without space between the two words] reader Piku1309)

…

"Hey, are you looking at that picture again?"

The voice startled a young soldier. He turned his head and saw several people with similar soldiers' uniforms standing before him. One of them was peering over his shoulder.

The soldier, Ferdinand, nodded. "Yeah. It's my wife."

"Hoo, she's pretty!"

"You should introduce her to us!"

"Heh, as if!" Ferdinand laughed. As a young man in his teenage age, he had a handsome appearance and unlimited vigor. Today, they all gathered here to complete a mission. He was just a member of this team, but he held an important position as one of the best soldiers.

The captain nodded. "Get ready. We're about to jump out."

They were inside a plane which would open its door to let them out. They would be infiltrating another country's territory to steal some information. This was a secret mission that they could not fail. If they failed, they would be executed upon their return.

"The door will be opened now."

Ferdinand looked to the back where the door had been opened. The captain and the others smiled. "Don't get left behind, Little Ferdinand."

"Commander Richard won't like it if you're slow."

Even in the middle of a mission, they all still joked around. As soon as the order was given, they all ran towards the large door and jumped out. The wind slapped their cheek hard, but they stayed calm as their body continued to descend. They shouldn't use the parachute until they were close enough.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"F***! They saw us!"

"What? We haven't even opened the parachute!"

Ferdinand's face lost all its color as he looked down. It was night time, but he could see some lights flickering down there in a distance away. He could guess that the soldiers from M country were already alarmed about their coming.

"What should we do?"

"Should we not open the parachute?"

"Are you crazy?"

Not opening the parachute would be the same as crashing to the ground with their current high speed. However, opening the parachute would mean that they would be exposing themselves much longer.

"Open it nearer to the ground!" The captain yelled.

Ferdinand gritted his teeth. His hand was holding tightly onto the cord near his stomach that would open the parachute. His eyes were looking towards the soldiers below them. Panic and fear flashed on his eyes for a split second before it was replaced with determination.

No matter what, he's a soldier. He would not run away.

Everything happened within seconds. When he was about several hundred meters near the ground, Ferdinand opened the parachute and slowed down his descent. He could feel his body shook as the parachute slowed him down forcibly.

He tried to navigate his parachute and decided to land on the trees. Trees were not an ideal landing for parachuting, but he didn't have many options. He had to get away from the incoming soldiers as soon as possible.

Tep!

By disconnecting the harness attached to the parachute, Ferdinand landed on the ground. He quickly raised his gun and began his barrage of attacks towards the soldiers while making his way back to his team.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Time passed swiftly as the two sides were in crossfire. Ferdinand no longer remembered the details. All he knew was the fact that he was using the gun and continued to shoot and shoot again. He was trying to eliminate enemies as much as possible before making his way to the checkpoint.

(The checkpoint was an abandoned house that they had changed into their safehouse. From outside, it appeared as a tattered building that didn't seem to be functional. However, they had smuggled some items and used the building when they came to Country M before.)

*pant* *pant*

This was not the first time their mission turned chaotic right from the start. As part of the special team, their task was to do the most dangerous mission possible. It was the kind of mission that would require them to put their lives on the line.

Bam!

Ferdinand slammed the door open. He could see that there was only one person inside, an ordinary member just like him. He racked his brain to recall the man's name.

"You're fast, Aria."

The soldier named Aria nodded his head. "I didn't encounter much trouble on the way here at all."

"Good."

The two of them waited as the others started to come one by one. However, they soon realized that two of their team members were missing and most probably had died in the hand of soldiers from Country M.

The captain sighed and made his decision when it was midnight. "Let's move. We'll report the losses to the headquarter later."

"Yes."

Ferdinand's eyes were filled with a tinge of anger. Just a few hours ago, they were all still laughing happily in the plane. He wished that all of them could stay safe. Unfortunately, their mission didn't go according to their wishes and their comrades died during the mission.

Pushing his thoughts to the back, Ferdinand followed after his captain. They were here to infiltrate the base and obtain the information that their country needed. This operation had to be conducted in the utmost secrecy, so they could only move when it was late into the night.

The mission itself was not difficult. Ferdinand's task was to kill the guards before they could sound their alarm. With his ability, he easily sneaked behind them and killed the guards before they even realized it.

They moved swiftly and returned to their checkpoint.

"Did you get it, Captain?" Ferdinand asked.

The captain nodded. "I'll copy and pass the information to all of you. From now on, our mission is to return to our base and report the information back."

"Yes."

Ferdinand checked the information as he gasped internally. It contained a lot of secret information about Country M's researches and weapons. With this complete report, they would be able to threaten and pressure Country M.

He kept it away as their captain passed the information to other members. There was no telling who would survive until the end. Thus, they shared the information so that whoever survived would be able to pass the information.

A soldier clicked his tongue. "Tsk, I can't believe that this kind of information can be obtained so easily. Country M will surely chase after us."

"If this information is leaked out, Country M will die."

"Right."

After the captain had finished, they all stood up and saluted. From now on, they had to survive on their own and reached the border as fast as possible.

Suddenly, something was thrown into the room. Their expression changed rapidly.

"RUN!"

What followed suit was an explosion.

BAM!