They were looking at the devil himself!
The Devil! That was the first thought that flashed into the Libyan rebel fighters’ minds who rushed into the residential building. A man who did not fear guns and could simply and brutally kill anyone with just a steel rod mustn’t be considered a man. He must be the devil that broke out of the deepest level of hell. His blood-red eyes were evidence enough.
The one-sided killing went on without abate, and at least a dozen or more rebel fighters threw their guns away, scared out of their wits. They ran toward the ground floor, screaming at the top of their lungs all the way down. They only had one thought in their heads–Run! Run from the devil! They only wished that they had been born with more legs at that very moment.
After they escaped from the residential building, they went back to their unit. The fleeing rebel fighters collapsed to the ground immediately, looking weak and pale, and they were gasping for air. Their faces and foreheads were covered in a cold sweat, and some wet their pants, losing control of their bladders in fear.
“What the hell is going on? Where are the others?”
Hamis walked up to them and kicked one of the soldiers as he questioned them.
“T-they, they are all … all dead, he is not a man, he’s the devil, he’s the devil himself …”
One of the escaped rebel fighters said as he gazed blankly into space, and his voice was shaking as he explained, “He… he used only a steel rod, h-he smashed our heads open like they were watermelons, blood and brain matter were… It was a nightmare!”
BARF! Recalling the carnage he had just witnessed, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and started puking up, spewing vomit on Hamis’s shoes.
“Useless b*stard!”
The corners of Hamis’ mouth twitched, then in a rage, he kicked the soldier right in his chest.
BOOM!
The Libyan rebel fighter was sent flying back with a sickening thud. After landing heavily on the floor, not only did he throw up what was in his stomach but also a tremendous quantity of blood along with it.
Hamis stopped showing any concern for the dozen or so soldiers who had fled the carnage. He turned and glared at the residential building from a distance, gritted his teeth, and yelled, “Blow it up! Blow that d*mn building up with all the shells we have! I want him buried in rubble together with that building!”
He was furious because only about a dozen out of two hundred soldiers he sent into the building came out alive. Together with the number of soldiers who perished previously, the loss was more than what he expected. The chief would not be happy, and he could forget about any reward him even if he killed all those Hua Nation soldiers. Instead, he would be severely punished because of that.
“Yes, sir.”
His adjutant turned around and passed on his order.
” WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! BOOM-BOOOOM!
A dozen explosive shells were lobbed from the battery of heavy mortars, landing on the residential building, rounds after rounds. Nothing was spared as the barrage of mortar rounds continued unabated, striking the building as if they did not cost a penny.
After continuous bombardment, a massive cloud of smoke and dust billowed from the building. Debris from the shattered concrete walls fell to the ground as the residential building took on more damage than it could bear. After five or six salvos, the structure lost its integrity and began to shift precariously. Soon, it collapsed, slowly at first, then suddenly everything came down in a heap of rubble. It looked like a controlled implosion in a demolition project.
“Lieutenant Colonel, even a robot that’s constructed from reinforced steel would be crushed into a pulp under that building after it collapsed, let alone a man who is flesh and blood,” the adjutant said, trying to lift his commander’s spirits.
But Hamis was in no mood for that and gave him a slap across his face. “It’s a bit too late for your f*cking comment!” he scowled.
The adjutant nodded repeatedly and quickly moved aside. “Yes, yes, Sir, I talked too much.”
“Huh! So much for this highly regarded NSA agent, Mie. Did he think he could protect the war correspondent and help her escape Libya? He’s f*cking daydreaming!”
Hamis stared at what was left of the residential building, now nothing but rubble then spat and said, “Send a message to the chief, tell him that the annoying fly has been taken care of!”
“Yes, sir.”
The adjutant nodded, turned around, and walked toward the communication set in the command vehicle.
THUD! Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bullet from a sniper rifle ripped through the air, and entered the adjutant’s head from his left temple, and blew a large hole on the right side of his face, spattering a stream of blood and brain from his skull. The adjutant’s eyes looked dull and blank as he collapsed to the ground even before he could cry out in pain.
Hamis jumped in shock and quickly ducked to take cover. His heart was in his throat when he saw that the expressionless face and dull, opened eyes of his late adjutant.
“Lieutenant Colonel!” A captain walked towards him.
THUD! Another bullet streaked from the same sniper rifle for another clean headshot, and a second body dropped on the ground.
“Idiots, f*cking duck and take cover! Do not show yourselves!”
Hamis was an experienced and competent military commander, and he was not overwhelmed by this fearsome adversary he faced. He yelled for his men to take cover, and immediately, those who had initially wanted to run toward him checked their actions and took cover. They bent and stayed behind the cover of the vehicles s they made their way to their commander’s side.
The Libyan rebel fighters were shocked that Mie had survived the collapse of the building. After a barrage of high explosive rounds, the building was now nothing but rubble, and yet Mie was still alive–only God knew how he had escaped to the adjacent residential building during the bombardment. The rebels now realized that they were up against something that was not a human.
“F*ck, is there another sniper?” Hamis growled, keeping his back flushed against the side of the truck.
“Every shot he makes strikes the head. It seems like it’s that Mie from Hua Nation again. He is still alive …”
SLAP!
Hamis thwacked the man brutally across his face for saying that and glared fiercely at him. “Are you still asleep, or are sleep talking? How can he not be dead? Try hiding in the residential building yourself after 50 or 60 shells were launched at you, and see if you would die?” he growled. Hamis then looked in the direction where the sniper rifle bullet came from and said, “The two residential buildings are 20 to 30 meters apart–unless he can fly, he couldn’t possibly have moved to the other building, could he?”
“Yes, Sir. There must be another sniper; it could not possibly be Mie!”
Hamis’s other subordinate quickly agreed with him, unwilling to be struck by his superior. But, deep down in the men’s hearts, it was apparent that there was no other sniper–the “new” sniper could be no other than Mie. If there really was another sniper, then why didn’t he shoot until now? It did not make any sense, but no one dared to voice out their hypothesis in the presence of their commander.
“Haha, haha …”
Hamis started to laugh aloud, satisfied that no man dared to challenge his views. But despite his bravado, the fear in his eyes could not be concealed from his men. “Continue launching, blow him and the residential building into pieces!” he roared.
“Yes, Sir!”
The order was passed down, and again, a barrage of shells was laid down on the other residential building.
This time the target area was no longer restricted to the residential building but the whole built-up area. The rebels kept dropping mortar rounds into the heavy tubes and did not rest until every last shell in the crate was used.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth shook with every explosion, reverberating like the roar of thunder. A cloud of dust and sand rose into the air as the barrage extended outward to level a wider area around the building. When the barrage stopped, the whole area was obscured by a haze of fine dust, and visibility was no more than five or six meters. It looked like countless smoke bombs had been discharged in the area.
The Libyan rebels were on the verge of losing their minds, for Xiao Luo had become their worst nightmare, and that was why such extreme measures were taken!
Xiao Luo was like a phantom decked in camouflage fatigues, lurking in this hostile environment. Under cover of the haze, he started to reap the lives of the rebel fighters. The dagger in his hand was the Grim Reaper’s scythe, and wherever he went, not a single soul would be spared.
