A man stood in awe as the first rays broke through the darkness, casting a radiant glow over the quiet world. A sense of hope stirred within him as the sky transformed, vibrant and alive.

  All of a sudden, the voice of another man cut to the quiet and relaxing moment. He embraced his arm to his shoulder with a wide smile on his face. “Good morning, Sergeant Arthur, you’re up early again today.” he said, his tone was full of excitement.

  He looked at him and smiled a little. “I would say that straight to you too. Ray.” he replied as he looked at the sun setting up on the horizon, spreading the light throughout the whole place. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming closer to them, they looked at where it came from and saw a woman with her complete military uniform while carrying a report paper in her hand.

  She stopped and looked Arthur intensely in the eyes, sharp and cold. “Good morning, Sergeant Arthur, I've come to give you a report.” she said, her cold and intimidating voice made the atmosphere slightly intense.

  Arthur straightened up. “From the higher ups?” he replied, his relaxed face suddenly changed into serious.

  She nodded and then read the report with her eyes. After a couple of seconds, she was done reading and looked at them. “For the past weeks, the higher-ups were deciding whether to attack the capital of Exolus or not,” she said, pausing and looking at them before continuing. “But Exolus is a mysterious country with powerful military power. That’s why they’ve come to the conclusion to send a scout, and they chose your squad.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

  Arthur was confused. What was the reason behind choosing them? His squad wasn’t skilled at gathering intel, and scouting one of the strongest countries wasn’t a joke—especially Exolus, which had the highest level of security among all the nations. He took a box of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and took a drag. “With all due respect, gathering intel and searching for weaknesses in a country isn’t what we’ve trained for. Please report to the higher-ups that I respectfully decline the mission,” he said.

  Both Ray and the woman’s eyes widened in shock. They hadn’t expected him to reject the mission so outright.

  She walked closer to him slowly, and when she was close enough, she handed the documents to Arthur and started glaring at him. “You have no authority to decline the orders given by the higher-ups,” she said, her eyebrows narrowing. The tension between them grew heavier.

  Arthur grabbed her hand lightly, but she fought back, pulling her hand away from his grip. He sighed. “Like I said, this type of mission isn’t our forte. Why would you send inexperienced men into a domain full of beasts? It doesn’t make sense to me—it’s like you were guiding us to our death.” he said, his eyes piercing into hers. He knew how dangerous the mission was and didn’t want to send his men into a suicide mission.

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  The tension between them was palpable. Neither of them wanted to back down.

  Ray sighed and looked at Arthur. “Sergeant, I know why you want to decline, but it’s an order from the higher-ups. We have no power to refuse,” he said.

  Arthur looked at him with intensity. “Then, are you prepared to give your life for this mission?” he asked, his words hanging heavily in the air.

  Ray suddenly smiled; his eyes filled with resolve. “From the moment I joined the military, I was prepared to give my life,” he said sincerely.

  Arthur couldn’t maintain his stance after seeing Ray’s expression. He let out a deep sigh. “Go gather everyone and tell them to prepare their things. We’ll depart at noon.” He looked at the woman and took the documents from her hand. “I can’t guarantee the mission will be a success,” he said while glaring at her. “And I’ll prioritize the lives of my men above all.”

  The woman slowly walked away. “I know you, Sergeant Arthur. You’ve been trained since you were a child to be the perfect weapon for the government. You know the policy of our military. Your mission must be completed, no matter how heavy the casualties are,” she said. Her figure faded from his sight, leaving him with the bitter taste of reality he had always known.

  The evening came, and they arrived at the train station of Exolus. Despite the high security of the country, they managed to get inside without revealing their real identities to the security guards. Arthur and his five subordinates stood on the station platform, their faces showing clear signs of exhaustion. The area was bustling with people, all walking in sync through different pathways.

  “Out of all the spies in our military and their excellent capabilities for this kind of job, why are we the ones assigned to do this?” a woman spoke, her voice low and laced with exhaustion.

  Ray patted her back gently twice. “Don’t overreact, Sasha. We’ve made it this far, so we can’t complain about it anymore,” he said, a faint smile crossing his face.

  The man standing beside him nodded in agreement. “He’s right. We may not be suitable for this line of work, but since the higher-ups appointed us, we have no choice but to proceed,” he said, though his voice cracked slightly, and his fingers trembled.

  “Your words are admirable, but your body tells a different story, Albert,” Arthur said, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at Albert’s shaky hands.

  Albert let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his neck.

  Suddenly, a hand rested on Arthur’s shoulder. He turned to see two men walking slowly toward him. “Sergeant, we’ll part ways for now. We’ll send you a report once we’ve finished investigating the areas you assigned us to,” one of them said.

  Arthur nodded. “Avoid calling me Sergeant for now, Danny,” he replied with a sigh. “Good luck on your side. May God protect and be with us all.