I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun-Chapter 798: Washington D.C (14)

"Lancer team, contact made with Task Force Dagger operators codenamed 'Viper' and 'Caduceus.' The Archer team at the south gate has identified 'Aurora' and 'Drunkard.' Currently, Lancer 4 has sustained serious injuries from an enemy attack."

"Pathfinder team has identified 'Shark.' Elise team reports encountering 'Big Boss' team. Engaging in combat."

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"Lancer team reports: the 'deactivation' effect is significantly weaker than expected. Acknowledge this and engage accordingly. If this fact is not properly acknowledged, the resulting consequences are not our responsibility."

"Skills are operating normally. I wonder how surprised the Icarus operators will be when they find out."

As the war escalates, the distinction between day and night becomes increasingly blurred.

This was just as true for Washington D.C. in mid-April, especially for the place where Dagger team set foot. As always, they were agents of chaos.

However, chaos could be brought about independently, but in this case, it was not. In other words, the chaos was purposeful, and Dagger team only caused it when there was an enemy that needed to be killed.

Just like now.

Black Eagle.

The 'troublesome' enemies they faced for the first time. Normally, Dagger team, with no more than twenty members, used all kinds of methods to neutralize larger numbers of enemies, and most of the time, such methods worked on enemies who were simply numerous.

However, on the contrary, forces that not only had numbers but also knew how to use them effectively could become very troublesome opponents for Dagger team.

Of course, to put it mildly, 'troublesome' could be easily changed to 'even Icarus operators must risk their lives.'

"Enemy movements?"

"No distinct movements. Likely hiding behind cover, stalling for time."

"Don’t give them any space, apply pressure. Use the Icarus operator skill tools."

Whiiiiiiiing!

With a sharp noise, a pulse shot out straight ahead, not only sweeping through the front but also locating the still-living regular U.S. soldiers inside the surveillance post. This was not something used by Icarus operators.

Guilt, like that of killing fellow soldiers, had long been irrelevant to Black Eagle. At this moment, their minds were entirely focused on how to finish off this base.

They used pulses to pinpoint the locations of Icarus operators.

To weaken Icarus operators, they loaded oxidizers.

To pressure Icarus operators, they deployed turrets and drones.

The firepower, capable of instantly creating holes in the bodies of ordinary U.S. soldiers, was now targeting Icarus operators, with preparations to fire.

However, how much time had passed?

The moment a soft groan escaped from the Lincoln Memorial command center, Black Eagle soldiers in Hunter exo-suits casually turned their heads in that direction.

That was the opportunity.

—Boom!

The explosive sound, louder than any ear could hear, caused the sonic drone, hovering above the Hunter’s head to block bullets, to stumble due to an overload.

The barrage of large-caliber rounds, unstoppable by sound waves, cut through the air. The drone attempted to defend against the bullets, but it couldn’t alter their course sufficiently.

The massive physical force that the bullet could not be stopped by the bulletproof mask. When it grazed the side of Lancer 2's chin, his jaw bone vanished as if it had disappeared.

What followed was the terrible sound of an unearthly scream mixed with the rush of wind, coming from the remains of a throat that couldn’t even form a shape.

"What the hell, what’s happening!"

"This isn’t a wound that can be easily sealed. His mouth is completely gone."

"We can’t handle this here. What was the communication from higher-ups? I remember hearing screams."

"It’s from Commander Race’s channel."

"Seems like they’ve bitten the bait too."

As soon as Race was mentioned, everyone present could roughly grasp the situation.

The command center had its own plan, and Black Eagle upper command had trapped the Dagger team operators in that spot by using another method. In truth, no other interpretation came to mind.

Because of this, the loss of the Lancer team’s allies was quite a painful blow. Of course, this was also the fault of the upper command, who had not provided any notice, but technically, this was an extremely harsh application of standards.

Who could have thought that the Icarus operators, with even a fraction of their attention diverted for a split second, would be attacked?

Fortunately, Black Eagle wasn’t that foolish. They quickly detected Dagger team’s counterattack.

But defense was another matter.

"Grenade interception successful. ADS operating normally."

"Activate the support station. We need to stop Lancer 2’s bleeding."

"The Icarus operators... Wait. They’re using grappling hooks to approach us! Return fire!"

Rattle!

The turrets and drones unleashed a barrage of lead. It was similar to a scene from a century ago when anti-aircraft gunners battled with fighter planes, but the difference was that this situation unfolded in the blink of an eye.

Eugene skipped across the ground, landing with a thud. With the Icarus gear's functions not fully operational, she felt a painful sensation in her lower body.

However, in return, Eugene seized the initiative.

With a thunderous sound, the box magazine, which still held about eight 50-caliber rounds, was emptied in an instant. The Hunter didn’t immediately turn into a ragdoll... but not far from it.

Unless directly hit in the head or similar vulnerable areas, the external armor of the Hunter exo-suit provided substantial protection.

It was inevitable that the bones near the 50-caliber bullet impact shattered, but for a Black Eagle that had received body modifications, it was not a major issue.

The battle began.

'Where should I aim? Joint gaps? Head? Can I inflict enough damage with less than a 50-caliber rifle?'

The distance was barely a few dozen meters.

From Eugene and Chester’s standpoint, it was clear that this was a gamble. With two members of the Lancer team incapacitated, they were unlikely to secure a decisive victory.

The Lancer team instinctively sensed this, even if not directly acknowledging it, and grimaced as they raised their rifles. In the blink of an eye, several hundred rounds flew toward each other.

With horrifying sounds, holes appeared in the metal plates, and concrete walls were chipped away. The most intense, yet stalling, firefight had begun.

Shocked and terrified, the U.S. soldiers scattered into the surveillance post to hold out, but unfortunately, this provided no help to the Icarus operators.

As a result, Dagger team had to rely solely on their own strength for all combat.

In the span of less than five minutes, the combined ammunition of both sides, totaling about 2,000 rounds, evaporated, and only Eugene and Chester remained, the Hunters battered but still functional.

How much time had passed?

Once again, the turning point arrived.

—Ka-ka-ka-kang!

"You sneaky bastards..."

"Grenade!"

Boom!

They threw a grenade to block Chester’s retreat and, through tactical maneuvering, kept advancing despite taking hits. The 6.8mm rounds that Dagger team was using now could inflict considerable damage to the Hunter’s external armor, but they couldn’t deliver a fatal blow.

The two acknowledged that responding with firearms was no longer feasible, and at that moment, two Hunters, propelled from cover like springs, rushed toward Eugene.

In that instant, Eugene made a desperate gamble. She infused all the Icarus gear’s nanomachines into her right hand.

At the moment the new models intersected, with a strange sound, one of the Hunters who had charged toward her was blasted back, as though hit by a truck.

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However, the remaining Hunter slammed into Eugene, and the two were sent flying, crashing into the ground after easily crumpling the thick iron fence used for fall protection.

Eugene struggled to rise, but the first Hunter to stand had already activated a powerful electric field designed to paralyze Icarus operators.

But, as always.

A wounded animal is always the strongest.

—Crack!

"...Done?"

And at that moment, Eugene’s right hand, specifically the weapon she was holding, flared up with a blue glow, and her body exploded forward with explosive speed.

A blue crescent cut through the air, and the Hunter quickly retreated.

However, the speed of the attack was so fast that even though they thought they had dodged it, the front armor plates turned red hot and tore apart.

Eugene let out a deep breath and added:

"That won’t work now."

It didn’t take long for the unpleasant burning smell to rise.

The night turned a shade of blue.

"Ugh, damn. I knew the world was going to hell, but not like this... It’s really messed up. I thought animals were the problem, and now we’ve got vampires popping out."

Things that defy the laws of physics can’t happen, and a person can’t suddenly transform into another being.

At first glance, it seemed like a law of physics that could never be broken, and the moment something like that happened, the law of physics would turn into a fixed stereotype, and then it would shatter.

Olivia had thought, until a few minutes ago, that she had completely broken free from that stereotype—exactly, she thought so.

Until the situation surpassed her expectations.

'...Could I have expected this too?'

For a brief moment, the thought crossed her mind.

But in this situation, she had no choice but to accept everything. If she refused to believe it and objected to reality, she would be shot down by that blood-like thing and become a pincushion.

Moreover, something she learned from continuing the battle was that Olivia had noticed the mutant never used a gun when using its abilities.

Though it seemed more effective and accurate to use a gun, Olivia realized that when she shot at the mutant, its blood seemed to form a sort of barrier. She shook her head at that.

"Have you run out of insults? You were talking like you were going to throw me into the Pentagon, but this is turning out to be more boring than I expected."

"Control’s a bit difficult. If I take a few chunks of flesh and some armor fragments, I don’t know what kind of message I’ll get..."

"Now you’re back to being shameless."

Of course, there was no response. Instead, Olivia threw a grenade at that point.

Just like the creature that inspired her, Olivia could tell where the sound came from with just a small noise, and even more so, she could visualize a 3D map of the area in her head based on the sound.

Naturally, the enemy's voice was a greater clue, and Olivia had already mapped the surrounding terrain in her mind, even calculating whether her ammunition would penetrate the cover.

Unfortunately, given the material of the cover, almost nothing could penetrate it.

The explosion rang out immediately after that.

Olivia had precisely timed the detonation of the grenade, and through the attacks she had already made, she had estimated how much blood the mutant used and the range of its defensive abilities.

If it was too far, the grenade’s power wouldn’t deliver; if too close, there was a risk of the mutant knocking the grenade away, but Olivia precisely found the gap.

—Boom!

"...!"

"Hang on?"

With the explosion, dozens of steel balls fiercely struck the barrier. Due to the liquid nature of the blood, the pressure was transmitted first, making the barrier uneven, and some of the balls pierced through, skimming past Race’s armor.

Not missing that opening, Olivia launched a ferocious counterattack.

However, it wasn’t as easy as that.

This was fighting another mutant. While Olivia didn’t particularly enjoy reading novels, she did know that vampires were stronger at night, using strange abilities.

As bizarre as it was to think about, this fantasy-like knowledge became a useful tip in this situation.

The reason was simple.

It was true.

"...!"

In the blink of an eye, the enemy’s body disappeared from her sight like a lie.

If it were just a fast movement to escape her vision, Olivia might have missed it, but it wasn’t. That's why she noticed something odd and blocked the dagger that came from behind.

Unfortunately, the rifle Olivia brought was the XM7, a standard weapon used by Dagger team, and it couldn’t effectively fire a solid attack over the few meters separating them.

Olivia drew her pistol, but given the mutant's physical prowess, a few meters were a blink of an eye, and in that instant...

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

The deafening noise from the gunshot was followed by flashes, but no one was hit. Race grabbed Olivia’s arm and twisted it.

One struggled to break free, the other to hold on, and unfortunately, the pistol couldn’t withstand the mutant’s grip.

The handle of the pistol twisted and cracked, and Olivia kicked Race away, throwing the now useless pistol toward his face. Unfortunately, there was no blood barrier this time.

The pistol, traveling with enough force to break a skull, collided with the helmet, shattering both with a strange sound.

In that brief moment, the two had nearly equalized.

Race had been pushed back all this time, and though she might have become more skilled at using her latent abilities over time, at least for now, she hadn’t.

Her mind raced.

Given the conversations up to this point, Race figured the bastard wouldn’t try to kill her...

But, she thought, if they wanted her alive, it wouldn’t matter.

In this moment, the Black Eagle team would likely consider taking Race as a trophy, but even if all the Black Eagle members in Washington D.C. were pushed back and she was left alone, it was still unclear.

But Race saw that Olivia clearly wasn’t planning to let her go peacefully from this spot.

It was only natural. If the situation were reversed, Race would have considered using Olivia as a prisoner.

After briefly considering her options, Race came to one conclusion.

If Dagger team wasn’t an ordinary group, then she, too, had to escape in an extraordinary way.

She made a brief gesture. It was the last resort she had prepared for ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) when everything else went wrong.

A few kilometers away, the multiple rocket launcher stationed at HQ activated, responding to Race’s signal.

"Looks like we’ll meet again. I didn’t want this kind of weird, shitty conclusion, but next time, be a better dance partner. Black Eagle still has plenty of questions for the mutant."

"Who said anything about being sent?"

"I didn’t, but... Well, I guess you’ll have to let me go."

At that moment.

Olivia saw dozens of fireworks growing larger from the northeastern direction, just in time to miss Race falling from the rooftop.

Hundreds of rockets were soaring toward the Lincoln Memorial, ready to turn it to dust.

"Goodbye."

"You crazy bastard...!"

Olivia soared, and Race disappeared just before hitting the ground near the Lincoln Memorial.

Moments later, the Lincoln Memorial exploded with a deafening noise, following the same fate as the Capitol building.