NOVEL NEXT Chapter 86: Hunting
Quagmire, with precise footwork and control of weight distribution, jumped from nearby branches, and when there were no nearby, he quietly jumped down, and climbed another one with utter swiftness, so that there was minimal noise made.
After all, even though he was a commander back then at the Imperial Republic, they were forced to learn not only tactics and strategy, but to take care of their body through exercise and through acrobatics, in fact competition is encouraged through the entire academy, and they even host tournaments for recruits and veterans alike.
They believe not through human wave tactics, but through precision strikes and the quality of soldiers. Perhaps it may also be the cause of his defeat and subsequently their nation, though he has no way of fully knowing that.
With that in mind, he arrived near a ghoul; he brought out his rifle, but before he pulled the trigger, he considered the loudness of his rifle, along with the power of the variable silencer, and so having a much larger caliber, he brought back the rifle, and grabbed the pistol from his holster, along with its variable silencer.
With its lower caliber, and lower power, it would be much more silent than the rifle, though with its weakness of low power, it would not reach far, but it should be more than enough with his current needs, and so he brought the pistol forward, and lowered his head and went into firing position.
One last look he took at the surroundings, and after considering that the ghouls were far enough, and he, being of a certain distance from them, after careful consideration and thinking, he finally pulled the trigger.
The pistol went off with a bang, and a fiery flash appeared, followed by a trail of smoke, and overlooking at a distance. The ghoul went down with a plop and crashed into the bushes.
As the sound did not travel far enough, and was covered by the sound of the sway of the trees and the blowing of the wind along with the ruffle of the nearby leaves helped in masking the sound and from there on, he realigned his body to better suit his shooting position all the while standing on a tree branch.
The leader of the ghouls, meanwhile, was barking orders, and had no complete idea of what was happening around him, that the ghouls were begrudgingly following the haughty leader. Quagmire observed this event and concluded that the commander was prideful but competent, and so if a commander is prideful, you should never kill it.
After all, sooner or later, if you are better and much more smarter, it would be much more easier to predict, and would be far better for him. If an enemy can be predicted, it is an advantage for the opponents, and so keeping the ghoul commander alive is much better. If a more calm but with the same brain replacement were found, that would spell disaster, like how earlier the pincer movement was done, it must not be allowed.
Which is why he must take the initiative and take the fight to them at all costs. Now with a firm will and determination in his heart, he readjusted his position and moved into another branch that had more height, which would allow him to see more of the forest ground.
After arriving at his new position, he brought out his pistol once again, and aligned his position into a firing one, and once he was comfortable and ready, he repeatedly pulled the trigger with quick and precise movements he readjusted his aim, and after a while he was able to slowly but surely whittle down the numbers. Without. the leader or anyone noticing what was happening.
As to how that happened, he first took out the outliers, those isolated ghouls, and once he took them down, he started closing in on the center, which was the ghoulish commander.
With a firm pull, the pistol was fired, and with a flick of a finger, the magazine came off. He grabbed another and pushed it back in the chamber, and with a click, it was firmly set in. Once it was done, he aimed it forward once again.
Once it was faced forward, the slaughter once started once again; however, the ghouls were too few, and the ghoulish commander had snapped. The commander barked at his subordinates, but suddenly a creeping thought went into his mind.
The ghoulish commander looked from side to side, and noticed that their numbers have dwindled by a lot, he recounted from his head, but suddenly the ghoul he was talking to spurred with blood on it head, it was splashed all over his face, and with a scream of terror it roared over its remaining subordinates.
Quagmire watched the event unfold, curious about what the commander was about to do, the remaining ghouls suddenly gathered and dashed from who knows where. However, as if he would let them get away. Thinking about things, this would be a good chance to once and for all secure his base, if he were able to wipe their encampment out.
Thus, under the shadow of the trees, he moved with haste, shadowing the group of ghouls that were hastily retreating. he had stopped shooting them to give them the illusion that he had retreated and did not pursue them. However, just like being predictable, the ghoulish commander did not check his surroundings and only focused on their retreat.
He had to be fast, as night was dawning fast, and his children would come out tomorrow, and if he was unable to wipe them out, he would at the very least mark their encampment on his map, so that he would know where to attack next time. Not only that, he was also painfully curious about how such creatures lived. After all, they are dead and alive at the same time. Moreover, they have developed bows and swords, so at the very least, they have a functioning society and basic knowledge of metallurgy and those kinds of things.