Chapter 10: | 010 | Threats hidden in the Wilderness
Several minutes before the communication transmission of Fleet Admiral Shepherd and 2nd Lieutenant Campbell of the Alpha 1st Platoon…
The golden sun was plastered on the azure heavens gleaming brightly to the world below it. Fluffy white clouds sweep by through the breeze of winds, bringing about a soothing morning.
However, the world where the radiant sun cast its luminescence was shrouded in a calm before the storm.
In the seemingly vast wilderness of the eastern grassland of an expansive island in the middle of nowhere was the Marines of the Bravo Task Force.
They patrolled the area where their recently constructed barbed-wire fences dwelled with unquestioning caution.
The Bravo Task Force was the group that separated from the Alpha Task Force to reach their designated LZ in the proposed location of interest. What were they trying to find?
Well, the answer was one word.
Oil.
According to various reports and surveillance data given to them during the debriefing before the start of the operation, the eastern grassland was under the suspicion of the United Navy about containing a substantial oil deposit.
It might be smaller than what could be extracted from the seas, but it was oil nonetheless. The fuel that was vital to the machine that was known as the United Navy.
Naturally, along with the major mineral inspection, oil was also considered a priority. This brought about the separation of the Operation Task Force into Alpha and Bravo.
"How much oil deposits have we detected under the grassland?" While the Marines did their patrol, the expeditionary research personnel were also working hard.
The lead researcher was the one who gave the question as it has been a while since he checked the current reserves statistics.
"750 million metric tons of oil, Sir…" The researcher hesitantly reported the amount of oil they had discovered beneath the ground. After all, even he was a bit dumbfounded by its excessive amount.
The lead researcher felt that he had heard something wrong from his subordinate. He looked at the subordinate with furrowed eyebrows, while the other merely nodded.
"750… It looks like we struck some gold. Hehehehe~, this will be enough for the United Navy to last about a decade." The lead researcher creepily chuckled.
There was no doubt that he was excited. It seems that the oil of this island was vast in terms of numbers. This also gives him a bit of relief as there was no need to be reliant on others for oil.
As this was a piece of good news, the lead researcher obviously wanted to celebrate. He gazed upon his subordinates who had been working hard since the beginning of the operation.
"For this discovery of ours, I'll give all of you bonuses!" Such discovery required some celebration. After all, it would be too distasteful to act otherwise.
"Yeah!"
"Thank you, Lead!"
"You're the best boss!"
The expeditionary research personnel began praising the lead researcher like he was their old man who gave them their New Year's presents.
But sadly, the praises and celebration couldn't continue.
Several Marines who were guarding the surrounding perimeter began transferring themselves to the west. Their rifles were armed and their expressions were determined.
When the expeditionary research personnel took notice of their actions, they understood that something problematic had happened.
A Marine officer stepped forward and was about to order the evacuation protocol to the research personnel.
"Our location has been compromised! The EVAC protocol has been activated. All personnel must withdraw from the location in 2 minutes." The situation was dire, especially when the Marines were asking them to evacuate.
"Understood, we'll be fast." The lead researcher didn't choose to argue and swiftly disassembled the expensive equipment used to detect the valuable oil field below them.
But it was a bit saddening that he couldn't report the good news to the Fleet Admiral. Though… The Fleet Admiral has already told them that their safety was paramount.
With the lead researcher's confirmation, the Marine officer merely nodded and went to support his men. While immediate evacuation was important, they didn't have time.
The Marines must buy time for the expeditionary research personnel to be up in the air.
While the expeditionary research team rapidly evacuated all of their sensitive equipment and placed them into their briefcases, the Marines were to the west of their defensive perimeter.
Their enemy appeared out of nowhere, and these bastards numbered dozens.
But one would question, what kind of enemies were the Marines facing?
The answer was simple.
They were facing the monsters of this world. The United Navy was about to fight the hostile elements of the alien world for the first time.
"Give me intel about our enemies." The Marine officer wanted to know what they were facing. One of the Marine scouts saluted him and reported everything that was discovered.
"Dozens of adversaries are charging towards our location at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour. Their origins are unknown as we recently discovered them during our light scouting mission."
"From our observations, these adversaries are the alien wildlife of this world. They resemble the wild boars of our former world, but look completely different from them."
"Deeper surveys indicate that these hostile wildlife have scales on their skin with several giant sharp tusks over their head. They also seemed to possess two pairs of eyes."
"However, this isn't the most problematic aspect of their existence. What we consider troublesome is their estimated size. Most of these animals are have the size of a pick-up truck with the smallest being car-sized."
The last information made the Marine officer understand the seriousness of the situation. These monsters were incredibly big, so their rifles might not be enough to handle them.
"How long do we have?" The Marine officer questioned the scout with a cold gaze.
"We have about 4 minutes before they reach us, Sir." The estimated time of arrival of these monsters was lower than expected. They have to prepare fast if they desire to survive in their circumstances.
"Have the Black Hawk carrying the expeditionary research personnel up in their air as fast as possible. After they are up, have the pilots support us in our endeavors."
"And all of you must prepare for rapid Exfil. We aren't here to fight them to death. That will be the job of our birds." The Marine officer gave orders after orders to his soldiers.
The Marines nodded in understanding after hearing the orders and immediately carried them out. On the other hand, the Marine Officer merely watched the western horizon and saw several dots moving toward them.
He furrowed his eyebrows and gave another fire of orders.
"Prepare your GLMs, our rifles won't be enough so use every explosive you have!" Grenade launching modules were launchers typically strapped into rifles such as the M4s.
These ordnance-launching armaments were perfect deterrence against incoming adversaries.
"Also, call for reinforcements from the Port of Dawn. Tell them we are assaulted by monsters and need some reinforcements to deal with them." After uttering such words, the thunderous propellers resounded throughout the grassland.
Delta 1-4 was about to fly with the research personnel inside. Their current task was to support the Marines on the ground.
As the Black Hawk propelled itself from the grass-covered ground, it hovered above the location of interest and was preparing for the upcoming battle.
Back to the Marine officer. He realized that time was running out. According to his subordinates who reported their situation, reinforcements would arrive in 3 minutes.
Unfortunately, though… Their opponents were in front of them.
When the monster boars reached 200 meters from their barbed-wire perimeter fence, the Marines didn't hesitate to rain hellfire on the charging bastards.
*Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!*
Several explosive grenades were launched from their GLMs. These canisters of destruction flew through the air and slowly returned to the ground.
The moment the grenades landed, explosions resounded throughout the surrounding area.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
After the shocking explosions, the first wave of the Monsters fell with their bodies suffering gigantic holes. The explosive grenades might not have been enough to entirely blow them up, but the shockwave would have squashed their internal organs to bits.
With the fall of the first wave, the second wave followed and some monsters tumbled upon the fallen bodies of their kind.
These giant monster boars really were merciless as they plowed everything in front of them without mercy.
"Fire!" Since the distance between the two was less than 100 meters, the Marines opted to use their rifles.
After all, they didn't have time to reload their grenade launchers, and even if they did, it wouldn't do them any good. They were in the middle of a grassland with little to no cover.
If they blew these monsters to bits up close, shrapnel would probably decimate them.
At any rate, following the order was the torrent of lead escaping the barrels of the Marines' rifles. They pulled the trigger hard and began shooting the ones before them.
*BBRrrrrrrtttt!* *Bang!* Bang!* *BRRrrrrrrtttt!*
*Bang!* *BRrrrrrttttt!* *Bang!*
Thunderous roars of gunfire echoed as flashes of light glimmered over the Marines' faces. But the crayon-eating cavemen remained determined as they continued to fire at their adversaries.
The monster boars were bullet sponges as it would take an entire magazine of leads on the head to take one down. These bastards need the explosives of freedom to be easily taken down.
"Continue backing away!" The Marine officer gave an order while the bird above them started its supporting task.
*BBRRRRRRRTTTTT!*
The Black Hawk fired its machine guns which easily penetrated through the scales of the monsters. These caused the bastards to fall down and die from either the lead or the stampede behind them.
"Sir, Delta 1-3 is ready to go!"
Following such words was the roar of the Black Hawk's propeller. Dust dispersed in their surroundings as grasses waved before and after from the winds.
The Marine officer looked at the transport helicopter and swiftly ordered his men to withdraw.
"Let's go! We need to get out of this damn place!"
The full withdrawal was underway. One after another, the Marines stepped into the Black Hawk as it hovered a foot off the ground. It didn't take 30 seconds for the entire withdrawal to be complete.
The Black Hawk immediately flew over the charging monster boars and hovered through the skies with ease. Both the Marines and the expeditionary research personnel sighed in relief upon reaching the heavens above.
None died from that ordeal, which was a piece of good news. Luckily for them, though… More good news was to come.
In the communication radios of the Black Hawks, a transmission resounded from its confines.
*This is Cleaver 1, support has arrived!*
*Cleaver 2, reinforcements have come!*
The AH-64E Apaches have arrived.
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