General Kray clasped his hands in front of his face and rested his elbows on the table as he looked at the Captains at the table his eyes darting through each of them carefully before he spoke his next words.
"Recently, you seven have performed very excellently in your duties. I must congratulate you on that.
"But don't forget, we have a greater goal to accomplish and we must always strive to achieve this…It that understood?"
"Yes sir!" the room exclaimed in unison.
"Now let's focus on the next area for our next raid." Kray continued as he tapped a finger on the table and a holographic image of a breathtaking scene filled the room with a blue luminescent glow.
A large landscape filled with a vast amount of greenery and walled by huge mountains and hills, and in the middle were five large white domes.
"Shangri-la…" he continued. "Our intelligence team was found out that this is supposedly a rehabilitation center for Mythics who have undergone trauma from our attacks."
"So it's a very large therapy room?" Don asked looking at the hologram with tired eyes.
"No. It's a recovery center for them, and we even got news that some of the Mythics who are currently giving us headaches were patients from this center."
"Wait, so they're strong one's there?" Slash blurted out smiling at the projection like it was a new playground.
"It's not confirmed yet…but we should still take precautions." Kray concluded.
However, Ryker had a long look at the display before facing his superior. "Sir, don't you think it's strange that humans haven't figured out that places like this exist?"
"I did..." The man sighed. "But these beasts have evolved and combining the use of magic and advanced tech they have managed to make themselves extremely elusive and even some nocturnal ones can now roam the day."
"I see…I'd imagine that being a very big problem for us." The white-haired said staring back at the projection.
"Precisely, which is why we also do our best to find these hotspots and deal with them as soon as possible.
"If not, these beasts will grow again in power and then humanity, as we know it, will be doomed."
"THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AS LONG AS I'M ALIVE!" Titan roared slamming a fist on the table so hard the hologram flickered for a moment, the fact it was still standing was nothing short of a miracle.
"Calm down, Titan." Kray said not even looking at the individual "We all feel the same way, in fact that was the reason the Hunters were formed in the first place…to protect humanity from those monsters."
"But General…if the Mythics truly have advanced technology…then how do we infiltrate if they have security measures?
Elara asked propping her chin up with her hand, pointing at the projection above the table.
"Surely they would have sensors and patrols around that kind of area and its importance. It would be heavily guarded if I'm correct."
Kray let out a sound that sounded somewhat like a chuckle as he shook his head and his mouth twitched into a small smirk before his expression became stoic once more.
"That's exactly what they want you to think, that they're prepared for anything…but in reality, they only put a small number of patrols around the area and they have very little surveillance."
The entire room let out a confused gasp.
"Talk about reckless?" Don gaped.
"It's tactic." Kray corrected. "Naturally, anyone would think a place of this grandeur would be heavenly guarded, hence they use that thinking against us so we won't dare to attack."
"That's…very cunning, actually." Caelum smile as he tapped his hair-pin "I'll hand it to them, even I wouldn't think someone would attack a place that is almost as magnificent as me."
"So…what are we meant to do?" Sol asked.
"What kind of stupid question is that Sol?!" Slash flash a maniacal grin. "We do what Hunters do best…Neutralize them!"
"Slash is…correct. The mission is to go in and eliminate them all before their reinforcements can arrive."
"That sounds like a plan!" Slash drawled.
"You just want to run lose." Ryker stated coldly.
"So? As long as the job is complete, right General." The Hunter turned to his superior. "With all of us, they don't stand a chance."
"I do not plan on sending all of you on this mission." The scarred man said immediately, which made Slash blink in confusion.
"Is there a reason for this General?" Titan asked.
"I can't have the strength of my unit depleted just because of a single mission and remember there is still a possibility of meeting a powerful one…Maybe a C rank or higher.
"That is a risk I cannot take. So I'll be sending Caelum, Titan and Slash for this mission."
Ryker's palms slammed on the table as he stood up abruptly. "You can't be serious General Kray! You said it yourself that there might be a powerful opponent in there…Sending only 3 squads in there is practically genocide!"
"It sounds like someone is jealous." Slash smirked but Ryker chose to ignore him.
"General Kray, you know what I mean-"
"I know that this is also a risk!" Kray sharply replied as he continued to stare ahead "But, I can't afford losing all of you either…especially you, due to that penalty for letting that Mythic go."
Kray glanced at Ryker intensely for a moment before the young Captain quietly took his seat, not uttering a single word again.
"Now the mission is set two days from now so you three must prepare your squads and yourselves thoroughly and remember to come back alive…all of you."
The three all gave a solemn curt nod at their superior.
"Are there any further objections or questions?" the man asked looking at the faces of the others but was only met with silence. "Very well, then this meeting is dismissed."
Everyone stood up from their seat but neither of them moved until Kray was out of the room.
As soon as he left the other left one by one while Ryker was the only one yet to make a move.
Slash noticing this smirked at him. "Aww, don't worry Ryker, I'll be sure to tell you stories about this."
And with that only the white-haired Captain stood in the empty room.
"Damn it…" He clenched his fists by his side until his knuckles turned white and the veins in them bulged. "How do I get closer now? Damn it, this mission was supposed to be a breakthrough, now it's going to them! Damn it! I'll never see him if I don't rank up soon.
"I won't give up. I have to make up for letting him get away….Riven Wright, next time we meet…I won't be so lenient!" he hissed.
___
As Slash, Caelum and Titan walked in the sleek white hallways for a long while no saying anything to each other.
"You heard the General…you two better come back alive." Titan said, finally breaking the silence.
"You say that like this is the first time we've gone on a high-risk mission." Caelum replied as he adjusted the ends of his sleeves. "Besides, if we complete this mission one of us might be promoted to a General."
"True, but still we need to be cautious."
"You two can act all cautious or whatever." Slash said as he smiled to himself. "I'll get all the glory and be promoted while you two can keep playing safety officers."
Caelum grimaced at the idea. "You? Above me! That would be considered an abomination!" he continued as he drew a hand over his hair and placed the other on his chest. "Only true potential like yours truly should earn that promotion."
"Yeah right." Slash rolled his eyes as they took a turn.
"You two aren't even listening to me, huh?" Titan let out a deep sigh as he pocketed his hands.
"We'll be fine…" Slash said as they reached two metal doors and it automatically swung open and behind them were a large group of about fifty men who all wore white stood up and yelled a salute in unison. "Remember, we're Captains of the infamous Danger Unit…We take risks for a living."