Wayne and his team ventured out for 20 more minutes before spotting a red enemy Hot air balloon from afar.

Dammit!

It was actually the Red Eagles.

Each camp had a particular hot air balloon colour.

Of course theirs was black since they were literally the black scorpions.

Anyway, if they were spotted, then these bastards would give out their locations to their comrades in ground.

And before they knew it, the enemy would ambush them.

Wayne's eyes flickered meaningfully.

"Everyone hide!

Enemy Air Force at 3 O'clock."

'Pap!'

'Shoop!'

Immediately, some of them hid behind the trees, while others got in the bushes instead.

Thanks to their already camouflaged look, blending in with their surroundings wasn't that hard.

"Bryce!

Move slowly."

"Yes, Captain." Said another soldier who chose to hide behind a tree.

While that seemed like a good idea, it wasn't that great when dealing with the air forces.

One should know that they had a wider view of things up in the sky.

And as they advance, they would be able to see more angles around the tree.

So Bryce had to move around the tree as well to hide from them.

The enemy was almost above them now, with their binoculars in hand.

His breathing became heavy as he slowly moved around the tree according to the hot air balloon flying pace.

And when the balloon left, everyone stayed in hiding for a bit more before leaving their hiding place.

"Captain, thank you."

"No problem.

Even though you're new to the brigade, don't worry.

You'll learn more with time.

Just do your best."

"Yes, Captain Wayne.

I won't let you down."

"Good!"

Wayne looked at the young confident soldier and chuckled when he remembered his first time participating in the competition.

Ah, how time flies.

.

Wayne continued leading his team onwards stealthily.

They ran through the first for a bit more, before suddenly getting a hasty warning.

"This is air force 7, Come in 4-T.

Come in!"

"4-T here.

What's the situation?"

"2 enemy teams are heading your way 4-T.

I repeat: 2 enemy teams are heading your way.

One coming in at 4 0'clock and the other at 7 0'Clock.

From the looks of things, you only have 5 minutes before they arrive."

"Copy that.

Over!"

Everyone frowned when they heard the warning.

They had just 5 minutes.

"Could an enemy air force have spotted and sent their teams to us?

Once both teams get a hold of us, then we're sure to be at a disadvantage.

Their air force team might've informed them about our exact location."

"No, I don't think so.

I've been on sky duty ever since we left the base.

And all this time, I'm 90% sure that no enemy air force has spotted us so far."

"Hmm... that could be true, but there's still a 10% chance that they did see us.

So we have to take action with all this in mind."

One of the soldiers nodded: "I propose that we go another direction and try losing them."

"If that's the case, then you all go.

I'll block them and lead them down another path."

"No!

We won't leave anyone behind."

"I agree!

Moreover, running away might actually end up badly instead.

In the case that we weren't noticed by them, doing so will only bring us exposure to other enemies if we were to keep running away frantically.

That said, more air forces might spot us instead.

But if we choose to stay behind and fight, then we have a better chance of winning this."

"Alright!

Let's stay behind."

"Guys, we only have 3 minutes and 20 seconds before they arrive.m"

"Dammit!

We're running out of time.

Captain, what do we do?"

Everyone faced Wayne who had been deep in thought all this time.

Wayne smiled slyly and gathered them around: "We have a greater chance of coming out of this if we stay. So here's the plan..."

.

'Shru! Shru! Shru! Shru!'

The faint sounds of rustling scrubs were getting somewhat louder and louder if one listened very attentively.

Soon, a team from the Cloud Fist Brigade stealthily moved past the forest.

But unbeknownst to them, one of the teams from the Blue Swan Brigade was secretly chasing them.

Their air force had been Reporting the enemy's location to them.

So they decided to go after the enemy and wipe them clean.

All in all, both teams knew nothing about the Black Scorpio team that was lurking in the shadows.

"Everyone stop!"

Captain Pengo from the Cloud Fist brigade hastily raised his hands to call for silence.

"Did you all hear that?"

"Hear what?

Captain, did you hear something?" Some of the soldiers asked while vigilantly looking around.

The silent Pengo decided to trust his instincts instead.

As someone who had gone out on missions a lot, he more than anyone else knew the importance of his instincts.

Just now, he had felt some unknown gazes on him.

Maybe it was a rabbit or even a frog.

But no matter what, he preferred to take precautions first.

Soon, his eyes flicked uneasily.

"Everyone, hide now!!"

'Bang!'

The moment he ducked, several bullets were launched his way.

These bullets were special training ones that had a metal casing on them with the top of the bullet containing paint in a plastic covering.

So if they got hit, the paint would splash on them, meaning that they were dead.

That said, this was a competition and dead men tell no tales.

Some of the enemy soldiers were hit, while others had narrowly escaped death.

The enemy captain readied his own ammunition too.

'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!'

Bullets flew left and right, with some people rolling on the ground and taking cover behind the trees.

Who was it?

Who had ambushed them?

.

"Hahahahahaha!

Pengo, what are the chances of us meeting here?

Ahhh... why's your face do red?"

"Scully, you bastard!

You dare sneak up on me and call yourself my best friend?"

"Sigh... 

Seeing how angry you are, will you still be buying me lunch later today?"

"Screw You!

Just shut up and die!"

'Bang! '

"So... is that a No?"

"Die!"

'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!'

"_"