Chapter 99: A Beating Is Medicine for a Crazy Bastard (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 99: A Beating Is Medicine for a Crazy Bastard (2)
Due to a slight scheduling adjustment, Team 4 arrived at the site for their Thursday duel. However, standing before them was not their usual opponent, Team Guerrilla, but five women clad in full suits and helmets.
“Team Leader, I think we have a problem.”
After the regular soldiers disembarked from the transport, Seira stepped out of her parked car. Hearing that something was wrong with the duel, she hurried toward the scene.
“What? Why is Hunter Killer here?”
The schedule had been adjusted, but she hadn't heard anything about a change in opponents. Most importantly, Team Hunter Killer had been the exclusive rivals of the Seoul Branch’s Team 3 for the past ten years, without a single change in matchup.
“We’re not sure either… This is different from what we were told. How should we proceed?”
Seira knew Team 3 very well. Even ten years ago, when the Seoul Branch’s Team 3 was being reorganized, the name "Team Hunter Killer" already carried immense prestige.
Though the members were different back then, the team’s reputation ensured that even when the roster changed, it was always filled with individuals of exceptional ability. Among the numerous superhuman groups on Earth, only a handful of teams commanded such respect.
To match that high reputation, the Spacetro 6th Fleet, upon landing on Earth, sought to create a team of elite soldiers in the region. For that reason, the reorganization of Team 3 was handled with extreme care, and Luche—who was called the ultimate ace even back when they were in space—was appointed as its leader.
The composition of Team 3 was entirely Luche’s choice. From the vast ranks of the 6th Fleet’s soldiers, she personally handpicked those who would serve under her. Naturally, A was among those chosen by Luche to join the team.
While they were in space, Seira had been part of the 6th Fleet along with A, but Luche had belonged to a different fleet, so they never had reason to meet. Nevertheless, Seira knew exactly why Luche had chosen A.
This reorganized Team 3 was issued the highest-performance equipment available. They were currently outfitted with the best gear the 6th Fleet could provide—so advanced, in fact, that it was impossible to further strengthen their combat power by supplying new equipment like they did for other regions.
Of course, the gear couldn't compare to what they used during space warfare. Providing equipment with power that defied common sense might lead to a violation of the "no-kill" rule. As a result, Team 3 was currently one of the most elite units in the 6th Fleet, with every piece of equipment—save for their vehicles—reaching the pinnacle of quality.
Despite this, the reason Team 3 had never once defeated Team Hunter Killer—both in the past and the present—was simple. While Team Hunter Killer was composed of the absolute elite among Superhumans, their abilities were so extraordinary that they far surpassed the standard definition of a superhuman.
“This is bad.”
Seira let out a sigh at the news that they were facing Team Hunter Killer instead of Team Guerrilla. However, her concern wasn't because she was afraid of fighting them.
Team Hunter Killer was equally bewildered.
“What? This isn't Team 3.”
Though their expressions were hidden behind helmets, everyone’s gaze shifted toward Red following Pink’s remark. Clenching her fists, Red ground her teeth, her brow furrowed beneath her visor.
“That bastard Director…”
Red—no, all of Team Hunter Killer—knew Team 3 better than anyone. Although they won every time, Team 3’s coordination was excellent. Despite their consistent victories, they never let their guard down.
Because of Team Hunter Killer’s undefeated streak, some within the Earth Defense Union perceived Spacetro’s Seoul Branch Team 3 as weaklings.
But Red always countered that claim. She insisted that Team 3 was by no means weak. Because they were enemies, and because she fought them every time, she knew better than anyone.
She knew the Director had been trying to manipulate things to steal credit for their achievements. However, she never imagined he would proceed like this—so suddenly, and without any prior notice.
There were often suggestions that she should prove Team 3 wasn't weak. But to prove that, another team would have to duel them, and from Red’s perspective, she wasn't confident that any other team could actually beat Team 3.
In the end, a half-baked attempt at proof would only result in a loss for the Earth Defense Union. For Team Hunter Killer, whose purpose was to improve the public perception of Superhumans, adding even a single loss to their record was out of the question.
However, now that things had come to this, they couldn't just leave and head to where Team 3 was. Avoiding the fight now would, in itself, be a form of defeat.
“We’ll deal with this when we get back.”
the members understood Red’s fury. Yellow patted her on the shoulder, suggesting they resolve the current situation first, and Red nodded in agreement.
Just as the duel between Team Hunter Killer and Spacetro’s Seoul Branch Team 4 was about to begin…
“This is different from the briefing. Luche, did you know about this?”
“No, I had no idea.”
We whispered to each other, keeping our voices low so Team Guerrilla wouldn't hear. We weren't sure how to posture ourselves against an opponent we were facing for the first time. Of course, our heads were filled with numerous strategies to handle any enemy. But the current situation was so baffling that it was hard to adapt and start the duel immediately.
“We’re still going through with the duel, right?”
“Yes. We’ll have to check the details once we return.”
Kruger spoke with Luche, and they decided to proceed with the duel for now.
“Use the same strategy we use against Team Hunter Killer. Maintain your positions and move to the right spots according to how the situation unfolds.”
Before the duel began, we fell silent and nodded at Luche’s instructions.
“You guys always get trashed by Hunter Killer, so let’s see just how pathetic you really are!”
At the sound of Indigo’s provocative voice, everyone’s gaze turned sharp. Even though their faces were hidden behind helmets, I could feel the intensity.
“Everyone, stay calm.”
It was crucial to remain silent, but I spoke softly to settle my comrades. Through the helmet’s comms, I felt their eyes on me. I understood how they felt. But if they overheated and lost their cool, they could ruin the duel.
I had already encountered Team Guerrilla twice—once at the cafeteria and once during the company dinner.
When we met at the cafeteria, the situation allowed me to suppress them, and at the dinner, I hadn't reacted at all to minimize the damage.
Ultimately, there was no way to know Team Guerrilla’s true combat power right now. I had a rough idea of their members and strategies through data, and I knew they lost to Team 4 every time.
However, Seira, the leader of Team 4, was someone with skills far superior to mine. Since she led that team, I couldn't help but think they were able to beat Team Guerrilla because of her. I had to stay focused. Even though the opponent had changed, I had to maintain the same level of tension as when we fought Team Hunter Killer.
I couldn't let my reason waver. I had to engage in this duel using the best possible methods available to me.
“What are you doing? Scared?!”
Ignoring Indigo, who wasn't even wearing a helmet and was treating us lightly, we charged forward simultaneously.
Team Guerrilla had seven members in total. Among them, the three most deeply etched into my mind were Indigo, Gainsborough, and Khaki. Since those three were in the vanguard, I, as part of my team’s frontline, would be the first to clash with them.
As I ran toward Indigo, who was getting on my nerves the most, Team Guerrilla’s backline unleashed a barrage of throwing weapons. Daggers, shuriken, even hand axes. they rapidly hurled the weapons they had been carrying in abundance.
They flew in steady arcs, but while they were aimed clearly, the individual trajectories were disjointed and full of openings. Still, some weapons were headed toward the other vanguard members charging with me.
There was no need to dodge. Behind me was our backline, and there wasn't a single amateur among them who would miss such incoming projectiles.
Soon, the iron balls fired by Ban, who was covering the rear, collided with the throwing weapons in mid-air.
The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out as the incoming weapons lost their momentum and fell to the ground. By then, I had reached Indigo’s nose.
With eyes full of fighting spirit, Indigo threw a right hook at me. Kruger, coming in from the side, grabbed his arm and twisted it back to stop the attack. Simultaneously, my kick slammed into Indigo’s ribs.
The moment I felt the impact, Kruger released Indigo’s arm. Without letting up on the power behind my kick, I sent Indigo flying across the construction site’s dirt floor.
The moment Indigo tried to stand, Jack, who had lunged toward where he landed, kicked him in the back. Losing his balance, Indigo spat out a curse.
“You little bastard!”
As he hurriedly turned to attack Jack, another comrade on the frontline threw the Khaki he had captured toward Indigo.
Indigo and Khaki collided and tumbled to the ground together.
‘This actually works?’
I had always charged at the Hunter Killer members from the front with rear support, but they would dodge every support attack with speed that was hard to track with the naked eye before blowing me away.
Kruger, who usually shared the same fate, seemed equally surprised as he stared at the fallen Indigo and Khaki.
Before we knew it, our comrades had reached Team Guerrilla’s backline and were suppressing them. With us fighting them in groups, the momentum of the duel shifted to us in an instant. Having grown so accustomed to defeat, I almost wondered if this smooth progression was some kind of trap.
“You motherfuckers!”
Indigo stood up and threw a brick that was lying nearby.
As I lowered my stance to catch the flying brick, Kruger, standing next to me, signaled me. Having lived together for so long, I knew exactly why he was giving me that hand signal. He was telling me to leave it to him.
I knew the anger Kruger must have felt that day at the dinner, so I decided to let him handle it this once.
Kicking off the ground and leaping into the air, Kruger caught one brick and threw it at another. The bricks shattered into dust in mid-air. Afterward, he neutralized all the bricks Indigo was throwing haphazardly, catching every single one.
When one brick flew toward me, I shattered it with a spinning back kick. Just as I planted my foot and was about to lift my other leg, I sent a signal to Kruger, who was descending from the air.
Confirming the next strategy by the number of beeps, Kruger dropped straight down toward me. The moment I felt Kruger’s weight on my leg, I launched him toward Indigo, who was still busy throwing bricks.
“You pathetic losers! Just stay down already!”
Seeing that none of his attacks were working, Indigo belatedly noticed Kruger flying right at him. Using his momentum, Kruger delivered a flying kick to Indigo’s chest.
“Gah!”
Indigo tumbled dozens of meters across the dirt before face-planting. The other members of Team Guerrilla, unable to put up much resistance against our comrades' onslaught, were all tossed into a single pile.
‘Why are we winning?’
I was bewildered by the relaxed atmosphere, something I hadn't felt in ten years. But the one even more bewildered than us was Luche, who always gave us our orders.
When fighting Team Hunter Killer, unexpected situations always cropped up, and Luche was always busy shouting instructions.
But now, after her initial command, the situation was unfolding so easily that there was no need for further orders. Luche just stood there, watching the duel.
“Everyone’s fighting well. You should do this more often.”
Every single Team 3 soldier turned around simultaneously to look at Luche. Behind our helmets, we all wore expressions that said, ‘That’s not entirely our fault, you know?!’ I didn't even need to check. I knew they were all thinking the same thing.
“You cowardly bastards!”
The moment we turned our backs, Indigo’s voice rang out from ahead. We turned our heads again and gathered in one spot, taking a defensive stance in case Team Guerrilla charged.
Emerging from the thick cloud of dust, Indigo wiped his dirt-covered face with his hand and glared at us.
“I wondered how you pathetic shits were fighting, and it turns out you’re just ganging up on us like cowards?!”
“…What is that guy even talking about?”
Kruger spoke up while everyone else was left speechless. I agreed with him.
What we were doing was a duel based on certain rules, not a sports match where we compared skills under perfectly equal conditions.
His words, spoken as if we should be having a fair sports match, were absurd, but that was only the second reason I was baffled.
The primary reason was that the word "cowardly" was coming from Indigo.
Even though we were Spacetro, both when we met at the bar and now, Team Guerrilla didn't know our true identities. In other words, Team Guerrilla had unilaterally assaulted people who might have been civilians and caused property damage to the bar.
I didn't understand why he called us pathetic, either. To be honest, a single member of Team Hunter Killer was a more troublesome opponent than all seven members of Team Guerrilla combined.
I don't think of myself as anyone special. I consider my combat abilities and everything else about me to be average. Because of that, I never look down on others, but I could say this for certain to Team Guerrilla:
‘Your coordination is trash, and your individual abilities are lacking. Who are you calling pathetic?’
Suddenly, I found myself grinding my teeth. To think that these weaklings, relying solely on their power as Superhumans, were controlling the media and causing incidents everywhere, making a mockery of Team Hunter Killer’s efforts to improve the public perception of Superhumans.
Because of these bastards, the hard work my women put in wasn't reaching the people; they were being ignored and spending such difficult years.
“Fight me one-on-one like a man! Or are you too scared to go one-on-one?! You pieces of shit!”
His shouting was even more pathetic considering he had just been beaten to a pulp moments ago.
“Luche, what should we do?”
“Go ahead. If things get out of hand, I’ll step in.”
Kruger asked Luche if they should accept the challenge, and after gauging the atmosphere, Luche allowed the one-on-one duel. Now, it was just a matter of choosing who would go out.
Every one of my comrades wanted to step forward and crush Indigo.
I quietly walked up to Kruger and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Collect the data.”
“Huh?”
Leaving only those words, I pushed through my comrades who were gathered to decide who would go out and walked toward Indigo.
Today, we had received new equipment and accessed new functions.
We needed to verify the new performance specs, and there was a very good test subject right in front of us.
‘Go ahead and attack all you want, you prick.’
My blood felt like it was boiling at the thought of using Indigo to test the new functions to my heart's content.
And I was feeling a little annoyed.