An elf, a demon, an ogre, and a vampire inside of one car. The statement wasn't something Alina could think of before she got into this mess, but right now, it was her situation with her passengers who seemed to be a participant in a comic con or something along that line. 

"Are you guys usually dressed this way? I thought Valkryia is much more militarized," Alina said, trying to thaw the air in her car. These special forces guys didn't talk, they only mumbled, and occasionally, slept. 

Artyom then added, "We don't, but you know, when you're trying to blend in with the natives, this is our rig." 

Lin then added, "Or as I like to call it, the fantasy drip." 

Artyom then replied to the statement, "Spoken like a true Earthling." 

Earthling. 

"I thought Lin was a Terran," Alina said. 

"Just because someone is an elf, it doesn't mean she is a Terran. I'm an Earthling myself, but well, humans are rare nowadays, so identifying the difference between the two becoming harder and harder," Rusty added. 

That's rather interesting. Humans are rare, and I haven't seen one ever since I woke up from that coffin. Maybe there is some kind of genetic mutation or some kind of event that happened, but well, I don't know. 

"Are you guys usually dressed in say, camouflaged uniform?" Alina asked. 

"Usually, yes. However, more often than not, we wear power armor. Besides, it's not like the Major cares if NAF discovers our operation in this land," Artyom further explained. "The military action will eventually be justified." 

"That's bold." 

"You might not know this, but our unit is the hammer and mallet of Valkyria, if they need a scalpel, they'll send another unit," Rusty added. 

"I see." 

Then, the car went quiet again, but Alina understood why. Still, inside of a car with literal silence like this was uncomfortable. Alina then just focused on getting to the destination quickly. The car blitzed straight through the asphalt road, gradually turning into a gravel road, then turned into a literal muddy road as the car entered the forest. 

As Alina maneuvered the car deeper into the forest, the landscape became denser and wilder. The road was barely more than a muddy track now, flanked by towering trees and thick underbrush. 

Eventually, Rusty told Alina to park the car at a clearing. The GPS on his car also told her that she was merely 500 meters away from the village. After Alina parked the car, the three figures got out of the car and stretched their legs. 

Ahead of them lay the druid compound, right below the opening, a series of low, sprawling buildings made of wood and stone that blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment. The structures were encircled by a crude but sturdy wooden fence. 

"That's the compound," Rusty said, looking at the village using the binoculars on his hand. 

Alina then asked the large ogre, "What's the plan?" 

"The plan is simple, to be honest, we'll go in through the front, and you and Lin go through the back," Rusty then explained, pointing his hand at multiple entrances of the village. 

Rusty pointed his hand at the front gate, the gate which was guarded by two druids holding assault rifles. The towers were guarded by archers, but marksmen would be a better term for it, since they were armed with sniper rifles. There were also some druids circling the compound, flying on top of it. 

"These druids are in tune with the forest; they’ll hear us long before they see us," Lin said, looking at the mage flying around the village, seemingly looking for something, perhaps, the team's presence.

Rusty then explained the general assault plan. First of all, Lin would blow up the gate using an exploding arrow, while Rusty rained down the compound with a high dose of sleeping gas using a grenade launcher. Then, Rusty would assault the village, accompanied by Artyom from the front gate. 

Lin and Alina would use the back gate of the druid's compound to sneakily retrieve the diplomat. The bodyguards of the diplomat were reported to be killed, so there was no need for further searching. Her job was to merely follow Lin from behind. 

"Do you realize who I am?" Alina asked, commenting on how many things could go wrong with the plan. 

"Yes, an adventurer, a mercenary at best, don't worry, just follow me, and everything will be fine," Lin reassured. 

Artyom then pulled out another thing from her inventory, a belt-fed grenade launcher alongside four gas masks. Alina retrieved the gas mask and then wore it, before donning her armor and pulling out her Lahmum. 

"That's quite a big magical gun, Alina," Lin commented. 

"Your class is weird, Warcleric, huh?" Artyom commented. 

"Damn, that's cool," Lin just smiled. 

"Wear your gas mask people, we'll start now. You all know what to do," Rusty said, grabbing the grenade machine gun from Artyom and starting raining down the sleeping gas toward the village. 

Each round threw a small round containing sleeping gas, and as it hit the ground, it released it as a smokeless substance that would linger in the air. Slowly, the guard fell to the ground like flies. The mages also descended, maybe because the lethargy hit them like a truck. 

"Alright, blow it open, before these druids somehow negate our gas," Rusty commanded. 

Lin pulled an arrow from her back and then fired it straight at the gate. The arrow glowed in fiery orange and it exploded into a large explosion, toppling the wooden gate with a single strike. Putting the grenade machine gun back into the inventory, Rusty and Artyom rushed toward the village. 

They blitzed through the front gate and killed any sleeping armed men they saw in the process. Alina watched the slaughter from below as the two slashed the heads of everyone who was seen holding down a weapon. 

"Let's go, it's our turn," Lin gave a hand signal for Alina to follow her from behind.