[ Russia / Saratov ]

 

Convoy of five armored vehicles, three trucks, and one APC. All of them had a pale red color. Two armored vehicles and an APC drove in front. Trucks with soldiers in them drove in the middle and the three armored vehicles in the back. The convoy was slowly approaching the bridge to the Saratov but on their way one of the armored vehicles exploded. 

 

All the vehicles stopped and gathered close in one place. Two soldiers wearing red uniforms left the trucks to check the road. Once they saw mines on the road they walked to the truck for someone. The third soldier who left the truck had a slightly different uniform. His uniform’s torso was black. 

 

Soldiers gathered stones from around the road and threw them and the mines. They were throwing at them from a distance of two meters. The explosion would reach them if not for the third soldier. The smoke and fire from the explosion stopped in front of them like there was an invisible wall. The third soldier was an Esper who protected them from the explosion. Once they cleared a few mines they moved forward. 

 

Suddenly the Esper who protected was shot in the head and fell to the ground. He fell right into the mine in front of them killing the two soldiers who were walking with him. 

 

Around one kilometer away from them in the city in the building, two men were sitting by the window. Both of them were wearing blue uniforms. One of them was a sniper while the other one had binoculars and observed the movement of other soldiers while the sniper focused his attention on the targets. 

 

-You got a B rank Esper and two normal soldiers.- Said a guy with binoculars.

 

-Thanks for the info. Shout if someone with an A rank or dangerous ability comes out.

 

-Yes sir!

 

The soldier with a sniper rifle aimed again and shot into the small space in an armored vehicle between the windows. He shot a driver. As he was aiming at the driver in the APC someone came out of it. He had long green hair and wore a black uniform and a black gas mask. The only thing that suggested his alliance with those soldiers was his short red cape. 

 

-Sir… Someone… Strong came out of the APC… S rank? Maybe… Higher…- Said a scared man with binoculars. 

 

The soldier with a sniper rifle quickly aimed at his head but then he saw that from his mask, gas was coming out. After a moment of hesitation, he took a shot. The gas was all around the man with a mask. The bullet was melted once it got into the gas. 

 

-What a nuisance. Leaving weak soldiers to protect the border… Just be gone…- Said a guy with a mask. 

 

Gas flew into the building and spread out across the whole city. Soldiers who were shooting them died and their skin began to melt. More soldiers were hiding in the buildings and they died the same way. 

 

Saratov was a camp for the border patrol of Center School. In the city, there were three ranks A Espers, eleven B ranks, and twenty-two normal soldiers. They all died in a few seconds.

 

One of the Esper soldiers left the vehicle and approached the Esper with the gas mask, 

 

-General Ozaki. We’re waiting for your orders.

-We can move out, and leave the bodies of dead soldiers. Nature will make better use of them than us. No… Wait for a bit. There is one left. I’ll gladly take care of him.- Said General Ozaki.

 

The man walked toward the bridge which was the only way to enter Saratov. On his way, he destroyed all the mines. They were no longer a problem for the convoy. On the bridge, he found one soldier with burned clothes. By his waist, there was a belt with smoke grenades. 

 

-So that’s why you were the only one that survived. You are an Esper who can control gases. Judging by the equipment you must be B rank… And here I had hoped for S rank…

 

The man standing there took out one smoke grenade. Ozaki was watching his hand with a grenade very close. The Soldier quickly threw the graned toward the air and took out a pistol. He shot three bullets. All of them would hit if not for the gas that protected the general. 

 

The gas moved toward the man and completely covered him. He smiled thinking that he had a chance but suddenly he coughed out some blood and fell to his knees. 

 

-You can control only one gas… I can control multiple of them at once. This is but a fraction of my power… 

 

The APC got a call from their HQ. The soldiers sitting in there looked at each other. Thinking if they should accept the call or should it be the general. One of them decided to accept the call. 

 

-This is Green Dragon Convoy. Foot soldier under General Ozaki Haruma's orders.- Said the soldier sitting by the steering wheel.

 

-This is Chongqing HQ. What’s the situation? You’ve stopped your movement on the radar.- Said the man through the communicator. 

 

-We stumbled upon a minefield. We lost one armored vehicle, five soldiers, and three Espers. General took care of the mines and the enemies in the city. 

 

-Where is he now?

 

-Currently, he is coming back to the convoy. 

 

-If you keep up the speed you should arrive at the destination in two days. We believe that three hours should be enough to accomplish the objective. Also, keep in mind the danger from the south. The units sent to Romania haven’t responded to us since yesterday. They all might be dead. 

 

-Copy that.