The schedule was slightly adjusted, and on Thursday, the four teams arrived at the scene to face each other. In front of them were five women in suits and helmets, not the usual Team Guerrilla they were accustomed to facing.
“Team Leader, it seems there’s a problem.”
After the regular soldiers got out of the vehicles, Siera, who had heard from the parked car that there was an obstacle to the match, hurriedly headed to the scene.
“What? Why is HunterKiller here?”
Although the schedule was adjusted, they hadn’t been informed about the change in opponents. Moreover, Team HunterKiller had only ever faced Seoul Branch Team 3 for the past ten years without any changes.
“We also didn’t receive the correct information. How should we proceed?”
Siera knew Team Seoul Branch 3 very well. Even when the team was reorganized about ten years ago, HunterKiller was already a name with high prestige.
Though the current members differed, those who joined HunterKiller maintained exceptional abilities, fitting the team’s reputation. Among the many hyper-human groups on Earth, only a few teams possessed such qualities.
Renowned teams like these led SpaceStro’s 6th Fleet to assemble elite units upon landing on Earth. Thus, the reorganization of Team 3 was carried out cautiously, and Luche, known as one of the strongest aces, became the team leader.
Luche chose the members for Team 3, selecting individuals directly from the 6th Fleet’s soldiers. A was also chosen by Luche and joined Team 3.
At that time, both Siera and A were part of the 6th Fleet, but Luche belonged to a different fleet, so they never met. Despite this, Siera understood why Luche chose A very well.
Team 3 received the best equipment available. The highest quality equipment was provided, making it nearly impossible to upgrade further without new supplies.
Of course, the equipment was not comparable to what they used during space battles. Providing overly powerful equipment could violate the no-kill rule. As a result, Team 3 consisted of some of the best soldiers in the 6th Fleet, with all equipment except vehicles reaching peak levels.
The reason Team 3 had never beaten Team HunterKiller was because HunterKiller consisted of the most elite hyper-humans, whose abilities surpassed those of ordinary hyper-humans.
“This is bad news.”
Siera sighed upon realizing that the team before her was not Team Guerrilla but Team HunterKiller. However, her concern wasn’t about facing HunterKiller.
HunterKiller was equally surprised.
“What? It’s not Team 3?”
Despite wearing helmets, preventing them from seeing each other’s expressions, everyone’s attention turned to Red after Pink spoke. Clenching her fist, Red frowned under her helmet.
“This bastard…”
Red, or rather, Team HunterKiller, knew Team 3 better than anyone. Though they always won, their coordination was excellent. They never let their guard down, even in victory.
Some members of the Earth Defense Union mistakenly believed Team HunterKiller viewed Team 3 of SpaceStro Seoul Branch as weak. But Red always refuted this notion, insisting that Team 3 was far from weak. She knew this firsthand due to frequent confrontations.
She was aware of the boss’s attempts to manipulate outcomes, but she hadn’t expected such sudden changes without prior notice.
Occasionally, it was suggested that Team 3 needed to prove they weren’t weak. However, this would require another team to defeat Team 3, which Red doubted was possible.
Ultimately, such futile attempts could lead to a single defeat for the Earth Defense Union. HunterKiller couldn’t afford to lose more, as their goal was to improve public perception of hyper-humans.
However, there was no way to avoid Team 3’s area by retreating. Doing so would be seen as a defeat.
“Let’s go back and check.”
The team understood Red’s anger. Yellow patted her shoulder, suggesting they try to resolve the situation, and Red nodded.
As HunterKiller and Team 4 of SpaceStro Seoul Branch prepared for their confrontation:
“The message I received is different. Luche, did you know?”
“No, I had no idea.”
They whispered to each other so Team Guerrilla wouldn’t hear. They didn’t know how to prepare for a new opponent. While they had numerous strategies for various scenarios, the sudden change left them flustered.
“Should we start the confrontation?”
“Yes. We need to confirm details later.”
Kluger decided to proceed with the confrontation after discussing with Luche.
“Our strategy will be the same as when facing HunterKiller. Maintain positions and move appropriately based on the unfolding situations.”
Before starting, they closed their mouths and nodded in agreement with Luche’s instructions.
“Why do we always lose to HunterKiller? Let’s see how incompetent they really are!”
Indigo’s provocation made everyone tense. Though faces weren’t visible through the helmets, it felt that way.
“Calm down, everyone.”
While it was crucial not to raise their voices, he spoke softly to calm his teammates. He felt their gaze through the helmet’s communication system. He understood their feelings, but getting too heated could ruin the confrontation.
He had encountered Team Guerrilla twice before—at a restaurant and during a party.
In the restaurant, he managed to subdue them due to the situation. At the party, he avoided conflict to minimize damage.
Now, he had no way to accurately assess Team Guerrilla’s strength. He knew their composition and strategies from data, and he knew they lost repeatedly to Team 4.
However, Seira, the captain of Team 4, was vastly superior in skill compared to him. Given Seira’s leadership, he couldn’t help but think Team Guerrilla might be beatable. Tension was necessary; despite the change in opponents, he needed to maintain the same level of tension as when facing HunterKiller.
His rationality must not falter. He had to approach the confrontation with the best possible strategy.
“What are you waiting for? Afraid?!”
Ignoring Indigo’s dismissive attitude, he ran alongside his teammates.
Team Guerrilla had seven members, and the ones he recognized most were Indigo, Gainesboro, and Khaki. Indigo, in particular, was in the forefront, making him the first opponent he would encounter.
As he charged towards Indigo, the rear guard of Team Guerrilla threw various weapons—daggers, shurikens, axes. They threw everything they had, creating a chaotic pattern.
Though the weapons followed a clear trajectory, their paths were erratic, leaving gaps. Yet, some weapons were still aimed at the advancing front-line members.
There was no need to dodge. Behind him stood the rear guard of his team, ready to intercept any stray projectiles.
Half of the rear guard fired iron balls, which collided with the incoming projectiles mid-air.
The clanging sound echoed as the projectiles lost momentum and fell to the ground. He reached Indigo’s vicinity.
With a fierce glare, Indigo threw a punch at him, but Kluger grabbed his arm and twisted it backward, stopping the attack. Simultaneously, his kick landed on Indigo’s side.
As Indigo struggled up, Jack tackled him from behind, causing him to curse.
“Damn it!”
Indigo spun around to attack Jack, but another teammate threw Khaki towards Indigo, causing them to collide.
‘Is this working?’
He had always relied on support from the rear guard when attacking HunterKiller members in the front line. They dodged all the attacks from the rear guard and sent him flying.
Even Kluger was surprised by the unexpected outcome, watching Indigo and Khaki fall.
Teammates had reached the rear guard of Team Guerrilla, subduing them. The tide of battle quickly shifted in their favor, and he felt uneasy about the smoothness of the situation.
“Fing bastards!”
Indigo, who had gotten up, threw a brick.
As he ducked to catch the brick, Kluger signaled him. Knowing Kluger’s intentions, he decided to let him handle it.
Kluger jumped and caught a brick, throwing it at another one in mid-air. The broken brick turned to dust, and he neutralized Indigo’s subsequent attacks.
A brick flew towards him, and he countered with a spinning kick, sending a signal to Kluger in mid-air.
Understanding the next strategy from the signal, Kluger landed on him and then kicked Indigo, who had been throwing bricks.
“Useless bastards! Stop messing around!”
Indigo, noticing Kluger’s late arrival, tried to counterattack but was kicked in the chest.
“Gah!”
Indigo rolled meters away, and the rest of Team Guerrilla, unable to resist, were thrown together.
‘Why are we winning?’
It had been ten years since they had such an easy win. However, Luche, who usually gave orders, was even more surprised.
In battles against HunterKiller, unexpected situations often arose, and Luche had to constantly give orders.
But now, after giving a single order, Luche watched the battle unfold without needing further intervention.
“Well done, everyone. This is how it should be.”
All soldiers of Team 3 turned to look at Luche. Under their helmets, they wore expressions of frustration. No need to check; they all felt the same.
“You dirty bastards!”
Turning back, they heard Indigo’s voice and prepared for an attack, gathering in one spot.
Emerging from the dust, Indigo wiped his dirty face and glared at them.
“How dare you attack us as a group?!”
“…What is he saying?”
Everyone was confused until Kluger spoke. He agreed with Kluger’s sentiment.
Their confrontation was somewhat rule-based, not a fair sports competition.
Though Indigo’s demand for a fair fight seemed absurd, this was not the main reason for their confusion.
First, they were surprised because Indigo called them cowardly.
Despite being part of SpaceStro, they had met Team Guerrilla during a party, and the team didn’t know their true identities. Therefore, they had attacked civilians unilaterally, causing property damage.
It was hard to understand why Team Guerrilla called them incompetent. Honestly, dealing with seven members of Team Guerrilla was easier than one member of Team HunterKiller.
He didn’t consider himself extraordinary. His combat skills were average, and so were other aspects of his life. Thus, he didn’t look down on others, but he could confidently say this to Team Guerrilla.
‘They’re so incompetent in coordination and individual skills. Who do they think they are calling us incompetent?’
Suddenly, he gritted his teeth. These weaklings relied solely on their powers, controlled the media, and caused incidents across regions, undermining the efforts of Team HunterKiller to improve the image of hyper-humans.
Because of them, his loved ones’ hard work went unnoticed and was dismissed, making their struggles harder.
“Fight fairly, one-on-one! Or are you scared of a one-on-one? You fing bastards!”
Seeing him shouting confidently despite being heavily battered earlier, his arrogance was even more unbearable.
“Luche, what should we do?”
“Try it. If it doesn’t work, I’ll step in.”
Kluger asked Luche about continuing the confrontation, and Luche, assessing the situation, allowed a one-on-one match. Now, they just needed to decide who would participate.
All teammates eagerly stepped forward, eager to crush Indigo.
Quietly, he approached Kluger and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Collect data.”
“Huh?”
Leaving only those words, he parted the gathered teammates and walked toward Indigo.
Today, they received new equipment and accessed new functions.
They needed to test the new features, and right in front of them was a perfect test subject.
‘Go ahead and attack. F*er.’
Excited to experiment with new features using Indigo, he felt a surge of adrenaline.
And a bit annoyed.
