As they approached the location where the arcanist should be, only a few hundred meters away, they noticed no signs of it despite indications that the settlements should be nearby. They even used their scopes to scan the area, but there was nothing. This prompted the five to become vigilant, an ambush could be imminent.

  "Listen up!” Axels got a bad vibe about the situation. He prompted the team through their communication.

  “Everyone, tighten up! Let's suit up one by one. Comet 07(Wong), you're up first. We'll cover you, four points secure. On my mark!"

  The four operatives exchanged glances. Despite their years of service, they had never encountered aliens before, but their instincts screamed that if they didn't get properly suited up in this situation, they could end up on someone's chopping block in no time.

  They took cover on a roofless hut, everyone wore their All Cloak one by one successfully, then they took out some potato sacks that came with other belongings from the villages they passed through, preparing for any emergency identities they might need. After cutting holes in the sacks, they wore them, resembling a group of unfortunate individuals.

  Next, they activated their camouflage feature to give the appearance of wearing pants and altered their facial features to disguise their original looks, fully utilizing the All Cloak's capabilities while ensuring they remained completely covered. Finally, they readied their Bulwark and Winston. The Bulwark, originally shaped like a book, and the Winston in its sword form allowed them to blend in seamlessly, they even added some soil and hay on their gear to make it look rugged.

  "We’re just a few hundred meters from the arcanist settlement. Stay alert. Our gear may be top-of-the-line, but if we get pinned down, we risk both our lives and the mission. Keep your wits about you. The plan is to probe the surroundings, let’s do a box formation, we’ll secure the perimeter then probe where the signal is located, there might be an underground river or a secret tunnel below if we can’t see them clearly.” Axel said, briefing his team about the situation.

  “Roger.” The four replied in unison.

  They tread lightly around the vicinity. An untrained eye would tell that they are just out looking for something to eat on the shrubs or a bunch of hooligans who got drunk but now lost in the woods. However, if you look closely, they survey their surroundings with precision leaving no stone unturned. The five, scouted about two kilometers in radius, have yet to find a soul in the area, they are now certain that these folks are underground. Axel then contacted the Operations Officer for further detail.

  “Mission control, this is Comet 01(Axel), we are currently in reconnaissance on an area designated as C17 on our minimap which is a designated location of a settlement of the arcanist, please advise. Over.”

  “Comet 01(Axel), this is Mission Control, I’ll give you a sitrep, the survivors have arcane magic and can engage hostiles on their own. I’ll patch you to Fairy 001 now for secret codes that will allow them to appear. The location on your minimap is accurate, no threats exist at this time. Over."

  The Operations Officer relayed the information to Fairy 001, afterwards Fairy 001 connected to Axel.

  “Comet 01(Axel), these arcanist are recluse people that will not come out unless you called for them or show them your worth, make sure to call out to them by saying ‘I am the child of the weaver and the weaver calls to me’ while someone make bird sounds, these might sound silly, but this is the Middle Ages after all. Over.”

  “Copy that, we’ll keep in touch if we need further assistance. Comet 01 out.”

  They then proceeded to do what was told to them and do the ritual as if they were lunatics, some carriages even stopped to watched them as they thought it was a performance, this, in turn, made some gold coins which they accepted as they thought of doing the street performance as a cover up. There was even a merchant who took a fancy to their weird antics that wanted to sponsor them to travel as a circus, however they politely declined the merchant.

  The day has turned into night, yet no one has shown up. They set up the spare All Cloak they received from one of their comrades as a tent and kindled a bonfire, not for warmth but as a disguise to blend in with the societal norms of the fifteenth century, since their equipment already kept them warm. They took turns in their sleep with a pair on guard duty. As the moon hung high in the sky, the silence was destroyed by a loud ‘Bang’ that reverberated through the air.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Everyone on your feet, return fire, we got company!” Axel shouted as he took cover on his Bulwark.

  “Brrr… Brrr… Brrr… Ratatatatat…”

  The dark night was illuminated by flying ammunition coming from all directions. A huechromixix race operative fired a probing shot, a specially designed bullet with a needle-like tip intended to penetrate the body without causing a flesh wound, merely creating a slight prick of pain. The bullet struck Luc's side and, instead of producing the expected effect, it bounced off, producing a metallic sound. This unexpected outcome alerted the huechromixix operatives that Luc and his companions were not equipped with gear suitable for this timeline.

  “These guys are smart! They are also moving too fast!” Said Kokoy as he tried to snipe down the huechromixix operative but with extreme difficulty.

  “Fairy 001, this is Comet 01(Axel), we are under heavy fire and surrounded on the coordinates C17 and our Bulwark with the All Cloak can only last us half an hour, we are in urgent need of support right now.”

  “Copy, we’ll be sending sniper support on your way, he’ll be there in three.”

  As time ticked by, heat pervaded the air as the plasma projectiles fired by the huechromixix operatives peppered them, causing even the soil they crouched on to sizzle and melt, turning into magma. The soldiers taking cover behind their Bulwark, eyes scanning the horizon, hearts pounding with trepidation.

  Suddenly, from a nearby vantage point, the unmistakable whir of the gatling gun began to rise, its rotating barrels creating a mechanical symphony of destruction. The gun's cranking mechanism clicked rhythmically, a relentless heartbeat that seemed to pulse with raw energy.

  The opposing operatives couldn’t help but look around, trying to decern where the sound was coming from. However, bullets hit their heads with precision, it was like holy light bathing the land, with just a few seconds, all the firing stopped. Axel and his team stood there, dumbfounded, checked with their scopes and saw hundreds of operatives of these lizardmen, all dead. A communication came through to Axel as it patched through him.

  “This is Sprayer One of twenty-fourth century, I can’t show my face around. Can you please confirm the area is now clear. Over.”

  The five of them checked all the carcasses in a swift manner, they stored all the DNA specimen, racking them about two thousand five hundred pieces of the item.

  “Confirmed. All hostile forces were eliminated. Total enemy casualties, two hundred and seventy-four bodies, the bodies are all colored orange and all huechromixix operatives. Over.”

  “Comet 01(Axel), shield up, this ain’t done yet!” Sprayer One shouted through the comms.

  The five men, put their shields up right away, not leaving it up to faith. Suddenly, a loud 'Bang' echoed, a bullet passed between five of their shields accurately which only had a gap of a few centimeters, it even whizzed through Kokoy’s ear, then purple blood splattered all around them.

  A red lizard, roughly five meters long, emerged behind them, headless and cut in half. Its severed body twitched as it tried to flee, but it quickly stumbled and fell. Unaware of the imminent danger, the five soldiers broke out in a cold sweat. However, they couldn’t help but marvel about how clean the kill was, as soldiers they’d always admire those who can shoot well.

  “Sir, you don’t need to be surprised, I finished over a thousand missions and four campaigns. My record isn’t the best but it’s something. I hope we’ll fight side by side someday. I’ll take five of the specimens of that red one by the way.” Sprayer One said, waking them up from their admiring gazes.

  “Look, I know we’d all be buried out there if it weren’t for you. So, take whatever you need. I’ll even offer you the rest of the two thousand five hundred specimens. Just make sure you put them to good use.” Axel said, trying to repay the man’s kindness.

  “I don’t need those, I ain’t round here to collect tax so no need for formalities. You’ll still get five of these red ones, I’ll be on my way now. Godspeed team Comet. Out.” He said with a chuckle, as he rode the wind.

  They only saw a red trail, half of the lizard vanished leaving the other half for them. The five of them exchanged glances, and for a moment, they sensed respect in the voice, though they could also hear a deep melancholy beneath it.

  “Uhm… well, I guess the legendary cowboy of the Wild West really did exist.” Said Wong, who thrived on maintaining a cheerful atmosphere.

  “Son of a gun, he’s literally the son of the gun!” Axel added, awestruck.

  He felt that taking down seven moving operatives from the opposition was impressive, but he never knew that it was possible to take down more than two hundred hostile forces that fast, more determined to get stronger, he planned to train harder once this mission ends.

  After a while, the team composed themselves and gave all the specimens to Axel, since he was the designated leader, and they could divide it any time of the day once the mission was over. They then checked the gear through the system, still having about fifty-five percent on the Bulwark, sixty percent on their All Cloak and about two hundred rounds of ammunition for the Winston while the Pision, still good as new at seven rounds.

  Axel, being a vigilant man he was, noticed a pair of blue eyes from a young woman that is looking at them with curiosity and without any trace of malice, she seemed to peep through the reality itself near a rock that you can sit on. His eyes met hers, their eyes locked for a second, then the eyes of the woman shook, afterwards, it disappeared.

  He tried to pounce on the rock then he stumbled on a cave with a lot of voodoo dolls hanging around, it was also decorated with animal skulls, you can recognize it as an evil witch lair in one of those children’s stories.

  “Where am I now?” Axel was dumbfounded at the sight.

  ‘So, witches and arcanist are the same?’ He could help mutter the question in his mind.