Asura God of War: Awakening of the Ghost

CHAPTER 9: Operation Target

A long static sound was heard before Saphira replied with a broken tone. "General... your sector is locked down. Someone activated a military-grade signal jammer. They aren't on a routine patrol, General. They are surrounding you!"

"Where is the signal jammer located?" Ares asked calmly, without the slightest panic in his tone.

"On the roof of the hospital across the street," Saphira reported. "They are using thermal body scanners. They already know your exact position inside the apartment."

Ares turned off his radar. The Architect Organization had made their move. Whether Silas leaked the address, or they managed to track the EMP wave Ares released this afternoon. What was clear, the troops out there had come to kill him. Let them try, he thought cynically.

Clara suddenly woke up and sat hugging her blanket because the room temperature had suddenly dropped cold. "Ares? You're not asleep yet?" she asked softly with a hoarse voice.

Clara had absolutely no idea that at this moment, an elite assassin team was preparing to raid their apartment.

"The wind from outside... is very strong," Ares answered with his usual slow tone to maintain his disguise.

Ares secretly focused his energy into his leg muscles. His legs could already be fully used to fight. However, he could not show his true abilities blatantly in front of Clara, or the woman would become a bigger military hunting target. He had to eliminate these intruders in the dark and make it look like a fatal accident.

Ares immediately grabbed a wet cloth and wiped the remaining fingerprints off his laptop keyboard. He then backed his wheelchair into the dark hallway hiding the study from the living room, looking for the perfect blind spot.

TAP!

The sound of military boots landing softly on the balcony was heard. The landing sound was masked by the heavy rain, but Ares's ears picked it up very clearly. He did not panic; instead, his pulse became even more stable and calm. His hand reached for the sharp broken carbon steel tray from his wheelchair earlier. A makeshift weapon in the hands of the Asura was more than enough.

"Saphira, evacuation route?" Ares called quickly.

"Too late, General. They have blocked all access out of the building," Saphira reported in panic.

Ares stared at the balcony door. He immediately slowed his heart rate and breathing rhythm to the most minimal level—a highest-tier stealth technique belonging to the Shadow Legion. To enemies using thermal vision goggles, Ares's body temperature now blended perfectly with the cold temperature of the room. He would not be detected by any radar.

CLICK.

The balcony window lock was heard being pried open from the outside using a tactical tool. The window handle was pressed down slowly.

Ares pressed his broad back against the dark hallway wall, gripping the sharp broken steel tray in his hand tightly. The window finally opened wide.

Three... two... one...

Ares counted down inwardly. The target had entered his kill zone.

From the corner of his eye, Ares saw Clara walking out of the bedroom with a confused face. At the same time, a flash of a black shadow clad in tactical body armor jumped in through the broken balcony window.

The intruder landed with his assault rifle aimed straight at the dark living room. However, the mercenary's movement stopped abruptly. He froze, his pupils dilating perfectly as he saw Ares already standing tall in front of him. The target thought to be completely paralyzed and helpless was now staring right at him like the grim reaper.

Ares did not waste time. He lunged forward with a deadly speed beyond the limits of normal human comprehension.

The General's right hand shot out like lightning, gripping the soldier's throat, then crushing it in one hard snap. CRACK! The first intruder died instantly even before the tips of his shoes could fully touch the floor. One down, Ares calculated automatically in his mind.

Clara froze in the doorway. Her mouth opened, ready to scream in shock from sheer terror. While supporting the corpse's body with one hand so it wouldn't fall and make a sound, Ares turned his head and looked at his wife. That cold, murderous glare instantly softened into something very gentle.

"Close your eyes, Clara," Ares commanded with a deep, calming tone.

Clara, who somehow instantly trusted her husband's authority, immediately shut her eyes tight. Her scream of terror was stifled in her throat.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Three other intruders followed inside from the balcony simultaneously. Ares instantly moved to the center of the living room like an invisible ghost. In total darkness, he parried the barrel of the second attacker's rifle, broke his arm in one slanted motion, and snatched the combat knife from the man's waist.

In less than five seconds, Ares slit the second attacker's throat and threw his snatched knife straight through the third attacker's chest with absolute precision. The last attacker tried to back away, but Ares was already behind him, snapping his neck mercilessly.

Four elite mercenaries were eliminated without a single gunshot being fired. An incredibly perfect silent operation.

Ares threw the last corpse to the floor without mercy. Suddenly, the micro communication device under the skin of his ear rang loudly.

"General!" Lieutenant Saphira's voice sounded extremely panicked, something that rarely happened. "An unidentified military cruiser just entered the waters of Oakhaven Bay! Their combat lights are flashing red. They didn't come to capture you, General. They are ordered to level this entire district with artillery!"

Ares stepped close to the window, staring through the heavy rain and night fog. The silhouette of a giant warship was clearly visible in the harbor. The muzzle of its main cannon slowly rotated, aiming straight at this old apartment building. Ares's tactical brain immediately measured the firing distance, bullet trajectory, and blast radius of the artillery.

"The annihilation command code 0-0-Alpha was just broadcasted from your coordinates!" Saphira continued with heavy breathing.

Ares instantly realized one thing. That deadly signal did not come from his secret laptop. The signal came from his own bloodstream. When he was in a coma at the military hospital back then, Grandpa Silas had apparently implanted a biometric tracking chip inside his body. The moment Ares stood back up and his blood circulation ran normally, the chip activated automatically and called in an annihilation airstrike.

Silas, you bastard. A very cunning calculation, Ares cursed inwardly, his jaw clenching.

RINGGG!

The landline phone on the table rang loudly again. Ares stepped calmly and immediately picked up the receiver. There was no human voice on the other end, but an automated voice recording from Silas Valerius.

"This operation is not to kill you, General..." Silas's recorded voice said, sounding incredibly cold and full of cunning. "But to eliminate the only person who forced you to survive all this time. Goodbye, Clara."

BEEP. The phone was unilaterally disconnected.

The condition of the apartment suddenly became dead silent. However, in the midst of that terrifying silence, the God of War's sharp hearing caught a foreign sound that was very familiar to his military ears.

Beep... beep... beep...