Chapter 1 Departure of a Hero

• It was early morning. The sunlight of the dawn shone into the room, brightening up the originally dark space.
• A window of four inches, walls and a door made of steel plates, a bed shaped out of concrete, and surveillance cameras that covered every area…
• This was a special room. More accurately, it was a cell in a certain army prison in Yoscon.
• In the cell, Isaac Price was on the floor. He had one hand behind his back and another pushing against the floor, doing one-hand pushups at incredible speed.
• In the morning light, one could clearly see his standard square face. He had proper features with well-defined lines, and his expression was resolute.
• He had a strong physique like a small calf and his muscles contained explosive power as they threatened to burst out of his black training vest.
• At that moment, both the black vest on his torso and the camouflage pants on his legs were drenched in sweat. Only the special operations uniform on the concrete bed was dry.
• The uniform was folded neatly, but there were splatters of blood on various spots. The blood had dried out a long time ago, but it still looked jarring in the morning light.
• Those were the blood of his enemies, and also the memories of his battles!
• Two weeks ago, Isaac was chosen to join the peacekeeping force, and he came to Yoscon of the Adia continent to carry out a peacekeeping mission.
• Five days ago, he joined a battle.
• In that battle, with his powerful capabilities as an individual soldier and also his ability to adapt, he killed several terrorists and succeeded in rescuing all 231 hostages. He should be crowned as a hero, but now he was imprisoned in the military base of Yoscon!
• Suddenly, Isaac stopped what he was doing.
• He heard footsteps getting nearer to him, and someone was walking toward the prison cell.
• Beep…
• Soon, the heavy steel door swung open on its own before it was accompanied by a light sound. A middle-aged man then appeared in front of Isaac.
• He donned an army uniform, and a golden star was sewn on his armband, signifying his position and status!
• "Good morning, Chief!"
• Seeing the middle-aged man, Isaac was stunned at first, then he immediately stood with his feet together. He raised his head and straightened his back, then saluted the middle-aged man while greeting him.
• The middle-aged man's name was Joseph Dixon, and he was the leader of the troop Isaac belonged to.
• "I want to talk to my soldier. Please turn off the CCTV, thanks."
• Joseph didn't respond to Isaac. Instead, he turned around and spoke to a local soldier behind him.
• "Understood, sir."
• The soldier nodded, then immediately contacted over the radio the personnel in charge of the CCTV, asking them to turn off the surveillance cameras of this prison cell.
• "You've been through a lot."
• When the local soldier left, Joseph walked into the cell and looked at Isaac apologetically.
• "Sir, certainly all this is nothing to a proper soldier. However, I'm faced with a terrible injustice!" Isaac lowered his arm and replied in a low voice.
• "What exactly is going on?"
• Joseph asked, frowning. According to what he knew, in that battle five days ago, Isaac didn't follow orders as strictly as he should, causing an Aspoalian member of the peacekeeping force to be sacrificed in the operation.
• "That day, the peacekeeping force carried out the mission to rescue the hostages. Due to an error on the commander's end, after the troop entered the town, it was ambushed by the terrorists. It was an urgent situation. Among them, the Aspoalian member who served as an assaulter was trapped in a wooden hut."
• Isaac recalled the scene that day, saying word by word, "Back then, the commander of the troop, Hansen from the Aspoalian Delta Force, ordered me to stand in as an emergency assaulter to rescue his comrade. I observed the current situation and did not carry out the order. I wasn't afraid of death, but I felt that his order was the wrong one."
• "What did you do, then?" Joseph continued asking.
• "I left the troop immediately, circled to the back of the town and sneaked into the hostage camp. I shot and killed eight terrorists and successfully rescued 231 hostages. Then, I stole a tank belonging to the terrorists and launched a surprise attack on them from behind. I helped my comrades wipe out all the terrorists!"
• Isaac said convincingly, "Chief, I dare not claim that I was the key to that operation's victory, but I can be sure that if I didn't make it to the hostage camp in time, even if we kill all the terrorists, some hostages might die! That's because when I arrived at the hostage camp, the terrorists were already preparing to kill the hostages. They placed timed bombs in the hostage camp and were trying to bomb the entire camp straight away! However, that b*stard named Hansen claimed that I caused the death of his comrade, so he locked me up in here. He even wanted to sue me in military court! F*ck! Is the life of an Aspoalian special forces member more valuable than those of the hostages? There were 231 hostages there, and 128 of them were our countrymen!"
• Near the end of his appeal, Isaac was so mad that he was trembling, and he feared what would happen if things turned out another way!
• He couldn't imagine what he would feel if he caused the hostages to be killed by the terrorists simply because of his inability.
• Yet, he could be sure that it would become the worst nightmare of his life as a soldier, and also his life in general!
• "I see. Let's leave this place first."
• Joseph nodded. He believed in his men and trusted that as the ace of the special forces, Isaac would never lie about such things.
• "Yes, Chief!"
• Isaac responded loudly, then turned around and walked up to the concrete bed. He grabbed his jacket, then followed Joseph out of the prison cell that had contained him for five days.
• After that, a local soldier led Isaac and Joseph through the corridors of the prison and past two checkpoints. Then, they took an elevator that required fingerprint verification and finally arrived at level ground.
• The prison was underground, topped by one of Yoscon's military bases on the surface. Now, it was the command center of the peacekeeping forces.
• In the command center, with Hansen from the Aspoalian Delta Force at the lead, the other members of the peacekeeping forces were present as well. They seemed to be waiting for Isaac.
• "Damned b*stard, soldiers are supposed to follow orders if that's the only thing they're good at. You don't deserve to be a soldier, much less a member of the special forces!"
• When Isaac and Joseph made their appearance, Hansen of the Aspoalian Delta Force insulted him with a grave expression.
• "You foolish Aspoalian. Our mission is to rescue the hostages. If the hostages died, no matter how many terrorists we kill, we would still have failed the mission."
• Isaac glared coldly at Hansen and said, word by word, "To cover up for your mistakes in giving orders, you pushed all the blame on me. That's sick!"
• "Nonsense. If you carried out my orders, we could've rescued the hostages without sacrificing my comrade. If possible, I want to severely punish a greenhorn like you at the Global Special Forces Competition!"
• Isaac's words had hit a critical point, so Hansen's reply was furious. Then, Hansen seemed to have thought of something as he sneered and said, "Of course, you'll never have this chance again!"
• Whip!
• Stunned by Hansen's words, Joseph shifted his expression ever so slightly. Then, he took the initiative to stop Isaac from further argument. "Isaac, let's go."
• Hearing Joseph's words, Isaac could only swallow the words he was about to say, then follow Joseph out of the command center. He got into a specialized vehicle and left the military base.
• As for the other members of the peacekeeping force, they all glared at Hansen in dissatisfaction.
• For one, to cover up his mistake, Hansen abused his power and caused the loss of a powerful comrade. The members all admired Isaac's proficiency in medicine and amazing power as an individual soldier.
• Secondly, they would still have to follow orders given by Hansen. They were not happy about it at all!
• …
• One day later, Isaac and Joseph had just flown into Kingsburg International Airport, and they walked out of the airport along with some tourists.
• "Right, Chief, which organization did the terrorists who held the hostages this time come from?"
• As they walked, Isaac suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but ask.
• "Abaddon."
• Joseph slowly pronounced the three syllables, his expression extremely grave.
• Abaddon was a strong and fearsome organization, and it was a pain in the neck for all militaries worldwide.
• More importantly, Abaddon had once engaged in a battle with Dragon Special Forces before, which caused the death of the team's previous leader!
• "F*ck, Abaddon again! Someday, I'll destroy this evil organization with my own hands and avenge my teacher!"
• After hearing Joseph's words, Isaac went red in the eyes as he clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth. There was a cold, murderous intent emanating from his entire being.
• This was because the previous leader of the Dragon Special Forces was his teacher!
• Hearing Isaac's words and feeling Isaac's fury, hatred, and murderous intent, Joseph stopped walking and hesitated a little before saying, "Isaac, there's some bad news I didn't get to tell you."
• "What is it?"
• "The higher-ups held a meeting and have decided to discharge you from Dragon Special Forces…"
• Joseph's expression was bitter. Isaac was the ace of Dragon Special Forces. If possible, he wouldn't want Isaac to leave the troop at all.
• "W-What?!"
• Isaac immediately froze on the spot.
• "Because you didn't strictly follow your troop leader's orders during the operation, Hansen sued you in military court. We did everything we could, and in the end, we secured your freedom, but you have to leave the troop…"
• Joseph spoke in a low voice. He knew how much injustice and how cruel this decision was to Isaac!
• "Chief, I've sworn to my master's daughter and also my brothers that I would lead my brothers in destroying Abaddon and getting revenge for my teacher. And now, you're telling me that I've been fired from the troop?!"
• Just as expected, Isaac looked like a cat that had its tail stepped on as he raged, "Even though I didn't carry out that fool's orders, the things I did prevented the mission from turning into a failure. Instead, I rescued the hostages in time—"
• "Isaac, I believe everything you say, and I can understand how you feel. However, please also trust that we've done everything we could. For this very matter, the chief even went to the headquarters to appeal! In other words, if the chief hadn't protected you with everything he could, you would be locked in a prison outside the borders."
• Joseph sighed once again and said, "No matter what, that guy called Hansen was the highest commander in that operation, and it was true that you didn't carry out his orders."
• "Hah… No wonder that fool Hansen said that I no longer have a chance to participate in the Global Special Forces Competition."
• Isaac clenched his fists and smiled self-deprecatingly. There was a desolate quality in his smile, but anger occupied most of it.
• This time, Joseph fell silent. Just as he had said, he could understand how Isaac felt right now.
• "Chief, thank you all for everything you've done for me, and thank you for taking care of me all these years."
• A few seconds later, Isaac relaxed his fists and bowed toward Joseph in gratitude.
• "I'm sorry, Isaac. We did our best…"
• Isaac let out a deep sigh.
• "I know. You have the big picture to look at. I don't blame you guys." He nodded slightly.
• "Isaac, even though you're sued in military court, you still rescued the hostages, 128 of them being our countrymen. You are the hero of the troop, and also the hero of our nation, Cheilia."
• "Chief, from the day I became a member of the special forces, I never once thought of being a hero, and I never pursued that glory. I just want to do everything in my power to protect my home and country and to do it without regrets. Goodbye, Chief!"
• As soon as he finished speaking, Isaac saluted Joseph, then turned around and strode away.
• "I-Isaac, aren't you going to bid your comrades in the troop farewell?" Joseph shouted at Isaac.
• "The brothers of the Dragon only have one way to say goodbye—when death gets in the way!"
• Isaac didn't even turn around as he spoke, and he disappeared into the crowd.
• Hearing that, Joseph felt a chill run down his spine. Then, he stayed where he was for a solid few minutes before leaving.
• Buzz…
• Meanwhile, Isaac had just left the airport hall when the phone in his pocket vibrated. He lifted it to see that it was an incoming call from his comrade, David Martin. He hesitated for a bit, then answered the call in the end.
• "Isaac, you've arrived in Kingsburg, haven't you?"
• Once the call connected, David asked right away in an urgent tone.
• "I just left the airport," Isaac said truthfully.
• "Isaac, I heard everything about your situation. I'm so f*cking mad! Don't worry, I'll take some days off and go home to see my grandpa. I'll ask him to put you back in the troop!"
• David spoke with indignance. His grandfather was a prominent figure in the military, and he had quite a remarkable reputation in the field.
• "Dude, the higher-ups have their reasons. I'm glad you feel for me, but you shouldn't trouble your grandpa," replied Isaac. Even though he wanted to stay in the troop, he knew that even if David went to his grandfather, this ideal couldn't be achieved.
• After all, this wasn't an internal matter. Other countries were involved in this, so the effects were too prominent.
• If not, he believed that the higher-ups wouldn't have made this decision!
• "Isaac, I'll be honest with you. I also have no way to guarantee that my grandpa would stand up for you."
• Hearing that, David let out a sigh. Then, he changed the subject and said, "However, if you can do one thing, I guarantee you that my grandpa will stand up for you, and you'll get to stay in the troop!"
• "What?"
• "Get my older sister to fall for you, become my brother-in-law, and also the son-in-law of the Martin Family!" David said hastily.
• "Nonsense!"
• Isaac smiled bitterly.
• David's sister was the young mistress of the Martin Family, and she was considered the Belle of Kingsburg.
• It wasn't David's first time encouraging Isaac to pursue his sister. However, Isaac always treated it as a joke, so he didn't expect David to bring it up this time.
• "Isaac, I'm serious. Don't you know that my grandpa pampers my sister the most? If you become my brother-in-law—" David continued his attempt to convince Isaac.
• "Dude, don't forget that I have a fiancée."
• Isaac interrupted David's words. At the same time, a girl's face appeared in his mind.
• The girl had an exquisite face and huge dark eyes that glittered. She wore a traditional outfit paired with black leather shoes and wore her hair in a cute ponytail. She looked like an angel who walked out of a painting.
• Isaac and the girl first knew about the engagement that day.
• He kissed her on the very same day, but it was a forced one.