Clark grew up in Vatican City, a relatively small city when compared to other big cities in Sparta.
Due to the introduction of implants, children from the age of 10 hardly have any physical friends. After he received his implant at the age of 10, he was exposed to the amazement of the outside world virtually.
His childhood friends became more distant, as curiosity overwhelmed all of them. They spent less and less time together, instead, they spent almost all their time on the internet or learning new knowledge through their implants.
He made virtual friends online, but never really got close to them as they didn’t meet physically.
His situation was slightly worse than that of his friends, as both his parents were soldiers. They hardly stayed at home, as they were always deployed to various places for missions and other assignments by the government.
Due to this, his parents also became a little distant from him as he spent more time on his implant, while they spent more time on their deployments.
They refused to hire a nanny nor maidservant in the house, as they always reasoned that humans were untrustworthy.
So, they opted for the safer but more costly option of installing an A. I in the house. The artificial intelligence was in control when his parents were out, as it prepared his food, prepared his water for bathing, and provided services for all his other necessities.
He quickly learned more about soldiers, the military, and most especially high-grade soldiers through his implant. He was fascinated and attracted to the feeling of being a soldier, which led to his decision to be a soldier which his parents happily supported.
After knowing his passion, his parents saved the money for his military cadet training when he was still 12 years old. They saved for the best they could afford as they aimed for the best cadet training institution in southern Sparta.
His parents didn’t know the name and location of the institution as the military regarded it as confidential information. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the best, so they settled for the second-best military cadet training base.
His parents were by no means high-grade soldiers, but they served in the military for years thereby accumulating some wealth.
In the street he lived, Elegant street, his parents were one of the richest. They had their own house, a 3-bedroom apartment.
At this age which seemed more like people were under military rule, the government was the owner of most apartments. Personally having a 3-bedroom apartment was already a great achievement.
He never visited any of his relatives nor was he visited by any of them. They were in a very fast-paced and technologically developed economy, so he mostly had an impression of his relatives from the internet.
Sparta republic is divided into 4 regions, the northern region, the southern region, the eastern region, and the western region, or you can refer to them as protectorates.
Vatican City is only a middle-sized city in the southern region of Sparta. The northern region is the capital region of Sparta, where most resources are concentrated and where most high-grade soldiers aspire to be.
The president of Sparta is also the commander in chief of the whole armed forces of Sparta, Commander Maiker Lionel. He is a high-grade soldier who already had his 5th breakthrough, placing him at the peak of individual strength in the whole Spartan military.
Clark’s parents worked for the southern military, the Vatican division. His parents died when he was still 14 years old. He didn’t get to see their dead bodies, as the military reported that they were burned to death by the Moca republic soldiers.
Since then, he vowed to work hard as a cadet, graduate, and kill any Mocan soldier he faced as revenge for his parent’s death.
The military provided compensation money to him as he was their next of kin. The A.I his parents bought controls all finances after their death, as it paid for his enrollment into the institution selected by them the next year after their death.
So, it began, training, training, and training again, as he was pushed together with the other new cadets to break their limits by their cadet training instructors.
After finding Leo on his first day, they quickly became friends as they flowed together. Unlike him, Leo’s parents died when he was at the tender age of 5. His parents were not rich, so he became homeless when his house rent became due.
When he celebrated his 14th birthday, the government scouts went to his community in search of prospective soldiers. He was selected, as he passed all their tests and became a prospective candidate for a breakthrough.
If observed critically, he was slightly too muscular for someone his age after years of living in the streets. Unlike his friend, he fought his way into this institution which was something Clark always respected him for.
Clark sat with 4 other cadets in a military jeep, as the jeep brought them near civilized areas where they came down from the jeep.
The 4 cadets separated, following directions from their wristwatches as they went their different ways, going to their designated Persian Tigers base.
[Thank you for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it.]
Clark quickly arrived in the nearest town, as he inquired about the name of where he was. He found out that this was a town close to Bahamas city.Bahamas city is a highly developed city in the southern region of Araga, more developed than Vatican City. After asking for directions, he discovered that Bahamas city was not where the wristwatch’s direction pointed to. He asked for where the watch was pointing to led and discovered that it was a nearby small town, which deals mainly in agriculture. In this era, it was hard to see communities that rely on agriculture as their main source of income, as all focus was on technology.Despite this, agriculture is still an indispensable part of humanity that provides food for humans. Unless a technological gadget is made that can enable humans to forfeit food, agricultu
Whoosh!! The wind howled fiercely as Clark ran to meet the policeman head-on. The policeman waved his baton, trying to strike him but, in his eyes, this guy was just too slow.“Sorry bro,” he thought, as he quickly dodged the blow. He expertly retrieved the baton from his opponent’s hand, while conveniently knocking him out with a slap to his neck. He turned to continue forward but was surprised again as 3 policemen were already coming from his front, while 2 others approached behind him. He immediately knew that this was a well-trained police unit, their strategy, planning, and movements were top notch.He observed his surroundings, while rapidly making calculations inwardly. His initial plan was to try his best to give the police a hard time catching him, but he was ready to be detained by them.Due to his outstanding but control
Clark woke up to see himself in a room with very dim light. The dim light, paired with the silent atmosphere painted the room to look like the interrogation dungeons used in fictional movies.After waking up, he was very self-conscious, he remembered everything that happened before he was knocked out. He inwardly heaved a huge sigh of relief, as this meant that he was not drugged.He calmly glanced around, trying to see his surroundings more clearly. Suddenly, the dim light brightened as the door to the room opened. He squinted his eyes, as he frowned while trying to adapt to the change in light intensity. The man who knocked him out came in, he recognized him mainly because of the vibe he exuded.This was the first time he saw this guy's face under bright light. He was in a very dangerous situation, as he was already deep behind enemy lines. He felt nervous but tried his best to still act like a regular criminal.&
Recruits like Clark were many in this Persian tiger’s base as they all trained with vigor. He played along, as they taught them basic marksmanship and fighting techniques.He later figured out that the terrorist group stopped in this base to train the recruits. He sighed, as he watched the recruits train in high spirits, trying to outdo each other in results.After hours of training, he finally brought his training results up a bit, as he directly matched this base’s top recruits in results, drawing gasps from others as he only started training for a single day.After the day’s training, he quietly entered his assigned room, together with 4 other recruits. He didn’t try anything funny, as he knew that he was probably still being watched and monitored, to further confirm if he was a real stray criminal. So, a new routine started for him, as he trained daily with the recruits. It was a f
For the rest of the day, training continued as usual, as he continued besting the other recruits in marksmanship, close combat fighting, and other areas that the organization focused on in their training. ... The next day during training, the commander of the base came to visit them for the first time. Clark was probably the only recruit, who already met him before now. All the recruits greeted, as the commander addressed them.His burly and muscular figure was enhanced further when he faced the recruits from an elevated platform. After a week of indoctrination and training, there were already some fanatics in their midst, as they shook with excitement, knowing that this was the overall leader of their base. The commander first announced to them that they will all graduate today, which clearly showed the difference between standard mil
The terrorist group traveled deep into the nearby forest, to ensure they were not followed before they stopped for a death count.They suffered a huge loss from this battle, as they lost 60 recruits from the original 115 recruits, and also lost 20 old soldiers. The loss was huge, but it was within their tolerance range. After the death count, the commander finally came out to meet the soldiers. "There have been new unexpected changes,” he announced.“The old soldiers are already familiar with this, so my advice is for the recruits. There is a high chance that the police force of all nearby towns is already being deployed to intercept us, that is why we didn’t clash aggressively with the first police force”.“We could have killed them completely, but in return, we would have been surrounded from all sides without an escape route. We would have won the battle, but lost the war”.
Rustle!! Rustle!! The forest leaves swayed gently to the rhythm of the wind, as activities began in the temporary terrorist camp.Clark joined the other soldiers, as they checked their weapons, before proceeding to load their resources for the inevitable battle. After taking the armor yesterday, he went to the other armory where normal weapons are stored.In there, he dropped his old gun, exchanging it for a better machine gun and a sword made from reinforced steel. Almost all the other newly graduated terrorist soldiers made the same decision.He was assigned to be in a vehicle, at the forefront of the formation of vehicles. The 2 high-grade soldiers who fought yesterday, to ensure their escape, were in the same car with him. The engines of the vehicles roared to life, as they started moving forward orderly.Vroom!! Vroom!! The vehicles moved with such momentum like they were going
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! 3 other shots were released in quick succession, leading to the death of three other leading officers as the police offensive quickly faltered.Clark was finally able to pinpoint the shooter this time. He was standing in a car, in the middle of the retreating terrorist's vehicles. Executioner Dave, Clark recognized him immediately. Everything seemed to pause in time, to better decorate this moment. The executioner's long hair waved with the wind, as he watched keenly with his hawk-like eyes.Most of the new soldiers’ eyes sparkled in admiration, as the Executioner's face suddenly seemed to be covered in a unique heavenly glow.Clark was sure that most of the female terrorist soldiers were probably already screeching inwardly with excitement, right now.“To the forest,” Executioner Dave repeated the order, as the soldiers quickly took advantage of this chance to fo
6 months ago, the sky turned red which according to world leaders signified the start of the war that would decide the fate of humanity.2 months prior, the news was finally publicized, spreading worldwide panic but with all the most powerful world leaders working together, the panic was easily curbed and order was restored.According to the government, humanity was not hopeless, they had heroes in the form of their soldiers and elite soldiers.Not only that, humanity had a superhero, the great Elite Commander Clark Pendragon. After the special training started, a fuse seemed to have been switched on as the Spartan soldier experienced a period of rapid growth.With veteran Elite Commanders around to guide him and with every resource he needed available, he encountered no bottlenecks, he improved at a superhuman speed never recorded since the human race was born.In just 4 months, he broke through 2 times, going all the way to the Elite-grade rank.
A month later, in the Gen. Clark Pendragon Mansion.At the big balcony attached to the mansion, Clark stood, looking out into the distance as a lot of things went through his mind. The past one month has been the best in his life, and he was grateful for it.Despite it being the best in his life, as a 4th rank high-grade soldier now, his intuition told him that something was happening.As a high-grade soldier and mercenary, things happened everyday around him but he knew that this was not the normal happenings, his intuition told him that this was far higher than anything that he has encountered before.And after making connections from the recent happenings, from his famous marriage ceremony, to the big 5 jointly broadcasting it, a lot of other things and now the Spartan President personally calling for him, he confirmed his guess.Something big was happening, it was just that no one deemed it right to inform him about it yet. As a man
Vatican City Central Church, General Clark Street. This was the church where the big things were happening for today. Not only people from all over the Spartan republic, even esteemed guests from foreign high-grade countries came to grace this occasion. Today was the day of Vatican City hero’s marriage ceremony. After 22 years as a single, General Clark Pendragon was finally ready to tie the nut with his fiancée. The name of the street where the ceremony was commencing was given and commissioned a few days after Clark became a General. Some of the most esteemed guests attending the marriage ceremony were the legendary President of the Spartan republic, Leonidas, and the armor tycoon, the billionaire Mr. Calibri of the Dakran republic. These 2 people were such powerful and well-known personalities in their own rights that their attendance alone shot the attention being given to the marriage ceremony to the highest point. Not only that,
“Leonidas, you wish to attend?”Hearing that, the Spartan President sighed, exasperated. “If you were not my mentor, I would have probably fired you already. Cough…, sorry for that but I’m really going, what’s the big deal?”“You’re really asking me that right now? Of course, there’s a big deal. Apart from military burials, do you know the last time you have for social gatherings?”“I dunno, probably a decade or 2”.“No…, 4 decades! 4 whole decades! You get that?” The old man emphasized by waving his hands vigorously, showing 4 fingers at the powerful soldier.“Suddenly going to a social event after such a long time staying at home, what do you think will be people’s reaction. They may feel that something is happening, they may even panic”.“And just because he’s a 4th rank high-grade soldier does not change anythin
A day after the reunion with her family, Sonia took permission with her parents before going on the first official date with her boyfriend. It was a date, but they just wanted to spend more time together and close to each other. The few years apart was torment to them, now that they had the opportunity, they wanted to make up for it by all means. At first, staying together left them feeling awkward but they soon got over it and started reliving the feelings of a few years ago. For the destination for their first date, none of them planned for it as they were both individuals who have never interacted with the opposite sex in such fashions before now. As the only daughter of a famous billionaire, other billionaire sons already tried courting her in the past but she simply didn’t find them appealing enough, so she always ignored and avoided them. After just a day of staying with Clark, her brother, and her parents in her childhood home, she now
Among the 3 Pirate Gods in the Sahara, though none of them never publicly claimed the spot as the strongest, the Black Pirate God was the one most recognized by pirates as the strongest. After him was the powerful Red Goddess Pirate, then the Lilac Pirate God. Compared to the first 2, the Lilac Pirate God was on the more glaringly weaker side but he still had the strength to back his title. At this moment, in the Black God Pirate City, a surprising piece of news was being circulated. Pirate Queen Anamel was dead, and Pirate Queen Cobra was secretly a student of the Red Goddess. Not only that, the most shocking piece of news that took the city by storm was that of Pirate Queen Cobra’s intention to leave the Sahara and settle in normal human settlements outside. … “Is this news verified?” A deep voice asked with suppressed anger in an underground room with far better living conditions than most of the others out there in the desert. “Yes
Though they both wanted to just remain in each other’s embrace forever, Clark and Sonia knew that they were still in a pirate city and what it meant. With reluctance, they quickly left the city with Arthur.Even if they tried to cover it up, it was impossible so they didn’t bother. In minutes, the news of Pirate Queen Anamel’s death spread through the pirate city and beyond.For long, Clark has always been worried about his reaction when he finally saw Sonia again but he was surprised when he did. It was like they never separated; it was like they’ve lived through all these years together.15 minutes later, they got sufficiently far away into the desert from the pirate city so they finally had the time to speak things out.Sonia brought out the stolen pistol first, which Clark handed over to Arthur. After this, she finally started detailing her encounters after Clark asked.According to her, after the fierce battle on her fa
While Arthur asked the pirate, Clark already went to work as he closed his eyes to focus. As experienced soldiers, they already put a lot of contingencies in place during their tour around the pirate city.Even if they wanted to catch some fun, it was too unrealistic for them to just keep touring without setting anything in place.With his implant, Clark immediately accessed the hidden cameras that they placed around the city, most especially this bar. It didn’t take him long; he saw a hooded female going out through the bar’s back door.“Found our target”.While muttering to Arthur, Clark already turned to storm out of the bar. Arthur simply knocked the 2 pirates out before storming out also.In seconds, they were out of the bar’s main structure.…A few meters away from the bar, a hooded lady walked through the streets at a leisure pace as she kept a close but alert eye on her surroundings.<
The next day, Clark and Arthur woke up with the intention to remain patient while waiting for their informant to contact them. They didn’t even go into the pirate city, it was too disgusting for them to stay in it. The more Clark felt this way, the more he feared what his girlfriend may have become now. If just a day staying in it could make him this irritated, he just couldn’t imagine what staying here for 4 years could have done. Thinking of this, he felt guilty again. “Why didn’t I come earlier?” Souring his mood with such thoughts, the day moved extremely slowly to him. Perhaps, having noticed his current mood, Arthur didn’t disturb him and opted to go out hunting alone. When he came back, he had a desert antelope with him. Seeing the catch, Clark was left speechless. “Can we finish that?” Arthur wasn’t fazed by his question. “If we can’t finish it today, we’ll just finish it tomorrow or the next. Don’t worry, I have preservation gadgets with me, and besides, your girlfriend