Clark took public transport back to Vatican City. Since his parents’ death years ago, this was his first time entering a train.
Because of a lot of coincidences that were induced by his special identity as a soldier, he hardly stays in the country. For the few times when he stayed, he always had other better modes of transportation.
Casually activating his camouflage device before entering the train, he was able to make himself look like a gangster teenager, making the other passengers feel repulsed at his presence.
In recent years, he hardly noticed it but he was now a celebrity. In Vatican City, he was practically the hero of every citizen. They looked up to him as a leader and as the one to give them comfort.
He didn’t hate being treated and looked at like that, but experiencing repulse from people now became a new special experience to him. He basked in this feeling.
By the time the train got filled with passengers and started moving, it w
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As Clark walked in the direction of the huge gate, he deactivated his camouflage device, bringing out his original look. He felt that it was strange how the road safety officials believed his identity so easily after seeing his badge. Heck! He was looking like a teenager then! It seemed that the Vatican citizens really held him with high esteem now, the road officials were so sure that no one had the guts to impersonate him. He only hoped that something like this would not be used to plan a scheme against the city in the future, it would be awful. Putting that aside, he looked on at the wide territory before him and the giant gate that announced the majesty of the military division. Standing proudly at the center of the huge gate was a giant emblem of the Dragon military division. It was of a red dragon soaring through the sky with red fire revolving between its extremely long and sharp spear-like teeth. Ironically, this was Clark’s fi
“Arrange the tie to be a little tighter and to the right”. “Yes, ma”. The female fashion designer gave her apprentice instructions as they worked on Clark under Rose’s supervision. Though this was not her profession, as a trained assistant she knew a little about everything. The Spartan army did not spend so many years training her to be the assistant of a bigshot just to have skills that could be described as just so-so, she was the real deal. Clark who was under the expert hands of the 2 female designers was currently dressed in a black custom-made suit. After seeing him get custom-made weapons, Rose suggested that he start wearing custom-made clothes too to match his status as the sovereign of a city in the republic. In such a setting with a useful argument supporting her, Clark knew that he could not win any verbal argument so he just kept quiet and accepted. It may seem like Rose was imposing rules on him, but no. If they
Despite arriving at the Spartan army headquarters by over thirty minutes early, Clark and his clique were not the first to arrive. Hundreds of others already came before them. Clark was not too surprised by this though; he would have been even more surprised if he did not meet such a scenario. When he said honoring the dead was something that the Spartan republic placed great priority on, he was not lying. It was one of the most solemn creeds of the republic that had never been taken lightly. President Leonidas once said just after his coronation as President of the republic years ago that, a good leader is known by how much he protects his subordinates, but a great leader is known by that and also by how much respect he gives to his fallen subordinates. If they had the choice, no soldier wanted to die. That courage alone to remain fighting on despite the real chance of death was commendable, that’s why they must be honored after their death.
“Yes, it’s me guys”. Though it was not a question that they asked, Clark felt it was right that he announced to them again that he was fine and well. Diana already told them that he survived and was back, but hearing it from his mouth was much more convincing. People could disguise his face, but they could not speak to them in the same way that they were familiar with. As soon as he spoke to them, he saw them fidgeting a bit, some of them even stealing glances at him which left him confused. At a moment, he even felt that he saw one of the female soldiers take a step forward to hug him. He didn’t know why, but seeing this made him feel goosebumps immediately. “Umm, where is Diana?” He tried to change the topic. “I’m here”. Clark was startled, turning his head to the side. There, he saw a projection slowly turning visible. It took only a few minutes before Diana’s projection stabilized, she turned and flashed them a smile. Seein
It did not take long before all the soldiers bid their farewell and left the restaurant, leaving only Clark and Diana behind. As soon as they left, Diana turned to face Clark. “I guess that’s all for today, we’ll meet in 2 weeks then”. Clark intended to wave his hand in a gesture that she was free to go, but he paused on seeing a familiar face enter the restaurant. After entering the restaurant, Leo walked directly in his best friend’s direction. Getting to their table, Leo ignored his friend and turned to the girl. He extended his hand for a shake. “Hey! My name is Leonard, I was a good friend of Benny”. “Hi!” Diana took the hand politely before directing a questioning gaze at Clark. “He’s my friend”. “Oh!” She finally turned back to face Leo with a smile. “Nice to meet you”. “Nice to meet you too”. As soon as Leo sat down, the door to the restaurant opened again and a group of people came in this time. King, S
A few hours later, in the afternoon, both friends finally got back to Vatican City. They decided to come here as everyone was practically waiting for them here, including Leo’s wife. Detecting the car from afar, the electronically controlled gate opened after Clark drove close enough to it. Having received the signal of the gate opening already, Rose led her troupe of female companions down to meet the 2 mischievous men who left them unceremoniously the previous day. Leo brazed himself for the reprimanding words that would come his way soon, to Clark’s amazement, but to his shock, Kate said nothing to him after she came down with the other 2 ladies. “Umm, is something wrong?” Kate snorted. “You expected me to talk at you, right? I’m decent enough to recognize that you went out with your friend for a good cause”. “Oh, ok”. Leo nodded his head. “So, how was it?” Emily came forward and asked. “It was a pretty down-to-earth
[Virtual training operation difficulty set at the highest level: Hell!] [Last record: Victory- 10,000 dead thugs.] [Rating: Outstanding.] [New battle loading…, loading complete.] 3…, 2…, 1; Start! As soon as Clark heard this, he strengthened his grip on his spear before forming an aggressive stance and waiting for the training chamber to activate its mechanism. From the sparkling scene of the large hall where he currently was, it was clear that this was not the training chamber but a projected virtual hall. &n
15 minutes later after Clark killed the last 3rd rank high-grade thug, an ocean of thugs, body parts, and blood was what surrounded him. He was the lone survivor. Filled with the blood of his opponent, sweat streaked down his exhausted face, combining with the blood to soak his uniform and making it stick to his body uncomfortably. Of the thousands of thugs that were originally left after he killed the 3rd rank high-grade thugs, now none of them were left alive. With his plethora of weapons, he completely obliterated them. As he tried to catch his breath, he smiled bitterly on hearing the sound of the training chamber’s A. I again. [1st phase of the vi
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