The fortress corridors were cold, damp, and reeking of decay. Torchlight flickered against the ancient stone walls, casting long, eerie shadows as General Viktor 'Bloodfang' Kruger moved forward, bow in hand, his crimson beret barely shifting with each calculated step.
Behind him, Sergeant Darius 'Hellhound' Rook crept alongside the walls, his combat knife gleaming in the dim light. Eva 'Black Widow' Morales followed close, her twin daggers spinning between her fingers.
They were predators. Their prey had nowhere to run.
A distant muffled cry echoed through the corridor ahead. Kruger raised a fist, signaling for silence. His men halted immediately. He drew an arrow, nocking it to the bowstring as he inched toward the source of the sound.
Through the cracks in an old wooden door, Kruger could see them—a small group of survivors huddled in fear. A man whispered frantically to the others, a pistol shaking in his grip. A woman clutched a child against her chest, her breath ragged with terror.
Kruger exhaled slowly, his mind already calculating. One shot. One target.
The bowstring tightened.
The arrow struck the man clean through the eye, pinning him to the wall before he even knew what happened. The survivors screamed, scrambling for cover.
The door burst open as Hellhound kicked it off its hinges, his shotgun roaring as he obliterated the first soldier that lunged at him. Black Widow darted inside, her blades flashing in the torchlight.
Kruger didn't move. He simply watched as his squad butchered them with precision. The woman holding the child sobbed as she backed into a corner, shielding the little girl.
Hellhound cocked his shotgun, aiming directly at them. "Orders, General?"
For a brief moment, the room fell into absolute silence. The woman's eyes pleaded for mercy.
Kruger stepped forward and aimed his bow downward.
The arrow struck the woman in the chest, her body jerking violently before slumping over. The child's tiny, terrified gasps filled the room.
Kruger looked at her, his expression unreadable. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away. He didn't waste arrows on the weak.
Behind him, Black Widow tilted her head at the trembling child, her lips curling into a twisted smirk. "Should I?"
Hellhound snorted. "No need. She'll die in the dark."
They left the room without another glance, stepping over bodies that had no future.
As they advanced deeper into the fortress, Kruger lifted his bow once more. There were still more rats to exterminate.
And he would hunt them all.