I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun-Chapter 721: Syracuse (2)

"Crazy bastards. How many sensors, drones, and reconnaissance units have they planted everywhere?"

"I knew there were going to be people lurking around the area. They left them there intentionally. Artemis is probably using the survivors in Syracuse as test subjects to collect battle data."

"Quite impressive. What about the drones?"

"There's been no confirmed movement yet. I’m not sure if they're just resting or moving secretly, but if they had tried to take off, we would have spotted them."

"Tearing them down and taking them? It’s not impossible, but... It’s a 3-4 ton device. I don’t think it’ll go unnoticed. Let’s hope you and Olivia can check thoroughly."

Syracuse, Northern New York, 3 AM

It had been three days since the Dagger team set up their hideout at Greenlake Golf Course and began reconnaissance. The transition from day to night had long passed, so fatigue wasn’t much of an issue.

Rather, the real difficulty lay in the need to move through the area, tracking down and eliminating any Artemis patrols and snipers lurking around while dismantling traps.

Thankfully, Artemis preferred using more modern traps, and they were inclined to make use of high-tech machines for creating them. Because of this, the heat signatures from these machines could be detected without the Icarus Gear, and deactivating the traps was relatively simple.

When we had just arrived, there was a debate about whether eliminating Artemis patrols and snipers would affect our stealth mission, but it was quickly decided that killing them was the best course of action. The reasoning was that during the current operation, getting detected wasn’t a priority.

'The important thing is tracking the drones Artemis is transporting, and if possible, securing them...'

In this operation, Artemis wasn’t the primary target; they were merely an obstacle. In the grand scheme of things, they would vanish from the US regardless of whether we eliminated them early. The mission was straightforward: avoid drawing attention, dismantle traps, and gather intel. And as expected, the Dagger team was more than capable of handling things without getting caught in a mess.

Olivia and I carried special ammunition capable of firing Lapua Magnum-sized rounds at an insane speed of 3 km per second, easily dispatching snipers and sentries in small pillboxes.

Naturally, Artemis had no idea where we were.

"12 kills in 3 hours. These bodies are absolutely shredded. If we didn't have the Icarus Gear's recognition filters, this would’ve been a lot harder."

"Looks like their bodies were pierced straight through, like being impaled on a utility pole."

"Yeah, that's what it looks like."

Once a round was fired, it pierced through the enemy's head, shattered their spine, and exited through their back.

In reality, "exiting" was a bit of a stretch. With the Lapua Magnum rounds moving at 3 km/s, the kinetic energy was around 135,000 joules—about eight times more than a .50 caliber round.

The Icarus Gear helpfully displayed just how powerful the impact was, and imagining the effect of a 25mm round traveling at Mach 3 and hitting a person gave a clear picture of the result.

I learned that a person's body would literally “burst open” at the rear with such a force.

God bless the recognition filters.

It had been three days since we set foot here, and we were officially deep into the operation. In the last two days, we had already killed around 40 enemy combatants. Naturally, Artemis had no idea where we were. How could they, when we were firing from 4 km away? They were clearly disoriented by how fast their reconnaissance teams were dwindling.

The Owl team had sent mini drones, once attached to the snipers, to collect electronic gear and radios long ago.

We were shaking Artemis to its core, exposing their weaknesses, and the plan was progressing successfully.

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"How's the intel gathering going, Owl 1?"

"We’ve been intercepting their communications. A lot of data has been flooding in, so we're still sorting through it. I'll give you the confirmed details, and if you're still in operation, don’t respond—just listen."

The moonlight was obscured, and Syracuse was enveloped in complete darkness, not a thing visible. Olivia and I were sniping from a rooftop of an abandoned building, not hiding in some bushes.

Thanks to the traps and sensors we had laid around, we wouldn’t have missed anyone approaching. After scanning a 3 km radius, we realized there was nothing left to take out nearby.

I shifted my eyes away from the scope and started listening to the Dagger team's voices on the comms.

"On a positive note, by eliminating the enemy, we've freed up more movement for civilians. Some are sneaking around the golf course, trying to figure out what’s going on."

"Hmm."

"We’ll handle that separately, so no need to worry about it. What’s important is that Artemis is significantly on edge after what’s happened here."

At the same time, a screen popped up in front of me, showing Syracuse. A portion of the city, previously bathed in red, had returned to normal colors. Red had been Artemis’s domain, which meant our sniping had dealt a serious blow.

It made sense. Just yesterday, we had obliterated an armored vehicle passing through the area. Even modern IFVs were at risk when hit with a .50 caliber round, so what do you think would happen when a 25mm round—similar in power—strikes?

Of course, the frontal armor was breached, and the people inside were turned to mush. This wasn’t a missile disabling the vehicle; it was just pure gunfire. The armored vehicle’s condition was still mostly intact, though I imagined the sensors and systems inside were likely fried.

Anyway, after destroying the armored vehicle, Artemis had become completely immobilized. Naturally, any drones or equipment transports had become impossible.

Several vehicles that had been circling near Hancock Field Airbase also mysteriously vanished after yesterday’s events.

"The operation timeline has been extended. And I hear Central Park is sending a team to the East Air Defense Zone near Griffith Airport."

"Hmm."

"They might have some leftover Patriot missiles, which could take out any air forces Artemis might have."

"That’s a relief."

"Is the rookie listening to Olivia? Just follow orders, and you’ll be fine."

"...Why is it only me you’re talking to?!"

It’s sad, really.

I was still a rookie, and when I voiced my complaints, Olivia patted my head with a soft chuckle. She was really pushing my buttons, but honestly, I didn’t mind it as much as I should have.

Anyway, while the Dagger team continued to carry out their own tasks, our work wasn’t nearly done. We had to keep moving, find sniper positions, and neutralize the enemy.

If there were no major obstacles for the next several minutes, we planned to head deeper into Syracuse, specifically toward Hancock Field Airbase. There was something we needed to confirm there.

But the next words I heard were completely unexpected.

"By the way, you’ve probably already figured it out, but there’s something happening near the airbase that we’re not too happy about."

"Yeah. Those bastards are messing with civilians again."

"So, Central Park HQ is considering deploying a 100kt nuclear bomb 30 km above Syracuse. It’s still in the planning stages, but a lot of adjustments need to be made."

"...What?"

Wait, are they actually planning to nuke their own country?

My mind went blank for a moment, but what followed was a surprisingly logical explanation.

The idea was that Artemis had placed control devices on humans, controlling their personalities and actions, and creating a significant number of combatants. The plan was to neutralize them all at once.

At first, it seemed like burning down the whole village to catch a rat, but the reason behind it was built on several key assumptions.

"First off, the hangars and MQ-20 Avengers at Hancock Field Airbase are theoretically immune to an EMP from a 5-megaton nuclear bomb. But the exposed enemies? Well, that’s a different story."

"...I get it now. After we hit them with the EMP in the Bronx, they collapsed immediately. But what about the civilians’ electronics in Syracuse?"

"That’s why it’s still in the planning phase."

"Aha."

Phew. That makes sense.

While I didn’t know all the technical details of EMPs, I knew that if they wiped out all civilian infrastructure, rebuilding the city would be impossible. But if they could avoid destroying the civilian infrastructure, then it was a different story.

Plus, if the bomb detonated at high altitude, the radiation fallout would be minimal. That’s probably why Central Park was even considering such an extreme option.

"So, if they can adjust the range, maybe it could work?"

"Exactly. They could probably use a cruise missile with a directional pulse emitter to precisely target the required areas."

"...So, our job as the reconnaissance team will be to calculate those precise areas."

"Well done. Exactly."

Just like that, the mission had taken a serious turn. The Dagger team had been briefing us thoroughly, and we were starting to get a better picture of what lay ahead.

"We’ve been trying to avoid contact, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. We’re going to assess how extensively civilians are spread out in the city, and the Eagle team should try to map out Artemis’s territory with precision."

"...Got it."

A brief silence followed.

Then Olivia added.

"We’ll find someone high-ranking and capture them. Wait here for about three more days."

"Understood. The Eagle team will join us within 3 hours. Stay put until then."

"..."

What do I even say?

I didn’t want to know how skilled the Dagger team was at interrogation.

Time in Syracuse passed, and we continued to prepare for whatever would come next.

As we continued our mission, things in Syracuse became increasingly dire. The situation was chaotic, and even with all the planning and preparation, uncertainty loomed at every corner. It wasn’t just about surviving; it was about making sure the operation stayed on course, neutralizing Artemis’s forces, and protecting civilians as best as we could.

After a few more hours of reconnaissance, the tension was palpable.

"We’ve been lucky so far, but we can’t let our guard down," I muttered under my breath.

The team had been relentlessly clearing out Artemis’s forces and gathering crucial intel. The pattern was clear: the resistance was growing weaker, and we were slowly pushing them back, but the real challenge lay ahead—Hancock Field Airbase and whatever else Artemis had planned.

Syracuse, 4 AM

We were getting closer to the heart of the mission. Time was running out, but the team remained determined. The enemy was disoriented, and our sniping efforts had already caused significant damage. Still, the operation wasn’t over.

"Alright, let’s move. We need to be ready for whatever’s coming," Olivia said, her voice steady as ever. "We’re about to enter the next phase of the mission. We need to make sure the civilians are safe while we finish off Artemis."

"Understood," I replied, checking my gear one last time.

The streets of Syracuse were eerily quiet, the sounds of battle distant but ever-present. As we made our way deeper into the city, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. Artemis was still out there, and we were about to collide head-on.

The operation in Syracuse was far from over, and with every step, we were closer to unraveling the full extent of Artemis’s plans. But at that moment, we had to stay focused—on the mission, on the civilians, and on the unexpected decisions that would shape the outcome of this war.