This was Clark’s first time seeing soldiers from the Spartan army physically. He was excited and shocked, but this only served to increase his dread and anticipation for the reason for their visit. In a normal sense, the Python military division is just too small to attract visitors from this hegemon of the Spartan military. They were the rulers of anything military in the Spartan republic. The Spartan army is the number 1 military force of the Spartan republic. The Python military division and all other military organizations in the Spartan republic, are all under the banner of this huge behemoth. The leader of the Spartan army is a 5th ranked high-grade soldier, Commander Rashford. He is the Commander-in-chief of all military organizations in the republic, and he is the strongest soldier of the Spartan republic excluding the President, “The Legendary Slaughterer”. This showed the power that the army wielded, as such soldiers were the peak of individual strength in the whole republic. A high-grade soldier from a military division like the Python military division, can only be in awe and respect a normal soldier from the Spartan army. The high-end weapons, equipment, and gadgets that they have access to alone can crush any high-grade soldier’s skill and experience with brute force. Normal soldiers in the Spartan army are given the rank of private, normal soldiers in military divisions are simply not worthy of the rank. That is how steep the difference between it and other military organizations in the republic was. The end goal of practically every soldier in the Spartan republic, no matter what rank was to join the ranks of the Spartan army. The army’s normal soldiers are recruited only from Northern Sparta, as soldiers there are better trained and are mostly from big backgrounds. The Spartan capital is where most talents of the republic are concentrated on. High-grade soldiers from other parts of the republic need to be extremely talented or have a mind-blowing military achievement, before even being considered by the army. As all these thoughts flashed through Clark’s head like a movie slide, the silence was finally broken by one of the soldiers who looked like he was the leader of the visitors. “Good morning soldiers”. “Good morning sir,” they all hastily greeted on hearing this, as Clark suddenly felt like slapping myself. “Damn, we all forgot to greet”. “My name is General Bakash”. The man continued in a calm but deep tone. Bam!! Clark’s brain short-circuited immediately, he almost blanked out for a second there as his eyes quickly became unfocused in a daze. “A what…?? An esteemed General of the Spartan army actually visited us. Shit, when did I wash my uniform last? Is it smelling? I didn’t even iron it, what if the General gets irritated by my look? Oh, I’m dead, I didn’t even comb my hair”. After a great mental battle where his brain kept on projecting random thoughts and questions, he finally relaxed and became completely serious. A General from the Spartan army coming here personally indicated that they were probably going to get ready for a huge mission. That was all that his brain could direct him to now, he could not think of any other reason that warranted this. He focused on thinking further, and his expression soured a little on the thought of the looming Mocan invasion threat. The General was displeased a little on noticing all of them almost blanking out on just hearing his name. “My name is General Bakash,” he repeated, before directly cutting to the chase. “I am here to take 2 high-grade soldiers to follow me on a very dangerous and important mission. As you may have already predicted, this is extremely confidential, so I can’t elaborate”. “It is not by force to join this mission. There is an extremely high probability of dying, but the reward for success is also very lucrative. And if you die in this mission, the whole Sparta republic will recognize you as a war hero”. The General paused to catch his breath a little after this before he continued. “If you survive this mission, you will be granted the rare privilege to immediately join the ranks of the Spartan army. And you will be promoted directly to 2 ranks ahead of your current rank, despite any rank you are as a high-grade soldier”. “You will also receive a lot of other small benefits and privileges when this mission is over. You have only 5 minutes to decide”. The General ended his talk, more abruptly than he even started it. The soldiers didn’t mind though. The benefits mentioned made all of them excited and drool, including the Captain, but they quickly cooled down after analyzing the situation further. The problem was that the risk of dying was simply too high. Wealth and a famous reputation are good, but death is simply too high a price to pay. Only the living can enjoy wealth and a famous reputation. It is simply part of human nature; every soldier hesitates when faced directly with death. The only exception is when you are either a fool, you are mad, brainwashed or you are on drugs. As they hesitated, the 1st soldier from their midst stepped forward and to their surprise, it was Corporal Mark. He was the most silent of all the high-grade soldiers of the military division, but his strength could not be questioned as he was a 2nd rank high-grade soldier. After a lot of hesitation and careful thought, Clark finally made up his mind as he also stepped forward, completing the quota of 2 soldiers. Leo’s mind lagged for a second before he suddenly realized what happened in a flash. “CLARK!! What are you doing? Do you know how dangerous this mission is?” Clark grinned as he turned to look at his friend. “I don’t know how dangerous the mission is, but one thing I know is that this mission is definitely related to the Mocan republic”. “Oh,” Leo finally understood, as he shook his head sadly with a sigh of resignation. “I always vowed to inflict damage back to the Mocan republic a million times the damage my parents received from them. Did you think I was joking?” Clark asked and explained in a soft tone to his friend. “Then, if I’m sure that this mission is to inflict damage to my archenemies, why hesitate?” Leo just looked down on listening to his friend’s words; his mind was completely overwhelmed at the moment. “Good, the quota is filled,” the General finally commented, as he turned to face the 2 volunteers. “Take this wristwatch and put it on. You have 10 minutes to get your things and prepare to leave. Press the done button on the wristwatch when you are done”. After giving his instructions, he and his entourage of soldiers disappeared immediately after. Clark keenly observed that they just teleported away. As he went back to his room, he thought of the 5 soldiers who stood behind the General. They were always silent, they never talked, not even once throughout.