St. Petersburg, Ruthenia Empire.

The St. Petersburg International Airport has been under construction for about two years. It is one of the many airports being constructed across the vast lands of the Ruthenia Empire.

The goal was to connect the major cities of the Ruthenia Empire with the citizens, cutting off the time for one person to go from one place to another as opposed to trains or any other means of transportation.

The airports will be able to accommodate bigger aircraft that will soon take their place in the world of aviation for transporting goods and people.

Even though the St. Petersburg International Airport is still under construction, it already has features that make it an airport, such as runways and air traffic control.

Instead of commercial aircraft, the airport was filled with military aircraft with soldiers stationed in St. Petersburg being transferred to the frontlines to fight the Deutschland and Austrean Empires.

One of the planes was the newly-built aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster. It was a new aircraft joining the Rapid Global Mobility of the Imperial Ruthenian Air Force. However, it was not yet to be used for the military, at least not this plane.

***

Rolan stood behind the Globemaster. Its cargo door slowly opened as it reached the ground, forming a ramp.

It was six o’clock in the morning, the air blowing softly against his face as he walked over to the aircraft and boarded it. In the cargo hold was an assortment of rifles, pistols, grenades, and tactical knives. Upon closer look, he saw body armor fielded by the Imperial Ruthenian Army for its special forces. It has pockets for magazines and ceramic metal plates.

Judging from the selection of the weapons alone, Rolan could tell that he won’t be going home anytime soon. The mission of infiltrating Buckingham Palace and capturing the Queen was a daring task that no one had done before. So the thought of it was enough to make him a little nervous.

Rolan brushed his fingers on the weapons displayed before him. It was completely new. He had never seen such a sleek design before but the fact that it was made especially for him made his heart move.

“I see that you already took a liking to it,” a familiar voice sounded from behind.

Rolan quickly turned and saw the Emperor.

“Your Majesty,” Rolan immediately knelt down and lowered his head.

Alexander laughed. “Come on, you know that I hate genuflection. Stand up, I’m just visiting.”

Rolan stood up as Alexander walked past behind him.

“These weapons are new prototypes to be adopted by the Special Forces,” Alexander lifted the assault rifle out from its case and showed it to him.

“I call it the R4 Carbine,” Alexander said and continued. “It’s gas-operated, closed rotating bolt, capable of firing seven hundred to nine hundred and fifty rounds per minute with an effective range of five hundred meters. Of course, it won’t literally spray seven hundred minutes in one go, but from that, you can calculate the muzzle velocity of each round.”

“Yeah…” Rolan was a bit surprised at Alexander’s knowledge about the prototype guns. Could it be that he’s part of the development? That must be it.

“You should try to feel it. Here, catch!” Alexander tossed him the rifle and Rolan caught it.

“It’s light,” Rolan noted. “The texture is very different from the FN Fal.”

“It’s one kilogram lighter than the FN Fal,” Alexander said as he grabbed one magazine. “The caliber is also different. It uses five-five-six, forty-five-millimeter rounds, which are not also lighter but smaller. That means you’ll be able to carry fifty percent more ammunition compared to FN Fal. A weapon truly designed for covert operations.”

“I see…if it works similar to FN Fal, then I’ll be able to adapt to it quickly,” Rolan remarked as Alexander tossed him another weapon, this time it was a pistol.

“That’s a G dash seventeen pistol,” Alexander said. “It’s a semi-automatic pistol, quite similar to the pistols that the army used but lighter. I’m sure you know how to use that kind of weapon, am I right?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Good. So grenades, knives, body armor, knee, and elbow pads. Once you wear all of this Rolan, you’ll be truly a man befitting of the title, ‘Reaper'” Alexander commented.

Rolan grabbed all the equipment and headed over to a small room at the end of the cargo hold and wore it.

Alexander waited patiently, feeling excited about how Rolan would look in a modern tactical ensemble.

Five minutes later, Rolan walked out of the room and Alexander couldn’t help but feel in awe. The skull-painted balaclava evoked an intimidating presence, along with Rolan’s body armor covering his whole body. He didn’t look like an assassin but more like a cold-blooded warrior that had experienced countless battles and emerged victorious.

“How do I look?” Rolan asked.

“To be honest, you looked perfect. Now you look like a real-life reaper,” Alexander praised. His outfit suited him perfectly. He based his overall appearance on a character named Ghost in a popular first-person shooting game back from his original world

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Rolan chuckled softly, then he noticed Alexander’s amicable expression turned serious.

“Rolan, this job would be hard and impossible. Once you land in London, you are effectively on your own. Infiltrate Buckingham Palace, capture the Queen, and take her to the Port of London, where a Ruthenian warship would be waiting for you. You have to be quick, as they are currently under attack and can only hold on for about a day. If went successful, you can now do whatever is necessary to extract information out of her.”

Rolan nodded sternly.

“You will be provided with the information you need to infiltrate the palace. The blueprints, secret passages, everything.”

“What are the rules of engagement, Your Majesty?” Rolan asked.

“Whatever suits you,” Alexander said, insinuating that he is free to do anything he likes as long as he finishes the mission.

“Very well, Your Majesty. I can confidently say that I’ll complete this mission flawlessly.”

After Rolan said that, Alexander stepped out of the cargo hold and returned to his vehicle, the Beast. He didn’t leave just yet as he’d wanted to watch the plane take off.

He was not alone in the Beast. Sitting beside him was the Minister of Internal Affairs.

“Your Majesty, this is what we found from Sevastian’s estate,” Dmitri handed him a file.

Alexander opened it and perused the contents. He sighed heavily. “As expected…”