Munitions Empire

All the troops of the Great Tang Group actually have their own special forces—here, "special forces" doesn't mean what it typically does to the broader understanding.

Or rather, these so-called special forces are just an early prototype of what real special forces would be.

Every platoon in the Great Tang Group's security forces has its own independent reconnaissance unit, and these recon units have their own name: Rangers.

Their missions are numerous, including freely choosing positions during an attack to take out the enemy's firepower points, or moving forward in defense to provide early warning for the troops, and so on.

These soldiers are all hand-picked sharpshooters with rifles that are the best quality and highest precision among selected and calibrated equipment. Your next chapter awaits on empire

They even have their own special camouflage uniforms, which are dyed in a unique way to provide better concealment.

Cao Fei was a criminal who was directly transported to Brunas and sold to the Great Tang Group, where he became a soldier in the security forces.

Because he trained hard and had extremely accurate marksmanship, he was later promoted to be a Ranger, receiving an extra subsidy over other soldiers.

Rangers have to do a lot more work in combat, paving roads across mountains and building bridges over water; sometimes they even have to lie motionless in the grass for a long time, facing very harsh conditions.

But Cao Fei felt that these were nothing at all; compared to the suffering he had endured, this was nothing! He had enough to eat here at the Great Tang Group and could regain his dignity as a human being, which was so much better than his past.

Now, he was using a bayonet to clear branches blocking his path, step by step in the wilderness covered in leaves.

There was no choice; in order for the second battalion to circumvent the side and pinch the Shen Country's troops together with the first battalion, avoiding the main roads was a must.

They could only avoid the Shen Country's military stationed along the road and then figure out how to carve a path through the mountains.

To move swiftly, the second battalion played their clever tactic once again—they left behind their heavy artillery, only carrying light weapons.

It's unknown whether the battalion commander had a natural predilection for abandoning his baggage, but once again, he left his heavy weapons behind with difficulty.

The way was rugged, or to be precise, there wasn't really a 'way' here—as the vanguard of the entire unit, Cao Fei was cutting a path for his comrades behind him.

The moss under his feet covered the tree roots, making his steps slippery. Cao Fei carried his rifle on his back, along with ammunition, a raincoat, and a mishmash of supplies; his backpack contained food, and he had a water bottle at his waist. He had to be extremely careful to make sure he didn't suddenly fall.

But despite his care, he still misstepped while crossing the thick roots of a large tree.

Lacking a guide was tragic like this; although they tried to stay as close to the road as possible, the entire marching route was fraught with unforeseen risks.

Cao Fei tumbled messily down the sloping hillside. When he finally managed to stabilize himself, he discovered that there were a dozen people sitting in front of him.

These people were ragged and almost indistinguishable from savages. But Cao Fei immediately recognized that they were not Goblins but black-eyed, black-haired people from Zheng Country.

The other party was visibly stunned when they saw him, apparently not expecting to encounter soldiers they had never seen before in such a place.

For a while, both sides were somewhat awkward and cautious until several leading Rangers gathered, and nobody said a word.

Following close behind Cao Fei were soldiers from the first platoon of the first company, second battalion. These soldiers advanced along the route, piling up next to Cao Fei one after another.

They sized up these elderly, children, and women, unsure of what to say. From their eyes, the soldiers saw wariness and fear, as well as despair and sorrow.

Finally, Cao Fei spoke up; after all, he was originally from Zheng Country, "We mean no harm! Are you the local residents?"

As he spoke, he took off his helmet, revealing his black hair. Clearly, upon seeing his black hair, the natives seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Sir, are you military officials?" an elder asked, full of hope while protecting children behind him.

"We are not from the Zheng Country military." The platoon leader, holding his steel helmet, came over and gave these barely clothed locals—who were even less off than the beggars in Brunas—a once over, dousing their hope: "Is it just you people here?"

When the locals saw the speaker's blonde hair, their faces filled with disappointment. They had thought their own people had regained control, but it was clear that these unfamiliar troops were not the "royal forces" they had hoped for.

"Rest assured, we mean no harm. We need a guide to quickly get around those goblins." Cao Fei, discerning the disheartenment of these people, immediately spoke to comfort them. "We are here to protect you. From now on, you are all safe."

The elder looked at Cao Fei again, seemingly still distrusting his words. Cao Fei read hesitation in his eyes, realizing that gaining their trust would not be a simple task.

"Are you really here to fight those people from Sheng Country?" A woman covered her body and abruptly asked a question.

Then, her mouth was covered by an auntie behind her, who seemed afraid that she might get into trouble, and afterwards, she tugged the woman back.

"Yes, we are indeed here to fight the people of Zheng Country." After glancing at Cao Fei, the leader of the first squad nodded and then walked over, standing in front of the slightly recoiling group of Zheng Country civilians, and took out a pack of well-wrapped biscuits from his pocket.

These things were very hard, with an average taste, only a slight hint of saltiness, and were basic ration for replenishing energy during a march.

He tore open the packaging bag, passed it to a frail-looking child, and took out a piece to stuff into his own mouth to indicate that it was edible.

In this regard, he actually had a lot of experience, because in Brunas, many officers and soldiers from security troops had similar experiences. They would come across civilians in extreme distress and often give away some of their things.

As he chewed on the unappetizing biscuit, the leader of the first squad pointed to a further distance. "If we take this way, can we get around and reach Fengshun City?"

The child, imitating him, chewed on the biscuit, heedless of the choking due to the minimal saliva in his mouth, and nodded. "Mhm."

"That settles it! Since you're unwilling to help, just stay here! We're moving out!" The leader of the first squad was not discouraged and signaled for Cao Fei to stay while the other Rangers continued to lead the way.

"You're from here, stay and calm them down! Tell the troops passing by not to disturb them, understood?" The leader of the first squad pointed behind and, after placing his steel helmet on his head, instructed.

"Yes!" Cao Fei saluted. Behind him, the soldiers of the first squad had already begun marching one after the other.

The squad leader carrying the Thompson Submachine Gun passed these people, saw the biscuit in the hands of the boy, and after pausing briefly, he casually took a can from his rations bag and tossed it to Cao Fei still guarding the spot. "Help them open it."

"Alright." Cao Fei caught the can, nodded, and drew a dagger from his waist to start cutting open the edge of the can using the mechanism on it.

"Made this morning, fresh, not moldy," said a machine gunner assistant who, carrying a belt of ammunition and lugging a two-legged stand, stopped in his tracks, freed a hand, felt his pocket, took out a piece of bread, and tossed it to a woman not far away.

"Say, isn't our second battalion historically inclined to give away things?" The leader of the second squad of the first platoon commented with a smile, as he passed by and saw the first squad's assistant machine gunner tossing bread.

"Damn... don't remind me... it's embarrassing." Observing these locals who were somewhat bewildered, the deputy of the second squad took a raincoat from his backpack, unpacked it, and handed it to a woman. "Wrap this around quickly, you're all exposed..."

"I'll see what you do if it rains later," the leader of the second squad retorted sharply but had already taken out his own raincoat as well.

"No worries, today we're going to break into Dongwan City!" The sweaty machine gunner of the second squad said as he carried the Maxim machine gun, talking as he walked toward the distance. "Right? Squad Leader!"

"Only you, my friend, know how to talk!" The leader of the second squad instantly felt more buoyant, as if he could already see the gates of Fengshun City.

"Heh! We didn't even bring the 75mm cannon; what good will it do when we reach Fengshun City? In the end, isn't the first battalion going to benefit?" The leader of the third squad of the first platoon came over, shook his head, and looked utterly disconsolate.

When Cao Fei handed the opened can to the civilians who seemed to have been hungry for a while, nearly all of the refugees were shocked by this cost-no-object approach to salting and seasoning their food.

They didn't think this cursed method of preservation by heavily salting was unpalatable—they considered it an unheard-of extravagance.

Helpless, when even subsistence was a problem, inexpensive food full of preservatives was like a blow from a higher dimension.

The moment they tasted the strangely flavored, starch-rich ham from the can, these Zheng Country civilians finally confirmed one thing—the soldiers passing by really did not intend to kill them...

Who would offer so many good things before killing someone? After several women were covered with raincoats and finally had something to cover themselves with, the atmosphere once again subtly changed.

"I know the way! I can take you around to the back of the Sheng Country people!" The child, holding a biscuit in one hand and a piece of the starch canned meat in the other, finally spoke up to Cao Fei.

Cao Fei smiled, and the advancing soldiers of the Great Tang Group smiled along...