Strongest Soldier King

"Me." Zhou Gang held back a stomach full of anger, glanced at the heavy machine gunner, and his hazy mind instantly cleared. He shouted with murderous intent, quickly crawled out of the foxhole, dashed a few steps, leapt like a tiger, and jumped into another foxhole that had been prepared earlier. He set up the sniper rifle and continued shouting, "In position."

Mountain Eagle had already replaced the armor-piercing incendiary bomb, quickly aimed at the tree root, and fired. The bullet undoubtedly punched a hole in the tree root. The fragments enlarged the hole, and the flammable agent boiled inside, setting the tree root on fire. The solidity of the tree root was compromised. Immediately, another armor-piercing incendiary bomb shot into the hole.

The tree root was quite large; the attacks somehow didn't penetrate it completely, but it was almost enough. From past experience, Mountain Eagle's attack frightened the heavy machine gunner and ammunition handler behind the root, prompting them to retreat in an attempt to hide. Zhou Gang, from a height, was long prepared. His cold gaze, filled with the fury of revenge, was fixed on the direction of the tree root. His eyes went past the root, spotting two legs exposed behind it, instantly guessing the target's intentions, ready to shoot.

It didn't take long for a target's body to be half-exposed under the gun. Zhou Gang didn't wait. He quickly pulled the trigger, sending the sniper bullet screaming out of the barrel with Zhou Gang's fierce killing intent, like a roaring tiger, instantly tearing into the target's buttocks, ripping out a large piece of flesh, blood splattering everywhere.

"Ah---!" The target screamed miserably, feeling as if the lower half of their body had separated from the torso, no longer theirs. An endless darkness swallowed them; their eyelids weighed as heavy as Mount Tai, consciousness scattered, eyes wide open, dying in disbelief.

"A shot in the ass, beautiful!" Mountain Eagle saw this and cheered excitedly.

"Uh?" Zhou Gang didn't have that intention, merely seizing the opportunity to kill the enemy. Hearing this evaluation made him bitterly smile with embarrassment. Suddenly, a figure appeared in his sight, rushing downhill like a leopard. Zhou Gang's killing intent flared up instinctively, aiming and firing.

This shot was somewhat blind, purely firing under the impulse of combat instinct. Zhou Gang didn't hold out much hope for it. Feeling countless bullets coming towards him, he quickly retreated back into the foxhole. When he crawled back up again, Zhou Gang found through the sniper scope that the previous target had already fallen, the body split into two, the upper half still crawling on the ground, extremely eerie.

"Uh?" Zhou Gang was taken aback. Did he actually hit a shot by chance? Impossible, right? Zhou Gang shook his head to dismiss that thought. Looking at the battlefield again, more Bloodsuckers joined the fight, firepower intensifying and organized counterattacks. Groups of three, two handling suppressive fire, one tasked with shooting, forcing everyone into a passive position, busy dodging bullets, unable to fight back.

Luo Zheng was also suppressed by the Bloodsucker's firepower, forced to take cover. Suddenly, a series of explosions erupted on the mountainside, startling Luo Zheng. He cautiously peeked out to see the traps they had set off, unleashing their fury. About a dozen grenades and bullets placed on top ignited at once, creating an extremely explosive scene.

Red light flashed, fragments flew chaotically, hitting the trunks, producing terrifying sounds. Even more frightening, bullets flew like flower petals scattered by a heavenly maiden, swooshing through the forest. Luo Zheng's face darkened. The last line of defense was engaged. Continuing the fight meant only suffering losses.

"Retreat!" Luo Zheng decisively issued the retreat order. This battle wiped out about twenty Bloodsucker members and revealed over a hundred troops. Whether there were more in the cave was unknown, but these hundred-plus were beyond what they could withstand. Staying meant certain death.

Everyone used the massive explosion as cover, jumping out of the foxholes and turning to run, sprinting down the other side of the slope in desperation. Time equaled life. Facing the ferocious combat strength of the Bloodsuckers, nobody dared be careless. A momentary victory didn't mean they could truly defeat the Bloodsuckers. Luo Zheng and Lan Xue stayed behind to cover, as per tradition for commanding officers of the Huaxia Country units. Luo Zheng and Lan Xue were no exception.

During retreat, Luo Zheng noticed the Bloodsuckers didn't chase immediately, clearly impacted by the explosion's might. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, swiftly following the team. He saw Cheng He at the back of the team, glancing back occasionally with eyes flashing anger. Startled, he chased after Cheng He, saying, "Run faster."

"Let me cover the rear." Cheng He pleaded earnestly, eyes full of anger.

Luo Zheng was startled, suspiciously looking at Cheng He and said, "No way, it's not time to risk it. Hurry up and retreat."

"Yes." Cheng He agreed reluctantly and turned to run, speeding up slightly.

Everyone sprinted without delay, the recent battle having consumed significant ammunition. Lacking heavy burdens, they ran faster. During the run, Luo Zheng faintly heard someone chasing from behind, estimating them to be Bloodsuckers, gesturing for everyone to speed up.

After half an hour of rapid marching, a canyon appeared in front, a river running through it. To reach the opposite mountain, they had to cross the river. The river spanned about thirteen meters, flowed east to west, and was slow and deep. Luo Zheng frowned and exchanged a look with Lan Xue, who nodded knowingly. Luo Zheng then shouted, "Cross the river."

Everyone removed their backpacks and jumped into the river, holding their guns above the backpacks. The backpacks floated on the water's surface, everyone clinging to them while treading water towards the opposite side. Fortunately, the pursuing Bloodsuckers were far behind. By the time they caught up, everyone was already crossing, scrambling ashore to take cover.

The Bloodsuckers couldn't chase and furiously fired from across the river. The group found hidden spots, and Luo Zheng observed for a while before shouting, "Brothers, the enemy doesn't dare cross the river. Don't shoot, find a chance to retreat."

Everyone rose to answer, retreating as soon as bullets missed their vicinity. When they felt gunfire sweep towards them, they found hidden spots. After the gunfire passed, they continued retreating. Not firing back created an invisible pressure on the Bloodsuckers across the river, uncertain whether they were at the riverbank, fearing to cross and chase.

Before long, everyone kept their ears to the ground, climbing up the mountain slope. The peaks were high, forests dense, ground moist and chilling. Fortunately, due to insufficient sunlight, the ground was covered only by dead leaves, with hardly any grass or plants, making the walk convenient.

An hour later, everyone reached the mountaintop. They stopped at a relatively dense spot of trees, lighting fires to dry their clothes, roasting some wild game. These small tasks were left to the action team of Zhou Gang and others. Luo Zheng called Lan Xue, Ghost Hand, and Mountain Eagle to sit around the campfire, discussing strategies. The enemy was stronger than imagined, determined. To complete the mission, they had to change their tactics.