Strongest Soldier King

Tall cliffs had sparse trees growing on them, and over time, many branches had fallen into the valley, perfect for firewood. Everyone collected a lot, but they were all soaked by the rain, making them difficult to ignite. However, this didn't deter everyone. With nothing else to do, they used military knives to shave wood chips. The wood chips dried quickly, and with the bullets taken out, the heads removed, some of the inside powder poured out, and ignited, the wood chips caught fire.

The fire was small but slowly burning. Everyone carefully nurtured it, and gradually the flames grew. They added branches about the size of chopsticks to dry and burn. Once evaporated of moisture, the branches also ignited, and the fire grew stronger. Seeing the campfire blaze, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

A fire was burning in the valley cave, which was difficult to discover unless approached. Luo Zheng ordered Mountain Eagle to set up sentries five hundred meters outside both ends of the valley. This distance would give everyone enough time to react if enemies appeared. As for the top of the valley, the cliffs rose to three to four hundred meters, and after dark, it was impossible to see the situation inside the valley, so there was no worry.

The campfire grew larger, soon splitting off into another pile. Everyone sat around the fire to dry their clothes. Luo Zheng and the others wore close-fitting clothes with good waterproof effects, not worrying about the adverse effects of wet clothes. They just dried them while wearing them. As for Hook and others, they didn't wear shirts at all. Living in this primitive forest for so long, Hook and the local natives had physiques different from outsiders, and not wearing clothes had become a habit.

Time passed second by second; gradually, it got dark. The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping. Luo Zheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Such a rainy night was not suitable for marching, as accidental casualties were unacceptable. The teams from various countries vying for the prize should also find a place to hide and rest, and Bloodsucker would be no exception. In other words, tonight everyone was safe.

Mounting guard was Mountain Eagle's responsibility, so Luo Zheng didn't worry. After chatting with Lan Xue for a while, he closed his eyes to rest. In a haze, Luo Zheng thought he heard thunder, thinking maybe the rain hadn't stopped. After a while, the thunder sounded peculiar, surprising him, and he snapped awake. He opened his eyes to see everyone resting with closed eyes. Zhou Gang was chatting quietly by the fire with a comrade.

"Did you hear a strange sound?" Luo Zheng asked, lowering his voice, his expression becoming serious.

"A strange sound?" Zhou Gang asked in surprise. Seeing Luo Zheng's serious expression in the firelight, he was puzzled and listened carefully but heard nothing. Shaking his head, he said, "What's wrong? Did you sense something? Should we wake everyone up?"

Every veteran on the battlefield has an instinct, the stronger the skill, the more accurate the instinct. Zhou Gang didn't think Luo Zheng was making a fuss over nothing, so he didn't dare to ignore this intuition, asking three questions in one go. Luo Zheng didn't answer immediately but pondered, listening again. The strange thunder was gone; rain still poured outside, and the cave was pitch-black, with the rain falling like beads.

"Who's on duty?" Luo Zheng asked into the earpiece.

"Reporting, it's me." Meng Zhu's voice came through the earpiece.

"Me too." Wu Yuan's voice also came through.

"Any unusual findings?" Luo Zheng asked.

"No." The two answered in turn. Luo Zheng thought for a while. Even if the strange sound earlier was an explosion, it was far away, likely a skirmish between two other teams, irrelevant to them. He instructed, "I'm going to sleep a bit more. Everyone be careful, and alert us at the first sign of anything unusual. No wishful thinking."

"Yes." Everyone agreed.

Luo Zheng fell back into a deep sleep, and who knows how much time passed before explosions sounded again, clearly this time. Luo Zheng awoke with a start, eyes flashing a terrifying sharpness, visible in the firelight. He saw Liu Xun guarding the fire, ears perked, noticing the anomaly too, and urgently asked, "What's going on?"

"Reporting, anomaly detected." Before Liu Xun could answer, Zhang Bin's voice came through the earpiece.

"What's the situation?" Luo Zheng asked surprised, his voice a bit loud. Everyone around them woke up, quickly found their guns, and became alert, immediately entering combat mode.

"What's going on?" Lan Xue also woke up and asked.

Before Luo Zheng could answer, Zhang Bin continued, "Spotted someone hurriedly coming towards us, and something seems to be chasing them behind. Not clear at first. No, there are three people, being followed by many wolves, a pack of wolves."

"What?" Luo Zheng exclaimed and quickly ordered, "Retreat immediately. Everyone prepare for battle." A pack of wolves hunting together in the rain at night was terrifying, signaling hunger-driven insanity, or that the wolves had been provoked by someone. Either way, it was best not to provoke them.

Being a Hunter, Luo Zheng understood this clearly and immediately ordered a local defense, instructing everyone to fuel the fire. He looked up at the sky with a complex expression; it was pitch-black. The downpour turned into a steady drizzle but remained annoying. Checking his watch, it was already five in the morning, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Daylight meant they could handle the wolves more easily.

Soon, they saw the sentries sprinting back just ten meters away—too dark for visibility beyond that. If not for wearing infrared night vision devices, the sentries couldn't see the path. Zhang Bin was followed by two others who were not from their group based on appearance, only about twenty meters away. Luo Zheng was surprised, quickly raised his weapon, and shouted, "Prepare to fight."

Everyone cocked their rifles. Zhang Bin and others, like cannonballs, reached the cave and tumbled to the ground, lacking the strength to rise. They panted heavily, as if their lungs would explode, clearly having exhausted all their energy in the sprint. Everyone watched the entrance in shock, ready for combat.

At that moment, ten or so wolves lunged at the two men trailing behind Zhang Bin, as big as calves and robust, attacking with fast and agile moves. They coordinated seamlessly, attacking heads, legs, flipping the men over, and began tearing into them without hesitation, blood splattering. Other strong wolves stared at the cave with a hungry gleam, growling softly as if preparing to attack, leaving everyone stunned and tense.

"Shall we engage?" Lan Xue asked gravely, witnessing the sudden turn of events that came too swiftly for them to react. Clearly, these wolves were not ordinary.