Strongest Soldier King

On the mountainside, within the dense forest.

The allied forces, in an attack formation, reached halfway up the mountain, quickly spreading out in a line, hiding behind the big trees. As soon as it was confirmed that there was no threat of bullets, they swiftly leaned out for quick shots, each hitting a member of the Hook Tribe's Armed. Their attack was exceptionally cold, decisive, unhurried, completely different from their previous assaults, as if they didn't care whether they could attack successfully, focusing mainly on killing.

This tactic was deadly for the Hook Tribe people, as breaking through the defense line meant exposure. The allied forces only needed to hit-and-retreat, making staying behind the defense line ineffective unless keeping their heads down and not firing. Once exposed, even for a moment, the powerful allied forces could seize the opportunity to deliver deadly quick shots.

The distance between the enemy and us was not more than two hundred meters. The allied forces could maintain this distance and no longer charged upwards. The two-hundred-meter space was filled with numerous Button Bombs and traps. These traps played a significant role in the previous sneak attack, but this time they became mere decorations.

Lan Xue saw the allied forces using this tactic to trap everyone, feeling anxious inside, but without a better way to break it. She had to hand over command of the defense line to Zhou Gang and others, while she organized a reserve team to plan an encircling surprise attack. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Zhou Gang and others abandoned the volley fire tactic, allowing everyone to seize opportunities for free shooting, while he found a place to hide and looked for a chance to snipe the targets ahead.

Everyone had high special warfare literacy, but they completely lacked experience in commanding large-scale operations. Allowing a group of untrained people to shoot freely was equivalent to abandoning their advantage. It wasn't long before the troops at the Hook Tribe's Armed first defensive line lost more than half. Seeing the situation, Zhou Gang was both angry and panicked, quickly reporting the situation to Lan Xue, hoping she could come up with a solution.

Lan Xue also had no better solution against the powerful allied forces. Advancing would mean exposure, resulting in more deaths. Flanking from two sides was possible, but the team was just organized, and flanking also meant giving up the advantage of cover. Could they really defeat the allied forces? Lan Xue had no confidence. In this dense forest, the allied forces only needed to fight while retreating, using guerrilla and maneuver warfare, to gradually eliminate everyone.

Precisely because of this, Lan Xue instinctively asked for Luo Zheng's position. Learning that Luo Zheng was on his way, she felt a wave of relief and immediately issued orders for everyone to hold their position. At the same time, she instructed the reserve team to flank from both sides to form a pincer attack, but not to charge, stopping within a two-hundred-meter range to disperse the allied forces' firepower.

The three-sided encirclement made it tough for the allied forces, starting to suffer casualties. In this deadlocked state, retreating was also very difficult, as it meant exposing their backs to the enemy, a taboo on the battlefield. Lan Xue's three-sided pincer tactic finally brought the fight to a stalemate, with neither side being able to gain the upper hand, both suffering damages.

The Hook Tribe's Armed had the advantage of numbers, able to afford losses, while the allied forces had limited troops, unable to withstand much loss. The Snow Bear Captain, concealed behind a large tree, suddenly darted out like lightning, delivering quick shots, hitting two members of the Hook Tribe's Armed right in the forehead, but he also attracted a hail of bullets, forcing him to retract and continue hiding behind the tree, his expression as cold as frost.

After Piero's death, the Snow Bear Captain seized command and orchestrated this attack plan. The Snow Bear Captain had anticipated that the Hook Tribe people would pursue, even deploying a plan to divert them, but the tribe members resolutely defended the mountaintop, refusing to budge, rendering all calculations futile, trapping themselves in a deadlock. The Snow Bear Captain was infuriated, and vented by continuously targeting opponents. The number of people who died at the hands of the Snow Bear Captain was no less than ten.

"If this continues, at best, it's mutual destruction. What do we do?" Mr. Bloodsucker of the Bloodsucker Mercenary Corps shouted angrily not far away.

"Just fight, I promised you won't be short of your money." The Snow Bear Captain snapped back irritably. After Piero's death, the Snow Bear Captain found Bloodsucker, promising a hiring fee, on the condition that Bloodsucker and his men follow the actions, to seize the activation device. Bloodsucker agreed after receiving half the commission, and they began cooperation. As for past grudges, Bloodsucker, of course, hadn't forgotten but would address them after addressing the current situation.

Both sides continued their firefight. Lan Xue estimated that the Hook Tribe's Armed ammunition was running low and that continuing the fight would inevitably lead to defeat. Her face was ice cold, the thought of leading a countercharge rising, but she restrained herself. Hook approached with a grim face, watching his men being shot down one by one, his heart heavy with anguish, brimming with fury.

"Charge, we can't go on fighting like this," Hook shouted loudly.

"Charging means giving up the advantage of the defense line, falling right into the enemy's trap, sacrificing more people. We can't. Just hold on a bit longer, it will be alright when he arrives," Lan Xue forced herself to calm down. Suddenly sensing something amiss, she yanked Hook into the trench of the third defensive line, a sniper bullet whizzed past.

Hook touched his head, breaking into a cold sweat, but soon angrily retorted: "How much longer? Or I'll lead some men to flank around the enemy, hit them hard."

Lan Xue was somewhat moved, pondering briefly, just about to agree when Luo Zheng's voice came through the earpiece: "I'm here, brothers. Quickly take the command, we can't fight like this. Conceal yourselves and don't fire until I order, and hurry."

"Quick, have your men hand over the command to mine. Cooperate with my men's actions. He's here," Lan Xue rapidly told Hook, feeling a sense of relief inside.

Without any hesitation, Hook quickly used the walkie-talkie to contact his officers, instructing everyone to assist in the command. Suddenly, the three defensive lines and the flanking attackers ceased fire, each concealing themselves. Hook didn't expect this order, looking at Lan Xue with some surprise. Lan Xue made a gesture for silence, focusing and keeping vigilant, listening intently and quietly asking, "What do we do next?"

"Hold on, I need to observe a bit more," Luo Zheng's voice resonated in the earpiece.

Luo Zheng returned to the mountain, seeing the deadlock between enemy and allies. Even if they won, the loss would be heavy. Luo Zheng didn't want the Hook Tribe to suffer too much loss. After a quick view of the battlefield, he commanded everyone to cease fire and conceal themselves. His icy gaze scanned the forest ahead, gaining a rough understanding of the enemy's deployment, then silently advanced about thirty meters forward, hiding behind a large tree, signaling Ghost Hand and Mountain Eagle with a hidden gesture behind him.

Everyone concealed themselves. Luo Zheng continued to observe, noticing the allied forces being puzzled by the sudden cessation of gunfire, also stopping their fire. They seemed to be about fifty or sixty people, spread out sparsely, aligned in a kilometer-long line, split into three attack lines, maintaining more than ten meters apart between people, and a dozen meters between the attack lines. Luo Zheng couldn't help but sneer.