Strongest Soldier King

The enemy hastily retreated, leaving weapons scattered all over the ground. Luo Zheng inspected two heavy machine guns and, finding them undamaged with plenty of bullets left, couldn't help feeling overjoyed. With these two Big Killers at hand, there was no need to worry too much about the number of enemies. He loaded the guns and quietly curled up behind the fortification to stand guard.

After a while, Luo Zheng saw Scholar approaching and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing much. I reckon the enemies have fled. We killed so many of them, and they didn't even have time to collect their dog tags. Those are all points. You keep watch; Monk and I will handle the collection. Gardener is on guard at the back door. He asked me to send his greetings to you," Scholar replied, his gaze filled with admiration towards Luo Zheng. Luo Zheng's act of risking his life to kill enemies and seize medicine had not only earned Farmer's trust but also the trust of Scholar and others.

Luo Zheng acknowledged and hid behind the fortification to rest. The continuous fighting had exhausted too much of his stamina, and once he stopped, he felt severe muscle soreness and total fatigue. Half an hour later, Scholar came running over with a gun and, crouching behind the sandbags next to Scholar, said excitedly, "With the daytime defense battle and tonight's fight, we have reaped a lot. We've collected over a hundred dog tags altogether, and together with the previous captures, we have a total of two hundred thirteen."

"That many?" Luo Zheng asked back, surprised.

"Of course, nearly half of them are your doing alone. I've kept count. We didn't expect to kill so many East Yi Yun members. Those guys usually hide and scatter, intermittently launching sneak attacks on our border, causing endless annoyance. It's frustrating that we couldn't find anyone when we mounted a sweep. This competition, on the contrary, brought them together, giving us a chance to eliminate them. I heard they have nearly a thousand armed members; we took out a fifth of them," Scholar said with feeling.

"Indeed. They hoped to concentrate their forces and eliminate one or two of our competition teams to establish their prestige, but they ended up playing into our hands instead. Perhaps this is something the competition committee had calculated from the start, huh? If our teams had more people, I guess those bastards wouldn't dare to surround us," Luo Zheng mused aloud, his mind racing. Could all this really be about using the competition as a pretext to encircle and wipe out the East Yi Yun members and not the Song family making a move against him? If that were the case, why would the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group come over and target him specifically?

"You make a good point, but the plan is very risky. Each team only has five members, with no guns or cannons. The enemy outnumbers us and is familiar with the terrain. Any ambush could easily be the end of us. If we hadn't been lucky and you hadn't been calm and vigilant, it's uncertain if we could have made it this far," Scholar commented, his face showing his concern.

Luo Zheng, unaware of what Scholar was worried about and not wishing to ask, thought for a moment and said, "I suggest we leave here as soon as possible. Once daylight comes and the villagers start moving around, something unexpected might happen. When we withdraw, let's take the two heavy machine guns with us, using a truck for transportation. With over two hundred dog tags, our score won't be too low. If we can make it back before the others, we won't finish last in this competition."

Scholar's eyes lit up, and he said approvingly, "That makes sense. There are two trucks outside. I'll go look for gas. Keep an eye out." With that, he turned and walked toward the courtyard.

"Remember to bring medicine, food, and ammo," Luo Zheng reminded, knowing that they still had an unknown distance to cover. Traveling by truck was good, but they needed sufficient supplies to last the journey.

Minutes later, an off-road vehicle came from the side, startling Luo Zheng. Once he realized it was Monk driving, he relaxed and lowered the heavy machine gun with the safety off. Monk jumped out of the vehicle and called out to Luo Zheng with a grin, "Brother, how's this vehicle?"

"Great stuff. Where did you find it?" Luo Zheng asked with delight.

"It was parked at the back door," Monk said as he jogged into the courtyard. Shortly after, he emerged carrying two big cans of gasoline. Farmer and Scholar followed him, one holding a large box of medicine, the other carrying food. They threw everything into the vehicle and went back for more supplies.

Luo Zheng kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings. The safer the moment seemed, the more dangerous it was to be careless. There were still about a dozen enemies, especially two mercenaries. It would be troublesome if they decided to snipe from hiding. After a while, Scholar and the others came back out with more supplies and loaded the two heavy machine guns and bullets into the trunk.

"Farmer brother, you're injured, so you drive. We'll follow behind, walking slowly," Scholar stated, looking at the off-road vehicle loaded with supplies. There were no seats left inside, so they had to march on foot.

Farmer didn't fuss and hopped into the driver's seat, starting the engine. Everyone proceeded forward slowly, and when they reached the back yard, they picked up Gardener and continued toward the village outskirts. Along the way, Gardener bombarded Luo Zheng with questions, and Luo Zheng had to recount the events again, leaving Gardener sighing in response.

They moved very cautiously, and fortunately, they didn't encounter any dangers. Before they knew it, they arrived at where the truck was parked. The truck was still there. They got off the vehicle, poured the gas into the truck's tank, loaded the supplies onto the truck, mounted one heavy machine gun at the front, and the other at the rear, not even leaving the gas from the off-road vehicle.

Ten minutes later, everything was ready, and they gathered to plan a route. Farmer was in charge of driving, while everyone else rested in the truck. Luo Zheng volunteered to take the first watch, manning the heavy machine gun mounted on the front of the truck, his gaze cold and determined as he looked into the night sky.

Armed with two heavy machine guns, ample ammunition, food, and medical supplies, they were all fully equipped. With such potent firepower, Luo Zheng wasn't too worried about enemy ambushes unless they used mortars.

After battling to this extent and safely rescuing Farmer, Luo Zheng could have never imagined gaining such a clear understanding of everyone's combat strength. Scholar, Monk, and Gardener had managed to fight dozens of enemies along with fierce mercenaries, and despite their understatement of the situation, the danger had been unpredictable.

Moonlight flowed like water, casting a thin veil of silver over the wilderness. The occasional sounds of wild animals added a sense of stillness to the ancient land. To avoid being spotted, they kept the truck's lights off, and although they proceeded slowly, the ride was steady. Luo Zheng glanced at Scholar and the others, who were asleep in the back, and his serene face gained a hint of a smile. His grip on the gun tightened.

Two hours later, Scholar came to take over. Luo Zheng didn't hesitate, sitting in the back of the truck to sleep. When he woke up, the sky was already bright. Farmer handed him a packet of instant noodles and a kettle of water, saying with a laugh, "You're awake. Have something to eat first. We've also got some jerky here."