Strongest Soldier King

The dense shrubbery, knee-high rivers, hillside forests, and piles of stones were all unsuitable for running, let alone sprinting with a load of ten kilograms. This was definitely a cross-country route that tested human limits, as well as a route that tested willpower and honed movement technique skills. The battalion commander watched as one warrior after another fell behind and struggled to crawl, his face covered with frost, but his eyes danced with excitement. He had made up his mind to train like this from now on.

Luo Zheng had no idea that he had inadvertently inspired the battalion commander's training regimen. Following the river downstream, then crossing through a stretch of woods, he returned to the camp. Standing on the training grounds, Luo Zheng began timing himself, his backpack and combat uniform soaking wet, dripping water continuously to the ground that was now thoroughly wet.

The time waiting for his comrades to return was filled with anticipation, helplessness, and disappointment. About ten minutes later, someone appeared at the camp gate, staggering and stumbling, falling down only to get up again, desperately jogging over with severe physical exhaustion. But upon seeing Luo Zheng waiting and timing, a fanatical gleam burst from their bleary eyes, and it was as if strength returned to their bodies all at once, and they picked up the pace dramatically.

When they reached Luo Zheng, they struggled to salute and report, their bodies so weary they collapsed on the ground, unable to get up for a while. Their gazes at Luo Zheng were filled with respect. Along the way, everyone had experienced the difficulty and gained a clear understanding of Luo Zheng's strength. The strong respect only the stronger.

The observers by the side didn't understand what had happened—they only saw that Luo Zheng had returned ten minutes ahead of everyone else without much trouble, while the others came back looking like patients drained of their strength, not only listless but also too exhausted to speak coherently. What was going on? The medics hurried forward to examine and treat them.

Luo Zheng did not stop them. The soldiers were embarrassed: they were all human, so why couldn't they do it? They immediately pushed the medics' hands away and shakily stood up, struggling to stand properly, eyes fixed on Luo Zheng, filled with a fanatical respect. They consciously formed up into ranks, gasping for air to recover their strength, and looked toward their continually returning teammates.

A few minutes later, the top ten emerged. Luo Zheng approached Elder Chang, who was observing, and said in a low voice, "Arrange for someone to go to the back to help, bring water. I'm guessing they won't be back for a while, tell them to stop running."

"Understood." Elder Chang glanced at the ten staggering people, smiled, and agreed before leaving.

Luo Zheng looked at everyone and said, "Follow me." With that, he headed towards the shooting range.

Seeing that Luo Zheng hadn't removed his backpack, no one else dared to remove theirs either. They staggered behind him, wondering to themselves. With this state, could they still shoot accurately? It couldn't be that the final round of elimination was starting now, could it? Thinking of this, their expressions changed slightly, they took deep breaths to speed up their recovery, and their eyes gradually became more determined. At this point, no one was willing to give up easily or back down.

Luo Zheng led everyone to the shooting range, had ten people line up side by side, and had someone bring over the Type 95 assault rifles, one magazine per person with thirty bullets each. Luo Zheng had someone help with timing—one for each person. After everything was arranged, his stern gaze swept over the group, and he said loudly, "To be fair, you'll start shooting when I command. The target is at 400 meters, standing position, firing in single shots. The assessment standard is rate of fire and accuracy, the shortest time with the most hits wins selection. Everyone, prepare yourselves."

All loaded their bullets, the butt of the rifle steady against their right shoulder, aiming at the target, adjusting their breathing, anxiously waiting. Luo Zheng confirmed with the soldier timing them that there were no issues with the timers, and reminded everyone to start timing after he gave the order, and for the shooters to stop after they finished. Once everything was ready, Luo Zheng took a deep breath, his heart stirring with the thought his squad was about to form, and he bellowed out, "Everyone ready, on my command, begin!"

"Bang, bang, bang!" Everyone aimed at the target, continuously pulling the trigger. In single shot mode, every pull of the trigger fired only one bullet. To shoot all thirty bullets required thirty pulls, which took time. To shoot quickly and accurately demanded a high level of skill.

Soon, everyone had completed their shooting, their gun muzzles pointed down as they tensely watched the target positions. The soldier responsible for timing recorded the results. Luo Zheng had the timer and shooters go check the results together and brought a pen and paper to record each score.

The results came in swiftly, and there were no objections from the shooters; everything was fair. Those with lesser skill quietly left, while those selected stood eagerly in a line, excitedly looking at Luo Zheng. Joining the Elite Team was everyone's dream, and now that the dream was realized, their emotions were exceptionally high.

Luo Zheng looked at them all, fully understanding their feelings. When the battalion commander came over, Luo Zheng handed over the list of results. The battalion commander glanced at the list and looked appreciatively at the five selected warriors, slightly moved as he said, "You fought your way out from forty men; you've done well. Although the shooting scores aren't ideal, considering you were able to shoot this well when utterly exhausted and nearly depleted of strength, it's still acceptable. However, you have much to learn from your captain. I won't say why; congratulations on your selection."

"Yes, thank you, Commander," the five exclaimed excitedly.

"Don't thank me; thank your captain," the commander said excitedly. He looked at Luo Zheng, his eyes filled with joy, and smiled, "You've taught me a lesson, kid. I didn't understand your training methods at first, but now I'm convinced. Not bad. I'm entrusting the first squad to you. Whether it'll be dragons or worms, I'll await your answer."

"Please rest assured, Commander. When have I ever let you down?" Luo Zheng said, his face wearing a confident smile, looking at his team members with eyes full of longing and anticipation.

The commander nodded in satisfaction and said to everyone, "You might not know, but during the last competition, your teammates gave the nickname 'Ghost'. Do you know what it means? It's synonymous with 'Death God'. Like a Ghost, he tracks and pursues, hunts down his targets like a ghost, and disappears like one. Following such a captain, your future lives will definitely be exciting."

Upon hearing this, everyone's enthusiasm soared. Their gazes towards Luo Zheng were like the sun shining brightly from beyond the ninth heaven. Luo Zheng heard this nickname for the first time and was taken aback, thinking it was something the commander had made up to build his authority, but after giving it some thought, he felt it was not bad. Accepting it with gratitude, he smiled and did not object.

"I hope you will also be like Ghosts on the battlefield, appearing and disappearing at will, reaping the enemies' lives. Therefore, from now on, the first squad will be called Ghost Team, named after your captain's codename. I hope you'll live up to this name, fight for the country and the people." the commander said with some excitement, full of expectation for Luo Zheng.