Strongest Soldier King

This secret operation had been well prepared in advance, with few aware of its existence, yet they had been ambushed and caught off guard. Everything happened so suddenly and swiftly that no one could react in time. Although they successfully bailed out of the chopper thanks to extraordinary military skills, temporarily avoiding danger, the helicopter was forced to hover at low altitude to allow everyone to jump, turning it into a sitting duck. A rocket-propelled grenade hit it, and it was dismembered on the spot.

The situation was critical; there was no time for second thoughts. Upon hearing gunfire, Luo Zheng, like an enraged tiger, let out a ferocious roar and struggled to rise, intending to charge towards the sound of the guns to seek vengeance for his comrades. Lan Xue pushed him down to the ground again and said angrily in a low voice, "Stay calm, retreat first."

Luo Zheng gasped heavily, ceased his struggling, and turned his gaze towards the direction from which the gunfire was getting closer. He gradually calmed down, his tense body relaxed, and Lan Xue rose to her knees, aiming in the direction of the gunfire, while commanding through the military headset, "All units, follow my command, retreat south, Ghost Hand, cover the rear, quickly."

"Yes!" came a firm response.

Luo Zheng stood up and followed closely behind Lan Xue, sprinting southwards. After a few steps, he felt something was amiss. He suddenly accelerated, grabbed Lan Xue, and exclaimed, "We can't head south, something is very strange. There are no gunshots from the south, the enemy came prepared, and it's unlikely they wouldn't have forces stationed to the south. There could be an ambush waiting for us."

"Your suggestion?" Lan Xue's face grew cold as she crouched down and asked, while gesturing for everyone to take cover on the spot. The team dispersed, vigilantly observing their surroundings—all of them elite soldiers. After the initial chaos, everyone calmed down and responded coolly.

"When faced with uncontrollable danger, people retreat. Our direction of retreat would be to the east, but the enemy came prepared, and they would have made ample preparations knowing we would head east. I suggest a counter-charge towards the west, directly at the enemy, to fight our way out," Luo Zheng said, bristling with murderous intent. After the commotion, he had calmed down, his mind whirring at high speed, quickly analyzing the current combat situation and countermeasures.

After a moment's thought, Lan Xue gritted her teeth and said, "Alright, to the west, attack."

"Attack!" everyone roared in unison. With the two commanders, Lan Xue and Luo Zheng, in agreement, no one else would object. They turned their guns and launched a counter-charge against the approaching enemy.

"Assault formation, Ghost Hand, take point, Snow Leopard and Mountain Eagle, assist, everyone else provide covering fire, push forward, attack." Lan Xue coolly issued the combat commands as she rushed forward.

Luo Zheng did not dare to delay; with a wave of his hand, he led his men in pursuit. They soon caught sight of the enemy. As he raised his gun to aim, he discovered the target had already fallen, taken out by a headshot. Surprised, he quickly realized that the person clearing the way ahead, supposedly named Ghost Hand from Lan Xue's orders, was moving with incredible speed through the dense forest, like a leopard familiar with its surroundings, with every burst fire taking down an enemy.

Following closely behind Ghost Hand, the other two also performed impressively, maintaining a distance of about ten meters. As they ran through the dense forest with their Bullet Avoidance Steps, they didn't even pause to dodge possible incoming bullets. Holding their guns on their right shoulders, they engaged in shooting while on the move, firing at an incredibly high rate. Luo Zheng realized that every target he saw was instantly killed, leaving him with nothing to do. He was astounded by the fast attack speed and the precise shooting skills, truly befitting the few elite of the Mysterious Army.

At that moment, Luo Zheng was filled with longing for the Mysterious Army that Lan Xue had described, and he gained some understanding of their combat abilities. Just by the way the three men sniped the enemy while in rapid movement, Luo Zheng admitted that he couldn't yet match their prowess. Seeing the formidable combat skills of the trio, Luo Zheng's fighting spirit was wholly ignited, and he rushed forward undeterred, raising his Type 95 assault rifle to burst fire mode.

"Gangzi, stay close to me. Everyone else, pair up and spread out, cover the assault," Luo Zheng bellowed, charging ahead. Lan Xue's men were forging the path ahead, locked in fierce combat, even Lan Xue had surged forward—what was he doing hiding behind?

"Da da da!" Two machine guns suddenly erupted in the forest ahead. Their dense fire crossed, forming a vicious net of bullets. Those attempting to advance quickly sought cover. In front of the machine guns, another twenty people were firing, and the ferocious firepower of the AK47s created a screen that pinned everyone down, daring them not to raise their heads.

"Mountain Eagle, take out the enemy machine guns," Lan Xue coldly ordered, her voice relayed to everyone through military headsets. Luo Zheng saw someone dash forward several meters, hug close to the trunk of a large tree, his face steel-blue with tension—the enemy's firepower was too intense to break through. Checking his surroundings, the warrior swung his rifle onto his back and quickly climbed the tree.

While climbing a tree could effectively identify targets, it also made one a stationary target. If spotted, it would spell disaster. But in a bold move to take out the enemy's machine guns, the man put it all on the line. Luo Zheng noted this with resolution written across his face; head down and waist bent, he charged forward and quickly climbed up another large tree.

The counter-attack was halted by the machine guns. If they couldn't break through quickly, other enemy units would encircle them. Luo Zheng also chose to gamble, hiding behind a fork in the tree after switching to his sniper rifle, adjusting the scope, and promptly locating his target.

The enemy was cunning; the machine guns were mounted under the exposed roots of large trees. The thick roots provided excellent cover, the gunners hiding beneath them made aiming difficult. The barrels stretched out slightly, continuously firing hot bullets, shredding the trees ahead into chaos.

Luo Zheng glanced at his comrades pinned down within a mere hundred meters by the crossfire of the two machine guns, along with the sweeping fire from others. Taking cover behind trees and cautiously counterattacking, they struggled to initiate a charge. With time the danger increased, escape grew impossible, and Luo Zheng became anxious. He was about to switch to a 35mm grenade launcher to blast away the machine gun when suddenly he saw a grenade whooshing by.

"Boom!" An explosion rang out, and Luo Zheng, to his delight, found the machine gun hidden beneath the tree root overturned by the blast. Several nearby enemies were also killed, their limbs and flesh flying in all directions. He turned to see another one of his team members on a tree, already firing another grenade toward the second machine gun. With a loud bang, the machine gun fell silent.

"Such quick response," Luo Zheng watched in shock. He had just considered using a grenade, and someone else had already fired and precisely destroyed the machine gun. The speed of adapting during combat was astonishing; he still had so much to learn. Realizing this, Luo Zheng's competitive spirit surged.