Strongest Soldier King

"Nonsense, who in our brigade took down seven Wild Wolf mercenaries?" Snow Leopard's expression turned serious as he looked intently at Mountain Eagle and said, "Luck, you get it? The kid's abilities are still average, but he has huge potential for growth. More importantly, he's got luck on his side. Luck is elusive, yet you can't deny its existence. On the battlefield, it can save lives or even change the outcome of the battle. Do you have it? Or does anyone in our brigade have it?"

"No," Mountain Eagle replied grumpily. "But this kid is a bit unusual. I'll ask the captain about it later. It seems like our captain has taken a fancy to him, and we didn't know anything about it before. It's interesting. Are we lacking talented people in our brigade? There are swarms of people stronger than this kid. Why did our captain take a liking to him? Just like that, the goddess in my mind is gone."

"Why don't you tell that to the captain? Goddess, you?" Snow Leopard scoffed with disdain. "Our captain is the goddess of the whole brigade. You know the fate of all those who have confessed their feelings to her, don't you? Our captain has taken a fancy to this kid for a reason, and I feel like the dying fire of gossip in my heart is rekindled."

"If you don't want to die, then rekindle it," Mountain Eagle retorted and vanished into the surrounding woods with a quick movement.

"A little agility is something to brag about?" Snow Leopard cursed under his breath and quickened his pace to catch up with the team. Seeing everyone had stopped for a break, started fires, and began cooking, with their clothes all soaked through, it was a good opportunity to dry them. Snow Leopard walked toward Luo Zheng, but seeing Lan Xue also heading there, he wisely turned away and came to sit by a nearby bonfire, pricking up his ears only to hear Luo Zheng calling out. After a moment's hesitation, he moved closer and asked, "What's up?"

"I promised to treat you to roast chicken," Luo Zheng said with a smile while stripping leaves off a branch, rolling them into a ball, and squeezing out the juice to rub on the plucked wild chicken. Snow Leopard, who had never seen these leaves before, asked curiously, "What is this?"

"I don't know, but the juice makes the meat more tender and juicy," Luo Zheng replied, his hands moving deftly. After preparing the chicken, he skewered it on a stick and set it over the bonfire to roast. Then he began stripping off his camouflage suit and laid out his digital camo combat uniform to dry, all while saying to Lan Xue, "We haven't encountered any pursuers on the way here. There are two possibilities, one is that they were led away by that watch; the other is that they've pulled out. I'm inclined to believe the latter."

"Reason?" Lan Xue asked calmly, having taken off her camouflage suit but not the combat uniform beneath it, as it was inconvenient for a woman to do so.

Luo Zheng signaled Liu Xun to stoke the fire a bit larger. The surrounding trees were dense, and the smoke wouldn't be noticed until someone came right up to them. As for the blue smoke, there was mist hovering above the moist forest after the rain, which made it hard to distinguish from the smoke, so there was no worry of exposure. Luo Zheng glanced at Snow Leopard and said, "The enemy has suffered considerable losses, and they can't afford the cost. After an ambush and a pursuit, they didn't gain any advantages from either fight. It makes no sense to continue fighting us in the jungle. They might as well go back and look for another opportunity. Besides, I suspect they've guessed that we would attack their base."

"Reason?" Lan Xue pressed, as her expression remained ever calm and composed.

"From the ambush onwards, we've been heading west, which doesn't make sense. If we were retreating, east would be the most appropriate direction. If evacuating, any direction would be possible, not just doggedly westward," Luo Zheng explained. Seeing that Snow Leopard was just staring at the roasting chicken, deep in thought, and without any opinions, Luo Zheng, a bit annoyed, asked, "Snow Leopard, right? What do you think?"

"You're absolutely right," Snow Leopard said lazily, his eyes fixed only on the chicken, as if nothing else could pique his interest. There were only two explanations for this sort of behavior: either he's a bit slow or he's in possession of wisdom. Luo Zheng believed it was the latter. No one who joined the Mysterious Army was simple, and he couldn't help feeling exasperated as he said, "So that's what all of you think. In that case, what do we do next?"

"Follow the captain's orders," Snow Leopard said, examining the chicken that was beginning to turn golden as if there was something incredibly interesting about it worth his scrutiny.

Luo Zheng instantly realized that these guys were all shrewd. He looked at Lan Xue, who glared at Snow Leopard and said, "You're itching for trouble, aren't you? Keep a watch at three hundred meters."

"Sure thing," Snow Leopard said with a sheepish smile, "Little bro, remember to leave some for me."

"I'll leave you a chicken's butt," Luo Zheng laughed. Seeing Snow Leopard leave, he couldn't help but look towards Lan Xue. Noticing she was trying to hold back her laughter, cheeks flushed, he chuckled, "If you want to laugh, just laugh. Don't keep a cold face all day, as if I've bullied you or something. Tell me, do you have a new plan?"

Lan Xue didn't laugh, but her expression turned serious. She locked eyes with Luo Zheng and spoke deliberately, "We're not far from the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group now. I plan to camp here. We should be able to reach them by tomorrow noon and then we'll play it by ear. You said a lot just now, we can't rush into an attack. So for now, we'll rest and gather our strength."

"Sounds good," Luo Zheng agreed.

They chatted idly, and before they knew it, the chicken was cooked, as were the wild rabbits and birds everyone else was roasting. They sprinkled some salt and shared the meal. It wasn't easy to have a peaceful meal in the primeval forest. Once they had eaten and drunk their fill and their clothes had dried, Luo Zheng handed the clothes to Lan Xue. She gave him a deep look and disappeared into the woods with the dry clothes.

A few minutes later, Lan Xue returned, handing Luo Zheng the clothes she had changed out of, "You're a man, so taking care of a woman shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"It's my honor. You take a nap," Luo Zheng said with a smile, spreading out Lan Xue's clothes to continue drying them. Seeing Lan Xue sit down next to him, back to back, he steadied himself to give her a comfortable rest and called out, "Gangzi, Xunzi, Binzi, you three go and take over for those three. Keep watch for the first half of the night."

"Yes." The three men called by name responded and went to relieve Ghost Hand, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Eagle.

"Awoooo!" Suddenly, a desolate howl of a wolf pierced the air. Luo Zheng was startled, and Lan Xue jumped up like she had been electrocuted, grabbed the gun beside her, and swiftly aimed, searching the surroundings. Her face was grim as she said, "There are wolves. They must have killed one. Light two more bonfires."

Luo Zheng glanced at Wu Yuan and Meng Zhu. The two understood immediately and sprang into action. Wild wolves weren't to be feared, but they never acted alone nor were likely to attack humans unless it was a starving pack that could be lethal, which everyone understood. They didn't dare to be careless. Luo Zheng also picked up a gun and spoke softly, "Let's pull in our forces and go on the defensive."

"How many? Pull everyone back, fast," Lan Xue ordered quietly through the headset.

"Received. There must be at least twenty, the exact number is unclear," a voice responded from the headset. It was Ghost Hand.

"Twenty or so?" Luo Zheng was shocked, his face turning somber as he said, "Looks like we've encountered a pack of wild wolves. Starving wolves are tricky to handle. We can't just stand our ground; let's get up in the trees."