Strongest Soldier King

Early the next morning, the sunrise scattered across the earth, filtering through the gaps in the leaves and speckling the ground. The air was exceptionally fresh, and the continuous primeval forest swayed with the wind, stirring up a green ocean of waves. Birds chirped merrily early in the morning, occasionally casting vigilant glances around. On a tree canopy, a few birds frolicked and a tree snake slowly slid by. The birds suddenly became alert and scattered. Left with no choice, the tree snake took flight and landed on the branch below, heading towards a new target.

In a dense forest on a hillside, Luo Zheng and the others were having breakfast. After a night of surveillance, the valley's Dragon Nest remained quiet. This mysterious phenomenon gave everyone a headache. With Mountain Eagle's experienced monitoring, Luo Zheng wasn't too worried. As he watched the meat tumbling in his helmet, almost cooked, a rustling sound emerged nearby. Zhang Bin, who was on guard duty, reported that Ghost Hand and the others had returned.

Soon, Ghost Hand and the others arrived covered in blood, looking haggard but spirited, especially their eyes, which shone with a keen light. Each person carried several Wild Wolf corpses on sticks. After reaching the camp, Luo Zheng signaled for everyone to rest briefly and eat the cooked food. He called Zhou Gang and Zhang Bin to help him, taking the twelve wolf bodies with them.

Luo Zheng hadn't expected Ghost Hand to keep his word, exceeding the task within the allotted time. Wild wolf meat wasn't tasty; it was too sour, too tough, and had a gamy smell. Luo Zheng took all of it with them. Ten minutes later, the trio arrived upstream of the valley river. They found an open spot and stopped. Luo Zheng pulled out his Military dagger and easily slit open the wolves' bellies. He stuffed them with wild grass that would hasten decomposition, then secured the openings with vines before submerging them in water. They tied the other ends of the vines to tree branches on the shore to prevent the bodies from drifting away.

Zhou Gang and Zhang Bin followed suit, and soon, all twelve wild wolves were dealt with. Afterward, the three quickly returned to camp. Luo Zheng glanced at Ghost Hand and the others, who were sound asleep, and then at the cooked food, which was nearly gone. He told Zhou Gang and Zhang Bin to prepare more. Seeing Lan Xue observing the valley with a sniper scope, he approached her and asked softly, "Still no discoveries?"

"None. We'll move as soon as they've had enough rest," Lan Xue said.

"That's fine. Ghost Hand, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Eagle will form three teams. I'll assign one person to assist each, two per team, and station them in three directions. You and I will handle the southern exit of the valley. With two additional members from Ghost Team assisting, four people should be enough. What do you think of this arrangement?" Luo Zheng confirmed as he asked.

After pondering for a moment, Lan Xue nodded and continued to watch the valley. A while later, Lan Xue suddenly said, "Look, someone is coming out."

Luo Zheng was startled and raised his sniper scope to observe. It was a group of women, about a dozen, carrying large and small basins filled with clothes—heading to the river to wash garments, chatting and laughing along the way as if unaware of the impending battle. Luo Zheng said with some emotion, "Honestly, this place is like a hidden paradise. Look, there are mountains and water, and there are even rice paddies along the path into the valley. It's a shame, really."

"Indeed a shame," Lan Xue guessed what Luo Zheng was planning to do but didn't stop him.

Luo Zheng raised his sniper rifle and aimed ahead of the group of women on the valley road, firing without hesitation. With a whizz—the bullet shrieked through the air and plunged into the ground, blasting a crater.

The sudden incident terrified the group of women, but they didn't panic. Instead, they crouched on the spot, observing and communicating. Soon, someone tentatively took a few steps forward to inspect the crater, then yelled something to the others. Everyone got up, turned around, and ran, shouting something as they went. The distance was too great to hear clearly.

Watching the flustered women leave, Luo Zheng smiled and said, "This is good, at least they won't dare to come out again."

"That depends on whether they have a well in the valley. But judging by the fact they come out to wash clothes, even if they have a well, they must not have enough water. Otherwise, there's no need to walk three or four hundred meters to wash clothes. Not to mention, our goal to create tension has been achieved. In another day or two, your biological weapon should take effect, right?" Lan Xue asked calmly.

"At the earliest tonight, at the latest tomorrow morning," Luo Zheng replied. As he watched the valley start to simmer with unrest, he still hadn't seen a single able-bodied man. His expression grew grave. As the women entered their homes, the tumultuous valley gradually quieted down, and the children who had been playing outside also went back indoors.

Three hours later, the valley was still a picture of tranquility. Ghost Hand and the others woke up, feeling refreshed after a nap. Everyone gathered together, and Lan Xue assigned tasks. Ghost Hand, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Eagle each led one person while Zhou Gang and Liu Xun followed Luo Zheng to guard the entrance of the valley. Two-hundred-meter-high peaks dense with forests flanked the valley entrance, offering prime sniping locations. Luo Zheng sent the two to the opposite side while he and Lan Xue took one side, repeatedly reminding everyone to act according to the situation, looking for opportunities to strike but ensuring their own safety.

Luo Zheng and Lan Xue lay in ambush in an inconspicuous patch of trees on the hillside, concealed behind large trees, observing the valley below through the branches. Lan Xue sat under a tree, resting with closed eyes. After a while, Luo Zheng, looking at the quiet valley, said, "Something's off. Are they hoping we'll give up and leave on our own?"

"It's not impossible. After two battles, they haven't gained an upper hand and know that they are no match for us with the ragtag group they've mustered. Their best move is to hold the valley. We can't reinforce, and they have all the time in the world to wear us down. This place is no man's land. For them, wearing us down is the best choice." Lan Xue spoke with her eyes half-closed, feeling assured and content in the company of Luo Zheng alone.

"Whoosh!" Suddenly, a whistling sound pierced the air; someone had fired a shot. Luo Zheng looked towards the source of the sound, the direction of the north, that is, behind the valley. Mountain Eagle was guarding the north. Luo Zheng was startled and asked through his headset, "What's happening?"

"Someone was spotted climbing up to the roof to observe the back of the mountain, an armed individual," Mountain Eagle whispered back.

"It seems they can't keep their cool," Luo Zheng said, relieved. Following that, several more gunshots rang out from the east and the west. Message after message came through, also about armed personnel on the lookout. After careful observation and seeing no one heading south, Luo Zheng reminded everyone to be cautious and continued to look for chances to snipe.

Unexpectedly, however, someone in the valley fired a shot. A sniper bullet whizzed towards the north. Luo Zheng was shocked and hurriedly checked on the situation. Relieved to learn his own men were fine, he reminded them, "It looks like the enemy is exposing themselves deliberately to scout our firepower for retaliation."

Everyone acknowledged. As they were all well-trained elite soldiers, they knew how to respond. Luo Zheng was not overly concerned and continued his vigil, intuitively feeling that the battle was officially beginning.

ps: I want to report the update schedule to everyone. There will be two chapters updated around 9:30 am, one chapter around 12:30 pm, and two chapters around 6:30 pm daily. I will try my best to find time to write, thanking everyone for your support and love. Updating over ten thousand words a day is not easy; please help spread the word to friends, give a recommendation, or even leave a message of encouragement if you can. Of course, if friends with monthly tickets could spare them, I would be deeply grateful. Howl! If the adjustment in the update schedule has caused any inconvenience to your reading, I ask for your forgiveness. Thank you.