Strongest Soldier King

After walking a bit longer, the sun came out. Luo Zheng climbed up the hillside and looked around. Surrounding mountains stretched on endlessly, their slopes covered in dry grass and dense shrubs, with no path in sight and no signs of human habitation. The desolation was suffocating, as if he had entered a lifeless no-man's land. Only a few birds flew high into the sky, their cheerful chirping adding a touch of vitality to this dead wilderness. Luo Zheng realized he was lost and had completely lost all clues.

In his frustration, Luo Zheng sat down to rest. With his eyes half-closed, he began to restore his strength, breathing according to the secret family Breathing Skill. For generations, Luo Zheng's ancestors had lived by hunting. All that was left to him was a dirt sprayer and this skill, with no name and unknown origin, handed down through the generations. Its greatest benefit was to sharpen one's hearing and sight and to accelerate the recovery of physical strength, making it ideal for hunting in the forest.

After all, he was not a professionally trained elite soldier. Luo Zheng had only been with the border guards for half a year since leaving the new recruit company. No matter how you looked at it, he was still a rookie. Driven by his passion, he had chased all the way to this place, relying on the experience and physique accumulated from hunting with his elders as a child. After running wildly through the night, he had nearly exhausted his energy and gradually fell into a deep sleep.

"Boom!" A faint sound of an explosion woke him.

The sleeping Luo Zheng suddenly awoke, his eyes bursting with a sharp glint. He sprang up to his feet in one smooth motion and looked around, but there was nothing to see. The mountains remained unchanged, the vastness all-encompassing, with a light breeze and the air unusually fresh after the rain, which was exhilarating. Looking up at the high sun, Luo Zheng was certain that what he had heard was not an illusion. It couldn't have been thunder during the clear weather on the plateau, leaving only the explanation of an explosion.

With this realization, Luo Zheng's spirits instantly lifted. He quickly shouldered his pack and grabbed his machete, and his cold, stern eyes scanned the surroundings, waiting for another explosion. After a short rest under the effects of the family's Breathing Skill, Luo Zheng had fully recovered his physical and mental strength, looking as energetic as a Divine Dragon once again.

"Boom!" Another explosion faintly sounded.

This time, Luo Zheng keenly discerned the direction from which the explosion came, deep in the mountain range and far from him. Overjoyed, he spared no thought as he dashed toward the sound, inwardly celebrating that he finally had a lead. Remembering the gruesome death of his comrades, Luo Zheng was filled with power, and his steps whipped up a gust of wind as he ran.

He crossed over peak after peak, traversed ridge after ridge, and waded through valley after valley, yet no further explosions were heard. An hour later, Luo Zheng arrived at a hillside. Looking around, he saw the same endless mountain ridges, with no human presence but further away lay a forest of tall and dense trees reaching up to the sky.

Confronted with this familiar yet alien wilderness, Luo Zheng couldn't help but feel disheartened. This vast mountain range was already within the territory of the neighboring country, Yue. Where was he to find the killer? If he had chosen the wrong direction, not only would his efforts be wasted, but he would also lose the best opportunity to pursue the murderer. What should he do now? Images of his fallen comrades surged in his mind, filling Luo Zheng's face with sorrow and helplessness.

"Screech!" A sharp cry of a bird pierced the sky, injecting some vitality into the barren wilderness. Luo Zheng turned his head and saw a Mountain Eagle soaring into the clouds, followed by a flock of birds that burst out from the forest of towering trees and frantically flew into the sky.

Seeing this scene, Luo Zheng's spirits were greatly lifted. The startled bird flying out of the forest meant there were people there. "Boom!" A faint explosion sounded from within the forest, confirming Luo Zheng's judgment. Elated, he charged wildly toward the forest, completely disregarding any dangers. Nothing could deter him from his pursuit of vengeance.

Once he entered the forest, Luo Zheng relied on his hunting experience to search for signs. Snapped branches, trampled ground, and disturbed bark were all perfect clues. Despite his thorough search, he found nothing initially. Fortunately, another explosion sounded in the distance. Luo Zheng ran towards it, faintly hearing the "whoosh whoosh" of bullets tearing through the air.

"There's a battle up ahead," Luo Zheng confirmed, picking up his pace. The gunfire and occasional grenade explosions grew louder.

Running through a forest could exhaust one quickly, but thankfully, the towering trees blocked out the sunlight, leaving the ground devoid of most shrubs and weeds due to the lack of nourishment. Aside from the exposed giant roots, only thick layers of dead leaves remained on the ground, and the air was filled with the stench of rotting leaves and mud—the depths of the forest were not as beautiful as they seemed after a heavy rain.

But none of this was an issue for Luo Zheng, accustomed to the jungle. Since the age of ten, he had followed his elders deep into the forest for weeks at a time. He felt a close affinity with the forest, and as he ran, he leaped over obstacles like a nimble monkey, incredibly fast.

After about ten minutes, the sound of combat ahead ceased. Instinctively, Luo Zheng slowed down. Although he lacked combat experience, he knew proceeding further was dangerous. Carefully surveying his surroundings, he tiptoed to a large tree, and after ensuring there were no imminent threats, he quickly darted to another tree to continue his observation.

Luo Zheng had been accustomed to the brutal killings among animals since childhood, and the sight of his uncles and brothers dying at the claws of fierce beasts meant he was not too afraid of death. However, he valued his life—one only has one life, after all, and he needed to live to avenge his brothers!

The further Luo Zheng moved, the more cautious he became. It wasn't long before he saw a person lying ahead, their head and shoulders covered in blood, with most of their cranium blown away, clearly dead. The person was wearing unusually patterned camouflage with a green base and patches of yellow, brown, and black, blending them with the natural surroundings. Had it not been for the bleeding head, they would have been nearly impossible to spot.

Cautiously, Luo Zheng approached and turned the body over to see an Eastern face, strong features, and eyes that reflected reluctance and a longing for life. Next to the body was a good-looking Advanced weapon, reminiscent of a sniper rifle. There was nothing to identify the person's identity, so Luo Zheng picked up the gun and began to inspect it.

For Luo Zheng, a new border guard, shooting was an unfamiliar skill, having been used to homemade "dirt sprayers" since childhood. He had barely handled guns except during recruit training, where ammunition was pitifully scarce. His understanding of firearms was limited. Although he had the opportunity to handle weapons at the border station, ammunition was strictly controlled, and he hadn't fired a single shot in half a year. He hardly knew how to use such sophisticated equipment and could only tentatively identify the parts when suddenly, two gunshots rang out from ahead.

Startled, Luo Zheng grabbed the weapon and rushed forward. Soon, he saw someone in the distance fire a shot, then quickly roll to the side. The very spot where the person had been hiding was hit by a burst of three bullets, the events unfolding in the blink of an eye. If the person had been even half a beat slower, they would have undoubtedly been killed.