Strongest Soldier King

"Stop talking nonsense, this is settled, Zhengzi, if you dare to drop the ball, I'll cripple you when we get back." The squadron leader angrily pointed at Luo Zheng and scolded, knowing full well in his heart that this kid trained desperately, only thinking about getting stronger, and caring about nothing else. What about never having seen blood? What about never having been on the battlefield? The squadron leader didn't believe any of it, having already gathered quite a bit of intelligence from Lan Xue.

"Squadron leader, I object." Shan Hu said discontentedly.

"You object?" The squadron leader laughed in anger and coldly said, "Shan Hu, I think you're just a mountain cat, no, a pet cat. Use that underdeveloped brain of yours to think, who am I? Would I hastily handle such an important matter? I'm laying it down here and now, whether you like it or not, you have to accept it. I'm telling you, in the whole squadron, we cannot find anyone more suitable than Zhengzi for this mission. When you come back, if you don't thank me, I'll give you my position."

"You?" Shan Hu looked at the squadron leader in surprise, then dubiously at Luo Zheng, and finally back at the squadron leader, saying incredulously, "Him? Really?"

"What a waste of words. How many years have we been brothers? Would I harm you?" The squadron leader said with dissatisfaction.

"Let's give it a try then." Seeing that the squadron leader was resolute, Shan Hu could only submit, though he was not optimistic about Luo Zheng.

"Zhengzi, remember what I said, perform well. That's a battlefield, not a training ground. You don't need to hold anything back. The lives of your brothers are not to be taken lightly. Remember, the battlefield is the best training ground," the squadron leader said seriously to Luo Zheng.

"Yes." Luo Zheng could tell from the squadron leader's words that he had his best interests at heart, and he answered gratefully and loudly. Then, he saluted Shan Hu and said earnestly, "Reporting, Captain, Luo Zheng reporting for duty, awaiting your orders."

"At ease." Shan Hu returned the salute, still looking somewhat concerned at the squadron leader.

The squadron leader, ignoring Shan Hu, said to Luo Zheng, "Zhengzi, after the last assessment, I moved you directly from rookie to elite, skipping the rank of regular soldier. I hope you will not disappoint me. Today, I officially place you into the first squad. Complete your mission well."

"Yes." Luo Zheng was overjoyed. Since the last assessment, he hadn't been assigned to a specific unit and felt like an outsider. Although he trained with Elite Special Team members, he had always felt uncertain, like a kite without a string, unsure where he would end up. Now, at last, he felt grounded.

"First squad welcomes you to our ranks." Shan Hu, seeing the look the squadron leader gave him, had no choice but to express his acceptance. Each special forces squad had only five members: command, sniper, scout, demolitions, and assailant. The command was responsible for tactical planning and on-site leadership; the sniper for overall control, occupying high ground, providing real-time enemy updates, and precise fire support as well as cover; the scout for accurate intelligence, including target location, numbers, firepower, defense, mobilization, possible reinforcements, communications, supplies, and so on; the demolitions expert for destroying any target that needed to be destroyed; and the assailant for breakthroughs, annihilations, cover, harassment, raids, guerrilla tactics, etc. Everyone had their stronghold. If it were something like assaulting, Shan Hu would have agreed immediately, but the sniper position was too crucial. Shan Hu always felt uneasy, but he didn't oppose it any further.

"Go ahead," the squadron leader said with satisfaction.

The two left and headed outside to the training field. Shan Hu took Luo Zheng straight to the barracks. The rest of the first squad members were all there. Seeing Luo Zheng arrive, one of them said cheerily, "Zhengzi's here. Didn't you go sparring with our captain again? Tell us, who won this time?"

"Everyone's here, perfect, full attendance, gather around," Shan Hu glared at the speaker and immediately ordered.

Everyone assembled, looking at Shan Hu with surprise. Shan Hu gave his teammates—his brothers who'd experienced life and death together—a pleased glance and said, "Brothers, everyone knows Zhengzi, no need for me to introduce him again. Let me tell you something, starting today, Zhengzi is officially part of our squad. Let's welcome him."

"Wait a minute," a soldier asked in surprise, "What's Zhengzi here for?"

"What position is our squad missing?" Shan Hu asked back, dissatisfied.

"Sniper, no way?" Another soldier said incredulously. Everyone knew about Luo Zheng's close combat skills, rivaling the captain, but his sniping ability was unknown. Handing such an important position to someone they weren't familiar with left everyone feeling anxious.

Luo Zheng understood everyone's feelings. The sniper position was very important, but he couldn't be bothered to explain. He always remembered Lan Xue's words: A sniper's language is bullets; verbal theatrics are not a sniper's business. Everything would be proven on the battlefield.

"Enough chit-chat," Shan Hu scolded and then looked at Luo Zheng, saying, "Zhengzi, we don't get to know each other without a fight. We're brothers, that's true, but I separate public from private. It's fine that you're joining our squad, but you've got to show us something, give the brothers some peace of mind, right?"

"Yeah, show us what you've got," everyone came around, echoing the sentiment. If he truly had the skills, then there'd be no question. But if he didn't, then they'd have a reason to replace him.

Luo Zheng looked around at everyone in confusion, then realized what was happening and smiled, saying, "Alright, the battlefield is a life-or-death place, and I can understand your concerns. But just tell me how you want to test my ability? This is a training ground, not a battlefield. There's no real combat, how can I demonstrate a level that would make you feel assured?"

"It's not complicated, come on, let's head to the rear mountain," Shan Hu said, smiling happily when Luo Zheng seemed willing to show off his skills. He urged everyone towards the rear mountain. Regardless of his sniping level, checking his shooting skills was a good start. None from the first squad noticed that, from a window in the office building, the squadron leader watched them head to the rear mountain with a satisfied grin.

Before long, the group arrived at the rear mountain. After looking around, Shan Hu pointed to a bird startled into flight a few dozen meters away and said, "Shoot one down to show us."

Luo Zheng glanced at it—about five hundred meters away, with a two-level wind speed. The difficulty was not a problem. Since he needed to make a show of his skills, he might as well display some real expertise to completely impress everyone. He didn't immediately shoot; the bird had flown far away by then. As he looked at the dissatisfied faces, Luo Zheng scanned the area and pointed at a large tree, saying, "See that tree? I'll shoot down the longest hanging branch."

Everyone followed his pointing finger and saw the tree about two hundred meters away. The branch was swaying in the wind, long and thin, making the challenge at least ten times harder than the earlier bird. The team looked incredulously at Luo Zheng. Shan Hu immediately slapped his chest and said, "Zhengzi, if you hit it, we'll be brothers from then on."