Strongest Soldier King

The captain didn't move, and no one else did either. On the battlefield, abandoning an officer and running away is a disgrace, not to mention the deep brotherly bond everyone shared. No one could bear to leave a brother behind and escape. Seeing that no one was moving, Shan Hu knew what everyone was thinking and said anxiously, "What are you hesitating for? Run! Golden Eagle and I will head west, and you three go south."

"No way, there are pursuers in the west too. Let's all head south," Mountain Leopard said, firing back as he spoke.

"Right, you guys hold on for two minutes," Duke of Thunder commanded as he started running quickly, skillfully setting traps in various concealed spots among the trees.

Luo Zheng had never seen Duke of Thunder lay traps before. He watched curiously, feeling that in this moment, Duke of Thunder was like a devotee, his hands treating the explosives as if they were divine, carefully and tenderly handing them while mumbling something under his breath.

Shan Hu and the others, familiar with Duke of Thunder's capabilities, quickly spread out a bit and continually picked off everyone who charged at them, but there were too many enemies swarming them, simply too many to hold off. Shan Hu yelled, "How's it going?"

"Almost done," Duke of Thunder shouted back.

Seeing that the pursuers were increasing, Luo Zheng quickly snapped back to reality, shot rapidly, taking down several advancing men. Seeing about five more rushing from another side, he didn't hesitate to pull out a grenade, pull the pin, and throw it, then quickly dove to the ground.

With a loud "boom," the grenade exploded, knocking down the enemies who had charged close. Luo Zheng, daring not to pause, continued to fire until he heard Duke of Thunder's message. Then he heard Shan Hu shout, "Golden Eagle, Mountain Leopard, cover us; the rest retreat a hundred meters, covering alternately. Move quickly."

"Yes," everyone responded as Luo Zheng quickly withdrew a hundred meters, found a large tree for cover and resumed firing at the approaching men. Bullets flew from the chamber, playing a deadly symphony. Seeing that Golden Eagle and Mountain Leopard had retreated a hundred meters behind him, Luo Zheng heard Shan Hu command again, then retreated another hundred meters behind the line where Golden Eagle was.

"Boom, boom," Numerous grenades exploded, shaking the entire forest as if the earth itself trembled. Smoke filled the air, and countless pursuers were blasted away, their screams unending.

"Quickly withdraw," Shan Hu yelled explosively, grabbing his weapon, bending forward, and running fast. Everyone, without looking back at the aftermath of the blasts, turned and ran. With the explosion providing cover, the pursuers couldn't catch up for the time being, and everyone literally sprinted away, and by the time the gunfire resumed behind them, they had already covered more than three hundred meters.

In the dense forest, three hundred meters was too far to effectively target because the numerous trees provided cover, unless one could shoot from the sky. Hearing aimless gunfire from behind, everyone knew the pursuers hadn't given up and clenched their teeth to keep running, each like a fierce tiger driven by a starving wolf through the forest, swift yet slightly disheveled.

Suddenly, Luo Zheng realized something. If the pursuers had set up an ambush so systematically, there was no way they hadn't blocked the south. The thought of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group flashed through his mind, and he quickly shouted, "Stop."

Everyone halted and took cover, then looked towards Luo Zheng. Shan Hu asked in surprise, "What's up?"

"Something feels off. There are ambushes in the east and the north, nearly a hundred men each direction, and the Miao people to the west. It makes no sense for them to leave the south open for us to escape," Luo Zheng said, unable to explicitly mention the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group due to a gag order that was no joke and could lead to military court. Instead, he gave a vague reminder.

This time, no one ignored Luo Zheng's warning. The first reminder had proven Luo Zheng's prescience, a sort of sixth sense that on the battlefield could save lives. Everyone pondered for a moment; after thinking it over, Shan Hu said, "That makes sense. There are two possibilities: there's no way forward, like a cliff or river, and the enemy's pushing us towards a dead end intentionally; or there's an ambush ahead. What do you think?"

"An ambush seems more likely. Look at the terrain ahead; it doesn't seem like there are any cliffs or rivers," Golden Eagle asserted immediately. As a scout, his observation of the terrain was better than anyone present, lending credibility to his words, which made everyone nod in agreement. Finally, they all looked to Shan Hu for the decision, and the situation was clear—it was all up to Shan Hu.

"Turning back is impossible, and continuing south is too risky. How about east?" Shan Hu proposed.

"I suggest we go west," Luo Zheng interjected, though he ordinarily should not disrupt the commander's decisions. Everyone looked at him, surprised but not blaming, simply curious. Luo Zheng smiled wryly and said, "Sorry, captain. I'm not disobeying orders, just speaking my mind. We could get back by going east, but our opponents are no simple foes; they will have surely considered this."

"What makes you think the opponents are not simple? Aren't they just a bunch of drug traffickers with a few extra hands? Do you know something?" Golden Eagle asked in surprise.

Luo Zheng, seeing everyone looking at him again, smiled wryly and said, "What do I know? It's just intuition."

"Intuition?" everyone glanced at Luo Zheng skeptically, then looked at Shan Hu. Shan Hu also sensed something was off, yet he knew Luo Zheng's reasoning was sound. Trusting his comrade, he immediately decided, "Zhengzi makes sense. Let's consider heading towards Shengmiao Village. It's Miao territory, and the drug traffickers won't linger there. The Miao people also won't expect us to circle back. Let's go."

Everyone followed Shan Hu forward. They all looked at Luo Zheng a bit strangely, knowing something was off but not able to explain. Luo Zheng just smiled wryly and followed closely. After running a short distance, he felt something was wrong and quickly picked up the pace, moving to the front while whispering, "Captain, something's not right."

"Stop," everyone halted and took cover, turning to Luo Zheng.

"What's wrong?" Shan Hu whispered back.

"Captain, it's too quiet here," Golden Eagle whispered.

Aware of their elite skills, everyone instantly understood, turned their guns outward, and stayed alert. Shan Hu observed for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Golden Eagle, scout ahead."

"Let me go," Luo Zheng whispered, seeing everyone looking at him once more. He smiled wryly, "I run faster than all of you, so I'm most suited for scouting. If you're worried, let Golden Eagle follow to cover me."

Taken aback, everyone realized indeed Luo Zheng was not even out of breath, his stamina surpassing everyone present. And as a sniper, he was certainly the best choice for reconnaissance. Golden Eagle spoke up, "It's only a few hundred meters. I'll go check it out; you find a spot and cover me." With that, he stood up and moved forward.