Strongest Soldier King

"Whoosh!" A bullet struck Luo Zheng's rucksack with deadly accuracy.

Almost simultaneously, Luo Zheng saw the female soldier spring up from the ground like a leopard ready to pounce, catching the tossed gun in mid-air. As her body fell, the female soldier burst out with a fierce killing intent so dense it seemed tangible, and the gun in her hand let out a startling roar. The bullet's sonic boom sliced through the air and vanished from sight.

After landing, the female soldier rolled swiftly. Two bullets closely followed, embedding themselves in the ground just where her back had been. Under Luo Zheng's incredulous gaze, she slammed the ground with her palm and surged up explosively, leaping over five meters to take cover behind a large tree. She curled up tight, minimizing her exposure to attack, and remained motionless.

"So strong," Luo Zheng mumbled, still staring at the concealed female soldier. He hadn't expected the enemy's gunfire to be so rapid, nor her evasion so swift. Such formidable skills; could this be the legendary, mysterious and powerful Special Forces? Since the female soldier did not shoot at him, could she really be one of his own?

Thinking that the female soldier might be a compatriot from his country's Special Forces, Luo Zheng felt a surge of excitement. His panic gradually subsided, and he regained his usual calm and shrewdness. Continuing to hide behind the large tree, he was well aware that he shouldn't involve himself in such a high-level combat—stepping out would mean death, and hiding meant waiting for death. With an unknown number of enemies, he had to do something to assist the female soldier. Saving her meant saving himself.

With this in mind, Luo Zheng looked around for something he could use. His hand felt the machete still there, which sparked an idea. Observing the sunlight filtering through the leaves, he estimated the likely positions of the enemy hideouts and slowly extended the machete out from the tree, tilting the blade to reflect a beam of sunlight.

"Whoosh!" A gunshot rang out.

Luo Zheng felt a strong force, and the machete flew from his hand, landing far away, the blade broken in two.

"Whoosh!" Another gunshot came from not far away.

Luo Zheng was shocked and turned to see that the shooter was the female soldier. Following that, he heard a faint grunt of pain, indicating someone was hit. He was overjoyed, gaining clear respect for the female soldier's gun skills and the newfound confidence that his plan was working.

"Whoosh—Boom!" Another shot, and the tree shuddered, sending splinters flying.

Luo Zheng felt a slight pain in his arm and blood began to flow. He stood frozen until he heard a woman's voice loudly ordering him to get down. His body instinctively dropped to the ground, and that's when he realized that the tree he had been hiding behind now had a gaping hole. Fortunately, the bullet's trajectory had changed after hitting the tree, resulting only in a flesh wound. Luo Zheng, who had narrowly escaped the Death God, was now furious, a fierce determination rising within him—to hell with it, he would fight.

Luo Zheng, about to counter-attack, heard gunfire from not far off. He knew without looking that the female soldier was seizing the opportunity to strike back. He didn't care about anything else anymore. With all his strength, he let out a bizarre yell and charged forward, planning to use himself as bait to draw the enemy's fire and create an opportunity for the female soldier. With full confidence in her gun skills, he was prepared to die; better to go out in a blaze of glory than die a stifled death.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, get down!" The sound of three bullets being fired, mixed with angry shouts, rang out beside Luo Zheng's ears. Already having dashed several meters forward, Luo Zheng couldn't stop in time. Unaware of an exposed tree root under his feet, he lost his balance and tripped, tumbling far across the ground.

As he hit the ground, Luo Zheng felt a bullet graze past his scalp. The scorching heat was suffocating. Panicking, he hid behind a tree next to him, sat down at its base, and touched his head. He was overwhelmed with the feeling of having narrowly escaped death. Perhaps because he had faced death too many times, his heart had become numb. Luo Zheng felt it wasn't that frightening anymore. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions and, noticing the dappled sunlight at his feet that looked like dancing butterflies, couldn't help but look up at the sky and wonder silently, "Could it be the spirits of my brothers watching over me?"

"Swoosh, swoosh!" Another two sharp sounds of bullets rang out, and a female voice asked, "Is he dead?"

Luo Zheng suddenly remembered it was the same voice that had warned him to get down, speaking in the familiar Mandarin. He turned his head to look and there was the female soldier, who had appeared behind another large tree five or six meters away from himself, her body concealed beneath a huge protruding root, gun pointed forward.

"Not dead, friend?" Luo Zheng responded, asking in return with confusion.

"Retreat first," the female soldier said coldly, not answering Luo Zheng's question.

"Huh?" Luo Zheng looked at her in surprise. Suddenly, he heard a piercing whistle from the direction of the enemy. Not understanding what it meant but seeing the female soldier's serious and tense expression, he guessed it meant nothing good. Feeling he could trust her and that there must be a reason for her command to retreat, he didn't hesitate and ran back the way he had come, picking up his marching pack and machete along the way.

After dashing forward for over a dozen meters without hearing any worrying gunfire, Luo Zheng didn't know what had happened but realized the female soldier hadn't followed him back. Feeling it wasn't right for a man to run off and leave a woman behind, he was about to turn back when he heard a girl shout, "Run!"

The voice seemed close by, startling Luo Zheng. He looked back and saw the female soldier had somehow made it over; she was standing behind a large tree three to five meters diagonally across from him, staring at him sternly, her face fierce. Luo Zheng sensed that this female soldier, appearing like a ghost, was even stronger than he had imagined. Without further fuss, he picked up his pace and sprinted.

In a duel between experts, he'd only be a burden if he stayed. At that moment, Luo Zheng realized how useless he was compared to the female soldier; they were worlds apart, the difference as vast as the heavens and the earth. As for the enemies who had fought the female soldier to a draw, they were far from simple and beyond his capability to contend with.

He ran a great distance in one go and, no longer hearing any gunfire behind him, Luo Zheng gradually slowed down. He looked around and couldn't see the female soldier anywhere, which made him worry. Gritting his teeth, he ran back. Luo Zheng couldn't bear the thought of leaving a woman behind to escape, especially since the enemies ahead might be the ones who killed his comrades.

After returning about two hundred meters or so, everything was eerily quiet save for the rustling of leaves in the wind, with no sign of any suspicious characters, as if nothing had happened. Luo Zheng was shocked and trying to figure out what to do next when an annoyed voice came from not far away, "Why come back? Are you looking for death? Run fast!"