Strongest Soldier King

The helicopter flew through the night, refueled halfway at the Northwest Military Region, and continued westward. As it approached the border line, the helicopter flew at ultra-low altitude, traversing the canyon circuitously to avoid detection by neighboring country radars. Without realizing it, they had entered the neighboring country's territory. The pilot belonged to the National Blade, with exceptional flying skills. Everyone on the helicopter felt at ease taking a nap to conserve energy, as there would be no time to sleep once the battle commenced.

In the middle of the night, the helicopter arrived over a valley. A green light illuminated inside the cabin, signaling everyone to prepare for the jump. Instantly, everyone opened their slightly closed eyes, bursting with a fighting spirit, quickly transitioning into combat readiness. Lan Xue coldly commanded, "Check your equipment, prepare to rappel."

Everyone began checking their equipment. Three minutes later, they felt the helicopter hovering in mid-air. The cabin door lock released, and everyone opened the door, throwing ropes from both sides, grabbing them and swiftly descending. In mid-air, they clutched the lower end of the ropes and descended in an upright position. Once on the ground, they quickly sprinted a few steps forward, kneeling down to aim ahead, their sharp eyes vigilantly watching the surroundings.

Soon, everyone had rappelled down. The pilot retracted the ropes, closed the cabin door, and turned away. Luo Zheng calmly surveyed the pitch-black sky around them. The dark mountain ridges stood like monsters, the moon was bright but sparse with stars, and the ground was shrouded in gray; the hills were bare, devoid of forests.

The five of them formed a tacit circular defense, warily watching the surroundings to prevent ambushes. Once Lan Xue confirmed no enemies nearby, she reported, "Headquarters, we have landed, safe."

"Your position has been locked. March at a speed of fifteen kilometers per hour. You should reach the enemy's temporary camp in about five hours. The enemy has stopped advancing. They had a skirmish an hour ago with your friend but didn't suffer much loss," Hong Meihua's voice echoed in their earpieces.

"Advance and search." As soon as Luo Zheng heard this, he immediately ordered. The helicopter's roar was loud enough that moving further might alert the enemy; their journey had to continue on foot from here.

Ghost Hand and Mountain Eagle took positions on the left and right, while the other three trailed about ten meters behind, maintaining a triangular formation and distance, rapidly pushing forward. Luo Zheng, in the middle of the rear row, coolly watched into the depths of the night. The wilderness at night was not quiet; crickets chirped, and occasionally, large birds screeched bizarrely.

The team followed the ridge. The moonlight was hazy, but it was bright enough to see the path, rendering night vision devices unnecessary. The barren hills lacked trees or shrubs, offering only low grass and exposed rocks, which didn't impede their progress. Everyone remained silent, forging ahead quietly.

Unknowingly, they had been running for over an hour, and the path ahead was still mountainous, seemingly endless. With the darkness offering no reference points, it was fortunate that Lan Xing's guidance kept them on track. Luo Zheng glanced up at the night sky, noting the moon was now towards the east and would soon set. He checked his watch; it was already 4 AM. He estimated they could catch up to the enemy by dawn.

Recalling the scene of the enemy massacring an allied unit, Luo Zheng felt a surge of anger, tightening his grip on his rifle, quickening his pace. To conserve energy, Luo Zheng employed a family-inherited Breathing Skill to march quickly, soon entering a state of emptiness, as if his senses had heightened, discerning the wind and insect sounds more clearly.

After about half an hour of rapid marching, Luo Zheng felt a faint unease in his mind, as if danger was approaching. In the Breathing Skill state, his intuition for danger was significantly stronger than in a normal breathing state. This unsettling emotion often indicated imminent danger, which he dared not ignore. His face turned solemn as he quickly scanned the surroundings, simultaneously speaking through the earpiece, "Halt."

"What happened?" Lan Xue and Hong Meihua's voices almost simultaneously echoed in everyone's earpieces.

Everyone looked at Luo Zheng, instinctively on guard. They had been fighting side by side for more than a day or two, aware of Luo Zheng's extremely acute battlefield instincts, especially his sensitivity to danger, which exceeded theirs. Acknowledging the situation, Hong Meihua, unfamiliar with this collaboration, curiously asked again, "What's wrong?"

"Something feels off; it's too quiet up front," Luo Zheng whispered, making a hand gesture indicating everyone should lay low. He, too, crouched down, raising a binocular to observe. The binocular was the latest high-tech military product developed by the National Blade Equipment Team, capable of night vision and infrared thermal imaging. It could see up to ten kilometers in the dark, but he couldn't spot anyone, growing suspicious.

"It's expected to be quiet in the wilderness without anyone there. What did you find?" Hong Meihua inquired curiously. To her, adept in espionage, this battlefield life-and-death struggle was not familiar. Seeing Lan Xing gesture not to ask too much to prevent disrupting contemplation, she quickly realized her impatience and nodded.

Luo Zheng continued his observation, coldly scanning the surroundings for about five to six minutes, finding nothing and becoming puzzled. This intuition had saved his life more than once, so it couldn't be wrong. Yet, there were no enemy sightings. Why was that? Could the enemy's combat suits have anti-infrared detection or thermal imaging capabilities?

"No sightings, what now?" Lan Xue asked softly, putting down her binoculars.

"Combat formation: Ghost Hand, you take the lead. Mountain Eagle, you provide cover. Snow Leopard, you bring up the rear. The two of us will stay in the middle to cover the flanks," Luo Zheng quickly decided, saying coldly.

"Yes." Everyone immediately agreed, dispersing to advance according to Luo Zheng's deployment.

After advancing for about half an hour, they encountered no danger along the way, which piqued Hong Meihua's curiosity. She pondered whether Luo Zheng had been too alarmist before. Just as she was about to inquire, a gunshot suddenly rang out.

"Whoosh!" It was a sniper bullet, an abrupt shot without warning, shattering the tranquil night. The sound resounded over the wilderness like Death God's mocking laughter, unnerving to all. Upon hearing the gunshot, everyone immediately chose to lie prone, looking through their sniper scopes and observing everywhere, spotting no enemies. Luo Zheng was horrified, softly asking, "Where was the shot fired? Is anyone injured?"

Everyone indicated they were unhurt, except for Snow Leopard, the one bringing up the rear. Everyone turned around in shock, only to see Snow Leopard lying motionless on the ground. Luo Zheng was alarmed, quickly murmuring with endless anxiety and concern, "Don't move around. Snow Leopard, are you okay?"

Snow Leopard remained motionless and unresponsive. Luo Zheng's face changed drastically; gritting his teeth, he cautiously crawled towards Snow Leopard, his sharp eyes full of intense worry, strikingly evident under the moonlight.