Strongest Soldier King

The sudden shout startled Shijing Teng and the bodyguard, making them stop abruptly. To the two, Luo Zheng and Mountain Eagle were already dead, leaving only Lan Xue as the opponent. The sudden voice completely shocked them. Shijing Teng exchanged a glance full of disbelief with the bodyguard and began to cautiously survey the surroundings.

Upon hearing Luo Zheng's shout, Lan Xue instantly understood that Luo Zheng was risking his exposure to save her, unwilling to see her die first. Her heart was filled with both shock and joy. The shock was for Luo Zheng who could be killed any moment; a person too weak to move was a sitting target, easily taken down with a single shot. The joy came from Luo Zheng's love for her.

"Come on, a fair duel," Lan Xue decided to risk it all and suddenly emerged from behind a giant rock, shouting angrily, unwilling to see Luo Zheng die before her.

The sudden exposure of Lan Xue startled Shijing Teng and the other man, who almost instinctively raised their guns to aim. Their combat instincts quickly led them to decide to shoot. On the battlefield, any hesitation or compassion is cruel to oneself, and neither Shijing Teng nor the bodyguard would make such a mistake.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, an eerily strange shot.

Lan Xue instinctively shrank back like lightning, surprised to find herself unharmed. She quickly ducked to the other side of the giant rock, stealthily peeking out, only to see that Shijing Teng had vanished from where he was standing, and the other bodyguard lay on the rock, shot in the head, blood flowing profusely. Confused, Lan Xue began to search around, trying to figure out who fired that shot earlier.

Soon after, Lan Xue spotted the figure of Mountain Eagle, poking his head out near the killer Luo Zheng had slain with a flying knife, holding a Type 03 automatic rifle in his hands. Lan Xue mused that it must have been the gun of the killer Luo Zheng had killed; the shot just now was fired by Mountain Eagle. She immediately rejoiced, realizing why there had been no movement earlier — he had stealthily approached the corpse and seized the enemy's weapon.

Mountain Eagle's timely shot changed the situation dramatically. Fearing the gun in Mountain Eagle's hand, Shijing Teng dared not make a move, hiding behind the giant rock and coldly shouting, "You can't just be ordinary Special Forces, who the hell are you?"

"You'll find out once we capture you," Lan Xue coldly replied, quickly maneuvering forward. With Mountain Eagle holding the gun vigilantly, Lan Xue felt much more at ease. She reached the spot where she had been hiding to dismantle weapons earlier. The weapons and equipment were all there; she hadn't had time to grab them during the urgent battle.

"Spare me, and I'll give each of you ten million," the voice coldly shouted.

Lan Xue quickly serviced her pistol while shouting back, "Shijing Teng, huh? Trying to buy us off? No way."

"Don't speak rashly. Everyone has a price, including you guys. I'm not talking about Huaxia Coin, it's US dollars; roughly a billion when converted to Huaxia Coin. I can transfer it to any account you specify. Release me once the money is in. Knowing my name is Shijing Teng, you should know my worth and credibility. I follow through with my promises. How about it?" Shijing Teng shouted loudly, his tone icy and emotionless.

"How can we trust you?" Lan Xue intended to buy time, asking coldly.

"You don't need to trust me. Let the money transfer first, and then release me. You've killed my two men, which is enough to answer to those above. How much is your monthly pay? With this money, you'll be set for life. Of course, if you're willing to work for me, I'll offer a yearly salary of ten million, also in US dollars. How does that sound?" Shijing Teng shouted, sensing an opportunity to buy them off, adding with some anticipation.

"Sounds tempting, but I'm worried I won't live to spend it. Who doesn't know you're the vice president of the Sanhe Martial Arts Hall? Once you're free, killing us would be a cinch." Lan Xue continued, quickly maintaining her gun. The parts had all been wiped clean, oiled, and assembled, waiting only for the bullets, which had been soaked in water. To ensure everything was foolproof, she began wiping the bullets with a special cloth.

"No, if I could earn your loyalty, I swear to treat you as my left and right arms. In this line of work, one could die at any moment and strong protectors are necessary, especially ones like you. I'm well aware of this and wouldn't burn bridges. That would do me no good," Shijing Teng continued persuading.

By this time, Lan Xue had finished servicing the bullets, loading them into the pistol. After chambering a round, she pulled the trigger towards the sky.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three consecutive shots spiked into the sky with a whistling sound and Lan Xue's hopes, piercing the clouds and disappearing.

Shijing Teng looked at the sky with some confusion, unable to understand why Lan Xue was wasting bullets. Suddenly, something dawned on him, and he asked incredulously, "What are you doing? Don't tell me you have reinforcements nearby? That's impossible."

"Of course, it's possible. You've lost. Don't think that Sam Country's satellite monitoring can grasp our situation so thoroughly. Two hours ago, our people had already dispersed and infiltrated near the canyon disguised as locals. You should have been hiding in the canyon for those two hours, with no contact with the outside. Even if you did, you wouldn't know about this situation. Surrender," Lan Xue coldly said.

"Name your price for letting me go." Shijing Teng continued unwaveringly.

"Not a chance." Lan Xue coldly snapped.

"Be careful, he's trying to escape," Luo Zheng, now gaining some strength, realized with concern and tried to warn, but his voice was too faint, drowned out by the roaring waterfall.

"You have one minute to think it over. This place is full of our people. Surrender is your only option," Lan Xue coldly stated, cautiously peeking out to observe. The instinct of battle made Lan Xue aware that the adversary wouldn't easily comply and wouldn't give up until the last moment.

"Bang! Bang!" suddenly, two gunshots sounded, the noise very familiar. Lan Xue recognized it as a Type 03 automatic rifle, the same model Shijing Teng was using, probably seized during a raid on a reconnaissance platoon. Lan Xue didn't know if those shots were fired by Shijing Teng or Mountain Eagle. She quickly drew back to take cover and shouted, "What's happening?"

"He's trying to escape," Mountain Eagle's voice faintly echoed, evidently from a distance.

Lan Xue barely heard it and was immediately shocked. Quickly looking up, she saw Mountain Eagle aiming ahead, his face anxious and desperate, probably having no chance to shoot. Lan Xue knew that Mountain Eagle had a severe cold, and his strength was depleted. Making it up to help was already a miracle; he had no energy left to pursue. Gritting her teeth, she leaped onto a giant rock, sprinting forward with an endless murderous intent and fury, shouting, "Cover me."

The near-fatal injuries to Luo Zheng and Mountain Eagle, the tragic deaths of the villagers, the thirty or so lives of the scout platoon cruelly ended, the brutal murder of an Advanced engineer, and the massacre of Sanhe Martial Arts Hall police officers—all of it fueled Lan Xue with a burning rage. At this moment, she disregarded everything, her mind fixated on capturing Shijing Teng, avenging the innocent lives lost.