The First Order

“Come on, let’s forced march. We’re turning back to Stronghold 144 while they’re busy setting up an ambush ahead!” Ren Xiaosu decided.

The soldiers of the Razor Sharp Company did not question Ren Xiaosu on how he knew the enemy had taken a shortcut and gotten ahead of them to set up an ambush. They were used to this.

But suddenly, Ren Xiaosu frowned. This reconnaissance battalion was able to react much faster than he had expected. When the enemy saw that the Razor Sharp Company had not fallen for their ambush, they immediately pursued them again!

“They’re really annoying.” Ren Xiaosu frowned. However, he also gained something unexpected.

His shadow clone was lurking in the wilderness and taking the most concealed routes to get everywhere. These routes were also the favorites for a sniper to take.

His shadow clone had come face to face with an enemy sniper. However, when a sniper encountered something as powerful as the shadow clone, it was easy to imagine what would happen. All it took was a single slash and it was over.

However, the Zong Consortium’s reconnaissance battalion was still rapidly closing in on them. The troops had switched from their previously patient pursuit into a headlong attacking chase. It was as though they wanted to overwhelm the Razor Sharp Company right here with their strength and numbers.

An ORBAT like the reconnaissance battalion was always the strongest in terms of individual combat effectiveness. Some people would even refer to them just as spec ops.

Although the Razor Sharp Company had also won their fair share of battles, the difference between them and the reconnaissance troops was still huge. Be it their physical strength, marksmanship, or tactics, the Razor Sharp Company was nowhere near the level of the recon troops.

Seeing the distance between the two combatants closing, Ren Xiaosu did not even use his shadow clone to slow them down. If it got struck in the center of its forehead again in a crossfire, the situation in which Fu Rao got struck down would probably repeat itself. His shadow clone was now his most important scout.

Ren Xiaosu tried to activate the Shadow Door to throw some grenades at the enemy. However, the enemy’s recon troops were well-trained. As soon as the Shadow Door opened up in the darkness, it was greeted with a hail of bullets.

Fortunately for Ren Xiaosu, he did not look through the Shadow Door at a direct angle. Otherwise, the bullets would probably have penetrated and struck him! If he had put his arm out, it would most likely would’ve been shot to mincemeat too.

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They were facing a strong opponent this time!

It was Ren Xiaosu’s first time coming up against such a well-trained unit in battle. This was just like the sense of oppression he felt back when he faced Xu Man’s troops from the Qing Consortium in the Jing Mountains.

“Xiaosu, are we gonna get out of here this time?” Jiao Xiaochen asked rather nervously. “I heard that people call out the names of those closest to them in times of fear?”

Ren Xiaosu rolled his eyes. “Then d’you know who ‘fuck’ is?”

Zhang Xiaoman did not know whether to laugh or cry. He said, “How the fuck are you still in the mood to crack shitty jokes? Why don’t you leave on your own first, Xiaosu? You can move fast, so bring the others along with you. I’ll stay behind and form a defensive line with 1st Platoon to cover you all as you leave!”

When a decision was called for, someone would have to sacrifice themselves to ensure the survival of others.

Ren Xiaosu looked at Zhang Xiaoman. “Why are you always trying to sacrifice yourself? Don’t worry, with me around, it’ll be hard to die even if you really want to.”

Suddenly, a black steam locomotive spewing black smoke from its smokestack phased into reality as it sped out of a gray fog.

When Zhang Xiaoman and the others saw something that large appearing in front of them, the warriors of the Razor Sharp Company felt very humbled. At the same time, they were very shocked by the sight of it. This was probably another one of Ren Xiaosu’s superpowers.

Speaking of which, just how many powers did Ren Xiaosu have? This was throwing common sense out the window! It would have been fine if he only had two or three powers, but why were there still more being revealed?

“Hop on!” Ren Xiaosu said, “I’ll take y’all for a spin.”

“Damn, it’s my first time riding a train…”

While muttering, everyone got onto the train, each faster than the last. After all of the Razor Sharp Company had boarded the steam locomotive, it started traveling north, traversing the mountains like they were a roller coaster.

When the enemy recon battalion that was pursuing them saw this sight after stepping out from a mountain pass, they could only stop in their tracks and stare in bewilderment, not knowing what to do.

The commander of the recon battalion nearly went crazy with anger. ‘If you had such a power in the first place, you should have used it long ago! We’ve been chasing after you for two days, yet you only revealed such a hack now?! Why! By not showing off a power like that, does it make you feel closer to the ground?’

The commander of the recon battalion felt like a mess. “Radioman, hurry up and notify HQ about this. Which stronghold is north of here? Tell them to be on guard with everything they’ve got. There’s a train heading for them right now!”

However, after Ren Xiaosu’s steam locomotive drove north for dozens of kilometers, it suddenly made its way back towards Stronghold 144. Having already attracted so much attention from the enemy, wouldn’t it be asking to die if he continued heading further into enemy territory?

Moreover, the Zong Consortium’s stronghold garrisons in the north would surely be waiting for them by now.

Therefore, it was better to return to the vicinity of Stronghold 144 instead. It was easy to choose between fighting or leaving. If he decided to flee in the end, he could just cross the Beiwan River.

Although the steam locomotive was traveling through the mountains like there were no obstacles, it was still a particularly “exciting” ride. Sitting down, the soldiers of the Razor Sharp Company held tightly onto the armrests in the carriages while yelling, “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Ren Xiaosu guffawed. “See? Didn’t I tell y’all that when people get scared, they shout ‘fuck,’ not the names of those closest to them?”

The steam locomotive was moving at a very fast speed. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the wilderness. A few hours later, the steam locomotive returned to the territory of Stronghold 144 once more. Ren Xiaosu suddenly looked ahead of the train and said, “There’s some troops up ahead. Looks like about two companies of soldiers. Why don’t we get some target practice while we’re on the train?”

“Two companies? They’re probably troops escorting a supply column. We don’t have a lot of rations left, so why don’t we hold them up?” Zhang Xiaoman said, “But can your steam locomotive stand it?”

“It’s strong! Let’s do this!” Ren Xiaosu roared carefreely. The strong winds on both sides of the steam locomotive howled as it traveled alone across the vast wilderness.

It had been a long time since Ren Xiaosu felt so carefree!

The steam locomotive was rapidly approaching the two companies of soldiers. However, when it got closer, they realized these troops were not part of the supply columns.

The deputy commander of the 1237th Regiment had just led two companies to receive Zong Han, their new regimental commander, and escort him back to Stronghold 144.

They had heard that Zong Han used to be the commander of the brigade that was stationed at the Beiwan River. Due to his defeat at the front line, he got demoted to regimental commander. However, everyone knew that Zong Han had the backing of the Zong clan’s main branch, so he would surely rise again someday. Therefore, they still had to serve well for him.

The deputy commander sat in the passenger seat of the troop transport truck while Zong Han took the off-road vehicle. Suddenly, the driver of the troop transport truck shouted, “Oh no, there’s a train approaching us from behind!”

As the steam locomotive had followed the convoy of vehicles, only the driver had noticed it in his rearview mirror. When the deputy commander heard that, he was amused. “How can there be a fucking train out here? That thing only runs between Stronghold 145 and Stronghold 146!”

“But there’s really a train!” the driver said in panic.

The deputy commander peeked out of the window in his confusion and was greeted by the sight of a black steam locomotive surging towards them. Black smoke was puffing out of the steam locomotive’s smokestack as it whistled!