The hummingbird circled high in the sky, not fast, bereft of offensive power, flying with the freedom of a real bird. But it made everyone's scalp tingle. In that mont, they all knew their location had been compromised. Their expressions grew solemn as they looked at Luo Zheng whose own expression was less than pleasant. After pondering for a mont, he said, "Now we can't be sure who this hummingbird belongs to. If it's Sam Country's team, we still have a chance to ambush the Wolf King. But if it's the Wolf King's, we stand no chance. Guys, what do you think?"
"With the situation uncertain, we have no choice but to go all out. We've co this far, it would be impossible to return empty-handed," Ghost Hand imdiately stated, his expression resolute.
Mountain Eagle and Snow Leopard also expressed their agreent, and Lan Xue calmly stated, "Hesitation is the last thing you want on the battlefield. You're all right. Since we've made it here, we can't retreat. We can only fight until the end. Tell us about your fallback plan."
"Advance at top speed. Even if it's the Wolf King's hummingbird, we need to catch them off guard. Of course, we must remain vigilant at all tis during our advance, especially keeping an eye out for any hummingbird following us overhead. Then we'll adapt according to the situation. It's a pity, if only a few cals had survived, we could have disguised ourselves as a caravan," Luo Zheng said with a wistful smile.
"That's the only option we have," Lan Xue said upon realizing that Luo Zheng didn't have a concrete fallback plan. Upon reflection, she understood that special operations were too unpredictable to have a perfect plan, and more often than not, plans can't keep up with changes. The best thod was to adapt as the situation required. With that in mind, her expression turned stern as she coldly stated, "Once National Blade is drawn, there is no turning back. We will be unstoppable, and even in death, have no regrets."
"Attack!" everyone whispered in unison, their blood boiling instantaneously. For honor, for dignity, their fighting spirit was reignited, and they looked at Luo Zheng with resolute faces.
Luo Zheng was also moved. Despite having joined National Blade not long ago, he could feel the collective's sense of honor and mission, as well as the pride and dignity that they were sworn to defend. With a solemn face, he ordered, "We jog forward. Target, the Wild Wolf rcenary Group base. Move out."
"Yes," everyone responded, automatically arranging themselves into a column. Mountain Eagle took the lead scouting ahead. The team jogged forward with a steadfast gaze, and under the scorching sun, large beads of sweat soon broke out, their hot breaths seeming to burn, their hearts and lungs feeling as if they were shriveling under a broil.
Enduring the relentless heat, they drank water in small sips from ti to ti. When dehydrated, the thing one craves most is to drink water heartily, even longing to jump into a pool, but drinking water excessively while marching quickly through the desert is not only wasteful, it can harm the body. The best thod is to take small, frequent sips, a fact well known to all.
Two hours later, the team began to show signs of fatigue, each step becoming a struggle. Luo Zheng also felt his feet as heavy as if filled with lead. The temperature was simply too high to bear, and the heat made his head spin, his thoughts seemingly stalled. Knowing that if his own body was struggling, others must be as well, and that they couldn't keep running or they would suffer physical ailnts.
The team stopped running and continued walking to recover their strength. Suddenly halting the rapid march was definitely not an option, the body wouldn't be able to handle it. Luo Zheng took the lead, guiding everyone to walk at a slower pace for a while. Seeing the rolling heat waves over the endless yellow sands with no end in sight made his scalp numb. The layered sand dunes were quite beautiful under the scorching sun, but Luo Zheng had no mood to appreciate them. Girding his spirit, he stayed alert, constantly scanning his surroundings.
Luo Zheng arrived at the top of a hill and looked up, only to be stunned by the sight of a sandstorm, a massive sandstorm towering at least ten ters high, rolling toward him like enormous waves with the montum to engulf everything. The flying sand was terrifying, and Luo Zheng's face turned pale as he quickly retreated, shouting, "Sandstorm!"
The strong winds blew up a large amount of sand and dust from the ground, swirling it into the air, creating the sandstorm. The air was particularly murky, it wasn't fatal, but it was a headache-inducing nuisance that made it easy to get lost. The team had trained in the desert for so ti and knew the severity of a sandstorm. They quickly huddled together and pulled out ropes from their backpacks.
They tied the ropes around themselves and connected with each other, ensuring that they would not be dispersed by the sandstorm. Everyone pulled down the hoods of their camouflage suits to cover their entire bodies, with sunglasses to protect their eyes. The murky air affected normal breathing, so they had to cover their mouths and noses.
A typical sandstorm wouldn't affect walking, but as the approaching sandstorm rapidly neared, towering to a height of about twenty ters with fierce winds, no one dared to risk walking in such a trendous sandstorm. They all joined hands, crouched down, bowed their heads, and ford a circle, resembling a round boulder.
"Whoosh whoosh!" The shrill wind blew up, lifting a sky full of yellow sand and engulfing everyone in an instant. They all felt as if they were subrged in a world of sand, seeing nothing around them; it was as if even the sun had ceased to exist. The sky was a gloomy yellow. They closed their eyes and held their breath to prevent the sand from entering their bodies.
In the midst of the sandstorm, Luo Zheng found breathing exceedingly difficult. Soon, his face turned red from the lack of oxygen, his ears rang, his head spun, and he felt terribly uncomfortable. The whistling of the wind, like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves, was about to break him, but he clenched his teeth and desperately held on.
A little while later, Luo Zheng found that Ghost Hand, Snow Leopard, and Mountain Eagle had fainted because of hypoxia. Lan Xue also started swaying. Luo Zheng knew that everyone had reached their limits and was greatly alard. He hurriedly grabbed Lan Xue and felt helpless as anxiety grew within him amidst the dreadful conditions.
Gradually, Luo Zheng too began to feel dizzy, his eyelids heavy as Mount Tai, his consciousness scattering. He was shocked and wanted to force himself to stay alert, but his body wouldn't obey, sagging slowly. Eventually, Luo Zheng's vision went dark, his eyelids closed, and he passed out.
The sandstorm, like a demon, roared and ravaged without restraint or concern, sweeping forward. It leveled dune after dune, creating even more in its wake. As it moved further and further away, it left behind a vast expanse of rolling sand dunes; tortuous and well-arranged, they were incredibly beautiful.
Before long, on the tranquil desert, a sand dune suddenly shifted, and a man erged—it was Luo Zheng, who had awoken. He staggered to his feet and was instantly sobered by the scorching sun. His face anxious, he called out, "Lan Xue? Ghost Hand, Mountain Eagle, Snow Leopard?" He then unsheathed his knife to cut the rope.
Luo Zheng pulled the other end of the rope forcefully, revealing Ghost Hand. Without ti to check for life or death, he continued to pull at the rope, lifting each person, his heart filled with anxiety. His brothers had not died at the hands of their enemies; if they were to fall to a sandstorm, it would be a great injustice. When he found Lan Xue unconscious, Luo Zheng promptly pinched her philtrum, realizing it was not working. Without concern for embarrassnt, he began pressing on her heart to aid the recovery of the heartbeat while starting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
User Comments
0 comments from readers