The torrential rain gradually ceased, leaving a mist of drizzle dancing with the wind in the dense tropical rainforest. Under the shade of towering trees, Luo Zheng and his unit had stopped for a rest, covered by a Button-shaped Intense Ti Bomb. They had retreated and sprinted here, leaving their pursuers far behind. The relentless high-speed running had exhausted them, forcing the team to pause montarily to catch their breath.
Luo Zheng rushed over to his fatigued unit, his gaze drawn to the wounded soldiers. He hurriedly approached and was horrified to find that three servicen had already been sacrificed, with five others injured to varying degrees. His face turned cold as he guiltily looked at Lan Xue. As the conflict had resulted in such casualties, Luo Zheng, as commander, had an inescapable responsibility.
Lan Xue's expression was frosty as he looked at the fallen brothers, his gaze filled with endless guilt. For soldiers, dying on the battlefield was an honor that everyone had braced for, but when death truly arrived, no one could remain calm. The others gathered around, their faces ashen, teeth clenched in anger.
The brothers with whom they had once crawled and fought were now gone. Monts before, they were all talking and laughing, but now they were separated by the barrier of life and death, plunging everyone's hearts into icy despair. Luo Zheng approached one of the bodies with a somber expression, knelt down, and quietly adjusted the soldier's uniform, tears rolling down from his tiger-like eyes.
This soldier's eyes were wide-open with dissatisfaction and rage, refusing to close in death. Luo Zheng didn't even know the soldier's na, which filled him with an even greater sense of sha. He laid his palm over the soldier's eyes, and with towering grief and rage, he murmured, "Brother, rest in peace, you did well. I swear I will avenge you."
"Vengeance, vengeance, vengeance," roared everyone, shaking their fists, their voices filled with a boundless desire to kill, scaring all the birds and beasts nearby, which fled into the distance.
Luo Zheng gently released his hand, and the soldier's eyes closed, his face of fury softened by a hint of tranquility, as if he had heard Luo Zheng's vow. At that mont, Luo Zheng's heart bled. His pale face bore an endless chill, like ancient unlting ice. His arm veins bulged; the gun, emptied of bullets, was carelessly tossed aside as he slowly stood up and glanced at the other two bodies before his eyes lingered on the injured.
"Captain," said Lan Xue, seeing the sense of guilt in Luo Zheng's eyes and calling out to him. The battle had already gone quite well, to be strictly honest. If it hadn't been for Luo Zheng sensing the danger beforehand, allowing everyone to discover the encircling enemy in ti and breaking free, they would have all perished.
They hadn't expected to be surrounded by the enemy. Luo Zheng had fearlessly led the charge against Turul, drawing the enemy away, covering the rear, and showing comndable bravery. Lan Xue held no bla for Luo Zheng, and neither did the other soldiers.
But Luo Zheng couldn't forgive himself. To distract Turul and provide cover for Lan Xue's retreat, he had deliberately revealed his location using the Single Soldier Radio. This action had undoubtedly put everyone in danger and he should have foreseen the ambush. Luo Zheng indeed had, but the downpour, concealing visibility and the sound of the pursuers, had nearly led to their annihilation.
Hearing Lan Xue's shout, Luo Zheng raised a hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. Lifting his guilt-filled gaze from the injured, he turned to his comrades and saw their sincere, resolute looks, devoid of any bla. Moved yet full of sha, he spoke with a low voice, "Brothers, the loss of this battle was due to my command mistakes. I take full responsibility. Please forgive . I will report the situation truthfully when we return and accept the punishnt."
"Captain?" Lan Xue exclaid in shock, urgently looking at Luo Zheng.
"Let speak," Luo Zheng said solemnly.
"No," the scholar shouted defiantly, "this is not your fault, the incident happened suddenly, nobody wanted this, had you not sensed sothing was off, we would've already been surrounded. Everyone knows what the situation was like at the ti. You've been fighting at the rear, covering our retreat all along. You did your best. Without you, our losses would have been even greater. Brothers, isn't that right?"
"Yes," everyone responded in unison, their faces filled with reverence as they looked at Luo Zheng.
"This officer." The sniper who had learned a few moves from Luo Zheng hesitantly called out, uncertain about how to address Luo Zheng's rank. Seeing Luo Zheng's inquisitive gaze, he mustered his courage and said seriously, "In battle, there will be casualties; we believe in you and hope more that you will lead us to take revenge."
"Right, revenge," the others echoed in agreent.
"Revenge?" Luo Zheng looked at the sniper, his gaze sweeping around before settling on the scholar, and said heavily, "We must definitely take revenge, but our brothers can't just be left to bury their bones in the green hills. Arrange for so people to escort the wounded and the fallen brothers. We must bring the heroes' bodies back."
The hills bury the souls of the loyal, everyone was already ntally prepared for that. Of course, if their bodies could be taken back ho after death, who wouldn't desire that? Hearing Luo Zheng's arrangent, everyone's respect for him deepened. A flicker of hesitation crossed the scholar's icy face; with only thirty people left, three dead, and five wounded, sending more people to escort them back would an even fewer soldiers. But leaving the heroes' bodies to be consud by wild beasts in these hills was sothing the scholar couldn't bear.
Although everyone wished to bring the bodies back, none wanted to execute the order, all looking to the scholar and then turning away, hoping he hadn't seen them. Luo Zheng kicked the ball to the scholar's court, who struggled not knowing what to do. Seeing his expression, Luo Zheng thought for a mont and said, "It will take six people to carry the bodies of the three heroes back, and at least three people to look after the wounded, so let's assign ten people."
"We can walk, we don't need anyone to look after us," an injured soldier imdiately shouted.
"It's just my arm that's hurt, my legs are fine, I can still walk, I can stay and keep fighting," another wounded soldier cried out in pain.
"I know you're all capable, but I want you to go back," Luo Zheng explained solemnly. The wounded soldiers disagreed, becoming agitated, until Luo Zheng's face turned stern and he suddenly shouted, "This is an order."
At the word "order," nobody dared say another word. In the army, an order is ironclad; no one is allowed to defy it. Seeing their reluctant faces, Luo Zheng's heart ward as he said, with a bitter taste, "Brothers, I'm asking you, please go back. Leave your revenge to , please trust ."
At that, everyone fell silent.
The scholar glanced at Luo Zheng, his eyes darting around among the crowd, pondering whom to choose. Everyone dispersed, pretending not to see, none wanting to be picked.
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