Two nights later.
The moonlight was like a plate, hanging high in the sky, silently watching over the vast desert. Tilessly unchanged, the tranquil desert was shrouded in a grey haze, without a breeze. Behind an inconspicuous sand dune, several people were seated, consuming dry rations to replenish their strength and calmly observing the small town below the dune—it was Luo Zheng and his companions.
No one had expected that the two individuals Tiger King was looking for were the terrorist organization's leader and Shijing. Along the way, they had exchanged a lot of intelligence and learned that the black-robed figures killed in the underground base were mbers of Death God, mainly reserve personnel. Only a few team leaders were the real Death Gods, but no one knew where the core mbers of the Death God were located. Shijing was one of them, leading a small squad responsible for the leader's safety.
When Luo Zheng heard this information, he was shocked. It seed that the Death God Killer Organization was like the Special Forces, with various levels such as reserve, ordinary, elite, and strongest. However, Tiger King told Luo Zheng that what was called the Death God Killer Organization was actually a military force Japan used for dealings it couldn't handle openly; ninjas were public, Death Gods were secret.
If it weren't for Tiger King's explanation, Luo Zheng would never have imagined that the Death God Killer Organization had the backing of the Japan Governnt. It seed that the militaristic zealots of Japan were not giving up their heinous ambitions. Looking at the quiet town ahead, Luo Zheng said to Tiger King, "Senior Tiger King, what do you plan to do?"
"Aren't you in charge of tactical planning for the squad? What do you think we should do?" Tiger King asked with a cold smile as he looked at the town, clearly testing Luo Zheng.
"Uh?" Luo Zheng was taken aback but quickly recovered and did not make any excuses. To be tested by the Strongest Soldier King was an honor. After thinking for a mont, he said, "The enemy is too nurous, and we are unfamiliar with the terrain; a direct assault would surely fail. We don't have many n, and our goal is to settle scores with two people, so we should infiltrate quietly, locate the targets, execute the assassination, and then quickly extract ourselves. We can grab a vehicle to make our escape."
"That's the style of an assassin, not a regular soldier," Tiger King laughed, and seeing Luo Zheng feeling embarrassed, his expression suddenly turned serious as he seriously continued, "However, I like it. Whether soldiers or assassins, completing the mission is all that matters. As for the process and thods, there's no need to fuss over them."
"Thank you, Tiger King," Luo Zheng said sincerely, feeling as if he had found a kindred spirit.
"Don't thank , let's not dwell on these platitudes. Tell , how do you plan to deploy specifically?" Tiger King continued.
"The seven of us will leave one sniper behind. The rest will pair up and infiltrate from three directions, taking to the rooftops. I estimate that the largest estate in the center of the town is where our targets are. People here are not wealthy; the only one who could own such an estate is the leader. We'll advance quickly from three directions, silently engage in combat with hand crossbows, and once at the target location, we'll decide based on the situation," Luo Zheng said earnestly.
After thinking for a mont, Tiger King nodded and said, "I think that will work. What do you guys think?"
Everyone nodded in agreent. They always had full trust in Luo Zheng's tactical deploynt. Even the Tiger King had no objections, so no one opposed the plan, which was thus confird. Luo Zheng continued, "Brother Mountain Eagle, I'll trouble you to seize the high ground at the eastern exit to cover our retreat. Ghost Hand and I will go in from the south. Tiger Girl and Xue Er as one team, will enter from the west. Senior Tiger King, could you and Snow Leopard form a team and go in from the north? Twenty minutes later, lie in wait on the outskirts of the town, and then we'll act together. Does anyone have any issues?"
"Yes," everyone replied in unison, as was their habit.
Tiger King didn't know why Luo Zheng had arranged the team this way, but since he didn't know everyone's overall strength well enough, he didn't object, and the plan was settled. Everyone left behind their weapons, ammunition, and gear, heading out lightly ard with bladed weapons. After the others had left, Luo Zheng and Ghost Hand took everyone's gear and escorted Mountain Eagle to a sniper position on the east side. They left all the equipnt with Mountain Eagle for his use and safekeeping and quickly looped around to the southern side.
The small town was a residential area with no guard on the outskirts. The two infiltrated with ease. Luo Zheng checked the ti; there were about three minutes left before the operation. He waited patiently while carefully observing the surroundings. There were no patroln or covert guards below, and the rooftop situation was unclear.
"Cover ," Ghost Hand said and quickly rushed forward. With a running start, he jumped up and grabbed onto the eaves of a house, slowly pushing himself up to peek over. Finding no one on the roof, he deftly flipped onto it and gave Luo Zheng a hand signal before moving stealthily to hide behind a low wall about a foot higher than the rooftop.
The low wall served as a boundary between the houses, like a property line, and many rooftops had them to keep neighbors from encroaching when drying things. The wall made an ideal cover, as well as a place for sentries to hide. Ghost Hand dashed to it and took cover, peering around for any signs of the enemy.
Soon, Luo Zheng also flipped onto the rooftop. He rolled to the wall, watching vigilantly in all directions. Seeing no enemy activity, he exchanged a look with Ghost Hand. Both silently put on their headsets, switched them on, and Luo Zheng whispered through his, "In position—report your situations?"
"In position," ca the responses from the others. Luo Zheng glanced at his wristwatch; the timing was just right. He calmly looked in the direction of the large estate, which was eerily silent, and said in a low voice, "Move out," his eyes fierce under the moonlight, filled with the fire of battle.
"Yes," the group responded in a low, unified shout, and quickly proceeded with their movents.
Luo Zheng looked at Ghost Hand and said softly, "Use the hand crossbow, I'll use the blade. Cover and advance." With that, he drew his Dragon Tooth Blade, bending his body, and stealthily dashed forward like a nimble civet, silent and swift. He moved over ten ters in the blink of an eye, taking cover under another low wall. His cold gaze scanned the area like a predator hunting for prey, but finding no target, he was about to signal Ghost Hand when he heard a faint snoring sound. Startled, he beca alert and realized that the snoring was coming from the other side of the wall.
"Shh?" Luo Zheng was shocked, not expecting to be just a wall away from an enemy sentry. That was close. He listened carefully for a bit, confird there was only one person, then quickly vaulted over the wall. An enemy lay sleeping below, cradling a rifle in his arms.
Luo Zheng pounced, covering the man's mouth with one hand, while the Dragon Tooth Blade in his other hand swiftly sliced towards the man's neck. With a single pull, he almost severed the enemy's neck. The body struggled instinctively for a few monts before falling still. After signaling Ghost Hand, Luo Zheng continued his stealthy crawl, crouched low to the ground, his footsteps silent like a ghost moving through the night.
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