Chapter 96: Never Abandon, Never Give Up (Middle)

“Everyone is here. We begin the meeting now,” Crooked Ox said after slowly scanning the circle.

“At present we’re still about a hundred li from the border, but the pursuers clearly know our destination. All the first through third planned withdrawal points are unusable. In yesterday’s battle we suffered heavy losses, so we have to plan the retreat again. After two days of scouting, only two routes are left now—one of them is a detour to the northwest.”

They argued over the map, discussed route and troop deployment, and finally settled on a plan. Crooked Ox then added, “Tonight everyone gets rest. Tomorrow at dawn we move again. Follow the plan. If all goes well, we should reconnect with headquarters by tonight at Hajin Peak. Remember: we will make it home.”

“Whee-ha!” the soldiers answered in one voice.

“All right. Meeting adjourned. Rest!”

The next morning,

Wen Grace was suddenly woken while still drowsy. The one pulling up her blanket had a hard face. “There seems to be movement,” he said. “I heard dogs barking.”

No sooner had he spoken than the curtain snapped up and Crooked Ox burst in with his rifle, looking urgent. “Bad. The enemy hounds are back. They’re not far off. Hurry up and pack. I’ll go out first and delay them. Move!”

“Understood.”

In moments, the dozen-odd people sprang into motion. Wen Grace, Rat, and four of the Divine Fang squad packed quickly, discarded what was unnecessary, then in pairs carried three wounded and left the camp. Gunfire already cracked all around.

The jungle erupted in chaos—erratic rifle bursts and fierce exploding shells everywhere. In panic, no one could tell east from west, but the Divine-grade soldiers stayed calm, retreating and fighting in perfect rhythm. Their marksmanship dropped enemy after enemy with sweeping bursts, each burst cutting down life with ruthless efficiency while leaving them almost untouched.

But everyone understood this was only the beginning. The enemy was too many.

“No, we can’t keep this up. Ammo will run out, and the wounded can’t survive this kind of jolting retreat. We have to drive them hard and kill all those dogs!”

Cock rolled aside to evade a rocket and shouted, “They’ve got to go!”

“Fine. Same drill! Six of you carry the wounded and push on over the next ridge. The rest with me. Go!”

After issuing the order, Crooked Ox fired his final round, then flung his rifle aside, drew a keen dagger, and drove every muscle in him to fire. A savage momentum surged through him and climbed high; a faint blood-red glow seemed to cloak him, veins snapping hard beneath the skin, his eyes turned bright white. He stamped once, the ground booming under his heel into a crater, and became a blur through the trees, slicing toward the enemy line.

Sky-Piercing Body-Refining Technique!

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The other seven members of the Divine Dragon Squad followed, each tossing his rifle, taking up daggers and opening the same method, spending their native energy in bursts. They were commanders among fighters already, but in that instant they gained triple the speed and power they’d had moments before, as if wings had opened on their backs. They broke into hundreds of soldiers from every direction.

Soon the jungle filled with cries of terror and cruel screams. Hundreds of men with modern weapons were being thrown down by eight men nearly barehanded. So fast were they, darting among branches and trunks to vanish, strike, and disappear. The soldiers couldn’t track them; frightened troops fired wildly at any moving shadow, spewing fear back at themselves and killing many of their own.

If it had continued, the whole squad of enemy soldiers could have been wiped out. But Crooked Ox shouted, “Pull back!” The eight dropped from the fight, snatching up captured guns and ammunition, then withdrew at once.

The Sky-Piercing Body-Refining Technique was powerful, but too harsh on the body to last long. Their training was too short, and at best they could maintain it for three minutes. So in emergencies they triggered it, used that borrowed superhuman force for a minute or two of slaughter, and then had to retreat. If they stayed in encirclement after the technique ended, death was almost certain.

They emerged from the enemy lines quickly. As they closed the method, the strange signs vanished. Heat rose from their heads and their faces burned red; they returned to their previous state, caught up with the wounded column ahead, and merged again. Gritting their teeth, they marched and ran another ten-odd li, hiding their trail and laying traps as they went.

“Enough for now. Rest a bit. If we keep pushing hard we’ll be done in body. There’s a small cave ahead,” Crooked Ox called.
They ran to it and dropped down before the entrance, gasping.

“Damn it, how I hate this—having to let you face battle alone again!” Thunder Lord suddenly slammed a fist into an old tree, teeth gritted.
“Next time we go back, I’ll make command spread the Sky-Piercing method. Don’t let your Divine Dragon boys sit on top of everything.”

“Yes.”

A few from Divine Fang echoed him. Proud kings among soldiers, they had once been one of the five special forces squads’ leaders, but now the Divine Dragon squad had clearly surpassed them. Again and again, at critical moments it had fallen to the Fang men to carry the wounded out while Divine Dragon held the rear. That bitter pattern had repeated itself many times; without it, they might already have lost half their force, maybe all.

“Fine,” Crooked Ox said with a rueful laugh. “Each team has its own duty. The method has three forms. We haven’t even finished the first one yet, and the first form requires someone to guide your qi. That’s why you’ve practiced it for days with no effect.”

“So I thought I was just dull and could not learn it,” Cock said, glaring at Wei Yang. “No, it needs qi guidance!”

Wei Yang laughed softly. “Why glare at me? I did teach you. But I truly cannot guide qi.”

“If only you’d said so!”

“You never asked. And watching each of you smack your heads and call yourselves idiots was so cute I couldn’t bring myself to expose you.”

“You!”

Cock and several others glared, wanting to tear Wei Yang apart. Then they remembered they couldn’t beat him and asked, “Then who can guide qi?”

“Only the instructor—or someone who has mastered all three forms,” Crooked Ox said.

Thunder Lord sounded close to tears. “So we can’t learn it, even if we try? Wei Yang, then why did you teach us the first form?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You saw how strong it was and buzzed around like flies every day. Of course I taught you. But don’t worry, I’ll see it through. Give it two or three years and when I master it, I’ll guide you.”

“Who asked for that responsibility? Go on, then!”

They watched the exchange, smiling but silent. Crooked Ox checked his watch. “Ten more minutes of rest and we move.”

“What about Master Cloud?” he asked as usual.

“Same as always. He doesn’t get mixed in with us soldiers’ fighting. As soon as the shots started, he vanished. He should be nearby.”

Suddenly a breathless voice cut through.
“Move. The enemy is coming!”

They all looked up. A tall, gaunt old man flashed across the open space before the cave, pale and resolute. “That attack was a feint. The enemy’s main force has now closed in, and they’ve brought another sect grandmaster in. At this moment of life and death, I have to run alone. Each of you—find your own route!”

His voice still seemed to linger as his figure flickered out of sight.

A deep booming laugh came riding a fierce rush of qi. “Ha! Try running, eh? Today is your unlucky day. Leave everything and die here!”

Faces went pale. Crooked Ox ordered immediately. “Wounded first. Others cover the rear. Move!”

As before, Crooked Ox and seven men lunged backward. From above, he peered through binoculars: soldiers in dense ranks were encircling from afar, guns in hand. More startling, in front of them marched dozens of men and women in ragged bindings of many colors, even old folk and children, all looking terrified.

“Filthy! Damn it! They found a way to handle us. First the fake attack to steal our right to open the technique, then they dragged civilians from somewhere, made them stand on the traps and take the fire for us. Scum and worse!”

“They’re that close now. What do we do?” Noon Horse asked.

“We’re low on ammo. Short controlled bursts. Hit the officers first.”

“And if we must shoot civilians?”

“What do you think?” Crooked Ox glared. “Kill them.”

The orchestra of gunfire rose again.

At the front, six people moved forward in silence with three wounded on stretchers, no words at all.

“Chen Dragon,” Rat said suddenly, “set me down.”

Wen Grace didn’t hear him at first. “What did you say?”

“I said put me down. You should go.”

“You’re not yourself. My force does not abandon a comrade.”

“I'm still your captain. My order must be obeyed. If you keep carrying me, you won’t get far; you can’t all die here,” Rat said, suddenly agitated. “Please—leave a line for the Wen family, leave a line for the Divine Dragon Squad. Give me a gun, all of you go!”

“I agree,” the man on another stretcher said faintly as he woke. It was Yin Tiger, voice weak. “My own life is mine. Even if we survive today, I won’t live long. Comrades, let me give you my last drop of blood.”

The six carrying the stretchers bit down hard, their eyes reddening. Thunder Dragon said, “No. If one dies, we die together.”

“Who told you that was the rule? Don’t abandon, don’t give up—that was you!” Wen Grace shouted at Rat.

Rat said nothing, then suddenly pulled the pistol from the holster at the front of the leg and pressed it against his own neck. “If you don’t leave, I’ll shoot my head clean off. I’ll do exactly what I said.”

“Put him down!” Wen Grace shouted. Everyone stopped, staring at Rat, terrified he would do something foolish.

Wen Grace slowly drew her own pistol and held it to her temple, expression flat. “Fine. Shoot then. I’ll follow you at once. If you’ve the nerve, then pull the trigger.”