Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

Nearly three hours have passed since the battle at Eagle's Beak Cliff. In the jungle, Lin Zhe leads the Hunter Blade team, tracking the infiltrators' trail.

"Team Leader Lin, these footprints are very fresh, no more than two hours ago." Old Ma squatted on a patch of muddy ground, pointing to several clear footprints. "Seven people, at least two of them were injured—look at this footprint, it's uneven in depth, clearly someone was limping."

Lin Zhe examined the footprints carefully. Indeed, they indicated the other party was in poor condition. He stood up and looked around at the dense jungle: "They didn't retreat; instead, they went deeper into the jungle."

"You've got some nerve," Da Liu (Da Liu of Hunter's Blade) frowned. "You dare to continue infiltrating with wounded soldiers?"

"This shows that their mission is very important," Lin Zhe analyzed. "It's so important that they have to continue even if they are exposed and suffer casualties."

He opened his personal terminal and pulled up a map of the area: "In this direction... there's a small county town twenty kilometers ahead, and Mianzhou City fifty kilometers away, where there's a garrison. A little further on... there's a newly built radar station."

"A radar station?" Old Ma's eyes lit up. "Is that their target?"

"Possibly," Lin Zhe nodded. "It's a new model radar, only recently built, still in the testing phase. If foreign forces want to obtain its technical parameters..."

He put away his terminal: "Speed ​​up, we must intercept them before they get close to our key targets."

The group continued their pursuit. Although the assailant was disguised, the traces were still quite obvious to professional trackers like Hunter Blade—broken branches, trampled grass, and occasional drops of blood...

The longer Lin Zhe chased, the more confident he became. The other party was indeed professional, but seemed unfamiliar with the terrain, having taken some wrong turns. Moreover, they were carrying an injured person, so their speed was slow.

"Stop." Lin Zhe suddenly raised his hand.

Everyone stopped and quickly took cover.

Lin Zhe lay hidden behind a clump of bushes, observing the area ahead through binoculars. About 500 meters away, in a relatively open clearing in the woods, he could vaguely see figures moving about.

He made several hand gestures: Target spotted, seven people, some wounded.

The team members immediately went into combat mode, pointing their guns in the direction of the target.

"Team Leader Lin, shall we fight?" Old Ma asked in a low voice.

"Observe first," Lin Zhe said. "See what they're doing."

Over there in the open space, seven people were sitting in a circle, discussing something in hushed tones.

They are indeed a foreign special forces unit, codenamed "Grey Wolves," from a country unfriendly to China. Their mission is to infiltrate China and obtain the technical parameters of a newly built radar station.

"Captain, Hank and Tom's bodies have been disposed of," a team member reported. "Facial mutilation, equipment destroyed, no identification information left."

The team leader, Karl, was a white man in his forties with a scar on his face. He nodded, his expression grim: "I didn't expect to run into the Chinese special forces so soon after entering the country."

"But they didn't gain much either," another team member said. "We killed one and wounded two. Chinese special forces... they're nothing special."

Carl glared at him: "Don't underestimate them! The fact that they could kill two of us means they're not weak. It's just... they're definitely not as strong as we expected."

Their prior intelligence indicated that the border defense forces along the southwestern border of the Dragon Kingdom were poorly equipped and poorly trained. Therefore, they were full of confidence for this infiltration. Unexpectedly, they encountered the Eagle's Beak Cliff patrol team upon entering the country. Although they gained the upper hand, they also paid a price.

"Captain, what do we do now?" a team member asked. "Continue the mission, or retreat?"

Carl thought for a moment: "Continue. The radar station's technical parameters are crucial; we must obtain them. Besides... the Chinese special forces have already clashed with us and are aware of our presence. Retreating now might lead to encirclement. It's better to continue forward, complete the mission, and then withdraw via another route."

"But Hank and Tom..."

"There are always sacrifices in war," Karl said coldly. "Remember our mission."

Just then, one of the team members on guard suddenly whispered, "There's movement!"

Everyone tensed up, pointing their guns in all directions.

But the jungle was quiet, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.

"It's probably an animal." The guard breathed a sigh of relief.

Karl frowned: "Be vigilant. The Chinese won't let us off easily."

Unbeknownst to them, Lin Zhe and the Hunter Blade team had already completed the encirclement just 300 meters away.

"Team Leader Lin, what are they talking about?" Old Ma asked. They were too far away to hear the specifics, but it was clear they were having a meeting.

"It doesn't matter," Lin Zhe said coldly. "What matters is that none of them will escape."

He made several tactical gestures: Lao Ma's group would flank from the left, Da Liu's group from the right, and he would lead two men to launch a frontal assault.

The team members nodded and quietly dispersed.

Lin Zhe lay prone in the grass, calculating the distance. Two hundred meters, one hundred and fifty meters, one hundred meters...

The other side had clearly relaxed their guard; some started eating, while others bandaged their wounds. Only two people remained on guard, but their attention was not very focused.

It's now!

Lin Zhe suddenly stood up and fired a shot!

"Bang!"

One of the guards fell to the ground—a bullet had struck him in the chest.

This is a real battle, but Hunter Blade's orders are to capture them alive if possible.

"Enemy attack!" Karl shouted, rolling to avoid it.

The battle erupted instantly! Hunter Blade fired simultaneously from three directions, suppressing the "Grey Wolf" squad so they couldn't raise their heads.

"Captain! Their firepower is too strong!" a team member shouted.

Karl was also shocked. This firepower density, this tactical coordination... it was on a completely different level from what they had encountered at Eagle's Beak Cliff!

"It's a different unit!" he deduced. "The previous ones were just border guards; these are the real special forces!"

"Retreat! Retreat north!" Karl ordered.

But it was too late. The Hunter Blade's encirclement had already been formed, with Old Ma's team waiting for them on the north side.

"Bang bang bang..."

Gunshots echoed through the jungle. The Hunter Blade team members moved swiftly and coordinated perfectly, completely suppressing their opponents.

"Ah!" A member of the "Grey Wolf" team was shot in the leg and fell to the ground screaming.

"Hansen!" Someone tried to rescue him, but was unable to get close due to the heavy fire.

Carl gritted his teeth: "Abandon the wounded! Break through with all our might!"

But Hunter's Blade gave them no chance. Lin Zhe personally led the team in a frontal assault, moving with lightning speed. He charged to the front, firing as he moved, each shot hitting its target precisely.

A member of the "Grey Wolf" team tried to launch a sneak attack from the side, but as soon as he peeked out, Lin Zhe shot him in the arm, and the gun flew out of his hand.

"Take them alive!" Lin Zhe shouted.

The Hunter Blade team changed tactics, no longer aiming to kill, but to suppress, surround, and capture.

The battle lasted less than ten minutes. Of the seven "Grey Wolves" members, three were killed, two were seriously wounded, and only Carl and one other member were still putting up a fight.

"Captain, we can't hold on any longer!" the team member shouted. "Let's surrender!"

"Impossible!" Carl's eyes reddened. "Special forces never surrender!"

He had barely finished speaking when Lin Zhe rushed in front of him. The two engaged in close combat, exchanging punches and kicks. Karl was an experienced veteran with decent fighting skills, but he was no match for Lin Zhe.

With three moves, Lin Zhe locked his joints and pinned him to the ground.

"Who...who are you?" Karl asked through gritted teeth.

"A soldier from the Dragon Kingdom," Lin Zhe replied coldly.

The battle is over. Hunter Blade suffered zero casualties, killing three and capturing four.

Lin Zhe ordered his team to inspect the battlefield and gather evidence. The equipment, documents, maps, and other evidence found on the enemy indicated that this was not a routine infiltration.

"Captain Lin, look at this." Old Ma handed over a map with several points marked on it, including the newly built radar station.

Lin Zhe's eyes turned cold: "As expected, they came from the radar station."

He connected to the communication: "Commander, mission accomplished. Three killed, four captured. Confirmed to be foreign special forces, target is the newly built radar station."

"Well done!" Chen Jianfeng's voice came. "Immediately escort the prisoners back to the military region, alive. We need intelligence."

"clear!"

Border troops arrived quickly and dealt with the battlefield. Hunter Blade then escorted the prisoners onto the arriving helicopter.

On the plane, Karl looked at Lin Zhe with a complicated expression: "What...unit are you from?"

Lin Zhe did not answer.

“Those soldiers before you were completely different from you,” Karl continued. “Those were just border guards, but you… are the real elite.”

Lin Zhe glanced at him: "They are all soldiers of the Dragon Kingdom, there is no difference. You have hurt our comrades, so you must pay the price."

Karl fell silent. He had indeed underestimated them, thinking the Chinese special forces were nothing special. He hadn't expected the real Chinese special forces to be this powerful.

The helicopter landed at the military airfield. The prisoners were unloaded and taken to the interrogation room.

Chen Jianfeng personally greeted Lin Zhe at the airport: "Lin Zhe, well done!"

"Commander, I need to participate in the interrogation," Lin Zhe said. "I understand their tactical habits, which may help in obtaining intelligence."

"Approved." Chen Jianfeng nodded. "But Lin Zhe, you need to be prepared. These people are professionally trained and won't speak up easily."

"I know," Lin Zhe said firmly, "but no matter what, we need to find out their purpose, their plan, and... whether there are any other infiltration teams."

He glanced at the prisoners being led away, a chill running through him. This incident was no accident.

The border is never peaceful. As a soldier, his job is to guard this line of defense and protect the country and its people behind him.

They won this time. But what about next time?

Lin Zhe clenched his fist. He wanted to become stronger, to make Hunter's Blade stronger, and to make the entire Dragon Kingdom's army stronger.

Only in this way can we truly safeguard peace.

The interrogation room door closed, and Lin Zhe went inside. The battle that followed was a psychological one, a battle of wills.