Rebirth in the Dragon Kingdom: The Strongest Blade

The war entered its seventh day.

On the southwestern border of the Dragon Kingdom, the tranquility of the mountains and forests was utterly shattered. Artillery fire blasted the entire mountain range beyond recognition, charred tree trunks leaning crookedly towards the sky, and the air was filled with the mingled smells of gunpowder and blood.

However, the situation on the battlefield was completely one-sided.

In the forward command post, Commander Chen Jianfeng watched the blue arrow on the sand table advancing westward, but his face showed little joy. Too fast, the advance was too fast—in just seven days since the start of the war, our army had advanced thirty kilometers into enemy territory, routed three of the enemy's main regiments, and destroyed seventeen military strongholds.

This wasn't because the enemy was too weak. In fact, the enemy army had received years of training and equipment assistance from Country M, and their individual soldier equipment and tactical concepts had reached a considerable level. However, the reforms and development that the Chinese army had painstakingly undertaken over the years were fully demonstrated in this war.

"Commander, the Third Regiment reports that they have captured the enemy's last line of defense at Gunlongpo." The chief of staff handed over the latest battle report. "The enemy suffered heavy casualties, with at least two battalions rendered combat ineffective. The Third Regiment's own casualties... seven killed, twenty-three seriously wounded, and sixty-five lightly wounded."

Chen Jianfeng took the battle report and looked at the cold, hard numbers on it; a heavy weight pressed on his heart. In seven days, the Southwest Military Region had already paid the price of more than two hundred officers and soldiers killed and more than six hundred wounded.

Behind every number is a young life, the pillar of a family.

"Have all the martyrs' remains been brought back?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Most of them have already been transported to the rear and are being organized to be sent back to their hometowns," the chief of staff said in a low voice. "It's just that some... were hit by artillery fire..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Chen Jianfeng understood. The firepower in modern warfare is too intense; some soldiers are killed so badly that even their bodies cannot be preserved intact.

"Notify the political department to ensure proper compensation for the families of the fallen soldiers. Make sure the heroes have a proper final journey." Chen Jianfeng rubbed his throbbing temples. "Also, how's the situation at the field hospital?"

"We're already operating beyond capacity," the chief of staff said with a wry smile. "There are too many wounded, and medicines and blood plasma are in short supply. However, local hospitals have sent medical teams to provide support, and an expert team from the Jinghua Military Region General Hospital has also arrived."

Just then, the door to the operations room was pushed open, and a staff officer rushed in: "Commander! Urgent report from the front!"

"explain."

"The 3rd Regiment has discovered a secret enemy base five kilometers west of Gunlongpo. Preliminary reconnaissance indicates that the base contains a large amount of advanced equipment provided by the United States, and is garrisoned by at least one battalion. The 3rd Regiment requests instructions—should it be a direct assault or a detour?"

Chen Jianfeng strode to the sand table, and the staff officer quickly planted a small red flag west of Gunlongpo.

It was a valley terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. A direct assault would inevitably result in heavy casualties. But if they bypassed it, the enemy in this base could become a thorn in their side, threatening the supply line at any time.

"Order the Third Regiment to halt their advance temporarily and establish a defensive line." Chen Jianfeng pondered for a moment. "Also, contact..."

Before he could finish speaking, another staff officer rushed in, this time with excitement on his face: "Commander! They're back!"

"Who?"

"Those four...special people."

Chen Jianfeng's eyes lit up: "Where?"

"We just passed the forward outpost and are on our way to command post."

Ten minutes later, a mud-covered off-road vehicle pulled up outside the command post tent.

The car door opened, and four people jumped out. At that moment, all the surrounding sounds disappeared—the sentry, the staff officer, and the logistics soldiers passing by all stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed on the four people.

They could hardly be called "soldiers" anymore. Their combat uniforms were tattered, riddled with bullet holes, tears, and dried, blackened bloodstains—it was unclear whether it was enemy or their own. The thick camouflage on their faces was blurred by sweat and grime, revealing only pairs of bloodshot, yet sharp, eyes.

What was most chilling was the aura emanating from them. It wasn't murderous intent, but something much heavier and colder—like Asuras crawling out of hell, every inch of their bodies permeated with the scent of death.

The backpacks on all four men's backs were bulging, clearly full of things. The man in the lead—Chen Jianfeng recognized him as Lin Zhe. Although his face was covered by camouflage paint, he couldn't forget that unique aura—was carrying a long, rectangular object wrapped in camouflage cloth on his shoulder, with blood seeping through the cloth.

"Salute!" someone shouted first.

"Swish—" All the soldiers around, regardless of rank, stood at attention and saluted.

They didn't know who these four men were, or what mission they had carried out. But they knew that anyone who could return alive from the front lines behind enemy lines at such a time, and bring back supplies, must have accomplished an unimaginable feat.

Lin Zhe and the other three stopped and silently returned the greeting. Their movements were precise, but with a mechanical stiffness—a primal reaction from prolonged periods of intense tension.

Chen Jianfeng strode out of the command post, looked at the four people, his Adam's apple bobbed, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Finally, Lin Zhe spoke first, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping: "Commander, we have a complete set of captured US man-portable air defense missile launchers. We also have the identification documents and encrypted communication equipment of the enemy's three frontline commanders."

He gently placed the long object on his shoulder onto the ground. The camouflage cloth unfurled, revealing a dark green missile launcher. The clearly visible M-country military insignia and serial numbers were dazzlingly bright in the sunlight.

The surrounding officers gasped. Capturing enemy equipment wasn't unusual, but to capture equipment of this caliber, and bring it back intact, meant…

"You... took down their air defense positions?" a colonel staff officer couldn't help but ask.

Longya—Chen Jianfeng recognized him from his figure and movements—grinned, revealing a set of white teeth that looked particularly chilling against his face covered in paint: "Not only that. We also took out an entire missile platoon, blew up two command vehicles, and killed... well, probably a few hundred enemies. I can't remember exactly."

His words, spoken casually, sent chills down everyone's spine.

Chen Jianfeng took a deep breath: "Come in first, rest, and treat your wounds."

"No need," Lin Zhe shook his head. "We need to resupply, rest for four hours, and then continue the mission."

"Nonsense!" Chen Jianfeng glared. "How can you continue the mission like this? Look at yourselves!"

He pointed to the wounds and bloodstains on the four men: "Let the medic examine them first, treat their wounds, and make sure they're well-fed and rested. That's an order!"

Lin Zhe was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

The four men were led to a medical tent next to the command post. The tent was already crowded with wounded soldiers, and doctors and nurses were extremely busy. But upon seeing them enter, a middle-aged military doctor immediately put down his work: "This way, there are clean beds."

The medics began to examine their injuries. Surprisingly, although the four men were covered in blood, they didn't have many real wounds—Lin Zhe had a shrapnel wound on his left arm, Long Ya had a knife wound on his calf, Long Zhao had a cut on his forehead from a piece of gravel, and Long Ying had several bruises on his back.

"Most of the blood is from the enemy," the medic said, his voice trembling slightly as he disinfected and bandaged the wound. He had been a medic for twenty years and had seen countless wounded soldiers, but he had rarely seen such a monster—a monster who had killed countless enemies yet remained almost unharmed.

After their wounds were treated, someone brought them hot food and clean uniforms. The four of them wolfed down their food, then collapsed onto their makeshift bunks and fell asleep almost instantly.

They were exhausted. For seven days, they had traversed hundreds of kilometers behind enemy lines, carrying out seventeen decapitation and sabotage missions, barely closing their eyes. Now, finally back in safe territory, the moment their tense nerves relaxed, their bodies immediately entered a forced state of hibernation.

Outside the tent, whispers about the four mysterious men had already begun to circulate.

"Did you see that? Those four people looked like they'd been pulled out of a pool of blood..."

"I heard from the staff officer that they killed at least several hundred enemies in seven days and also destroyed more than a dozen strongholds."

"Really? Four people?"

"Otherwise, why do you think the front lines are advancing so quickly? The enemy's command system has been paralyzed!"

"Who exactly are they?"

"Don't ask, don't know what you shouldn't know. Anyway... as long as you're one of ours."

Four hours later, at 6 p.m.

Lin Zhe opened his eyes precisely on time, as if he had an alarm clock inside his body. He sat up and stretched his aching joints. Beside him, Longya and the other two woke up almost at the same time.

The four men silently changed into the newly delivered combat uniforms—not standard military uniforms, but specially made all-terrain camouflage uniforms, without rank insignia or any unit markings.

While organizing his equipment, Dragon Claw pulled a bloodstained enemy major's shoulder insignia from the pocket of his tattered old combat uniform and casually tossed it into the trash can. The movement was as casual as throwing away a cigarette butt.

Footsteps sounded outside the tent. Chen Jianfeng lifted the curtain and walked in, followed by two staff officers carrying four large tactical backpacks.

"The supplies are all ready." Chen Jianfeng gestured for his staff officer to put down his backpack. "Ammunition, medicine, rations, batteries... according to your requested list. Also, the latest intelligence."

He handed over an encrypted tablet. Lin Zhe took it and quickly browsed through it.

On the screen was a target list marked "Top Secret," which listed seventeen important nodes behind enemy lines—armory, communications hub, command center, and even two locations marked "M Country Advisors' Residence."

"Most of these targets are heavily guarded, some are deep in enemy territory, hundreds of kilometers from the border." Chen Jianfeng looked at the four men. "The superiors' instruction is: fight if we can, and conduct reconnaissance if we can't. But there is one target that must be destroyed."

His finger tapped a spot on the screen—a military base in a mountain valley, marked "suspected chemical weapons storage site."

"Intelligence indicates that the enemy may have prepared chemical weapons. They might use them if the situation turns unfavorable," Chen Jianfeng said gravely. "If it really comes to that... the casualties would be catastrophic."

Lin Zhe stared at the coordinates, his eyes icy: "Understood. This target has the highest priority."

"Do you need support?" Chen Jianfeng asked. "I can send a special operations team to assist you."

"No need," Lin Zhe shook his head. "Too many people would only make us more likely to be spotted. The four of us are enough."

He spoke casually, but his absolute confidence gave Chen Jianfeng a jolt.

"Is there anything else you need?"

Lin Zhe thought for a moment: "Prepare a car for us, and also... if possible, please pass on a message to Old Zhou at Eagle Beak Cliff Outpost."

"you say."

"Tell him that the blood shed at Eagle's Beak Cliff will not have been shed in vain. We have been avenging Liu Bei all along."

Chen Jianfeng patted Lin Zhe's shoulder heavily, saying nothing, but his eyes said it all.

Night fell again.

An unmarked SUV silently drove out of the front-line command post and headed towards the enemy. Inside, Lin Zhe and his three companions inspected their newly replenished equipment; no one spoke.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the border, the vehicle stopped. The four people got out and shouldered their heavy backpacks.

The driver was a young soldier. As he watched the four men prepare to infiltrate enemy territory again, he couldn't help but say, "Um... Commander, you must all come back safely."

Longya turned around and smiled at him: "Don't worry, the one who can kill us hasn't been born yet."

After saying that, the four of them turned around and disappeared into the night at the border.

The young soldier stood rooted to the spot, watching the direction they had disappeared in, motionless for a long time. He recalled the rumors he had heard at command post earlier that day, and the chilling aura emanating from those four men.

"You must come back..." he murmured.

Behind them, the war machine of the Dragon Kingdom continued to roar forward.

At the front lines, the Dragon Kingdom's army continued its westward advance, each step treading over enemy corpses and ruins. Behind them, news broadcasts rolled with the latest battle reports; each victory drew cheers from the populace, and each loss caused immense grief.

This war is no longer just a border conflict.

It is a declaration from the Dragon Kingdom to the world—this nation, which once suffered humiliation, has stood up. Her bottom line cannot be crossed; her people cannot be harmed; her soldiers are fearless in the face of sacrifice.

As night deepened, the distant flashes of artillery fire could be seen.

Lin Zhe and his three companions were like four silent, sharp blades, once again piercing the enemy's heart.

This war is far from over.