Chapter 437 Chain reaction
“Quick, avoid it! Get out of the way!” The deputy commander watched as the steam locomotive got closer and closer. He went numb with fear and could only wonder why something like that would suddenly appear out in the wilderness.
Segments of railroad tracks were materializing and joining up at the front of the train as a loud metallic clanging rang out while it surged forward. The driver tried his best to speed up, but if he went too fast on this uneven road, the truck would flip over!
“Soldiers in the back, set up the HMGs and prepare to fire!” The deputy commander shouted, “Prepare for battle!”
While the vehicles drove over the uneven ground, the soldiers of the 1237th Regiment were hastily setting up the heavy machine guns at the back of the trucks. As the road was too b.u.mpy, it took them a long time to even load the ammunition.
The radio in the truck crackled to life. Zong Han, who was in the off-road vehicle up front, asked, “What’s going on? Why did a train suddenly appear behind us?”
“It should be an enemy attack, but don’t worry, Regimental Commander, we’ll definitely stop the train behind us!” The deputy commander turned around and shouted to the soldiers, “Fire!”
The machine guns were going ratatat, but the troops realized these normally unstoppable killing machines of the battlefield could only cause some sparks to fly as the bullets ricocheted off this strange steam locomotive in front of them!
The steam locomotive was traveling much faster than the convoy. Ren Xiaosu frowned as he endured the pain and said, “When we pull up to them, I want all of you to get up and start shooting! Remember to look out for any supplies that they might be carrying!”
The Razor Sharp Company’s soldiers hid under the windows of the carriages, which acted as natural defenses for them. This was clearly a quick pursuit battle, yet it felt like an ambush instead.
This Zong Consortium’s convoy consisted of ten troop transport trucks and a single off-road vehicle. When the steam locomotive caught up and began traveling parallel to the convoy, the Zong Consortium soldiers fired crazily at it.
But even their bullets would run out at some point. When the Zong Consortium’s heavy machine guns finally required reloading, their soldiers were greeted by the sight of multiple automatic rifles and some heavy machine guns poking out from the train’s windows and firing at them.
The Razor Sharp Company’s soldiers did not even have to reveal their heads since they remained crouched under the windows as they fired.
The scene could not look any stranger than what was happening.
The Zong Consortium troops were shocked. What kind of f.u.c.king power was this?
They wanted to take cover, but the problem was that they did not even have a place to hide. The troop transport trucks were just covered by a simple sheet of canvas, and it wasn’t like it was bulletproof!
As soon as the exchange of fire started, many of the Zong Consortium soldiers were downed by the gunfire.
Ren Xiaosu shouted from the front of the train, “I’ve had a look! This convoy isn’t carrying any supplies. Let’s leave!”
With that, the steam locomotive turned away and headed in a different direction in the wilderness.
It was not that Ren Xiaosu did not want to take out this group of Zong Consortium soldiers. But when they fired at the steam locomotive, Ren Xiaosu still felt the pain. He was already sweating as he could not take it much longer.
Fortunately for the deputy commander of the 1237th Regiment, he survived the attack. He had also been hit by bullets, but since he was sitting in the pa.s.senger seat, the side door helped to lessen the velocity of the bullets. Hence, the gunshots wounds he suffered were not too deep. He got slightly lucky as the recoil of the heavy machine guns was so strong that their aim became erratic and mostly missed him.
After all, the Razor Sharp Company’s troops did not even show their heads and were only hit whoever was unlucky enough to get in their blindfire.
The deputy commander recalled that he vaguely heard Ren Xiaosu shouting. So they had f.u.c.king come here to steal supplies, and at the same, took the opportunity to shoot at his troops?
The deputy commander stared blankly at the steam locomotive as it disappeared into the distance. They were leaving just like that?! What kind of f.u.c.king troops were these?
Suddenly, the deputy commander’s expression changed. He picked up the radio and said, “Regimental Commander? Are you OK, Regimental Commander?”
The driver in the off-road vehicle picked up his radio and replied, “The Regimental Commander… has fallen in the line of duty….”
The deputy commander of the 1237th Regiment was on the verge of tears. Did Fortress 178 have a grudge against their 1237th Regiment or something? Why were they always targeting the commanders of their regiment? In less than half a month, three of their regimental commanders had died! This must have been on purpose! Who had the regimental commanders provoked?!
On the train that had gotten far away, the Razor Sharp Company’s troops were cheering. “That was such a fun battle, and the enemy did not even get to see any of our faces! I dare say that we killed at least half of their two companies. That makes how many companies we’ve wiped out so far?”
“Lemme see…” Zhang Xiaoman started counting on his fingers. But after a long time, he still could not come up to an exact figure.
Jiao Xiaochen suddenly asked, “Did you get that person in the off-road vehicle just now? It didn’t look like the driver was killed. Did we not hit him?”
They had been so focused on avoiding getting shot that no one dared to look out of the steam locomotive before it fully turned away.
Ren Xiaosu thought back and said, “The pa.s.sengers in the front and back should all be dead.”
“I wonder who it was that died,” Jiao Xiaochen mumbled. “I reckon the officer was not a junior officer this time. My guess is that it’ll be a battalion commander at the least.”
“Haha, who cares?” Zhang Xiaoman said, “As long as they’re dead, that’s all that matters!”
Actually, even the Razor Sharp Company themselves did not know they had already killed three regimental commanders. After all, it was unlikely that a regimental commander would be so bored that he’d flit around outside.
They also did not know that the deputy commander of the 1237th Regiment was on the verge of a breakdown at this moment.
The Zong Consortium’s headquarters once again received news of a death, Zong Han. The generals called for an emergency meeting, and one of them said, “There must be a spy among us. How else would the people of Fortress 178 know about Zong Han’s redeployment and go ambush him?”
“That’s right. The enemy wants the 1237th Regiment to fall into disarray so they can disrupt the supply lines at Stronghold 144.” One of the generals said, “There must be an insider who leaked Zong Han’s whereabouts.”
Suddenly, a middle-aged man looked over at the staff officer who was listening by the side. “What did you say about the method the enemy used to attack them?”
“It was a steam locomotive!” the staff officer replied.
That middle-aged general sneered and said, “This was all Zong Cheng’s doing. I remember that he had deployed his troops to ambush a supernatural being named w.a.n.g Congyang, and that supernatural being’s power is to summon a steam locomotive.”
“However, the steam locomotive that appeared this time seems a little different. The train that was previously mentioned only had four carriages, but the train that appeared today had sixteen!”
“The powers of supernatural beings are not something that we can really a.s.sess. What if the superhuman can freely change the number of carriages as they please? I’ve never come across a repeated superpower in the world before.” The middle-aged general sneered and said, “It was Zong Cheng that didn’t handle this matter properly. He’s still young, after all, so maybe we should not rush to place him in too important a role. My 131st Brigade won’t be playing along with you all anymore. I’m going to hunt down those troops from Fortress 178 myself.”
“I don’t think you should do that.” Someone asked in confusion, “Your 131st Brigade is in charge of one of the most important positions at Mt. Wuchuan. Who will guard the front if your troops leave?”
“That’s none of my business. If we don’t get rid of these Fortress 178 troops, it will be a disgrace if word gets out.” The middle-aged general turned around and left the headquarters.
It wasn’t really as righteous as it sounded when he said that he would hunt down the Razor Sharp Company. In reality, the a.s.sets he had tried to transfer to the Central Plains were all in w.a.n.g Congyang’s hands! That was the wealth he had spent the greater part of his life ama.s.sing!
With the appearance of the steam locomotive, this middle-aged general had immediately found his adversary. He was going to take back all of his a.s.sets.