Without another word, Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong rushed towards the battlefield. They truly believed that Venus could not hold on any longer. The previous firepower was so intense that they suspected that Venus had more than one battalion. Now that they had suddenly stopped firing, they cursed Venus for being stupid. They did not know how to control the rhythm of the battle and only knew how to fire as many bullets as possible in the shortest amount of time. They did not know that in war, the loudest voice would not be the one who had the last laugh.
Halfway through the charge, the two units at the front finally retreated their frontline soldiers and regrouped with the reserve soldiers at the back. They formed a team of more than two thousand soldiers, ready to launch an all-out attack. Suddenly, more than ten flares rose from Venus's camp, illuminating the entire night sky. Then, dozens of dazzling pillars of fire were lit up in the cold night sky. The pillars of fire flew across the night sky and landed heavily on the two units' gathering point. The huge explosion and the dazzling light blinded everyone's eyes for a moment.
The sound of the explosion was like an oncoming train whistle, causing pain in their ears. Then, the tremors under their feet caused them to fall to the ground. After that, the sky was filled with dust from the flares. The dust slowly spread until it covered the entire battlefield. Only when the dust was so thick that one could not see their fingers in front of their face did it become night.
Amidst the rumbling, the sound of armored vehicle engines came from Venus's camp. Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong knew what that meant. The previous pillar of fire was fired by a 40-barrel rocket launcher. They were also familiar with the sound of armored vehicles. In other words, this battle had nothing to do with them.
Before the dust settled, the sounds of machine guns, infantry gunfire, killing cries, and screams could be heard again. This time, it came from the area that had been bombed. Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong could not find each other, so they made the same decision. They ordered their units to stay where they were and not move, even if they were hit by shells.
The chaos lasted for an hour. When the gunfire in the distance stopped, only the screams of pain could be heard. Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong led their troops forward, but before they could even take a hundred steps, they were pointed at by machine guns from more than ten armored vehicles. Seeing those Type-09 armored vehicles, Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong's hearts went cold.
Tentatively taking a few steps forward, the machine gun opened fire. Long tongues of flame flashed, and rows of earth pillars exploded on the ground in front of them. Many people retreated in panic, and the people in front led the people behind them to retreat. The entire army was a little chaotic, and only after the hysterical roars of Zhao Zhigang and other officers did they calm down.
Through the gaps between the armored vehicles, they saw countless people patrolling the chaotic battlefield. Under the faint light of the burning bonfires, countless corpses were piled up. More corpses were dragged over and thrown onto the pile of corpses. Captives were kneeling on the ground with their hands raised high. More than a hundred rifles were piled up randomly. At a glance, there were dozens of such piles of guns.
There were also some officers who were picked out and stood in a row. Behind each of them was a gun pointed at them. A wretched looking middle-aged man stood in front of the officers and looked at them. With his finger pointing randomly, any officer he pointed at would have their heads blown off by the rifle behind them. Their comrades fell one after another, causing the other officers to tremble in fear.
Before long, dozens of officers were screened. The finger of death had taken away most of the officers, and the remaining seven or eight were kneeling on the ground in fear.
After the officers were the soldiers. Row after row of soldiers were pulled over, and all of them looked at the man with pleading eyes. The man killed without a reason. Sometimes he pointed at three people, and sometimes he pointed at more than ten people. This man was not tall, but in the eyes of all the captives, he was like a god. Whether it was those who escaped with their lives or those who were about to be screened, they all looked at him with awe.
And after this man was stared at by Zhao Zhigang, he aroused the fear in Zhao Zhigang's heart. In less than ten minutes, this man had killed more than a hundred people. It should be known that the total number of captives was only about a thousand.
After this man screened all the captives, the total number of captives dropped by three levels. This was more than the number of people killed by the rocket just now. At this time, this man walked towards Zhao Zhigang, causing Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong to subconsciously step back.
"My name is Zhou Xiong, I am the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Grassland Army …"
Zhou Xiong tried to straighten his chest and abdomen, wanting to show a little more strength. Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong looked at him with eyes that made him very happy. He knew why these people were afraid of him. Originally, he planned to invite the two to meet Zhao Jun, but he found something unexpected in the hearts of the two.
Zhou Xiong revealed his identity, which made Zhao Zhigang and He Zilong think of something else. The name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself means blood and killing. This man executed more than three hundred people in front of their eyes, without any reason, without any explanation. Maybe he was not pleasing to the eye, or maybe he was playing with soldiers, but they couldn't help but deepen their fear of Zhou Xiong to the maximum.
"We are very dissatisfied with you. According to the plan, you should be the main attacker, and we are only assisting. Obviously, you used us as cannon fodder. From the beginning to the end, you didn't appear, maybe you are still fighting …"
"No … it's not like this …"
He Zilong was the first to cry out. Looking at the black hole of the machine gun, he could even feel the cold coldness of the steel weapon. If he remembered correctly, just now the armored vehicle only fired the machine gun, and the machine gun did not fire. He didn't expect it to be waiting for them here.
Since the misunderstanding had already occurred, he couldn't let it deepen. Zhao Zhigang also began to explain, but the more he explained, the more fear he felt. Fear was like a big net tightly wrapped around him. As the sneer on Zhou Xiong's face deepened, the big net also shrunk, suffocating him.
"Previously, your behavior has already been determined by us to be hostile. We think this is a trap. Not only did you deliberately delay for an hour, but you also concealed the number of attackers. It is not a thousand, but a total of three thousand two hundred. According to the previous agreement, our infantry camp will face an enemy six times the number. If not for our war chief bringing troops here to inspect, I'm afraid …"
Before Zhou Xiong finished speaking, Zhao Zhigang's heart tightened. War chief?
Bringing troops here to inspect?
Could it be that they had other intentions this time?
More than three thousand people were killed here, and he and He Zilong also brought more than three thousand people. If there were any changes, the second and third division would basically be a group of scattered soldiers. Yuan Heping would be more than enough to deal with them. Could it be that this was Yuan Heping's plot?
"Now, you have two choices. Either you die, or you surrender."
After saying that, Zhou Xiong quietly looked at them. Unknowingly, twelve people wearing linen robes stood behind Zhou Xiong. It was impossible to tell whether they were men or women. Every one of them wore a hood, and the darkness under the hood gave off a boundless sense of mystery. One couldn't help but wonder what the faces under the hood looked like.
He Zilong's eyes narrowed, and a cold glint shot out from his eyes. Zhao Zhigang, who was beside him, suddenly retreated, retreating into the midst of the soldiers behind him. No one knew when they had given the order, but their rifles were raised like a tidal wave. Following that, more than twenty rocket launchers spread out and hid behind obstacles, aiming at all the armored vehicles.
"Can there be a third choice?"
He Zilong raised his head and puffed out his chest, fearlessly standing in front of Zhou Xiong. Zhou Xiong's heart was beating rapidly. He was certain that the fear in the hearts of the two would cause them to make a wrong judgment. He did not expect that even though the two were already in a state of panic, once there was a change, they would still be able to react quickly and prepare for a counterattack.
Zhou Xiong was too smart for his own good. The other party did not give in to him at all. He did not understand the human heart. Some people were like him, after developing fear, their hearts would be seized by it, and they would make the wrong choice against their will. However, there were also some people who would develop fear, but they would be able to overcome their fear and make a last stand. The former were the weak, while the latter were the strong.
He Zilong and Zhao Zhigang had experienced countless major events after the apocalypse. They controlled the life and death of hundreds of thousands of people. Every decision they made meant the loss of thousands of lives, or even salvation. They were different from Zhou Xiong, they were strong individuals who firmly believed that their fate was in their own hands.
Zhou Xiong looked at the thousands of rifles aimed at him in a daze. It was not only him, even the Domain Squad that was secretly protecting him was trembling in fear. At the same time, they were cursing Zhou Xiong's stupidity in their hearts. Although they were strong, they were not strong enough to withstand the bullets of thousands of rifles.