stonecrandall Chapter 84 Border Guards, 5th Battalion
Chapter 84 Border Guards, 5th Battalion
Jason stood up and buttoned his suit jacket with one hand. "Minister Zhang, you're too kind. There's an old Chinese saying, 'There's plenty of time in the future.' Let's meet again another day."
Stepping out of the state guesthouse, a biting wind swept over him. Jason got into the bulletproof car and rolled up the soundproof windows.
He dialed a top-secret number.
"Initiate the 'Winter' Plan."
Since conventional methods are insufficient to obtain guides and equipment sources, unconventional methods must be employed.
The White Eagle Empire's hegemony is not to be challenged, and those secret realm resources must be kept in their hands.
Since we can't buy it openly or cheat it secretly, let's rob it. Let's go to the weakest point in China's defenses and tear a hole in it.
A cold front swept through Siberia, causing temperatures to plummet below minus forty degrees Celsius.
The snowy plains of northern China.
Eight men dressed in optical camouflage lay prone beneath a waist-deep snowdrift.
The captain, codenamed "Grey Wolf," was an ace of the White Eagle Empire's 7th Special Assault Team. He pulled a Stars and Stripes flag from his tactical vest and pressed the button on his windproof lighter.
The flames licked the fabric, quickly turning it to ashes.
"From now on, we cease to exist in any official records." Gray Wolf lowered his voice, muffled by the wind and snow. "No support, no escape route. There is only one mission: cross the border, capture the Chinese border guards, and obtain their secrets about changing uniforms and intelligence about the secret realm. If we don't get what we need, no one will return. Fight to the death."
The seven team members nodded silently and pulled down their tactical masks.
They were suicide squads, mad dogs kept in captivity. For intelligence... everything for intelligence.
China's border defense base.
Outside, snow was falling heavily, but inside the base, everything was bustling with activity.
Two days ago, a military transport plane landed amidst a blizzard and unloaded three large boxes of supplies.
The barracks of the Fifth Security Brigade.
Squad leader Wang Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his hands trembling as he looked at the equipment laid out on the table.
The Fifth Battalion has a full complement of 33 men and is stationed year-round on the dangerous border.
Over the years, seven men have been killed. Even their ashes haven't been recovered; only seven cenotaphs have been erected in the martyrs' cemetery. Of the remaining twenty-six brothers, not even two complete sets of equipment could be salvaged.
Wang Jianguo himself was wearing a C-grade chest protector and B-grade leg guards. His silver-grade longsword had been chipped and had to be sharpened with a whetstone. When facing high-level monsters, he could only risk his life.
What's on the table?
Twenty-six brand-new A-grade and B-grade suits. Armor, boots, bracers, and weapons—everything was included. The flowing runes illuminated the dimly lit barracks.
"Captain, this... is for us?" Liu Hu, a new recruit who had been in the army for half a year, swallowed hard.
"Nonsense! They specifically ordered it for the Fifth Brigade." Wang Jianguo's eyes reddened, and he slapped Liu Hu on the back of the head. "Put it on! Everyone, change into these!"
Twenty-six men took off their worn-out leather armor and put on new clothes.
The A-grade [Snow Barrier] heavy armor fit Wang Jianguo perfectly. His joints, frozen stiff, were enveloped by the equipment's built-in temperature-regulating magic circle, the warmth penetrating to his very bones. On his attribute panel, his defense stat had increased fivefold.
Liu Hu was assigned a set of B-grade [Rock Solid] armor and a B-grade [Wind-Breaking Spear]. The spear felt slightly heavy in his hand, and the tip of the spear was swirling with pale blue wind magic.
Wang Jianguo picked up the A-grade horse-slaying saber, its blade reflecting his rough face. "Equipment complete. First squad, follow me to take over defense of Hill Three. Second squad, patrol the secret realm rift. Let's go!"
The curtain was lifted, and wind and snow swept in. Twenty-six figures plunged into the vast white blizzard without looking back. They continued their guard duty.
Hill 3
Liu Hu gripped his spear, standing at his post. The new equipment was light, but he understood the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
There was unusual activity in the wind and snow.
An assassin pulled out a dark purple magic ball and threw it below the sentry post.
hum.
A semi-transparent barrier opened, forcibly sealing off the space within a radius of 100 meters. The wind and snow were kept out, and only a piercing dial tone remained on the communication channel on Liu Hu's wrist.
Enemy attack.
Liu Hu reacted extremely quickly, holding his spear horizontally in front of his chest with his legs slightly bent.
Three hundred meters away, behind the snow-covered hill.
Another assassin wielded an S-grade [Shattered Star] longbow, the bowstring fully drawn. The arrowhead glowed with the eerie light of an armor-piercing magic circle.
Target: The young sentry's heart.
At this distance, with this bow, let alone a border soldier, even an A-rank monster would be pierced through. This is one of the White Eagle Empire's top individual weapons.
Whoosh.
The arrow leaves the bowstring, cutting through the wind and snow.
Liu Hu only saw a streak of light approaching, and had no time to dodge.
clang!
A piercing clang of metal clashing rang out.
The armor-piercing arrow struck Liu Hu precisely in the chest.
As the gray wolf had anticipated, the body would be pierced through.
The results were unexpected.
The B-grade [Rock Solid] armor runes on Liu Hu's body shone brightly, and a thick, earthen-yellow shield appeared out of thin air. The arrow pierced through the shield, the arrowhead embedding itself half an inch into the armor and getting stuck.
The powerful impact knocked Liu Hu over, sending him crashing heavily onto the snow.
Cough. Liu Hu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and got up.
He's not dead. He's not even seriously injured.
Gray Wolf's eye twitched. This was impossible. How could a border sentry withstand a fatal blow from a Class B weapon? When did China's border guards become equipped with this level of defensive gear?
The intelligence was incorrect. China not only possesses advanced equipment, but it has also deployed it to its grassroots units.
Liu Hu touched the arrow in his chest, glanced at the malfunctioning communicator, and ran away.
The space was sealed off, preventing messages from getting out. He had to break through the barrier and send intelligence about the enemy attack back to the battalion.
With the acceleration skill activated by his B-grade combat boots, he left a trail of afterimages across the snow, heading straight for the edge of the barrier.
"Stop him!" Gray Wolf roared, dropping his longbow and drawing his military dagger as he charged forward.
Seven assassins simultaneously sprang up from the snow, flanking the enemy in a fan shape.
Liu Hu did not linger in the fight. He planted his spear on the ground, using the momentum to leap into the air and dodge a magical blade that swept in from the side.
"Leave them alive!" Gray Wolf ordered.
An assassin, a professional assassin, activated stealth, circled around to Liu Hu's front, and crossed two daggers to slit his throat.
Liu Hu was in mid-air, with nowhere to escape.
He didn't hide.
The passive skill of the B-grade armor was triggered, and a ring of rock spikes spread outward from him.
The assassin was forced back half a step by the sudden thrust, and his attack missed.
Liu Hu landed, his spear sweeping across, forcing back the enemies on his left. He then used his strength to smash through the energy barrier at the edge of the barrier.
The alarm was sounded.
A fierce red light pierced through the wind and snow, spreading throughout the entire No. 3 Highland.
"Captain! Enemy attack! Hill 3 is under enemy attack!" Liu Hu shouted into the communicator that had regained signal.
The gray wolf stopped in its tracks, its face turning ashen.
The raid failed.
That sentry was ridiculously well-equipped, and his reaction speed far exceeded that of regular troops.
"Captain, should we retreat?" one of the team members asked.
Retreat? Where to retreat to?
In the distance, the snowfield trembled.
Wang Jianguo, leading his first squad, had already formed a tactical formation and encircled the enemy. The energy fluctuations emanating from more than twenty sets of A-grade and B-grade equipment merged together, creating an insurmountable Great Wall of Steel amidst the wind and snow.
"Coming and going as you please, do you think the border of China is your backyard?" Wang Jianguo walked at the front, carrying an A-grade saber in one hand.
Gray Wolf gripped his bayonet tightly, knowing he couldn't escape today.
"Kill!" he gave the final order.