Chapter Four: Bloody Battle with the Wolves

Forward Base of Huaxia, eight hundred kilometers from Hurricane Town.

“Huafeng, still no word from Wang Yue’s armored company?” A middle-aged officer with the rank of major general turned to his adjutant.

“General, according to the signals from their life detectors, only fifteen of them are still alive. Our reinforcement unit, the Snow Leopard Commando, has already set out. Here is their latest route.” The adjutant projected the information onto the operations board for the general to review.

Staring at the fifteen life signatures on the board, the general fell silent. He wondered if parachuting the entire armored company into the far northern icefields had been too reckless.

They had ventured deep behind enemy lines. Though they fought valiantly and managed to secure samples of the unknown polar energy source, they had lost seven tanks and thirty-five young lives. Sigh. Now, bringing them home had become the most important task.

With that thought, the general solemnly ordered, “Tell Major Lin Chong, the Leopard Head, to bring our boys home at the fastest speed!”

“Yes, General,” the adjutant answered.

In this world, the three main surviving powers were the M Nation, Huaxia, and E Nation. Huaxia, having advocated for peace and stayed out of the war, had become the world’s foremost power. Yet the greatest threat was no longer any nation on Earth. At some point, extraterrestrial beings had descended upon the planet, and the menace of aliens now far surpassed that of humans themselves.

Even the aliens could not resist the struggle for the energy upon which life depended. Humanity’s genes, too, mutated in response to the new environment; at a certain point, these mutations granted powers akin to those of legendary martial artists. This was because a force called “vital energy” had emerged. A person’s level of vital energy now directly determined their lifespan and combat prowess. Then, a global temperature drop reminiscent of the Ice Age began. This era would be known as the Century of Icefields.

Hurricane Town.

“Listen up inside! Drop your weapons and surrender! I, Blackwood, might spare your lives. Otherwise, the special warheads behind me will be the last gift you receive in this world!” Blackwood the Wolf shouted his arrogant threat.

Turning around, Blackwood displayed the anti-tank cannon his men had just brought up, as well as dozens of warheads behind him.

“Damn, that bastard is getting way too cocky,” Wang Yue muttered as she finished calibrating the weapons systems and eyed the anti-tank cannon outside.

“Commander, should we engage?” Wang Yue shot a questioning look at Huafeng.

“Prepare for battle. Huaxia soldiers would rather die standing than live on their knees! We’ll avenge our fallen brothers!” Huafeng answered without looking at Wang Yue, issuing his orders crisply. “Wu Jing, check the ammunition! Shuangning, man the main gun! Yunmeng, assist targeting. Wang Yue, drive. I’ll handle the secondary cannon.”

“Yes, Commander!” Wu Jing, Shuangning, Yunmeng, and Wang Yue responded in unison.

Huafeng issued his next command with unwavering concentration: “Counterattack! Shuangning, take out their anti-tank gun first!” He knew if they could hold for just a dozen minutes, until the other two tanks arrived, their chances would soar. Though their ammo was running low, and they might have to abandon the tank or even engage in hand-to-hand combat, he and his comrades remained fearless.

Blackwood, sensing that nothing would be gained without a bloody fight, wasted no more words and signaled his men to attack at full force. The peace of the small town was shattered in an instant. Countless residents rushed inside, barricading their doors and windows, accustomed to waiting out such storms so long as the violence didn’t spill into their homes.

Despite her level-twenty vital energy, Shuangning struggled to destroy the new anti-tank gun positioned far in the rear, harried by high-explosive shells and outdated infantry anti-tank weapons from half a century past. After firing five high-explosive shells, sweat streamed down her brow in frustration.

Gunfire and explosions rang out in a cacophony. Even knowing that rifles were useless against tanks, the enemy swarmed like wolves after prey, desperate to tear something from this steel behemoth. Each man fired, reloaded, and emptied his weapon again and again. In the chaos, stray bullets even claimed four or five of their own.

No one cared about fallen comrades. As long as they themselves survived, all was well. They believed that sheer numbers would bring down even an elephant; once their leader unleashed his ultimate weapon, they were sure they’d destroy this tank as easily as the last, regardless of its thicker armor and bulk. Until then, posturing would suffice.

Smoke and dust filled the air. Warheads, shells, and micro-missiles rained down like snow, the roar of explosions never ceasing.

Wang Yue deftly maneuvered the tank, dodging barrages of high explosives and shrieking missiles, waiting for moments when their own fire could neutralize the enemy’s strongpoints. Ten minutes later, after their frontal armor had absorbed two warheads and three high-explosive shells, a message came from their allies, the Falcons. They would launch a joint assault to destroy the enemy artillery and troops in one fell swoop.

“Shuangning, don’t hold back on the ammo—fire an entire rack (forty-five rounds, about ten per minute), then charge out!” Huafeng urged, even as he kept knocking out the nearest RPG and heavy weapons with the secondary cannon.

“Don’t worry. I’ll show them the deadly meaning of ‘those who offend Huaxia shall be punished, no matter how far they run.’” As the Falcons joined in, the three tanks spat fire, and half of the hundreds of attackers fell in moments. Relief finally settled over the crew.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Blackwood tried to slip away, shouting over his shoulder, “Hold them off! I’ve called for Tomahawk reinforcements—they’ll be here any minute!”

Spotting Blackwood’s attempted escape, Wu Jing, his vision red with rage, switched the loading mode to computer control, opened the tank’s hatch, and aimed the anti-aircraft gun at Blackwood. In a hail of bullets, Blackwood was torn to shreds.

“Commander, I’ve avenged our brothers!” Wu Jing shouted excitedly.

“Get back in here right now! Who told you to go out?” Huafeng ordered immediately.

Though Wang Yue, Shuangning, and Yunmeng were angry at Wu Jing’s recklessness, they could not help but rejoice at Blackwood’s demise.

Suddenly—a sharp crack. The sound of a bullet slicing through the air. A sniper’s round slammed into the artery in Wu Jing’s neck. No one had expected there to be a hidden enemy sniper.

Shuangning instantly fired a shell in retaliation, blasting apart the rooftop and turning the sniper to fragments before he could escape.

“Wu Jing!” Huafeng was the first to react, dragging Wu Jing back into the tank as blood gushed over his hands.

“Wu Jing!” Wang Yue cried in disbelief.

Shuangning, choking back her grief, kept operating the main gun.

“Don’t cry… everyone, don’t cry. I… it was worth it. Just… so cold, so cold. Commander… Sister Shuangning…” Blood frothed from Wu Jing’s lips, his pupils dilating with the final words.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” Shuangning finally broke down and rushed to cradle his head. “Commander, I and everyone are here with you.”

Wu Jing looked at his comrades gathered around him and managed a peaceful smile.

A young life was extinguished.

Yunmeng stared at the scene in shock, the first time she had watched a comrade die so close to her.

Grief and silence gripped them. Sporadic gunfire echoed in the distance as the Falcons’ two tanks arrived, their lieutenant leading the clean-up. At last, it seemed, the battle was over.

With this fight, Hurricane Town would know the Wolf Pack no more.