The First Order

Chapter 366 The start of Qing Zhen’s territorial expansion

In the darkness outside of Stronghold 88, a convoy of transport trucks were driving on the northern highway. When they arrived at the stronghold, the private troops in charge of guarding the gate carried out a simple search before letting them through. As these were the Yang Consortium’s transport trucks, the private troops did not dare to stick their noses in too much.

But shortly after the convoy entered the stronghold, the figure of a young man rolled out from under the truck. He stood up and dusted himself while looking around cautiously.

It was late at night, so there wasn’t really anyone around.

Ren Xiaosu walked in the shadows of the streets as he quickly made his way to where Yan Liuyuan and the others were living. Xu Xianchu was the one who taught him how to get into the stronghold that way, and it was surprisingly useful.

He would get there soon. During this time, Ren Xiaosu did not encounter anyone on patrol.

But just when he thought everything was going smoothly, he suddenly saw the familiar figure of a woman in front of him. That person also seemed surprised to see Ren Xiaosu here.

“Ren Xiaosu, didn’t you go north for the elimination of the bandits?” Zhou Yingxue asked in surprise.

But just as she finished speaking, she saw Ren Xiaosu charge out of the shadows and swing his palm towards her neck without saying a word.

Zhou Yingxue reacted extremely quickly as she raised her wrist to block the knifehand strike. But she was surprised that they were on completely different levels.

Ren Xiaosu frowned as he looked at Zhou Yingxue, who had fainted onto the ground. It should purely be a coincidence that he encountered Zhou Yingxue here. But her reaction speed from earlier was not something the average person possessed. She was a supernatural being.

After thinking for a moment, he picked Zhou Yingxue off the ground and sprinted in the direction of Yan Liuyuan and the others.

Ren Xiaosu did not know when Qing Zhen’s people would make their move, so if he left Zhou Yingxue here, who knew what trouble she could cause after coming around?

However, Ren Xiaosu didn’t feel that it was necessary to silence her.

After Ren Xiaosu carried Zhou Yingxue back, he jumped over the wall into the yard without knocking on the door. Upon landing on the other side, he saw Yan Liuyuan pointing a pistol at him.

“Bro?” Yan Liuyuan said in surprise, “Why have you come back all of a sudden? You even brought someone back too?”

Liuyuan was supposed to be keeping watch tonight, but little did he expect such a surprise.

Ren Xiaosu put Zhou Yingxue down onto the ground and said with a smile, “Wake Li Qingzheng and the others up. Tie this Zhou Yingxue up and gag her.”

“Alright!” Yan Liuyuan said.

Ren Xiaosu asked, “Did anything happen at home recently?”

Yan Liuyuan hesitated and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, we’ve been doing well.”

All of a sudden, Luo Lan’s head appeared over the wall from next door. “You’re finally back. Any later and we wouldn’t have made it in time!”

Ren Xiaosu said curiously, “Xu Man told me it was supposed to take place ten days later, and it’s only been three days since then.”

Luo Lan replied, “This matter is a little beyond our control. We aren’t sure when exactly they’ll make their move, so it could happen at any moment.”

But just as he finished speaking, Ren Xiaosu heard a sudden explosion in the silence of the night!

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. “Beyond your control? Who exactly is coming to attack Stronghold 88? Aren’t they your people?”

“It’s the Li Consortium’s people. I don’t have time to explain, so quickly pack everything up. My men will be here soon.” Luo Lan anxiously whisper-shouted, “Let’s hurry up and leave while the Yang Consortium deals with the attackers!”

“How many people from the Li Consortium are here?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“A regiment of 1,500 soldiers.” Luo Lan said, “This is the last of the Li Consortium’s forces.”

As they spoke, the southern part of the stronghold was set ablaze. Gunfire ripped through the peace of the night and loud explosions rang out. Ren Xiaosu wondered, “How can 1,500 soldiers possibly take down a stronghold of the Yang Consortium?”

Luo Lan glanced at him. “They’re 1,500 nanosoldiers.”

Just as Stronghold 88 started turning chaotic, the last stronghold of the Li Consortium at the front lines of the southern battlefield was declared destroyed.

The Yang Consortium’s leader at the front line, Yang Yuning, said to his trusted aide beside him, “Seize control of the Li Consortium’s stronghold. After we get inside, we must quickly occupy the favorable terrain. Lay in ambush and kill all of the Qing Consortium’s troops that enter the stronghold together. Don’t show them any mercy!”

But before the Yang Consortium could rush into the stronghold, Yang Yuning suddenly heard an ear-piercing sound come from the sky. It was the sound of artillery fire penetrating through the air, and it was fired from the Qing Consortium’s position.

He instinctively roared, “Qing Zhen, you treacherous scoundrel!”

After the destruction of the Li Consortium, there would no longer be any basis for the Yang Consortium and the Qing Consortium’s alliance.

The Yang Consortium was planning to attack the Qing Consortium before this, but Yang Yuning did not expect the Qing Consortium to not even bother taking down the Li Consortium’s stronghold before sneak attacking against them!

The Yang Consortium was still not ruthless enough!

“Go prone!” Yang Yuning roared. “Order the nanosoldiers to break through and take out Qing Yi!”

But just as he finished speaking, a soldier beside him pointed his gun at him and started shooting merciless. Before he could finish firing all the rounds in his magazine, the soldier collapsed in a pool of blood.

However, the Yang Consortium’s general, Yang Yuning, had already been shot to death!

No one knew how long Qing Zhen had been preparing for this day. All those countless days and nights that Qing Zhen had spent playing those unnecessary moves had now dealt continuous fatal blows to his enemies in just a short few months.

The reinforced company in charge of guarding the general immediately surrounded him. Amid the chaos, someone shouted they were being attacked. But the artillery fire in the sky was already arriving.

Right from the beginning, the Qing Consortium dealt them a vicious blow. The Yang Consortium’s troops were surrounded by smoke and mud after artillery shells hit their area. The artillery troops the Qing Consortium had kept hidden for the longest time had fired at strategic locations like it didn’t cost a thing. It was as though they wanted to bombard the entire battlefield once over.

The Yang Consortium’s nanosoldiers on standby to attack Qing Yi’s command center were immediately deployed. But just as they were about to charge diagonally to the front of the Yang Consortium’s position, they realized someone at the Qing Consortium’s position had suddenly removed the tarps on the armored vehicles.

There was a dense matrix of gun barrels on those black armored vehicles!

It was the metal storm, the Mountain Obliterator!

The thousand-odd nanosoldiers were blasted to shreds in an instant. Even before they died, they did not understand why these Mountain Obliterators appeared here. It wasn’t mentioned in their intel at all!

The intel they received was false!

Qing Yi stood behind an armored vehicle and sneered, “Third Bro was indeed right. These nanosoldiers are just a fancy bunch.”

The third brother Qing Yi was referring to was Qing Zhen. Qing Zhen was third oldest among their group of cousins.

And according to Qing Zhen, these nanomachines that had always been hailed as the battlefield’s divine weapons were really just bells and whistles in the face of modern artillery fire.

When they annihilated the Divine Arms Battalion some time ago, Qing Zhen had said it was an extremely dumb tactic to use the nanosoldiers by putting them together. They should be used for infiltration, carrying out decapitation strikes, intelligence gathering, and destruction of key enemy installations. They shouldn’t appear on the main battlefield at all. Unless, of course, the enemies were caught off guard.

Just like in Stronghold 88, no one had imagined there would be an entire formation of nanosoldiers breaking through the Qing Consortium’s defensive line and arriving here.

Even though the Yang Consortium had tried their best to monitor the movements of all the Qing Consortium’s combat troops, they had neglected to keep tabs on the Li Consortium, which was fighting a desperate last stand.