The First Order

Chapter 386 Swiftly taking Mt. Dingyuan

Zhou Yinglong looked at Ren Xiaosu. He took a deep breath and asked, “Why did they start fighting?”

Ren Xiaosu blinked. “I dunno, maybe they had some disagreements. Battalion Commander, aren’t you going to stop them? Didn’t you say that the Razor Sharp Company would be heading out to Mt. Dingyuan?”

Zhou Yinglong was stunned for a couple seconds before he stopped caring about Ren Xiaosu. He ran to where the fight had broken out. “Everyone, stop fighting. Razor Sharp Company, I want all of you to return to your barracks and assemble within ten minutes. Since you’re all so energetic, I don’t think you need another day’s rest, right? You can head straight for Mt. Dingyuan in that case!”

Zhou Yinglong’s words still held a lot of weight in the Forward Strike Battalion. It seemed that the two companies were also very used to this. Even though they were fighting, the two sides immediately stopped once Zhou Yinglong stepped in.

The Razor Sharp Company turned around and ran back to their own barracks.

Military orders were not to be taken lightly. If they were asked to assemble in ten minutes, they would have to do it within ten minutes and not a second later.

Before they left, the members of the Razor Sharp Company saw Ren Xiaosu standing next to Zhou Yinglong unscathed. When they thought about what had just happened, they nearly vomited blood.

It wasn’t until this moment that the Second Company soldier who was beaten up at the beginning started slowly getting up off the ground. When he saw Ren Xiaosu, he shouted, “He was the one who hit me just now, and he even yelled ‘the Razor Sharp Company is invincible’ at me!”

Ren Xiaosu said in seriousness, “You’ve got the wrong person.”

Zhou Yinglong raised his eyebrows and told Ren Xiaosu, “I want you to assemble with everyone as well.”

Ren Xiaosu replied, “Yes, sir!” Then he ran towards the Razor Sharp Company’s barracks.

When he entered the Razor Sharp Company’s camp, the Razor Sharp Company was already standing in a block formation with their field packs on their backs. Ren Xiaosu said, “Recruit Ren Xiaosu reporting in.”

The 180-odd men from the Razor Sharp Company looked at Ren Xiaosu speechlessly. The company commander was so angry he smiled. “Good on ya, Ren Xiaosu. You’re the only one in Fortress 178 who’s capable of making our Razor Sharp Company look like dumbasses. Amazing!”

Ren Xiaosu said politely, “But I’m also part of our Razor Sharp Company.”

The company commander barked, “Get your ass in formation and fall in with 1st Platoon. I’ll teach you a lesson after the war is over.”

The company commander looked at the Razor Sharp Company that had assembled in a block formation and was about to lecture them. However, the men standing before him all looked bruised and swollen, while their uniforms were also in tatters. One of the soldiers’ noses was still even bleeding. However, he did not fidget or wipe the blood off as he was currently standing in formation.

When the company commander was greeted by this sight, his heart shattered. What the fuck did they do to deserve this!

Zhou Yinglong walked over while humming a little ditty. The company commander said to him, “Reporting in, Battalion Commander, Razor Sharp Company has assembled. Total strength, 184. Present strength, 184. End of report, sir!

Zhou Yinglong nodded as he looked at the Razor Sharp Company in the block formation. He snapped, “Look at the state you’re in! You’ve got 60 more men than Second Company, but why does it seem like you’re all useless?! Didn’t y’all do really good during the exercise, and you even captured our command center too? Where’s that arrogance now, eh?”

As he spoke, Zhou Yinglong stood in front of the Razor Sharp Company and started laughing…

Ren Xiaosu stood in formation and thought to himself, ‘Just by looking at the way Zhou Yinglong leads his soldiers, he’s probably not an ordinary person either.’

Zhou Yinglong continued, “We also don’t have enough uniforms to go around at our fortress, so I wonder if y’all will be mocked when you step on the battlefield wearing your current attire? Zhang Xiaoman, I hope you haven’t forgotten that you’ve pledged to take Mt. Dingyuan within half a month. Alright, time for y’all to set off.”

The Razor Sharp Company’s commander stood at attention and yelled, “Battalion Commander, don’t worry! If we don’t take Mt. Dingyuan within half a month, I’ll commit suicide.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers of the Razor Sharp Company standing in block formation roared, “Battalion Commander, don’t worry! We’ll win the opening battle!”

Only at this moment did Ren Xiaosu finally feel some bloodlust from this group of thugs. Earlier, they were thinking of beating up a wounded person. Their behavior was too immoral!

After Zhou Yinglong left the barracks again, Zhang Xiaoman loosened up. He looked at Ren Xiaosu and said, “Good fucking job, kid! You’ve made our Razor Sharp Company lose all honor.”

Ren Xiaosu said softly, “Yes, sir, yes.”

“Jiao Xiaochen!” Zhang Xiaoman called over 1st Platoon’s commander. “Ren Xiaosu will be assigned to your platoon from now on, so keep an eye on him. If he disobeys any orders, beat him to death.”

Jiao Xiaochen muttered, “Captain, you saw how fast he ran just now, right? Even if we want to beat him up, we might not even be able to catch him.”

“Cut the crap. We’re setting off.” Zhang Xiaoman turned to Ren Xiaosu and said, “Now that you’ve joined the Razor Sharp Company, be prepared to suffer. I don’t know how you lived in the past. You might be used to eating well and never having to sleep in the wilderness, but from today onwards, know that the good days of the past are over!”

Ren Xiaosu did not reply. He would simply have to prove he could handle it.

The Forward Strike Battalion was the advance guard of Fortress 178. They not only had to capture cities and territories, but also played a part in verifying if the mapping of the battlefield was accurate. They would then report any intel back to headquarters to guide the Engineering Battalion in their bridge building and road paving missions to establish a forward operating base.

The armor and artillery could only reach the Zong Consortium after the bridges, roads, and FOB had been set up properly.

And the Razor Sharp Company was the advance guard of the Forward Strike Battalion. They would be the first to face and overcome any difficulties.

It was not without reason that all of the previous candidates for the role of fortress commander were trained in the Razor Sharp Company. If they did not gain experience with the toughest company, how could they possibly become good commanders?

This way of setting an example had carried on to this day. As such, all the soldiers of the Razor Sharp Company were expecting even more from Ren Xiaosu. This person could end up becoming the commander of Fortress 178 in the future, but was he up to it?

Ten military transport trucks were assigned to the Razor Sharp Company by Zhou Yinglong. They weren’t only used for transporting people. They also transported heavy machine guns, mortars, and other firearms. If they wanted to capture Mt. Dingyuan without this equipment, that would be a pipe dream.

After getting into the vehicles, the company commander, Zhang Xiaoman, was still analyzing the map in his hands. “There’s a group of bandits holding Mt. Dingyuan, but it’s hard to be sure at this moment that there won’t be any of Zong Consortium’s regulars mixed in among them. So we’ve gotta be careful when we attack them.”

Ren Xiaosu was also sitting in the same vehicle as the company commander. He quite agreed with Zhang Xiaoman that they definitely could not treat the bandits at Mt. Dingyuan and Mt. Guan as normal bandits.

Zhang Xiaoman continued, “We don’t have much time. There might still be a spring on Mt. Dingyuan, so it’s not feasible to cut off their water supply. Any of you have any good ideas?”

Zhang Xiaoman looked around for someone to offer a suggestion, but no one said a thing. In the corner, Ren Xiaosu also sat with his eyes closed without saying a word.

Zhang Xiaoman’s gaze fell on Ren Xiaosu. “You look like you have a lot of ideas. Tell me, how should we fight this battle?’

“Just fight?” Ren Xiaosu said. Since he had never been to Mt. Dingyuan before, he didn’t even know what the terrain there looked like. So how could he think of a strategy?

Zhang Xiaoman scorned, “The bandits might even be armed with heavy machine guns, mortars, and RPGs. Do you know how many people will die if we launch a head-on attack? Do you think you’re like Xu Xianchu, who has that invulnerable shadow with a black cauldron, and that you can simply force your way through the battlefield?”

Ren Xiaosu’s mouth twitched. “I’m just a private, so I’ll obey your orders.”

Zhang Xiaoman nodded. “That’s the correct attitude.”