0130 Lieutenant Colonel Teemo's Misfortune Born of Excessive Joy

After Alakran made yet another sharp turn, the heavy bullets trailing behind struck two Alliance soldiers following the armored vehicle. Within two brief seconds, the soldiers were torn into pieces, transformed into a grotesque cloud of blood.

Witnessing such a gruesome death, the advancing Alliance soldiers hesitated. Fortunately, Lieutenant Colonel Timo still had heavy firepower at his disposal.

"Boom! Crash!"

Hou Rui’s desperate efforts to draw fire finally paid off. The Alliance's ZU-23 cannon was able to aim calmly and fire again, obliterating the dual-purpose anti-aircraft machine gun that had been pursuing them. Following this, the Alliance infantry, having already charged toward the Ethiopians, launched into the most intense phase of the annihilation.

The two groups were barely ten meters apart, exchanging fire face-to-face. It was a contest of numbers, firepower, and who was less afraid to die.

"Rat-tat-tat!" An Alliance soldier had just struck an Ethiopian at a range of three meters, watching him collapse while clutching his stomach. But before the soldier could look up for his next target, another Ethiopian hiding behind a pickup truck opened fire. A bullet flying from the side tore open half of the Alliance soldier's jaw, sending blood spraying across his chest like a waterfall.

"Screech! Bang!"

As the Ethiopian who had pulled off the sneak attack turned his muzzle to strafe two other Alliance soldiers, the Alakran, driven by Hou Rui, slammed into the pickup truck like a wild stallion. The immense inertia and kinetic energy crushed the Ethiopian hiding behind the vehicle into a pulp.

However, before Hou Rui could shift into reverse, an Ethiopian rocket gunner carrying an RPG popped out from behind a large rock a dozen meters away.

Hou Rui watched as the man knelt in front of him, his shoulder-mounted rocket launcher aimed directly at the windshield. Just as he was about to fire and shatter the Alakran's front, a small figure darted out from the side. The figure not only blocked the rocket gunner's line of sight but also pressed the muzzle of an AK-47 against the man's body and opened fire.

"Rat-tat-tat! Boom! Whoosh!"

In an instant, both sides pulled their triggers almost simultaneously.

The Ethiopian collapsed with wounds to his chest and abdomen. Hou Rui finally caught a clear look at the small figure; it was the red-clad child soldier who had led the charge. The boy, who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen, had been struck in the chest by the RPG. Driven by the massive propulsive force of the blast, the child was sent flying backward, feet off the ground. Under Hou Rui’s gaze, the boy flew a dozen meters before exploding with a loud "boom," leaving nothing left.

With this, the entire squad of about twenty child soldiers from the Alliance was wiped out, while the adult soldiers continued to mop up the remaining defiant Ethiopians.

"Screech!" Startled, Hou Rui heard the armored vehicle's door open. As he spun around and drew his Beretta 92 automatic pistol, he saw Judy closing the door, while the three children—Little Sheep, Stone, and Little Camel—had already jumped out of the cabin and joined the fray.

There was no time or need for words.

Hou Rui jumped from the driver's seat, nimbly climbed into the gunner’s position, gripped the dual handles of the ZU-23, and immediately began firing.

"Rat-tat-tat!"

Under Hou Rui’s fire, one Ethiopian after another was struck and torn apart. Whether they were hiding behind pickup trucks or running in vain, Hou Rui showed no mercy. He eliminated every target he spotted. Within less than two minutes, the area around his position was thoroughly cleared.

"Whoosh!" A bullet suddenly grazed Hou Rui’s shoulder. Sensing danger, he immediately retracted his body back into the Alakran's cabin. Even after he locked the iron hatch of the turret, his heart was still pounding; he had been just two or three centimeters away from being wounded.

Whether that shot was a stray bullet or the work of a sniper, Hou Rui couldn't tell in the chaos of the battlefield. For safety's sake, he chose to stay inside the armored vehicle. The Alliance already held the absolute upper hand, and finishing off the Ethiopians was only a matter of time; there was no need for him to take further risks. As for the three children who had rushed out, Hou Rui had done his best to cover them with the ZU-23; their fate was now in God's hands.

Five minutes later, the valley finally fell silent. Amidst the wreckage of the convoy, only a dozen Alliance soldiers remained standing; the rest were corpses.

Seeing that Captain Lahr had led the troops to annihilate the Ethiopians, the cautious Lieutenant Colonel Timo finally descended from his off-road vehicle. By the time he stepped out of the backseat, Captain Lahr had already dragged the body of the Ethiopian leader—the big man with the floral headscarf—to the Lieutenant Colonel to display.

Gazing at the string of bullet holes in the leader's chest, Lieutenant Colonel Timo laughed heartily. "Hahaha, my old friend, how did you end up like this? Don't worry, though, I will make good use of the rocket launchers you brought. Hahaha!"

Hou Rui drove the Alakran over to the Lieutenant Colonel. Seeing the battered state of the armored vehicle, Timo could guess without asking that Hou Rui had been through the chaos and had bravely eliminated many enemies. He nodded at Hou Rui with satisfaction.

*You idiot! What are you laughing at?* Hou Rui thought to himself. *There is almost no industrial base in the Liberator Alliance's controlled territory. Now that you've greedily killed off your arms-smuggling partner, you've practically severed the Alliance's supply of heavy weapons. Let’s see where you get high-end goods like 'Hail' rockets in the future.*

As Hou Rui was silently criticizing him, he caught a flash of light in the distance out of the corner of his eye. A "bang" rang out, and Lieutenant Colonel Timo, who had been standing before him in high spirits, collapsed. A bloodstain spread rapidly across the right side of his chest.

"Sniper!" Hou Rui shouted at the top of his lungs, simultaneously ducking back into the Alakran.

Fifteen minutes later, after losing four more soldiers, the Alliance finally pinpointed the enemy sniper's location. Eager to avenge Lieutenant Colonel Timo, Captain Lahr used the ZU-23 cannon to blast the position, finally resolving the last of the Ethiopians in the valley.

Afterward, a tense Captain Lahr led the convoy back to his headquarters. Following a frantic emergency operation, they miraculously saved Lieutenant Colonel Timo's life, allowing the anxious officers to breathe a sigh of relief. If the influential Lieutenant Colonel Timo were to die here, none of them would have fared well.

Although his reasons differed from the officers, Hou Rui was also deeply concerned about Timo's life. He finally felt a sense of relief when he saw the Lieutenant Colonel, his chest bandaged and his face deathly pale from blood loss. Hou Rui truly did not want to lose this opportunity to enter the core of the Alliance's power—a stepping stone he had worked so hard to secure.

"Captain, I'm going out to get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Not wanting to continue watching the half-dead Lieutenant Colonel, Hou Rui leaned over and whispered to Captain Lahr.

"No, thank you. You go ahead, Second Lieutenant Douglas. My guards outside will take you." Captain Lahr, under much greater pressure than Hou Rui, kept his eyes fixed on the unconscious Lieutenant Colonel.

The Ethiopian sniper's bullet had pierced the Lieutenant Colonel's right lung. Although it fortunately missed the major pulmonary artery, it had caused a pneumothorax and severe internal bleeding. Had it not been for the fact that Captain Lahr happened to have two former government hospital surgeons on hand, the Lieutenant Colonel would never have been this lucky.

Now, the doctors had done all they could; the rest depended on Timo's willpower and the will of heaven.

In a fairly good mood, Hou Rui strolled out of the headquarters. He met the guard Captain Lahr had mentioned—a young black man of about seventeen or eighteen. Upon seeing Hou Rui, the young man saluted and, without waiting for instructions, took the lead, guiding Hou Rui toward Captain Lahr's camp cafeteria.

"Where are my guards? Have you seen them?" Looking at the camp, which was laid out much like Captain Wood's, Hou Rui lost interest in sightseeing after a few glances and casually asked about Little Camel and the others.

During the final phase of the valley battle, Little Sheep, Stone, and Little Camel had ignored his advice and joined the fight. They had even cooperated to kill two fleeing Ethiopians. However, after the Lieutenant Colonel was shot and the scene descended into chaos, Hou Rui had no energy to worry about them until the convoy returned to the base.

"Second Lieutenant, your guards arrived on a transport truck. I've already arranged for them to stay in a building on the east side," the sharp young man replied.

"Heh, do they have anything to eat?" Hou Rui asked, considering their well-being.

"Heh, don't worry, Second Lieutenant. They prepared some good food themselves; they're probably enjoying it right about now." The young man's answer was strange, and a sense of intense unease immediately surged within Hou Rui.