39: Chapter 39 I'm sorry I'm late

Tower Three of the 17th Patrol District.

This was an abandoned guard post, with an old-fashioned heavy grenade cannon mounted on the top floor.

Fang Ming led five students into the tower and locked the iron door behind him.

"Vice-Captain, your hand..."

Lin Sisi wiped away her tears and looked at Fang Ming's left arm.

Below the elbow was empty; the bleeding had stopped, but the shredded strips of combat uniform bitten by the Shadow Leopard still hung there, swaying violently in the wind.

"Don't worry about it! Go find out how many shells are left!"

Fang Ming's face was deathly pale, and the massive blood loss had severely drained his strength.

"Vice-Captain, there are only thirteen shells. We... we might not hold out for long."

The only uninjured boy said, gasping for breath.

Fang Ming glanced at the other team members and comforted them with a smile, "Calm down, Headquarters has already arranged a rescue. Someone will come to save us!"

"Will there be a rescue..."

Another severely injured boy leaned against the brick wall and suddenly started laughing.

"Before I left, my dad told me to apply for the logistics team. He said logistics was safer."

"I said I wouldn't go. I wanted to go to the Assault Team, I wanted to be a hero..."

"Heh... a hero? This hero didn't even get to draw his blade..."

The girl responsible for healing started crying: "Stop talking, please stop talking. Every time you speak, your intestines spill out."

Ye Zhixia and Lin Sisi sat together, leaning close to each other.

"Sisi, do you regret it?"

Lin Sisi was stunned for a moment: "Regret what?"

"Regret not being a bit braver that day in the cafeteria..."

Lin Sisi fell silent.

Yes, she was too useless.

Why couldn't she have been just a little bit braver?

Heh, that idiot, he definitely wouldn't guess that someone has secretly liked him for twelve years.

Outside the window, the roars of the ferocious beasts grew closer.

"It's okay, it's a good thing he refused. Otherwise... I'd regret it even more..."

Lin Sisi's shoulders were trembling violently.

"I wonder where he is now."

"He must be out killing beasts alone again."

"That guy is the most unsociable person. When asked to train with the Assault Team, he doesn't go. When asked to coordinate with teammates, he doesn't want to. He just likes to charge ahead on his own..."

She paused, her voice as soft as a sleep-talked murmur:

"But I really... I really miss him so much."

Ye Zhixia hugged her and said nothing.

...

...

The bombardment lasted for six rounds.

Fang Ming fired off twelve shells, killing at least a dozen Shadow Leopards, but the remaining number of leopards was even greater.

These beasts had grown smart; they no longer bunched up but approached from different directions, waiting for the final shell to fall.

The rescue everyone hoped for never appeared.

By this time, even without Fang Ming saying it, the others knew.

There was no rescue coming...

The units capable of rescue were all on the main battlefield. For other units to come would just be sending them to their deaths.

"The last one."

The voice of the boy counting the shells was trembling. His name was Zhou Yuan, and he was the only uninjured boy in the team.

Fang Ming didn't look back: "Load it."

Zhou Yuan froze: "Vice-Captain..."

"Load it!"

The sound of the shell sliding into the breech was exceptionally clear at this moment.

Fang Ming turned around and looked at the five people before him.

Lin Sisi, Ye Zhixia, Shen Yi, Zhou Yuan, and that boy who was so severely injured his intestines were spilling out but hadn't made a sound—his name was Su Qingting.

Fang Ming stood up and looked down from the tower at the Shadow Leopard pack slowly approaching again.

"As soon as the shell goes off, you all run north."

"Vice-Captain?!"

Lin Sisi stood up abruptly.

"Stop the nonsense! If even one of you can escape, then escape. Don't let our 18th Squad's bloodline end here!"

"What about you?"

"I've been a soldier for fifteen years. I don't want to end up dying with a bunch of student brats. All of you, get lost!"

Shen Yi spoke through her tears: "Vice-Captain, my name is Shen Yi. Remember it. In the next life, I'll still be your soldier."

"Good! In the next life, I'm going to be the Captain!"

As the words fell, Fang Ming pulled the firing cord.

Boom—!

The shell trailed a long tail of flame and slammed into the Shadow Leopard pack. In the burst of fire, at least three or four leopards were blown away.

Before the smoke had even cleared, Fang Ming had already leaped down from the tower.

"Run!"

As he roared that word, he had already charged toward the leopard pack.

Lin Sisi was dragged northward by Ye Zhixia. After running a dozen steps, she couldn't help but look back.

Under the moonlight, Fang Ming's figure was surrounded by a dozen Shadow Leopards.

A blade flashed, and a leopard's head flew off, but at the same time, at least three bloody maws bit into his legs, his waist, and his shoulder.

He did not fall.

He was still swinging his blade.

The blade flashed twice more, and another leopard fell.

Then Lin Sisi saw Fang Ming's body torn apart by the leopard pack like a shredded rag doll.

"Vice-Captain—!"

Lin Sisi's tears fell uncontrollably, but she was held tightly by Ye Zhixia, stumbling as they ran forward.

Behind them, the sounds of chewing and beastly roars mingled.

They didn't know how long they had been running.

Su Qingting suddenly stopped.

"You guys go. I can't run anymore, my stomach hurts!"

He turned around; the pack of Shadow Leopards had already caught up.

"That day my dad slapped me. He said heroes don't come to a good end, but I just want to be a hero for once..."

"Su Qingting!"

Zhou Yuan tried to grab him.

But Su Qingting dodged.

He finally pulled out the blade he hadn't had time to draw from the beginning, roaring as he charged into the leopard pack.

The blade flashed only once before he was drowned by dozens of ghostly blue silhouettes.

Zhou Yuan continued to run with bloodshot eyes.

But Su Qingting's death had triggered something in him. He ran slower and slower, eventually stopping altogether.

When another wave of leopards caught up, he suddenly turned and laughed loudly.

"I'm a hero too!"

He turned, spread his arms, and faced those ghostly blue shadows, laughing until tears came out.

"Come on! Bite me—!"

His laughter ended abruptly.

Lin Sisi didn't look back.

She didn't dare look back; she only knew the chewing sounds behind her lasted for a long, long time.

Finally, only three people were left.

Lin Sisi, Ye Zhixia, and Shen Yi.

They were surrounded.

Shadow Leopards closed in from all sides, their ghostly blue eyes like flickering will-o'-the-wisps.

The two leading Shadow Leopards were exceptionally burly. They paced slowly, as if admiring their dying prey.

Ye Zhixia stood at the very front.

"Winters Touch!"

She pushed her talent to its limit. Ice crystal tentacles erupted from the ground, lashing out frantically.

But the gap in their cultivation realms was too large. Her attacks landed on these second-tier beasts without even scratching their fur.

Shen Yi's talent was Holy Light Blessing. In this situation, her role was barely more than that of an ordinary person.

Lin Sisi gritted her teeth, holding her longsword across her chest.

Her talent was Guardian's Oath. She could form a guardian covenant with one person. When the target was within 500 meters, all their attributes increased by 20%. When the target received a fatal attack, the oath would automatically trigger, absorbing the damage on their behalf.

The oath could only be signed once, and since her oath partner wasn't here, she was even more useless than Shen Yi.

The two leading Shadow Leopards seemed to lose their patience. One of them let out a low growl, and a blurred shadow instantly shot out from the pack, pouncing toward the three girls!

It was too fast.

So fast that none of the three could react.

Shen Yi closed her eyes.

Ye Zhixia also withdrew her Winters Touch.

Lin Sisi had already given up resistance, letting go of the longsword in her hand.

But in the next second—

Boom!!!

A dull, massive explosion erupted in front of the three.

That ghostly blue figure had leaped high but was now sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into the leopard pack behind it.

Under the setting sun, a tall, slender figure descended from the sky, landing in front of the three girls.

His back was to them, so his face was hidden.

They could only see his neat short hair swaying slightly in the wind. In his hand, he held a uniquely shaped combat blade, its edge dripping with blood.

The leopard pack grew restless, yet none dared to take a single step forward.

Looking at this back, Lin Sisi's tears suddenly poured out.

This was the back she had been watching secretly for twelve years.

"Why did you only just arrive?" Her voice trembled.

Lin Mo didn't turn around, only saying one thing:

"I'm sorry, I'm late!"