A blast of air and dirt rose as an anti-infantry land mine exploded, completely shattering the lower right ankle of a Vanguard member leading the way. His leg bone split open, oozing bone marrow, his combat boot was mercilessly torn apart, and his calf muscles along with the hem of his trousers were severely mangled.
After being thrown to the ground, it took him a while to feel the pain, and he let out a piercing scream.
"Ah—"
The sound of the explosion, deliberately reduced in charge for the anti-infantry land mine, was not loud, yet in the silent jungle, it was like a muffled thunder, making everyone's eyelids twitch.
Hearing the scream, nearby "Cobra" team members' scalps went numb, and goosebumps arose all over their bodies.
In a moment of shock, another thud sounded, and another soldier, who had tried to move forward to aid his teammate, fell to the ground with a hole in his foot as blood mixed with frothy bone fragments gushed out.
"Ah—"
Like the previous victim, he only started wailing after he hit the ground, pain distorting his face.
Actually, the arrangement of a minefield relied on prediction.
Song Heping had almost predicted how the mysterious pursuers would lay the mines as they passed through this area.
He had predicted their predictions.
That was always the most terrifying aspect.
Watching the two members writhing in pain on the ground, the other members of the "Cobra" squad silently looked towards Wu Shengwen.
They were well aware of the malicious intent hidden behind these anti-infantry land mines, which were not designed to kill a soldier, but merely to maim them.
This effectively created a large number of casualties, burdening the other members of the unit.
A single casualty required at least two people to care for him, tying up four combatants like a contagious disease, thereby weakening their fighting capability.
In this dark, damp jungle, figuring out how to handle several casualties became a big problem. Diverting people to take care of them meant falling into the enemy's trap, and heartlessly abandoning the injured would severely damage morale...
This dreadful choice, no matter how one chose, seemed wrong and truly gave Wu Shengwen a headache.
Wu Shengwen felt torn.
Given his character, he would certainly abandon the two combat-incapacitated members—who even if saved, would end up with crutches—but such action would surely cause dissatisfaction among some members.
Diverting manpower to care for the wounded meant that at least a squad would have to drop out of the combat lineup, which was also a bad move, not to mention it wasn't yet time to abandon the injured...
"Everyone, stop advancing, deploy and start mine-clearing in place!"
This order indicated that Wu Shengwen had given up the pursuit.
Nearby, Harold, who understood Burmese, immediately objected, "Captain Wu! This is a critical moment. If we don't catch up now, they will cross the border by dawn!"
Wu Shengwen finally exploded in anger, lashing out at Harold, "Fuck off! All you do is boss around here. You're a Seal Team Commander yourself, show us how it's done then! I've already lost several men without even seeing the enemy, and you still want me to pursue?! Are the lives of my men not lives?! I absolutely refuse to continue risking lives for this until we clear the mines!"
He was fed up with this American's constant directions.
Even if his unit was receiving military guidance from them, and even his armed group was supported by American funds.
But that wasn't for nothing.
There was work to be done for them.
Over the years, whether it was drug trafficking or confronting the government army, the KIK armed group had already paid with enough lives.
Considering tonight's situation, continuing the pursuit might as well mean more deaths.
If the Americans really wanted to chase, let them do it themselves!
"Captain Wu! You will have to face the consequences for your words," Harold said with a steely face, starting to threaten Wu Shengwen.
By then, Wu Shengwen was already irate, with several subordinates dead or injured, and the fate of another 20 members of the Vanguard Team unknown, likely bleak.
He probably realized what kind of opponent he was dealing with.
If the Americans liked to compete with the Chinese, that was their business, but for his Civilian Military, skimming some profit and doing small tasks was okay. Fucking idiot to gamble everything for such causes.
"I will face the consequences," Wu Shengwen stepped aside and indicating the way forward, said, "I have 20 brothers ahead, whose fate is unknown. If you, Captain, think you are better than them, more familiar with this place, you can continue the chase with your own men. I dare say those people are still up ahead without having crossed the border. Please! I am not stopping you!"
Harold felt like a balloon about to burst but was helpless.
He knew himself that the opportunity had already been missed tonight.
The best chance to annihilate them was when sacrificing Wu Tunqin's entire company at the crossroads.
Now it was merely about wanting these men in front of him to continue as cannon fodder, chase after that mysterious small squad, and then lead his own men to find an opportunity.
Unfortunately, Wu Shengwen wasn't foolish.
He was no longer willing to make meaningless sacrifices.
"Fine," Harold finally compromised, "I won't urge you to hurry anymore, but I hope you clear the mines quickly and continue your mission."
"That sounds more like human talk!"
Seeing Harold compromise, Wu Shengwen also gave way.
"Don't worry, once it's confirmed safe, I will lead my men to continue the search and pursuit. But until then, I won't let my people take any more risks."
While the "Cobra" squad was trapped by the minefield, five kilometers away in a valley among the mountains, Song Heping and Hunter were moving through a pile of bodies with pistols equipped with silencers.
A minute ago, they had ended the battle.
After laying mines, Song Heping led Hunter to pursue forward.