Honor and Duty

"Ahem, this is indeed...very intense and logical," the Captain said, staring at Zhao Yan with great difficulty mustering those words.

"Is the hostage alright?" Zhao Yan asked.

Their main mission this time was to protect the hostage's retreat.

"He's fine," the Captain said calmly.

As long as they were alive, the people would never die.

Wherever they were, they would always stand up first to protect the civilians with their bodies or steel guns.

This was a spirit, not just an occupation. The uniform bestowed responsibility and duty.

In the face of man-made disasters, they charged ahead of the people. In the face of natural disasters, they shielded the people in the front.

War, earthquake, typhoon, flood...

Why did the people find them reliable? Because all their actions proved this point.

You may doubt anyone else, but you can always trust them!

Zhao Yan took a deep breath and saluted them.

To be honest, his time in service was too short. He had only joined to gain experience and earn credits, unable to comprehend their spirit.

But that did not prevent him from maintaining utmost respect.

"Swish!" The Dragon Soul Squad returned the salute.

While Zhao Yan respected them, little did he know that in their eyes, Zhao Yan himself was also admirable.

This oblivious jerk was unaware of it himself.

Accompanied by hurried footsteps, Luo Siming led the Hidden Sword Squad over.

"Squad 031 is guarding the retreat path. Let's evacuate with the hostages quickly," Luo Siming saluted the Captain first, then said rapidly.

The Captain nodded, "Alright, no need for too many thanks, there will be plenty of opportunities later."

Zhao Yan and others followed him into the warehouse.

Inside, apart from over twenty hostages, there were more than a dozen bodies and wounded.

The average age seemed no more than 27.

Their lives had permanently stopped today.

"A few people, bring these brothers home!" Luo Siming shouted after a moment of silence.

Wu Tian and others slung their guns and went to carry the bodies.

"Let us help," a bespectacled middle-aged man volunteered to carry a body.

The others also came forward to lend a hand.

Luo Siming said, "Thank you, folks."

"We're still alive because of their deaths. Seeing them off is the least we can do," said a scholarly-looking silver-haired elder with a hoarse voice.

Everyone had red eyes. The Captain's voice trembled, "They died honorably."

After that, no one spoke further as they silently carried the bodies and supported the wounded leaving.

Outside, a few still-intact cars had already been brought from the streets, which was no longer scarce in the city now.

The retreat was smooth since they had cleared the rebels from the path on their way in.

The fleeing rebels had been terrified by Zhao Yan, and in their panicked spread, it was normal that no one came after them.

The rebels were just a bunch of terrorists. When they encountered someone more terrifying than themselves, of course they would be afraid.

After joining up with Squad 031 on the way, they headed towards a small town thirty kilometers away.

At the same time, at the Kanla City frontline.

The rebel leader had just received the news that the hostages had been rescued, and he was furiously enraged.

"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!" The bearded leader shouted at the three men in front of him.

A captain said, "General, they were too strong. They must have sent at least a brigade to attack. Half of our rear soldiers were killed or injured."

If he said that it was one person who had crushed them, the General definitely would not believe it.

Because even he himself would not believe it if he had not experienced it in person, so a lie would be more credible.

"Slap!" The rebel leader struck him with a slap. "Nonsense! How many soldiers are in a brigade? Could they approach Kanla City unnoticed? Would they not consider the international impact with a brigade? You think I'm a fool?"

This excuse was insulting him as a fool.

The captain, struck with a slap, stammered, "They had one person equal to an entire brigade."

"Slap!" Another slap kissed his cheek, his face instantly reddening and burning, just like the first time he kissed the widow from the neighboring village.

That time, he had been slapped by the widow's husband.

"Bastard! Why didn't you say they sent Iron Man!" The rebel leader angrily roared.

The captain was aggrieved. Telling lies earned him a beating, but telling the truth was also unbelievable and earned him a beating too. Life was too difficult.

The rebel leader glared coldly at the other captains. "Tell me, what exactly happened!"

"General! They really did have one person equal to an entire brigade! Captain Keiler was not lying."

"Yes General, it's true. Although it sounds very unbelievable, it's the truth!"

The other two captains told the honest truth.

The rebel leader narrowed his eyes slightly, then suddenly drew his gun and fired rapidly, executing all three of them by gunshot.

The three opened their eyes wide, dead with no chance to close them.

"General, why kill them when they could still be useful?" The rebel leader's confidant was greatly alarmed. Three captains, even if at fault, did not deserve death, did they?

The rebel leader sneered coldly, his gloomy face expressing an early comprehension as he said in a tone of one who had seen through everything:

"I recall an expression called 'calling a deer a horse'. It refers to a powerful minister pressuring the sovereign until even the emperor was forced to acknowledge a deer as a horse. Those three just tried the same tactic on me. Their excuse was foolish, but they tried to force me to accept it."

"Relying on the soldiers under their command, they attempted to gang up and override me, betray me. They deserved to die!"

His fierce analysis was like that of a wise ruler, but he could never have dreamed that those three men had spoken the honest truth!

...

On the other side, Zhao Yan and the others had already reached the small town and boarded government vehicles heading for the port.

The port was now swarming with reporters from various countries.

The domestic reporters were genuinely concerned about the hostages.

But those from abroad did not have such good intentions.

"General, I've heard that an elite squad of your country has been trapped by the rebels with their fate unknown. May I question their combat ability..."

"No comment!" The navy captain who had previously received Zhao Yan and the others replied expressionlessly.

"General, if the squad you sent for the rescue gets trapped again, what will you do?"

"No comment!"

"May I ask if your country has intervened in Raya..."

"They're back!" At that moment, an employee from the Raya embassy exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone turned to look in the direction he indicated.

Amidst the swirling yellow sandstorm, a passenger bus and several SUVs grew nearer and nearer, a flag at the front rippling in the wind, its lone color contrasting the earth and sky.