Andrey was furious. He got angry the moment he saw barrier troops.
As a member of the penal battalion, Andrey knew barrier troops all too well. Before this battle had even begun, he knew his only prospects were dying at the front or getting gunned down by barrier troops in the rear.
A third option was to survive as victors and hold the position.
If there was a fourth option, it was being sent to a rear hospital as a wounded casualty to receive medical treatment.
That fourth option, however, was extraordinarily difficult to pull off. First, your injury couldn't be too severe. If it was too bad, you would simply be abandoned, which was no different from dying in action.
Nor could your injury be too minor. If it was too light, you were forced to stay on the frontline and weren't allowed to step down.
It had to be just right—serious enough to require evacuation, mild enough that you could plausibly return to the battlefield after recovery, legitimate enough that the barrier troops would permit your withdrawal, and handled in time for actual treatment. Only then was there a chance of surviving this bloodbath as a wounded soldier.
Andrey didn't want to die. He had reasons to live, and he wanted to go home. So he chose to fight.
As for why he clung so tightly to Rex's coattails, it was because Andrey understood better than anyone how to pick a powerhouse to lean on.
Growing up on the streets, Andrey knew all too well the value of finding the right protector.
He had never seen anyone who could fight like Rex.
Who cared if the man was Russian or not? If he could fight like that, he was the boss.
Andrey had his own philosophy of survival, his own code of conduct.
Back in Moscow, if he ran into yellow-skinned Chinese people, he would extort them within an inch of their lives, and he had beaten more than a few of them black and blue. Those weaklings were fair game, and if he saw them again, he wouldn't hesitate to beat them again.
But men were not all cut from the same cloth.
For a man like Rex, Andrey wouldn't hesitate to drop to his knees and call him his benevolent father.
That was right—pure veneration of strength. If the boss was formidable enough, only then did he stand a chance of making something of himself.
Whoever could lead him out of this slaughter alive was his benevolent father, regardless of age, skin color, or language.
The moment he saw Rex stand tall and blow off the heads of an entire trench full of men one by one, Andrey knew this was someone worth following.
He just hadn't expected his own status to rise so quickly. It was only the second day, and he was already basking in reflected glory at his boss's side.
Just like this—striding past these barrier troops with his chin held high.
No, they weren't begging for a way through. They were making these bastards politely step aside and invite them past.
Just like right now.
"This way! If you're going to the field hospital, take this route!"
"No, they're heading to the E Company command post."
Andrey cut in without hesitation, "Saving a life comes first! Whichever way is faster, that's where we go!"
"E Company HQ has medics, but the field hospital has better facilities."
"Send them to the company command post first. Let their company commander take them to the field hospital. That covers our asses too. If we just let them through on our own, we'll be held responsible!"
"Are you blind? That's the man who just shot down three drones!"
A dispute broke out among the barrier troops.
One of them shouted, "Come this way! Over here, I'll lead you!"
Andrey walked in front, strutting proudly, preening with swagger, reveling in the glory, looking downright cocky.
He looked back and whispered to his boss, "Boss, they're letting us through, and they even offered to escort us to the field hospital."
"Hurry up then. What are you waiting for? More drones will come..."
Andrey didn't know fancy phrases for showing off, or he certainly would have swapped out his internal cheers of victory for something more grand.
How many drones had it been?
Eight. Eight drones from the moment they set out until now. Was that something a human being could pull off?
Andrey felt invigorated, his steps light and quick, forcing Samir, whom he was leading, to pick up the pace as well.
"Slower, slower!"
Listening to Samir's whimpering, Andrey's heart brimmed with contempt.
That useless sack of shit only had decent ears. He might have met Rex earlier, but a brave man like Andrey would surely leave dead weight like Samir in the dust.
He would become Rex's brother—his most trusted right-hand brother.
Andrey slowed his pace just a fraction.
"Drone!"
Rounding the bend, the barrier troops came into full view.
A squad of men held the trench, blockading the only route leading back from the forward position.
There were at least seven or eight men in the trench. Their gear made it hard to tell whether they were Wagner mercenaries or regular army, but there was no question that these bastards made a living shooting their own people.
Considering the penal battalion had formed the main assault force yesterday, these men were probably regulars.
Some of the barrier troops waved and shouted, while others ducked straight into nearby blast shelters.
"Over here! Take cover!"
"Run! Pick up the pace!"
"Another drone's coming!"
The barrier troops were actually showing concern for people?
In the midst of the chaos, Andrey glanced back at Rex.
Rex raised his rifle once more.
Following a boss like this really put a man's heart at ease, damn it!
The moment the boss lifted his rifle, Andrey had absolute faith the drone was coming down.
"Bomb away—!"
"Get down!"
"Oh—!"
"Whoa!"
"Ah!"
"Look out!"
Cries of all kinds rang out, everyone reacting in their own frantic way.
This time, the outcome was different. The boss didn't shoot the drone down, but only because it never found a decent angle to drop its payload and didn't linger for a second.
The instant the boss raised his rifle, the drone simply veered off and fled. Nobody saw how it dropped its ordnance, but it undeniably jettisoned the bomb in haste and bolted immediately.
Frightening off a drone just by raising a rifle—who would believe that?
No one would believe such an absurd story, yet there were dozens of witnesses right here.
The mortar shell slammed into the ground nearby, posing no threat at all.
At last, they stepped into the trench guarded by the barrier troops.
They could pause for a brief moment.
Andrey turned back toward Rex.
"You... you..."
The barrier troop commander stammered, staring in alarm at Rex holding the rifle. "Are you the ones who shot down drones all the way here?"
He spoke in Russian. Andrey knew his boss couldn't understand, so he puffed out his chest with pride. "Of course! Can't you see or hear? How many explosions did you hear?"
"Five."
"Three."
"Bullshit! At least six!"
A debate broke out among the barrier troops. Judging by their arm patches, they were indeed armed forces regulars, not Wagner mercenaries.
Andrey sneered dismissively. "We shot down eight drones before making it here."
From behind, Samir whispered, "Stop talking, let's move!"
*What a coward.* Andrey shot Samir a disdainful glare. Before he could speak, Rex urged urgently, "Stop wasting time with them, let's go!"
The boss was angry—no, the boss was anxious.
Wait, something was wrong.
The boss seemed closer to Samir.
A sense of crisis flared in Andrey's chest.
No, this wouldn't do at all.
Andrey was determined to be the boss's number-one lackey. He had to be the boss's absolute confidant, top lieutenant, and best enforcer.
Was he really losing the race for number-one lackey to Samir?
From the looks of it, beating him was going to be tough.
Samir had known the boss earlier, and this was an army, not a street gang. Relying on old street habits didn't seem to cut it.
What should he do?
What if he couldn't be the boss's top lackey?
Wait.
If he couldn't be the boss's top lackey, what else could he be?
Pity Andrey didn't know the concept of a godson.
Fortunately, though, he knew the term "benevolent father."
It amounted to the exact same thing anyway—different paths leading to the same goal.
Andrey picked up his pace at once, weaving through the trench and calling out to the barrier troops, "We're heading to the company command post."
"I'll take you there!"
The barrier troop commander turned sideways to let Andrey pass. After Samir carried his end through as well, he finally came face-to-face with the god who shot down drones.
"Hello, I'm Kalezyev. Battlefield discipline unit, 1st Battalion, 36th Brigade. Junior lieutenant, platoon leader. May I ask your name?"
Gao Fei was feeling annoyed. First, he despised barrier troops; second, he didn't want to waste time; and third, he didn't understand Russian.
Yet this platoon leader was extraordinarily polite. Seeing no reaction from Gao Fei, he immediately switched to English.
"Hello, my name is Kalezyev. May I ask your name?"
He had switched to English and his attitude was remarkably respectful, so Gao Fei had no choice but to let go of his rifle with one hand and give the platoon leader a quick handshake.
"Rex. My name is Rex."
"I will take you to E Company's command post. It's... my duty, please understand."
The barrier commander's English wasn't great and he spoke with a stumble, but he was doing his best.
Gao Fei glanced up at the sky. "Keep your distance from me. The drones are targeting me."
"Oh, right, right, thank you. This way, please, right this way."
Passing through the bottleneck trench, the company command post lay ahead. The company commander was already visible, waiting beneath the camouflage netting.
"Hurry, hurry!"
The company commander waved, his face tight with tension as he stepped aside to clear the way. When Andrey and Samir rushed past carrying Sokholov, he grabbed Gao Fei's arm and asked anxiously, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"That was far too risky! Why did you—"
The company commander cut himself off, too embarrassed to finish.
The barrier commander caught up with them. The company commander's expression hardened slightly as he stated, "I gave the order for them to bring the wounded back and return to the forward position with supplies."
The barrier commander waved his hands at once. "No problem, no problem at all! They aren't deserting, I know, I saw it! This Rex—"
"Hm?"
"This Rex shot down so many drones! What I mean is, they can go to the rear hospital, and I can escort them there myself. It falls under my duties. There's no issue with me taking them."
The company commander's face softened. As a company commander, he couldn't leave his post to escort a casualty, but this barrier commander certainly could.
Looking over at the men entering the command post, he knew there were only two medics inside. To be blunt, those two were barely a cut above slaughterhouse butchers.
The company commander made a swift decision, smiling at the barrier commander. "That's wonderful. I'll leave it in your hands then. Thank you for your understanding."
"Of course, of course, I completely understand!"
The barrier commander glanced at Gao Fei and added, "A god who can shoot down drones one after another—you could tell me he's our regimental commander's own father and I'd believe you! Anything he wants is fine by me. Transporting a casualty? I'm on it! I guarantee he'll be handed straight to the best doctors, I swear it!"
Chapter 69