Those left to guard the rear are all born in the Year of the Ox.

Behind him.

The two rebel soldiers who had just stood up to shoot at Bob immediately collapsed, and Li Changjiang could clearly see the spray of blood bursting from their chests.

The sky was still very dark.

He heard the enemy's agonized cries.

Both Williams and the man firing beside him were shocked by Li Changjiang’s astonishing marksmanship as they kept shooting. Yet compared to Li Changjiang, their aim was far worse—not because they lacked skill, but because it was nearly impossible to spot a target with the naked eye in this near-total darkness. All their shots were fired almost entirely by instinct.

As soon as the gunfire erupted, they realized they were under attack.

But dawn is when human awareness is at its weakest and most relaxed, heavy with sleep. And that bastard Bob—he’d actually managed to stand up. Only taking a bullet in the shoulder was already lucky.

“Boss, I’m hit!”

“Shut up!” Tim snapped, his nerves frayed. After throwing himself atop Tim, his uninjured hand immediately raised his weapon and opened fire.

Tat-tat-tat!

Muzzles spat tongues of flame. Several guns fired at once. Even though they couldn’t pinpoint the direction, the rebels’ firepower was suppressed in an instant.

But Li Changjiang didn’t relax just because of the sudden lull in the fighting. On the contrary, he grew even more alert.

Sure enough.

Before he could locate the rebels, a fiery red tail-flame flashed in the darkness, streaking straight toward them.

“Take cover, it’s—!”

Sons of bitches!

Li Changjiang cursed inwardly. For a moment, he was tempted to damn to hell both the Germans and Soviets who had invented such weapons—he’d lost count of how many times he’d been blown up by one of these.

African soldiers seemed especially fond of these powerful yet simple and cheap infantry weapons, but being on the receiving end was anything but pleasant.

He spat out a mouthful of grit. Sand tinged his tongue.

“Boss, we have to retreat now. Bob’s wound is bad—looks like it hit an artery.”

Li Changjiang yanked back the bolt, slotted in a fresh magazine, and glanced over at Bob not far away. The darkness made it hard to see the wound clearly, but that hulking man was already motionless. The injury was obviously worse than expected.

A jolt of dread seized his heart—an ominous premonition.

Now Tim and Bob were wounded. He, Williams, Jin, and the stranger captured by the rebels were unhurt for the moment, but they had no idea about the rebels’ situation.

Still, Li Changjiang was puzzled. He couldn’t figure out how the rebels had suddenly appeared there.

Given the direction of their gunfire, it didn’t seem to come from directly behind—they couldn’t have tracked them all the way here. If not pursuit, then it had to be a chance encounter.

In other words, they’d just happened to run into the rebels.

Damn it all!

“Everyone, stay hidden!”

Tat-tat-tat!

Boom!

After the blast, the rebels launched another attack, their fire even more ferocious. The man who’d maintained an air of calm suddenly spoke, and everyone immediately buried their heads in the sand.

By now, the sky was beginning to lighten, just a trace of dawn, and in that faint glow they could just make out the enemy’s firing points.

“Enemy at 300 meters ahead, ten o’clock from our position, number unknown.”

As the spotter, Tim shouted out the little information he could discern, but it wasn’t much help. They couldn’t even guess how many there were. In such open terrain, if the enemy had numbers and they ran low on ammo, they’d likely be wiped out.

“Conserve your ammo!”

“Don’t fire unless you have to!”

Williams and Li Changjiang shouted almost in unison, exchanging a brief, weary smile.

After they went prone, the rebels, realizing they couldn’t hit anyone, fired off a few more potshots before falling silent. An eerie calm settled over both sides.

Li Changjiang was perplexed.

Normally, rebels encountering them would stop at nothing to kill them—so why did the enemy seem suddenly different?

He couldn’t see through their motives.

“Tim, how’s Bob?”

He turned and called out.

“I’m fine. Just passed out for a moment.”

It was Bob’s voice—weak, but the big man was already conscious again. Clearly, a strong body did make one resilient.

“Boss, we need to retreat. If we wait for sunrise, we’re dead.”

For once, the fool was right.

Li Changjiang found himself a little surprised.

“William, you go first. I’ll stay here and draw their fire. Once you’re clear, I’ll follow.”

Williams hesitated briefly, but at a glance at Bob lying on the ground and the battered Tim, his heart clenched.

“All right. Be careful! Li, we owe you another life.”

He began crawling backward, only helping Bob up and running once they’d cleared the rebels’ line of fire. Jin led Tim after them.

“You’re the bravest man from China I’ve ever met.”

After the others vanished into the darkness, the man next to him suddenly spoke. Li Changjiang was startled to hear him speak fluent English.

“Why didn’t you go?”

“Go? Why should I? Did you know they dragged me from Tripoli to Benghazi? If not for you, I’d already be dead in some Benghazi prison.”

Well.

Li Changjiang was momentarily at a loss.

A powerful reason, he had to admit. The man was clever. Williams, Bob, and the others might be on the same side for now, but they were hardly saints.

He didn’t know why they treated him differently, but mercenaries were mercenaries. If they could sneak into Tripoli to capture prisoners for money, they’d kill for money too.

They lapsed into silence again.

Sensing something, the rebels suddenly opened fire once more, the gunshots fading quickly into the barren wilderness, leaving no trace.

Neither Li Changjiang nor the stranger fired back. They simply stared intently into the darkness.

As expected.

With no return fire, two figures on the other side suddenly popped up. Li Changjiang’s eyes narrowed. He was about to squeeze the trigger when two gunshots rang out beside his ear.

Bang! Bang!

Two quick, crisp shots.

The two who had just raised their heads instantly collapsed, lifeless.

Such precision!

The rearguard must be born marksmen.

Li Changjiang couldn’t help but feel curious about the stranger beside him.

He had spent long enough on the Libyan battlefield—even if he’d never fired such a shot himself, he’d seen enough to know this kind of marksmanship was rare.

“Who are you, really?”

“Me? I’m Khamis.”

Khamis? What on earth?

Li Changjiang felt no reaction at all.

Another round, then—there’s still time. Your humble author must keep churning out these chapters. A new week has begun—please vote for me and help me climb the rankings!