That was the real reason why Jansining would promote Wang Tong even though he was still a new member. If it were anyone else he had promoted, his comrades would have protested and recommended friends such as Third or Big Face. But they trusted Wang Tong and knew he was much stronger than any one of them. Therefore, they had agreed with Jansining's decision.
War was cruel, and it had no place for overwrought politeness.
Wang Tong felt a strange feeling that was a mixture of fear and motivation. He had gotten used to fighting alone, but right then, the had to protect a whole team, even though he knew that it was impossible for him to look after everyone.
"Kiddo, don't stress about it. We are not entirely useless." Jansining was a good leader; he could always read his team member's mind accurately.
Jansining had never studied psychology or mind reading classes. But ever since the first time he saw Wang Tong, he knew that this lad was very committed and trustworthy. He might talk like a lazy little prick, but through his actions, he was pulling more weight than anyone else.
"Lieutenant, I didn't mean to think that way." Wang Tong explained. He knew that it would be an insult to consider a soldier useless.
Jansining puffed a cloud of smoke and pulled out a picture from his inner pocket.
"Here, look, this is my baby girl. Isn't she cute? She is five now, learned to call me Papa just before I left… Haha. " There was a rare tenderness in his voice.
"The other one is my wife. A school teacher… fell in love with me because I am a tough soldier, haha!" Jansining laughed proudly.
Wang Tong saw a cute little girl and a beautiful woman in the picture. Jansining had a happy and comfortable family.
Wang Tong wondered why Jansining would choose to forsake his comfortable home and join the war. "Lieutenant, why did you decide to come to Norton? It's too dangerous...What if..." Wang Tong didn't finish what he was supposed to say. He was supposed to ask if Jansining had thought about what would happen to his wife and child should anything happen to him on Norton.
Jansining threw away his cigarette and squeezed it under his heel. Then, he turned to Wang Tong and said calmly, "I am a soldier."
The profoundness of this simple answer shocked Wang Tong.
Wang Tong felt ashamed when comparing himself to Jansining. On the battlefield, no one was fighting for the promotion, nor were they fighting for the future of the Confederation. They were fighting for their loved ones, protecting their family with their own sacrifices.
Although soldier was a profession that had started ever since the beginning of human civilization, not a lot of people had understood the real purpose of being a soldier.
Thanks to Jansining, Wang Tong finally understood it.
The next day, the ninth platoon kept on pushing forward. Since they had entered a jungle, they had to give up using their vehicle and walk their way out of the jungle. Overbite was in charge of carrying everyone's space crystals as he trailed after the team.
If they followed the planned route, the ninth platoon and other platoons would be able to form a stranglehold on the hive and maximize their chance of encountering Zergs on their way.
Although humans could not sieve through the entire planet, when hives popped out around the human settlement, the military would spare no expense to get rid of them. The mines had strategical importance to humans, since its production had become the primary source of funding for this war.
Just like the humans, Zergs were also an inhabitant of the planets. Therefore, the rhetoric of good verse evil seemed old and tired in describing this war. Instead, this war was all about establishing dominance on a resource-rich planet over another race.
Wang Tong looked around him and found his comrades much more relatable and likable than the flamboyant TV personalities who wo
uld only talk but never acted.
For a while, killing Zergs meant only survival to Wang Tong. But right then, he found his actions seemed to have gained a certain measure of profoundness.
"I got a reading here! About thirty of them, twelve o'clock. Overbite, let them taste some steel and attract them here."
"It's all on me, Lieutenant."
Overbite shot at the Zerg's ambush location and revealed the wave of deadly claws and fans rushing towards the ninth platoon.
"Everyone, get ready!"
It was not the first day that the ninth platoon was in the business of killing Zergs, so the soldiers were ready in a second and were eager to kill.
Wang Tong led his squad to engage the Zerg head on. He noticed that the enemy composition was more complicated than previous encounters, perhaps due to their proximity to the hive. There were a few higher level Zergs mixed in between a few dozen lower level ones. Seeing the new enemies, a newfound interest caught Wang Tong's mind, making him excited to test his tactics on these new Zergs.
A few seconds into their engagement, everything was under Wang Tong's control, and the number of Zergs dwindled rapidly. Wang Tong glanced at his comrades and saw everyone was holding their ground and making kills.
In a few more minutes, all the Zergs were killed.
"Little O, don't rush to the front next time. Stay close to me."
"Bother! How many times do I have to tell you? I am a soldier too. Plus, we have Wang Tong at the forefront of the line. I can handle a few more bugs."
Little O had killed two Zergs, and he was very proud of that record. Everyone had fought more aggressively thanks to having Wang Tong in the team. Therefore, it took the team a lot less time to finish off the group of enemies than they used to.
"You fool! Didn't you know that accidents do happen sometimes? And you are breaking the line. I repeat it, stay no more than within five meters from me!"
"No way, what's the fun in that?" Little O protested.
"Stop babbling, you two! Little O, your brother was right. It's not a bad idea to form a good habit on the battlefield." Jansining stopped the two brothers' bickering; it had been a familiar sight to the members of the ninth platoon.
"Lieutenant, the bugs are evolving as we get closer to the hive. We better watch out. The Kamikaze Zergs are real nasty f*ckers."
"Overbite is right, and we better be careful. Iron Tooth, can you handle those terrorists if they get in our way?"
"No problem." Iron Tooth nodded confidently. He was responsible for keeping an eye out for any sudden attacks while the platoon was doing its business.
Iron Tooth got his nickname for biting an eyeball off a Zerg once, although that had almost lost his life. He lived, and the name stuck too.
"That will be it for now. We have lots of time, but we should arrive there earlier so we can recon the area."
Jansining gestured everyone to move on. The sooner they got to their destination, the more time they could use to take a respite before the final battle.
As Wang Tong walked on, he was continually detecting Zergs around his vicinity. Suddenly Wang Tong sprinted upwards, and his teammates saw a bright flash in the air before two chunks of flesh that used to make up one Meganeura Zerg thudded onto the ground. Jansining's face became taut at the sight of the dead flying Zerg.
"They have found us. All guns ready."
Everyone suddenly tensed up their bodies as they started to get ready for a tough encounter.
Overbite's eyes were glued to the detection unit. A few seconds later, the detector went off followed by a humming noise from underground, suggesting something monstrous was on its way towards the soldiers.
"The Tank Zerg! Move ! Move! Find cover! NOW!" Jansining shouted at the top of his lungs. Before anyone was able to move a muscle, they saw a dozen dark dots zigzag toward them.
"Kamikaze Zergs!"
Wang Tong reacted much faster than his comrades. He unsheathed the blade and stopped the Kamikaze Zergs with a few sweep attacks.
Suddenly, the ground in front of them gave in, and a giant bug wiggled its way out from the depression. The Zerg was about ten meters long and was armored in hard and dark colored cretin. At one end that resembled a head were set a pair of horns that looked like fangs.
The Tank Zerg let out a howl which made the ground tremble. A dark red beam shot out from its mouth.
It was corrosive fire, and it could melt even METAL suite. Usually, the Tank Zergs were left for the armored vehicles, but the ninth platoon did not have one.
At the sight of the red beam, soldiers gave up their formation and scattered away. They watched as Spider Zergs crept out from the giant hole left by the Tank Zerg.
"What a day! Everyone spread out!"
Although the Tank Zerg had devastating firepower, it was very slow and cumbersome. Jansining wanted his soldiers to kill off the Spider Zergs fist before they could focus their fire on the larger creature.