NovelXXXChapter 342 A flicker of disappointment crossed Hastings' eyes as he heard her refusal. He hesitated, then finally said, "They say this field exercise is live-fire. Who knows if I'll make it back. Here, I want you to have this." Citrine pressed her lips together, hesitating for a moment before finally sitting down again. She let Hastings fasten the necklace around her neck.
What Hastings didn't know was that, the moment he left, Citrine immediately took off the necklace and slipped it into her pocket.
The next day, the joint field exercise between Vermillion Vanguard and Magnolia officially began.
As an instructor, Citrine was seated in the very center of the operations room, surrounded by Vermillion Vanguard's trainers and officers, all watching the live feed.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSomeone nearby couldn't help but whisper, "General, do you think our guys have a shot at winning this?" Citrine glanced at him and replied simply, "Yes." At first, the Vermillion Vanguard team steamrolled Magnolia's soldiers at every turn. But halfway through, Magnolia started to play dirty, disregarding the rules and secretly using concealed weapons.
Leo was wounded by one of their hidden blades, and before he could recover, the sopponent took a shot at him. Leo twisted just in time, so the bullet missed anything vital, but it still lodged itself deep in his shoulder. Citrine's heart clenched as she watched the scene unfold on the screen. Silently, she prayed that Leo would be all right.
Seeing Leo go down, Hastings rushed to his side, firing a shot that struck the Magnolia soldier square in the chest.
As the enemy fell, Hastings grabbed Leo and managed to drag him to safety, ducking down behind cover.
Leo gritted his teeth and tried to shove Hastings away. "Go," he gasped, "don't worry about me." But Hastings refused to leave. For the first time, he was staring the possibility of a teammate's death right in the face.
He knew this was different from any exercise before-real bullets, real danger, and any mistake could mean someone wouldn't make it out alive.
Red-eyed, Hastings looked at Leo and spoke with quiet conviction. "You're injured. If you run into more of them, you're finished." Leo looked back at him, pain etched into his face. "If I stay, I'll just slow you down." Hastings snapped in a low, urgent voice, "Slow us down? Did you forget what the instructor said? We're a team. We stick together, no matter what." Suddenly, he remembered the medicine Citrine had given him.
He yanked off his pack and dug out a small bottle of painkillers and sclotting powder, pressing them into Leo's hands.
"Hang in there. If we don't take care of this, you could lose your arm. Hold on-I'm getting that bullet out." Using the emergency first aid techniques Citrine had taught them, Hastings carefully extracted the bullet from Leo's shoulder, staunched the bleeding, and quickly bandaged the wound.
Leo endured the pain in silence, never making a sound.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe two of them stayed hidden until nightfall. Only then did Hastings help Leo follow the signs left by their teammates, eventually meeting up with the rest of the squad.
When they regrouped, Hastings saw that several others had also been injured, but thankfully, everyone had followed Citrine's instructions for first aid, and none of the wounds were life-threatening.
The next morning, Hastings led a small strike team, each man bristling with weapons, and together they launched an all-out surprise attack on the enemy's base. They torched the enemy's food stores and destroyed their communications equipment, then melted away before anyone could catch them.
The ambush caught the Magnolia team completely off guard, costing them dearly. The following day, ve m Hastings struck again. Even though Magnolia had reinforced their base after the first attack, they still suffered heavy losses. After two brutal assaults, Magnolia assumed Vermillion Vanguard had thrown all their forces into attacking their base. On the third day, they pulled everyone back, determined to make a final stand.
But no one expected what cnext. Hastings had stationed another squad on the road, waiting for just ve this apportunity. As Magnolia's troops marched home, Vermillion Vanguard's ambush swept the entire force off the field. The exercise ended in a decisive victory for Vermillion Vanguard.
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