The Grand Fireworks of War

Chapter 18: Grand Fireworks of War

'Thump!'

Kyle sprinted at full speed with the girl on his back, weaving through stationary military vehicles and dashing towards the barbed wire area at the edge of the base.

"Chase him! Don't let him escape!"

Behind him, over twenty German Soldiers pursued relentlessly, their bullets ricocheting off the vehicle cover.

Kyle's body, enhanced by collected Physique Ability Cards, was already tall and robust. Coupled with the girl's very petite frame, she looked like a doll-shaped backpack, not hindering his movements at all.

Just as he dodged a volley of bullets, Kyle crouched behind an off-road vehicle. At that moment, the girl behind him let out a soft groan, surprisingly waking up from her unconscious state.

"What, what is going on?" As soon as the girl opened her eyes, she sensed something was wrong. She was clearly bound by ropes as before, but this time she was tied to a well-built man, clinging to his back like an octopus.

"You're awake," Kyle replied, panting heavily. Under the sustained high-intensity combat, his entire body was covered in sweat, his combat suit already soaked. The heat from their bodies was palpable.

"What are we doing now?" The girl, recognizing Kyle, blushed deeply and asked softly.

"Running for our lives," Kyle said, feeling a sharp pain as he touched his left shoulder. Warm, sticky liquid seeped through his combat suit, staining his palm red.

The girl exclaimed in surprise, "You're hurt."

"It's just a minor injury," Kyle replied in a low voice.

The wound must have been from being hit when he broke out from the rear cargo hold of the vehicle. He hadn't noticed it due to the adrenaline and heightened state of his body.

"What should we do?" The girl's voice trembled with a hint of tears. She reached out to press Kyle's injured left shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Don't worry, with my body, I won't..."

Before Kyle could finish speaking, he suddenly sensed something and dove to the open ground behind him. The next moment, the spot where he had been was scorched black by a grenade, and half of the off-road vehicle's rear was also blown away.

"It seems they're quite enraged, resorting to destroying the base's military vehicle supplies just to kill us."

Kyle calmly assessed the situation. His injury hadn't slowed him down. With a few agile and precise sprints, he used the military vehicles as cover, dodging several waves of gunfire and continuing his breakout.

"What should we do?" The girl's face was pale, only now realizing the danger of their situation.

"Don't worry, I promised to save you, and I don't plan on breaking my word." Kyle looked back, estimating the distance to Warehouse No. 2. A few bullets whizzed past his head, striking the adjacent vehicle and sending sparks flying.

Kyle suddenly chuckled, "We should be far enough from the center of the base now."

"You're still laughing in a situation like this."

The girl bit her lip, her delicate hands still tightly pressed against the wound on Kyle's left shoulder. Despite her efforts, blood continued to seep through her fingers.

"Have you ever seen fireworks?" Kyle asked inexplicably.

"Huh?" The girl's face was full of confusion. She watched as Kyle fumbled in his pocket with his right hand, pulling out an object resembling a remote control.

"These are... the grand fireworks of war." Kyle finished speaking and pressed the button on the remote.

Meanwhile, outside Warehouse No. 2 of the German base.

A large number of German Soldiers were gathered there. The ground was littered with the corpses of wasps and soldiers, smoke bombs, firearms, helmets, and other debris.

Many soldiers who had narrowly escaped sat on the ground, their spirits broken. They had dared to charge at the well-equipped American forces, but they were helpless against these poisonous wasps that appeared from nowhere.

Flamethrowers would have been useful, but the operational area was the ammunition depot, making them unusable. They could only rely on smoke bombs to drive the wasps away, but the wasps would sting them even if it meant their own death.

"Officer Leo's body has been found in the warehouse's underground chamber."

"No trace of the intruder has been found."

Several soldiers emerging from Warehouse No. 2 reported their findings. The few officers exchanged glances. The base had been inexplicably invaded and heavily damaged, leaving them no time to react.

"Damn it. Increase the troop deployment and conduct a thorough search of the entire base!" the Second Commander roared.

Just then, a soldier rushed out of Warehouse No. 2 in a panic, shouting, "Run, run!"

"What is it now?!" several officers asked in unison.

"Someone planted a timed bomb inside—" the soldier had only gotten this far before...

There was no "before" or "after."

The timed bomb, linked to the remote control, was immediately activated by remote operation. Kyle had planted the timed bomb when he first infiltrated the warehouse. It wasn't a bomb of immense power, but its blast radius was enough to engulf an entire building.

And that building was an ammunition depot storing a large quantity of munitions.

'Boom!'

First, there was a deafening explosion, followed by a series of overlapping explosions, their power escalating.

From Kyle's vantage point at the edge of the large base, a blinding flash of fire instantly engulfed the entire central area of the base, and the resulting dust wave visibly swept outwards.

Kyle, carrying the girl, dove under a vehicle. The blast wave, with a 'buzz,' made even their eardrums ache, and the vehicle's windows shattered from flying debris.

When the dust settled, Kyle crawled out from under the wrecked vehicle. He and the girl looked back to see that the entire central area of the base had been leveled, with flames burning fiercely within, turning the night sky a fiery red.

The grand fireworks of war, indeed.

The twenty-odd German Soldiers who had been pursuing them turned back, staring at the scene with disbelief. Some fell to their knees on the spot, wailing in grief.

"Let's take this opportunity and go." Kyle panted heavily, taking a few steps away with the girl on his back, when he suddenly stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.

His strength was rapidly draining, his bodily functions were declining, and his consciousness and vision were growing blurry.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked, her voice filled with concern. From her perspective, given how much Kyle was bleeding after being shot, it was already incredible that he could still stand.

"I'm fine." Kyle bit his tongue. The sharp pain jolted his nerves, and he forced himself to move, slowly making his way towards the iron net about ten meters away.

"Damn it, they're over there!"

"Avenge our brothers! We can't let him get away!"

From behind them, not far away, the surviving German Soldiers shouted curses and continued their pursuit of Kyle and the girl.

"If we keep going like this, they'll catch up! Untie me and let me down, I'll hold them off." The girl said with determination.

"Stop talking nonsense. With your small frame, you won't even slow them down for half a second." Kyle gave a wry smile, but his mind was racing as he considered his options.

If it came down to life or death, he would have to abandon the girl and use the forced teleportation of Stealth to escape.

But was this truly a life-or-death situation?

Kyle sighed. His own physical condition was continuing to deteriorate. If he didn't receive treatment soon, his life could be in danger.

"Then…" Kyle was about to say something when a large group of familiar figures suddenly appeared in front of him, causing his eyes to widen. "What is this!"

"Avoid the first two, shoot the ones behind them! Kill them all!" the Black leader of the group said coldly.

Rat-tat-tat!

As dense gunfire erupted, it all deliberately avoided Kyle's body, instead striking the German Soldiers pursuing them from behind.

Under the overwhelming numerical disadvantage, the twenty-odd German Soldiers were quickly wiped out on the spot.

"You're finally here, Fury." Kyle smiled with relief. The moment he saw Fury appear, he knew the life-threatening crisis had been completely averted.

"From now on, please leave the follow-up mission to us." Fury, leading the troops, stepped forward to support Kyle, a row of white teeth showing on his dark face.