Battlefield

The day after Han Lin received the enhancement.

A military plane carried all the recruits assigned to the 102nd Regiment to London. Han Lin, Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter, and Steve were among them, with Howard Stark serving as the pilot.

By evening, they had taken military trucks from London to a frontline camp where the fighting was at its fiercest.

"Boom... boom..." The sound of artillery fire rang out continuously in the distance.

The camp was filled with the mingled stench of blood and medicine. The moment he stepped off the truck, Han Lin saw wounded soldiers missing arms and legs inside the hastily erected medical tents, illuminated by more than a dozen dim yellow lamps.

The 196 recruits who had arrived with Han Lin saw the gruesome scene and vomited up the dinners they had eaten not long ago.

Han Lin was no exception. In the two months since he had transmigrated, the only blood he had seen was during the dock robbery. Now, looking at soldiers missing hands and feet, some severed limbs wrapped up while others remained exposed, their torn ends jagged as if something had ripped them off...

Once the discomfort in his body faded along with the food in his stomach, Han Lin looked at the miserable soldiers around him and could imagine that these recruits would be nothing but cannon fodder once they reached the battlefield.

"Lieutenant Colonel Kent, it looks like the situation is terrible." Outside the camp command tent, Han Lin and the other recruits gathered while Colonel Phillips and Agent Carter entered the tent. Before long, they emerged with an officer wearing the rank of lieutenant colonel.

"Those damned Nazi soldiers are insane. They have no regard for their soldiers' lives at all, and our defensive line has been shrinking nonstop." Lieutenant Colonel Kent swept his gaze over Han Lin and the recruits, then frowned. "Colonel Phillips, is there no one left in the rear? You sent us a bunch of recruits who have never seen blood. Do those senators who only know how to talk want us to surrender?"

Colonel Phillips shook his head. "Have the veterans from the front teach them. I have two men here who can be put to use. The battlefield will change because of them."

"So there really is no one left in the rear." Lieutenant Colonel Kent sighed. "Two people? How could they change the tide of battle?"

Colonel Phillips patted Kent on the shoulder. "You'll see. They're super soldiers."

"Is that so? I look forward to their performance, and I hope they survive." Clearly, Lieutenant Colonel Kent did not quite believe Phillips's claim that the two of them could change the battle.

That night, every soldier received a set of combat fatigues and a steel helmet. The combat commander also sent someone to inform them that they would be heading to the front to reinforce the line tomorrow, so they were to get a good night's rest.

The distant artillery fire had weakened considerably, though the gunfire remained just as fierce.

Early the next morning.

After breakfast, Han Lin and Steve received their mission: lead their unit to the battle line.

The frontline defensive trenches.

The sky belonged only to fire and smoke, while beyond the trenches lay only fear and death. Han Lin held an M1 Garand sniper rifle tightly as he listened to bullets flying close past his ears and watched the trails they left behind.

Steve stood in the trench, firing a machine gun at the enemy. Though he lacked Han Lin's danger sense and dynamic vision, his extraordinary senses and sharp instincts told him exactly where to fire.

The booming artillery continued. Many men leaped out from beside Han Lin, and amid fierce gunfire and screams, blood splashed across the battlefield.

It was Han Lin's first time facing a battlefield head-on. The endless bullet trails and shells that could fall from anywhere at any moment stretched his nerves to the limit.

Smoke filled the air, carrying the pungent smell of gunpowder and even the stench of burned corpses.

"Boom!"

The shriek of incoming shells rose and fell as they crashed into the trenches, kicking up clouds of dirt.

"Rat-tat-tat!" Heavy machine guns spat flames, unleashing a storm of metal to suppress wave after wave of German assaults.

Han Lin raised his M1 Garand sniper rifle. Following the angles of the bullet trajectories, his precise marksmanship and enhanced eyesight allowed him to take one Nazi soldier's head with every shot. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Brass casings gradually piled up around him. Thanks to his weapons inventory, an eight-round clip could fire eleven bullets in Han Lin's hands. His inventory also held more than half the guns and ammunition he had scavenged from Stark Industries. The sniper rifle in his hands was fitted with a six-power scope provided by Howard, making him even more formidable.

Han Lin's shot after shot greatly reduced the pressure on the front line. Because of his precise fire, the enemy machine gunners could not even take their positions before a bullet claimed their lives. Shell casings carpeted the ground around him. After using eight clips, he had killed nearly a hundred men. On Han Lin's side, one hundred veterans had led yesterday's 196 recruits into battle. Their disadvantage had eased because of Han Lin's deadly marksmanship.

The recruits crouched in the trenches, resting their guns on the edge and firing blindly. None of them dared raise their heads, so casualties were not too severe. Under Han Lin's suppression, the Nazi soldiers on the other side could only hide in their trenches. The moment they showed themselves, this sharpshooter would send a bullet their way.

Seeing the enemy suppressed, the frontline commander could not help glancing at Han Lin and Steve again. His superior had said before their departure that the battle would change because of these two, and now it seemed that was true. He shouted, "Recruit! Take these reinforcements and charge into the first trench line from the flank. Suppress those insane German soldiers. I'll arrange artillery cover for you. If possible, we'll take the enemy line today. We need to expand our defensive perimeter!"

Han Lin immediately nodded at the order. He led Steve and twenty recruits out of the trench.

Steve held a machine gun in one hand and a tower shield about one and a half meters tall in the other as he led the group forward. Han Lin and Steve walked at the front, with Steve providing suppressing fire while Han Lin picked off anyone who raised their head.

"Steve, take them to find cover in a moment. I'll quickly cut into the enemy's rear. Once you see explosions in their trenches, lead them in and seize the position." After more than two hours of fighting, Han Lin felt that staying like this was a complete waste of his abilities. He could penetrate deep behind enemy lines and catch them off guard from the rear. Victory would come much faster that way.

Steve knew Han Lin's strength very well. Han Lin, who was far stronger than him, was a humanoid beast. On the first day after they both completed their enhancements, Han Lin had dragged Steve into sparring with him for an entire day. Aside from eating, using the bathroom, and sleeping, Han Lin spent all his time sparring with Steve. He did not need to hold back too much against Steve, so in a single day, Steve experienced what true hellish training was like. It gave both Han Lin and Steve a deep understanding of Han Lin's strength.

Steve nodded and said solemnly, "Be careful!"

Han Lin nodded and swiftly leaped into the distance. He moved as fast as lightning. Before heading to the battlefield, he had tested his top speed at twenty-five meters per second. He crossed the battlefield, which was less than a thousand meters wide, in under a minute. Leaping from a tree and vaulting over the enemy trench, he sent eight grenades rolling into the most crowded area. Han Lin then sprinted fifty meters and hid in a small trench.

Three seconds later, explosions rang out. "Boom! Boom..."

When the enemy trench exploded, the frontline commander immediately understood what that figure had darted out to do. He had thought they would have to steadily fight their way to take the enemy line, but this recruit had given him an enormous surprise.

"Everyone, abandon the trenches and charge! Our comrade has blown up the enemy's first trench line. Now is our best chance to seize their position! Charge! Charge! Charge!"

Everyone rushed out of the trenches at once and headed toward the battlefield cover. Sporadic gunfire from the other side did little to hinder the frontline troops. The occasional artillery strike took away one or two unlucky soldiers, but sacrifices were unavoidable for victory.

Steve immediately led his twenty men at the front of the charge, hoping to relieve some of Han Lin's pressure.

Han Lin put his sniper rifle back into his weapons inventory and took out two M1911s. He fired the semi-automatic pistols like machine guns. With an accurate range of eighty meters, Han Lin picked off every Nazi soldier around him. Whenever a magazine ran empty, he simply took out another from his weapons inventory and replaced it, tossing the empty magazine onto the ground.

In less than five minutes, the main force rushed in and began dealing with the remaining soldiers in the enemy trenches. Han Lin had quickly cleared out a vacuum zone for them, giving the troops enough time to establish a new battle line. Seeing that he had lost an entire line before the fight had truly begun, the enemy commander frantically ordered the artillery to attack. Shells rained down, and smoke scattered through the air.