The gunshots subsided and the woods returned to silence.
The Knights Hospitaller did not dare charge without a plan while the FA did not dare attack given their lack of numbers. The rain of bullets had stopped, only a stalemate remained.
The temporary calm charged the air with an unusual tension. The smell of blood created a mixture of fear and anxiety amongst the battle participants.
On the peak, Dark Mona was laying on her stomach, motionless. The cold wind roared in her ears. Although there was the snow camouflage disguise to help block the wind, it was still no laughing matter. She felt awful. Even if her fingers and toes were frozen stiff, she had to carry on. Both eyes were locked on the 180-degree field of vision in front of her. However, she could only see the region nearby. Anything too far away required her sniper rifle’s eyepiece.
While she did not have Xia Lei’s eyes, she had a trove of experience behind her.
However, the experience did not cover for the lack of superhuman vision. She still could not spot Xia Lei.
“Come out so I can shoot your leg and drag you back in here. Don’t you want to kill me? Come out, come kill me,” she muttered to herself in an attempt to relieve her nerves.
Anyone would be stressed in the face of an enemy like Xia Lei. Dark Mona included.
Suddenly, there was a gunshot from the forest on her left.
In the FA’s base, one shooter collapsed. The unfortunate guy had peeked to observe the situation below, only to have his head blown up by a bullet.
Bang bang bang…
There were consecutive shots from the FA’s base now. Around ten shooters were left, all they could do was to take cover behind objects and shoot blindly towards the foot of the mountain. They were sure that shot was from one of the Knight Hospitallers.
Dark Mona’s eyes looked left the moment she heard the gunshot. Using her sniper rifle’s scope, she soon saw a silhouette moving quickly. This person was very fast, wearing a white ski mask so she could not see their face.
Just as she saw the silhouette, she had already aimed her barrel and fired ten meters in front of the silhouette.
However, she had just fired and before the bullet arrived at its expected spot, the silhouette made a sharp turn and ran in another direction. They ran ten meters before the bullet landed where she’d intended it to, hitting a thick needle pine tree.
Crack! The tree snapped in half just like that!
“Is that him?” Dark Mona had a guess but she could not confirm.
While the shadow was fast, it was not as fast as her memory of Xia Lei.
Also, with his cunningness, why would he take this risk? Killing a low-value shooter just to expose himself?
Just as she had doubts, another gunshot came from the forest on the left.
Dark Mona aimed her sniper in that direction. She saw another fast-moving shadow once again. This shadow was as fast as the previous one. This person did not run in a straight line for more than three seconds. With this path, a sniper-like her a few thousand miles away would never be able to shoot him!
Yet she still fired.
An enemy had appeared in her field of vision, killing her men while running so quickly. This was unacceptable mockery!
Bang!
The 14.9-millimetre extra-long range sniper rifle gave out a deafening bang, firing a custom-made bullet. Two seconds later, it hit a huge tree next to the second shadow. While the bullet did not hit her target, the splinters flying from the tree trunk stabbed the person. He collapsed, writhing.
“Go to hell!” Dark Mona picked up the grenade launcher next to her and shot it without hesitation.
Bang! A grenade flew in an arc in the sky, falling towards the second target.
The second target suddenly rolled on the ground, quickly moving away from where he was previously at.
Rumble!
The grenade exploded. There was a flash, then smoke and dust flew. Bits of rock, sand and shrapnel flew in all directions.
Bang bang bang!
There were gunshots from the left patch, again!
The third, fourth and fifth targets appeared suddenly. There were one lady and two men. Each of them had an identical mask on, obscuring their faces. These three were extremely quick too, running as they fired. These three were using the gust assault rifle. In between the gunshots, two more FA members collapsed.
Comparing the skillsets between the FA shooters and these five would be like comparing a beginner and a professional assassin!
“Xia Changhe’s people! Xia Lei must be among them! Do you think that this would work? You must be dreaming!” Dark Mona was so angry her eyes could have shot fireballs.
She put down her grenade launcher and picked up a remote. There was a sneer on her face as she pressed down on a red switch.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble….
There were violent explosions, bright flashes of light and the thick smoke of explosives that rose. Trees fell one by one. It looked like more than ten bombs had exploded in the same spot.
At the foot of the mountain, within the Knight Hospitaller’s base, were shocked faces. The ones who were still well were glad that they had not run through that part of the forest. The patch of forest on the left was the flattest and the easiest path up.
“Who’s firing at the FA from that patch of forest?” Giovanna watched the patch of forest incredulously. However, she could not see anyone other than flashes of light and thick smoke.
“Is it the bastard?” asked Rosa.
“You mean Xia Lei?” asked Stella.
“Who else?” huffed Theresa. “That bastard abandoned us here and yet he snuck up the left. He must’ve wanted to ambush Dark Mona and the FA. He deserves it!”
“Will he die?” asked Giovanna.
This made the four ladies fall silent.
There was no question that Xia Lei had angered all four of them. They were going to beat him up but they did not want him to die. Even Theresa, who was humiliated by him, did not want this. Standing from the Knight Hospitaller’s point of view, they definitely did not want Xia Lei to be killed by the FA.
“Should we help him?” asked Rosa.
Giovanna hesitated. If they helped Xia Lei, they would have to face the FA at their base, plus Dark Mona who was currently high up. Once they entered the forest, there was no guarantee they’d get out alive.
However, just as she struggled to make a decision, there was another gunshot from the patch of forest on the left.
“He’s alive!” Giovanna yelled emotionally. “We can help him diffuse some of the stress. We’ll attack the FA base!”
The Knight Hospitallers attacked once again.
The atmosphere exploded into action once again. The FA shooters were already occupied with gunshots from the forest, now they had to deal with the attack coming from the front at the foot of the mountain. There were too few of them and it looked like a dead end. One by one they fell in a pool of blood. They seemed distracted and looked like they had given up.
At the peak, Dark Mona’s eyes widened, her face filled with shock.
She had planted many mines at the slope in preparation for the people from the Knight Hospitallers. She’d triggered all the mines just now, yet the five people were still alive. Once the explosions died, they started to move once again, charging towards the peak. Her own numbers dwindled.
“Damn it! He must be one of them! Without his directions, how could they live?” Dark Mona’s voice was as icy as the winter winds. She was the best shooter of the FA group. She had always been able to keep her emotions in check during battle. However, she could not keep calm in the face of Xia Lei.
Bang!
The sniper rifle shook in recoil as an angry bullet charged ahead.
The battle ensued, and it looked like it was not going to end until one party was wiped out.
The five targets on the left were like five annoying flies to Dark Mona, flying around in her field of vision. She regretted picking such a faraway spot. If she were closer and her bullets didn’t take so long to travel, they would’ve been long dead.
Ten minutes passed.
In a moment, Dark Mona stopped shooting.
While the five people were moving very quickly, they were not making a lot of progress with their erratic paths. They had exchanged fire with her but made no attempt to attack the FA base.
Their sudden appearance made them her target. However, there could’ve been another possibility. They were doing this to divert her attention!
The cold wind roared in her ears. It was the only sound at the peak of the mountain.
Her ears twitched. It was as if she could filter out the roar of the winds, her world quietened down.
Crack!
There was a crisp sound.
It was the sound of a footstep in the snow.
It was very subtle but it might as well have been a crash in the dead of night!
In a second, Dark Mona rolled away on the boulder and when she faced up to the sky, her custom-made pistol was already aimed at the source of the sound.
Bang!
There was a gunshot.
A boulder shattered, pieces flying in all directions.
There was no one, yet for some reason, a rock as big as her fist flew near her.
However, Dark Mona’s heart sank when she saw the rock. At that moment, fear and hopelessness crashed into her reality.