The Phos soldiers outside the warehouse were stunned by what they saw; it was the first time they had ever witnessed such a fighting style. Melee combat, such an ancient and outdated skill, was no longer part of the Phos soldiers' training curriculum; even for Ryan, it only existed in history books.

In the blink of an eye, the charging troops had already covered a distance of 100 meters and rushed into the positions of the Fas soldiers, and the two sides' formations became intertwined.

Directly in front of the Fifth Company was the Third Battalion of the Eagle Regiment of the Fourth Division of the Fas Khan Army, commanded by a major.

This major was fond of playing with knives and had practiced dagger fighting. He had even won several awards in close combat competitions in the Fas army. He believed that his close combat skills were quite good, so he immediately drew the dagger from his waist and rushed towards a Ryan soldier.

As the saying goes, "an inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous." Although Ryan's soldiers' bayonets are long, they cannot exert their advantages if the enemy gets close.

The major had already slipped close to the side of the Ryan soldier, but the Ryan soldier hadn't reacted yet, his eyes only fixed on charging forward.

It's full of flaws, so full of flaws. With this level of skill, they wouldn't even be able to pass the first round in the Phasian Army.

The major raised an eyebrow, feeling that he now had a hundred angles to kill the Ryan soldier, so he swung his sword and chose to cut from the Ryan soldier's ribs.

puff!

The major felt the tip of his blade touch the soldier Ryan's clothes, but another bayonet plunged into his chest from the front...

puff!

"Idiot!" Another Ryan soldier stomped on the major's chest, drew his bayonet, and continued charging forward.

Thrust. Receive.

In just a fleeting second, the major died without ever understanding how he had died.

This is a bayonet fight; there's no time to think about anything else.

There's no way around it. Phos's melee combat training is all one-on-one, and at most, they've only had one or two or three opponents. They've never had a melee combat where the entire company charges together.

From the perspective of every Phos soldier on the front lines, an entire mountain of knives seemed to be aimed at them alone. They had never experienced such immense pressure before, nor had they ever heard of a soldier in melee combat being able to withstand it.

The Phos soldiers with poor mental fortitude wet their pants on the spot and stood there dumbfounded, waiting to be harvested. Some Phos soldiers trembled with fear, fired a few blank shots, and then ran away.

Exposing one's back to the enemy on the battlefield is an extremely foolish act. Bayonets pierced through the backs and chests without any obstruction, and the screams of the Phas soldiers could be heard everywhere.

The soldiers behind Phos were unable to fire due to obstructed vision. When they finally saw the approaching enemy, it was as if they had seen a demon from hell, and they turned and ran.

Fear is contagious, and more and more Phos soldiers were swept up by the soldiers fleeing from the front lines, joining the fleeing army without any resistance.

The army collapsed like a house of cards.

A fully-equipped battalion of the Fas Khan army was routed from the front by an understrength company of the Ryan National Army.

"What's going on? What's going on?"

Located on the outskirts of the city, the commander of the Great Eagle Regiment was furious as he looked at the chaotic defensive line ahead.

"Commander, the Third Battalion has been overrun by the Ryan National Army and their position has been lost," the deputy commander reported to him.

How many people are on the other side?

"A company, about 50 people."

"50 men?" The colonel was even more furious. "My Third Battalion has 300 men! And they were routed by a company of 50 men?"

"Commander, I don't understand either." The deputy commander also looked conflicted. "But that's the situation we're seeing right now."

"Notify the artillery, blow these sons of bitches to bits!" The colonel jumped up in anger. "I don't want any survivors!"

"No, Commander!" the deputy commander quickly stopped him. "The Third Battalion's lines are already entangled with theirs; artillery fire will accidentally injure our men!"

"Then bomb the entire Third Battalion! The Eagle Regiment doesn't need any fleeing soldiers!" The colonel was furious. A 300-man battalion had been routed by a 50-man company; if word got out, how could he ever face anyone?

This colonel seemed to have forgotten that the General Logistics and Equipment Department of the Faskha Army Ground Forces had been wiped out, and he wouldn't be able to hold onto his position as the garrison commander for long.

"yes!"

Since the regimental commander had given the order, the deputy regimental commander had no choice but to carry it out. Moreover, judging from the situation at the front, if this situation continued to develop, the regimental headquarters was also in danger of being swept up by their own fleeing troops, in which case the only option would be to sacrifice the Third Battalion.

Click, click, click.

The Fass soldiers at the artillery position of the Great Eagle Regiment turned the gears to adjust the firing parameters, and aimed the cannons at the retreating soldiers of the Third Battalion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The shells landed and exploded, but not on the front line; they landed inside the artillery positions of the Eagle Regiment.

"What's going on? Where did these shells come from?" The colonel was dumbfounded.

"Commander!" A Phas soldier from the First Battalion ran up from the rear with a look of fear on his face to report, "It's 'Shadowfang'!"

"The Shadow Fang Special Forces of the Ryan Nation's army are attacking from behind. The First Battalion couldn't hold them off and has been completely wiped out!"

"Shadowfang? The Shadowfang who killed Domir Khan?" The colonel was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

"Quick! Retreat!" he said, then jumped onto an armored infantry vehicle.

"Forget about the Third Battalion and that company! The entire regiment retreats!"

Now that the Shadowfang, who had killed Domir Khan, had arrived, the colonel felt he had an excuse.

Since even someone as strong as Domir Khan couldn't withstand "Shadow Fang," it was only natural that their small "Great Eagle Group" would lose ground.

The General Logistics Department headquarters was wiped out. He thought he was doomed, but now that there was a glimmer of hope, the commander of the Great Eagle Regiment was overjoyed and ran faster than a rabbit.

With the addition of "Shadowfang", the Great Eagle Gang lost all fighting spirit, and the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

An hour later, the Battle of Jincheng was over.

"We meet again." At the old location of the Great Eagle Regiment's headquarters, Huangfu Qingyi smiled and hugged Zhang Fan. "Sorry we're late, it took us a little time to get here."

In fact, it took more than just a little time. Because Zhang Fan required that the information not be disclosed to the General Staff of the Ryan National Army, this created a great obstacle to the operation. Moreover, this "Shadow Fang" operation was carried out without the approval of the military.

In order to break through the front line of the Fas Khan army, "Shadow Fang" mobilized almost all its forces. Two detachments of the special operations brigade launched a strong attack on the front line of the Fas Khan army from the left and right sides to attract attention, so that Huangfu Qingyi could take the opportunity to lead a team to sneak through the gap in the middle.

To avoid alerting the enemy, they took many detours to avoid the strongholds of the Fas Khan army. "Shadow Fang" traveled day and night, barely sleeping for two days and two nights, eating dry rations as he ran, without stopping. As soon as he arrived in Jincheng, he immediately joined the battle and barely made it.

"Thank goodness you arrived. Thank you for believing in me." Zhang Fan was genuinely grateful to Huangfu Qingyi.

He was just a private, and had only met Huangfu Qingyi once before. Yet, Huangfu Qingyi was willing to trust him and secretly mobilize all of the "Shadow Fangs" to rescue an unknown company without the knowledge of the General Staff.

"You saved my life too, so we're even now." Huangfu Qingyi patted Zhang Fan on the back.

"Captain." Shadow Fang Vice Captain Sophia came in from outside and handed a telegram to Huangfu Qingyi.

"Tch—" Huangfu Qingyi took the telegram, glanced at it, and then handed it to Zhang Fan. "You guessed right, 'the enemy is at the command post.'"

"What is this?" Zhang Fan looked at the telegram in his hand. It was in Fass code, which he couldn't understand.

“We sent a telegram to the General Staff not long ago, saying that we would launch a surprise attack on the Fas Khan Army’s rear headquarters tomorrow,” Sofia said. “And now, we see the same telegram here.”

"Let's not talk about that now," Huangfu Qingyi said. "After all, this is the rear area of ​​the Fas Khan's army. We can't stay here for too long and we need to leave immediately."

"We have wounded soldiers," Zhang Fan said. "Can you help us?"

“We’ve set up a temporary landing point outside the city; helicopters will pick us up there,” Huangfu Qingyi said. “Sophia, you take the medical team to help the wounded. Everyone must board the helicopter within half an hour!”

"yes!"

...

Having survived the ordeal, Zhang Fan sat by the helicopter door, taking one last look at the burning city below.

I did so many unrelated things along the way, and almost lost my life here.

However, there was also good news: after the post-battle search, many soldiers from the Fifth Company were still found scattered throughout the city. The number of surviving members of the Fifth Company increased to 83.

That means that one-third of the soldiers in the Fifth Company, 42 of their comrades, sacrificed their lives here.

"You..." Huangfu Qingyi thought for a long time, but still couldn't help asking, "You really don't plan to join 'Shadowfang'?"

"As I just said, I will apply for retirement when I get back this time," Zhang Fan said with a smile.

Huangfu Qingyi paused for a moment, then said, "I have a request. I hope you will hand over the team you are leading to me."

"Huh? Them?" Zhang Fan was somewhat surprised. "Do you know who they are?"

“I know.” Huangfu Qingyi smiled. “The student soldiers who were captured two months ago were big news in Ryan.”

“Their parents have made countless complaints to the military about this, but Fass has consistently refused to negotiate,” Sofia added. “Later, we all thought you were dead, and a memorial service was held for you a few days ago back home.”

"To be honest, this is the first time I've seen a team like this." Boris scratched the back of his head and smiled a little embarrassedly. "I've been in countless battles and escaped death countless times. I've never been afraid of death."

"But just now, when I saw them standing on the front line, bayonets in hand, covered in blood, it was the first time I felt my heart pounding."

"That feeling wasn't fear, it was awe." Huangfu Qingyi smiled. "I really can't help but like a team like that."

"Then you'd better take good care of them for me, and don't put them in danger too early," Zhang Fan said.

“Of course.” Huangfu Qingyi nodded. “Shadow Fang has its own training camps, and they won’t be going to the front lines for at least a year.”

"Of course, some 'small-scale' combat training is unavoidable, but 'Shadowfang' will do its best to ensure that every trainee can 'graduate' smoothly."

"That's good." Zhang Fan nodded, looked up at the starry sky, where his next goal lay.

It's time to get citizenship...