Countdown to Return

On the artillery position, an astonishing scene was unfolding.

Shen Yi, now a prisoner, was not taken out to be executed by the SS, nor was he brutally tortured.

On the contrary, he sat in the tent of a major general, sharing drinks with the major general named Hans.

A group of SS soldiers pointed their guns at Shen Yi's head.

They had searched him thoroughly but could not find the weapons he had previously used.

The characters in the story couldn't see the Bloody Emblem.

With a clink, two wine glasses collided.

Shen Yi tasted the red wine in his glass and nodded, "This seems to be a wine from Bremen, likely from a local vineyard, but I can't pinpoint which one."

"It's from the Roland Vineyard, my family's estate. My father is the owner, a pure Aryan. This wine is from our vineyard and isn't famous, but your guess about Bremen is impressive," the major general replied.

The SS, known for their brutality and racial bigotry, believed Aryans were the superior race, with Jews at the lowest.

Shen Yi thought maliciously about how many Bloody Points it would take to exchange for Aryan blood. He winked at the major general, "Actually, I read it from the wine bottle. It had Bremen's name on it."

"You cunning fellow," the major general said, slightly annoyed.

Even as a prisoner, Shen Yi showed no signs of submission.

Despite having guns pointed at his head, he had the audacity to request the major general to drink with him.

To extract secrets about the bulletproof vests, potions, and the mysterious appearance and disappearance of weapons from Shen Yi, who clearly wasn't afraid to die, the major general had to make concessions and negotiations.

Outside, the sound of gunfire continued, and darkness fell over Arnhem, ablaze with fire.

Shen Yi sipped his wine and ate grilled steak, but his gaze remained fixed on the town.

While his companions in Arnhem, Wen Rou, Jin Gang, and others worried about his fate, he was equally concerned about theirs.

He wondered how they were doing now.

In Arnhem, the battle situation was dire.

The Germans had breached the third line of defense, forcing everyone to retreat to the bridgehead.

Three adventurers had fallen in the recent combat.

Two tanks thundered over the ruins, heading towards the adventurers.

"Take them down!" Jin Gang yelled with all his might.

A figure with Blink Boots appeared abruptly atop one of the tanks.

He opened the hatch, threw in a grenade, and quickly jumped away. A massive explosion sounded from within the tank, and the adventurer chuckled in triumph.

But when he turned around, he saw the heavy machine gun of the other tank aiming right at him.

His face turned pale, "Damn it!"

The machine gun started to rattle, firing relentlessly.

Blood spurted from the adventurer, his body riddled with bullets in an instant.

He staggered and finally fell.

Yet, he wasn't dead and tried to crawl to safety, only to see the tank rolling towards him, crushing him under its tracks…

Another figure, Hong Lang, charged in, his eyes blood-red with fury.

He rushed to the side of the tank and struck its tracks with a powerful punch.

The powerful impact caused 1.6 times the normal damage.

With one punch, Hong Lang broke the tank's track. The sound of the dislodged metal echoed as the Tiger tank was forced to a halt. Hong Lang leaped forward, seized the heavy machine gun from the tank, kicked open the hatch, and began to fire wildly inside.

Suddenly, a piercing whine sliced through the sky.

Hong Lang looked up in shock to see a Stuka dive bomber heading straight for him. The bullets from the plane's gun formed a massive chain, striking Hong Lang like a hammer, sending him flying.

"Wen Rou and Jin Gang shouted in unison, "Hong Lang!"

Wen Rou dashed out, braving the hail of bullets to drag Hong Lang back to safety. He had a horrific wound in his chest from the machine gun, his internal organs visible.

Coughing up blood, Hong Lang groaned, "Damn it, am I dead? Am I? I think I see my liver."

Wen Rou desperately tried to stop the bleeding, "Don't talk nonsense, you're not dead yet! Remember who we are, we're different from them!"

Jin Gang took out a bottle of healing potion from his emblem and gave it to Hong Lang, "You're lucky, kid. I have medicine here. You owe me a bottle when we get back to the city!"

"If... if we can make it back, I'll owe you ten," Hong Lang replied weakly.

Everyone's heart chilled at the thought. Could they really return? After such a brutal battle, how many would survive?

Looking back, the German forces were swarming towards their position.

Shen Yi's heart suddenly pounded rapidly. From his vantage point, he could see the entire small formation engulfed in fire and gunfire. The German troops were advancing steadily.

The command camp was ready to move forward.

"Report to the general, we've taken the northern part of the town. The British paratroopers are holding the bridge, but their numbers are dwindling," an officer reported.

"Use the tanks to draw their fire, move the artillery forward for a covering bombardment, and order the second infantry corps to prepare to cross the river downstream. I want my troops to end this battle within three hours," the major general ordered calmly, studying the map.

He was an excellent general, accurately judging the British paratroopers' defensive focus and making strategic decisions. With superior forces and competent command, the German victory was expanding.

Shen Yi realized he couldn't let this continue.

"General, perhaps we should have a serious talk," Shen Yi said.

"I know what you want, but you're not in a position to negotiate," the major general responded without looking up.

"That's not necessarily true," Shen Yi chuckled. "Considering the importance of Arnhem Bridge, I guess you'd be more interested in Montgomery's and the entire Allied offensive plans."

"What did you say?" The major general looked at Shen Yi incredulously.

Shen Yi stated slowly, "Your Excellency, if you want to know General Montgomery's subsequent offensive plans and everything about me, then please do as I say and immediately stop the attack on Arnhem Bridge, until... tomorrow morning."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You don't have to believe me, but we both know one thing: General Montgomery's ground forces have no chance of reaching Arnhem Bridge anytime soon. You have enough time to ensure the bridge falls back into your hands. What I'm asking for is just this one night."

The major general stared at Shen Yi for a long while before finally saying, "If you dare to lie to me, I swear in the Führer's name, I will make you suffer the worst pain."

Then he shouted outside, "Cease the attack!"

Shen Yi exhaled deeply.

Following the German major general's order, the gunfire from the town's direction noticeably weakened and gradually quieted down.

The attack had stopped.

The Germans began to retreat, leaving a field of corpses behind.

Everyone was confused about what had happened, looking at each other in disbelief.

Jin Gang asked Wen Rou in a low voice, "Do you know what happened?"

Wen Rou shook her head, "I don't know, but... maybe someone does."

Shen Yi?

A glimmer of hope and gratitude rose in the hearts of the surviving adventurers.

"I knew it... I knew he could do it," Hong Lang laughed from the ground. "He always manages to do the impossible!"

After the day's grueling battle, peace finally returned.

The adventurers' last night turned out to be a night of silence, something no one had expected.

Dawn was breaking, and the Bloody Emblem indicated one minute to return.

Shen Yi sat on the hillside, watching the sunrise. The sunlight flooded the land, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Powerful footsteps approached from behind, and the German major general, clad in military uniform, appeared behind Shen Yi.

"I've given you the time you wanted. What about the promise you made to me?" he asked.

Shen Yi slowly stood up.

Turning around, he faced the major general with a slight smile on his face. "Want to know my secret? It's quite simple."

Shen Yi suddenly raised his hand, and his Spirit Fire Gun appeared out of nowhere.

A burst of bullets shot towards the major general, causing a spray of blood from his chest.

The major general, not expecting an attack from Shen Yi in such a situation, jumped up in rage and kicked viciously at Shen Yi.

"Skill: Whirlwind Kick, striking the target with continuous leg attacks, each hit causing 20 points of damage, up to three consecutive hits."

Shen Yi spat out a mouthful of blood.

The two had previously clashed, so they were somewhat familiar with each other's capabilities. Shen Yi was prepared for the major general's Whirlwind Kick, and the major general had not let his guard down against Shen Yi either. His confidence in facing Shen Yi alone wasn't because of the protection from other soldiers, but from the lessons learned from their last encounter. In their previous fight, the major general had been captured by Shen Yi partly because of Shen Yi's equipment advantage and partly due to underestimating Shen Yi's strength, leading to negligence in battle.

But this time, the major general believed he could beat Shen Yi thoroughly.

As expected, his kick landed on Shen Yi, followed by a fierce punch.

"Skill: Heavy Fist, unleashing a vicious punch with double the strength value in damage."

The brutal punch hit Shen Yi, causing his health to drop significantly, inflicting 60 points of damage.

After two vicious skill attacks, Shen Yi's health was down to just 30 points. He quickly retreated, activating a healing technique that restored 24 health points.

The major general sneered and rushed at Shen Yi, launching another vicious leg sweep.

Shen Yi flipped his left wrist, and the Vampire's Touch reappeared, stabbing fiercely into the major general's thigh.

The previous two attacks were skill-based and couldn't be interrupted, but this was different.

The Vampire's Touch pierced deeply into the major general's leg, causing him to cry out in pain.

Unfortunately for the major general, the Vampire's Touch's 50% bleeding effect was activated again, putting him in a state of double continuous damage of 12 points per second.

However, the major general, mentally prepared and relying on his higher health advantage, charged at Shen Yi, planning to take him down before he ran out of strength.

The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

The Vampire's Touch in Shen Yi's hand disappeared, replaced by an anti-tank rocket launcher.

Pointing the launcher at the major general, Shen Yi smiled and said, "Goodbye!"

He pulled the trigger.

The rocket shot out and hit the major general.

The massive explosion tore the major general's body apart, engulfing the entire hillside in a blast wave, sending Shen Yi flying as well.

This was Shen Yi's last rocket, his final weapon prepared for the major general. If it weren't for the rocket launcher's 50% damage reduction when attacking individuals, and the major general having 300 health points, one shot would have been enough to kill him without the earlier struggle.

The massive explosion alerted all the German soldiers, who rushed towards the site, shouting.

Shen Yi smiled faintly, dove into the center of the explosion, and grabbed a blue box amidst the spreading smoke. At the same time, the Bloody Emblem beeped:

"You have killed German Major General Hans Mische, earning 500 Bloody Points."

"Arnhem Bridge Ten-Day Defense Task completed, you have earned 4000 Bloody Points, and 1 Skill Point. You can now return. Do you confirm?"

Bullets whizzed in the distance, and amidst the smoke and flames, Shen Yi firmly pressed the return confirmation, vanishing into a phantom as all the German soldiers watched.