The tension in the hearts of the two men finally eased.
Both were already at their wit's end. After witnessing Miles' death, their spirits plummeted, and they dared not confront Chen Jinzhao head-on.
Chen Jinzhao, too, had no energy to spare for them at this moment.
All three were in a similar state, utterly exhausted. Further fighting would be meaningless.
Chen Jinzhao pulled out his saber, and Miles crashed to the ground.
Su Xiao also slumped down. Chen Jinzhao immediately knelt beside him, gripping his hand. "Su Xiao, you can't die. They're still waiting for you."
Su Xiao clung to his last breath.
Hearing Chen Jinzhao's words, he managed a weak smile. "Forget it. I feel like I'm dying. It's already my limit to have held on this long. How was it? Did I disgrace Hua Guo?"
As he spoke, blood continued to pour out.
Chen Jinzhao choked, "You didn't disgrace Hua Guo. You are a great hero of our Hua Guo, but can you please not die?"
"You must live!"
Su Xiao shook his head with all his might, speaking with difficulty. "I've let them down. If you can make it back alive, please tell them I was not a traitor."
"Chen Jinzhao, you must live!!!"
With those words, Su Xiao's breath gave out, and he died in Chen Jinzhao's arms.
Chen Jinzhao was overcome with grief. Hot tears streamed down his face, and he couldn't recall how many times he had seen comrades die before his eyes.
And just like last time, his comrades had sacrificed themselves to help him.
They had not only held up a piece of Hua Guo's sky but also Chen Jinzhao's sky!
Chen Jinzhao could not bring himself to cry.
For he knew very well that he, too, would die here.
He laid Su Xiao's body on the ground, then, forcing himself to stand on his wounded legs, he retrieved Su Xiao's severed arm and placed it beside the body. He murmured, "Rest in peace, Su Xiao. You don't have to live in fear anymore."
"I am tired, too..."
After a brief soliloquy, Chen Jinzhao turned to look at Toscano and Joanna, who were slumped on the ground, unable to move. He scoffed, "It seems you've injected yourselves with enhancers? It appears your desire to kill me is quite intense."
Toscano's expression shifted slightly.
Joanna was the same.
Neither had ever injected themselves with enhancers, only knowing of their existence.
"You say we injected enhancers?" Joanna asked in disbelief.
Chen Jinzhao frowned.
He hesitated, "Whether you've done such a thing, don't you know yourselves? Enhancers can give you a temporary burst of power, but after the drug wears off, they leave you deeply fatigued. Otherwise, how could you be so weak?"
The two were greatly shocked.
At first, they both thought their weakness was due to reaching their limits. Now, it seemed this sudden wave of weakness was indeed peculiar. Coupled with their unusually strong combat capabilities displayed earlier when facing Chen Jinzhao, it made them realize they had indeed taken enhancers.
They just hadn't known it.
Chen Jinzhao instantly understood why and scoffed, "To kill me, your Mitri Military Department has even put you at risk. What excellent maneuvering!"
Toscano suddenly laughed. "I understand. The Mitri Military Department administered the enhancers to us through other means without our knowledge. They never considered what would happen if we were defeated by you."
"Haha—"
"In the eyes of the Mitri Military Department, both I and Red Scorpion are merely pitiful pawns."
Joanna faced the reality.
Though cold and cruel, she had to accept it.
She chuckled self-deprecatingly, "We were loyal to the Mitri Military Department, only to end up like this. If I had known, we might as well have defected to Hua Guo."
In their final moments, the animosity between the three vanished.
What remained was shared misfortune and mutual respect.
Toscano and Joanna, crippled by the after-effects of the enhancers, had completely lost their ability to move, and Chen Jinzhao no longer had the strength to kill them.
"I never expected we would resolve our differences in this way. It's truly lamentable. Chen Jinzhao, hurry and leave. I believe one day, you will become the most troublesome threat to the Mitri Military Department," Toscano said with a laugh, each word draining his energy, making his cheeks even paler.
Chen Jinzhao shook his head. "Escape? Where can I go?"
Joanna also shook her head. "True. Even if you escape now, it's too late."
"This tri-service exercise was aimed at you. They even planned to deploy missiles on this island, leveling it to the ground."
"Then all our corpses will turn to dust."
Chen Jinzhao felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Before a high-yield missile, even the strongest human would turn to ashes.
It was absurd, and tragic.
Toscano even found the mood to jest, "I don't think it's just missiles. It could even be tactical nuclear bombs. Nothing is impossible."
"There's also the possibility of not just one, but two, three, or even ten."
"They want to completely erase any trace of your existence."
Chen Jinzhao gave a wry laugh. "It seems you also know that to kill me, they would even sacrifice you all."
"Should I feel honored?"
The three of them chuckled in unison, but their faces were filled with bitterness.
Boom—
Several fighter jets streaked across the sky above the island.
Just as the three thought missiles were about to be dropped, these fighter jets rapidly veered away, heading towards the sea west of Dongying.
"Hmm?" Toscano frowned.
"These fellows didn't drop their bombs? And they're flying west?"
Joanna's heart was filled with suspicion, unaware of what had happened.
The fighter jets flew densely towards the high seas west of Dongying, clearly indicating that something had occurred.
"Look, what is that?"
Toscano looked up at the sky. Joanna and Chen Jinzhao followed his gaze. In the azure sky, a brilliant arc appeared, like an exceptionally sharp long sword, almost cleaving the sky in two! All three were from military backgrounds and immediately recognized that a large missile was being launched, presumably targeting the Pacific Ocean east of Dongying.
"This is a missile from the west, and it seems to be crossing over Dongying," Joanna stammered.
"But this missile is flying too low. It should be in outer space. Could someone be deterring Dongying?"
The long sword came from the west and moved eastward.
They instantly realized that this was likely a launch from Hua Guo.
Chen Jinzhao trembled, clearly showing his excitement. Then he stood up, looking up at the missile, visible to the naked eye, flying overhead.
Hua Guo had not forgotten him!