Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 105: Volume 3, Chapter 15 Hopkins

During the three-kilometer escape, he didn’t just keep running but killed forty-six Federation soldiers! Everyone present was stunned!

He is not an assassin; a true assassin would never be this crazy. Fleeing after a missed shot would be an assassin’s instinct, and they wouldn’t be interested in other worthless targets!

Daring to provoke the Federation in such a crazy manner, killing pursuers while escaping at a steady pace, this person is the bloodthirstiest, most confident, and most dangerous professional soldier! At the same time, he is also a revenge-driven madman, avenging the missed shot at killing General Russell!

Tian Xingjian muttered to himself, feeling lucky. If he hadn’t chosen to come to the girls’ dorm first and had instead recklessly joined the search in the back mountain without knowing the adversary, he could have been one of the shot dead. His heart was pounding with fear when a guard said, ”Lieutenant Tian, General Russell orders you to join the pursuit operation. Please proceed to the forward command to receive your mission.”

Fatty was instantly dumbfounded. He knew the academy’s situation all too well; the seasoned ground troops were stationed in various cities, sweeping the remnants of the Imperial Army and assisting in maintaining order. The military base adjacent to the academy was stationed by a newly transferred fully mechanized infantry division. As soon as the incident occurred, this division was mobilized. The ones participating in the pursuit were not ordinary soldiers but the reconnaissance soldiers and special forces of this division!

No matter how you put it, this division hadn’t been on the battlefield, but these special soldiers were strictly trained. Their training methods were entirely the same as those Fatty had undergone. Forty-six deaths over three kilometers! The cruelty and ruthlessness of the opponent were evident. Fatty knew his capabilities well; although his assessment results were excellent and he was the top sniper in reconnaissance camp training, this was his first face-to-face engagement without mecha. Any oversight or lack of experience could get him killed!

With a tumultuous heart, Fatty arrived at Bernardo’s office. General Russell’s words confirmed Fatty’s fears.

General Russell, with a grave expression, said to Fatty, ”I know who this person is! He is Hopkins, the most extreme nationalist, a Vibo. He once was the captain of the Gazalin Royal Guard. He was arrested for massacring hundreds of innocent Mark Clan people, but the Gazalin Royal Family shielded him. Since then, he disappeared from the public eye, becoming a dagger in the hands of the Gazalin Royal Family, specializing in assassinations. In three years, not a single one of the seventeen important targets escaped his sniping. When he had no assignments, he enjoyed carrying his J-2011 sniper rifle and temporarily joining the Army Special Forces, choosing any battlefield in the war to kill. In his view, war is hunting!”

Russell, after all, was human. Thinking about how he had just escaped from such a person, he felt a bit fearful. After calming himself, he said, ”This person is a demon to anyone! He must not escape; he must be eliminated here. Experienced special forces are on their way here, but we cannot wait any longer. The 556th Division’s soldiers can’t hold him back. So far, more than fifty have sacrificed! Such sacrifices are completely unnecessary. Hopkins is not a fool; he always keeps a safe distance. As soon as he notices something, he will flee and then create carnage anywhere!”

Russell looked seriously at Tian Xingjian and said each word firmly, ”Here, the only one who can deal with him is you. Don’t hope to kill him with one shot; you must hold him back while preserving yourself, infuriate him, until our special forces come back to complete the encirclement!”

Fatty said shakily, ”Can’t we use mecha?”

Russell shook his head, ”No, as soon as he sees mecha, he will disengage. We simply can’t find such a professional sniper proficient in jungle and mountain combat. The area in the back mountain near the academy is too large; even if we complete the encirclement, with his skills, he is likely to break through. It will take at least two hours for the troops to compress the encirclement to a size sufficient to trap him to death!”

Russell looked at Fatty’s pale face and said sternly, ”You know, at this moment, under such circumstances, this is your responsibility!”

Damn! At the mention of the word responsibility, Fatty couldn’t help it. Oh well, time to risk this hunk of flesh today! To save his own life, Fatty seriously reviewed the map, then the plan, discussed details, reviewed the map again until Russell, unable to tolerate it any longer, kicked him out!

Fatty went back to the lab first. Under Milan’s confused gaze, he found his equipment: wore the running assist military boots and the special camouflage suit that simulates the environment, donned the listening device, took out the silent sniper rifle styled like an antique M1 Garand rifle, and fixed five military daggers and a ”bloody” alloy knife to his waist. He took Milan’s automatic pistol and armed himself to the teeth!

Then, Fatty hugged Milan fiercely and kissed her passionately, greedily savoring her sweet lips and tongue.

Milan’s initially stiff body quickly softened, pressing tightly against Fatty, becoming passionately heated. She understood what her beloved was about to do and clung tightly to Fatty’s neck, saying, ”If you dare not come back safely, I will kill you!” Fatty resolutely gave up the idea of slipping his hand into her clothes; the fleeting romantic atmosphere dissipated entirely.

A warrior’s departure may be one of no return, but dying before achieving victory is truly a pity.

Reports from pursuing soldiers about the enemy’s potential escape kept coming in. General Russell and several generals had been waiting at the command post near the engagement zone for nearly twenty minutes before they saw Fatty running over, panting heavily.

Russell looked at Fatty and slowly asked, ”Are you ready?”

Fatty tried hard to make his trembling legs less noticeable, saluting, ”Ready! Please instruct!”

Russell and Bernadotte exchanged a glance and said in a deep voice, ”Move out!”

Under the watchful gaze of six generals and hundreds of soldiers from the 556th Division, Fatty shot into the jungle like a black bolt of lightning. They only heard a faint rustling, and soon the jungle was silent. Oh my gosh, the legendary thirty-meter disappearing stealth! And it included ten meters of open space! The soldiers of the 556th Division looked at each other in shock as Fatty swiftly vanished into the distance.

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Hopkins sneered as he looked at the panicked face of a Federation soldier through his scope. With a gentle pull of the trigger, the custom J-2011 sniper rifle in his hand trembled slightly without making a sound, and the head of the Federation soldier in the scope burst open like a tomato struck by a rock.

”Fifty-six! Just four more and the timing will be perfect.” Hopkins felt exhilarated. If shooting scores were compared, he should be the top sniper in the world! Sometimes, he felt like he was Death incarnate, finding pleasure in the act of taking lives.

The scope of the J-2011 searched around. ”Where are those Federation special rookies? Why did they all suddenly disappear?” Hopkins felt a bit annoyed, as if someone had interrupted him just before climax!

He put down his rifle and carefully listened to the faint sounds around with the earpiece. The disordered footsteps were moving away. Did those Federation idiots give up?

Hopkins smiled coldly. The Leray Federation, a nation filled with indulgence and lesser races, couldn’t possibly produce Iron Blood Warriors. They were a bunch of idle good-for-nothings, gradually assimilated by inferior peoples. Such a nation’s destruction by the Empire was just a matter of time.

He really didn’t understand why Russell, the top military figure, would defect. It was a disgrace for the Vibo people, a betrayal of their glory!

Hopkins was still furious. This was the first time in three years he had failed, and he blamed that idiotic woman completely. If it weren’t for her rushing the shot, Russell would never have escaped his kill shot!

The failed mission stuck in Hopkins’ mind like a thorn. As a perfectionist, losing his never-fail title was an unforgivable blemish! He kept hoping it was a nightmare, wishing time could go back before that failed shot. If he could, he would correct his mistake and keep his perfect record intact, always perfect!

But time couldn’t reverse, and this fact almost drove Hopkins mad! After firing that shot, he didn’t leave. He crazily expected Russell to appear at the window again, even for just a fraction of a second. Hopkins believed he would seize the chance to kill Russell and maintain his perfect sniping record!

But Russell didn’t show up again. Instead, a group of rookie special soldiers appeared in the scope, which Hopkins saw as an insult! An unsuccessful sniper attack had caused the Leray Federation to dispatch such special soldiers like swatting away a fly! It was disdain, an insult, and Hopkins swore to show the Federation that even after a failed attempt, he, Hopkins, was still the top professional soldier in the world!

He began his performance. Yes, to Hopkins, this was merely a performance, one to return the insult to the Federation! A performance using dozens of worthless targets’ lives as props! He had even planned that after killing sixty people, he would kill every inferior Federation person he saw on his way back! He wanted to bring blood and chaos to the Federation, making them pay for the insult!

A person’s footsteps came through the earpiece, clearly a rookie. Hopkins repositioned the scope to his right eye and silently counted, ”Fifty-seventh.”

A chunky figure disappeared from his sight with a strange posture and speed!

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