Chapter 555 - The Melee in a Small Town

It was called the "Devil's Bomb"!

Rice and Mina both knew that it was the new explosive device invented by the Mei Nation. It was small, but its destructive power was not to be underestimated. And although it was still in the experimental stage, if it exploded under a tank, the whole tank would be shattered into a million pieces. That was why there were only very few of them available to the SEALs, and the one that had just exploded was probably the last one that Powell had left.

"Keep up with Mr. Mie and head for that small town, quick!" Powell yelled.

"On it, sir." Thomas nodded stiffly as he pressed the accelerator to the floor, trying to stay on Xiao Luo's tail as his truck surged toward the small town.

The thick, black mushroom cloud produced by the Devil's Bomb went up as high as twenty to thirty meters in the air and gradually dissipated. It looked like a monster that was laughing grimly from a distance, terrorizing everyone who saw it.

The Libyan rebel fighters were badly affected by the powerful blast, and it caused them to momentarily stop the chase. Perhaps they were ordered by their superiors not to stop for their injured or dead compatriots, for after some quick reorganization, they restarted their vehicles. And soon, they were once again going after Xiao Luo and the SEAL team like a pack of starving wolves.

The town was dilapidated, and the residents who lived there had evidently left or were perhaps on the run.

The town was in ruins. The streets were strewn with rubble, and its damaged walls were full of holes caused by bombs. All the towns and cities in Libya could only be described as being in a state of dilapidation, as no other term was more apt.

Xiao Luo drove around slowly as he explored the town. He had presumed that this town would be completely empty, so he did not expect that there was already a large contingent of Libyan rebels stationed here. As it turned out, the rebels had seized this town, and it was now a station for their fighters to recuperate.

BANG! RAT-TATAT-TAT!

They encountered some rebel fighters from time to time. Whenever that happened, bullets would instantly rain down on the trucks, making clunking noises and causing sparks to fly everywhere.

"Mr. Mie, I think we are in the middle of the Libyan rebels' lair!"

Sarah's face was as pale as a sheet, and terrified, she cowered in her seat. A while ago, she thought this town would be their refuge, but now it seemed destined to be their grave.

Xiao Luo's face hardened. It was just plain bad luck that they found themselves in a town full of Libyan rebel fighters. In addition to the rebels pursuing them, they were now up against a contingent of at least 500 more stationed in the small town, which was no bigger than a third of Stantine City. Even if the 500 rebel fighters were dispersed all over this town, they would still come in contact with one or two of them every ten meters.

Alone, Xiao Luo was fearless, but he was not operating by himself now. His concern was how Sarah Michelle was going to cope in such a dangerous environment.

He suddenly slammed on the brakes and stopped his vehicle in an obscure corner where there were no rebel fighters around. He grabbed the sniper rifle and some ammunition and yelled at Sarah, "Get out of the car and stay close to me!"

"Huh, okay…"

Sarah repeatedly nodded her head like a chicken pecking at grains. Although she was a war correspondent, she was no soldier, and she did not have the mental fortitude of a soldier to survive in battle. Suddenly, a hail of bullets rained down on them, and it frightened her, making her shiver as she stayed close to Xiao Luo.

When the trucks carrying the SEALs came to a stop behind them, Rice got out of his vehicle, and he was burning with indignation. He stormed toward Xiao Luo with rage and resentment written all over his face. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Xiao Luo by the collar and snarled, "You piece of sh*t! Look where you've led us to—right into the rebels' hideout! Are you trying to kill us?"

Xiao Luo glanced down at Rice's hand that was clutching at his collar, and in the next second, what he did took Rice completely by surprise.

THWACK!

A loud slap resounded in the quiet street as Xiao Luo smacked him across his face. Rice cried out in pain and was sent flying to his side as two bloodstained teeth sailed out of his mouth. He crashed heavily into a wall and slumped to the ground.

"Huh?"

Powell, Mina, and Thomas gasped. If a mere slap was all it took for Xiao Luo to send a man flying, they couldn't imagine how strong he actually was. Mina suddenly realized that Xiao Luo had gone easy on her when he slapped her yesterday. If he had not held back, she would've ended up just like Rice or perhaps even worse.

"You motherf*cking Hua b*stard, I'm so gonna kill you!"

Thomas was loyal to Rice, and he was the first to react. Holding up his submachine gun, he made ready to shoot Xiao Luo.

But before Thomas could get his gun in a position to fire, Xiao Luo had already taken control of it and held its muzzle to Thomas's head. The eerie feeling of the gun's cold steel pressing against his forehead made Thomas break out in a sweat.

"I have had enough of you people! F*cking get up my nose once more, and I will kill you all!"

The expression on Xiao Luo's face was cruel, and he looked like he was about to kill them. If these American soldiers couldn't behave themselves in such a critical situation, he would finish them off with his own hands. Why bother to wait for the Libyan rebels to do the job?

"Gulp!"

Thomas shuddered when he saw the murderous look in Xiao Luo's eyes, and there was no doubt in his mind that Xiao Luo would not hesitate to shoot him given half a chance.

Suddenly, Powell stepped in and kicked Thomas to the ground. "You bunch of idiots! So my orders are now meaningless to you, eh? How many times have I told you Mr. Mie is on our side, and he is not the enemy. Yet you're all still picking on him at such a crucial moment. You better know that I am this close to shooting you lot myself!" Powell growled.

Powell was infuriated. He turned to Rice, who was still bleeding in the mouth with his left cheek swollen, and gave him a dirty look. "You piece of sh*t! I must have been blind when I appointed you as my number two. The enemy is all around and has us in their gunsights, yet you choose to make a fool of yourself! Do you wanna die, huh?"

Powell took a step toward Rice and delivered two kicks at him, venting his frustration.

After being kicked, the realization suddenly dawned on Rice, and he quickly regained his composure. With the rebel fighters crawling everywhere, instead of thinking about getting out alive, his first instinct was to blame the man they called Mr. Mie. He quickly realized that it was not how a SEAL was expected to react. So despite being in a lot of pain, he immediately got up from the ground and stood at attention with his chest out and chin up. It showed that he knew that what he had done was wrong.

Suddenly, they heard a familiar sound—the heavy footfall of army boots!

Without warning, a Libyan rebel fighter appeared from the corner of the street ahead.

Mina was ready to take him out, and just when she was about to squeeze the trigger to end his life, a shot rang out.

BANG!

The bullet tore a bloody hole in the rebel fighter's forehead, and his shocked compatriots, trudging next to him, quickly jumped behind the street corner to take cover.

Mina gawked at Xiao Luo with admiration in her eyes. He had reacted swiftly and shot with the precision of a marksman. Mina quickly realized how much more superior this man was compared to her.

Dumbfounded, Mina was still in her firing position when she saw Xiao Luo bounding forward like lightning and wielding the dagger in his hand like a wolf's fang. Cries of fear and anguish were heard, and the Libyan rebels who had hidden behind the corner collapsed in puddles of blood before they even had the chance to shoot.

This guy was powerful and exceptional at martial arts!

Powell, Mina, Rice, and Thomas were astonished by Xiao Luo's strength and skills. The man from the Hua Nation had already taken down the rebel fighters within the short period they were still trying to consolidate. It was a frightening display of raw power, and had they been the rebel fighters, they would undoubtedly have ended up dead as well.