bunker took care
of the others. Turning her attention to the other trucks, Joy fired
again, trying to pick out men as they jumped from the beds of the
other pickups. Thankfully, the second part of their plan worked, and
the heat from the engine of the other truck set the fuel in the ditch
on fire, cutting off the rest of the road from direct assault. Men
scattered under the rifle fire, a few of them dropping to the dirt to
return what they could. Thankfully, Joy felt very secure in the
bunker, dropping down every few shots to prevent return fire. She
heard some more screams, and the sound of men crashing into the
woods. Those heading south soon ran into a line of man traps, their
screams adding to the sounds. Those heading north found an easier
path at first, but Joy knew what was waiting for them. In the
northern field, Longwei waited.
*****
Longwei
lowered himself as much as possible, knowing that he had to strike
quickly and invisibly. He was in between the first staggered line of
man traps and the villagers waiting to attack, hoping not to need
their sacrifice. Regardless of the villagers' bravery, they were
using farm implements against automatic rifles.
Longwei
heard the snap and crash as another of the attackers fell into a man
trap, and then the twanging sound as another trap, a snare trap that
was normally used to capture wild boar, sprung. These Triads may have
automatic weapons, but Longwei was sure none of them had grown up in
a countryside village. Sliding forward, he edged closer, seeing his
prey. There were still eight men left, one of them seemingly leading
the others. He was shouting orders, pointing up the ridge as the
others ducked for cover behind trees as Joy and the other bunker
continued to fire. Two brave souls charged deeper into the forest,
ducking behind trees and treading carefully. Longwei knew it was time
to act.
Darting
forward at his top speed, he whipped his tail into the first man as
he passed him, the tree trunk like appendage crushing his chest while
sending him flying. Whirling, Longwei snapped his jaws, taking off
the second brave man's arm at the shoulder.
The
remaining gunmen, seeing Longwei's effect, started firing in his
direction. He was moving too fast for them to get accurate aim, but
still there were a few close misses in the wild shooting, and Longwei
wheeled, darting deeper into the woods. The gunmen reacted as he had
hoped, charging after him. He slowed down just a bit, giving them a
better view of his hide before disappearing behind a line of bushes.
Flattening himself in the dirt, he waited until he heard another
mantrap claim a victim before whirling out of the bush, staying low
to the dirt. There were only four men left, and his snapping jaws
took care of them in a few seconds. The last one got off a lucky
shot, hitting Longwei in the tail, but it was a minor wound, scraping
scales and flesh only.
The
silence as the last of the gunmen were killed was strange. Longwei
looked around at the ambush site, which only three minutes before had
been a quiet stretch of country dirt road, was now the site of a
bloodbath. One truck was on fire, another four were parked, and
bodies littered the ground in all directions. Longwei went down to
the road, looking back the way the Triad had come, doing his best to
make sure none escaped. He couldn't see or hear any, and he turned
his attention back to the burning hulk on the road. Shifting into
human form, he staggered. Reaching down, he took his hand away from
his right leg, covered in blood.
So
wounds could transfer from dragon to human form, he thought. How
interesting. Going to a knee, he looked up to see Joy running towards
him, her rifle slung around her neck. "Somebody get the fucking
doctor!" she yelled as she ran up, throwing his arm around her
neck. Leaning on Joy's shoulder, Longwei took a few tentative steps
before nodding to her. The wound stung, but he could still walk. "I'm
fine," he said carefully. "Gather the
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