The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress-Chapter 1062 Dave Almost Didn’t Made It

Now, after taking down one bulky man, he was locked in a brutal, close-quarters, life-or-death fight with another, a bald man with a tattoo crawling up his neck.

Dave’s team wasn’t faring any better. Their snipers had taken severe injuries, though, like the one from Luke’s side who had narrowly evaded a silent assassination, they managed to survive by staying alert. They had noticed subtle movements nearby and tried to move, but it was too late; they were still drawn into combat. To fend off two or three attackers, they had to fight with everything they had.

Meanwhile, bullets rained down relentlessly on Luke and Dave’s positions, leaving Luke struggling to even find a single opening.

Boom!

The grenade Luke had thrown moments ago detonated, catching the five men approaching from behind the truck completely off guard. They were blown to pieces before they even realized what hit them.

But Luke didn’t have a moment to breathe. Another group was advancing toward his position, and he quickly realized these were likely the ones his subordinate had mentioned, hiding in the crates. They were armed and moving fast.

There was no cover to rely on. The snipers were fully engaged in combat, and the ground teams were locked in a firefight of their own. Luke had to face this new threat alone.

"Damn it!" Luke growled. He checked the magazine of his assault rifle, still enough rounds.

His gaze flicked to Dave, who was still locked in a brutal close combat with the truck driver. Luke couldn’t help him now. If he didn’t deal with the incoming enemies first, they wouldn’t survive another second; once those men reached his position, both he and Dave would be riddled with bullets.

After quickly gauging the enemies’ approach, Luke scanned the area for a new position. He needed to draw their attention away, separate himself from Dave, and buy him time to finish the fight. If the enemies spotted him there, Dave wouldn’t have a chance to break free before gunfire tore through them both.

After a quick scan, Luke spotted a beat-up, abandoned car not far from him. It wouldn’t hold up long if it were hit by continued gunfire, but it was better than nothing, and more importantly, it was on the opposite side of Dave.

Reaching it, however, meant sprinting straight across the enemy’s line of fire. Doing that without cover would be suicide.

Luke drew a slow, steady breath and quickly checked his gear for alternatives. Then he remembered the smoke grenade still clipped to his belt. ’Perfect.’

A grenade wouldn’t work, not after the last one. The enemy would be alert, ready to dive for cover or even kick it back toward him. But a smoke grenade was different. If they hesitated, waiting for it to explode, that delay would work in Luke’s favor. And even if they kick it back to Luke’s side, it will not harm Luke at all, and it will still provide him enough cover.

The smoke would give him cover to reposition, disappear from their sight, and, if luck allowed, pinpoint their locations for a counterattack.

After his decision was made, Luke pulled the pin on the smoke grenade. After one last glance at the advancing enemies, he leaned out and hurled it toward them.

Caught off guard, the enemies scattered, diving for cover. One of them even fired at the grenade as it bounced across the ground.

Clank!

Clank!

Metal rang against metal as bullets struck the truck’s armored body. By sheer bad luck, one round also clipped the smoke grenade, earning its shooter a barrage of furious curses from his own teammates. As the saying went, you didn’t need to fear your enemies as much as your incompetent allies; they could drag you down faster than anyone else.

The smoke grenade detonated with a loud hiss, thick smoke pouring out in seconds. Even Luke couldn’t help a flicker of regret. If it had been a real grenade, that accidental hit would have triggered an early explosion, blowing apart anyone who hadn’t made it to cover and throwing the enemy ranks into chaos.

"Idiot! Where the hell were you aiming?! Are you trying to get us all killed?!"

"You bastard, did you do that on purpose? Were you bought out and sent here to screw us over?!"

"Pigheaded moron! I swear, after this, I’m gutting you, I almost had a damn heart attack!"

While curses continued to rain from the other side, Luke seized the opportunity. He sprinted through the spreading smoke, giving Dave a subtle hand signal as he moved.

Using the cover, Luke peeked through the haze and followed the angry voices, shouted in the mistaken belief that a real grenade had been thrown. From their noise alone, he managed to pinpoint their positions. They were well concealed, though; there was no clean shot. He would have to wait for them to move before firing or relocating to a better position.

But leaving wasn’t an option. If Luke pulled back now, Dave would be dead meat.

Dave was still locked in a brutal struggle with the driver pinning him down. Dave’s assault rifle was jammed so tightly against his neck that he could barely move. Holding the position alone was already draining his strength.

Tactically, Dave was at a severe disadvantage; the driver, despite being "just" a driver, was powerfully built, and his sheer weight made every second of resistance a desperate fight for Dave.

Luke glanced back at Dave, who was still struggling to break free. The driver had him pinned hard against the ground, a knee planted in Dave’s abdomen, locking him in place and making it nearly impossible to twist free. Dave tried to kick, but from that position, his strikes were weak and ineffective, barely shifting the man.

It wasn’t that Luke hadn’t considered simply shooting the driver in the head, but the man was smart. He clung tightly to Dave, keeping their bodies pressed close together. There was no safe angle. A careless shot could just as easily hit Dave. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Getting closer wasn’t an option either. Moving in would force Luke to turn his attention away from the incoming enemies, leaving his back exposed. If they appeared behind him, both he and Dave would be cut down before they even had a chance to fight back.

With no other choice, Luke had to leave Dave to deal with the driver on his own, while he focused on holding off the approaching enemies.

Dave’s face flushed red as each breath became harder to draw. The assault rifle he was using to block the attack was now jammed tight against his throat, crushing his airway, until —

Bang!

Bang!

The weight on him suddenly went slack. The driver collapsed limply on top of Dave.

"Cough... cough... motherfucker!" Dave rasped, choking as he shoved the heavy body off him. Luck, or instinct, had saved him. His pistol was still secured in the holster at his belt. He’d been inching his hand toward it the entire time, careful not to shift too abruptly as the rifle at his neck might snap it.

Luke’s earlier hand signal echoed in his mind repeatedly, which reminded him. ’Use the pistol. With a clean shot.’

"Fuck... I thought I wasn’t gonna make it," Dave said hoarsely as he finally rolled the driver aside. Blood splattered across his clothes, warm and sticky, as he lay there for a brief second, alive, battered, but breathing.

Still lying on the ground, Dave dragged in ragged breaths and looked toward where Luke was taking cover. Through the haze, he caught sight of Luke grinning smugly at him, as if to say, ’You should thank me for the reminder.’

Dave wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t even have the energy for that. A few seconds earlier, his life and death had been hanging by a thread. He’d burned through nearly all his strength just to keep the driver from plunging a dagger into his throat, while fighting not to be choked to death by the assault rifle crushing his neck.

After a moment, sharp gunshots cracked from Luke’s position. The enemies who had been hiding in front of him finally broke cover, reacting to the shots fired on Dave’s side.

Hearing the rapid footsteps, Dave tensed. He pushed himself off the ground and snatched up the assault rifle, moving toward the front left of the truck to provide cover for Luke whenever he peeked out to shoot. The two exchanged a quick, tacit glance of understanding.

Luke leaned out, gun ready, and fired, taking down a few enemies closing in. One went down from a precise headshot.

Bullets immediately rained down on the beat-up car Luke was using for cover, forcing him to duck back.

Without hesitation, Dave leaned out and returned fire, catching their attackers off guard. They hadn’t expected him to still be alive, and the surprise gave them just enough of a pause for Luke to reposition safely.