The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress-Chapter 1066 Cornered Yet Again

The captain nodded in satisfaction and began assigning members to his team and the second unit. Meanwhile, the injured soldiers helped one another to their feet, preparing to move out first and scout a safer escape route. Aware that their wounds would slow them down, they chose to depart early, determined to secure a clear path for those who would follow.

"Alright, Captain, we’ll move out first. Good luck to you, and stay safe."

The injured soldiers saluted in unison before turning to leave. They all understood that what lay ahead would be anything but easy. Breaking through the encirclement was like stepping straight into a wolf’s den; one misstep, and they would be torn apart.

Yet, if executed perfectly, the maneuver could be just as lethal in reverse, like a spear thrust cleanly through a balloon, collapsing the enemy’s formation in a single decisive strike. To achieve that, however, there was no room for recklessness. Every step had to be calculated, every move carefully prepared.

But what could he and his team truly prepare?

The captain pondered the question as he nodded to the injured soldiers, returning their salute and watching their backs until they disappeared from view. Only then did he turn back to the warriors before him.

"Now," he said, his voice low but firm, "we discuss how we’re going to save the Young Minister."

His gaze swept across the group.

"First, take stock. Report how many rounds you have left, along with every weapon and supply still in your possession. We need to plan this carefully. Charging in without a strategy would be no different from throwing firewood into a blaze, useless and self-destructive."

He paused, the air around him growing heavy.

"If we rush in blindly, we won’t save anyone. We’ll only extinguish our own chances by letting the enemy herd us into one spot and wipe us out all at once."

Cold, murderous intent flickered in his eyes. This was no longer just about the mission. They had failed once, and worse, they had nearly lost too many of their brothers because of it.

"Captain, I still have six hundred rounds, three full extended magazines, all intact. Three blast grenades, two fragmentation grenades, one sidearm, and one spare magazine," one of the quick-witted soldiers reported.

Another followed immediately. "I have four hundred rounds for my assault rifle, plus twenty pistol rounds, and two magazines. Four smoke grenades and four blast grenades."

One by one, the soldiers reported their remaining supplies, pulling items from their tactical vests and laying them out on the ground while the captain listened in silence.

"Good," he said at last. "We’ll redistribute everything. Most of the smoke and fragmentation grenades go to the first team. We’ll use them to open a path and break through the encirclement. The remaining grenades go to the second team. Hold them and wait for the right moment to provide support."

As he spoke, the shape of the plan began to take form.

Meanwhile, as the captain finalized the extraction plan, Luke and Dave were being driven into a corner, their ammunition nearly spent.

"Damn it, I’ve got twelve rounds left," Dave growled. He yanked the magazine from his assault rifle, counted the remaining bullets with a quick glance, then slammed it back in. His eyes flicked to Luke as he signaled the number with his fingers.

Luke’s frown deepened. "Ten," he muttered under his breath. He raised his hand briefly, returning the signal to Dave.

They exchanged a grim look; both of them knew they were running out of time. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."

The manic voice echoed through the dim, abandoned warehouse, the place Dave and Luke had finally chosen as a temporary refuge after half an hour of running. It didn’t take long for them to realize that even this newly found safe place had been compromised.

Their pursuers had regrouped. After briefly losing track of the soldiers and the mafias Luke had helped escape, the enemy had readjusted their forces and redirected their full firepower toward a single target: Dave and Luke. That was why shaking their tail had become nearly impossible.

Just as the captain had anticipated, and as both Dave and Luke had feared, their prepared exit vehicle had been exposed. Enemy units were already lying in wait, ready for an ambush. Any remaining vehicles in the area had either been seized or destroyed, making even a desperate attempt at theft impossible.

If the captain’s team needed a new exit vehicle, then their only option was to find where the enemy had hidden theirs. Stealing an enemy vehicle would become their way out.

But doing so wouldn’t be easy.

To locate it, they would have to scour the area, either pushing farther out or searching the most secluded corners of the abandoned zone. Both options were risky, and for the injured soldiers, it would be exhausting. Every step meant moving while wounded, all while avoiding detection.

Worse, it was highly likely that the enemy had posted guards to watch over those vehicles, precisely to prevent anyone from stealing them and escaping. If Dave or Luke’s side managed to call in reinforcements, it would spell trouble for the enemy, so stopping that from happening was a priority they would not neglect.

With no other choice, Dave and Luke split up briefly, weaving through different routes before regrouping here, in this isolated warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

And that was the real problem.

They had found a hiding place, but no escape.

Surrounded on all sides, with nowhere left to run, they were finally cornered.

"Shit. I told you not to run this way!" Dave snapped the moment he managed to slip back to Luke’s side. "Now we’re cornered. What the hell do we do?!"

"Shut up." Luke cut him off sharply. "Instead of barking, conserve your energy. We’ll need it if we’re going to break through their encirclement."

The gentleness that usually lingered in Luke’s eyes was gone, replaced by something dark and menacing.

"Besides," he added coldly, "do you have a better idea? Or would you rather we’d stayed where we were and turned ourselves into sitting ducks?"

Luke reached for his belt out of habit, searching for a flask, then froze. He’d brought nothing. No water. No rations. No extra gear. He’d assumed the mission would be quick.

If he’d known it would turn into this, he would’ve come fully prepared, with a tactical vest, blade, flask, even jerky, anything that would let him outlast the enemy in a battle of endurance.

Now, all he could do was calculate... and survive.

Dave had been luckier than Luke. When the operation began so abruptly, his soldiers had at least managed to prepare a few things for him, even equipping him with a pistol. But that was the extent of it; they had never expected Dave to see combat at all.

The plan had always been simple: Luke and Dave would stay behind while the others did the dirty work. That was what everyone believed, including Luke and Dave themselves. After all, they had spent a long time planning this mission, carefully monitoring enemy movements to ensure their intelligence was solid and their timing precise.

And yet, despite all that preparation, everything still went wrong.

In the end, their careful planning amounted to nothing, washed away in a single miscalculation.

"I’m starving and dying of thirst after all that running," Dave muttered. "If I’d known it would turn into this, I would’ve brought a camping pack."

Despite the situation, he still had the energy to joke, trying to ease the tension between himself and Luke. Outside, their enemies lingered at the warehouse entrance, playing a twisted game of cat and mouse with them. They acted as if they didn’t know Dave and Luke were inside, yet at the same time, they clearly did.

Still, none of them dared to enter.

There was only one entrance to the warehouse. If anyone pushed inside, Luke and Dave wouldn’t hesitate to open fire. Two dead bodies already lay face down on the ground near the doorway, a grim warning to the rest. The enemies hesitated, not knowing how much ammunition the two still had, and unwilling to be the next one to find out the hard way.

That was precisely why Luke and Dave had chosen this warehouse.

They had no other place to run, no better option. And if they were going to be cornered, then this was the best possible position. With only a single entrance, they could hold their ground, delay the enemy, and prevent anyone from breaking in for as long as their bullets and their endurance held out, all while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

"They’re not trying to force their way in," Luke said after a moment, turning to Dave. "That means they don’t really want to kill us... or maybe they specifically don’t want to kill you, since you’re the Young Minister. At the same time, they’ve held nothing back against our people, preventing any chance of reinforcements. What do you make of that?"