Chapter 132: Crossing the Border! Under the Guise of a Drill

The azure sky over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was so blue it seemed about to drip water.

The thin air made the sunlight especially glaring, shining on the endless snow peaks and reflecting a chilling light that made the heart pound.

At a certain river valley over 4,000 meters in elevation, the atmosphere clashed starkly with the magnificent scenery.

In the makeshift camp, a group of soldiers wore White Elephant Country plateau camouflage and were equipped with the gray-green "Mountain Hound" exoskeletons.

They sat in groups of three or five, chewing field rations, their loud laughter and curses breaking the mountain's tranquility.

Several empty cans were casually tossed beside the clear stream, glaringly out of place.

At the camp's center, even a White Elephant Country military flag was raised, snapping loudly in the plateau's cold wind.

Here, the border line marked on Longguo's official maps had been penetrated at least five kilometers into Longguo territory.

A young Longguo border guard, his face darkened and cracked by the plateau's UV rays, gripped his assault rifle tightly, his knuckles whitening from the force.

He stared at the several arrogant figures dozens of meters away, his teeth grinding audibly.

"Squad leader! They're being outrageous! How many times has this happened now?"

"They won't heed warnings, and they even throw trash into our river!" The soldier's voice was filled with uncontainable anger.

The one he called squad leader was a steady-faced veteran, his eyes sharp, fixed intently on the other side's movements.

He pressed down on the young soldier's shoulder with steady force: "Stay calm. Orders from above: exercise restraint, do not fire the first shot."

"But..."

"No buts!" The squad leader cut him off, his voice low and indisputable.

"Remember, our duty is to watch and monitor. Trust the nation, trust our superiors."

Just then, a roar of engines approached from afar.

A light all-terrain vehicle painted with the White Elephant Country insignia, likewise fitted with an exoskeleton assist framework,

kicked up dust as it sped straight to the warning line set up by the Longguo border outpost, nearly striking the red tape marking the limit.

The vehicle door opened, and a tall White Elephant Country officer with a thick beard jumped down.

He wore the insignia of the Mountain Hound Assault Battalion on his shoulder, his demeanor arrogant.

He deliberately stomped his boot heavily on Longguo territory on the far side of the warning line, then stopped and looked provocatively at the Longguo squad leader.

He shouted in heavily accented English mixed with some broken Longguo words: "Hey! Longguo friends!"

"Look closely—this is the Holy Ridge Joint Exercise Area! We're conducting Free Maneuver training! Fall back! Don't interfere with our drill!"

Behind him, a few White Elephant soldiers burst into mocking laughter, one even deliberately shaking the squad rocket launcher slung across his chest.

The young soldiers trembled with rage, almost charging out, but the squad leader held them fast.

The squad leader stepped forward, responding in fluent Longguo, his voice carrying clearly through the thin plateau air to the other's ears: "This is Longguo territory!"

"You have seriously violated the border; I warn you again—withdraw immediately from the boundary line, or you will bear all consequences!"

The White Elephant officer spread his hands, made an exaggerated innocent expression, said something in Hindi to his soldiers, and provoked even louder laughter.

He turned back, pointing at his own exoskeleton, then at the Longguo soldiers' plain-looking rifles, and shook his head contemptuously:

"Consequences? What consequences? With your fire‑stick‑like weapons?"

"Look—times have changed, friend! This is Eagle Country's latest technology! The 'Mountain Hound'! Get it? Your gear is obsolete!"

He slammed his chest armor plate, producing a muffled 'thud-thud', puffed with pride.

Dragon Chant Base, Number Three Tactical Preparation Room.

On the holographic sand table, red light points representing enemy units glared, stationed inside Longguo territory.

The real‑time footage and audio fed back from the front clearly showed all of this unfolding in the river valley.

"Damn, this little bastard!" Wang Hao slapped the console, his teeth itching with rage.

"My hot temper, Boss Wang! I'll later use the 'Peregrine Falcon' to give him a wash, so he'll know what 'the reverberation lingers for three days' means!"

Zhao Kaiyuan frowned, looking at the environmental data marked on the sand table:

"They're using the river valley terrain, dispersing three attack directions that can mutually provide fire support."

"A head‑on assault by regular troops would surely suffer."

Chen Guang pushed his glasses, the lenses reflecting the model data of the "Mountain Hound" exoskeleton,

"The armor joints have structural weaknesses; the knee joint hydraulic cushion design lacks sufficient redundancy, making it prone to failure under massive vertical impact."

"The energy core's cooling efficiency is poor; sustained high‑intensity operation will cause output power to plummet… well, junk."

Feng Yan said nothing, his gaze sweeping over the friendly and enemy symbols on the sand table, as if he could directly see that plateau.

He saw the White Elephant officer's arrogant face, saw the repressed fury in his own border guard's eyes.

"Commander Lei," he said into the comm, "Is the Dragon Fang in position?"

From the other end came Lei Jindong's steady voice: "The Giant Fish‑Bird has reached the forward airfield; the Dragon Fang Special Detachment has completed final equipment checks and is assembling in the standby area."

"President Feng, we're waiting for your final orders and the parameter package."

"The parameter package will sync to all combat units in thirty seconds."

"Understood! Operation Plow the Courtyard, authorization confirmed!" Lei Jindong's voice was icy.

"It's time to give these clueless fools a good sweeping of the yard!"

Forward field airfield.

The enormous Giant Fish‑Bird transport aircraft lay like a crouching iron beast, silent at the runway's end.

Its hatch gaped open, as if the beast had opened its mouth.

At the airfield's edge, the standby area had a grim atmosphere.

Three Type‑1 Prison Guard Beast heavy mechs stood like three dark metal deities, towering imposingly.

Their bodies, over four meters tall, were sheathed in angular dragon‑scale armor that gleamed with a cold sheen in the plateau sunlight.

Their head sensors flickered with an azure light, like a slumbering giant slowly opening its eyes.

Twelve Iron Wolf-Assault-type mechs were like a wolf pack surrounding the Lion King, slightly smaller in size but with sharper lines, full of explosive power.

Their feet employed a multi-terrain adaptive track-mechanical foot composite structure, sufficient to cope with the complex mountainous terrain of the plateau.

""Dragon Fang" Special Task Force, board the aircraft."

""Target, No. 1 Conflict River Valley."

""Operation begins."

No stirring mobilization, no superfluous nonsense.

Everyone, whether mecha pilot or technical expert, acted silently and swiftly.

The heavy metallic footsteps echoed on the airfield's hardened ground, forming a cold war prelude.

Three Bixie and twelve Iron Wolf mechs slowly entered the immense belly of the Kunpeng in turn.

The fastening clamps clicked shut, tightly binding these killing machines, awaiting the moment they would be released at the destination.

Feng Yan was the last to board the transport; the cabin lights were dim, only the instrument panel and various indicator lights glowed faintly, illuminating his calm face.

The hatch slowly closed behind him, swallowing the outside light bit by bit.

The transport's engines began to emit a low, powerful roar, the immense thrust pushing the aircraft toward the runway.

Under the guidance of the airport tower, this steel giant bird carrying Longguo's utmost military power and dignity began to accelerate on the runway, faster and faster.

It tore through the plateau's tranquility, surging into the azure sky, swooping toward that river valley shamefully trampled.

Inside the cabin, Feng Yan looked through the small porthole at the airfield rapidly shrinking below and the distant majestic mountain range like folds of the earth.

In the valley, that white elephant officer perhaps still gloated over his 'mountain hunting hound'.

He didn't know that his good days were over; Dragon Chant had come to collect him.