King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Chapter 144: Chapter 144 Rangers, Taking the Lead as Vanguard

Weighted running is a staple for all special forces or reconnaissance units around the world.

A 50-kilogram forced march is a test every excellent soldier must pass.

This 50-kilogram load is not like what ordinary people imagine, running with a 50-kilogram sack on their back.

Because tactical vests and high-quality tactical backpacks can distribute the weight across the body, it isn't simply carrying a 50-kilogram object and running.

Joe Ga's grandfather was once a veteran of a counter-offensive war, and Joe Ga witnessed as a child how his nearly sixty-year-old grandfather carried his father, who suffered from lung disease, walking 6 kilometers to the county hospital for medical treatment.

The only tool he used was a two-finger-wide green canvas belt—that's truly badass!

Human potential is really immense, as long as you are willing to push yourself, you'll discover that you are far stronger than you ever imagined.

Joe Ga's so-called 'falling behind means elimination' wasn't really setting a high threshold, but he wanted to give those guys some motivation, and he also knew he wasn't really up to the mark.

In Ad-Damazin, he would run with a 15-kilogram weight in the morning and evening, and when it came to combat, he would reduce the load as much as possible.

Even so, every time after a fight he would appear more exhausted than the others due to being overly tense.

These mercenaries were all assault vanguards, with completely different requirements from those old Seville veterans Joe Ga dealt with.

If someone couldn't even outpace him in a weighted run, then they should be eliminated!

When Joe Ga started, he immediately felt different from before; 50 kilograms wasn't impossible for him to manage, but as he ran, and as the energy in his body was consumed, the physical pain swept over him like a tide.

You know that you haven't reached your limit, but that pain prompts you to stop in your tracks.

This is the drawback of lacking willpower training—never having suffered through extreme physical torture, you can never touch your own upper limit.

It's funny if you think about it, sometimes the person you trust the least is yourself.

When science proves with ample evidence and examples that you can do it, most people give up when they think they've reached their limit.

Training is like this, and so is life!

That's why truly excellent people always stand out from the mediocre crowd, because their willpower makes them different!

Joe Ga considered himself capable of enduring hardship, particularly the physical kind, but halfway through the run, he still felt a bit overwhelmed.

The training camp's instructors chose a particularly wicked route—they planned a loop around the perimeter of the camp, but this loop started with a downhill section before an uphill climb.

For the inexperienced Joe Ga, this was a massive challenge. Just when he got used to the rhythm and stride of the downhill section, the moment his feet hit the uphill climb, the surging pressure made him let out a pained grunt.

At this point, the previously restrained and more experienced recruits began to slowly pass Joe Ga.

Karman, who had been sitting in the jeep all along, saw that Joe Ga was in dire straits; he jumped off the still-moving vehicle and jogged up to Joe Ga.

The old man didn't know those professional terms, so he chose to run slowly alongside Joe Ga while taking deep breaths continuously, helping Joe Ga find his breathing rhythm.

"Don't panic, keep your breath steady, you can do this, you definitely can!"

Dorian, who had wanted to finish in the top three, also slowed down, staying beside Joe Ga. Despite being covered in sweat, he kept encouraging in between breaths, "Hang in there, just push through, and it'll feel great."

By this point, Joe Ga was too preoccupied to bother with Dorian, struggling to control his own breathing rhythm and gesturing with his hand for him to go ahead.

In fact, his stamina wasn't bad—a normal five kilometers wouldn't stress him at all. It was the sudden heavy burden and his own excessive expectations that made him very uncomfortable.

He wanted to eliminate a few people, but now he was close to eliminating himself.

He could still bear the weight on his body, but the unfortunate AR70 rifle in his hands felt like the last straw that might crush the camel's back, causing Joe Ga's hands to keep involuntarily drooping.

Without others around, Joe Ga would surely have chosen to rest a bit before finishing the whole course, attempting to surpass himself next time.

This is the downside of personal training and self-exploration. This approach might improve physical fitness reserves, and you feel progress each time, but it doesn't benefit willpower training at all.

Using this method for long means that when you encounter problems in the future, you'll subconsciously want to stop and rest!

It's a wall that those without determination will never break through their entire lives, but those who do break through it will discover a whole new world beyond.

Joe Ga had a competitive spirit; he always believed that if others could do it, so could he.

If he set standards to test others, he should be able to meet them himself!

Following Karman's breathing and stepping rhythm, Joe Ga gradually found the right frequency.

Now, the advantage of having hired professional coaches in Egypt became apparent—he had built up a solid base of physical fitness, and once he reached what he thought was his physical limit and persisted, his body naturally produced a strange sense of pleasure.

After the breakpoint was passed, it was like a average student suddenly scoring perfect marks, and then they realize, 'I can do it too.' The dopamine automatically secreted by the brain makes the whole person feel joyful.

As the limit was breached, the creatine generated by his body neutralized, the pain began to subside, the sense of fatigue naturally lessened, and his footsteps no longer felt as heavy as before.

By then, there were still four teams behind Joe Ga, soldiers who had misunderstood the selection process. Naturally, they formed teams and then helped each other move forward.

The determinant of their speed was not the fastest one, but the slowest.

After recovering a bit, Joe Ga glimpsed the situation behind him from the corner of his eye and, while gasping for air, said to Karman beside him, "Remind them that their real comrades are among those who haven't been eliminated."

Karman ran with Joe Ga for a few steps, making sure he was okay before turning around and running back dozens of meters to a team.

In the surprised look of a young man, Karman suddenly drew his knife and cut through the straps of a soldier's backpack, while that soldier was dragging a comrade forward, supporting his companion's advance with his own strength.

The moment the pouch strap on the backpack snapped, the guy who had been leveraging his comrade's strength stumbled forward several steps, and awkwardly sprawled onto the ground.

Karman didn't bother to explain; he swung the hunting knife in his hand, disbanding what looked like united teams in similar fashion, and then spoke in a hoarse voice, "Anyone who can't outrun the boss gets eliminated!"

Only then did the lagging crowd realize that this selection wasn't the usual 'comrade routine' from the military or movies and TV shows. This was a business interview, where the strong advance and the weak are eliminated.

A few who had dragged strangers for a while now wished they could slap themselves. If they all got eliminated, what use was comradeship?

They didn't even know each other's names, so what comradeship could there be?

As Karman acted, several soldiers with obvious physical strength began to accelerate, ruthlessly leaving the weaker contestants behind.

Karman watched as a guy who had been pulled forward by a comrade suddenly got a burst of energy after being 'abandoned' and sped up his pace.

The old-timer was indifferent to such sneaky tactics, but he understood that having one or two self-serving individuals in a team could undermine the team's morale.

As this guy passed by him, Karman's hunting knife grazed his thigh.

This cut just broke through the camouflage pants, leaving a shallow bloody mark on the slickster's thigh.

The injury was minor, but it was like a weight; even if one knew that this kind of wound might heal with just a hospital visit, it would still distract an injured person during high-intensity exercise.

He would always be checking, always worried that his injury would worsen, and then the mental weight would feel heavier and heavier.

Karman wasn't a student of psychology, but he knew too well how to torment a person.

Looking at the slickster's angry face, Karman glanced at him with an inhuman look and said, "If you can't outrun the boss, you're out. If you can, I'll let you become the boss's bodyguard, I'll be watching you!"

Karman's tone wasn't harsh, but it pierced the slickster's will like a needle, deflating him instantly.

A joke, to win meant dealing with this inhuman fellow every day; how could one live like that? Even making money couldn't be that appealing!

In contrast to the three rapidly disbanding groups, the group containing the old bull and Sanderson was a bit different.

Sanderson had recently sustained a gunshot wound and had no time to rehabilitate, so as he ran, his leg started to limp.

The farm boy Tony was even worse off. Despite his big and tall stature, his substantial body weight also meant a larger burden, and without any rigorous training, even after swapping backpacks with 'Hemostatic Forceps', he was now struggling to keep up.

The four 'Diamond' men watched as their chosen comrades gradually became burdens. They exchanged looks, whereupon one of them, a curly-haired Big Beard, grabbed 'Hemostatic Forceps'' backpack and said, "Give it to us, you go help them. That's all we can do."

'Hemostatic Forceps' wasn't one to put on airs. She quickly shed her backpack, distributed the sandbags among the 'Diamond' men's packs, then slapped the curly-haired Big Beard's butt, grinning widely, and shouted, "Catch up with him; see you at the finish line!"

After watching the Diamond men pull away, 'Hemostatic Forceps' turned back and to her surprise, saw that the old bull had Tony's backpack strapped to his chest, and even took off his tactical vest to stuff in the gap, while using a belt to tie himself to Tony, doggedly dragging Tony who was drooling like a zombie forward weighing over 200 pounds.

The old bull now looked like a walking mini-tent, appearing both comical and touching.

At this point, 'Hemostatic Forceps' really gained a new respect for the old bull; even after swapping backpacks with Tony, Tony still carried a weight of 30 kilograms, meaning the old bull was now bearing 80 kilograms while dragging Tony along.

The usually chatty old bull had a fierce expression, with veins popping on his forehead, yet surprisingly showed no sign of stopping, displaying an unbelievable level of physical fitness.

However, pain was pain, and the spirit of "never abandon, never give up" seemed particularly foolish at this moment, yet incredibly blood-stirring.

She had initially chosen this team because of Sanderson, given that she was a solo operator and a woman, hence needing reliable comrades to avoid being at a disadvantage in a mercenary camp.

Who would have thought that Sanderson, exuding an aura of elite special forces, would turn out to be the one slowing them down?

The determined 'Hemostatic Forceps' had no intention of giving up. Slowing her pace for Sanderson to catch up, she grabbed his backpack and strapped it on her back.

Then, glancing at Sanderson, who suddenly seemed much lighter, she whipped out a tow rope and secured it around Tony's waist before shouting to Sanderson, "Come on! Rangers!"

Having shown the countenance of one bearing deep grievances, Sanderson's spirits lifted, his grin wide as he too took out a tow rope and tied it around Tony's waist, running and shouting...

"Rangers, lead the way! Hu~"

(Rangers, be the vanguard! Hu~)