Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1087 Watching the Fire from the Other Bank
The icy night wind swept across the vast desert of northwestern Iligor like a knife, whipping up fine sand that stung the face.

Song Heping reached out and tugged at his tactical scarf, shaking off the dust as he did so.

According to an agreement with the first tribal armed group they made contact with, Song Heping personally led a team and quietly crossed the border on this cold night.

He was accompanied by Samir and Nassin, as well as a well-trained support team.

The core of the team consists of the taciturn "Sand Fox" squad of Post special forces soldiers, as well as some of the most loyal and elite militia members of the "Liberation Forces".

Carrying limited basic supplies and much-needed medical equipment, they once again ventured into this desolate and perilous land.

The scene in a leeward sand valley near the predetermined coordinates was somber.

The dense crowd was packed together, far exceeding the previously agreed number; at first glance, there were no fewer than a thousand people.

A few dilapidated pickup trucks, motorcycles, and a few camels dotted the scene, further highlighting the disarray of the group.

The crowd included a large number of women, children, and the elderly, all dressed in rags, emaciated, their faces etched with the weariness of a long journey, uncertainty about the future, and deep-seated fear.

Although there were also many young and middle-aged men carrying old-fashioned rifles and with wary eyes, overall, it looked more like a large refugee group struggling to survive under the threat of death than an organized fighting force.

Samir took a deep breath of the cold air and stepped forward, shouting in Arabic. Soon, an elderly tribal chief, supported by his people, walked forward shakily.

The old man's cracked hands gripped Samir's tightly as if grasping at a lifeline. He wept before he could speak, tears streaming down his face: "Thank God! Thank you... thank you for still taking in us homeless people! 1515... those blasphemous beasts! They killed many of us, burned our village, stole our last remaining cattle, sheep, and grain, and violated our women... We simply cannot live on... Although... although we know you are backed by the Persians, and that we have had our differences in the past... but... but now we only want to survive..."

Samir reassured him, “Old man, all past sectarian differences and grudges should be put aside! God is supreme! You are welcome to join the liberation forces!”

"Weren't they supposed to be militia members? They look more like a refugee group..."

Not far away, Nassin, standing beside Song Heping, couldn't help but worry, "This kind of team probably doesn't have much fighting power..."

These words were spoken to Song Heping, who was standing nearby.

Song Heping certainly understood that integrating this diverse team, which included both the elderly and the young, was an extremely complex and challenging task.

However, this is the case in Iligo itself.

If you want to recruit soldiers, then if their families cannot be protected, no one will be willing to risk their lives for you.

“Nassin, this is not something you should worry about. Your responsibility is to integrate the combat personnel. I will take care of these elderly people and children.”

"Samir!"

He waved to Samir, who was busy at work.

Samir rushed over: "Boss, what are your instructions?"

"We can't stay here any longer. We need to assemble the team and leave immediately. If the US military or the 1515 militia finds us, we're all doomed."

With so many elderly, weak, women and children with us, we'd definitely suffer a huge loss if a fight broke out.

"Understood, I'll handle it immediately."

"Nasin."

"exist."

"You immediately lead a few members of the Sand Fox Squad to serve as scouts one kilometer ahead of us."

"understand!"

ten minutes later.

This massive refugee caravan began moving toward the Persian border.

Time is life, and every second of delay means unpredictable risks.

This place is only about 30 kilometers from the border.

If walking, at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour, one can cross the border into a safe area before dawn.

Song Heping had already contacted Afanti and asked him to send Revolutionary Guards to the border to provide support.

You'll be perfectly safe once you cross the border.

However, less than two hours after setting off, the leader of the "Desert Fox" squad, who was in charge of scouting and reconnaissance, suddenly sent an urgent message through his encrypted personal radio:
"Eagle's Nest, Eagle's Nest, this is Sand Fox One. Please respond! Over."

"Eagle's Nest received, Sand Fox One, please speak. Over."

Song Heping immediately stopped and responded by pressing his earpiece, his tense nerves suddenly tightening to the extreme.

"About one kilometer southeast of our group, we have spotted an unidentified convoy with lights and a lot of engine noise! ​​Determined not to belong to our group! They are moving at high speed! Over!"

The contents of the communication sent a chill down the spines of everyone who heard it.

"Samir!" Song Heping calmly issued the order: "Order all personnel to halt! Find cover on the spot! Maintain absolute silence! Sand Fox One, continue surveillance and report details! Over!"

The order was quickly relayed in a low voice.

The vast desert fell into a deathly silence, with only the howling of the biting wind sweeping across the tops of the dunes, like the wailing of the dead.

Thousands of people crouched or lay down in panic behind the cold sand dunes. Even the crying of children was covered by adults. The air was filled with a suffocating tension and fear, as if the next second, devastating artillery fire would tear through the night and mercilessly cover everything.

A few minutes later, in the unbearable silence, the voice of Sand Fox One came again.

This time, there was a clear hint of doubt in his voice: "Eagle's Nest, Eagle's Nest. The situation is... strange. The convoy doesn't seem to be heading straight for us. They're moving northeast, and... and there's the sound of intense gunfire! Repeat, there's gunfire! They seem to be chasing something, or... being attacked by something? Over!"

Song Heping frowned.

He glanced at Samir and Nassin beside him, who were equally tense, and decisively said, "Sand Fox One, maintain surveillance, do not expose yourself. We will go to meet you. The rest of you, stay put and increase vigilance! Do not make any moves without my order! Over!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Song Heping, along with Samir, Nassin, and several of his most capable guards, armed with AK rifles fitted with night vision devices, used the shadows of the sand dunes and the undulating terrain to stealthily and silently make their way towards the vanguard team, like experienced desert ghosts.

Soon, they met up with the Sand Fox squad, who were lurking atop a tall sand dune.

As soon as they lay down, they heard the faint, rapid, intense gunfire and occasional explosions coming from afar, which became even clearer to everyone's ears, pounding on their eardrums.

Song Heping quickly raised the high-performance night vision binoculars in his hand, adjusted the focus, and looked in the direction indicated by Sand Fox-1.

About 1.5 kilometers away, a fire was seen flickering in an area that resembled an abandoned village or ancient post station, nestled against several ruined earthen walls. The muzzles of automatic weapons were clearly visible in the night.

Clearly, someone is putting up a fierce resistance by relying on those ruins.

Around the ruins, a large number of vehicle lights circled and weaved at high speed like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, constantly pouring firepower into the ruins from the moving vehicles. The streaks of light left by bullets wove together in the night sky into a dazzling yet deadly web of death.

Judging from the way the vehicles moved, the coordinated firepower, the tactics of the attack, and the clothing of the armed personnel in the truck beds, this was definitely a sizable, well-trained, and combat-experienced 1515 armed force, with an estimated number of at least three or four hundred people involved in the siege.

They are frantically besieging the defenders in the ruins.

"It's someone from 1515!"

Samir lowered his voice and gritted his teeth, slamming his fist hard on the sand in front of him, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Who are they attacking?

Nassin, holding up his binoculars, asked nervously, "Which unlucky tribe has been cornered by them? Is it the militia? Or the government troops?"

Song Heping did not answer immediately, but instead adjusted the focus of the telescope again, his pupils slightly contracting as he observed the details in the direction of the ruins more carefully.

boom--

A brief burst of light from a rocket explosion illuminated the swaying figures and outlines of some vehicles within the ruins.

He saw several modified Toyota Hilux pickup trucks equipped with DShK heavy machine guns or SPG recoilless rifles, as well as some soldiers wearing mixed combat uniforms, carrying a lot of advanced equipment, and seemingly wearing traditional Kold's turbans.

Song Heping was no stranger to these people. He had dealt with them when he took on his first oil field contract in northwestern Iligo.

"They are 'Dare Warriors,' the Kolds."

Song Heping put down his binoculars: "They're surrounded. Judging by the firepower, they won't last long."

In the distant ruins, the battle had entered its most brutal and grueling phase.

Kold's "Daredevil" soldiers, clinging to the ruins, waged a desperate resistance.

The sounds of automatic rifle fire, the muffled roar of general-purpose machine guns, the booming of RPG rockets flying out and exploding, and the occasional violent explosions intertwined wildly, completely shattering the deathly silence of the desert night and playing a symphony of death.

Through high-performance night vision goggles and binoculars, Song Heping and his team members could clearly see how the deadly net of the 1515 armed forces was tightening step by step.

Clearly, in this battle, the 1515 militants had the upper hand in terms of both numbers and combat effectiveness.

These guys are quite adept at using convoy tactics.

They did not charge blindly, but instead adopted classic tactics of encirclement, cutting off, and mobile suppression.

About seven or eight technically modified pickup trucks, spitting out tongues of fire up to half a meter long, moved around the perimeter of the ruins like mobile fire fortresses, frantically sweeping every firing port and corner where people might be hiding with powerful suppressive fire.

12.7mm and even 14.5mm heavy machine gun bullets easily tore through the weathered earthen walls, shredding the broken sections and raising clouds of dust.

Meanwhile, dozens or even hundreds of 1515 infantrymen, using vehicle fire cover and the undulating terrain of the sand dunes, advanced in skirmish lines, step by step, constantly compressing the encirclement.

They shouted extreme religious slogans and fired wildly and haphazardly, but with their overwhelming numerical superiority and fanatical fighting spirit, they formed an extremely dense network of fire.

Inside the ruins, the Kold's counterattack was fairly well-organized.

The precise burst fire and proper use of heavy weapons demonstrated a high level of training and combat proficiency.

In particular, the SPG-9 recoilless rifle mounted on the pickup truck hidden behind the dilapidated house seized the opportunity to fire, accurately hitting a 1515 armed pickup truck that was too reckless. The violent explosion instantly turned it into a huge fireball, and the burning wreckage illuminated a small part of the battlefield, which also provoked the 1515 armed forces to retaliate even more frantically and recklessly.

"Good fight!"

Nassin couldn't help but gasp, then realized his position and awkwardly shut his mouth, glancing subconsciously at Song Heping and Samir.

Samir gripped the binoculars tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort, his nails almost digging into his palms, and his breathing became heavy.

Although he had a deep-seated grudge against the Kolds in the past, at this moment, seeing his fellow warriors who were resisting the atrocities of 1515 being surrounded and slaughtered like this, a strong sense of shared hatred overwhelmed him.

Through the lens, he could even vaguely see, in the flash of an explosion, the figure of a Kold warrior being violently thrown away by the shockwave, crashing heavily against a broken wall like a kite with a broken string, and remaining motionless.

The outnumbered Kolds clearly understood that holding out meant certain death, and they were attempting to break out.

A meticulously planned attempt erupted three minutes later.

The three pickup trucks that had gathered together suddenly rushed out from the northwest corner of the ruins, and the heavy machine guns and automatic rifles on the trucks poured all their ammunition at a point in the encirclement, trying to forcibly tear a gap.

About twenty Kold's soldiers followed closely behind the vehicle, charging forward and firing fiercely, their movements swift and decisive.

"They're trying to break through!"

Samir whispered, his tone unconsciously carrying a hint of hope and nervousness.

However, the commander of 1515 was clearly experienced and seemed to have anticipated this.

Just as the Koldpika roared out, at least three RPG-7 rockets roared out from behind the dunes that had been lying in ambush on the flank, leaving trails of death!

One of the bullets hit the hood of the lead pickup truck directly. The huge explosion could be faintly heard even more than a kilometer away. The entire vehicle was blown into the air, flipped over, and crashed to the ground, with burning debris, equipment, and human remains flying everywhere.

The tires of another pickup truck were almost simultaneously blown out by concentrated machine gun fire, causing the vehicle to spin out of control and overturn, violently throwing the occupants out.

The third vehicle managed to break through the first wave of deadly interception, but was immediately covered by crossfire from at least two heavy machine guns firing from different directions. The vehicle was instantly riddled with holes, wobbled and crashed into a low wall before coming to an abrupt stop, and then burst into flames.

The infantry breaking out instantly lost the cover of vehicles and fire support, and were completely exposed in the open area, becoming moving targets.

The 1515's firepower poured down like a torrential downpour. The blood mist that erupted as bullets pierced bodies appeared as large, eerie gray-white patches of fog even under nighttime observation equipment.

The Kold soldiers fell in droves like wheat cut down by an invisible scythe, their shrill screams even briefly drowning out the dense gunfire.

A few men attempted to crawl backward or seek cover in craters, but in this relatively flat open area, they were quickly and completely wiped out by follow-up fire.

This tragic attempt to break through was completely shattered within a minute or two, leaving only burning, twisted metal debris and corpses in various poses that quickly grew cold on the sand.

War is always cruel.

Human life is insignificant and as insignificant as dust in the face of firearms.

"God...have mercy on them..."

A young guard beside Samir lowered his head in unbearable pain, murmuring a prayer, his voice trembling.

The resistance firepower inside the ruins was significantly weakened as a result, appearing sparse and disorderly.

The militants of 1515 let out even more excited and wild howls, and their attack became even more frenzied.

They began to storm into the ruins from multiple directions, and the sounds of close-range gunfire, explosions, shouts, and screams became clearer, more chaotic, and more chilling.

Song Heping watched all this expressionlessly, his fingers unconsciously adjusting the focus of his binoculars as he analyzed every detail of the battlefield with extreme focus and calmness.

He paid particular attention to the 1515 militants, who, even in their seemingly frenzied charge, maintained a rough but effective tactical coordination. Some threw smoke or stun grenades for cover, some provided steady suppressive fire, and others quickly advanced to clear out the enemy.

This is by no means an ordinary mob; its core members must possess considerable military experience.

The final battle did not last long.

The gunfire within the ruins quickly subsided, leaving only sporadic single shots before finally fading into complete silence.

Instead, there was the triumphant shouts of the 1515 elements, and...

A chilling, metallic scraping sound and harsh shouting.

In the flickering firelight, one could clearly see some wounded or eventually surrendered Kold's soldiers being roughly dragged from the ruins and piles of corpses and forced to kneel in a row on the sand.

Their weapons were confiscated and carelessly left aside.

Even from a great distance, the despair, fear, and the cruelty of the victors still pierced through the cold night sky.

Then, several executioners dressed in black robes and wearing black hoods, looking as if they had walked out of hell, appeared.

They held long, curved swords that reflected a cold, icy light and the glow of fire.

"Do not……"

Samir's face turned pale. He turned sharply to look at Song Heping, his eyes filled with shock and pleading, his voice slightly trembling with emotion.

"Boss! They only seem to number a few hundred! We have several thousand here, including several hundred able-bodied young men! If we launch a surprise attack from their flank or rear now, we can catch them completely off guard! We can save those men! They are warriors, real warriors fighting against 1515! We can't just stand by and watch them be..."

His words were filled with the passion and compassion of a warrior.

Song Heping finally shifted his gaze from the telescope to Samir.

His face was expressionless, calm to the point of being cold, and his gaze was as deep as a frozen pool.

“No, Samir.” Song Heping’s voice was calm yet resolute. “We’ll do nothing. Stay hidden.”

　Asking for a monthly ticket! Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)