Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1145 The One-Sided Crushing by the Aerospace Force

He had heard of this special forces unit codenamed SSO.

It is the most elite and low-profile ace of the Russian Federation Armed Forces—the Special Operations Command (SSO).

Unlike the more well-known counter-terrorism units "Alpha" and "Vympel" which belong to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the SSO is a strategic special forces unit directly under the Russian Ministry of Defense. Its positioning is comparable to the US Delta Force or the UK Special Air Service (SAS). It is the sharpest blade for the Russian military to conduct overseas interventions and carry out highly difficult special operations missions.

Established in 2009 amidst a new wave of military reforms, the Special Operations Force (SSO) aims to create an all-around special forces unit capable of global deployment and responding to diverse threats. Its selection process is notoriously rigorous, drawing top talent from the Airborne Forces (VDV), GRU special operations brigades, and other branches of the military. Members must pass almost inhuman tests of physical fitness, skills, psychological resilience, and willpower.

They are equipped with the most advanced individual soldier equipment in the Russian army and even the world, ranging from custom-made AK-12 series assault rifles, VSS silenced sniper rifles, AR series assault rifles to various types of drones, portable radars, laser designators, and encrypted communication equipment.

Their combat uniforms and equipment have also drawn heavily on and improved upon Western modular designs, allowing for flexible changes in camouflage patterns depending on the mission area. Details such as tactical vests, helmets, and accessory packs reflect a focus on practicality and ergonomics, a stark contrast to the traditionally perceived somewhat rugged image of the Russian army.

The cook suppressed his excitement and quickly relayed this wonderful news to Song Heping and General Rahman, the government army commander who had been frowning.

"Now that a professional 'guide' has arrived, let's put this suicidal decapitation operation on hold."

Song Heping readily accepted the advice and decisively changed the plan. "General Rahman, immediately order all forward units to cease unnecessary counterattacks, continue to consolidate the defensive line, concentrate all forces and firepower to defend key intersections and fortified buildings, adopt flexible defense, and conduct tiered blocking attacks to buy time with space, delay and wear down the enemy to the maximum extent possible, and wait for the arrival of the air strike!"

The order was issued swiftly, and the remaining government soldiers began an orderly retreat, using the ruins to build new firing positions.

Just as everyone was making tense preparations and eagerly awaiting the arrival of death from the sky, a government soldier covered in dust ran into the command post and reported to Rahman: "General, a man has come to the base gate, specifically asking to see Mr. Song Heping. He said that as long as he gives his name 'Hunter,' Mr. Song will definitely see him. We think he is acting suspiciously, so we have temporarily detained him."

"Hunter?"

Song Heping was taken aback upon hearing this, then a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"how does he look like?"

He inquired in detail about the visitor's physical characteristics, and the soldier answered him one by one.

"That's right, he's my friend! And also our company's best sniper."

Song Heping said to Rahman, his tone unusually urgent.

Soon, the "Hunter" entered the command post under the "escort" of two government soldiers.

He still had that same unchanging icy expression, but his dusty combat uniform and the undisguised weariness in his eyes showed that his journey here had not been easy.

"Boss, we've finally found you."

Seeing Song Heping standing unharmed before him, "The Hunter's" cold gaze softened slightly, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. "After you went missing, the company was almost in chaos. Ferrari was so anxious that he wanted to spread his entire intelligence network across the Middle East, and even considered coming here himself. I stopped him and came in his place. As soon as I arrived in Celia, I vaguely heard that you were still alive. It took a lot of effort to pry information from a local informant that you might have come to this godforsaken place, Holmes, so I tracked you down all the way here."

His words were concise, but the hardships behind them were unimaginable.

Song Heping felt a warmth in his heart, patted the "hunter" on the shoulder forcefully, and said nothing more to express his gratitude; everything was understood without words.

Before the two had finished their brief exchange of pleasantries, several fully armed soldiers, led by General Rahman's adjutant, strode in.

Their appearance seemed to carry an invisible aura, instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the command post.

The squad consisted of about seven or eight people, and they wore multi-terrain camouflage combat uniforms, mainly in gray-green and khaki, which were more suitable for the environment of the Siberian desert and urban ruins, rather than the standard digital camouflage of the Russian army.

His modular tactical vest was covered with various unidentified equipment pouches, his Kevlar helmet integrated a night vision goggle mount and noise-canceling headphones, and his face was painted with dark camouflage paint.

Although they were armed with AK-series rifles, they had been heavily modified, with holographic sights, magnifying glasses, tactical lights, and laser designators mounted on long Picatinny rails, and advanced flash suppressors at the muzzle. Each one was a work of art.

The leading officer, whose epaulettes indicated the rank of major, had a sharply defined facial structure and eyes as calm and sharp as a Siberian wolf, even through the paint.

General Rahman stepped forward to make contact, and the other party promptly presented his identification.

As expected, it was Major Petrovsky, codenamed "Wolverine," who was the platoon commander of the Russian SSO special forces.

Major Petrovsky and Rahman had a brief but efficient exchange, confirming the current enemy and friendly situation and the air strike guidance area.

Then, his gaze swept across the command post like a searchlight, finally settling precisely on Song Heping.

He walked straight over, his steps steady and powerful. He stopped in front of Song Heping, looked him up and down a few times, and asked in English, "You are Song?"

Song He calmly met his gaze and nodded: "Yes, that's me. Is there something you need?"

Major Petrovsky's face revealed a faint, enigmatic expression, a mixture of curiosity and scrutiny: "I've heard so much about you, Mr. 'Ghost.' After we finish this business, I have some...personal matters I'd like to discuss with you privately."

Without waiting for Song Heping's response, he turned abruptly, waved to his team members, and issued a concise and swift order in Russian: "Check equipment! Advance to the pre-established observation points 'Alpha' and 'Bravo'! Establish communication links! 'Eagle' is about to arrive; prepare to guide the hunt!"

"understand!"

The SSO members responded in hushed tones, their movements as swift as cheetahs, without the slightest hesitation, silently emerging from the command post like ghosts, quickly disappearing into the ruins and smoke leading to the front lines of the firefight.

Throughout the entire process, apart from the necessary commands and responses, there was not a single unnecessary word, demonstrating extremely high professional competence.

Song Heping, "The Cook," "The Hunter," and General Rahman immediately moved to a nearby observation post with a better view.

Through high-magnification binoculars and artillery scopes, they could clearly see the attack formation of the HTS troops in the distance, and could also vaguely catch a glimpse of the SSO squad moving nimbly through the ruins like a shadow.

Using shell craters, broken walls, and smoke as cover, they skillfully and stealthily approached their designated guiding positions—two high points overlooking the flanks and rear of the HTS attack group—in a well-trained tactical formation. Time ticked by, the fighting intensified, and the government forces' lines seemed to be groaning in their final moments. With the coordinated assault of Free Army tanks, pickup trucks, and infantry, the Syrian government forces lost four more positions in just over ten minutes.

Just when everyone felt their hearts were about to jump out of their throats, a deep and powerful rumble came from the horizon, like rolling thunder coming from afar.

"coming!"

The cook subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Song Heping raised his binoculars and saw several tiny silver-gray dots approaching at an extremely fast speed in the azure sky, leaving faint trails behind them.

That was the iron wing of the Russian Aerospace Forces—a mixed formation of Su-34 "Platypus" fighter-bombers and Su-25 "Frogfoot" attack aircraft.

Almost simultaneously, a clear, calm, and utterly emotionless professional conversation came through the radio set up in the observation post by Petrovsky's communications troops:

"'Eagle' Command Center, this is 'Wolverine' Squad. Alpha observation post is in position, good visibility, clear observation of enemy armored formations. Clear airspace, no friendly forces activity. Over."

Clearly, this "Eagle 1" is a command aircraft.

Song Heping did not know the aircraft type, but guessed it was something like the Il-20.

"'Wolverine 1', 'Eagle 1' received. Reporting mission priority target parameters. Over."

“优先级目标：敌主要装甲突击集群。位于网格坐标 38T NL 12345 67890区域，沿7号公路及东西两侧开阔地展开。识别到T-72主战坦克约15辆，分散队形；T-55/62中型坦克超过20辆，伴随BMP-1步兵战车及大量加装重机枪、无后坐力炮的技术车辆。敌步兵正在坦克掩护下推进。请求执行‘快速突击’模式精确打击。over。”

“复制目标坐标与描述。攻击编队‘匕首’1至4号已进入待命空域，携带激光制导炸弹及Kh-25/29系列导弹。‘狼獾1号’，请使用激光指示器照射首要高价值目标，激光代码设定为‘1776’。over。”

"Received, laser code '1776'. Target acquisition in progress—front of the formation, command T-72 tank, turret with additional antenna. ... Target stable tracking, laser illumination... Activated! ... Laser lock confirmed, signal stable!"

Inside the observation post, everyone held their breath.

Song Heping's binoculars closely followed the lead T-72 that was being targeted by the SSO. It was still charging forward recklessly, its cannons occasionally spitting out flashes of fire.

In the sky, a Su-34 "Platypus" slightly adjusted its attitude, and a cold glint flashed under its belly.

"Eagle 1 and Dagger 1 have acquired laser designation, confirmation code '1776'. Target locked, requesting authorization to drop bombs. Over."

"'Dagger No. 1', authorized to drop bombs. Repeat, authorized to drop bombs. Have a pleasant hunt."

"bomb!"

Before the words were even finished, a long bomb suddenly detached from the wing of the Su-34, made a slight adjustment in the air, and then, following the invisible laser beam, at an almost vertical angle, with a deathly shriek, precisely pounced on the T-72!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The crew of the T-72 on the ground may have heard the howl of death, or seen the black dot falling from the sky, but it was all too late.

next second!
boom! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
A massive, blindingly bright orange-red fireball suddenly exploded from the center of the T-72's hull!

The shockwave from the explosion was like a tangible hammer, spreading rapidly in all directions as far as the eye could see, directly blowing away and tearing apart an armed pickup truck that was right next to it!
The T-72's heavy turret was blown off like a can being opened by the immense internal pressure, tumbling more than ten meters into the air before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust!
The vehicle instantly disintegrated into a pile of burning scrap metal, and secondary explosions caused by fuel and ammunition continued one after another, with fragments flying in all directions like a rainstorm!

This earth-shattering blow was as if it had pressed the switch to destruction.

'Wolverine No. 1's voice remained as calm as a machine.

"Hit! Target completely destroyed! Shift laser beam to the next priority target, 3 o'clock position, BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle cluster, fine-tune coordinates to..."

Death in the sky began its death sermon.

A Su-25 "Frogfoot" attack aircraft, like an aerial gunship, spewed dense tongues of fire from its rocket pods under its wings. Dozens of S-8 80mm rockets, like the Grim Reaper's comb, covered an area of ​​HTS infantry who were dismounting and charging on foot.

In an instant, the land was completely engulfed by explosions and smoke, with severed limbs and weapon parts thrown into the air.

Another Su-34 gracefully circled and dropped a laser-guided bomb, which landed precisely at a suspected HTS temporary munitions depot.

An even more violent explosion occurred, with a mushroom cloud rising hundreds of meters high. The enormous sound even temporarily drowned out all the noise on the battlefield, and the scorching heat wave could be felt even by Song Heping and others far away in the observation post!
The Kh-25ML laser-guided missile acted like a scalpel, eliminating enemy self-propelled artillery hiding behind cover; further away, the location of what appeared to be the HTS forward command post was directly hit by a missile that came from nowhere, turning the entire building into dust!

In just a few minutes, HTS's entire offensive formation transformed from a formidable torrent of steel into a living hell.

Tanks and armored vehicles turned into burning torches one after another, and armed pickup trucks disintegrated like paper toys under the shockwave. The surviving infantry scattered and fled like headless flies, and their cries and wails could be faintly heard even from a distance.

The originally orderly attack formation completely collapsed. Without command, the vehicles collided and blocked each other, becoming even better targets.

Under the precise and brutal strikes of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the seemingly powerful HTS force was exposed for its inherent vulnerability.

They lacked effective field air defense, electronic countermeasures capabilities, and even the most basic tactical discipline to deal with air strikes.

Compared to a well-organized and systematic modern army, HTS and the Free Army are nothing more than a bunch of primitive people wielding cold weapons and charging towards machine gun positions.

The gap is so large that it is disheartening.

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

　　
　
(End of this chapter)