Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1181 Wisdom from the East

Fifteen kilometers south of the town of Bala, in northwestern Iligo, on an unnamed hill beside the highway.

The temperature has dropped to three degrees Celsius.

Jiang Feng slowly lowered the AN/PVS-15 binoculars night vision device that was mounted on the edge of the periscope pit, and vigorously rubbed the muscles around his eyes, which were sore and stiff from maintaining a fixed observation posture for several hours, with his right hand, which was wearing a tactical glove.

Beside him, pressed close to the ground, lay Samir, the leader of the "Liberation Forces," and Abuyu himself, the frontline liaison officer sent by the Abuyu Brigade.

The three formed the highest command group of this mixed force.

Behind them, and in the shadows of the hilly reverse slopes stretching for nearly two kilometers in an inverted "L" shape, lay more than eight thousand soldiers silently lurking.

This represents almost all the mobile forces that the "Liberation Forces" militia and the Abuyu Brigade could muster; it can be described as their entire force being deployed.

They carried light weapons including AK-74M assault rifles, PKM general-purpose machine guns, RPG-7V2 rocket launchers, 82mm mortars, and a small number of valuable Kornet-EM anti-tank missile systems.

All eyes were focused to the southwest, on Highway 7, which connects Mosul to the border.

Everyone has only one mission tonight—to meet Song Heping, codenamed "Ghost," and his nine-man Russian SSO special operations team, and assist them in safely returning to Iligo before heading north to their secret camp on the Persian Plateau.

The incubation period has exceeded sixteen hours.

The limits of the human body's biological clock are being challenged.

Apart from the incessant sound of the wind and the occasional howls of wild dogs or wolves that could not be distinguished from the distance, the entire ambush area was eerily silent.

"River."

Samir's voice was very low, with a hint of barely concealed anxiety in his tone.

“We haven’t heard from the boss for over seven hours. His satellite phone has been silent the whole time, and the last agreed-upon contact window closed three hours ago. Will they… still be able to arrive at the rendezvous point on time? Will they…”

Jiang Feng glanced at him sideways and sighed inwardly.

Samir had also followed Song Heping for more than two years. He had heard from his old sergeant that he knew Samir was a man with some ambition, so he had also trained him in military command.

Although Samir later left the "Musician" defense, he actually managed to build a force and become its leader in the chaotic world of Iligo through his own abilities.

However, even now, his military command ability and psychological qualities are still lacking.

But what can we do?
This is the difference between people.

When Song Heping came out of the 203rd Regiment, he was just a sergeant, but now he can command tens of thousands of troops with composure. Samir has been the leader for so long, and although he has made progress, it's not much.

They are easily agitated, lack self-confidence, and have a poor overall perspective.

These are not things you can learn by simply stating a few principles or reading a few books. You have to accumulate them gradually through lessons and experience in real-world situations. Of course, talent is also very important.

Effort determines the lower limit, talent determines the upper limit.

"Calm down, Samir. My old sergeant isn't stupid. His purpose in having us gather all our forces and come here is definitely not just to pick up a few of them or to guard against possible US air pursuit."

Jiang Feng raised his hand and pointed southwest: "Look at the map. Less than thirty kilometers west of here is that invisible border. Imagine if the SSO team finally shakes off their pursuers and crosses the border with most of their ammunition depleted... At that moment, if those mad dogs from 1515 get advance notice and lay an ambush on the other side of the border... what would the consequences be?"

Samir paused slightly: "You mean... the boss thinks the 1515 militia ambushed them at the border?"

"It's not a judgment, it's an inevitability."

Jiang Feng said, "The Americans suffered a huge loss in Latamila, losing a crucial chemical weapons depot and being forcibly driven away by the Russian Air Force. Given their style of doing things, they will never swallow this insult. Direct military intervention is too risky, and the northwest is no longer their territory, nor do they have any of their people there. Therefore, using the 1515 armed group, which has a blood feud with the old squad leader, becomes the best option. That old dog Bakdadi, as long as the Americans throw him a bone with meat on it and provide him with information about the SSO team's whereabouts, he will pounce on it like a shark smelling blood."

Samir took a few seconds to process Jiang Feng's assessment, then raised a new question: "Logically, I agree. However, the reports from the dozen or so observation posts and intelligence sources we've deployed in Mosul, Abij, Sinjar, and near the border have been highly consistent over the past twenty-four hours—troop movements within the 1515 controlled area are normal, with no signs of large-scale mobilization or forward deployment. If they really wanted to set up an ambush, based on the timeline, at least some advance troops should have entered their pre-arranged positions by now."

Jiang Feng frowned slightly; this was the only doubt he couldn't completely let go of.

"I can't fully explain this either. There are several possibilities: First, there may have been a delay in the transmission of American instructions or intelligence; second, Bakdadi may be hesitating for some unknown reason; third, and what I'm most worried about, they may have adopted a more covert method of maneuver and deployment that we haven't yet grasped."

He shook his head, as if trying to temporarily shake off these uncertainties.

"But in any case, I trust the old squad leader's strategic foresight. He told us to wait here, so we must wait here and be fully prepared for the worst. His past record proves that he never fights a battle he is not confident of winning."

Just then, a very faint sound of footsteps, accompanied by the soft rustling of rolling gravel, came from the direction of the trench behind the command post.

A scout with camouflage paint on his face moved silently to Jiang Feng's side.

He was the captain of the reconnaissance squad of the "Liberation Forces," codenamed "Lynx." "Report."

"Lynx's" voice was slightly urgent. "Five minutes ago, our informant in Mosul sent a message through the emergency channel—around 11:50 PM, multiple important strongholds in the city simultaneously showed signs of unusual personnel gathering and vehicle ignition. The scale... far exceeds that of routine patrols or small-scale mobilizations."

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Feng's eyes: "Can you confirm the reliability of the intelligence? Can you determine the specific scale and equipment situation?"

"The intelligence channels are extremely reliable. Our inside sources judge that this is by no means a routine matter. More importantly, around the same time, our reconnaissance posts at the southern checkpoint of Abij, the western exit of Sinjar, and the main road junction of Tel Afar all reported observing multiple convoys leaving the town, heading... preliminarily determined to be towards the Sirian border..."

Samir, who was lying next to him, heard this and his Adam's apple bobbed: "They...really moved?!"

Jiang Feng didn't respond to Samir immediately. His right hand had already swiftly pressed the transmit button on the portable tactical radio. His voice was calm and rapid: "Reconnaissance squads, at all costs, ascertain the specific scale, main equipment types, precise marching route, echelon composition, and ultimate tactical objective of this 1515 troop movement. Repeat, highest priority, I need real-time intelligence!"

"Reconnaissance Team 1 understands."

"Reconnaissance Team 2 received."

"Technical monitoring station activated..."

A series of brief confirmation beeps sounded in the encrypted channel.

An invisible yet highly efficient intelligence network is fully awakening in the darkness of northwestern Iligo.

For the command team on the high ground, the next thirty minutes were agonizing.

New pieces of intelligence kept coming to "Lynx" through various channels. After initial screening and cross-verification, they were reported to Jiang Feng in real time.

"Intelligence update. In the Mosul direction, at least forty armed pickup trucks have been identified, primarily armed with DShK heavy machine guns or ZPU-1/2 anti-aircraft machine guns; more than twenty Ural-4320 military trucks, suspected of carrying large numbers of troops or supplies; at least four enhanced firepower platforms equipped with ZPU-4 four-barreled anti-aircraft machine guns; and... three BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles have been confirmed to be accompanying them! In addition, there are unconfirmed eyewitness reports mentioning the possible presence of 122mm D-30 howitzer tractors."

"It has been confirmed that a force of about one reinforced battalion, equipped with heavy machine guns and mortars, has moved south along a branch of Highway 7 in the Abidj direction."

"From the Sinjar direction, an observation post reports that approximately one battalion of troops, carrying AGS-17s and 82mm mortars, is moving southeast."

"About two companies of soldiers, traveling in pickup trucks, have departed from the direction of Taylor-Afer."

Each piece of cold intelligence was like a stream, eventually converging into a terrifying torrent that chilled the heart.

"Commander, based on information from all channels, we confirm that the mobilization of the 1515 armed forces this time is unprecedented in recent years. Preliminary estimates suggest that the total number of troops they have mobilized, including the main force in Mosul, Abij, Sinjar, and Tal Afar, may exceed 11,000! This is almost 70% of their mobile combat force in Nineveh Province. Their vanguard armored vehicle unit is expected to arrive at the ambush area in front of my town of Bala within one hour and forty minutes to two hours. The main infantry convoy will follow closely behind."

"Eleven thousand people..."

Samir's facial muscles stiffened. "Just to intercept the boss and a nine-man Russian squad? This...this is completely beyond tactical logic! Impossible! Has Bakdadi gone mad?!"

indeed.

Intercepting a small team of a dozen or so people, even if the opponent is Rambo, deploying thousands of people is already incredibly impressive.

They actually mobilized 11,000 people?!
A terrorist is a terrorist.

Their behavior is simply beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Jiang Feng's brow furrowed, his brain working at an unprecedented speed to analyze the situation.

Eleven thousand men, equipped with infantry fighting vehicles and possibly heavy artillery, are no longer a simple ambush or interception force; they are a strike group capable of launching a decisive battle!

The price offered by the Americans, or rather, the extent of Bakdadi's hatred for Song Heping, was so great that it required such a large-scale mobilization.

Or is there some other, deeper purpose hidden behind this?
He tried to turn on the encrypted satellite phone again, but the screen still showed "no signal".

He understood that Song Heping had to maintain absolute radio silence within Syria, as any signal could invite a deadly precision strike.

But at this moment, without the clear instructions of the supreme commander, and facing this unprecedented enemy force alone, Jiang Feng felt unprecedented pressure.

In the past, he would have consulted Song Heping on what to do.

Now, there's no one to ask for permission.

He himself was the supreme commander of the operation.

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)