Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1183 Hatred and Reason

Just as Jiang Feng was redeploying his troops, Eddie Al Rishdi, the highest-ranking military commander of the 1515 convoy, which was rapidly advancing toward the border of Syria, was frowning as he stared at a ruggedized tablet computer mounted on a stand in a command vehicle.

On the screen, the latest intelligence updates, transmitted via encrypted satellite link, are being sent from the Supreme Command – the “Caliph’s” office, which is directly controlled by Bakdadi.

Those were several high-resolution satellite photos, taken just a few hours ago.

In the photo, several striking red arrows and circles clearly mark a small convoy speeding across the barren Gobi Desert, with the tracks they leave pointing directly towards the border region between Iligor and Seria.

He had just received and verified the highest-priority instructions from Bakdadi himself, requiring him to "spare no expense" and "use all available forces" to intercept and "completely eliminate" the target before it crossed the border.

The instructions specifically emphasized that the leader of the target squad was Song Heping, codenamed "Ghost," and included a description of his possible physical characteristics in the near future.

More than 11,000 troops, equipped with heavy weapons including BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, ZPU series anti-aircraft machine guns, and D-30 howitzers, were deployed to encircle and annihilate a small squad believed to consist of only eleven people.
This was an absurd order that had never been seen before in his more than ten years of "jihad" career!
Even though he was fully aware of the irreconcilable personal feud between "Ghost" and Bakdadi "Emir," and even though he knew that "Ghost" had inflicted heavy losses on the organization on several occasions, the order still seemed so absurd, so...

This violates basic military common sense.

What made him even more uneasy and even a little chilly was that these real-time updated, highly accurate, and wide-coverage satellite images were simply beyond the capabilities of a non-state armed organization like 1515.

The source of the underlying technical support is all too obvious.

Is it...

The supreme "Emir" has truly joined forces with those "enemies" who have always claimed to want to destroy us—the Americans...

A certain... was achieved

He shivered violently and dared not think any further.

Within 1515, any questioning of the supreme leader's decisions was the most serious crime, enough to result in death.

He shook his head violently, as if trying to banish these dangerous thoughts from his mind, took a deep breath, grabbed the vehicle radio's microphone, and issued orders in as calm a tone as possible: "Attention all units, this is Eddie. According to the 'Caliph's' direct orders, the target is approaching the border. All echelons, increase your advance speed, spread out the search front, and complete the encirclement within five kilometers of the target entering the border! All units, maintain the highest level of combat readiness!"

The massive convoy, consisting of dozens of armed pickup trucks, military trucks, civilian vehicles armed with weapons, and several BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, roared westward along Highway 7.

Bright headlights ripped through the night, and the roar of the engine carried far across the silent wilderness.

However, just as the advance reconnaissance convoy reported that they could vaguely observe the outline of the distant border mountains with the naked eye, the more powerful encrypted radio inside the command vehicle suddenly crackled to life an urgent distress call from the communications officer of the Mosul city defense command, a call filled with the strained voices of a communications officer, accompanied by the sounds of violent explosions and intense gunfire in the background:
"Commander Eddie! Emergency call! Mosul is under massive attack! Repeat, Mosul is under massive attack! The enemy is the main force of the Abuyu Brigade! Their strength is estimated to exceed four thousand! They have used heavy artillery! The eastern city defense line has been breached, and they are advancing towards the city center! The command center building has been subjected to multiple rounds of shelling! We have suffered heavy losses and urgently need reinforcements! Requesting the main force to return to our aid immediately! Return to our aid immediately!"

Almost simultaneously, the radio stations erupted with distress signals from the garrison in Abij, Sinjar, Tal Afar, and other areas. The messages were strikingly similar: all were under heavy attack by local pro-government militias. Due to the large number of troops being redeployed to border operations, the existing defenses were weak and the lines could collapse at any moment!

Eddie's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He snatched the microphone and roared almost uncontrollably to confirm, "What did you say?! Mosul is under attack?! How many enemies are there?! What's their equipment?! Is it confirmed that it's the main force of the Abuyu Brigade? Not just a small harassing force?!"

"Confirmed! Confirmed to be their main force! Their strength definitely exceeds four thousand, possibly even more! They have at least four 122mm howitzers preparing for fire! And a large number of mortars and rocket launchers! Commander, the brothers in the city are fighting desperately, but we can only hold out for another hour and a half at most! Requesting immediate reinforcements!"

Eddie's brain went blank for a moment, as if struck by a heavy hammer.

His hand holding the microphone trembled slightly involuntarily.

A terrifying truth washed over me like ice water – it was a trap!
A meticulously designed and extremely malicious trap!

Song Heping's squad was just bait, a bait to lure his main force of Nineveh Province out of the heavily fortified town!
The enemy's real strategic target was his sparsely manned rear base complex! He frantically connected to the emergency secure communication line with Bakdadi's supreme command, his voice distorted with anxiety and anger.

"Emir! It's extremely urgent! Several important towns, including Mosul, Abij, and Sinjar, are simultaneously under full attack from the 'Liberation Forces' and the main force of the Abuyu Brigade! The enemy's total strength is estimated to exceed 8,000, and they are equipped with heavy artillery! Our cities are about to fall! We request your immediate approval to halt the main force's border operations and return to Mosul at full speed! Otherwise, Nineveh Province may be lost!"

On the other end of the communication, came Bakdadi's roar and curses, a mixture of rage, shock, and resentment, like those of a wounded beast.

He paid a heavy price, using clandestine connections and resources, and was on the verge of killing his long-time nemesis, "Ghost," avenging his previous defeat, and obtaining the remaining balance of the huge sum of money that would support his military operations for the next few months.

At the last moment, the opponent launched a counterattack, striking straight into his strategic heartland!

"Damn 'ghost'!"

He immediately realized that this was Song Heping's masterpiece.

As the supreme leader of 1515, he had too many rivals.

But the only one who could make him suffer setbacks and never gain an advantage was Song Heping!
This person is a nightmare!
It's the devil!
It's Satan!
Upon seeing this, one of Bakhdadi's core advisors, who had been standing beside him, quickly stepped forward and urgently advised in a low voice: "Emir, please calm down! Judging from the current situation, this is absolutely a conspiracy orchestrated by 'Spectre'! He had already calculated that we would stop him at the border at all costs! In Iligor, the only ones with the guts, capabilities, and motives to cross Salah province and directly attack our Nineveh core area are the 'Liberation Forces' and the Abuyu Brigade, which he controls and influences!"

"If we don't return to defend now, and we lose Mosul and most of the towns in Nineveh Province, our foundation of rule in northern Iligor will be completely shaken, and all the blood and resources we've invested over the years will be wasted! At that point, even if we successfully kill 'Ghost,' we will have won tactically but lost strategically, and it will be a losing proposition!"

Bakdadi's chest heaved violently, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the location of Mosul on the map, reason and the mad flames of revenge fiercely battling and tearing at his heart.

On one side lies the long-awaited revenge against his enemies and the readily available fortune; on the other side are the strategic territory and power base that determine the organization's survival and development.

Ultimately, the deep-seated fear of losing territory, power, and the foundation upon which they depended for survival struggled to overcome the intense personal hatred.

Speaking into the microphone, he practically gritted his teeth, forcing out a painful and reluctant compromise order: "Eddie!...Execute...the split-force plan! You, personally lead the First, Third, and Fifth Combat Groups, along with all armored units and artillery, totaling approximately five thousand men, to immediately break away from the current formation and return to Mosul as quickly as possible! Mosul must be held at all costs, or at least the enemy must be driven out of the city! The remaining troops, under the command of Deputy Commander Zakawi, will continue to advance towards the border as planned, searching for and attacking the 'Ghost' squad with all their might! The primary objective is to kill Song Heping! The minimum objective is to prevent him from safely entering Ilig and escaping to Persia! Move out immediately!"

This order was filled with helplessness and inner conflict; they wanted to protect their base, yet they were unwilling to give up their revenge.

It is a double-edged sword, weakening both the reinforcement and border pursuit forces, and foreshadowing a more difficult and uncertain battle for both sides.

Eddie received the order, and although he was deeply worried that both sides might be in trouble after the division, "Emil's" orders could not be disobeyed.

He immediately issued a series of instructions via radio.

The massive convoy soon became chaotic and stalled on the highway, with some vehicles struggling to turn around on the narrow road, while others continued forward.

The once unified steel torrent was forced to split into two. One part, about five thousand men, led by Eddie himself, rushed frantically along the route they had come from, carrying all their heavy equipment, towards Mosul, which was already under heavy artillery fire.

However, Eddie was unaware that on their anxious journey home, countless cold eyes and already calibrated weapons had already locked onto them.

The death feast of "encircling the point and attacking the reinforcements" that Jiang Feng had meticulously prepared for them had only just been served.

Meanwhile, to the west of the border, deep in the darker and more rugged Sierra Leonean Gobi Desert, Song Heping and his SSO team were still racing against time in the final stages.

(End of this chapter)