Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1210 Ambush
Northwest of Hurmatu, in the Tuz Valley.

The terrain here is not particularly steep, but the hills on both sides are formed by weathered rocks and sand, which have been stacked up by nature's ingenious craftsmanship over thousands of years.

Soldiers should avoid encountering this type of terrain when serving as the vanguard of a large unit.

Joseph, the leader of the reconnaissance squad of the mercenary battalion, was sitting in the stuffy cabin of a BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle.

His hands, gripping the periscope's control lever, were covered in cold, slippery sweat.

Through his limited, slightly distorted field of vision, he carefully scanned the suffocatingly silent world outside.

It’s so quiet…

It was unusually quiet...

"Boss... this damn place... there's something wrong with it..."

Through the headset, I heard the slightly tense voice of the spotter in the pickup truck ahead.

"It's so quiet... I can't even see a single damn bird... It's giving me the creeps..."

Joseph subconsciously licked his dry, chapped lips, the salty sweat immediately seeping into his taste buds.

He looked down again, his gaze fixed on the tactical tablet screen—the image intelligence provided by the U.S. military intelligence center in Bakda, marked "real-time updates," with a clear green "safe" sign covering the entire Tuz Valley area, and the update time was a staggering thirty minutes ago.

This "authoritative" assessment from the Global Hawk drone or some cold reconnaissance satellite indicates that everything here is normal.

"Stay alert... Each vehicle slows down by half again, maintaining maximum spacing!"

Joseph pressed hard against the throat communicator, trying to make his voice sound steady and suppress the growing unease in his heart.

"Command post, this is 'Ranger 1-1,' repeating request: conduct a low-altitude drone scan of the cliffs on both sides of the canyon! My gut feeling tells me something's wrong here, very wrong!"

The response from the rear command post came quickly: "'Ranger 1-1,' received. Repeat your request. But our small drone swarm is currently prioritizing wide-area surveillance of the suspected command node southeast of Hurmatu."

We have requested the joint command to reconfirm that their high-altitude strategic reconnaissance platforms are continuously monitoring the area to ensure there are no signs of large-scale enemy troop movements.

They determined the area was safe and recommended proceeding as planned. (End of report.)

"Damn high-altitude platforms! Screw strategic reconnaissance! Can they spot snipers lurking in the shadows of rocks from tens of thousands of feet up? Can they smell the stench of those lying in ambush?!"

Joseph almost roared into the microphone, but in the end he only managed to squeeze out a few low curses through gritted teeth, swallowing back his surging anger and fear.

"Attention all vehicles! Highest alert level! Check weapons, load ammunition! Machine gunners, keep your eyes peeled, scan the high points on both sides, rock crevices, and any possible suspicious reflections! Open fire immediately without warning if anything unusual is detected!"

The order was like a stone thrown into stagnant water, creating only a ripple.

The convoy slowed down, and the machine gunners on the rooftops had their fingers on the cold triggers. They nervously scanned the jagged rock walls above, which cast deathly shadows, as if every dark corner might spew out deadly flames at any moment.

However, death arrives far more swiftly and cruelly than any warning.

Just as the lead pickup truck, armed with a heavy machine gun, clumsily rounded a giant rock standing in the middle of the sand valley—

call out--

boom! ! !
A blinding flash of light suddenly shot out from a crevice in the middle of the rocky slope on the left, perfectly concealed by natural rocks and camouflage netting!

The RPG-7 rocket, trailing trails of deathly white smoke, plunged headlong into the pickup truck's vulnerable engine compartment with an almost straight trajectory and millimeter-level precision!
boom! ! !
The deafening explosion instantly shattered the deathly silence that had settled over the valley!

A huge fireball rose into the air, and the scorching air waves pushed wildly in all directions, carrying countless hot metal fragments, tire debris, and human limbs, which splashed wildly in all directions!

The pickup truck was instantly crushed as if by an invisible giant hand, turning into a pile of burning parts. The occupants inside didn't even have time to let out a short scream before losing their lives in the high temperature and explosion.

"Enemy attack! Left cliff! Nine o'clock! Take cover! Open fire! Open fire!!"

Joseph's roar completely changed tone and was broadcast throughout the convoy and back to the command post via radio.

The two surviving pickup trucks and the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle Joseph was riding in roared hysterically with desperation as the drivers frantically steered the wheel, trying to rush behind the seemingly massive rocks on the riverbank for cover.

The vehicle-mounted PKM general-purpose machine gun and DShK heavy machine gun began to roar wildly, and a dense rain of bullets was poured towards the direction from which the rockets were launched. The bullets hit the hard rock wall, splashing up countless stone powder and debris, making a dull "plop plop plop" sound, trying to suppress the deadly source with firepower.

But this was only the beginning of the ambush.

Almost at the same moment the echoes of the first explosion had barely faded.

All, all, all—

Everything——

The dull sound of machine gun fire came from the other end of the canyon!
Several large bullet holes immediately appeared on the second armed pickup truck, and blood gushed from the windows...

"It's a 30mm machine gun! We're sandwiched! We're done for!"

Inside the BMP-1, the young commander's voice was filled with uncontrollable terror and despair, almost cracking.

Their old BMP-1 armored vehicle, with its flimsy armor, was nothing more than a laughable toy in the face of the terrifying 30mm autocannon.

dong dong dong-

dong dong dong-

30mm high-explosive and armor-piercing rounds rained down like hail. Another pickup truck was hit directly in the middle by a 30mm high-explosive round that was accurately fired. The modified, fragile armor and body were instantly torn apart and disintegrated. The wreckage and everything inside were blown to pieces and scattered in all directions.

The front wheel of another pickup truck was precisely severed by a burst of shells. The vehicle veered out of control, slamming into a protruding rock with a screeching metallic scraping sound. The soldiers inside were thrown about, their heads bleeding, struggling to climb out of the movable coffin.

Joseph's BMP-1 was not spared either.

Bang bang bang—

Dangdangdang——

Several 30mm shells hit the front of the vehicle and the left side of the turret in succession, and the armor plates emitted a deafening and terrifying sound.

After being hit by several machine gun shells, the thin armor was easily torn apart. Rivets and fragments of the internal structure flew around like deadly darts in the narrow fighting compartment. Thick, choking black smoke instantly poured in from the breaches and hatch gaps, filling the entire space and making it impossible to breathe.

Joseph felt a searing pain in his left arm near his armpit; a hot metal shard was embedded deep in the edge of his bulletproof plate, and blood immediately soaked his combat uniform. "Retreat! Everyone retreat! Back up! Back up the fuck!! Take cover! Take cover!"

Joseph, enduring excruciating pain, screamed hoarsely into the radio while desperately maneuvering the equally old coaxial machine gun, firing futilely at the faintly visible firing positions on the cliff face, attempting to open a slim path to survival for the survivors still struggling in the wreckage.

The radio station's public channel was now completely flooded with screams in various languages, the roar of explosions, desperate cries, and chaotic instructions.

However, the 1515 militants lying in ambush here were clearly well-prepared, and their only escape route had already been completely blocked by the crisscrossing machine guns and possible anti-tank firing positions.

More muzzle flashes appeared on the sandy slopes on both sides, and the light machine guns and automatic rifle firing points began to spew out deadly tongues of fire. Bullets rained down on the wreckage of the convoy like a storm, hitting rocks and metal and sending up a series of sparks. The few survivors were so overwhelmed that they couldn't even lift their heads, let alone organize an effective retreat or counterattack.

Despair, like a cold, venomous snake, slowly crept up my spine.

Joseph leaned against the scorching wreckage of the vehicle, looking at his men inside, some already dead and others groaning in pain, and listening to the increasingly faint cries for help coming from the public radio station. A chill colder than death itself instantly overwhelmed the pain of his wounds.

"We've been fucking scammed!"

He shouted into the walkie-talkie.

"The intelligence is faulty! Everyone here is from unit 1515!"

Inside Song Heping's mobile command vehicle at the forward command base.

"Commander! Urgent military intelligence! The 'Ranger 1-1' reconnaissance team has been ambushed in the Tuz Valley!"

The communicator's exclamation shattered the tranquility inside the command vehicle.

Song Heping, who was intently planning the next attack route, immediately turned around and asked, "Tell me the situation! Be specific!"

The communications officer's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and his voice involuntarily lowered: "Preliminary...preliminary report: we encountered a meticulously set up three-dimensional ambush circle. The firepower was extremely fierce, and the reconnaissance unit suffered...extremely heavy losses."

He took a deep breath, almost unable to look Song Heping in the eye, "The reconnaissance team... is basically... basically wiped out."

"what happened!?"

Song Heping slammed his fist hard on the edge of the command console, which was made of high-strength alloy, next to him.

All the staff and operators in the vehicle held their breath, looking in horror at their commander, who was known for his calm and composure.

Song Heping closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the raging fire in his chest that was about to explode.

"Order: All frontline troops, including the First Main Assault Battalion and the flank covering forces of the Abuyu Brigade, immediately cease all advance! Deploy in place, construct defensive lines, and set up sentry posts! Without my direct and explicit order, no unit or individual is permitted to enter any valley, town, woodland, or other area with complex terrain, not even half a step!"

He paused, and every word he uttered seemed to have been pulled from an ice cellar.

"Anyone who disobeys this order... regardless of rank, will be executed on the spot!"

This order, filled with chilling killing intent, was relayed swiftly and with the highest priority by the communications officer, his voice trembling, to every combat unit.

Immediately afterwards, Song Heping walked with steady yet imposing steps to the dedicated communication terminal that was equipped with multiple encryptions and directly connected to the highest command level of the U.S. military in Buckingham.

His face was horribly gloomy.

"Get me to Bakda, U.S. Joint Command, find Colonel Kurt, immediately! Highest encryption level, video communication."

After a few tense seconds of waiting, the screen flickered and Colonel Kurt's meticulously groomed face, with its standard American professional expression, appeared against the backdrop of a modern U.S. military command center filled with flashing screens and busy personnel.

"Boss Song."

Kurt's tone was perfectly balanced, a mix of "concern" and "fortunateness."

“We have just detected unusually intense fighting signals in the Tuz Valley area via data link. Our high-altitude reconnaissance platform has promptly discovered a highly concealed enemy force, and I have immediately authorized nearby patrolling drone units to eliminate it.”

He even shrugged helplessly, as if to say, "We were startled too." He added, "It's a miracle, a blessing from God. If it had been a few dozen seconds later, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Song Heping's gaze was like a knife, as if he wanted to peel away Colonel Kurt's hypocritical skin on the other side of the screen and dig out the guy's heart to see his hidden true thoughts.

Although Kurt was putting on an act, he understood the underlying meaning.

He instantly realized that the attack on the Tuz Valley was a deliberate act by Kurt.

It's simply a warning to myself.

He wanted to realize that without American high-altitude reconnaissance, he was nothing.

He suppressed the urge to immediately sever ties and said coldly, "Yes, Colonel Kurt, it is indeed 'fortunate.' Thank you very much for your 'timely' and 'precise' support."

He deliberately added a barely perceptible emphasis to the words "timely" and "precise".

"However, the location of this ambush, the timing down to the minute, and the level of equipment displayed by the enemy all seem to have puzzling discrepancies with the intelligence marked 'real-time security' that you provided us about thirty minutes ago."

He leaned forward slightly, and even through the screen, he gave Kurt an invisible sense of pressure.

"I hope, and strongly urge, that in the upcoming operations, especially in the sharing of enemy situation information regarding the core position of Hurmatu and further south in the Titrick direction, both sides can truly achieve 'timeliness,' 'accuracy,' and 'high transparency.'"

"Colonel Kurt, you should know very well that we are now in the same boat, allies who have signed an agreement. Our fates are intertwined; if I suffer one loss, our fates are intertwined. If things don't go smoothly here because of some avoidable 'intelligence blunder,' or if we suffer unnecessary and excessive losses..."

"Then this will likely directly and seriously affect the speed of your overall strategic deployment in northwestern Iligo, and will fundamentally shake... the fragile foundation of cooperation and trust that we have painstakingly built. What do you think?"

Kurt's professional smile stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

But he was a seasoned veteran, and he quickly regained his composure, forcing a smile as he said, "Of course, dear Boss Song, I completely understand your concerns. Please believe me, we have always cooperated with the utmost sincerity. As you know, modern battlefield intelligence work is full of uncertainties, especially when facing a cunning, unpredictable enemy like 1515, who is adept at disguise and concealment."

"Sometimes... data link transmission in complex electromagnetic environments may indeed have a delay of a few minutes, or when back-end interpreters are sifting through a large amount of information, some... negligible deviations and omissions are inevitable. But please have faith in our professionalism and sincerity in cooperation."

"Lag? A negligible deviation and oversight of a full thirty minutes?"

Song Heping let out a cold sneer in his heart: "I hope so. Call over."

He gave the other party no further chance to argue or evade the issue, and decisively cut off the encrypted video communication.

　It's the end of the month, please vote for me! Please vote for me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)