Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1227 The war is coming
Bakdad, Green Zone.

The air conditioning made the air in the command center cold and dry, a world apart from the scorching heat outside in Baghdad that could melt asphalt in the afternoon.

Colonel Kurt stood in front of the huge electronic sand table, holding a cup of black coffee that had long since gone cold. His eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep, were fixed on the town model on the sand table, which was marked "Hurmatu".

The bitterness of the coffee spread across his tongue, just like his mood at that moment.

At the edge of the sand table, blue arrows representing the militia and mercenary battalion led by Song Heping are firmly thrusting towards Hurmatu from the direction of Daguge.

"He set off."

"Cott's assistant, Lieutenant Harrison, whispered from the side."

Kurt didn't turn around, but just snorted through his nose, a sound full of mockery and exhaustion.

"Yes, he's got so much money, of course he's willing to act. While the Iligor government forces were being soundly defeated at Ozam, our 'great ally,' Mr. Song, finally felt the time was ripe..."

Recalling the ridicule and humiliation he suffered in Dagug last night, Kurt's knuckles, gripping the coffee cup, turned slightly white from excessive force.

He really disliked Song Heping.

But there was nothing they could do about him.

What do you call this feeling?

Pain...

He stared at the map for a full five minutes, and finally, he pointed heavily at the location of Hurmatu.

"But did he think he was going to Hurmatu, the place with only a thousand or so scattered soldiers and lax defenses, which he had visited a few days ago? Bullshit!"

Kurt's voice carried a long-suppressed resentment.

Over the past week, government forces and the U.S. Air Force have been under tremendous pressure on the main battlefield. The 1515 militants have adopted extremely cunning harassment tactics, which have not only effectively evaded air force attacks, but have also gradually depleted the strength and morale of government forces.

Song Heping's sudden withdrawal has left the government forces and the Kold's armed forces bogged down in the quagmire of war, unable to make any progress.

Meanwhile, Song Heping, that damned mercenary leader, took the opportunity to extort money from the United States: a billion-dollar contract, three hundred million in cash, and a battalion of American equipment...

They were eating so much that their mouths were practically dripping with oil!

Harrison said, "Perhaps he feels that now is the best opportunity to reap the rewards of the battle..."

"Think beautifully!"

Kurt walked back to the console with a cold smile, rapidly typing on the keyboard to bring up a series of the latest satellite images and drone reconnaissance reports.

The image shows the outskirts of the town of Hurmatu densely covered with newly dug trenches, anti-tank ditches, and a crisscrossing network of communication trenches.
The gun emplacements were concealed at key points like the lair of a venomous snake.

The roofs of some key buildings were reinforced, revealing firing ports for heavy machine guns and what appeared to be anti-aircraft machine guns firing horizontally.

At the town's entrance, layers upon layers of barricades, made of sandbags, abandoned vehicles, and even dismantled precast concrete slabs, were erected, leaving only narrow passages destined to be filled with deadly traps.

"see this!"

Kote zoomed in on a high-resolution image, pointing to an inconspicuous patch of ruins southeast of Hurmatu.

“Three days ago, there was nothing here. Now, at least a reinforced company has been deployed here, equipped with at least four DShK heavy machine guns and an unknown number of RPGs. And look at this residential area in the west of the city, our signals intelligence shows that radio communication here has surged by 500 percent in the past 72 hours! They are mobilizing troops, they are fortifying their positions! This is not a last-minute effort, this is a planned and systematic defensive reinforcement!”

Harrison leaned closer and said, "Not only that, Colonel, according to our comprehensive intelligence analysis, the number of armed personnel inside Hurmatu is conservatively estimated to be over six thousand. This doesn't even include the civilian cannon fodder who may be mixed in. Moreover, we have discovered some new developments."

"Say!"

Kurt looked at his deputy with great interest.

"Just last night, at least two sizable convoys took advantage of the darkness to drive from the direction of Ozam along the country roads into Hurmatu."

Harrison pulled up another set of blurry but discernible nighttime infrared images of the convoy.

"Intelligence analysts judged that this was likely a mobile force actively drawn from the front lines of our defenses in Ozam by 1515. The number was estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000. Moreover, judging from the type of their vehicles and their discipline, they were likely their elite troops, such as the so-called 'Black Flag Regiment'."

“Ozam…”

A smile appeared on Kurt's face.

Clearly, Song Heping successfully attracted the attention of the 1515 armed group.

After all, in 1515's eyes, Song Heping was the biggest threat; the government troops and the Kolds were nothing to those madmen.

In this way, the pressure on the Ozam direction will be greatly reduced, and the trapped main force of the Kold'd forces will not suffer annihilation.

Now think about that billion-dollar contract...

It seems quite worthwhile... Judging from the current intelligence from all sides, Bakdadi actually withdrew troops from the direction of Ozam to reinforce Hurmatu. This shows that they attach great importance to Hurmatu, and that they are willing to take risks in Ozam in order to concentrate their superior forces in Hurmatu and take down Song Heping!

"Six thousand! Add to that the two thousand fresh troops from Ozam, and that's eight thousand or even more!"

Kurt practically spat out the number through gritted teeth.

"And it's not the same rabble that crumbled at the first touch. There are elite troops transferred from Mosul and Raqqa, as well as the Black Flag Regiment from Ozam, all of whom are Bakdadi's prized possessions! They've had a chance to catch their breath these past few days, replenish their ammunition, and build a complete defensive system. Now, Hurmatu is a porcupine covered in quills!"

He picked up the laser pointer and shone it at Song Heping's increasingly lonely blue arrow on the sand table.

"Song Heping left two thousand men to guard Kirkuk. At most, he could only mobilize about ten thousand men. To use ten thousand men to attack an enemy with well-fortified defenses, a force of nearly eight thousand, and a do-or-die mentality..."

Kurt gave a cold, almost cruel smile.

"Even if he manages to take it down, I bet his troops will be severely weakened and have lost a lot of teeth! Can he withstand 20% or even 30% casualties? Mercenaries and militias are not regular troops; if casualties are too heavy, the army could collapse at any time. At that point, forget about taking Hurmatu; it will be questionable whether he can even escape unscathed!"

Harrison paused for a moment, then tried to analyze: "Perhaps Song has his own plan? His previous actions have all taken us by surprise, and they were executed very... skillfully. For example, in Dagug, he took it down in just four hours..."

"clever?"

Kurt scoffed and interrupted him.

"Faced with absolute strength and preparation, how much use can clever tricks be? Hurmatu is not a battle of the open field; they will face brutal urban warfare! Every house, every street, every sewer entrance will require bloodshed! The people of 1515 hate him to the bone now. Have you forgotten that he killed the members of the 1515 armed force before? Bakdadi has already put a bounty on his head! It seems that he came prepared this time, just to avenge that arrow wound in Hurmatu!"

Kurt is right.

Just as Song Heping's troops marched out of Dagug, Bakhdadi, the self-proclaimed "caliph" of the "Levant State" in Raqqa, Syria, also received accurate intelligence immediately.

In a secluded mountain command post in Cyria, near the border with Iligor.

The dim light from the screen illuminated Bakdadi's face, hidden beneath a black turban, and the venomous resentment that seemed about to burst forth from his eyes.

The name Song Heping was etched deeply into his heart like a red-hot iron rod.

This mercenary leader inflicted heavy losses on him in northwestern Ilig and eastern Cyria, severely damaging the myth of the invincibility of the "Levant" and shaking the confidence of some supporters.

The fact that Song Heping is still alive is Bakdadi's greatest disgrace.

"he came."

Bakdadi's voice was hoarse and deep:
“This traitor to Allah, this infidel executioner from the East, has finally left his shell and willingly stepped into the slaughterhouse we have prepared for him.”

He turned to several trusted generals standing solemnly in the shadows of the room; these were his most fearless commanders.

"Hurmatu will be his grave, and also the place where we wash away our shame and restore our glory!"

Bakdadi slammed his hand on the table.

"Immediately issue my order: dispatch two thousand of my most loyal and skilled 'Injaz' (martyrdom battalion) soldiers from the direction of Ozam and have them rush back to Hurmatu tonight! Tell them this is for the holy war, for the Caliph! Also, give them those newly arrived anti-tank missiles from our Mosul warehouse!"

His deep gaze was fixed on the direction of Hurmatu on the virtual map.

“Tell Basmu.”

He mentioned Hurmatu's current commander of the 1515th rank:
"I gave him soldiers and weapons. I don't want to hear any excuses. I just want Song Heping's head! He must make good use of Hurmatu's sturdy buildings and complex streets, turning it into a bloody labyrinth that devours infidels! He must hold Hurmatu at all costs. I will continue to send reinforcements to him. We must use Song Heping's head to show everyone what the consequences are for challenging our 'Levant Kingdom'!"

A cold order was immediately sent to Hurmatu and also to the 1515 armed forces stationed at the Ozam front.

In the city of Hurmatu, Commander Basmu revealed a sinister smile after receiving orders and news that reinforcements were about to arrive.

He stroked the short knife he always carried on the table and growled at his men, "Did you hear that? The Caliph is watching us! That damned Song Heping is heading our way, and he'll probably reach Hurmatu tonight. Uzam's brothers are on their way to reinforce us. Our strength is greater than ever before! The Caliph has ordered us to rely on this fortified defense. Every wall, every window in the city, we must make sure that every step Song Heping's men take is paid for with blood! This will be their burial ground!"

More elite 1515 warriors began to gather in this town that was about to become a meat grinder.

The "Injaz" battalion, which had rushed from Ozam through the night, arrived covered in dust and brimming with fervent fighting spirit, and integrated into Hurmatu's defensive system.

They carried ample ammunition, including large quantities of RPG-7 and RPG-29 missiles, as well as a batch of brand-new Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missile launchers capable of threatening heavily armored targets.

An astonishing number of explosives were buried in major thoroughfares, intersections, and even under rubble that might have been used as bunkers.

Snipers, like ghosts, occupied the town's high ground and water towers, patiently calibrating their scopes and waiting for their prey to appear.

Behind every window may lie a deadly gun barrel; under every pile of rubble may lie a deadly IED.

A denser and deadlier web of death was quietly tightening in Hurmatu, awaiting Song Heping's arrival.

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

　　
　
(End of this chapter)