Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1238 The Silent Hunter

Thirty kilometers west of Hurmatu, in area C1.

The time was 3 a.m.

The scorching heat of daytime, capable of baking a person, has long since faded, replaced by the biting cold of the desert night.

All was silent except for the ceaseless, chilling wind that howled like a vengeful spirit through the ravines and valleys, whipping up fine sand and pattering against the rocks.

Beneath this curtain of extreme cold and deathly silence, murderous intent, like a lurking scorpion, silently revealed its stinger.

Jiang Feng huddled in an observation point created by utilizing a natural rock crevice, his body tightly wrapped in a thick infrared-proof blanket, and covered with a desert-colored camouflage net that blended in with the environment.

He brought his eye close to the eyepiece of the high-magnification night vision binoculars.

A pale green world suddenly appeared in the field of vision, and the dry river valley in the distance—one of the few passable routes to Hurmatu—was clearly visible under the night vision goggles, gleaming with a cold light slightly different from the rest of the area.

Lurking nearby was the sharpest blade in the entire "Musician" defenses—a battalion of mercenaries, a full 320 experienced veterans.

Instead of gathering together, they scattered in combat teams, like scattering beans, precisely across the shady sides of the sand dunes on both sides of the valley, under the shadows of rocks, and in full or half bunkers that had been dug at night and perfectly camouflaged.

Every soldier strictly adheres to the highest standards of stealth discipline—wearing expensive all-terrain ghillie suits with built-in special heat insulation layers and infrared-proof cloaks, and even their weapons are carefully wrapped and wrapped with infrared-proof cloth.

They blended seamlessly into the cold desert, like stones and withered grass.

The PP87 82mm mortars and their ammunition, the "trump cards" of this ambush, were placed in carefully chosen positions with natural cover.

The gun barrel and surrounding area were covered with a thick, double-layered heat-insulating camouflage net, carefully sprinkled with local sand and gravel, making it difficult to distinguish in the night even at close range.

All metal parts are pre-treated with materials that reduce heat conduction to minimize the temperature difference with the cold environment.

For this moment, Jiang Feng and his battalion had been lying in ambush in this cold desert for more than six hours.

They took advantage of the darkness of the first half of the night to silently infiltrate on foot, entering the pre-arranged positions in batches.

Upon entry, final camouflage was immediately implemented, and strict radio silence and heat source control were enforced.

Drinking water and eating were all done with cold individual rations, and excrement was put into specially sealed bags. Everything was done under the camouflage net.

Jiang Feng knew his opponent all too well. That elite squad, a mix of US Delta Force and Il-Iraqi ISOF, was undoubtedly equipped with the most advanced low-light and thermal imaging reconnaissance equipment, and there were certainly drones patrolling the skies with them.

Any oversight, even a slight shiver from a soldier due to the cold causing heat loss, or a sliver of unnatural optical reflection, could ruin the entire ambush plan.

"Report: Low-frequency drone signals detected in the northwest direction..."

The hushed voices of the reconnaissance team at the front came through the headset, like whispers.

Jiang Feng's spirits lifted, and he adjusted the direction of his binoculars, carefully searching the dark green field of vision.

Soon, he spotted a tiny point of light that blended almost seamlessly into the night, gliding silently along the valley in a standard reconnaissance course.

Those are the enemy's "eyes," with extremely low noise and excellent endurance.

"Attention all personnel, 'Eagle Eye' overhead. Repeat, maintain absolute silence, freeze!"

Jiang Feng's orders were clearly transmitted to every soldier's ears through bone conduction headphones, carrying an unquestionable coldness.

The entire ambush site seemed to have been put on pause.

Even the occasional slight coughs caused by the cold completely disappeared. The soldiers held their breath and lay as low as possible on the cold sand, relying on camouflage and insulation materials to become part of the environment.

The reconnaissance drone circled twice over the valley, its high-performance infrared thermal imager and low-light camera carefully scanning the seemingly normal ground below.

On the drone operator's screen, the bottom displays "normal".

In the low-temperature environment, the ground and rocks emit weak natural cold radiation, and occasionally a few weak heat sources belonging to small nocturnal animals move about; otherwise, it is completely silent.

The elite mercenaries, meticulously disguised and whose body temperature was firmly locked by highly efficient heat insulation materials, and who even breathed cautiously, along with the mortars deployed in the rear that were almost in thermal equilibrium with the surrounding environment, left no suspicious traces on the advanced infrared detectors.

In the low-light camera, only the natural shadows and outlines under the moonlight can be seen.

"Eagle Eye report: No abnormal heat sources or suspicious moving targets were found in the valley and within a three-kilometer radius. Optical scan showed no abnormalities."

The drone operator's calm voice was transmitted over an encrypted channel to the approaching squad.

Jiang Feng watched through his binoculars as the drone completed its reconnaissance, continued flying forward, and finally disappeared into the dark horizon.

He slowly exhaled the breath of cold air he had been holding back, and the white mist condensed into fine water droplets inside his multi-functional field scarf.

The prey's eyes have already passed, but the real hunt has only just begun.

He knew that the moment that would test his patience most was about to arrive.

About forty minutes later, when the clock struck around 3:40 a.m., the moon was setting in the west, a time when people are most tired. It was at this moment that the target finally appeared.

The first thing that came into Jiang Feng's night vision binoculars' field of view were several slow-moving, blurry shadows that were almost imperceptible against the dark green background.

Their movements were highly professional, swift, and silent, making full use of the shadows of every rock and every shallow pit for cover and to pause and observe, their alternating advances were fluid and deadly.

It was the same twelve-man squad that had been previously detected by our side, consisting of six Delta Force members and six Iligor ISOF (Iligor Special Operations Force) members.

These guys are also at the teeth.

In addition to HK416 assault rifles equipped with various tactical attachments, designated marksman rifles, suppressors, night vision goggles, and tactical headsets, a particularly conspicuous figure in the team carried extra communication antenna equipment and a laser designator.

Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) is a key figure responsible for summoning and guiding death from above at critical moments.

Even though drone reconnaissance indicated "safety," the small team maintained a high level of tactical vigilance.

The captain, a Delta veteran codenamed "Tombstone," raised his clenched right fist, and the entire squad instantly stopped moving, disappearing as if melting into the shadows of nearby rocks, conducting yet another routine brief stealth observation.

The cold wind masked their breathing and the slight scraping of their equipment.

"Tombstone, this is 'Eagle Eye' (drone call sign). Final scan confirmed: no valid heat source signals or suspicious activity were detected in the valley ahead leading to the target area. Environmental parameters are normal."

The drone operator's voice was confirmed again.

"Received. 'Eagle Eye,' expand the surveillance area, focusing on the Hurmatu direction."

"Tombstone" responded softly, its voice sounding somewhat muffled through its mask.

Years of living on the edge had given him a beast-like instinct, and the "cleanliness" of this area made him uneasy; it was the stillness before a storm.

But all the technical means told him that there was no threat here.

"Perhaps it's fatigue from continuous marching?"

He shook his head to suppress the thought and made a few simple tactical hand signals to those behind him.

Once again, the team slipped silently into the bottom of the dried-up valley, like phantoms in the night.

Unbeknownst to them, they were stepping into a cold and deadly death trap that had already been opened.

Meanwhile, underground in Hurmatu, inside the A-node mobile command vehicle, which had undergone electromagnetic shielding treatment.

Song Heping, wrapped in a military overcoat, sat in front of a row of screens flashing with various colors of light.

The main screen was divided into several windows, each displaying live footage taken by the helmet cameras of the soldiers in front.

The image quality wasn't perfect, but it was enough to clearly see the twelve-man squad, like worms in the darkness, slowly entering the core area of ​​the ambush zone.

The air inside the car was heavy, with only the low hum of the equipment fan and Song's steady, light breathing.

"Sergeant, all targets have entered the bottom of the 'pocket'. Repeat, all twelve targets are now in the optimal kill zone."

Jiang Feng's calm, almost emotionless voice came through a highly secure, encrypted channel.

Song Heping leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three key intelligence summaries displayed side by side on another secondary screen beside him:

1. Analysis report on the timeline and route of the abnormal withdrawal of the U.S. military advisory group (highlighted in red: tactical evasion posture).

2. Text analysis of recent communications with Colonel Kurt (keywords "B-52" and "routine training" are highlighted).

3. Analysis of the Delta Force's activity trajectory over the previous few days (arrow points directly to Hurmatu).

His brows furrowed, and his fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the table.

Reconnaissance team, JTAC, strategic bombers on standby...

All these elements, when strung together, point to a chillingly clear conclusion:
The decapitation strike is estimated to have been approved, and the Americans are expected to take action soon, likely within a day or two.

"You don't want to share the soup, so you're even willing to smash the pot?"

A sharp, cold glint flashed in Song Heping's eyes, as if he could see those decision-makers sitting in the Pentagon's high command center thousands of miles away, thinking they had everything under control.

"Then don't eat anything!"

He took a deep breath and uttered only five words into the microphone:

"According to plan."

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

　　
　
(End of this chapter)