Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1289 The "Balance Beam" Above Titrick

Colonel Kurt's fingertip hovered over the touchscreen, like a hunter concentrating in the final moment before pulling the trigger.

On the screen, the green dashed line representing the flight path of the "Reaper" drones overlapped perfectly with the timeline of the F-16 attack formation, weaving a web of death on the digital map of Titrick.

"Completed simultaneously."

He withdrew his hand, picked up the now-cold coffee, and took a sip.

At forty-six years old, with a twenty-seven-year career as a professional soldier, he had not achieved any particularly outstanding military exploits.

When he was sent here, the Iligorian War had already ended, and he was doing menial tasks.

This is a chance to shine!

Now, he needs this victory.

His entire world consisted of six screens arranged in an arc inside the command vehicle.

The screen on the left displays real-time satellite imagery, with a resolution high enough to clearly see the tire treads of abandoned vehicles on the street.

On the overlay layer of thermal images, several faint points of light clustered in the western part of the city, marked as "suspected gathering of people"—

That was the target identified after the Global Hawk drone and RC-135 electronic reconnaissance aircraft spent the entire night listening to it.

The central main screen integrates all information sources, with blue, red, and gray icons distributed on a 3D terrain map.

Two thousand blue triangles represent Thunder Defense's contract soldiers, and six thousand light blue dots represent Kold's "Freedom Fighters" armed force. They are like two pincers, slowly closing from the northwest and southeast.

The red defense icons were sparsely scattered throughout the city, perfectly matching the intelligence estimate of "at most 12,000 people, dispersed for defense."

Kurt's gaze lingered on the main screen.

Everything is in place—

Technological advantage, firepower advantage, surprise. At least from the perspective of satellites and drones.

He adjusted his headset and pressed the encrypted channel button.

"All units, immediately conduct final equipment verification."

"Alpha Company, reporting."

The first voice came from Mike Rosenberger, commander of Thunder Defense's "Alpha" Company and a former Delta Force sergeant major.

"All equipment checks are complete, and the 'Big Raven' drone of the company has taken off."

Kurt pulled up real-time footage from AlphaLink—from an aerial view taken by a drone.

The soldiers were making final checks, the SCAR-H rifles gleaming matte in the pre-dawn light.

The massive body of the mine-resistant vehicle resembles a crouching behemoth, with the weapon station on its roof slowly rotating for self-checking.

"Bravoren reports."

The second voice was deep; it belonged to Company Commander Davis, a former Army Ranger officer.

"Fully equipped and ready for battle."

The screen switches to Bravoren's rallying area.

Snipers are wiping their lenses with lens cloths, while observers are inputting parameters onto tactical tablets.

The M107A1's massive barrel gleamed a cold blue in the dim light.

"Charlie Lian, report."

The third voice belonged to former armored sergeant major Deckard.

"Heavy weapons company: six M2 heavy machine guns; three MK19 automatic grenade launchers; four Javelin anti-tank missile launchers; two Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers. All vehicles have been equipped with anti-IED jammers. The engineering unit carries two sets of mine-clearing equipment. All ready."

Kote head.

This is the value of Thunder Defense – equipping
The equipment is excellent, and the personnel are all retired special forces soldiers or elite non-commissioned officers. They have top-notch tactical skills and are efficient and obedient.

These people earn starting salaries of $250,000 a year, but compared to the congressional authorization, media scrutiny, and political risks required for the US government to deploy its regular army, this is still a "worthwhile" deal.

His gaze shifted to the light blue icon representing the Kold'd forces.

Six thousand "freedom fighters" were mainly equipped with AKM, PKM machine guns, and RPG-7s, with a small number of Humvees and pickup trucks equipped with DShK heavy machine guns.

They are the weights, the shields that draw fire.

“Weights and shields,” Kurt whispered.

In the "Balance Beam" project, the Kold's forces are the "fulcrum" that bears the initial pressure, while Thunder is the "hammer" that slides along the "beam" of information flow toward the vitals.

Time: 03:47.

Seventy-three minutes remain until the first wave of airstrikes.

Kurt pressed the All Channels button.

"Gentlemen."

His voice, digitally enhanced, was steady and firm: "I am Colonel Kurt, Commander-in-Chief of Operation Balance Beam."

He paused briefly.

"The core of the 'balance beam' is the absolute guidance of information flow over firepower flow. We have satellites, drones, early warning aircraft, and electronic reconnaissance aircraft—we can see their every assembly and hear their every communication. And those idiots in 1515 are almost completely blind in the electromagnetic fog."

On the screen, the icons representing coalition information nodes flashed with blue halos, like a large net covering Titrick.

He brought up the attack timeline, where green dots were arranged along the timeline.

"Tetrix is ​​not a fortress; it is merely a target for our tactical demonstration. Kold's forces will launch a pincer attack from the northwest and southeast to draw and squeeze out the enemy's main force. Thunder Defense's elite troops will then take out key nodes with air firepower, and land in the heart of the city to carry out a 'decapitation strike.' Afterward, they will advance in full force to wipe out the remaining enemy."

He paused again.

"Remember your training, trust your equipment, obey your chain of command. God bless you, and may precision and speed be with us."

He released the button.

Scattered responses could be heard from inside the command vehicle.

Kurt sat back in the command chair, the leather surface creaking slightly.

He looked at the main screen, where the blue icons had begun to move slowly, like two giant pincers closing together.

Lieutenant Major James handed over a fresh cup of coffee.

"Sir, everything is ready."

Kurt took it but didn't drink it.

His gaze was fixed on the edge of the main screen—where the icon representing the "Balance Beam" early warning aircraft was cruising high above the rear of the war zone, with its data link status all green.

“The beams of the information flow have been erected,” he murmured. “Now, let’s put down that heavy hammer.”

04:50, over Teterik.

The deepest darkness before dawn enveloped the city.

The eastern horizon was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, like pale blood seeping from the edge of a huge wound.

Then the sky started screaming.

It wasn't the sound of an engine, but rather an increasingly piercing wail as the air was torn apart by a high-speed object.

The sound fell from the sky, like the Grim Reaper sharpening his knife.

Four F-16C Fighting Falcons entered from the northwest, flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet and a speed of Mach 0.9.

They are armed with a mix of munitions, with GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles under the wings, and external fuel tanks and AN/AAQ-33 Sniper advanced targeting pods under the fuselage.

"'Viper' 1-1 enters attack path. 'Balance Beam', requesting target confirmation."

"Received, 'Viper'. Target A-1, suspected command post in the west of the city. Coordinates sent. Laser code: 1685."

"Code confirmed. Attack initiated."

The lead pilot pressed down on the control stick, and the F-16 dove at a 30-degree angle.

The altitude dropped sharply, and the speed increased to Mach 1.2.

The infrared image from the targeting pod clearly showed the target building on the helmet display—a four-story concrete structure with the shadow of an antenna on the roof.

It is eight miles away and ten thousand feet high.

"locking."

The pilot framed the building with his helmet sight and pressed the laser pointer button on the control stick.

The laser at the bottom of the pod emits an invisible coded beam, forming an aiming point less than one meter in diameter on the building's exterior wall.

"bomb."

The next GBU-12 missile detaches from the pylon on the right wing.

A 500-pound bomb unfurled its tail fins in mid-air, gliding down guided by a laser beam. On the ground, buildings stood silent in the pre-dawn darkness.

Several stray dogs were foraging for food in a nearby garbage dump.

Suddenly, they pricked up their ears and began to bark uneasily.

The GBU-12 fell vertically at near-sonic speed.

In the final 500 meters, the warhead was fine-tuned to align with the laser point.

The impact occurred at 04:51:17.

The explosion tore the entire building apart from the inside.

Concrete fragments were thrown hundreds of meters into the air, and the shockwave swept across two city blocks, shattering all the windows.

The fireball tore a reddish-orange gap in the darkness, and a column of black smoke began to rise.

Inside the command center, a red "X" appears in the corresponding area of ​​the main screen, indicating "Target Destroyed".

The heat signature from the explosion appeared as bright as a supernova in infrared images.

Colonel Kurt leaned forward, staring at the red "X".

The corners of his mouth raised slightly.

The first strike was perfect.

"Second target, ammunition depot, coordinates updated."

The slaughter in the sky continued.

Subsequent F-16 formations entered in turn.

GBU-12 and Maverick missiles fell one after another, each explosion igniting a new fireball in different corners of the city.

A suspected vehicle assembly point was covered by two "Maverick" missiles, and more than ten parked pickup trucks were blown into burning fragments.

The ammunition depot was directly hit, triggering a terrifying secondary explosion, with flames shooting nearly 100 meters high.

An even more lethal blow came from another weapon.

Two F-16s dropped CBU-105 cluster bombs on the eastern outskirts of the city.

The bomb opens at a predetermined altitude, releasing ten BLU-108 submunitions. Each submunition then ejects four Skeeter warheads, for a total of forty warheads. These warheads deploy parachutes to slow their descent in the air, and then their spin sensors activate, launching deadly explosively formed projectiles downwards.

The entire eastern suburbs were covered by a jet of metal within thirty seconds.

The thin-roofed building was directly penetrated, and the open-air stockpiles of supplies were destroyed. If any personnel were exposed, there was absolutely no chance of survival.

In the air, an Apache formation is flying at low altitude.

Four AH-64D "Longbow Apaches" cruised on the edge of the city at an altitude of 500 meters and a speed of 80 knots.

They are the scavengers of the battlefield.

The lead pilot, Kyle, observes the world through the IHADSS helmet display.

His field of vision was overlaid with a fusion of flight data and electro-optical system images—forward-looking infrared displayed live targets as bright white.

“Avengers 1-1, this is the ‘Outpost’. Grid NK357218, multiple heat sources detected, suspected personnel fleeing northwest. Authorized for free hunt.”

Brennan adjusted the lever, and the Apache turned gracefully.

"Roger that. Number 2, follow me. Numbers 3 and 4, cover the flanks."

The two Apache helicopters descended to 300 meters and increased their speed to 100 knots. The five-kilometer distance was covered in thirty seconds.

On the helmet display, eight white figures were running through the ruins. Three kilometers away.

"locking."

Brennan used his helmet sight to frame the group of targets and pressed the lock button.

The M230 chain gun below the nose of the aircraft was slightly adjusted in angle.

"Fire."

boom-
boom-
boom-
boom-
boom!
The M230 fires ten 30mm shells at a rate of 625 rounds per minute.

The ammunition is the M789 high-explosive dual-purpose round, which can penetrate light armor before exploding.

The shell's flight time is two seconds.

The two figures running at the very back suddenly exploded.

Immediately afterwards, a second wave of shells fell, engulfing the remaining six people in shrapnel and dust.

The white figure went out in the infrared field of vision.

"Target cleared."

Brennan reported calmly, as if he had just killed a group of virtual enemies in a game.

Such scenes are playing out in many places on the outskirts of the city.

Like a lurking grim reaper, any target exposed in open terrain will be met with 30mm shells or Hydra 70mm rockets.

Command Center, 05:30.

On the screen in front of Kurt, the number of red "X" marks had increased to forty-three.

The list of pre-defined targets is turning gray one by one – completion.

The airstrike has lasted for forty minutes.

More than twenty locations in the city of Titrick were burning, with columns of black smoke rising into the pre-dawn sky like giant tombstones.

Electromagnetic monitoring showed a sharp decrease in enemy radio activity.

Of the two previously detected signals suspected to be from a command node, one disappeared after the building in the west of the city was destroyed, while the other is still being transmitted intermittently, but its location is erratic.

Weather data shows that visibility is improving and temperatures are beginning to rise.

On the troop movement map, the advance convoy of the Khord forces has begun to advance along the dry riverbed, less than three kilometers from the first outer defensive line.

Everything is perfect.

Kurt picked up his coffee and actually took a sip. The warm liquid brought a slight caffeine stimulation.

He leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands over his abdomen, and put himself in a relaxed position.

"Sir, the preliminary assessment of the air raid's effects has been completed."

Intelligence analysts reported, "Satellite imagery indicates an estimated 92% destruction rate of key pre-selected targets. Thermal analysis suggests that human activity within the urban area has decreased by approximately 70%."

Lieutenant Major James leaned closer. "Kold's forwards report no resistance. They are expected to make contact with the first line of defense at 7:00 sharp."

Kote head.

According to the plan, Kold's forces would easily break through the weak outer defenses and squeeze into the city.

At that time, the 1515 armed forces will have to mobilize reserves to block the breach.

That's when Thunder Defense's helicopter assault team landed, directly targeting the weak points created by the enemy's relocation.

"Prepare the air assault echelon of Thunder Defense. Estimated landing time: 08:30."

"Yes, sir."

Kurt looked at the main screen.

The blue pincer-shaped icons slowly closed, while the red defense icons remained sparse and still.

His gaze shifted to the city center, where several high-value targets were marked.

“Before the day ends,” he whispered to himself, “we will plant our flag there.”

He felt a pre-battle excitement that belonged to a commander.

It's not the adrenaline-pumping tension of a soldier, but the calm and joyful feeling of a chess player watching the game unfold as they envision it.

All variables are under control, and contingency plans are in place for all unforeseen circumstances.

He thought of Song Heping.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll be able to mock the other person's arrogance over the phone.

The "balance beam" is in motion. The information flow beam is stable, while the firepower flow hammer is sliding along it.

He allowed himself to smile for a second, a genuine smile.

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

　　
　
(End of this chapter)