Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 97 We Are United as One (Part 6)
Major Ted is preparing for the upcoming armored urban warfare, and they plan to rely on the Taino River as a natural defensive line to stop the enemy's advance south of the riverbank.

There was quite a commotion over the maintenance area, with the faint roar of tank engines, suggesting that enemies had infiltrated.

Major Ted watched the armed soldiers running toward the commotion, but he didn't move. On his own turf, he had absolute confidence.

Where were we?

A Chieftain tank crashed through the wall of the armored maintenance area and charged toward him at an astonishing speed.

Major Ted's expression changed drastically, but he had no time to dodge as the heavy tracks had already dragged him under the vehicle.

His bones cracked like eggshells breaking, and his weight of tens of tons instantly crushed this ace tank commander, who had distinguished himself in the Six-Day War, into a bloody pulp.

“We think we just overtook that Zion officer!” said the guerrilla fighter wearing a green turban.

"Really?" The communications soldier asked in surprise, fiddling with the radio equipment. "I thought it was a speed bump!"

By this time, the Zion soldiers outside had reacted, and rifle bullets rained down on the chieftain's armor, only producing a string of useless sparks on the sloping armor surface.

A stray bullet nearly hit a nearby infantry platoon leader, startling the surrounding soldiers into a panic.

The platoon leader roared, "Go get the RPG, you idiot!"

The soldier shrank back: "But isn't this our tank?"

"So, do you have any way to stop it now?!" the platoon leader roared. "Didn't you see the major was just crushed to death?!"

Other Zion crews in the square also noticed the anomaly and began boarding their vehicles to prepare for combat.

Embarrassingly, the Chieftain tank's L60 multifuel engine is notoriously difficult to start.

The quicker-moving tank commander had already directed the turret to turn, but the constructible tank garage blocked their firing angle.

"Charge out while their tanks are still warming up!" shouted the green-turbaned guerrilla.

“Don’t rush,” Ahmed said calmly, having already gotten used to the chief’s operations.

Although there was no steering wheel, he found that controlling the left and right steering was similar to operating an excavator.

"We need to create more explosions so that the smoke can be seen throughout the city!" he said to the communications officer.

The communications officer finally made contact with the guerrilla headquarters again: "We've stolen a Chieftain tank, and the government building is full of Zionians. Call in artillery to bombard it!"

"Huh?" The person on the other end seemed not to have heard clearly.

The communications officer was itching to strangle the man on the other end of the radio when, just then, the chieftain's side turret was hit.

Boom——!
The inside of the tank felt as if it had been struck by a giant hammer, and the three men were thrown about.

The green-turbaned guerrillas gritted their teeth, pried open the hatch, grabbed the L37A1 machine gun from the roof, and began firing at the piled-up fuel tanks and ammunition.

This maneuver was extremely dangerous, as it required opening the hatch and sticking out his body, but for some reason, not a single bullet fired at him hit him.

7.62mm bullets hit several nearby fuel tanks and ammunition racks, and with a series of explosions, the fire began to spread rapidly across the square.

The infantry in Zion had no time to deal with the crazed tank crew and all covered their heads to avoid it, resulting in chaos without any command.

"We have to go—"

The green-turbaned guerrillas fired a round of shots, then retreated. "Their chief is about to activate!"

Ahmed nodded, looking through the observation window at the ever-spreading flames and black smoke rising into the sky like black banners.

"This should be similar to a signal flare, right?"

He slammed on the pedal, and the chief crashed through the flimsy railing and rushed out of the government building.

Everyone who came here initially came with the determination to die, but it seems that it is not yet time for them to return to Allah's embrace.

"Report!" The tank battalion lieutenant saluted Captain Wood: "Please give the order, sir!"

“Me?” Captain Wood pointed to himself.

"After Commander Ted's sacrifice, you are the highest-ranking officer here!"

As Captain Wood watched the Chieftain tank wobbling away, a nameless anger suddenly surged within him.

He immediately ordered: "Contact Major General Cohen and report the situation here."

Also, send a company of tanks to chase after the rats; the rest of you stay put!

— At the same time, Lu Lin, who was looking down with his eagle eye, discovered a dense armored formation behind the battle line.

To his surprise, the leader seemed to be marked with a white symbol.

Could they be friendly forces?
Lu Lin controlled Enqi to lower the altitude and was surprised to find that it was actually a Chieftain tank.

To his surprise, a company of Chieftain tanks, all marked in red, were following behind the white-marked vehicle group, clearly in pursuit.

"Could someone have actually infiltrated Zion and stolen a tank?" Lu Lin thought to himself. It's not surprising to see anything on the battlefield.

He looked in the direction they had come from and saw the Garnum City Hall building billowing black smoke.

At this point, there was no need to think about anything else. After comparing the map and confirming the location, Lu Lin did not hesitate to call for artillery, providing precise coordinates and fire instructions.

"receive."

Artillery positions located near Ghanam responded immediately, preparing to provide fire support according to the coordinates.

“Our shell reserves are almost depleted,” Ibrahim warned. “The supplies haven’t arrived yet, so you’d better use them sparingly.”

"What are the logistics staff doing?" Lu Lin frowned. "Bring Bakshi over here!"

Baksh was a lieutenant in charge of logistics when he was in Nukoshir, and he has now been promoted to major.

Ibrahim looked somewhat helpless: "It's all because you ordered saturation firepower during the attack."

After breaking through the defenses, the order to attack the city was immediately given, so it was normal for ammunition reserves to be insufficient.

Lu Lin was taken aback, then touched his chin, and his anger immediately dissipated.

He recalled that he had indeed given such an order, and from a strategic point of view, the consumption of this wave of shells was indeed very worthwhile.

"Alright, alright." He waved his hand. "I'll forgive Baksh this time."

At that moment, a communications soldier relayed a message: "Major General, the guerrillas in the city have reported that their men stole Zion's tanks and discovered the tank battalion hidden in the city hall."

Lu Lin shrugged: "See, I told you I didn't make a mistake."

Looking at his smug expression, Ibrahim hesitated, then finally let out a sigh.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Major General Cohen of the 45th Armored Brigade in Zion is receiving a phone call from the front lines.

Captain Wood was reporting: "Major Ted has succumbed to his injuries. I've dispatched a tank company to pursue the guerrillas who stole the car; the rest of us will remain in place."

Upon hearing this news, Major General Cohen broke out in a cold sweat, and an ominous premonition spread through his mind.

"Your location has been exposed!"

"Uh..." Captain Wood, unsure why his superior had suddenly become angry, tentatively asked, "Shall we move now?"

"Immediately, immediately!" Major General Cohen almost shouted, feeling his temples throbbing.

After hanging up the phone, he paced back and forth in the temporary command post. For some reason, he had a sense of foreboding ever since the start of the battle.

It's as if the enemy has eyes in the sky; as soon as our units are exposed, they are immediately subjected to precise artillery bombardment.

Major General Cohen had some guesses: Could it be that the technology was provided by the United States?
Surely they can't actually be fighting against the apostles under God's command?

Just then, a huge explosion came from the direction of the city to the south.

Even from several kilometers away, the sound, which sounded like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting, could be heard.

Again!
here we go again!!

Major General Cohen stopped abruptly, a chilling shiver running down his spine to the back of his head.

That was the direction of the city government, and he knew what had happened without even looking—that familiar, destructive roar.

The communications officer made several calls to Captain Wood, but no one answered.

"This is the brigade headquarters. Units in the vicinity, please report your situation!"

Major General Cohen stopped in his tracks, goosebumps rising on his skin. He grabbed the baton from the table, snapped it in two, and began to curse:
"Fuck you, Desert Eagle!"

(End of this chapter)