cicada

Chapter 1434 Blocking the Way
Three days ago, a scarred man walked into a Turkish bath in Cairo with his entourage. He went to the counter and chatted with the waiter as if he knew his way around.

"Has the guest I'm waiting for arrived yet?"

"Sir, your guest is waiting for you. Please follow me."

As he spoke, the waiter walked in front of Scarface and led him to the door of a private room, then raised his hand and knocked on the wooden wall.

Scarface watched the waiter leave, nodded to the two white men behind him, and then lifted the soft curtain and went inside.

Inside the Turkish-style private room, an Asian man sat cross-legged on a cushion. Upon seeing the scarred man enter, the man immediately stood up and extended his hand.

"Major Skorzeny, this is Yamamoto. I apologize for the delay on the way; we are late."

Scarface, or rather Skorzeny, frowned upon hearing this, but without even looking at the other person's outstretched hand, he bent down and sat down on the cushion.

The Fredenthal troops had just completed their mission to rescue the Italian leader and hadn't even had time to rest before being sent to Africa, so he was naturally full of resentment.

Moreover, the life or death of the Republic of China's leader had nothing to do with Germany, nor would it affect the European war situation; Skorzeny had no intention of coming to Cairo.

Yamamoto reluctantly withdrew his hand and said in fluent German, "Major, I know you have doubts about this operation, but it is a joint decision made by the high-ranking officials of our two countries, and we can only obey."

Skorzeny looked at him and said coldly, "Of course I will obey orders, but the plan was first proposed by you Japanese, wasn't it?"

These words left Yamamoto speechless, and he was also a little annoyed. Germans were always so condescending.

Upon learning that the Allies were to hold a meeting in Cairo, the Tokyo General Headquarters ordered the Army General Staff to formulate an assassination plan and to contact German allies for cooperation.

To be honest, as a professional soldier who had studied at the Berlin Military Academy and trained at the Brandenburg, Germany's first special operations unit, Yamamoto disagreed with this.

The Battle of Khalkhin Gol made him realize the gap between Japan and Western powers such as Red Russia, so he chose to go abroad to study.

During his two years in Germany, Yamamoto not only learned advanced combat concepts, but also encountered ubiquitous discrimination and difficulties, and even deliberate provocations.

Therefore, Yamamoto knew that cooperating with the Germans was by no means a pleasant thing, but he was only a colonel and could not influence the decisions of the General Staff.

Taking a deep breath, Yamamoto sat down opposite Skorzeny, and then he heard the cold voice of the German special operations expert.

“I don’t mind assassinating certain politicians, but your plan is too crazy. Detonating a bomb in the heart of Cairo will kill many innocent civilians.”

Yamamoto wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. He couldn't understand why a professional soldier would say something so childish.

In fact, Skorzeny was such a person. Despite his SS background, the Allied forces tried him after the war, but the charges against him did not include the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

After a long pause, Yamamoto shook his head: "Major, before coming to Cairo, I served in Shanxi Province during the Republic of China era. Everyone there would shoot at us."

“The shooters include the elderly, children, women, and even doctors. There are no innocent people in war. I think we should talk about the plan first.”

He then opened a map of Cairo and began to explain the locations on it.

"According to intelligence, the target has already flown to Cairo and is expected to land at Paine Airport, where British engineers are urgently repairing the runway."

"In addition, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel was recently booked out entirely, and a waiter said that the person who booked the hotel was of Asian appearance."

"Based on the above intelligence, I believe the target is likely staying at the Heliopolis Palace Hotel. We can make our move here, as it's the only route from the airport to the hotel."

Yamamoto tapped on a section of road on the map. The location was on the edge of the nearest urban area to the hotel, where the population was relatively sparse.

Skorzeny understood their intentions. Compared to the more complex and congested road sections, the target's guards would not be as vigilant here, which was their opportunity.

After thinking for a few seconds, he made a condition: "Try not to kill anyone when planting the bomb, as that would easily expose you."

Yamamoto nodded and replied in a deep voice, "Of course, we will disguise ourselves as road repair workers. As long as it doesn't affect the mission, my men will not kill innocent people indiscriminately."

After the discussion concluded and they agreed on a time and place for their next meeting, Skorzeny and Yamamoto left the Turkish bath separately.
-
"Boom~"

Behind a wall not far from Gucci, Yamamoto decisively pressed the detonator switch. The current traveled along the wires, igniting the detonator and explosives. The violent explosion shook the wall violently.

Although the explosion was successful, Yamamoto's expression was not good, because the target convoy stopped at the last moment, and all of this was because of Skorzeny.

When they were planting the explosives, a local child discovered their operation. Yamamoto wanted to kill the child to silence him, but Skorzeny stopped him.

"assault!"

Suppressing his dissatisfaction and anger, Yamamoto gave orders to the Japanese operatives and then jumped out of the bunker and rushed toward the convoy.

Skorzeny knew his decision had ruined the plan, but he didn't care. If the bomb didn't kill the target, a gun would do.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Skorzeny caught up with Yamamoto, and the two of them approached the Nationalist government agents together, firing short bursts of fire from their MP40s.

The bustling street instantly turned into a battlefield with bullets flying everywhere. Pedestrians scattered and fled, while others were hit by the blast and fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

At the same time the bombs exploded, several intersections in Cairo were also disrupted, with multiple wagons loaded with nails overturning and cutting off British troops' access to the scene. A few seconds later, Japanese and German operatives and Nationalist agents began exchanging fire, using buildings and vehicles as cover in a fierce battle.

Skorzeny had expected that the target's guards would crumble at the first touch under their attack, but that was not the case.

Clang, clang, clang. A burst of bullets pierced the car's metal body and accurately struck a Japanese agent in the head.

idiot!

Yamamoto's eyes blazed with fury. His opponent was a fellow trainee from the Brandenburg Army, and he never expected him to die here.

What worried him even more was the British. Blocking the traffic could only delay the arrival of the British troops, but could not completely stop the reinforcements. They had to complete their mission as soon as possible.

Dodge a bullet by ducking down, Yamamoto ordered the grenades to be thrown. The Japanese operatives pulled out the pins of the melon grenades, tapped them, and then threw them.

This round of explosions did indeed weaken the Nationalist government's firepower considerably, allowing Japanese and German agents to advance a few meters.

But the Japanese weren't the only ones with grenades. Once he regained consciousness, Koki made a gesture to his men, completely ignoring the blood flowing from his forehead.

He would have been in serious trouble if the little spy hadn't risked his life to rescue him, and he was furious.

Upon seeing the assassin throw a grenade, Gu Qi immediately ordered a counterattack, and more than a dozen M24 grenades flew towards Yamamoto and Skorzeny.

The M24 was standard German equipment, and Skorzeny was very familiar with the power of this grenade. Upon seeing it, he was so frightened that he pulled his head back and shouted to lie down.

However, these grenades are all tactically timed, that is, after pulling out the fuse, they are held in the hand for one or two seconds before being thrown. As long as the timing is right, they can achieve an airburst effect.

Moreover, the M24 missiles used by the Military Intelligence Bureau were not ordinary models; all of them had kill sleeves installed on their bodies.

This is a special kit designed by the German army to compensate for the insufficient fragmentation of the M24. It has pre-made cracks and about 300 steel balls. More than ten grenades would have more than 3,000 steel balls.

Propelled by the high-explosive charges, these steel balls flew in all directions, piercing through the bunker like a hot knife through butter.

After the explosion, crimson rainbows suddenly rose in the sunlight, and the remains of Japanese and German agents were scattered everywhere. The chaotic streets suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Yamamoto's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He had brought thirty men to Cairo to carry out this mission, and now less than ten of them were still alive and well.

Such heavy casualties caused Yamamoto to lose his composure. He pulled out a signal gun and fired a shot into the sky. The red signal flare drew a striking arc in the air.

As the signal flare lit up, a small but highly elite team of assassins rushed out from behind the convoy.

Caught off guard, the rearguard group led by Gui Youguang was routed, and the bald man cursed repeatedly in anger.

Zuo Zhong, who was in the middle of the convoy, remained calm. He did not reprimand Gui Youguang, but decisively ordered everyone to disperse and retreat to the nearest British military camp.

Cairo’s streets and alleys are narrow and complex, much like the alleyways of Shanghai. A dispersed evacuation can reduce the target and make it less likely for the enemy to spot them.

Upon receiving the message, Gu Qi, who was at the forefront, fought and retreated, and soon disappeared from the sight of the Japanese and German agents.

Skorzeny peeked out and saw a man helping another person calmly walk into the alley.

The moment they entered the alley, the man who was helping the person glanced back at the scene of the firefight. The other person's hat brim was pulled low, so his face was not clearly visible, but his eyes were unusually cold.

Without a second thought, Skorzeny quickly reminded Yamamoto, "The target is moving into the alley on the left. I'll lead the pursuit, and you and your men will intercept them."

Yamamoto nodded, rolled into another alley with a standard tactical maneuver, and then led the remaining Japanese agents in a desperate sprint.

Before the operation, the Japanese and German operatives had familiarized themselves with the terrain around the ambush site, so Yamamoto and his team acted very decisively without any hesitation.

When Cairo locals saw these fully armed agents, they raised their hands and made way for them.

After a period of intense running, Yamamoto circled around to the entrance of the alley where his target was located. He took a deep breath, raised his submachine gun, and leaned against the wall to adjust his breathing.

After waiting for a few minutes, Yamamoto heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching, and he tilted his head to look into the alley.

In the dappled sunlight of the alley, several Asians were helping a bald man run towards them.

Yamamoto was overjoyed. The bald man was wearing a Kuomintang uniform, which matched the intelligence personnel's description of the target's clothing when he left the mountain city. They were about to make history.

"Prepare for action."

Yamamoto gave the order in a low voice, and the Japanese agents on both sides of the alley entrance silently raised their guns, their sights firmly locked on the running target.

On the other side, due to the complex terrain, Skorzeny's men dwindled, until he was left alone in the pursuit.

When he reached a narrow alley less than a meter wide, he suddenly stopped and squinted at what was ahead.

A few meters away, a bald man slowly walked to the middle of the alley and blocked his way. The man clenched his fist and revealed a set of white teeth.

(End of this chapter)