Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1295 The Twilight Assault

On the day the Battle of Ozham began, at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Colonel Kurt was getting impatient waiting in the "outpost" command center.

The "performance" on the Ozam battlefield continues, with government forces and 1515 militants engaging in inefficient artillery battles across minefields and trenches.

The expected breakthrough did not materialize.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Dusk is the perfect time to launch a surprise attack.

Helicopter pilots can obtain a good field of vision with the help of night vision goggles, which also provides a certain degree of concealment.

"Initiate the 'flank surgery' plan," Kurt ordered.

The target was a hilly area codenamed "Harvest Zone," located about 12 kilometers northeast of Titrick City, overlooking a main dirt road connecting the 1515 armed forces' rear supply depot with the forward positions.

By occupying the area and establishing forward observation posts, we can cut off the enemy's supply lines with precision-guided artillery and air strikes, and even guide troops to break through the defenses from the flanks.

The mission was carried out by Thunder Defense's most elite "Fighting Knife" assault platoon, consisting of 32 members. They were personally selected and briefly trained by the company's chief training instructor, Drake, and specialized in air assault and raids behind enemy lines.

They will travel in two specially modified UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters with enhanced armor and self-defense capabilities to directly penetrate the hilly high ground of the "harvest zone".

At 4:40 p.m., the setting sun began to paint the western sand dunes a dark gold.

"Fighting Knives 01 and 02, prepare for takeoff. Route Alpha, maintain low altitude, fly along the dry riverbed, pay attention to radar and visual concealment. Upon arrival at the 'harvest zone,' quickly land and establish a defensive line."

The flight controller's voice was calm and clear.

"Fighting knife 01 received."

"Fighting knife 02 received."

The rotors of the two Black Hawks began to spin faster, stirring up clouds of yellow sand. The "Thunder Defense" insignia and the menacing designs painted by the mercenaries on the sides of the fuselages flickered in and out of view in the setting sun.

Inside the cabin, the fully armed "melee knife" team members conducted a final check of their equipment: SCAR-H rifles with silencers, M320 grenade launchers, Barrett anti-materiel rifles, laser designators, thermal imagers...

Now, they are the sharpest daggers in Kurt's hands.

The plane took off, tilted slightly forward, and sped off towards the northeast.

The pilot kept the altitude firmly below 30 meters from the ground, using the rolling hills and dry riverbeds as cover.

The AN/AVS-6 night vision goggles transformed the twilight world into a blurry, eerie green, with the white gravel band of the old riverbed being the only clear landmark.

"The flight was smooth and no abnormal heat sources were detected."

A radar operator reports from the Sentinel AWACS aircraft.

The huge, disc-shaped radar dome slowly rotated, scanning the vast area below.

Kurt watched as the green dots representing the two Black Hawks moved smoothly across the map and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Just then, the intelligence officer who had been monitoring communications and electronic signals suddenly looked up:
"Sir, a brief burst of low-power radio signal has been detected near the 'harvest zone.' The signal is indistinct and its source and content cannot be pinpointed. The signal lasted for less than two seconds."

Kurt frowned: "Is it a civilian frequency or a military band?"

"The very crowded low-end frequency band may be used for civilian walkie-talkies, but the encryption mode is very primitive, more like... a decoy or a trigger."

"Notify 'Fighting Knife' to be on high alert." A sense of unease crept into Kurt's mind. Was it going too smoothly? Or was he just being paranoid?
"Fighting Knife 01 understands."

The Black Hawk helicopter squadron continued its advance. They had flown nearly ten kilometers out of coalition-controlled territory, surrounded by increasingly desolate hills and rocky terrain.

The target "harvesting area" is less than five kilometers ahead. It is an area consisting of several rolling hills and a small, relatively flat valley in the middle.

At 6:08 PM, the last rays of twilight were rapidly fading.

"Prepare to enter the target area. We will be landing in one minute."

The lead pilot notified the rear cabin.

suddenly!

Without any warning, just as the two Black Hawk helicopters were preparing to turn along a narrow valley, slowing down and slightly increasing altitude to find a suitable landing spot—

On the middle section of the left hillside, three carefully camouflaged rocks and bushes were suddenly torn apart!

Three thick, blazing chains of fire shot out without warning!

The roar of the 14.5mm KPV heavy machine gun and the 12.7mm DShK anti-aircraft machine gun instantly drowned out the noise of the rotor!
Tracer bullets left deadly bright red trails in the dim light, like the Grim Reaper's whip lashing at the steel birds in the air!

"Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!"

The lead pilot roared and pulled the control stick almost all the way to the bottom.

The Black Hawk suddenly tilted to the right, and at the same time, a large number of flares were ejected from both sides of the fuselage in accordance with the evasion procedure, creating a dazzling fire and heat source behind the aircraft.

But the ambush location was chosen too cleverly.

They weren't using the old Soviet-style shoulder-fired man-portable air defense missiles, but rather direct-fire weapons.

What they were waiting for was the moment when the helicopter slowed down, turned, and was in a relatively clumsy position.

Moreover, the firepower came from the upper side, almost completely avoiding the Black Hawk's heavily reinforced bottom armor.

Puff puff!
A series of dull thuds.

The tail boom, right-side hatch, and engine nacelle of aircraft No. 01 were simultaneously hit by multiple large-caliber bullets, sending sparks flying.

The alarm blared mournfully.

This is not all.

Almost at the same time the heavy machine guns opened fire, at least three man-portable air defense missiles, trailing long white plumes of smoke, rose into the air from the other side of the valley and from a higher ridge behind them!

This timing was fatal!

In the first wave of direct-fire weapons, the Black Hawk helicopters instinctively fired decoy flares as they took cover.

Once the heat decoys were almost used up, it was time for the old-fashioned shoulder-fired Soviet-made missiles to take the stage...

The first one was an old Soviet-made Arrow-2. Although its guidance head was outdated, it was interfered with by the Black Hawk's violent maneuvers and the few remaining flares, and flew erratically into the distance, exploding on a hill.

The second and third missiles were significantly faster and more sensitive and determined in tracking their trajectories!
The missile aimed at Unit 01, in particular, was instantly identified by a highly experienced mercenary in the rear cockpit based on its launch characteristics and flight attitude.

"This isn't Arrow-2! This is Stinger! Stinger!"

He screamed in despair.

American-made FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missile!
How did it end up here?!
The pilot of aircraft number 01 made a final, desperate maneuver: a near-vertical side roll, while simultaneously firing all the remaining flares.

The missile exploded less than ten meters from the edge of the decoy!
However, the Stinger's proximity fuse and pre-fragmented warhead were designed to destroy high-performance aircraft.

Countless deadly tungsten alloy steel balls swept across the Black Hawk's vulnerable tail and rear fuselage like a storm.

click-

Boom!
The tail rotor drive shaft was cut off, and the tail rotor blades scattered.

A large gash was torn open at the rear of the cabin, and two crew members near the hatch were ripped apart by shrapnel without uttering a sound. The hydraulic system alarm went off, and controls instantly became extremely heavy.

"Tail rotor failure! Out of control! We're falling!"

Black Hawk began to spin uncontrollably horizontally, billowing smoke and sparks, and crashed straight down into the rocky valley like a leaf torn apart by a gale.

boom! ! !
Black Hawk No. 01 crashed heavily into the rocks at the edge of the valley at a nearly 40-degree angle, instantly disintegrating and igniting the fuel, causing a secondary explosion.

A huge fireball rose into the air, illuminating the dim valley, and shattered rotor blades shot out like flying knives.

Almost all of the fourteen people on board, including the two pilots, died instantly in the impact and explosion.

Two of the mercenaries who were thrown off also landed on the hard rocks, either dying or being seriously injured.

The "Fighting Knife 02" narrowly escaped the missile attack.

The missile that attacked it was suspected to be a copy of the Igla missile, but its performance was slightly inferior, and it was successfully deflected by the flare.

However, it was also hit by heavy machine gun bullets multiple times, leaving the fuselage riddled with bullet holes, one engine's power decreased, and hydraulic oil leaked.

"01 crash! Repeat, 01 crash! We are under ambush! Evacuate immediately!"

The pilot of aircraft number 02 had a voice distorted by fear and adrenaline. He pulled up the badly damaged plane and fled the valley as fast as he could, without even having time to check if there were any survivors.

The entire ambush, from start to finish, took less than forty seconds.

Inside the "outpost" command center.

When the signal from "Fighting Knife 01" disappeared from both the screen and the communication channel, leaving only the urgent and frantic calls from Unit 02, the entire center fell into a deathly silence.

Only the hum of the equipment and the panting of Pilot No. 02 echoed in the air.

Colonel Kurt stood there, his face pale in the cold light of the screen.

He felt a sudden wave of dizziness and had to reach out and grab the edge of the tactical table.

one day.

Just the first day.

Intelligence failures and a thwarted frontal attack have led to the complete failure of his most anticipated flanking maneuver, which has also cost him an entire elite assault platoon and an expensive Black Hawk helicopter.

The downing of helicopters has become extremely rare in recent U.S. military operations.

And shot down by a Stinger missile, which is very likely from the United States itself...

This is a disgrace.

"'Sentinels'! What the hell are you doing?!"

Kurt whirled around and growled into the communication channel connected to the early warning aircraft: "Why haven't we spotted those ambush positions?! Those missile launchers!"

The commanding officer on the early warning aircraft also spoke with difficulty:
"Colonel...they...didn't use radar; the thermal signal was perfectly blocked by the rocks, with only a faint signal appearing a few seconds before firing. Missile launch was manual aiming, the time was extremely short...we..."

The explanation is weak.

The fact is that the Sentinel AWACS aircraft, a highly anticipated tool for gaining battlefield information advantage, has for the first time revealed a major blind spot in the face of the opponent's simple yet effective camouflage, discipline, and terrain utilization.

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A profound sense of frustration and a chilling anger mingled in his chest.

He could almost see Commander Ahmed, 1515, looking at the map with a mocking smile in some underground command post in Titrick.

The “balance beam” hadn’t even been properly set up before it was already showing signs of collapse.

This is just the beginning.

That night, a checkpoint on Highway 9 south of Mosul.

A lieutenant from the 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion of the "Liberation Force" sat in a simple guard post, slowly chewing on a cold can of chickpeas.

Sporadic gunshots could be heard in the distance, whether from looting or tribal conflict, something that was commonplace on this land.

An armored off-road vehicle with its headlights on drove over the potholes and stopped in front of the checkpoint.

Two men got out of the car. One was a lieutenant's subordinate, and the other was wearing a dark robe and a headscarf, his face hidden in the shadows, but his waist was bulging, clearly carrying a weapon.

His subordinate whispered a few words in the lieutenant's ear.

The lieutenant nodded, put down the can, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and turned his gaze to the man in black.

"Where's the stuff?"

The man in the black robe didn't speak, but took out a heavy canvas bag from his pocket and placed it on the oil-stained table.

The bag was open, and under the dim light, several gold bars reflected an alluring luster.

Not only were there gold bars, but there were also several stacks of US dollars underneath.

"Deposit."

The man in the black robe had a hoarse voice with a thick Anbar provincial accent.

"There's more to come. All we need is for the roads to be open for eight hours. From now until dawn tomorrow."

The lieutenant fiddled with the gold bar with his fingers; the icy touch brought him back to his senses.

He looked up, staring at the man in black: "Eight hours? What happened in the past? How many people?"

"They are all warriors of God, going to support our brothers in Titrick, not to be your enemies. Their numbers... won't make things difficult for you. They will disperse, disguise themselves, and pass through in batches. Your men only need to 'turn a blind eye' at key intersections."

The lieutenant remained silent and did not answer immediately.

But he was just pretending.

They will let you pass even if there are no gold bars.

"If I'm investigated afterward..."

The lieutenant said slowly and with difficulty.

"This is Mosul."

The man in black robes spoke with a seductive tone: "The fighting is fierce, and intelligence is chaotic. Who can say for sure which convoy belongs to which? Besides... wouldn't it be a good thing for all those who don't want to be completely controlled by the Americans to let the flames of Titrick burn brighter and longer?"

The lieutenant's tense expression slowly relaxed, as if he had been moved by these words.

He slowly packed up the canvas bag, stuffed it into his pocket, stood up, and waved to his men: "Tell the brothers I'm going to inspect the old camp to the south. Here... you guys handle things. If your eyes get tired, you can take turns resting. And your ears... sometimes don't need to be so sharp."

The man in black robes nodded slightly, then turned and disappeared into the SUV.

The engine roared, the vehicle turned around, and quickly disappeared into the darkness in the distance.

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(End of this chapter)