Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1307 Encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao
It was six o'clock in the morning on the outskirts of Tuz town.

The first rays of sunlight had just pierced the eastern horizon, turning the desert into an eerie orange-red.

The whistling sound of shells tearing through the air shattered the last moments of peace before dawn.

"Bombard! Take cover!"

From the observation post on the high ground south of Fehart town, Jiang Feng shouted into the radio while pressing his body tightly against the reinforced bunker.

Almost immediately, a series of explosions erupted on the defensive positions surrounding the town.

The 1515 armed counterattack began, and it was more intense than expected.

Ahmed divided his main force into two routes: approximately six thousand men, under heavy artillery cover, launched a fierce attack on Tuz, which he personally commanded; the other four thousand men, led by his deputy, rushed towards Fahart. This veteran general clearly understood the importance of speed in warfare—

We must use overwhelming force to break through these two obstacles before Song Heping can further consolidate his defenses.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away to the east of Tuz, the Persian Holy City Brigade's defenses were also bearing the first wave of attack.

Nassin held up his binoculars and looked out from the command post, which was the highest point in the town.

As far as the eye could see, dust billowed. Dozens of modified pickup trucks, trailing clouds of dust, scattered and charged forward like a pack of wolves.

Each vehicle was equipped with a heavy machine gun or rocket launcher, and the carriages were crowded with black figures wielding rifles.

"Anti-tank team in position! Machine gun fire to cover areas B3 through B5!"

Nassin's voice echoed across the defensive line via radio: "Mortar company, coordinates X-7, Y-12, three rapid fire rounds!"

Less than thirty seconds after the order was given, the 120mm heavy mortars of the Quds Force roared to life.

The shell traced an arc, landing precisely in the center of the 1515 armed assault formation. Amidst the sand and debris kicked up by the explosion, at least two pickup trucks were directly hit and turned into burning fireballs.

But the surge only paused briefly before coming on with an even more frenzied momentum.

"For Allah! Charge!"

The fervent chants even drowned out the noise of gunfire.

The infantry of 1515 began to disembark and advanced in skirmish lines under the cover of machine gun fire.

Their tactics were simple and brutal.

Overwhelm quality with quantity, and compensate for insufficient training with fanaticism.

Nassin observed that at least twenty 1515 militants had formed a "human bomb" commando team.

These men, strapped with explosives, charged madly toward the front lines of the Holy City Brigade under the cover of their comrades.

The Quds Force machine gunners fired furiously, killing more than ten of them, but a few still managed to get to within thirty meters of the defensive line.

"Rocket launcher!" Nassin shouted the order.

boom!
boom!
Two RPG-7 rockets roared out, blasting the last few suicide bombers to pieces.

But the shockwave from the explosion also caused soldiers on the front lines to bleed from their ears and noses.

"Commander, the pressure on position B7 on the east flank is too great, requesting reinforcements!" came the anxious voice of the forward company commander over the radio.

Nassin glanced at the map: "Draw a platoon from the reserves to support B7. Tell everyone to hold the line!"

A similar fierce battle also took place in the town of Fayhart.

Jiang Feng's "Musician" mercenary battalion adopted a different defense strategy.

Instead of building a continuous frontal defensive line like the Holy City Brigade, they dispersed their forces to a dozen or so well-camouflaged and fortified strongholds on the outskirts of the town.

Each strongpoint is a fire trap, equipped with cross machine guns, snipers, and anti-tank missiles.

Jiang Feng only gave the order to open fire when the 1515 armed forces' first charge approached within 500 meters.

"All units, free to hunt. Prioritize destroying enemy command vehicles and technical equipment."

The command was concise and ruthless.

The next second, the outskirts of Fahart Town seemed to have turned into a giant death trap.

Precision bullets fired from different directions almost simultaneously took down more than a dozen 1515 militants who were charging at the forefront.

Anti-tank missiles roared out and blasted two armed pickup trucks that were trying to get close and fire into scrap metal.

The deputy commander of 1515 clearly did not expect to encounter such precise and dispersed fire.

The assault formation became chaotic.

"The drone has detected an enemy mortar position, and its coordinates have been marked."

Jiang Feng heard the voice of the operator behind him through his earpiece.

"Artillery company, three rapid-fire rounds, fire!"

The four 120mm self-propelled mortars attached to the mercenary battalion began to roar.

The shells precisely hit the makeshift artillery positions set up two kilometers away at 1515, destroying at least three 82mm mortars in the explosion.

However, the numerical advantage of the 1515 armed forces remains significant.

After their first attack failed, they quickly adjusted their tactics, using mortars and rockets to bombard the mercenaries' strongpoints while sending out small groups to try to infiltrate gaps in the defenses.

The battle entered a brutal tug-of-war phase.

Inside the command post in Tuz town, Ahmed stared at the map spread out on the makeshift table, his face grim.

The battle has been going on for five hours.

His troops made progress in both locations—

The Quds Force's defensive line around Tuz has been compressed by a third, and Fayhat has also captured two outer strongholds—but at a cost far exceeding expectations.

In the Tuz direction alone, casualties exceeded four hundred, and more than twenty vehicles and heavy weapons were lost. The resistance of the Quds Force was terrifyingly tenacious; their soldiers seemed to know no fear, often fighting to the last man before abandoning their positions.

"Commander, the third wave of attack troops is ready."

The staff officer cautiously asked, "Should we proceed as planned?"

"Give me……"

Ahmed was about to nod when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the command vehicle.

The communications officer practically burst into the car, his face deathly pale.

"Commander! Urgent dispatch from Titrick!"

Ahmed suddenly turned around.

"What's up?!"

"Titrick is under heavy attack by Kold forces!" the communications officer reported as quickly as possible.

Ahmed's pupils suddenly contracted, and his knuckles turned white from gripping the paper so tightly.

The telegram was brief but alarming.

The western outskirts of Titrick are under heavy attack by Kold militia, estimated to number over 5,000 and well-equipped. Two sections of the outer defenses have been breached, and the defending forces have suffered heavy casualties. They are requesting urgent reinforcements.

"impossible!"

Ahmed roared, slamming the telegram to the ground. "Kold militia? They were decimated in Operation 'Balance Beam'! They should be licking their wounds in Erbil, how could they possibly be in Titrick?!"

The communications officer added nervously, "It's been confirmed at the front... it's not the Kold'd forces from Erbil, it's the Abuyu Brigade from the Kirkuk direction. The flags and insignia match, and... and their equipment is much better than before, with new armored vehicles and artillery..."

The command vehicle was deathly silent.

The staff officers looked at each other, and they all saw panic in each other's eyes.

Ahmed's mind raced.

Five thousand Kold's regular troops...

Well-equipped...

Suddenly appearing in Titrick...

His gaze fell on the map, drawing a line from Titrick to Kirkuk, and then to Baiji.

“Song...he...ping…”

Ahmed spat out the name through gritted teeth, each syllable dripping with hatred, "It's him! It must be him!"

Everything is clear.

From the raids by Tuz and Fehart to the attack on Teterik at this moment, it's a meticulously planned grand scheme.

Song Heping anticipated that he would return to reinforce Tuz and Fehat, so he transferred troops from the Kirkuk direction in advance from the Abuyu Brigade.

"I was careless, I was so careless..."

Ahmed laughed bitterly, his voice filled with resentment and anger.

His current situation is extremely awkward.

If he doesn't return to aid Titrick, his base in northern Iraq will be completely destroyed once his stronghold is lost.

Even if he captures Tuz and Fehat, or even by chance captures Hurmatu, his troops will be rootless and trapped in the northern triangle.

If Song Heping can block the Xilia passage and cut off his supplies and troop replenishment, his army will collapse without a fight within three months at most.

But if we go back to provide aid...

We are giving up a victory that is within our grasp.

Tuz and Fehart have already shed so much blood, are they just going to withdraw like this?

"Commander, a decision must be made."

The senior chief of staff whispered a reminder, "The defenders of Titrick number less than five thousand. If the Abuyu Brigade really commits five thousand elite troops, they won't last forty-eight hours..."

Ahmed closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently.

A few seconds later, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with only cold resolve.

"Pass on my order. The entire army shall cease its attack and immediately retreat to regroup."

"Order the troops in the Tuz and Fehat directions to retreat under alternating cover, with the wounded and heavy equipment to be evacuated first."

"Tell the garrison at Titrick to hold out for another 24 hours, and reinforcements will surely arrive."

The staff officer's hand trembled slightly as he recorded the order: "Commander, the troops in the direction of Hurmatu..."

"Withdraw too!" Ahmed gritted his teeth. "Withdraw everything back to the vicinity of Titrick! We need to secure our base first, then we can plan for the long term!"

The order was passed on quickly.

When the 1515 militants, who were engaged in fierce fighting on the front lines, received the order to retreat, many of them could not believe their ears.

They paid such a heavy price and were on the verge of breaking through the enemy's defenses, but now they're going to give up?
But military orders are absolute.

At 2 p.m., the fierce attack that had lasted for eight hours came to an abrupt end.

The 1515 militants began to disengage in an organized manner and retreated to the rear. They took most of the wounded and the vehicles that could still be driven with them, but left behind hundreds of corpses and more than twenty destroyed armored pickup trucks scattered on the scorched earth.

　First update. Let's see if I can break 10,000 words today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)