Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1317 First Day of Attack (2)

Song Heping signaled to Jiang Feng to take over command and observation, while he retreated to the communication point behind the rock pillar and answered the satellite phone.

"General Duke."

“Mr. Song, it seems that 1515 has already begun its attack on Hurmatu, and the outer engagement has begun.” Duke’s voice carried a barely perceptible urgency: “1515’s vanguard is making probing attacks. Ross reports that the enemy force is much larger than expected, at least five thousand men, and equipped with heavy weapons.”

“I know.” Song Heping’s voice was calm as usual. “Their main force is still on its way and is passing through my defense zone.”

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone—Duke was clearly processing the information.

"Your defense zone? You're southeast of Hurmatu?"

"Yes, General. I'm in area 4, waiting for Ahmed's central forces to enter the ambush zone."

A longer silence.

Duke needs time to understand Song Heping's plan.

Instead of holding their ground in Baiji or reinforcing Hurmatu, the enemy deployed their main force ahead of time on the flanks of the 1515 attack route, like hunters waiting for their prey to fall into a trap.

"How long will it take you to make a move?" Duke finally asked.

"We can take action at any time."

"and then?"

"And then? Then Ahmed's offensive plan failed." Song Heping's voice held a deeper meaning: "But General... this can only solve Hurmatu's immediate problem. To completely eliminate the threat in the northwest, we need a longer-term plan."

Duke understood the underlying meaning: "You're pressuring me to make a decision regarding the formalization of Samir's forces."

"I am just reminding the general that today I can stop Ahmed's attacking forces and prevent them from effectively attacking Hurmatu, and tomorrow I can cut off his supply lines."

Song Heping's tone remained calm, but every word was like a sharp blade.

"But if my troops don't have official status, many operations will be restricted, which will affect the efficiency of counterterrorism operations."

“I understand,” Duke said. “Give me forty-eight hours. I’ll give you an answer after forty-eight hours.”

“Nahurmatu…”

“Ross will hold the line.” Duke paused, then added, “But if the situation becomes critical, I expect your troops to provide support if necessary.”

“Of course.” Song Heping said with a double meaning, “We are allies, aren’t we? However, I need your call and your promise.”

call ended.

Song Heping returned to his observation post, and Jiang Feng gave him an inquiring look.

"I think the Americans are about to break under the pressure," Song Heping explained simply. "Ross might not even last five days, I reckon three..."

He looked at the thermal imager; the entire rearguard of 1515 had entered the ambush zone.

Twenty howitzers were deployed in a wider section of the riverbed, and soldiers were setting up firing positions—they intended to establish an artillery support point here to provide fire support for the attack on Hurmatu.

Perfect timing.

But Song Heping did not order an attack.

He is waiting.

We await Hurmatu's pressure to reach a critical point, await Duke's call again, and await Washington's decision.

The two mercenary battalions were like fully drawn bowstrings, the arrows ready but not yet released.

"Squad leader, why haven't we made a move yet?" Jiang Feng couldn't help but ask. "They've completely fallen into the trap."

"Because the timing was wrong."

Song Heping put away the thermal imaging device and leaned against the rock wall. "If we act now, we're just helping the Americans out of a predicament. If we wait until the Hurmatu Line is on the verge of collapse before we act, we'll be the saviors. The political values ​​are completely different."

"But that would cause Ross's mercenaries to suffer even greater casualties."

"War is never charity." Song Heping's voice was devoid of emotion. "Thunder Defense is a PMC company. Those mercenaries chose this job, so they had to take the risks, didn't they?"

He looked northwest, where fires were beginning to rise—the vanguard of 1515 had begun probing attacks on the outer defenses of Hurmatu.

The real general offensive will begin after the artillery is in position.

Time ticked by. At 4:10 a.m., a series of explosions came from the direction of Hurmatu—1515 mortars began bombarding the outer positions.

At 4:20, Ross made an urgent call for air support over the radio.

The shelling, which began at 4:40 a.m., lasted for a full two hours.

Twenty howitzers and dozens of mortars unleashed more than eight hundred shells at the eastern front of Hurmatu, shattering the already weak defensive fortifications.

Colonel Ross watched all of this through surveillance cameras in the basement of the command post.

The three observation posts on the first line of defense lost contact fifteen minutes after the shelling began.

The soldiers of the second line of defense huddled in the trenches, enduring what seemed like an endless bombardment.

"Sir, Sector B3 requests evacuation!"

The company commander's hoarse voice came through the communications channel: "Our position has been bombed flat, and our casualties exceed one-third!"

"No retreat!" Ross roared into the microphone. "Anyone who abandons their position will be shot on sight! Tell the soldiers that the real battle begins after the shelling ends!"

He turned to his adjutant: "When will air support arrive?"

"Two F-16s are already on their way, but 1515 has deployed portable anti-aircraft missiles in the vicinity and is estimated to arrive in about twenty minutes."

"Then tell them to hurry up!" Ross slammed his fist on the table.

The shelling gradually ceased at 6:20.

Before the smoke of battle had cleared, hundreds of soldiers from the 1515th Army launched an attack under the cover of armored vehicles.

The suicide car bombs were the first to hit the weakest point on the eastern front, C2, blasting a 20-meter-wide gap in the barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles.

For the next twelve hours, the eastern suburbs of Hurmatu turned into a meat grinder.

Ross's troops relied on pre-set firing positions and buildings on the city's outskirts to put up a steady resistance, destroying four armored vehicles with anti-tank missiles and mowing down the charging infantry with heavy machine guns and snipers.

But 1515's numerical advantage was simply too great—they could attack in shifts, while the defenders didn't even have a chance to catch their breath.

By dusk on the first day, all three lines of defense on the eastern front had fallen, and Ross's troops were forced to retreat into the city's outskirts.

The 800 Thunder Defense mercenaries have been reduced to just over 600, while the casualties among government forces and Kurdish militias have been even greater.

"They will storm the city tomorrow."

Ross told officers at an evening briefing, “But every house is a fortress, every street a trap. We will make them pay for every meter.”

At the same time, in area 4.

Song Heping and his troops continued to lie in ambush in the desert.

"Sergeant, it seems Ross is having a tough time." Jiang Feng handed over the latest reconnaissance report. "The entire eastern front is lost, with estimated casualties of four hundred. If there are no reinforcements by tomorrow..."

"Did Duke call again?" Song Heping interrupted him.

No. The last call was fourteen hours ago.

Song Heping nodded, his expression unreadable.

He walked to the makeshift observation post and looked towards Hurmatu through his binoculars.

"How long do you think we can wait?" he suddenly asked Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng hesitated for a moment: "The US Air Force helped him a lot today, but three lines of defense were still breached. At this rate, I don't think they can hold out for even two days!"

“Hmm…” Song Heping nodded: “Amad’s greatest desire right now is to capture Hurmatu and prove himself to the Raqqa headquarters, so he will launch a fierce attack at all costs.”

"If things continue like this, what if Hurmatu really gets lost..."

"Then we become the only savior, and our value will be even greater."

Song Heping's voice was calm to the point of being cruel: "But that's a bad strategy. The best outcome is to strike when the city is about to fall, which will both demonstrate our value and prevent 1515 from achieving a true strategic victory."

He glanced at his watch: "Order the troops to maintain a state of high alert, but remain in hiding. Do not fire without my order."

　Fourth update!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)