Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 232 "Milton's Barbecue"

As the soldier spoke, one could clearly hear various loud explosions and machine gun fire coming from all around.

But he still managed to control his emotions and continued to report in the most concise language: "The air raid will be here in about 3 minutes. Please be prepared."

Milton calmly replied, "Understood. Continue the fight."

"Yes!"

After saying that, Milton immediately stood up and said to Brandon, who was standing silently waiting for orders, "Move all the Stinger missiles and other anti-aircraft missiles that can be mobilized nearby."

"The fact that he dared to fly over like this means that he thinks our air defense firepower is insufficient."

"Or the enemy might think their planes are secret weapons, and we don't have time to hastily assemble a single-soldier air defense network in just three minutes."

"Then I'll tell him how efficient a fighting army can be."

Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are currently on the front lines, so we can only rely on man-portable air defense missiles.

As Brandon nodded, he added, "Boss, we also have a Stinger and a SAM-14 in our command post."

“Give me the Stinger, and you go use the SAM-14,” Milton said quickly, glancing down at his watch. “Fire from as many different angles as possible.”

"Bring out some of the dummies we prepared."

"Roger that!"

Milton strode to the armory and took out a Stinger suit—the first one he had seized from the Gulf Cartel drug traffickers.

Using drug dealers' stuff to fight drug dealers is just the right thing to do.

“CJNG knows I have anti-aircraft missiles, but they probably think I only have a set of Stingers plus other fakes…” Milton began to methodically install batteries and cooling units on the Stinger missile launcher. “He probably thinks I will leave my most valuable Stingers on the front lines.”

While loading ammunition and shifting positions, Milton continued to receive reports from soldiers on the front lines.

The aircraft's target was very clear: from the enemy's perspective, Milton's defenses were now extremely weak and there was no value in launching an airstrike... The greatest value, of course, was to try and gamble in the rear.

If we could eliminate a few high-ranking officers in Milton's army, it would definitely be touted as a huge victory.

Brandon's voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie. He asked, "What do we do if we don't shoot it down?"

You have time to ask the later questions; it seems you've dealt with your weapon properly...

Milton said, "Then there's no other way but to have our SU-25s take off with air-to-air missiles and stay at the front-line airfields."

"During this brief window of opportunity before the arrival of the SU-25, we have no choice but to withstand the pressure of enemy air strikes."

"But don't worry, look at the surrounding terrain... This isn't a plain, there are many mountains. The aircraft itself will be affected by the terrain. Either when attacking ground targets, it will have to lower its altitude even further, or when maneuvering, it will be unable to choose certain directions that might lead to a collision with a mountain."

"With multiple missiles targeting us from different angles, our chances of success are very high."

"..."

While chatting and relaxing, Milton didn't forget to gather the information.

Since the beginning of this month, there have been continuous reports on the aircraft's condition.

Boom boom boom…

The intense rumble of artillery and gunfire from the front lines could reach Milton's ears without needing a walkie-talkie.

"I killed four of them, four of them!"

"The rocket launcher hit it! It hit their earthen tank! I destroyed one tank..."

"We need a medic! A medic! Someone's injured! Come quick!"

"My machine gun barrel is hot enough to fry a steak... Water, give me water to cool it down."

"The enemy seems to have realized the problem; their charge has slowed down. Quick, take advantage of this opportunity and wipe them out!"

"..."

News from the front kept reaching Milton's ears as he listened, gazing at the sky.

The reconnaissance team, occupying the high ground, suddenly shouted: "Enemy aircraft spotted! Repeat! Enemy aircraft spotted! Due east! All units, take cover! Repeat..."

As he uttered those words, a tiny, inconspicuous black dot suddenly appeared at the edge of Milton's field of vision.

Milton kicked the IFF kit aside, unfolded the sights, and aimed at the small black dot.

The entire rear position had been orderly retreated into the bunkers, leaving only some dummies outside to mislead the pilots.

Boom boom boom!
The AT-33A lowered its altitude, flew low, and its two 7.62mm machine guns opened fire on the dummies on the ground, blasting up clusters of red paint.

The scene looked extremely bloody.

The enemy pilot also seemed very pleased with himself. After pulling up, he alternately pushed the stick left and right to make the wings wobble slightly, and added a little yaw to the left, causing the AT-33A to wobble its wings.

This is clearly a provocation against all of Milton's ground units.

Brandon couldn't help but curse out, "Fuck..."

"What's there to be proud of? Our planes aren't much better than theirs; they're just there to intimidate the front lines!"

"How disgusting!"

"..."

Milton watched the plane fly by through the sights and did not choose to launch the anti-aircraft missile at this unfavorable time.

It's very simple. There are only two Stinger missile systems on the entire battlefield; the other anti-aircraft missiles are not that advanced.

Therefore, Milton asked the team to wait for an opportunity, a chance when an enemy plane flew towards a Stinger missile, so that the missile with the highest hit rate could launch a surprise attack in the most accurate way.

Generally speaking, anti-aircraft missiles have the highest hit rate when attacking head-on, followed by attacks from the side, while the hit rate of attacks from the rear is relatively low.

An even more important reason is that many other missiles, such as the SAM-7, rely on infrared guidance. If they were to attack head-on, they might not be able to lock onto the AT-33A, whose engine is located at the rear.

Stinger missiles do not have this problem.

Therefore, we need to wait patiently for the opportunity.

"Don't rush, wait for the enemy plane to show a weakness."

Sure enough, seeing no counterattack from the entire position, the AT-33A pilot was extremely pleased. After performing a beautiful maneuver in the air, he changed direction and continued to strafe the ground targets with his machine gun.

Boom boom boom…

And this direction...

It's right in front of Milton!
At that moment, Milton even saw two dark gun barrels pointing directly at him!
As someone who had flown planes and conducted ground-to-ground strikes, Milton knew how intense this sense of oppression was—most people, let alone seeing planes swooping down on them, would be so frightened by the mere sound of enemy aircraft that they would huddle motionless in trenches or bunkers.

But Milton simply pressed the tracking button calmly and said, "I'm locking onto the target."

This statement served as a signal, prompting other soldiers holding anti-aircraft missiles in different directions to press their lock-on buttons as well.

"Locking the target..."

"Target locked, awaiting instructions."

"..."

The AT-33A does not have an RWR (Radar Warning Receiver) or MAWS (Missile Approach Warning System), and naturally it also lacks a system for deploying flares and chaff.

At this moment, the pilot had no idea that he had been locked on and was still flying leisurely in the sky!
Drop drop!
Five seconds later, Milton's Stinger missile emitted a high-frequency beeping sound, indicating that the lock-on was complete!
"Lock secured, launch!"

shhhhhh!
在0.5秒内，4套萨姆-7，1套萨姆-14和2套毒刺从不同的角度，朝着天上的AT-33A打了过去！

Almost instantly, the sky was filled with white missile engine contrails!

The AT-33A pilot didn't even have time to react!

However, Milton reacted much faster than him. Almost the instant the missile was launched, he had already thrown away the Stinger and fled frantically toward a bunker on the side!

As long as he stays behind cover, even if he is locked on by an AT-33A and hit by machine gun fire, as long as he doesn't get hit by concentrated fire, the cover and NIJ IV level body armor are enough to ensure that Milton will most likely not be seriously injured by a few bullets.

He even prepared an extra Level 4 plate to protect his head and neck—there's no other way, as no bulletproof helmet can currently withstand a full-power bullet head-on.

Crackling...

Sure enough, at the site where Milton had just launched his missile, dust billowed as the Stinger missiles were unfortunately hit and appeared to be completely destroyed.

The AT-33A pilot instinctively fired back, following the trajectory of the missile.

But his instinctive counterattack further compressed his already narrow space for survival!
The missile and the aircraft are flying relative to each other at extremely high speeds; they will arrive in the blink of an eye!

Milton looked up and saw the AT-33A trying to dodge the missile with a rolling motion, but its own Stinger missile grazed the tail fin. It didn't hit directly and explode, but it brought down a large amount of metal fragments!

The plane immediately began to show signs of going out of control.

If the offensive had ended there, the AT-33A might have been saved, or at least managed a successful forced landing.

but……

shhhhhh!
Milton watched as several missiles flew toward the AT-33A from different angles, two of which missed... but the AT-33A's good luck ended there.

Brandon's SAM-14 and another Stinger missile system accurately hit their targets.

One shot hit the wing, and the violent explosion blew the entire wing into several pieces... Brandon's shot hit the fuel tank directly!

boom!
A terrifying explosion rang out in the sky. The AT-33A was ignited by the spilled fuel, and the entire aircraft went completely out of control, spinning as it plummeted from the sky.

Brandon couldn't contain his excitement and shouted into the walkie-talkie, "We shot it down! The enemy plane has been shot down!!!"

"Holy crap, it's down! Did I shoot it down? I think my missile hit its target!"

The entire radio station was instantly filled with cheers. Before, when they saw the plane approaching, they all felt an instinctive fear; now, they had personally shot down a plane—not a helicopter, but a fixed-wing aircraft!
Without any support from other air units, relying solely on ground-based air defenses, they managed to shoot down one enemy fighter!
How inspiring!

Not only them, but even the soldiers who were desperately holding off the enemy on the front line were thrilled by this good news!
The downing of enemy planes may not have a huge impact on the overall battle situation, but it really boosts morale.

Milton watched the firebird fall from the sky, stood up, made sure no one was around, then patted himself down, wiped the cold sweat from his palms and forehead, and said in a calm tone, "I am Milton... Confirmed enemy plane crash, continue interception."

As expected of the boss... He can remain so calm while doing the most dangerous work in the most dangerous position!
Although Milton did not shoot down the enemy aircraft directly, the missile that grazed the tail of the enemy aircraft was equally crucial.

People felt even more awe towards Milton.

"Wait, boss..." Brandon suddenly shouted, "Look in the sky, it looks like a parachute?"

“Oh?” Milton walked back to the vicinity of the underground command post, raising an eyebrow. “Such a violent explosion, and he was still able to jump out and deploy his parachute…that’s pretty impressive.”

Milton had initially thought the pilot had perished in the fire along with the plane.

Brandon's fingers were still trembling with excitement: "Should we kill him outright, or capture him?"

"Why kill him?" Milton shook his head. "I killed the pilot who parachuted earlier because he was an American, and quite possibly an official American. It would be good for us if he died under mysterious circumstances."

"What is this thing now? Does it even deserve to be killed by me?"

"Arrest him... Same old routine, start with his talent show. Beat him until he admits he was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs."

"Okay! I'll arrange it right away!"

Milton sat down in his seat, picked up a bottle of water, took a sip, and calmed himself down.

Twenty minutes later, a disheveled man who looked like a drug dealer was brought over, bound hand and foot, and escorted by several fierce soldiers.

The bruises around his eyes, the various injuries on his body, and his limping gait all indicated that he had recently been treated poorly.

Brandon kicked him in the knee, forcing him to his knees in pain, while viciously threatening, "Who gave you the right to look the great 'Hell Tax Collector' in the eye? Do you want to end up in a museum? Do you want to be planted in the ground?!"

The "Jingguan Museum" is now almost known in the United States.

How could a pilot not know what this thing is?

He was startled, and his knees buckled as he tried to stand up, falling back to his knees: "I... I am a surrendering pilot. I have no weapons. You cannot treat me like this; it is a violation of international law!"

“What international law? Did I sign it?” Milton laughed. “I’ve been declared a rebel by the Guatemalan government, why would I acknowledge something they signed?”

The pilot opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't say anything.

After a long pause, he cautiously said, "Well, since you didn't kill me, you must think I'm useful, right? I'm a pilot, the kind who can fly fighter jets... You must be short of pilots right now. As long as you give me enough treatment, I... I can pledge my loyalty to you."

The pilot was serious—not that he didn't want to feign surrender and escape from Milton, this terrifying man, but he believed Milton would definitely plant a remote-controlled bomb on the plane.

Milton is a madman who's capable of anything.

“Hahaha…” Milton couldn’t help but laugh, glancing to the side. “Look at this, ‘appropriate treatment.’ You guys are too merciful. The only one who dares to bargain with me after being beaten is him.”

"Learn more and observe how I do it."

The subordinate was ashamed: "I'm sorry, Mr. 'Godfather'!"

The pilot panicked: "Wait..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was dragged away... and then, screams came from deep within the command post.

Milton stretched his neck and asked, "How's the situation at the front? Are the lines holding?"

Brandon nodded and said, "After the enemy's first few charges were met with strong resistance, they seem to have realized something... Now their attacks seem to be much less intense."

"Forget it, let's just go to the front lines and see for ourselves," Milton said after a moment's thought. "Let's go, get in the helicopter!"

Brandon was a little worried: "Boss, it looks like they have anti-aircraft missiles."

“I’m not going to lick the ground.” Milton shrugged. “They don’t have vehicle-mounted air defense systems, just individual anti-aircraft weapons. They can’t lock onto helicopters flying at high altitudes… Let’s go!”

Soon, Milton, carrying the M19 binoculars, boarded the UH-1 helicopter and flew over the vicinity of the battlefield.

Milton picked up his binoculars and made a general observation of the front lines.

Just as Brandon said, this large enemy force, which was all crammed into a small area, immediately dared not charge after experiencing what three-dimensional firepower meant.

But what's even more terrifying is that many members of the "peacekeeping guards" received news that their planes had crashed!
Logically, something that would seriously affect morale should be kept strictly confidential. However, the composition of the unit, which consisted of drug dealers and state police, was too complex. Before long, the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire army!
Bullets, shells, rockets... the terrifying explosions of large-caliber howitzers from all directions completely broke the drug dealers.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

"Milton's defenses are not weak at all; he has enough bullets to rain down on a city... Run!"

"The plane has crashed! Run!"

"Stop guarding this bunker, run!"

The routed peacekeeping guards even abandoned the few positions they had painstakingly captured, hastily jumping out and fleeing with the main force.

Just kidding, when everyone starts running away, whoever runs the slowest becomes a meat shield.

Milton's soldiers, who were fiercely resisting, were overjoyed to see the enemy so easily abandon the position they had fought so hard to capture, and quickly got their men to retake it.

Boom boom boom…

A Milton soldier, his eyes bloodshot, looked at his fallen comrade and frantically fired his machine gun at the enemy. The terrifying heat emanating from the barrel was almost burning through his fingers!
The peacekeeping guards were terrified, and once the rout began, it was very difficult to stop. No one was targeting the machine gun position anymore.

These fleeing soldiers were completely unaware that many of them had already crowded onto a narrow, not-so-wide road!
In a small place, hundreds of people gathered...

As the crowd grew larger, the drug dealers finally felt a sense of dread—with so many people gathered together, Milton wasn't stupid; he was bound to notice!

Magnus was surrounded in the safest spot, and he shouted desperately, trying to maintain order and get the soldiers to disperse.

But the next second, a rapidly falling shell flashed before his eyes.

This narrow road, crowded with people, was hit by a large-caliber howitzer shell.

boom!
As the smoke cleared, the crowd that had been pushing and shoving was now reduced to rubble and a few people lying on the ground in agony.

Even Magnus, who had killed countless people, was horrified by that scene.

"Retreat, retreat..." Magnus turned his head and glanced at the city of San Cristo, which was so close at hand. He couldn't stop thinking about the defenders who were desperately organizing to attack Milton from both inside and outside. "So close, so close... If only my soldiers were a little more elite!"

Even surrounded like this, Milton's defenses suffered a great blow due to their initial reckless charge.

If you can maintain this, you might not win, but you'll definitely be able to struggle a little longer.

“It’s alright…” Magnus reassured himself. “If we retreat now and reorganize, I can launch a second and a third attack!”

"Just a minor setback..."

The moment this thought crossed their minds, streaks of blood suddenly burst from the bodies of the soldiers who were bursting with fierce fighting spirit due to their will to survive and were about to break through the encirclement.

Then, they fell down in droves!

"tank!"

"Our rear has been surrounded!"

"These are tanks attacking our supply convoy... Run! Ah!!!"

"what!!!"

Those drug dealers who rushed in the fastest are now the ones who died the fastest.

Without cover or terrain protection, tanks have an almost absolute advantage over infantry, even light tanks.

Seeing his hard-won breakout force quickly scattered, and Milton's army gradually closing the last gap in the encirclement, Magnus finally panicked.

Where should we rush now?
Should we charge the tanks with our own bodies, or charge the positions we just gave up?
No matter how you charge, you're going to die...

"Boss!" a CJNG drug dealer shouted, "The firepower over San Cristo is weak, and there's hardly anyone defending that area. Should we retreat into the city and rejoin the garrison?"

Isn't that just asking for death?

Hide in the city? Milton could starve them to death.

Magnus immediately wanted to scold him, but after looking at the surrounding situation and seeing the army that had completely lost its fighting spirit, he knew that it was completely unrealistic to send them to charge the tanks and defensive positions now.

On one side lies an imminent crisis, where failure means certain death, yet there is a sliver of hope for survival; on the other side are cities that seem capable of holding out for a while longer, but are destined to fall...

But everyone was terrified of Milton, and the soldiers looked toward the city of San Cristo, their eyes filled with hope as they awaited Magnus's orders.

Magnus let out a long sigh.

"Let's go... If we rendezvous with the garrison, we might still have a chance."

Upon receiving the order, this army, which had long been pushed to its limits, finally disregarded everything and swarmed towards the crumbling city of San Cristóth like locusts...

……

Milton watched the whole scene from the helicopter, seeing the defeated army, armed and hungry, flee into San Cristóbal.

"Boss, they're in! They're finished!" Brandon exclaimed excitedly. "What are we going to do next? Starve them to death?"

"Am I such a cruel person?" Milton smiled. "There's no food in the city, but I'm still very kind..."

"Have the airport prepare to have everything that can fly, including helicopters, carry incendiary bombs."

“Starting tomorrow, I will make barbecue for them every day.”

"Let's call this operation 'Milton's Barbecue'."

(End of this chapter)