Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 313 Want to fly? I'll punch you in the face.
Guatemala City.

presidential palace.

As the central hub of a country, this place should be orderly... but at this moment, it's noisier than a market.

Those present, including former General Reggie and other government officials, were gathered nearby, their faces filled with anxiety.

Many of the officials had planned to flee, but President Arsú told them that he had obtained a secret weapon that could destroy Milton's army and held a grand military parade to boost morale, intending to emulate the Battle of Moscow. They had no choice but to stay and wait for reports of victory from the front.

Then they received news that Milton had stolen the "secret weapon," news that Milton's army had bypassed Guatemala City and marched straight towards the Northern Warlords, and news of defeat at the front.

“Your Excellency President!” At this moment, a member of parliament with many local businesses banged on the door without any politeness. “Now, you must come up with a plan… Hiding in the office won’t do any good. This wooden door can stop us, but can it stop Milton’s tanks?”

"Milton's main force is still chasing down those idiots in the north, we still have some time!"

"I need a private jet, I need security!"

"Please maintain basic order..."

"..."

Arsu was no longer as arrogant as before. He sat at the top of the conference room, looking at his silent "confidants" with a furious expression.

When it came to the crucial moment, these people who had once spoken eloquently, who had once silenced others and won countless applause, all became mute!

Especially those people in the Ministry of Defense.

Before he took office, everything was agreed upon, and he was tasked with getting Reggie removed from office. However, when he himself took office, he was no different from someone who had been tethered to a dog.

However, at this point in time, only those who flatter and fawn are relatively reliable and trustworthy.

Everyone can see that what sits atop the capital is a broken government, and this broken government is governing a country on the verge of collapse.

Most people are opportunists; no one will stay on a ship that's about to sink—unless they have a blood feud with the new captain.

If Arsu were to go out for a stroll now, he'd probably get a plastic bag over his head, knock him unconscious, and be tied up and handed over to Milton.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, an official cautiously said, "We...we haven't completely failed...as long as we can find a way to escape, we can form a government-in-exile. The international community won't recognize Milton's government in the short term."

“Our allies have only suffered losses, at least they still have territory… We also have allies in Honduras. Their army has suffered such heavy losses, they must hate Milton to the core. As long as we can successfully launch a military coup, we will have overseas support.”

"The nationwide mobilization order has not stopped, and there is still a steady stream of conscripts gathering. We have only lost Guatemala City. Milton has occupied the capital, but that does not mean he has occupied the whole country."

"As long as we escape, we still have a chance!"

"..."

Arsu suppressed his fear—yes, as long as he could escape the besieged capital, there was still a chance.

"Someone tell me how to escape? It's impossible to escape by land now. Our only chance is in the air, but the enemy has air superiority. How are we supposed to fly out?"

General Reggie, who had been silent all along, pressed his forehead and sighed heavily: "First, we need to find a way to withdraw as many soldiers as possible, otherwise we can't even guarantee that you all get to the airport safely."

Reggie had felt a great crisis when the joint command was unable to be rebuilt. Even after being dismissed, he used almost all of his connections and savings to try to get his message to the Northern Group warlords.

They did indeed become vigilant and consulted a professional PMC, quickly finding the nearest natural barrier and setting up their defenses.

Although President Alsou did something absurd like holding a military parade, they still had a slight chance of winning under the attack from both sides. Even if they were to lose, as long as the commander wasn't a complete idiot, they should be able to severely damage Milton's enemy forces, withdraw from Guatemala City at their own pace, and continue to wage a war of attrition against Milton.

Until Milton suddenly launched a special operation, blowing up two fighter jets and stealing the AC-130, which they considered a secret weapon.

The already slim chances of victory have now become even more hopeless... They had originally thought that even if they failed, they could withdraw a significant portion of their troops to continue the resistance, but now even the safety of the president himself cannot be guaranteed.

How many people can be evacuated with a few planes?
Although a sliver of unrealistic hope lingered in his mind, Reggie knew that they were most likely to lose... The government was about to be overthrown, and a new nation was about to be established.

He tried his best to salvage the situation, but ultimately failed.

Seeing that no one in the room spoke, Reggie continued, "I will use everything that can fly to protect you all, and gather the remaining soldiers who are still loyal to the country to do everything in our power to stop the rebels. As for the rest, you can figure it out yourselves."

But the expressions of the other people present were still not very good.

They were all the president's confidants and knew about the situation on the front lines immediately... The battlefield isn't a video game; you can't just fight or leave whenever you want.

The defenders of Guatemala City are making a fierce attack on Brandon's lines. Is it really that easy to suddenly order them to retreat?

As an enemy general, did Brandon not know that the Eastern Front had made a major breakthrough? Wouldn't he have launched a full-scale counterattack to hold off the army and prevent them from entering the city?
Even if some soldiers manage to escape, how many of them are truly "loyal"? With so few men and no logistical support, how long can they hold off Milton's army? Half a day? A day?
General Reggie could only buy a little time at most.

An official hesitated for a moment, looked at Arsu, and said, "Perhaps we can use commercial airliners as a 'shield'."

Arsu frowned: "Commercial airliners? Where are there any commercial airliners left now?"

It's been shut down for a long time!
The official's face hardened, and he clenched his fist: "Your Excellency, President... it's permissible."

Riley, the spy who had remained silent in the distance and whom Arsu considered to be in the same boat, kept his head down and remained silent.

He was actually far from reaching the core level... but everyone knew he had defected from Milton, and given Milton's methods, being minced into meat would be the best outcome if he were caught.

The enemy of my enemy is my best friend.

Arsu glanced at Riley, then turned to the official and asked, "What method?"

“We can still control the armed forces and soldiers. As long as we forcibly take control of the airport and force them to take off civilian flights, wouldn’t that be enough? Our planes can easily blend in with them.”

Arsu frowned: "Why doesn't Milton just scramble fighter jets to intercept every flight?"

The official shook his head violently, his tone sinister: "Your Excellency, things are different now. Milton is about to become the legitimate government of this country, and many of his previous actions can no longer be carried out; conversely, we can now do some things that only 'terrorists' would do."

"It's time to use Milton's methods against Milton."

“Milton wanted to stop the passenger plane, but our men could threaten the captain with a gun on board, disobeying the fighter jets' orders and making him continue flying toward his destination.”

"We still have so many passenger planes at our airport, would Milton dare to shoot them down? Would Milton dare to shoot down a civilian airliner?"

"Does he dare to shoot down one, or all of them?"

"As long as he doesn't know which plane we're on, he can only watch helplessly as all the commercial airliners take off."

Arsu's eyes lit up immediately: "It seems like it might actually work..."

The official smiled smugly: "Besides, we can also sell plane tickets... There are quite a few people in this city who want to escape right now. They certainly don't want to stay here and face Milton. They must have a lot of things to take away. Before we escape, we can make a lot of money from this."

"Of course, Milton has already infiltrated the city. We have to keep up the act. If Milton finds out there are no civilians on the plane, he will definitely choose to shoot it down."

“We’ll throw some discounted tickets at those poor folks, let civilians actually board the planes, and Milton definitely won’t dare shoot them down.” “Then we’ll leave here and continue fighting Milton.”

"..."

Using civilians as a shield... Milton, the madman of the past, might not have cared about civilian casualties, but as a "legitimate government," or at least a "legitimate government," how could he not care about civilian deaths?

Shooting down a single passenger plane is enough to cause a global sensation, let alone the sheer number of passenger planes here.

This is a brilliant plan!

Arsu immediately stood up: "Then stop talking nonsense, General Reggie, quickly arrange a squad of soldiers for us! Head to the airport immediately... Every second wasted could lead to something unexpected!"

“We will take a private car to the airport first, where we will set up a temporary fortress and restricted area.”

Arsu, who was only thinking about escaping, ended the meeting and prepared to get up, only to find that there was one person in the meeting room who did not move—it was General Reggie, whom he did not like but was very capable and sometimes had to rely on.

"General Reggie, aren't you leaving?"

Reggie was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "Someone has to stay behind to cover the rear, doesn't he? I'm old and can't walk anymore... As a general, if I don't have the courage to protect the country, at least I can't be a deserter."

"Tch..." the defense minister thought dismissively, waving his hand. "That's settled then, let's go!"

A group of high-ranking government officials boarded bulletproof vehicles and, escorted by military vehicles, began to leave the presidential palace.

At this moment, the area outside the presidential palace was filled with a terrified crowd—not only ordinary people, but also the middle class and some wealthy people!
Faced with Milton's terrifying cannons, wealth not only fails to improve survival rates, but may even become a death sentence.

When surrounded by enemy forces, not to mention the US dollar, even gold is just a piece of scrap metal.

The moment the presidential motorcade drove away, people from all classes united, erupting in a startling and unified protest: "Mr. President, we need an explanation! We need a way out!!!"

"Where are you going? Are you abandoning your citizens and your country to flee?!"

We need an explanation!

"..."

The entrance was completely blocked, as if they would stay there indefinitely unless Arsu gave a reasonable explanation.

Arsu had already taken precautions; he used a megaphone to announce:
"Citizens, please rest assured... we will not expose you to the enemy's threat of death."

"In 30 minutes, Guatemala International Airport will reopen to civilian flights, and tickets will be available for sale to all citizens. I repeat, available for sale to all citizens. I guarantee the safety of everyone on board!"

"..."

Are civil aviation flights reopening?
Can I buy a plane ticket and leave now?

The protests subsided somewhat, but Milton's spy, lurking in the crowd, was not about to let things end so easily.

Immediately, someone shouted, "How many people can the plane take? A few thousand at most? What about the others? What will happen to them?!"

The public immediately realized the problem – yes, how much capacity does the airport have?

How many of them will be able to snag a plane ticket?
"yes……"

"We need something else..."

Boom boom boom! ! !
Before the riots could even break out, the machine gun turrets on the military vehicles spat fire, sweeping towards those who were still blocking the way!
The convoy no longer cared how many people were ahead and ran them over!
"what--"

"what!!!"

"Murder! Shooting!"

The unrest, which had not yet begun to escalate, was quelled instantly, and no one dared to stand in Arsu's way anymore.

“I have already given you a way out. Those who still block the way have surely betrayed the country and are deliberately disrupting order!”

boom!
With a press of the accelerator, Arsu's convoy arrived near the airport—but the scene near the airport shocked Arsu once again.

Countless people rushed into the airport, and some even took a different route, climbing over the wall to get onto the runway, and there were quite a few of them.

Arsu frowned. His survival instincts told him that if he went into the terminal to board the plane as planned, unforeseen accidents might occur.

“Call Reggie and ask him if the garrison has any spare helicopters. Send two over.”

"The general said there is, but it's very important for defense..."

"Nothing is more important than me!" Arsu roared. "Tell him to send a helicopter to my location immediately!"

"..."

Finally, two UH-1 helicopters appeared in the sky and landed near the convoy—a small crowd and reporters had already gathered nearby, but seeing the heavily armed soldiers, no one dared to get on.

Once the helicopter came to a stop, Lai, who had been silent the whole time, got out of the car as quickly as possible, stuck close to Arsu, and became the second person to board the helicopter after him.

The rest of the convoy also boarded the plane one after another...

However, after the soldiers boarded and some other officers boarded, some of the lower-ranking officers were shocked to find that there were no more seats left on the helicopter!

Two UH-1s are not enough to take the entire convoy away!

Among those unable to board the helicopter was even a man personally promoted by Arsu, who rose to a high-ranking position in the Ministry of Defense through flattery.

beep...

The helicopter didn't seem to be waiting for them and was about to take off!

"Wait... Mr. President, please take me with you, please take me with you!"

“Take us with you!”

The high-ranking official refused to believe that Arsu would really abandon him. He rushed forward, trying to grab the helicopter's landing gear and hang on to the outside—he knew that if he didn't get on this helicopter, his fate would be death!
Snapped!
However, just as he reached for the cabin floor, Arsu's fist slammed down, hitting him squarely in the face and knocking him to the ground, where he rolled several times.

Are you kidding me? Who would let a dog compromise helicopter safety? How could a sycophantic official be more important than a soldier?!

If he can't get on, it's just his bad luck!

beep beep beep...

The helicopter completely left the ground and flew towards the airport, gradually moving away from the ground.

(End of this chapter)