Time Travel 04: I Fight the US in the Middle East

The eastern sky slowly began to lighten, signaling the start of a new day!

Amr-Erwan-Ibrahim rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on.

Drinking alcohol, gambling, idol worship, and swinging are all unclean acts, the actions of the devil, and should therefore be avoided...

The true God was right, drinking...

No, no, we didn't drink alcohol, we drank barley juice...

"Amir, you're finally awake!" Just then, an excited yet anxious voice rang out, "Amir, quickly organize the troops and head back to Najaf..."

Amr-Erwan Ibrahim struggled to open his eyes, looking at the person in front of him: "Abid? Weren't you with the leader?"

"Yes, the US military suddenly broke into Najaf last night. We are short-handed and need urgent support. Amr, hurry..."

Whoosh!

Amr suddenly stood up. The US military had entered Najaf, the leader was in danger, and he needed to go back to support him immediately!

He put on a long robe, picked up an AK... He had just reached the door when he suddenly stopped.

"Amhr, hurry up and get going! Although the other commanders haven't woken up yet, you're the commander-in-chief here. You can bypass them and give orders..."

Amr-Erwan-Ibrahim shook his head: "This matter cannot be rushed; I need to ask Azam."

Who is Azam? He seems to be that... guy who refused to join us?

At such a critical moment, instead of rushing back with the army, you have to ask an outsider?

"Amri, this is a matter for our Mahdi army, you..."

"We were able to win the battle because of Azam," said Amr-Erwan Ibrahim. "Without him, even if we went back, it would just be suicide."

What?

Are you kidding me!

Azam is just a sniper. What good is his marksmanship? Can he compare to our thousands of troops?

Amr-Erwan-Ibrahim's mind was already racing.

The journey from Sadr City to Najaf is long, and sending reinforcements is not something that can be done with mere words. The safety of the leader is very important, but if our troops cannot even get there and are ambushed or even wiped out by the US military on the way, what is the point of sending reinforcements?

Unable to plan this long march on their own, they had to seek help from Azam!

He jogged to Azam's room, gently pushed open the door, and saw... Azam lying on the bed, still fast asleep. The smell in the air was quite pungent. Could he have vomited in the middle of the night?

"Brother Azam, Brother Azam!"

Azam remained silent.

"Amri, you'd better hurry and leave. The Holy City needs your support!"

It seems Azam won't wake up anytime soon. What should I do?

He took a deep breath: "I need to wake everyone else up, and we'll work together to figure out how to march!"

Just as the two left, Mariam came in carrying a bowl of jujube and licorice soup.

Drinking alcohol is not allowed here at all, so there is no proper hangover remedy. The main function of this jujube and licorice soup is to moisten the lungs, detoxify, resolve phlegm, and stop coughing. However, it is also used in folk medicine for post-drinking recovery.

"Mariam, if your Captain Azam can wake up, bring him out for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the battle plan."

"it is good."

Mariam entered the room, and when no one was around, she spoke softly: "Captain Azam, we just received new information. Muqtada al-Sadr was arrested last night and is now being held in Baghdad's Green Zone."

Whoosh!

Azam sat up abruptly.

Great, great, that's really good news!

The rescue of Najaf was because Muqtada al-Sadr was there!

Now that this guy has been captured, we don't need to go there!

Seriously, why didn't they just kill him?! He was captured alive, so what's next...?

Azam's mind raced as he considered the next developments. After a dozen minutes, he finally sorted out his thoughts, gulped down his soup, and stood up. "Mariam," he said, "send a message back to Majid. Keep a close eye on the prisoners' movements."

"Are we here to rescue him?"

Azam shook his head: "No, some people are meant to die a heroic death..."

"Yes."

Mariam did not hesitate at all. She believed that Azam must have his reasons for making this decision. No matter who he killed, it was all for the sake of fighting the American army!

When Azam arrived in the courtyard, Khalil Maliki and Ali Hazim had already woken up and were being urged on by Abid.

"What are you waiting for? You must act quickly! The longer you linger in Najaf's territory, the more dangerous it becomes!"

"Let's wait."

"Yes, let's wait until Azam wakes up before we talk about it."

"What kind of spell did that Azam cast on you?!"

"No, only Azam can lead us to victory. We must discuss such an important matter with Azam."

Yesterday's battle filled these senior officers of the Mahdi Army with trust and respect for Azzam!

Unbeknownst to them, they had already come to regard Azam as their backbone!

The more tense things are, the less you can afford to panic! We absolutely must hear what Azam has to say!

beep, beep...

Footsteps sounded.

Everyone looked towards the small building, and as Azam came out, they all came forward to greet him.

"Brother Azam, you're finally awake!"

"Yes, Brother Azam, we're in trouble. Najaf is under massive US invasion!"

Ali-Hazem said urgently, "It's over 160 kilometers from here to Najaf. We just analyzed the situation, and we're likely to encounter multiple interceptions and ambushes by the US military along the way. Even if we send 2,000 men, they might still die on the way..."

"Yes, the American troops are definitely waiting for us along the way," Azam said. "Besieging a point to ambush reinforcements is one of the most common tactics. In fact... as soon as we leave Sadr City, the American troops will pounce on us like lions in the desert, but..."

His voice was low and somber at the beginning, but after the transition, it rose in pitch.

"Muqtada al-Sadr is the leader of the Mahdi Army and an anti-American fighter! If he were to pass away, it would be a huge blow to our anti-American movement! Therefore, we cannot stand idly by; we must provide support. Sometimes, even knowing it means death, we must go without hesitation!"

These words were spoken with resounding force, and a sense of tragic grandeur welled up in everyone's hearts, like the mournful wind howling and the Yi River running cold...

beep, beep...

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside.

"Report, outside, outside..."

"What's going on outside?"

"News has come from outside that our leader..."

"What's wrong with our leader?"

"Our leader has been captured by the Americans! He has promised the Americans that he will disband the Mahdi Army and cease confrontation with them..."

What?

Abid grabbed the man by the collar: "What did you say? You dare to spread false information and undermine morale! I... I'll kill you!"