1021: Chapter 1006 Late Arrival 1021: Chapter 1006 Late Arrival PS: For an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at “War of Mercenaries” and to share your thoughts about the novel, follow us on QiDian Chinese Network public account (WeChat add friend – add public account – enter qdread) and quietly tell me!
On the left side of the target building is a major highway, and on the right and south sides are green areas; on the north side, a small road.
By now, vehicles from inside the target building had started departing, and vehicles that had already been on the highway had begun to flee.
The vehicles escaping on the highway had driven far, but they could only travel along the road.
A Su-25 repeatedly strafed them with its autocannon as it flew from ultra-low altitude; by the time the plane pulled up again, three out of four cars had been brought to a halt.
The speed of the fixed-wing aircraft was very fast.
Attacking moving cars on the highway was quite challenging.
Achieving strikes on three vehicles by strafing from the road was most impressive.
The Su-25 quickly swept past and, having lost the position for attack, had to circle around to re-enter the attack stance.
Meanwhile, another Su-25 started firing at the car that was speeding away—rockets, bombs, autocannon—unleashing a barrage on a solitary car darting left and right in an S-shaped pattern on the highway, but somehow, like possessed by a divine force, that car blasted out of the explosive smoke after being targeted by three Su-25s.
Gao Yang could no longer concern himself with the vehicles escaping north because three cars were fleeing south along the highway, directly into the path of an Mi-24 coming from the south.
For attacking moving fire points, helicopters are actually more suitable than fixed-wing attack aircraft.
Night Demon One opened fire, Night Demon Two opened fire, Night Demon Three opened fire, Night Demon Four opened fire—essentially, anyone who could fire down wasn’t idle.
Night Demon Two took the lead, using its autocannon to blow up one car, and Night Demon One followed up with a simultaneous burst of autocannon fire and rockets, setting the second car ablaze with raging fire.
Immediately afterward, Night Demon One pursued and stopped the third car—having turned around and veered off the highway into a small grove—in its tracks.
Many people on the ground were running in disarray.
Glolov, aboard an Mi-17, had no mounted machine guns, so he held a machine gun firing downwards, targeting individuals running from vehicles or shooting at the helicopter from nearby buildings.
The aircraft carrying Gao Yang and his team was the most hectic; two people in the rear cargo door were shooting, and people on either side also kept firing continuously.
Not to mention that Meskenay is controlled by the Victory Front; it is also a military stronghold for the Victory Front, serving as an assembly point for attacks launched toward Homs, and thus harboring at least a thousand personnel.
This time, Gao Yang brought his Blade of Satan, enjoying the firing from the helicopter.
Two fighter bombers swooped in again, descending to drop bombs on the target building.
Finally, a bomb landed squarely on the target building.
Nine aircraft in total—bombers and attack planes—unleashed formidable firepower with no less than twenty tons of bombs dropped, but the outcome achieved was difficult to ascertain.
Almost every building here had a basement and the bombs dropped by the aircraft were quite off mark, although they devastated a large area around the target building; however, only two bombs hit the main target location accurately.
Regardless, the bombers had cleared the battlefield surroundings, and along with four attack planes and two armed helicopters providing air support, Gao Yang dared to descend despite the heavy presence of ground forces.
No matter how intense the aerial assault, the final resolution still depended on infantry.
Nonetheless, Gao Yang had to land on the ground to assess the situation.
Gao Yang yelled to Gilanor, “Tell the bombers to stop bombing, avoid friendly fire, we are going down!”
“Military Dog!
Tell Postman to circle above us, awaiting attack instructions!”
“Night Demon One, Two, Four, cover us!”
“Night Demon Three!
Descend, descend!”
After issuing four commands, Jacklan piloted the helicopter rapidly towards the ground.
Once the aircraft had landed on the highway beside the target building’s courtyard, Gao Yang leaped out the side hatch.
Surveying the surroundings, Gao Yang felt momentarily bewildered as the target building was half-collapsed and afire, the courtyard strewn with dismembered limbs and not a single intact body in sight.
The bombers initiated the attack, dropping two bombs near the building consecutively—a bomb and an incendiary.
There wouldn’t be any survivors left inside the building or in the blown-up cars on the highway.
The descent was to closely observe the effects of the attack, but Gao Yang’s main objective was to capture a prisoner alive; otherwise, there was no way to ascertain whether Badadi was present or dead or alive.
Unfortunately, looking around, Gao Yang couldn’t see any place where he could capture a prisoner.
Just then, Eileen urgently exclaimed, “Boss, at your four o’clock, three people climbed out of a car.”
Gao Yang waved in the direction Eileen indicated and shouted, “Third team, search the target building; second team, stay back and guard; first team, capture prisoners alive, as alive as possible!”
While shouting, Gao Yang ran towards the direction Eileen pointed out.
About a hundred meters away, three people were stumbling and splitting up as they ran.
The nearby assault targets had disappeared, and Gao Yang was using the Blade of Satan, which made it easier to target enemies at a distance.
Gao Yang aimed his rifle at a man trying to escape.
He aimed for the thigh but, after a moment’s thought, decided not to shoot.
The man attempting to escape showed no intention of fighting back.
Gao Yang shouted loudly, “Chase him down and capture him alive!”
Gao Yang intermittently raised his rifle to observe, but when he saw one of the fleeing men about to stop and shoot back, Gao Yang fired first and shot off the man’s right arm.
The captive was quickly brought back; only one of them had a gun while the other two were unarmed.
Eager to find out the whereabouts of the Emperor, Gao Yang didn’t rush back to the helicopter for evacuation.
Instead, he waited for Number Thirteen, Ludwig, and Li Jinfang to throw their respective captives in front of him, and Gao Yang immediately began the interrogation.
“Which organization are you from?
Speak up!”
Gao Yang spoke in Arabic.
Although his pronunciation was not very accurate, it was enough for his captives to understand.
The three captives looked nervous and were shaking their heads desperately, none of them spoke.
Gao Yang had no time to waste.
He pointed at the man whose arm he had shot off and shouted, “Chop off his leg!”
Ludwig drew his knife and chopped it down.
As the captive screamed, Ludwig continued to slash, and Gao Yang bellowed, “Speak up!
Tell me!”
“Victory Front!
We’re with the Victory Front!”
The man being chopped didn’t speak, but another one shouted out, Gao Yang grabbed that collapsing man and yelled in fury, “Where are the IS people?”
“They didn’t come!
There are no IS people.
Those bastards lied to us; they never showed up.
We’ve been here for over an hour, and they didn’t come!”
The collapsing man was Big Beard, looking quite young.
The older Big Beard next to him, hearing what the younger one shouted, suddenly lunged at him, shouting, “Shut up!”
Gao Yang shot the older man dead, then turned to the trembling young man and yelled, “Where’s Hamshami?”
The young man pointed north, stammering, “We split up, he drove north in a green SUV.”
The captive, whose arm was broken and leg had been chopped several times, roared, “Shut up, you coward!”
Without letting Gao Yang waste a bullet, Ludwig slit the wounded captive’s throat.
Gao Yang squatted down and said to the young captive who had started to cry and shout, “Tell the truth and I won’t kill you.
Why didn’t the IS people come?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know.
No one told me.
I am just Hamshami’s bodyguard.
I don’t know anything else.
We’ve been waiting here for over an hour and the IS people didn’t come.
Hamshami ordered us to leave, that’s all I know!”
Gao Yang decided to believe the captive’s words.
He got up and shouted into the radio, “Retreat!
Everyone retreat!”
Gao Yang turned and walked away, and a gunshot rang out behind him, then the captive’s cries abruptly stopped.
Gao Yang ran back to the helicopter, and once everyone was aboard, he yelled, “Night Demon Three, you’re clear to take off!”
As the aircraft slowly ascended, just as it had barely left the ground, Gilanor suddenly shouted to Gao Yang, “The reconnaissance plane spotted four cars coming from the south about four kilometers from here, then they immediately turned around and headed south along the highway.
I suspect it might be the tardy IS people.
Were those four cars the IS who were late?”
Gao Yang’s eyes widened; it was possible, a significant possibility.
Civilians wouldn’t head towards Homs where the fighting was fiercest during a war.
Gao Yang immediately shouted, “Night Demon One, Night Demon Two!
There’s a convoy of four cars on the southern highway.
Take them down, try to leave one car and a few alive if possible.”
After that, Gao Yang yelled to Treiler, “Tell the Postman to handle those cars.”
The circling Su-25 immediately flew south.
Then Gao Yang urgently shouted, “Night Demon Four, move quickly; I need a live capture, but if it’s not certain, kill them all.
Just don’t let anyone escape!”
Gilanor shouted, “The convoy has split up; the four cars have separated!
Only one continues along the highway!”
Gao Yang took a breath and yelled, “Inform all fighters, any car leaving the highway, wipe them all out!”
The noise inside the cabin was too loud.
Though they were close, Gao Yang still had to shout; after speaking to Gilanor, Gao Yang roared into the radio, “Night Demon One, keep an eye on the car left on the highway, everyone else, free attack.
Just make sure not one car escapes.”
There was no radio to contact all the aircraft at once, so Gao Yang had to issue orders one by one; finally, he said to Treiler, “Tell the Postman to take down all the escaping cars!
Tell him he’s the fastest flyer, get it done before the enemy can hide.
Don’t disappoint me!”