127: Chapter 126: The Final Battle Approaches 127: Chapter 126: The Final Battle Approaches When Gao Yang raised his gun, the hut was instantly filled with the sounds of rifle bolts being pulled back.
If Gao Yang had opened fire, they would have had to prepare for an imminent attack from the Libyan soldiers.
However, extremely fortunately, the officer in charge of the executions didn’t shoot Abdul in the head but instead pushed him, taking him back inside the royal palace.
After Abdul was taken away, a soldier holding an AK rifle raised his arm and fired a shot, killing the only criminal still standing at the entrance of the royal palace.
Watching Abdul being taken back into the royal palace, Gao Yang took a deep breath and lowered his gun.
But he didn’t dare to relax his vigilance and said in a deep voice, “From now on, we take turns watching the entrance of the royal palace.
If Abdul is pushed out again, we’ll have to take action.”
Cui Bo whispered, “But if Abdul is…”
“Shut up, Rabbit, can’t you spare Abdul for once?
Please close your ‘crow’s mouth.’ If Abdul gets killed inside the royal palace, there’s nothing we can do.
But I believe that as long as you keep your ‘crow’s mouth’ shut, Abdul will definitely be alright.”
After thinking for a moment, Cui Bo said earnestly, “Alright, you make sense.
So I’ll say this, I think Abdul will definitely be fine.
He’s had a narrow escape this time, just like back in Benghazi.
Yep, he’s definitely not going to die.”
The danger Abdul faced was temporarily over, but the danger to Gao Yang and his group was far from over.
They would soon be facing attacks, and as far as the eye could see, everyone was the enemy.
Even if they weren’t at the moment, they were definitely potential enemies.
No one seemed to have the desire to speak, and the hut was deadly silent, except for the growing rumble of artillery, which included the sound of explosions from large-caliber shells.
By evening, Gao Yang and his group could already hear distinct gunfire.
Being able to hear gunfire meant that the battle was happening outside the Aziziya Barracks.
Although the gunfire was not very dense yet, Gao Yang and his group had to be completely vigilant, keeping a night vision device activated throughout the night, and they also took turns watching the entrance of the royal palace.
Hamis didn’t execute any prisoners during the night, but by the day of the 22nd, the gunfire outside the Aziziya Barracks was incredibly fierce, having become a non-stop barrage, mingled with almost constant explosions.
The battle in Tripoli had reached a climax.
Outside the barracks, the fighting was intense, but inside there was a deadly silence, although occasionally a shell would land inside the barracks or even on the grass next to where Gao Yang and his group were.
Yet, on the faces of the Libyan soldiers, there was no sign of panic, only their usual resoluteness.
For Gao Yang, the Libyan soldiers he knew were not like this.
The determination to face death was the prerogative of the opposition.
Being routed in one battle was the hallmark of the government forces.
He had never seen government troops continue to fight with casualties over ten percent.
If it were clearly a suicidal battle, before the government forces even reached the lines, more than half of the soldiers would run over to the opposition side.
As for the remaining small portion, they would simply strip off their military uniforms and blend in with the civilians.
Gao Yang knew that the Surtis around him were all from the same hometown as Gaddafi, and their loyalty to Gaddafi was incomparable to the assorted troops.
However, Gao Yang now wished even more that the soldiers by his side were an easily collapsible mix of forces.
At least then, no one would drag them to their deaths.
By the afternoon of the 22nd, the sound of gunfire outside the Aziziya Barracks gradually ceased.
Everyone understood that Tripoli had been completely overtaken by the opposition, and the battle outside the Aziziya Barracks was reaching its end.
Next, the battle inside the barracks was about to commence.
At 3:30 p.m., the gunfire had almost completely stopped, and then for about two hours, it was utterly quiet.
However, after the calm before the storm, at 5:30 p.m., the opposition began a large-scale artillery bombardment on the Aziziya Barracks.
The first to commence was suppressive fire, with shells randomly landing in every corner of the Aziziya Barracks.
Yet, the opposition still lacked heavy artillery and the experience to use it effectively.
The bombardment lasted only about half an hour, and very few shells were fired.
As Glolov put it, the opposition’s bombardment was not even equal to the ammo base of one round of salvo from their artillery regiment.
In Li Jinfang’s words, it was as if the number of shells fired by the opposition might, perhaps, possibly be enough for the first round of test firing during their division’s exercises.
Li Jinfang and Glolov felt nothing toward the opposition’s bombardment.
No wonder, influenced by the Soviet Union’s adulation of heavy artillery, both Huaxia and Russia were big on artillery.
In these two countries, if the army didn’t plow the enemy’s position with shells like tilling the land three to five times, it would be a clear sign of looking down on the opponent.
Having witnessed artillery fire so dense that shells could collide in midair, Li Jinfang and Glolov were not tense in the slightest when faced with the opposition’s sporadic and inconsistent bombardment.
Instead, they were completely at ease.
After expressing their disdain for the opposition’s shelling, they eagerly described the spectacular scenes of their own military’s simultaneous heavy artillery fire, which then resulted in a heated debate between the two over whether Huaxia or Russia had greater artillery firepower density.
Gao Yang and Cui Bo also joined the debate, but as neither had a professional military background nor served in the military, they had no right to speak and could only help boost Li Jinfang’s momentum.
Originally quite fearful due to the bombardment, Frey, under the influence of Gao Yang and the others, was no longer afraid but eagerly watched Glolov and the others argue red-faced.
When the opposition’s half-hour bombardment ceased, both Li Jinfang and Glolov felt somewhat unsatisfied.
They both expressed how long it had been since they’d last heard the sound of heavy artillery firing in unison, and complained that the opposition’s effort, which lasted only a short while, was far from satisfying.
After the bombardment stopped, Gao Yang and the others could only regretfully cease their dispute, as what came next was close combat, though that would have to wait until the opposition breached the walls of the Aziziya Barracks.
Yet Gao Yang didn’t believe that the barracks could hold out for much longer.
The opposition concentrated all their fire on the walls of Azzizia, while inside the barracks were Libya’s most elite soldiers and weaponry.
Once the battle broke out on both sides of the wall and at the gate, the intensity of the battle surged by more than an order of magnitude.
The sound of guns and artillery merged into one, with no gap discernible between the explosions, though the majority of them were caused by rockets or mortar shells, with very few from heavy artillery.
Contrary to Gao Yang’s expectations, the fierce fighting continued into the evening, and the Aziziya Barracks had not fallen.
As night fell, although the sounds of guns and cannons did not cease, they became much sparser.
Lacking the means to fight at night, both the opposition and the government forces garrisoned within the barracks eased their efforts.
It was evident that once the sun rose the next day, the final battle would commence.