453: Chapter 450 Joint Operations 453: Chapter 450 Joint Operations Glolov was indifferent about his history, and although Gao Yang had some doubts, he wasn’t the type to persistently inquire.
He could always ask at a later time.
However, Brejinsky was not willing to let it go so easily.
“In the history of the 45th Regiment, only ten people have received the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, and of those, five were awarded posthumously.
As for the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, only three from the 45th Regiment have received it, and for the First Class, you are the only one.
If these honors are not worth being proud of, then what else can our soldiers take pride in?”
After Brejinsky spoke excitedly, Ivan and the other Russians nodded in agreement.
After taking a careful look at Glolov, Antonov suddenly saluted him respectfully and said loudly, “You should be proud, you indeed should be, even though I don’t know what exactly you did to receive the Hero title.
I know that for a Warrant Officer to be awarded this title, you must be a true combat hero.
Although my military rank is higher than yours, I must salute you.”
Following Antonov’s salute, Sergei said in a deep voice, “My rank is also higher than yours; I was a Major when I retired.
But you know, our work is a bit special—officer soldiers, that’s us.
Besides, whether I am a Major or a General, in front of a Hero of Russia, I am the one who should salute you.”
After Sergei saluted, Samuel, with a grave expression, said, “Lieutenant Samuel of Alpha Special Forces, salutes you.”
All of Ivan’s men, except Brejinsky, had higher military ranks than Glolov, which was also related to their units.
In units like Alpha, any regular soldier was also an officer.
As for special security service units like the ones Antonov and Sergei belonged to, ranks tended to be even higher.
After all four of Ivan’s Russian men had saluted, Ivan shrugged and said, “A salute to you, hero.
Even though I am now considered a criminal by Russia, I am still Russian, and I have always had respect for true heroes.”
Frey tentatively raised his hand and said softly, “Sorry, am I the only one curious about why Big Dog received the medals?
Don’t you all want to know?”
All eyes focused on Glolov, and after a moment of silence, he finally nodded and said, “Well, during the assault, I killed some people.
At first, I didn’t know who they were, but later I met a big shot and a lot of people.
They told me that our assault team had taken out Basayev’s temporary command post.
Aside from Basayev who wasn’t there, the second, third, and all those numbered figures in the Chechen Armed Forces were killed.
I found out about it afterwards, so I didn’t remember their names.
At that time, I was the highest-ranking survivor in that assault team, so they gave me the Hero title.”
Ivan shook his head and said, “I know the situation back then must not have been as simple as you describe.
Now I just want to say, well done, buddy, really well done.”
A smile appeared on Glolov’s face as he replied, “Let’s not talk about this anymore.
I’m just a mercenary now.
Guys, we’ve delayed enough; let’s get down to business.”
Ivan shrugged and said, “Fine, today is not the day for chatting.
Let’s handle the important matters first, then later I’ll treat you to some vodka.”
After saying that, Ivan turned to Gao Yang and said, “Apart from bullets and grenades, I’ve prepared several night vision goggles for you, suitable for use in the jungle, with both image-intensifying and infrared modes; they’re the latest Russian products.
Also, the bulletproof vests, recurve bows, and blowpipe you asked for, they are all right here.”
Gao Yang and the others took out the ammunition they needed from the bags on the ground and began replenishing their supplies.
Gao Yang was primarily using a shotgun this time, and although he probably wouldn’t need the Blade of Satan, he still strapped it to his back, along with a recurve bow and twenty arrows.
His gear was fully packed.
Because the operation was short-term, he didn’t need to carry food or water like for longer operations and didn’t have to carry too many bullets, so he was relatively lightly equipped.
Lucica was a key figure in the operation.
After she donned her bulletproof vest and moved a bit uncomfortably, she whispered to Gao Yang, “I’m not used to wearing this.
Can I take it off?”
Gao Yang’s face darkened as he said sternly, “Get used to it quickly.
From now on, with the exception of bathing, always wear your bulletproof vest.
This is an order.”
Lucica’s face showed displeasure, but Bruce quickly interjected, “Lucy, it’s for your own good.”
Lucica was stubborn, but she knew that when Gao Yang gave an order, she had to obey unconditionally—unless she wanted to leave the Satan Mercenary Corps.
So Lucica didn’t say anything more, took the blowpipe Antonov had bought for her, checked it, and shot a few darts to test its functionality.
As everyone got their gear in order and conducted a final check, Gao Yang picked up one of the dual-mode night vision goggles.
Gao Yang had used many night vision goggles before, but he had never used one from Russia.
Russian light weapons were known for their reliability, whereas Russian-made electronics had a reputation for unreliability.
Likely not as sophisticated as their Western European counterparts, Russian-made electronics appeared somewhat crude and unreliable.
Gao Yang was holding a pair of night vision goggles that were far from clunky, but they were indeed much larger than the ones currently mounted on his helmet, and they were also quite heavy, feeling weighty in his hands.
Gao Yang shook the night vision goggles provided by Ivan and asked, “Are they reliable?”
Ivan didn’t speak, and Antonov, after scratching his head, said in a deep voice, “They’re reliable enough, just power-hungry.
Just bring some extra batteries to solve that.
Thermal imaging is better than image intensification for spotting hidden enemies in the jungle, but thermal imaging isn’t very convenient during combat.
That’s why these dual-mode night vision goggles are a good choice.”
Gao Yang tried the night vision goggles in front of his eyes; the left eyepiece was for image intensification, while the right one was for infrared thermal imaging.
Both eyepieces could be used simultaneously for observation, or one could choose to use just one of them.
The image intensification night vision goggles supplied by Ivan were not as clear as the ones Gao Yang and his team were currently using.
The infrared thermal imaging showed no noticeable difference at close range, but wearing Ivan’s night vision goggles on the head felt indeed quite heavy.
Gao Yang and his team lacked infrared night vision goggles.
Although those provided by Ivan were a bit heavy, they had to make do.
After swapping their night vision equipment for those supplied by Ivan, Gao Yang and his team were ready for combat.
After completing all their combat preparations, Ivan looked at his watch and said, “It’s nine o’clock now.
We’ll depart at ten and should reach the foot of the mountain by ten thirty.
Then, it should take us three hours to reach the mid-mountain area, where we will turn onto the trail opened by Arturo, all the way to Arturo’s mining area.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Alright, now let’s sync our walkie-talkie frequencies and decide on the division of labor.”
Ivan shrugged and said, “Although I have to go with you guys, I’m not good at fighting.
My men will be commanded by Antonov.
You two figure it out.”
Antonov said gravely, “Among the four of us, Samuel can act as the scout, Brejinsky as the sniper, and Sergei and I will stay by Ivan’s side as the second echelon, ready to cover and support as needed.”
Gao Yang noticed that, in addition to their rifles being AK74s, Antonov and his men all carried the same type of pistol, with Brejinsky also carrying a VSK94 sniper rifle with a silencer, in addition to the AK74.
Gao Yang pointed to the pistol on Antonov’s waist and asked, “Are you using Makarovs?”
Antonov drew his pistol and said, “Makarov PB silenced pistols, all four of us have the same.”
After thinking it over, Gao Yang said, “Alright, Samuel joins the assault team, Brejinsky’s VSK94 has a very good silencing effect, let him be the lead sniper.
I’ll command during the operation, is that okay?”
Antonov nodded and answered, “Okay, we will all follow your command.”
Gao Yang asked Samuel, “What would you do if you were scouting ahead?”
The corner of Samuel’s mouth twitched as he replied, “I used to be the lead assaulter, scouting is easy for me.
You need them alive, I bring you live ones.
You want them dead, they’ll be dead.
As for how…”
As he spoke, Samuel drew out a short-handled octagonal hammer from behind his waist, gave a slight smile, and said, “If you want them dead, then it’s the easiest.
Use this and hit the enemy’s head from behind, and everything is sorted, much simpler than using a bayonet.”
Upon seeing the octagonal hammer that Samuel had taken out, Gao Yang couldn’t help but laugh.
It was the first time he had ever seen someone scout with a hammer.
Gao Yang took his lucky axe off his chest, shook it at Samuel, and laughed, “No wonder they call you Hammer.
You scout with a hammer, and I use an axe, but I go for the hammer end.
Our methods are quite similar, simple and rough, haha.”
Samuel gave Gao Yang a thumbs up, then tossed and caught his octagonal hammer with a proud face, and declared, “In close combat, hitting someone with this is way more satisfying than stabbing with a bayonet.
One blow per person, none of them will stand up after a hit.”
After cheerfully putting his axe back, Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “Alright, everyone, sync your walkie-talkies, and then let’s get ready to move out.”
Ivan clapped his hands, his face full of excitement, and said, “Guys, give those damned bastards a good lesson.
Let’s strike into Arturo’s lair, snatch his gems and cash.
Man, just thinking about those emeralds gets me excited.
I love shiny things.
Guys, it’s all up to you now.” (To be continued.
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