611: Chapter 604: From Heaven 611: Chapter 604: From Heaven Gao Yang soon discovered a new problem.
Rafael had started running, but the tank was too close to the others, and with six 3-kilogram blocks of C4 under the tank, he feared that getting too close might blow up his own men.
Just then, Gao heard Rafael yelling through the headset, “The distance is good, detonate now!”
While Gao Yang wasn’t completely ignorant of the power of C4, what a safe distance was, he really wasn’t clear on.
He felt the tank was a bit too close to his people, but hearing Rafael’s yell, Gao subconsciously pressed the detonation button.
First, he felt a violent shake under his feet from the sand, followed by an earth-shattering explosion.
Gao felt as if the fifty-seven-ton tank was blasted off the ground, but he wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion.
With the sand and dust rising and then violently spreading around, Gao couldn’t see anything for a long time.
Gao yelled into the intercom, “Is everyone okay?
Respond!”
Rafael was the first to reply, shouting, “I can’t hear very clearly, but I’m alright.
I can’t see anything.
Boss, don’t press the detonator, I’m installing a new fuse.
If you press it, I’m as good as dead, do you hear me?
F**k, I can’t see anything, and I can’t quite make out what you’re saying.”
The explosion was too powerful, even the relatively distant Gao Yang felt a buzzing in his ears, and Rafael, who was closer, must have suffered even more from the impact on his eardrums.
Gao didn’t dare to press the detonator again, quickly securing the safety catch back onto the detonator.
One reason Rafael couldn’t blow up two tanks at the same time was the shortage of C4, but also because the detonator was single-channel, meaning that once the detonator was pressed, all fuses would go off simultaneously, regardless of how many there were.
To ensure he didn’t blow himself up, and to ensure the destruction of the tank, Rafael could only use one remote-controlled fuse at a time.
There were many reasons to blow up only one tank.
Time was tight, and Rafael didn’t have enough time to make another detonation device—that was one factor.
Plus, to ensure the tank’s destruction, he needed to use more C4.
If spread too thinly, the explosive might not be powerful enough.
But the primary reason was that Rafael never expected he could get under two tanks at once.
If he had known earlier, he would’ve prepared two detonation devices no matter what.
Members of the Satan Mercenary Corps reported their status one by one.
Thankfully, there were no serious issues.
Only Li Jinfang, who was closest to the first blown up tank, had a nosebleed and was feeling dizzy, but he didn’t seem to have any severe internal injuries.
So much dust was kicked up that nothing could be seen.
Gao couldn’t determine whether the tank had been destroyed, and Rafael planned to use C4 to blow up another tank’s face.
Although only two blocks remained, he thought it was worth trying to blast off the tank’s tracks.
“Report!
A tank has broken through, left the dust cloud, and stopped.
The tank has stopped, and they’re turning back!
Armored vehicles are coming, they’re firing in your direction!
Four of them, four armored vehicles!”
Gao Yang heard this update from a neighboring position through his headset, a spot unaffected by the dust cloud, where they could see the movement of another tank.
Learning that the second tank hadn’t retreated and that armored vehicles were following, Gao’s heart tightens and he immediately yells, “Fork, retreat!
Retreat fast!
Do you hear me?
Find cover, everyone.
While the enemy’s visibility is poor, retreat quickly!”
Gao was frantic.
He was worried Rafael might not hear or understand the retreat order.
It was manageable with just one tank remaining, but with four armored vehicles that could arrive within a minute, staying put was too dangerous.
“Boss, are you telling me to retreat?
I’m pulling out now!
I’m coming back!”
Upon hearing Rafael’s report, Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief and then immediately spoke into the walkie-talkie, “Aim for the armored vehicles!
Get ready to attack the armored vehicles, send over the Rocket Launcher squad from the first platoon for fire support!
Sixth platoon stay alert for possible reinforcement, try to destroy all the enemy’s armored vehicles here.”
They couldn’t hold out any longer.
With tanks plus armored vehicles coming at them, it would be difficult to fight if they attacked together.
It was actually fine if the enemy breached the defense line since there was nothing specific that needed guarding.
It was okay to let the enemy move back and forth across the defense lines, so the defenses Gao Yang had set up were quite sparse to begin with.
But Gao was afraid of the infantry that might follow in the armored vehicles.
With the enemy’s tanks and armored vehicles providing formidable cover, if the infantry managed to get up close, the casualties would be severe.
When examining the issue, while it was true the enemy’s tanks and armored vehicles coming together would be tough to handle, it was still easier compared to them holed up in the city, and even with significant casualties, as long as they could take out the enemy’s armored vehicles, the subsequent battle would be much easier.
But now, Gao and his men were at a real disadvantage, because without anti-tank missiles, it wasn’t easy to take out the enemy’s armored vehicles.
The enemy leaving their cover only made them relatively easier to deal with.
Fighting tanks and armored vehicles without the right weapons was futile, even for the most skilled special forces.
Therefore, the main fighting force was now the soldiers from the Skull Gang, and Gao and his men had to prepare to flee for their lives.
Compared to the entire battlefield, the situation for the Skull Gang wasn’t that dire; in fact, they were actually at an advantage.
But for Gao and his men, it was a different story.
The enemy seemed to have noticed who the biggest threats were, as their tanks and armored vehicles were specifically targeting them.
So, despite the overall advantageous situation, the Satan Mercenary Corps were in grave danger.
Gao did not want to lose any member of the Satan Mercenary Corps, so they had to withdraw.
The only problem was, they couldn’t even if they wanted to.
Four armored vehicles had their machine guns and autocannons firing together, and a tank at close quarters had sealed their escape route tightly.
To hide in place was to wait for the tanks and armored vehicles to roll over them, to run now was to face the enemy’s suppressive fire from tanks and armored vehicles.
Although the enemy’s visibility was poor, bullets flying wildly were not selective in their targets.
The dust began to settle, and even though bullets were still whizzing overhead, they could no longer delay.
In comparison, it was somewhat safer to withdraw under a hail of bullets than wait for the armored vehicles and tanks to reach them.
Gao immediately said over the walkie-talkie, “We’re pulling out!
Crawl forward until we break contact with the enemy!”
Retreating was dangerous, but there was no choice.
Just after Gao reluctantly gave the order, he heard a loud explosion and, to his surprise, saw that the turret of the tank was blasted to one side and the tank’s hull erupted in flames.
Gao was extremely surprised, or rather delighted.
In disbelief, he saw an armored vehicle speeding towards them, its side suddenly lit up with the brief flashes that occur when hit, the same red glows that only tracer bullets emit, unceasingly striking the armored vehicle.
Gao followed the trajectory of the tracer bullets into the sky, only to see a helicopter appearing in his line of sight.
(To be continued.
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