624: Chapter 617: The Ultimate Weapon 624: Chapter 617: The Ultimate Weapon The pirates are numerous, and although their combat effectiveness is not strong, they are the mainstay of Gazaley’s defenses.
Deal with the pirates, and this battle is basically won.
Gao Yang decided to carry out a decapitation operation, but not to kill all the pirate leaders in one fell swoop; capturing them alive was preferable if possible.
There were four forces in Gazaley: the British, the Somali Youth Party, and two other pirate groups.
Eddie’s men numbered just over five hundred, the weakest among the four forces, so it was not surprising that he surrendered first.
Among the remaining three forces, the British would never surrender, and the Somali Youth Party’s surrender was also unacceptable, leaving the target of the decapitation operation to be the leaders of the remaining pirate group.
According to intelligence provided by Eddie, their target was named Musa Moye, originally one of the biggest pirate chiefs on the east portion of Somalia’s North Coast, and very powerful.
Musa Moye’s pirates were the most numerous, originally entrenched in Gazaley, with over one thousand combat personnel, but the combatants’ numbers among the pirates were hard to assess accurately, as all the residents of Gazaley were under the thumb of that pirate chief.
The decapitation strike was risky, but if successful, it could instantly determine the outcome of a battle.
After having Eddie taken away, Gao Yang immediately gathered his people together to discuss how to execute the decapitation strike.
In a decapitation strike, killing the target counts as a success, and capturing the target alive is also a success, but the risk of capturing Musa Moye alive was definitely much greater than the risk of killing him.
“The decapitation strike must be carried out, there’s no need to discuss that, but what I want to know now is whether you think we should kill Musa Moye or capture him alive?”
After Gao Yang posed his question, Li Jinfang thought for a moment and said, “If we can capture him alive, we should.
Musa Moye has many subordinates and many key figures.
Even if Musa Moye is killed, the decapitation strike won’t mean much if one of his high-ranking men insists on continuing the fight.
So, for safety’s sake, it’s still best to try to capture Musa Moye alive.”
Glolov also spoke gravely: “Capture him alive if possible; it’s the safest method.
If it’s not possible, then kill him.”
Capturing Musa Moye alive might not immediately end the battle, but it would certainly end large-scale fighting.
Even if they couldn’t capture him alive, killing Musa Moye would leave the leaderless pirates unable to hold out for long.
However, this could be unpredictable—if a powerful lieutenant of Musa Moye could rally the pirates to continue resisting, the effectiveness of the decapitation strike would be greatly reduced.
If not for the urgency of time, Gao Yang wouldn’t consider a decapitation strike, for it could only be executed by them in person.
But now, a slow and steady approach might lead to a turnaround in the situation, so the decapitation strike, which could end the battle as quickly as possible, had to become the preferred option.
One must always prepare for every eventuality; in case the decapitation strike failed and dragged on for too long, they had to consider how to fight after the British reinforcements arrived.
It was now certain that the British reinforcements would come by sea, but their landing point could not be determined.
Setting up an ambush for the British reinforcements was not easy, but at the very least, they needed to have a reserve force ready.
Once the British reinforcements arrived and if the British within Gazaley City were not yet dealt with, they would have to consider fighting on two fronts.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Gao Yang nodded and addressed everyone: “Alright, carry out the decapitation strike and try to capture Musa Moye alive.
Additionally, we need to prepare a reserve force in case we need to deal with British reinforcements.”
Li Jinfang said gravely: “Encircling the city to aid the fight is an approach.
We can pause our assault on the British inside Gazaley City, surround but not attack, and concentrate our forces to deal with the reinforcements.
Even if we can’t set up an ambush, we could still hit them hard.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “The risk is too great.
This battle already runs the risk of spiraling out of control.
Although it’s the Skull Gang fighting the British now, don’t forget, it’s also our security company’s struggle with the British.
Their reinforcements are mostly their employees, and if too many of these people die, the British can’t explain it away.
If things get too big and out of control, our company won’t be able to do business peacefully anymore.
So, it’s better to let them off the hook with the reinforcements, while we can deal with the British inside the city.”
The British in Gazaley City included mercenaries and employees of the British maritime security company.
However, there were fewer employees and more mercenaries, and the mercenaries could all be killed without repercussion.
If too many British employees died, they might not be able to cover it up.
If this issue became public, it would immediately turn into an international scandal, probably putting an end to the British maritime security company, and Gao Yang’s company would not be able to continue operating either.
The result of Gao Yang’s discussion with Destin was to annihilate the British inside Gazaley City, sparing no mercenaries.
If an employee died, so be it, but with the reinforcements, they would avoid fighting as much as possible to prevent the situation from escalating to a point where the British couldn’t cope, which could also bring misfortune on them.
The British were willing to help the Skull Gang because many Somalis could die without consequence, but they would never directly target Gao Yang’s security company because its employees were mostly Israelis or Americans, not stateless mercenaries.
A few deaths in combat would cause an international dispute if known, and the British didn’t have the guts for that.
Similarly, Gao Yang and his team could slaughter the British in Somalia, but once at sea, they wouldn’t dare to cause any fatalities.
Both sides had their concerns and could only fight to the death in Somalia.
Once leaving Somalia, they had to maintain a situation of conflict without breaking, at most brawling it out on a few occasions.
As a mercenary, Gao Yang didn’t need to worry about much before.
It didn’t matter who he took down; even if he poked a hole in the sky, he wouldn’t be scared, but now he had shares in the Maritime Security Company, which made him cautious.
This battle couldn’t be fought with reckless abandon.
Everyone understood the crux of the matter.
After pondering for a moment, Glolov sighed and said, “Too many British are dying.
It will affect our business.
It seems the best way to go about it is to finish the fight before their reinforcements arrive.
But even if the pirates stop resisting, will the remaining time be enough?”
The British in Gazaley City were tough; even after dealing with the pirates, the fight wouldn’t be over quickly.
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “Not enough.
If the British are determined to hold out, there definitely won’t be enough time.
So…”
Gao Yang lifted his head, his expression resolute, “So, it’s time to deploy the big guns.”
The big guns were a codename.
The so-called big guns were Destin and the sixty fully armed men waiting at sea.
The existence of the Skull Gang was too important for their Maritime Security Company.
With the Skull Gang, the company could rapidly expand and make big money.
Without them, they couldn’t snatch the money from the monopolistic British.
Deploying Destin and his men would be costly.
Those participating in the battle would certainly have to pay, and each person would need at least twenty to thirty thousand dollars.
If there were injuries and deaths, compensation had to be considered.
So, once these men were deployed, at least two million dollars would be spent.
However, compared to what they would gain, this price was worth it.
Therefore, even if it meant out-of-pocket expenses for the Maritime Security Company, they needed the Skull Gang to win this battle.
It was something that had already been agreed upon, and now was the time to deploy the big guns.
Gao Yang stood up, glanced at his watch, and said, “The helicopters will be ready in half an hour.
In another hour, it will be completely dark.
We’ll initiate the decapitation strike in an hour.
Get ready.”
After speaking, Gao Yang took out the satellite phone and called Destin, who had been drifting off the coast for the past few days.
Once Destin answered, Gao Yang spoke gravely, “It’s time to deploy the big guns.
Eighty minutes later, land at the first landing point.
Someone will meet you there and tell you your targets.”
“Understood!”
After exchanging just a few words, Gao Yang hung up the phone and began preparations for the decapitation strike.
The decapitation strike would involve two helicopters flying directly over Musa Moye’s hideout.
They would then decide whether to drop two homemade bombs, rappel down, or directly air-drop for combat.
This combat approach definitely required going light.
The decapitation battle had to be quick, and indeed it must be quick.
Only a necessary amount of ammunition needed to be carried, with an ample supply of grenades, including shock grenades and smoke grenades, while night vision devices had to be checked in advance.
In addition to equipment, the team needed to be reassigned.
Two assault teams were definitely necessary, but Lucica had no experience in rappelling, so Gao excluded her from the first assault team.
If they air-dropped, however, Lucica could still participate in the assault.
Tommy, Glolov, and Cui Bo would provide support from the perimeter, and the two helicopters would also offer fire support.
Bruce would accompany the assault team in case someone needed emergency care.
Two helicopters and ten people—that was the entire force for this decapitation operation.
All food and water were discarded, ammunition was reconfigured, and every piece of equipment was selected with close-quarters combat in mind.
Gao would bring his Blade of Satan, but the weapon and its ammunition might stay on the helicopter rather than be carried.
After eating something and drinking some water, Gao and his men began to wait in silence.
Although the attack was still ongoing, its intensity had significantly decreased.
Only when the decapitation operation began would the strength of the attack surge, distracting the enemy.
When the time for the planned action arrived and the sky had turned completely dark, Gao was the first to stand up and say in a deep voice, “Board the helicopter.”
The helicopters were outside the city, resting on the ground with their rotors already spinning.
The helicopters’ lights were completely off, and despite the loud noise from the spinning rotors, the helicopters were pitch black without a glimmer of light.
Gao and his team split into two groups and boarded their respective helicopters.
The helicopters took off and flew towards the predetermined location.
(To be continued.
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