88: Chapter 87: Each Has Their Own Strengths 88: Chapter 87: Each Has Their Own Strengths If Gao Yang had to describe his first day’s experience in Misrata with one sentence, it would be “intensely thrilling.”
On the very first day, the opposition gave Gao Yang and his team a stern warning, particularly the laser-guided bomb that nearly landed on them, which made them think of beating a retreat right on their first day.
Earning money was good, but one had to be alive to spend it—and that’s what truly mattered.
However, it seemed like the opposition had exhausted their strength on the first day.
In the days that followed for Gao Yang, they never encountered attacks as frequent and fatal as on the first day.
The opposition’s resistance was only very determined in the beginning, and the most intense fighting only took place on the outskirts of the city.
Within just two days, the government forces had taken control of the entirety of Misrata; the opposition’s resistance weakened rapidly after two days.
Despite NATO’s air support, the opposition seemed to have lost the courage to contest Misrata with the government forces.
From the difficulties of entering Misrata to the swiftly eased situation within the city, the dramatic turn of events naturally led Gao Yang and his companions to decide to stay.
Earning bountiful US dollars with ease, of course, no one thought of leaving.
However, the good days did not last long.
Gao Yang and his group fully earned their pay on the first day.
For the next nine days, they were almost idle, but on the eleventh day, the situation changed.
It seemed as if the opposition knew they were going to collect their pay that day, so they cooperatively launched an offensive.
The battle for Misrata between the government forces and the opposition started again on the eleventh day and escalated quickly.
Despite the intensity from the start of the fighting, it never reached an exaggerated level, maintaining instead what could relatively be described as a low-intensity conflict.
The government forces went from attacking at the outset to defending later on.
Now, as almost a month had passed since Gao Yang and his team entered Misrata, the situation had become a deadlock.
All of Misrata was in chaos.
The territories controlled by the government forces and the opposition were intermingled—everything was a complete muddle.
While both sides claimed to control Misrata, in truth, neither had real control,
In the beginning, Gao Yang was somewhat excited, even somewhat eager about the war.
But after enduring a grueling month, Gao Yang had completely grown weary of the war—the endless battles, the ceaseless killing, endlessly watching familiar faces die before him.
Now, all Gao Yang wanted was to leave Misrata, to leave Libya as soon as possible.
Gao Yang had become somewhat taciturn and dispirited, and so had Li Jinfang.
As for Glolov, he was accustomed to living under the fires of war and had been silent and reticent ever since he entered Misrata.
Only Cui Bo remained the same—from the beginning until now.
Gao Yang had more than once wished he could be as carefree as Cui Bo.
Gao Yang and the three others, as a sniper team, never engaged in the most casualty-ridden assault missions, so to this day, all four were still bouncing around alive.
However, the Sandstorm Mercenary Corps had long withdrawn from the battle due to their high casualty rate.
The combat style and armaments of the Sandstorm Mercenary Corps had already determined their high casualty rate.
Following the renewed struggle for Misrata, the Sandstorm Mercenary Corps lost eleven men on the first day of fighting, and on the second day, eight died and four were critically wounded.
Few mercenary corps could withstand such a casualty rate, so the Sandstorm Mercenary Corps withdrew directly from the battle.
The Coleman company, from the start until now, had lost nine men.
But rather than depleting, the numbers in Coleman’s company had only increased, as they later sent another forty men to join the team led by Green Mamba.
Gao Yang’s team had always been moving with Coleman’s company, as they were all well-acquainted with each other, and Coleman’s company provided them with the utmost protection and convenience.
But the members of Coleman’s company were willing to do so, for the rewards they received far exceeded their contributions.
Now, the Satan Mercenary Corps had become famous; Gao Yang was also famous by the moniker “Ram.” Everyone knew that the leader of the Satan Mercenary Corps was an exceptional sniper.
Big Dog Glolov had become famous too.
Of course, he was already somewhat renowned, but now the grand name of the “Machine Gun Artist” from the Satan Mercenary Corps had many in Misrata’s mercenary circles green with envy.
As for the nickname “Toad” for Li Jinfang, of course, it became well-known.
His feat of taking on nearly the entire Scimitar Mercenary Corps single-handedly had spread far and wide.
Everyone knew the Satan Mercenary Corps had a Toad with phenomenal close combat skills.
Of course, the foreigners, not well-versed in culture, called Li Jinfang “Frog” instead of “Toad.”
However, Li Jinfang was only known for his grappling prowess; his true strength had yet to be displayed.
The Satan Mercenary Corps, now centered around Gao, almost never engaged in close combat, offering little opportunity for Li Jinfang to showcase his abilities.
It’s worth noting that Li Jinfang was a firepower assault specialist, but since there were no assaults, he naturally had no chance to perform.
Only Cui Bo was somewhat pitiful.
He was nominally the designated sniper of the Satan Mercenary Corps, but Cui Bo, this “professional” sniper, was overshadowed by Gao Yang’s part-time sniping abilities.
Now, Cui Bo’s main role was acting as a porter for the Shotgun Mercenary Corps.
Indeed, although his nickname was “Rabbit,” Cui Bo was actually treated more like a pack mule.
As long as his shooting skills didn’t improve, he would likely continue to be used like a beast of burden.
And after a month of training, everyone’s strengths and weaknesses had become very clear.
Gao Yang had become an irreplaceable core member of the Satan Mercenary Corps.
He nearly covered the entire range of infantry combat, with shooting capabilities ranging from point-blank to the maximum effective range of a thousand meters for light weaponry, where he could perform almost flawlessly.
The reason he became a core member was that the effective kill zone he provided from four hundred to a thousand meters was irreplaceable.
Cui Bo was not reliable enough yet, so for now, only Gao Yang could offer effective long-range firepower.
Actually, Glolov could also deliver a full range of firepower from point-blank to eight hundred meters.
If he switched to a machine gun, Glolov’s range would further increase, but the machine gunner’s primary role, most of the time, is not to kill but to provide fire support or, in other words, to suppress the enemy with firepower.
Nowadays, it’s not like World War I when nobody would be foolish enough to charge into a hail of bullets.
Thus, a machine gunner might fire thousands of rounds and still not kill as many as a sniper who fires only ten rounds.
But even so, if we’re to talk about how popular someone would be for recruitment by other mercenary groups, Glolov and Gao Yang were certainly on par.
Machine gunners and snipers each had their respective advantages; it’s really hard to say who would be more popular.
Although Glolov’s primary objective wasn’t killing, his role was irreplaceable.
With Glolov present, Gao Yang had the chance to shoot without pressure, and Glolov’s prowess could be seen in the new nickname Coleman had given him.
Machine Gun Artist—that was what the people at Coleman called Glolov.
They believed that Glolov had elevated the use of the machine gun to the level of an artist.
As for Li Jinfang, there’s no need to dwell on his close combat skills.
The other three members of the Satan Mercenary Corps combined weren’t a match for him.
Li Jinfang’s best shooting range was between thirty and two hundred meters.
At that distance, Gao was slightly behind Li Jinfang, but from two hundred to three hundred meters, Gao could almost be evenly matched with Li Jinfang.
Of course, beyond three hundred meters, the stage belonged to Gao alone in the entire mercenary group.
Not to say that others couldn’t kill at that range, but no one could guarantee a kill almost every time like Gao could.
As for the ultra-close range of up to thirty meters, Glolov and Cui Bo had to step aside.
The focus was on Gao and Li Jinfang.
If Gao and Li Jinfang both used pistols, then their abilities were nearly the same, and it wouldn’t be a question of who was better.
But if Gao used a Shotgun, then he was absolutely the best, even Li Jinfang, acting as the fire assault man, couldn’t compete, regardless of what weapon Li Jinfang used.
Cui Bo was in an awkward situation for now.
His shooting practice couldn’t continue mainly because as the fight got heated, logistics got significantly disrupted.
Cui Bo didn’t dare waste precious ammunition, so naturally, he couldn’t practice shooting.
But Cui Bo definitely had the potential to become a top-tier sniper.
Not to mention that Cui Bo already possessed all the theoretical knowledge a sniper needs, his mental fortitude alone was absolutely top-notch.
If not for the national circumstances that prevented him from ever firing a real gun, Cui Bo might already have become a top-tier sniper.
The situation now was just to give Cui Bo time and let him practice his shooting seriously to improve on the basics, then Cui Bo’s prospects as a sniper were indeed very bright.
After the bombing scare the previous night, Gao and his team no longer dared to spend the night in buildings with obvious targets.
Even during the day, they would only stay in buildings if necessary; otherwise, they’d keep as far away from landmark structures as possible.
The neighborhood where Gao and his team were located was still under the control of the government forces, or one could say, under Coleman’s control.
However, a large area not far away was in the hands of the opposition.
Gao was now hiding in a low and dimly-lit small house, dozing off in a three-legged chair.
Every time he was about to fall asleep, the wobbling chair about to collapse would startle him awake, and then, once he steadied himself, he would repeat the cycle.
Li Jinfang sat cross-legged on the dirty ground, idly unloading bullets from the magazine one by one and counting them as he reloaded them.
Ever since the expected resupply didn’t arrive yesterday, Li Jinfang had been doing this, and although he had uncounted his one hundred and forty bullets several times, Li Jinfang never tired of it.
Glolov leaned his gun against the door, constantly monitoring the situation outside.
He was familiar with their current living conditions and didn’t have mood swings or suddenly burst into anger or hysterical venting, so it was only fitting that Glolov was tasked with the sentinel duty.
Cui Bo lay on something that barely qualified as a bed plank, sleeping soundly.
The stench in the room seemed to have no effect on him.
Although it was nine in the morning, Cui Bo always had the ability to sleep on command.
While the group was bored, waiting for today’s combat mission, Cui Bo, who was sound asleep, suddenly sat up.
In a groggy voice, he said, “That’s great, I feel like taking a squat.
Who wants to go with me?”
Li Jinfang said irritably, “Just do it in the room.
The day before yesterday, someone from Coleman lost an arm while going out to take a dump; he nearly lost his life too.
With so many snipers around, why do you need to go out?
It’s not worth losing your life over a trip to relieve yourself.”