Chapter 1574 - 1274: Chain Trap (Part 2)

Half an hour later, the news that had been reported thoroughly shattered his last shred of luck.

The various reconnaissance teams sent out returned with consistent information—

The "Liberation Forces" militia positions that previously surrounded Titrick in layers had long been deserted.

Only some abandoned fortifications, scattered empty can boxes, and tire tracks remained, indicating that a large number of personnel had once been stationed here, but at some unknown point, they quietly withdrew, disappearing like phantoms, gone...

Incredulous Az still hadn't given up hope. He personally led a team of guards, driving to the frontline where the Samir Department had been stationed before.

Jumping out of the car, stepping onto the soft sandy soil, he looked at the empty foxholes and camouflage nets before him, a bone-chilling cold rising straight to his head.

"Damn it... Song Heping... Samir... and that damned Jiang Feng!"

He gritted his teeth, his fists tightly clenched.

He now felt like a fool being toyed with round and round.

This was simply a dimensional insult to his intelligence!

In front of him, every camouflage net left on the position for deception seemed to be mocking him.

The so-called siege, the so-called containment, was a massive scam from start to finish!

Song Heping used the militia to create the illusion of the main force still being present, covertly maneuvering the elite mercenaries for a long-distance raid straight into a relatively undermanned Bayji!

"Return to the command post!"

Az squeezed out an order through his teeth, his face ashen.

He had to salvage the defeat. He immediately reconnected with the Siria headquarters via radio, speaking urgently but striving to remain calm:

"Emir, I've ascertained the situation. Yes... We've fallen into Song Heping's trap. I request permission to immediately dispatch ten thousand elite troops to aid Bayji! The troops are already assembled, fully mechanized and ready to advance. We can reach there as early as this afternoon; Song Heping has just captured Bayji, hasn't secured his foothold yet, I will definitely retake that city!"

Upon receiving approval almost shouted by Buckdadi to "immediately! right away!" the 1515 stronghold of Titrick instantly boiled over.

The piercing whistles sounded one after another, as the armed group hurriedly jumped into various parked vehicles under the urgings of small and large leaders—

Armed pickups, old trucks with steel plates added, a few captured armored personnel carriers, and even some civilian cars.

This force of supposedly ten thousand troops, although haphazardly equipped, was numerous and brimming with a fervent fighting spirit.

They believed they were going to crush those dare desecrate their territory heretics.

Around eight in the morning, the vast convoy kicked up clouds of dust as it snaked out of Titrick, swiftly speeding towards Bayji along the main road connecting east and west.

Az sat in the center, constantly urging to increase speed.

On either side of the road lay slowly undulating desert hills and dry riverbeds, the terrain becoming less flat.

The disaster struck when the leading team of three armed pickups and five soldier-laden trucks passed a longer bend fifty kilometers ahead.

This section of road happened to pass through an area of weathered hills, with the left side being a rising rocky slope, and the right being a dried deep ditch.

For any experienced commander, this place was a prime spot for an ambush.

Boom!!!!!!!!!!

An earth-shattering roar suddenly tore apart the morning air.

A massive column of dust mixed with flames and black smoke suddenly erupted in the middle of the road!

The leading armed pickup was flung seven or eight meters into the air like a plastic toy tossed up, instantly disintegrating into countless burning fragments in mid-air, falling to the ground along with the machine gunner and driver.

The tremendous shock wave shattered the windshield of the closely following second truck, killing the driver instantly, the out-of-control vehicle collided sharply with the fire embers ahead, causing a secondary explosion.

This was just the beginning.

Almost in the instant before the echo of the first explosion had dissipated, along the road, like igniting a string of deadly firecrackers, a series of deafening blasts erupted!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Pre-placed IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and anti-tank mines buried beneath the road surface and among the rubble on both sides were detonated in sequence.

These explosives were meticulously set up to form perfect crossfire covering and deep-kill zones.

A soldier-laden truck was directly overturned by a massive airwave, tumbling on the road, throwing out the panicking soldiers inside like rag dolls, smashing heavily onto the road or rocks, the sound of bones breaking clearly audible.

Another truck was blasted with a broken axle, lying twisted and skewed in the middle of the road, blazing fiercely, blocking the path of the following vehicles.

The armed men screamed as they jumped from the burning cabins; some were ablaze, running around like headless flies, and were soon felled by bullets flying from unknown sources.

In an instant, the entire stretch of road turned into a living purgatory.

The wreckage of burning vehicles became natural roadblocks, thick black smoke soared into the sky, the air was filled with the acrid odor of gunpowder, the stench of burning gasoline, and the horrific smell of charred flesh.

Limb fragments and broken weapons were scattered everywhere, the dry sandy soil rapidly stained red with fresh blood.

"Enemy attack! Ambush! Find cover!"

An officer-looking leader shouted hoarsely from behind a tire, but his voice was soon drowned out by even more intensive gunfire.

At the peak of the confusion triggered by the explosion, countless lethal fire tongues suddenly spewed from the rocky slope on the left side of the road and the far bank of the dried ditch on the right!

Da-da-da!

Bang-bang-bang!

Different caliber weapons fired rhythmically from both sides of the road.

Snipers hidden among rock crevices and carefully constructed firing positions, clad in simple camouflage, used enhanced SVDs or replica rifles with optical sights to coolly and efficiently hunt for valuable targets.

Those trying to unite troops, shooters operating vehicle-mounted machine guns, and any leader attempting to organize resistance were their prime choice.

Almost every gunshot coincided with a 1515 leader falling.

Da-da-da...

Da-da-da...

Soon, the intense roars of heavy machine guns joined the chorus.

Numerous PKM general-purpose machine guns and two DShK heavy machine guns were skillfully arranged at vantage points and on flanks to form a crossfire grid.

12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, easily tore through the weak armor of the trucks, penetrating the soldiers hiding inside along with the vehicles.

Bullets struck rocks, splattering sparks and gravel in a streak; when hitting bodies, they burst into terrifying blood mist.

Whizz—

Boom!

RPG-7 rockets dragged long tails as they whizzed from concealed launch points.

Their targets were clear—

Vehicles attempting to reverse escape, or the rear of shelters gathered with numerous soldiers.

The rockets hit the targets and exploded into dazzling fireballs, fragments splattering in a fan shape, causing horrific secondary damage.

The entire design of the ambush circle demonstrated the high military prowess of the commander.

Mines and IEDs paralyzed the convoy, creating chaos and blockage; precision shooters targeted the command points; light and heavy machine guns formed a suppressive fire network covering the entire ambush area; RPGs served as tools for breaking through and hitting key targets.

All firepower was delivered with rhythm, not blindly firing, but precisely and efficiently harvesting lives.