Chapter 1861 - 1397: Why Don’t You Just Rob Us?!

The night wind of Mosul carried the scent of gunpowder and sand, sweeping in from the Northern Desert.

The joint action group's base was situated on the edge of the abandoned industrial area in the east of the city. Above the three-meter-high concrete walls, the searchlight beams anxiously swept through the darkness.

Every thirty seconds, the beams would sweep across the wide wasteland outside the base, illuminating the cracked asphalt road surface, rusty abandoned pipes, and farther away, the steel torrents glistening coldly in the moonlight.

Lemont stood at the observation post on the top floor of the command tower, his fingers tightly gripping the handle of an M24 telescope, his palms drenched in sweat.

The scene through the lens was suffocating.

The low silhouette of a T-72 main battle tank was faintly visible, its barrel pointing toward the base in the night.

The BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles formed a moving steel wall, with the 30mm autocannon on the turret reflecting a ghostly light of death under the moonlight.

Further away, the barrels of the 152mm self-propelled howitzers were already elevated, their firing angles indicating they had completed setting up firing data, ready to fire at any moment.

The most terrifying thing was the numbers.

Lemont had received battlefield assessment training. He could estimate enemy forces from the vehicle spacing and formation density.

Total number...

No less than three thousand five hundred men.

Inside his base, there were only one hundred twenty-seven Delta Force soldiers and forty-three agents from the "Witness" department capable of fighting, half of whom were civilians.

One hundred seventy against three thousand five hundred.

The ratio was 1:20.5.

"Lemont."

Ryan's voice came from behind him.

"The last data transmitted by the drone confirmed it. The Tenth Division has deployed three mechanized infantry battalions; Abu You's forces have also arrived, hiding in the abandoned textile factory three kilometers away. Total forces approximate four thousand."

Lemont put down the telescope, leaving sweaty fingerprints on the metal barrel.

He took a deep breath, the cold air piercing his lungs, clearing his head a bit.

"Get the snipers out of their firing positions, open the east gate." He said, forcibly maintaining composure: "I'm going out to meet him."

Ryan frowned: "That's too dangerous. We can use a loudspeaker to communicate from the bunker, or through an encrypted channel—"

"No." Lemont interrupted him: "Song Heping wants to talk face-to-face, so face-to-face it is. We need to make a show, let him see we are not afraid."

He paused, adding: "His entire tactic now is just to see us scared."

Ryan nodded: "Okay, I'll prepare the vehicles."

Five minutes later, the east gate slowly opened with the hissing of the hydraulic system.

The three-meter-thick reinforced concrete doors slid aside, and Lemont only brought two Delta Force soldiers.

Sergeant Jackson drove the Hummer M1151, Sergeant Rodriguez sat in the passenger seat, with an HK416 equipped with an ACOG scope resting across his lap.

Lemont sat in the back seat.

"Remember." Before the vehicle started, Lemont instructed the Delta Force soldiers: "Do not touch your weapons unless I give the order. Even if a gun is pointed at your head."

"Understood, sir."

They replied in unison, their voices emotionless.

The Hummer's diesel engine let out a low roar, the tires crunched over the gravel road inside the base, and it drove out the gate.

When the Hummer moved five hundred meters and entered the open ground, dozens of dazzling white lights suddenly turned on from the opposite position.

It wasn't just one or two, but the headlights of dozens of armored vehicles lit up simultaneously.

The intense beams merged into a wall of light, instantly engulfing the Hummer.

Jackson instinctively slowed down.

"Keep going," Lemont's voice came from the back seat: "Slowly, keep straight."

The Hummer cruised slowly in the sea of light, like a ship sailing into daylight from the night.

Lemont squinted his eyes, carefully observing the scene ahead.

He saw more detailed deployments.

Every three BMP infantry fighting vehicles formed a triangular defensive formation, interspersed with T-72 tanks.

The soldiers built simple defense positions relying on the vehicles, with the muzzles of light and heavy machine guns protruding from the firing ports.

A professional battlefield setup, true to the capability of the most combat-worthy Tenth Border Defense Division in the Illigo Government Army sequence.

The wheels advanced another two hundred meters, and a gap opened in the wall of lights opposite.

Three Toyota pickups drove out from the position, with soldiers in desert camouflage standing in the beds, the muzzle of their AK-74M rifles naturally lowered but with fingers resting on the trigger guards.

The pickups surrounded the Hummer in a triangular formation, maintaining a distance of twenty meters.

This distance was enough for reaction and shooting.

In the bed of the central pickup, an officer stood straight.

By the reflection of the vehicle lights, Lemont saw his epaulet clearly.

He was a Lieutenant in the Illigo Army.

The Lieutenant made a gesture, and Jackson stepped on the brake.

"Mr. Lemont." The Lieutenant's English carried a distinct Arabic accent but was very clear: "Mr. Song is waiting for you at the command post. Please follow our vehicle."

No inquiry, no courtesy, just an imperative tone.

Lemont loudly responded: "Lead the way."

The pickup turned its head, the Hummer followed behind, with the other two pickups monitoring from the left and right.

The convoy drove into the Tenth Division's position, Lemont's gaze swept around through the car window.

As they closed in, the scene became even more striking.

On the turret of the T-72 tanks, the muzzle of the 125mm smoothbore gun shimmered coldly.

The rear hatches of the BMP vehicles were open, soldiers sitting inside with RPG-7 rocket launchers on their knees.

Further away, he saw the launch tubes of SA-16 "Gimlet" portable air defense missiles.

And even more lethal weapons.

The radars of two Armour S1 missile-gun integrated air defense systems were slowly rotating.

Song Heping had even deployed air defenses.