The deafening explosion wave carried a scorching airflow, violently striking against the body of the armored troop carrier Az was in, emitting a tal groan that grated on the teeth.
Outside the vehicle window, all that could be seen was billowing black smoke, leaping flas, and dirt and debris flying in every direction.
A wailing scream, chaotic gunfire, the crackling of burning vehicles, and various panic-stricken, incoherent reports blaring from the radio rcilessly drilled into his eardrums.
Az's body jolted violently with the explosion of an IED nearby, he gripped the handle tightly, his face quickly fading from initial shock to an ashen pallor.
In the first few seconds, his brain was almost blank, with nothing but his heart pounding wildly in his chest, nearly bursting out.
"What's going on?! Where's the attack coming from?! Is it Song Heping's main force?!" he yelled into the radio, his voice sharpened by extre tension.
"Boss! We're in an ambush! The road ahead is blown off, and there's enemy fire on both sides!"
"We've been split up! We can't contact the front units!"
"The retreat path is blocked too! We're surrounded!"
The fragnted chaos of information pierced Az's nerves like ice picks.
Through the observation port, he saw a pickup truck in front blown to pieces, burning tires rolling to the roadside, next to scattered incomplete corpses.
Farther away, soldiers attempting to organize a counterattack fell in swathes under precise and dense firepower, like wheat mown down.
A chilling cold surged from the base of his spine to the top of his head.
He understood, he understood it all!
What trap for Titrick!
What main force still here!
All bullshit!
This was a trap ticulously set by Song Heping from start to finish, for him, for the entire 1515 Northern Corps!
Using militias to feign operations to tie down his main force, secretly launching a surprise attack on Bayji, then knowing he would inevitably send troops to the rescue, had ambushed this vital route to Bayji, waiting for him to walk right in!
Vicious!
Insidious!
"Song Heping... you sly devil! Damn heretics!!"
Az ground his teeth so hard they made a creaking noise, a fury mixed with fear, humiliation, and overwhelming hatred surging in his chest.
He felt like a puppet on strings, every move calculated by his opponent, leading him step by step into this deadly trap.
Bayji was in imminent danger, and his force that bore the hope of turning the tide hadn't even seen Bayji's shadow, about to be buried on this desolate highway!
No!
Can't end like this!
A strong survival instinct and determination to reverse the defeat overpowered his initial panic.
He took several deep breaths of the scorching air mixed with smoke and blood, forcing himself to calm down.
He was the highest commander of 1515 in the north, he couldn't fall here, and he certainly couldn't let Song Heping's plot succeed so easily!
"All units, attention! This is Az!"
He grabbed the radio transmitter, his voice rasping and furious from intensely suppressed emotions.
"Don't panic! Listen to my orders! We're only encountering Samir's ragtag militia! Not Song Heping's main force! Song Heping's main force is at Bayji! They only have a few thousand; we have ten thousand warriors of Allah!"
He practically shouted these words at the top of his lungs.
Shouting not only boosted his subordinates' morale but also bolstered his own courage!
"They rely on sneak attacks and ambushes, but that doesn't change the fact that they're just a bunch of militias! They have no heavy weapons; there are no fortified structures here! Allah is with us! For the Caliph, for our holy cause, don't fear sacrifice, counterattack! Gather around , organize a counterattack! Kill these heretics, and Allah will bless us!"
His words were transmitted to the units that were still reachable over the radio.
So fanatical junior officers and leaders began to respond, desperately rallying the panicked soldiers around them.
"Allahu Akbar! For the Caliph! Charge!"
A small group of militants incited by faith and their commander, led by a fierce-looking Big Beard, charged with bloodshot eyes, shouting slogans, leaping out from the wreckage of vehicles used as cover, attempting to launch a counterattack on the seemingly weaker left-side firepower, trying to break through.
However, reality was harsh.
They had barely rushed out ten ters, and the slogans hadn't even completely faded when three machine gun emplacents from different directions, with pre-calibrated firing paraters, simultaneously spat out lethal tongues of fire.
"Da-da-da-da——!"
"Dong-dong-dong-dong——!"
The PKM general-purpose machine gun's continuous shooting and the DShK heavy machine gun's dull but powerful bursts intertwined to form an impenetrable tal storm.
The 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets easily tore through bodies, severing the charging Big Beard leader in half, with his upper body whipping through the air at a grotesque angle.
The militants following him seed to hit an invisible wall, their bodies instantly riddled with bullets, exploding in clouds of blood before collapsing silently to the ground.
Bullets sparked against the dry earth, kicking up dusty trails as if tracing the fingers of the Grim Reaper.
This brief and tragic countercharge was utterly crushed in less than twenty seconds, leaving only a dozen bodies lying in twisted poses in pools of blood.
This scene, clear in Aziz's binoculars, was etched into his eyes from the observation point in the rear.
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