"Old squad leader! We can't go on like this!"
Jiang Feng rushed over to Song Heping, carrying the scent of smoke and dust.
He looked very disheveled.
The Kevlar helt on his head had multiple scratches, the combat uniform on his body was torn in several places by rocks and shrapnel, and a wound on his left cheek from a stray bullet was still slightly bleeding, mixing with dust to form black and red stains.
"They're biting too hard! It's a suicidal tactic! They don't give us any opportunity to break contact! At this rate, let alone reaching Bayji, it would be a miracle if we can hold on till nightfall!"
Song Heping didn't respond imdiately, not even looking up at him.
All his attention seed to be focused on the small tactical tablet, as the last few drones were trying to squeeze out even the slightest advantage in this desperate chess ga.
Jiang Feng suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Song Heping's operating arm, with a force strong enough to make Song Heping's action pause slightly.
"Listen to ! Old squad leader!"
He almost roared, staring intently at him, "You know what to do in this situation! Soone must stay behind! A true rear guard! A thorough rear guard! I'll lead the team! Give two thousand n... no, one thousand five hundred will do! Give the brothers who can still fight! I'll be here, relying on this high ground, to construct the last line of defense! We'll hold them! We'll fight them! Drag them for every minute we can!"
He took a breath, speaking even faster, with an undeniable urgency:
"Take the main force now, abandon all unnecessary heavy equipnt, only carry light weapons and minimal supplies, move fast! While we hold off their main force, push to Bayji with all your might! This is the only way to save most of the people!"
His intention was quite tragic—
To use the voluntary sacrifice of these two thousand n to exchange for the slim chance of survival for the main force of over five thousand.
Song Heping finally raised his head.
He gently but firmly pushed Jiang Feng's hand away, speaking unusually calmly:
"Jiang Feng, even if everything goes according to your ideal plan. I lead these five thousand n to successfully shake off the pursuers and miraculously escape into Bayji. Then what?"
He raised his dust-covered finger, pointing in the direction of Bayji.
"Bayji has just been captured by us, you and I know what level its city defenses are. What's the use of these five thousand people going in?! And now, the 1515 ard forces, who are ruthlessly attacking us, will they stop after destroying your two thousand n? You're wrong, they will unhesitatingly follow up to attack the city! What do you guess the final result is?"
Song Heping spoke word by word:
"The result is Bayji will also be breached! We're rely changing our burial ground from this open Gobi to Bayji's narrow streets and ruins."
Jiang Feng froze in place.
He opened his mouth but couldn't make any sound.
An enormous despair instantly engulfed him.
Just now, he was only thinking about how to let the main force break out, not considering this even more tragic chain reaction.
Indeed, Bayji can't be defended.
Two thousand people at most could only buy two or three more hours.
No use.
That has absolutely no effect.
"Then we... we..."
Jiang Feng felt a chill down his spine: "Are we just going to be exhausted to death here? The Aricans are treacherous, watching our joke from the air! Over in Hulmatu, Thunder Defense is also holding still! They... they want us to die! Want all of us to die here!"
Song Heping listened quietly to Jiang Feng's desperate outburst.
In the end, the corner of his mouth slowly curved into a defiant smile.
"We're not so easy to kill! What are you thinking? Do you think I'm the type of person who doesn't have a backup plan and just waits to die in an ergency?"
Song Heping turned the tactical tablet towards Jiang Feng, the screen no longer showed close-ups of intense firefights but switched to a broader battlefield electronic map.
On the map, red and blue symbols representing enemies and allies were densely intertwined, with the situation dangerously precarious.
However, Jiang Feng's gaze was drawn to a few extrely inconspicuous, slowly blinking green dots.
These dots were not located in the core battle zone but were at the edge of the map, on the right wing of the 1515 ard control region...
Jiang Feng's eyes lit up.
That is in the direction of Kirkuk!
Their movent trajectory is very peculiar, not approaching the combat zone in a straight line, but with a sense of detour, infiltration, and even obscurity.
"Who told you we've got no way out?"
Song Heping's voice was not loud, yet carried confidence, "Would I, Song Heping, put myself and thousands of brothers' lives in a dead end without retreat?"
He raised his hand to look at his watch.
"The Aricans want to sit safely in the command room and watch the show, wanting to see us and 1515, these two trapped beasts, fighting to the death so they can co out as saviors to clean up the ss and easily reap all the fruits of victory. Let Thunder Defense in Hulmatu stand still, with the excuse that the Air Force cannot be mobilized... humph!"
He snorted coldly, "It's probably also received instruction from their top level, wanting dead, or at least to make Samir, Abu You, and our forces insignificant in the Northwest Region."
"But..."
Song Heping's tone suddenly changed:
"They've forgotten, or rather, they underestimated one thing from the start. I, Song Heping, have never been a pawn that only moves according to their preset path!"
His fingertip heavily pointed at the green dots on the tablet map:
"Let everyone waiting to laugh at open their damn eyes wide and watch!"
Jiang Feng's gaze was locked onto those green dots, his brain rapidly processing, combining the positions, movent trajectories, and Song Heping's confident tone...
A bold, even insane guess sliced through his despair-ridden mind like a bolt of lightning, his pupils suddenly shrinking to the size of pinholes!
He abruptly raised his head and looked at Song Heping.
"You... when did you... when did you plan this?"
Song Heping withdrew the tablet, stretched out his hand, and slapped Jiang Feng's shoulder forcefully, with a deeply concealed cunning:
"Since you called for help saying accidents occurred, telling that the 1515 lunatics were biting you and wouldn't let go, I've never pinned my hopes on those Aricans' elusive credibility and promises. Rember, a true old Hunter never prepares only that one hunting rifle visible when entering a dangerous jungle."
His gaze swept over the soldiers fighting bloodily around them, speaking in a low voice:
"You relay the ssage; all units stop alternating retreats, fully contract the defense line! Rely on existing terrain and fortifications, hold fast! Save every bullet, effectively injure the enemy! Our mission has changed—not retreat, but hold fast! Hold out until..."
He raised his head and looked at the increasingly dim sky, the last golden edge of the sunset being rcilessly swallowed by the dark blue night.
"One hour, just one hour is enough! I promise Az's more than 20,000 people won't leave this Gobi tonight!"
Jiang Feng nodded heavily, grabbed the assault rifle leaning against the rock, and turned to rush towards the fiercest frontline.
Soon his voice, carrying unprecedented strength and determination, spread through every corner of the defense line via the radio:
"All units, listen up! This is Commander Jiang Feng! Stop the withdrawal! Contract defenses! Occupy favorable positions, conserve ammunition, tiered firepower distribution! Blast them fiercely! Boss has a backup plan! Repeat, the boss has arrangents, reinforcents are on the way! Don't let those ISIS bastard sons leave tonight, not a single one!"
The order quickly reached every soldier's ears.
Though many were skeptical, and no one knew exactly what the "backup plan" was, Song Heping's na itself was a symbol, a symbol representing miracles and victory.
He said there's a chance, then there must be a chance!
Hundreds of kiloters away, in the cool command center of the Baghdad Green Zone.
Colonel Kote watched the screen as Song Heping's troops were still in fierce combat, but seemingly no longer moving backward, instead contracting tighter, staying still at their original position.
"Huh? What the hell?"
He couldn't help but frown slightly.
Then he noticed that the red arrow representing 1515 Ard faced stronger resistance when touching the contracted blue defense line, and the advancent speed obviously slowed down.
"Struggling to the death... a bit tougher than expected."
He murmured softly, casually taking a sip of the now lukewarm coffee.
He didn't pay much attention, dismissing it as the instinctive reaction of a beast fighting to the death.
He didn't believe that in such absolute adversity of troop strength, posture, and supply, Song Heping could play any tricks to change the battle's outco.
He still anticipated the predetermined script—both sides bleeding to the last drop, then his own dazzling entrance.
But he would never know, at this very mont, in the electromagnetic spectrum above the battlefield, invisible and intangible, several communications signals using special encryption algorithms, almost undetectable by conventional equipnt, had already started like pebbles thrown into a seemingly calm lake, stirring up ripples destined to spread into a stormy wave.
Song Heping's "backup plan," never disclosed to anyone, had already initiated its precise and deadly countdown in a situation unnoticed by all, including his closest comrades.
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