"Is he insane?!"
Soone's voice broke on the channel.
"BOOM——!!!"
The violent blast roared through the canyon.
The rocket slamd solidly into the side of the pickup's cab.
The flimsy civilian chassis was like paper in front of a military warhead; in an instant it was torn open with a huge gash, then the ammunition sympathetically detonated, and the whole vehicle turned into a tumbling fireball, shattered parts and human remains flung in all directions by the shockwave.
The barrel of that PKM machine gun twisted as it spun up into the air.
Thick smoke and flas temporarily obscured the view.
"Hit! But… it hit the pickup!"
The rocket gunner's voice carried stunned disbelief.
Song Heping's optics quickly pierced the smoke.
He saw that although the rcedes G500 had been rocked hard by the blast wave, the right side of the vehicle was scored with countless gouges from flying shrapnel, and the Bullet-Proof Glass was covered in cracks, it still hadn't taken a direct hit!
The driver had clearly bought himself a precious second or two with his comrade's self-sacrificing strike; he gripped the steering wheel in a death clutch and stomped the accelerator.
The armored G500 shot out through the relatively weak fire gap on the eastern side of the canyon like an arrow, dove into the rolling hills beyond, and quickly shrank to a black dot.
"Target escaped! Repeat, primary target has escaped!"
The sniper's voice was full of frustration.
Song Heping instinctively reached for his waist, only to grab air—this ti he was acting as an observation and command node, and hadn't brought his usual HK417 assault rifle.
Fuck!
He cursed inwardly.
He really had let his guard down.
This ti he'd co mainly to handle critical decision-making during the operation.
The original idea was to give Jiang Feng and Abu You a chance to command independently and build coordination, while he himself played more of an adviser and safety fuse role.
Looking at it now, he'd overestimated himself.
The battlefield shifts in an instant; any missing link or miscalculation can let the duck in the pot fly away.
More importantly, the almost paranoid loyalty and suicidal resolve shown by Barzani's Guard forced Song Heping to reassess them.
These Kurd Ard fighters might be lacking in systematized operations and high-tech equipnt, but that ferocity etched into their bones, their deathly loyalty to their leader, and their willingness to use the most brutal ans in desperate straits to buy ti for the principal—that really wasn't sothing to underestimate.
"The Kurd people… aren't completely useless after all."
Song Heping muttered under his breath, his gaze complicated.
"At least judging from the quality of this core Guard under Barzani, their foundation is tougher than we thought."
He pressed his throat mic and issued new orders:
"All teams be advised, primary target Barzani has escaped to the east. Repeat, primary target has escaped. Cease pursuit, avoid leaving the pre-set battle zone. Priority task: ensure the elder's safety, clean up the battlefield, and prepare to withdraw as planned."
After giving the orders, he leaned against the rock, closed his eyes, and rapidly replayed everything in his head, extrapolating the chain reactions that were about to follow.
"Old squad leader."
Jiang Feng's voice ca over the headset, with a trace of unwillingness. "We're just going to let him run? If we go after him, he won't get far…"
"And once you catch up, then what?"
Song Heping opened his eyes, his voice cold as ice.
"Penetrate deep into the Kurd Ard-controlled zone? Trade shots with a large force that might be rushing to the scene? Our mission is to rescue Masood, not assassinate Barzani, and definitely not to go to war with the entire Kurd Ard."
He paused, then went on:
"If I'm right, Barzani fleeing toward Kirkuk ans he's chosen the most radical and most dangerous option—launching a direct military coup. He won't go back to Elbil, there are too many variables there. He'll go seize those three elite brigades, then announce he's taking over power and accuse the Abu You Brigade of being rebels, and declare Masood dead."
Jiang Feng sucked in a breath of cold air. "Then… the Kurds are going to fight a civil war?"
"It won't just be a civil war."
Song Heping stood up, patted the dust off himself, and looked toward the direction where Barzani had vanished.
"To consolidate his grip on power, Barzani will definitely dump the shit bucket on Abu You's head. The fighting will quickly spread to Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, even Elbil."
He walked to the cliff edge, gazed down at the canyon battlefield that was gradually calming, and spoke in a low, clear voice:
"And that's only the beginning—there will definitely be a whole series of chain reactions. Turkey has always seen the Kurd Ard as a mortal threat; if the Kurd people fall into internal chaos, Ankara will never miss this chance, and large-scale border military operations beco highly likely. The Persians are also very likely to ramp up their interference amid the turmoil. And the Baghdad Central Governnt? They'll be happy to see Kurd power weakened, but they absolutely won't allow the fighting to spiral unchecked and threaten oil facilities and border security…"
"What about the Arican?" Jiang Feng asked.
"The Arican…"
Song Heping gave a cold snort. "They're the biggest headache. They have a massive stake and military presence in the Kurd Region, but their stance has always been ambiguous. They might want to swap in a more 'obedient' proxy, but they absolutely don't want this place completely going to shit, undermining the broader counterterror campaign and their posture against Persia. Barzani's coup has wrecked everyone's ga plan."
He turned and looked at Masood, who was being resuscitated by the dics.
"The key is whether Masood lives or dies. As long as he's not dead, there's a fatal flaw in Barzani's 'legitimacy'. But Masood is in a coma right now and can't step out to stabilize the situation. This ti gap is the ti when blood will be spilled."
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