Mercenaries, I Will Be King Chapter 198 - 172: The First Day of Action

"What do you an?!"

The cook was the first one who couldn't hold back anymore.

"Which position are we responsible for during the operation?"

He wanted to get a clear answer.

Vincent kept that disdainful smile on his face, as if he were looking at a child begging for candy from an adult, "You'll be in charge of securing our periter. As long as we're safe, you don't have to worry about not fulfilling your contract."

His implication was very clear.

The rcenaries in front of him were not qualified to participate in their core battle.

The task of eliminating the "Hunter" would be taken care of by the Seals.

All Song Heping and the rest had to do was follow along, and they would get paid.

The cook was about to blow up, but Song Heping gave him a look, signaling him not to lose his temper.

Then he turned to Vincent and said, "Then thank you, Lieutenant. We won't interfere with your hunt. I wish you good luck."

"Don't worry," Vincent confidently replied, "this battle will be over soon. The 'Hunter' has only killed regular troops before, but they won't be so lucky this ti. We'll show them what a real sniper is."

"Great, great, great."

Song Heping started clapping, giving a thumbs up, "Aweso!"

After the eting, everyone began to prepare their weapons, ammunition, and supplies for the next day's operation.

The night before any military mission, all equipnt and supplies, including guns and ammo, had to be cleaned and checked, and food and water had to be readied.

The two groups living in the sa large tent couldn't get along, so when it ca to cleaning their guns, they each ford their own circles, with zero interaction, each doing their own thing.

"Song, why didn't you let lose it just now?"

The cook glanced at the Seal Team with a look of contempt.

Song Heping replied, "They're letting you follow them and pick up money without any danger, and you're still not happy?"

Grey Wolf agreed with Song Heping's statent, "Cook, Song is right. They asked us to be responsible for the periter, to be their security. Let's just do it. It's good. We can just watch their performance. And you know what?

If this really works out without us having to lift a finger, that's a million dollars for nothing!"

"Exactly!" White Bear chid in, "I think it's good, much better than being used as bait!"

Hunter said, "They probably don't need us as bait anymore. Now it's the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Airborne Troops who are in charge of leading the way and clearing the path. I guess the Seals are planning to follow behind these ground forces and then track 'Hunter' when he appears, covering the ground troops as they sweep through the city."

"That's nice!" Grey Wolf remarked, "After all, we won't have any losses. According to what Vincent said, we'll be positioned in the safest location, on the periphery of the Seals, acting as a lookout for them."

The cook turned to Song Heping, "Song, what do you think?"

Song Heping was deep in thought and was brought back to reality by the cook's question. He nodded and said, "I have the sa idea, you're all right."

The cook asked, "What were you thinking about? You seem to have a lot on your mind."

As Song Heping picked up a brush to clean the barrel of the MK18, he said, "Have you ever considered who we're up against?"

His question made everyone look at each other, unsure where Song Heping was going with this.

"The Hunter," blurted out Samir, unable to hold back, "The organization ford by the elite Suicide Squad from the forr Sadam Guard."

Song Heping shook his head, "You're not hitting the nail on the head."

Samir was confused and looked at the others, hoping for a different answer.

Hunter remarked, "You an, the opponent is a sniper?"

This ti, Song Heping nodded, "Not just any sniper. If the information provided by the military is correct, then it's a sniper who can use an SVD sniper rifle to kill targets at a distance of twelve hundred ters."

At that, he swept his gaze over those present, "I've asked you all before, does anyone in our team have the ability to do that?"

This ti, everyone shook their heads.

The SVD is, after all, an old model rifle. It was barely on the cusp of being considered a sniper rifle when it was first designed, with an accuracy of about one minute of angle at one hundred ters.

Let alone using it to shoot a target one thousand ters away, hitting the human body at a distance of eight hundred ters would already qualify one as an excellent sniper.

To achieve a sniping distance of twelve hundred ters, that would definitely be a monster among monsters.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Song Heping continued, "Do you think such a sniper would be easy to deal with? Sniping is all about long-range kill effect; whoever shoots farther and more accurately wins. Drones in the sky simply can't spot an enemy inside a building, and the city is not open countryside—it's not that easy to deal with."

The cook glanced at the Seals, then whispered to Song Heping, "Do you an they won't be able to handle it?"

Song Heping replied, "It depends on their tactics, but if they do as Vincent says, advancing piece by piece and chasing the enemy when they appear, I can basically conclude they won't manage."

Hunter was puzzled, "Boss, these are Seal Teams. Each one of them has rich combat experience. Wouldn't they have thought of this problem?"

"They've thought of it," Song Heping said, "You see, they've also brought long-range sniper rifles. But their way of thinking is wrong."

Hunter was a sniper himself and beca imdiately interested when it ca to his expertise, "Boss, it seems like you have also studied sniping?"

Song Heping humbly answered, "A little... just a little... "

Eager to learn, Hunter inquired, "So tell us, why is their way of thinking wrong?"

Song Heping explained, "Advancing piece by piece ans breaking up the attack area into many small sections and clearing each one at a ti. This tactic can be sowhat effective in city warfare for close combat, but I've looked at the data and sothing doesn't seem right. If this thod were effective, then Mosul would have been taken long ago, right?

Why, then, after several months, does the US Army not even dare to station in the city?"

"The ard organizations in the city are using hit-and-run and guerrilla tactics, along with tunnel warfare. They don't stick around for a head-on fight. How do you fight that? Let you in, then take a shot from afar as you search house by house, and they're gone after shooting. Searching for the enemy sniper takes ti, right? And by the ti you find them, the enemy has fled.

What do you do then?"

"Makes sense!"

Hunter admired Song Heping's analysis very much.

Song Heping had always been extrely accurate in his tactical judgnts.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a master tactician.

After pondering for a while and stroking his stubble, the cook had to admit Song Heping made a lot of sense.

Even if I were the US Army commander, there would be nothing I could do.

"Based on what you're saying, are you suggesting Mosul can't be taken?"

"That's not the case," Song Heping said. "There are many ways to take it, such as completely sealing off Mosul so that not a single bullet can get in. Eventually, the ammunition inside will run out, but what's the use of that? The ard militants just need to strip off their clothes and transform into civilians, move to another city, form another group, capture another city.

Without eliminating the living forces, it's all in vain."

"Another thod is to simply flatten the city, knocking down all the buildings without discrimination. The problem is, there are journalists from all over the world watching. Would the Aricans dare to do that? As soon as they do, they'd lose the moral high ground imdiately. They ca here under the pretext of liberating the people. If they really did that, how could the war continue?"

The cook nodded silently: "It seems there really is no way."

"That's not necessarily true," Song Heping smiled. "It depends on the person."

The cook burst into laughter: "Song, you're about to boast again, aren't you? You think you can handle it? Let's hear it! I want to see what brilliant thods you have."

"I haven't thought of a precise plan yet, but there's a rough idea in my mind. I'll mull it over these next few days."

Song Heping purposely whetted the cook's appetite.

He enjoyed the occasional small prank.

All these Da Maozi had very impatient temperants.

They just needed a bit of grinding.

Otherwise, it would inevitably lead to trouble.

In truth, he already had a rough idea in mind.

However, he needed more data and intelligence support.

In situations like Mosul, the typical Arican tactics that relied on brute force firepower wouldn't work.

He suddenly felt that perhaps that old bastard Peter had so insight.

He must have sensed sothing.

After months of fighting, the progress in Mosul had been extrely slow.

The command headquarters must be anxious, too.

Deploying so many Seal Teams and elite rcenary squads was definitely not for conventional warfare but for special operations.

But judging by Vincent's arrogantly smug face, he guessed this operation would still be a no-go.

Initially, Song Heping had thought about cooperating with Vincent and offering so useful advice.

But seeing their smug faces now, why bother?

It might be better to observe how these elite US Special Forces hit a wall here.

After all, there's no rush for the one million US dollars.

It used to seem like a lot of money.

Now?

It's re pocket change!

The ti quickly arrived at the next morning, bright and early.

Starting from a little after five, the troops from Warrior Camp began to move.

What was deployed here was a standard US Army chanized infantry battalion, part of an unnad battalion under the 1st chanized Division.

But don't underestimate a battalion, the firepower that a US Army battalion brings is astounding, at least in Song Heping's view.

In addition to the primary vehicle being the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, they were also equipped with a number of Abrams Main Battle Tanks, as well as M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicles and 155mm self-propelled howitzers. If necessary, they could even call for support from the divisional AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.

Just looking at the firepower, the ard organizations within Mosul were nothing but trash.

After a brief assembly, Lieutenant Colonel Mandres stood in front of his troops for a short mobilization speech—

"...Soldiers, today we will enter Mosul from the east and perform a cleansing operation in the city's 5th District. The company commanders received their tasks from last night, and you all know your positions. Don't ss up today, or else I'll kick your ass when you get back, strip you of your rank, and throw you out of my battalion!

Our mission is to drive the ard militants out of their buildings like rats. If they surrender, we can accept that, but if they dare to resist, then we will use the guns in our hands, the cannons on our tanks, and send them to et their maker!"

Lieutenant Colonel Mandres was extrely passionate.

One could tell that he was greatly infuriated by the militants' mortar attack on the camp last night.

Today, the guy looked as if he was holding back a belly full of fire eager to have a go in the city.

Behind the troops, the Seal Team mbers did not join the assembly. Their Humvees were parked outside the assembly area. They leaned against their vehicles at a distance, watching Lieutenant Colonel Mandres wave his fists to motivate his soldiers, chewing gum with an indifferent expression.

Eight o'clock.

Day broke.

Lieutenant Colonel Mandres declared the operation began.

The armored vehicles roared as they lined up to leave the camp.

The Seal Team's Humvees followed the leading platoon of Company A, while Song Heping's two modified off-road vehicles trailed behind the Seal Team's Humvees.

"Hawkeye to Nanny Squad."

"Hawkeye to Nanny Squad."

Sitting in the car, Song Heping heard Seal Team leader Vincent's call co through the radio.

They had nad their own operation "Hawkeye," and assigned the "Musician" defense rcenaries the call sign "Nanny," a moniker obviously ant to embarrass Song Heping and his team.

"Song, only you would tolerate these filthy swine! If it were , I'd either get a proper call sign, or they could forget about us participating in the operation," the cook complained about the deaning call sign.

Song Heping, however, didn't mind.

He picked up the radio and replied, "Nanny Squad, received. Go ahead."