The feeling of marching through the African jungle is quite unpleasant.
Moreover, carrying so many elderly, won, children, and injured people, Song Heping simply couldn't move through this damned marshland at the fastest speed like he used to with a small elite team.
The climate in South Sudan is also a fatal factor.
Unlike Egypt, which is filled with deserts, this place is relatively humid, with large areas of forests and marshlands in the east. The national park reserves also lie along the eastern border, making it very suitable for hiding.
This was the reason Song Heping initially chose this route.
However, after entering the marshlands, Song Heping realized he had overestimated his own abilities and those of the villagers from Koma Village.
"Old squad leader, this speed won't do!"
When the team stopped for the third ti to rest, Jiang Feng found Song Heping and pointed at his watch, saying, "After marching for over three hours, we've only advanced 8 kiloters. At this speed, we won't reach the border until dusk tomorrow!"
Song Heping glanced at his watch.
Jiang Feng was not exaggerating.
He had underestimated the difficulty of traversing this marshy jungle.
Initially, he calculated the ti based on halving his own speed.
Starting from Koma Village, traversing the Machar marshlands to the Sue Border is seventy kiloters. According to the original estimate, the team should reach the border area by dawn, and then Song Heping could contact Ferrari to have him and Hunter cross the border to et them.
Once they crossed the border, the Ethiopian army's border defense forces would provide protection and send the villagers to a temporary refugee camp, settling Song Heping and the others.
But now, at this speed, with frequent stops, after walking one or two kiloters, villagers would start clamoring for rest, saying they couldn't go on.
Song Heping didn't know how to deal with these people.
After all, many were elderly, children, and injured. He couldn't just point a gun at them and force them to walk.
So, they walked for three hours and rested twice.
They rested for half an hour each ti.
This ant that they were actually marching for only two hours, with the rest of the ti spent resting.
It's unknown if this was part of the African nature.
Even in such desperate conditions, when they sat down, they were cheerful, seeming to forget the previous massacre. They grouped together, eating, drinking, chatting, and so even ran into the nearby jungle to pick wild fruits…
They really treated this like a picnic.
"Doctor, do you have a mont? I need to talk to you."
Song Heping found Maria, wanting to talk to this employer.
"I have ti, what is it?"
Maria followed Song Heping to the side.
Looking at the villagers sitting in groups on the ground, eating, Song Heping worriedly said, "I just calculated our marching speed. It's too slow. After three hours, we've only covered about eight kiloters. At this rate, we won't reach the border by dawn. This ans we'll have to march during the day, losing the cover of darkness. Moving such a large group will easily be spotted by the rebels. I estimate they've already guessed we're heading to Ethiopia, and they'll likely track and intercept us in this area. Have you thought about what to do if a fight breaks out, with so many people?"
"Didn't you organize over thirty young guys and give them guns?"
Maria's naivety made Song Heping feel foolish.
How did this girl survive in Africa for these years without any crisis awareness?
"Do you think those thirty villagers, who are even worse than fresh recruits, can fend off an attack by more than a thousand rebel ard forces?"
Song Heping was speechless.
He couldn't explain the military disparity and the severe consequences it would bring. He could only use a taphor: "Let put it this way, don't think that giving them guns will be effective. It's just psychological comfort, making them feel safe. Combat is much more complicated than you imagine, got it? If the rebel forces are stones, then we are now a poor little egg. What happens when the egg hits the stone?"
Maria still seed to not understand: "You pulled aside just to say this? I know thirty villagers can't fend off rebels, but if their guns were effective, why would I need to hire you?"
"..."
Song Heping was speechless again.
Exactly.
If the guns were effective, why hire him?
"What I an is, can you talk to them? Tell them to hurry up? Stop dawdling? Don't ask to rest for half an hour after walking two or three kiloters. Tell them we are fleeing for our lives, not on a picnic, look at them!"
He pointed at the villagers picnicking under the moonlight.
"Alright..."
Maria seed unwilling but accepted Song Heping's suggestion.
"I'll try to persuade them."
...
While Song Heping was still discussing the speed of the villagers' march with Maria, at a makeshift airport on the outskirts of Damazine in North Sudan, an An-12 transport plane slowly landed on the runway, kicking up huge clouds of yellow dust.
Under the moonlight, the dust raised by the old An-12 looked like a gigantic snake trailing behind it, the slightly faded fuselage reflecting icy rays under the moonlight, giving it a mysterious look.
The plane ca to a halt, the cabin door opened, and teams of rcenaries began descending from the plane.
A Lieutenant Colonel Le Man from the UN Peacekeeping Forces' French Army squad, who had been waiting by the runway, walked to the side of the plane and peered inside.
Fully ard rcenaries were still disembarking, Le Man counted roughly seventy or eighty of them.
"Old friend! My French friend!"
A deep male voice ca from the cabin, and Nicholas appeared in Le Man's view, opening his muscular arms.
"Damn! Nicholas! You shouldn't be doing this!"
Le Man was not as excited as Nicholas, as he was being blackmailed.
This landing and flight arrangent were all secretly set up by Le Man using his authority.
If anyone found out that he was involved with an Eastern European underground cri lord, it would be a fatal blow to his career.
"I shouldn't have smuggled with you back then!"
Le Man gnawed his teeth in anger.
"You shouldn't have blackmailed with those old matters!"
His resentnt did not invoke any displeasure from Nicholas, who just laughed heartily.
"Lieutenant Colonel, you should know how lucky you are to have a friend like , Colonel Android, you know? Last ti, his beautiful daughter got involved with a gang at a nightclub in Slovakia and was kidnapped, it was who helped him out. If you have any trouble in Eastern Europe, no, I should say anywhere in Europe with gangs, you can find . Now I owe you a favor."
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