King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Chapter 518: Start with a Warm-Up Fight



How should modern urban warfare be conducted?

Joe Ga had never fought in one, but that didn't stop him from using the terrorists in the small town of Byrdi as training targets.

Due to prolonged conflicts, infrastructure was scarce and the mobile signal within Byrdi was terrible, not to mention cable TV and the like.

Among the people living under the rule of the terrorists, those who could flee had already done so. Among the remaining civilians, some still supported al-Qaeda, while the rest were truly innocent and helpless.

Moreover, as al-Qaeda's rule prolonged, more people were being brainwashed and converted.

To put it bluntly, sometimes brainwashing humans can be even easier than dogs, because humans can accept many bizarre things out of fear, and then gradually become accustomed to them.

Haftar's core demand to hand over the refinery to P·B was not just about stabilizing the two cities but also preventing al-Qaeda from using those areas as recruiting grounds, where they could simply drive in with pickup trucks and whisk away large numbers of fanatics.

The most important thing was to prevent the two cities from becoming a financial resource for al-Qaeda.

Cities under the rule of terrorists were not at a standstill; to scrape by, the people engaged in various commercial and production activities, which continued with difficulty.

The terrorists were a bit brutal, a bit fanatical, and occasionally murdering a few 'heartless' disobedient merchants or imprisoning and torturing a few intellectuals could even win the support of some people, drawing in new blood.

Taking down Byrdi presented no great difficulty for boss Qiao. It was called a warm-up to help the soldiers, who had come from all corners, adapt to the new pace of flat warfare, especially since Tubruq would be the real challenge.

The sight of the soldiers setting out was still quite stunning, with Seville paratroopers riding in China-sponsored Warrior ATVs and Wagner mercenaries using Italian-sponsored LMVs.

LMVs led the way, Warrior ATVs brought up the rear, and in the middle were over thirty military trucks carrying various weapons, ammunition, and supplies, along with six 'Nora' self-propelled grenade launchers.

The self-propelled grenade launchers stopped 5 kilometers from Byrdi. Then Seville's professional artillery directed their deployment, and a platoon of paratroopers stayed behind as protection.

Ambassador Steven, wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, sat in a bulletproof LMV, still feeling very insecure.

The journalist Wallace seated beside him was much calmer. This battle-hardened reporter was filming the sights on either side of the vehicle with his camera.

Byrdi, as a border city adjacent to Egypt and close to the port, should have been a relatively developed commercial city, but now there were only abandoned vehicles on both sides of the highway and a few scattered ruins.

The convoy was not moving very fast, allowing Wallace to completely document the scars war had brought to this place.

Just as Ambassador Steven was about to remind Wallace to be ready and to turn the camera on him, several crisp 'knocking' noises suddenly sounded on the side door of the LMV...

Before Steven could understand what had happened, the State Department's security officer driving the car shouted in panic, "Someone's shooting at us, we're under attack.

Cover us, Car 2! Lead the way, Car 3! We need to speed through..."

The security officer's shouting seemed panicked, but his decisions were sound.

However, they neglected that the chaotic lane changes and speeding of a few vehicles in their own convoy disrupted the overall pace of the march.

This was like someone deliberately jostling a toy train in motion; one car's wobble could lead to the entire train wobbling.

This action caused the convoy to become a bit discordant...

Just as the three cars responsible for the ambassador's safety had accelerated, their radios erupted with curses...

"Have you all lost your minds? Get back in formation; now everyone knows where the VIP is."

Wallace, with one hand on the handrail and the other on the camera, was recording the situation inside the car. The enemy's attacks from the outside continued unceasingly, with some hiding in a few dilapidated houses on the right side of the highway and others in the desert.

The initial small arms fire was just an immature display by the terrorists acting as lookouts.

Experienced soldiers would wait until the convoy entered the range of their rocket-propelled grenades before opening fire to stop the front vehicles and cut off the convoy, leading to a firefight.

The people hired by boss Qiao were all elite; they naturally understood this principle.

Especially with the guidance of drones overhead, they were unlikely to fall into the terrorists' traps.

They just wanted to make their operation look more impactful. As a result, when the ambassador's vehicle acted erratically, it spoiled their plan.

Steven might not know how to fight, but he had basic decency and courage. At this point, he consciously kept quiet and fully trusted the State Department security tasked with his protection.

The security chief, swearing, adjusted their speed and rejoined the convoy. Before merging back, he played a tactical shell game with the other cars in an attempt to confuse the terrorists.

But soon he realized it was wishful thinking; as the lead car entered the enemy's 600-meter range, the roof hatches of the vehicles were flung open. A group of machine gunners took control of their weapons and turned to the flanks, then pulled back their bolts...

Wallace, seeing no action on his side, stuffed the camera into the ambassador's hands and stood up to push open the roof hatch, grabbing hold of the machine gun.

The State Department security chief driving the car, seeing the vehicle ahead not only not stopping but also slowing down as if prepared to engage the enemy directly, broke into a sweat and called out on the radio, "The enemy has RPGs, we must..."

Amidst his yelling, a shrill whistling came from the sky...

Six 155mm airburst shells exploded above where the enemy was far off...

In broad daylight, only an orange flash could be seen, followed by large areas being obscured by gray-black smoke.

The security personnel, having been in the military themselves, saw this and knew they were eliminated from the fighting force.

The Wagner bastards knew everything but refused to give even a hint to themselves, making them appear like self-smart fools.

However, the special service chief soon realized that he had still underestimated Wagner's madness.

For their first battle under the artillery cover of Seville, those Ruskies dared to approach the explosion core area within about 500 meters...

The convoy showed no signs of stopping at all; they raced along the highway, and when the front of the convoy was parallel with those few buildings, the machine gunners finally opened fire...

"Bang bang bang bang..."

"Bang bang bang bang..."

The large caliber machine guns on over forty armored off-road vehicles fired simultaneously, and several buildings collapsed in the middle as if whipped by mischievous children on rapeseed flowers.

About a dozen terrorists crawled out from the back of the buildings in a panic, attempting to use the slope to dodge the machine gun fire, but just ten seconds later, six more airburst shells flew over...

"Boom boom boom..."

The six airburst shells that exploded almost simultaneously at a height of 15 meters swept through a vast space.

Theoretically, within an area the size of a soccer field, there should have been no survivors.

Journalist Wallace had his fill of firing; when he saw someone in front signaling 'cease fire' while shouting franticly, he then sat back in the vehicle, clutching his somewhat sore ears.

Two LMVs from the front of the convoy then drove off the road into the blast zone to search for any possible survivors...

Wallace got up again, took the video camera in the midst of Ambassador Steven's astonished expression, and recorded the scene.

Wagner had guts, and the Seville artillery was skilled; combined together, they completed this near-perfect encounter.

The following military trucks and even the fighters with long heads didn't even fire a shot!

By this time, the convoy hadn't stopped for even a second; they only slightly reduced their speed when the machine guns were firing to help the gunners target.

This wasn't typical of modern warfare; Wagner's men, who valued money over their lives, made the scene appear a bit too explosive.

Normally, drones would spot the enemy, then Blue Sword 7 missiles would be launched to clear out the buildings, followed by artillery shelling to break down enemies ambushed in the desert, and only then would Wagner send people for a close-up confirmation of the results before the convoy continued forward.

A Blue Sword 7 missile costs $50,000 on the market, and an airburst shell 155 costs $10,000.

The normal United State Army encountering such an ambush would need at least four Hellfires, followed by a round of air strikes or, if possible, 5 to 8 precise artillery strikes before moving in to inspect and pass through.

Fifty or so terrorists scheming an ambush in the wilderness hadn't even officially started fighting when the opposition burned millions in respect.

This is modern warfare!!
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However, the rich have their ways of fighting, and the destitute have theirs!

A bunch of idiotic old Ruskies used machine guns instead of Blue Sword 7 and pushed the artillerymen to their highest skill, saving Joe Ga a large sum of military expenses, and the scene was quite invigorating.

The convoy didn't waste a second on the road and reached the outskirts of the town Byrdi in about 40 minutes.

Desert cities have a particularity: almost no buildings protrude outside the city.

They are built in concentric circles, the buildings standing hand in hand to withstand sandstorms and other natural disasters.

The convoy stopped one kilometer away from Byrdi, and two LMVs pounced to both sides toward the simple shepherd tents as soon as they halted.

After confirming there was no danger, 'Sugar,' fully armed but carrying a large pot, sprinted over, waving his US dollars in hand, forcefully bought the livestock from the shepherds, and assertively included them in the logistics team to be in charge of herding sheep.

After all, the meat would spoil if the sheep were butchered too quickly; they needed to be kept and consumed gradually.

Ambassador Steven, watching Joe Ga leading Ayu down from a trailing long-headed fighter, compared his LMV with disdain and said, "This afternoon I want to ride with you, FUCK, it was too risky earlier."

Joe Ga looked disdainfully at Steven, who was causing too much trouble, and said, "This is all demanded by your bodyguards; they're not happy about you being too close to me, worried that you might become a target for terrorists.

I think it's quite good this way, don't you think?"

The special service chief had no idea that Joe Ga was now not in charge of commanding the battle at all...

'Not letting the protectee get too close to dangerous individuals' is the basic quality of a professional bodyguard.

Seeing Ambassador Steven's cryptic gaze, the special service chief could only helplessly lower his head.

Building trust in someone is very difficult, but destroying it only takes a moment.

Seeing the special service chief avoid his gaze, Ambassador Steven shook his head vigilantly, then waved at a few temporary hired mercenaries nearby, the triple Tian Peng, saying, "Hey, 'Trigger,' are you free this afternoon? I need a driver who understands the local situation..."


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