Major 0054’s Countermeasure

With Major Kleissmann’s order given, the gunner of a Grizzly armored vehicle immediately took aim. Using the data transmitted by the drone before it crashed, he located the Flower Snake. The launcher atop the Grizzly swiveled, and with a long tail of flame, a miniature missile whooshed out.

A deafening explosion followed, and the two-story house where Flower Snake had once taken cover vanished, replaced by a towering column of dust and smoke. Chunks of masonry, which had belonged to the house, were hurled more than a hundred meters away.

“If they want to trap us by blocking the exits, then let’s just make some new ones!” Major Kleissmann promptly issued his second command.

Three successive explosions rang out as Blackwater operatives randomly chose sections of the perimeter wall to demolish. In less than five minutes, they had created three new openings large enough for vehicles to pass through, canceling out the tactical advantage the Elves had so painstakingly built up.

“The Grizzly will lead, Humvees will support on both flanks, helicopter cover from above. If you spot any enemies, attack immediately. I want a secure corridor cleared within half an hour.” With preparations complete, Major Kleissmann pointed at a gap in the courtyard wall on his screen. He chose this spot for the breakout.

At once, the Blackwater mercenaries in the courtyard sprang into action, fully armed as they piled into vehicles. When the Little Bird helicopter thundered overhead and hovered, the Grizzly, armored with anti-rocket mesh on all sides, rumbled straight for the opening.

Faced with these hastily blasted exits, even the Iron Man couldn’t have anticipated and rigged them with explosives in advance. To stop Blackwater’s convoy, the Elves would have to intercept with portable weaponry. The problem was, the moment they opened fire, they’d lose the crucial advantage of concealment. If they got drawn into a firefight, they’d fall straight into Major Kleissmann’s tactical rhythm.

“Elf, do we engage?” Azel, not far away, asked, waiting for the team leader’s decision.

“Hold your fire. Let them pass,” Elf replied, never taking her eyes off the scope.

“What? What if the target’s in the convoy?”

“I said let them pass.”

The team obeyed Elf’s orders faithfully, but she herself couldn’t help feeling tense.

As the commander, Elf’s first responsibility was to the organization and the mission. If, as Azel feared, Raven slipped away with the convoy, the consequences would be dire—not just for Elf, but for the entire team.

Despite the tremendous pressure, Elf trusted her judgment. Major Kleissmann was a seasoned battlefield commander; he wouldn’t risk placing the primary asset in danger. Blackwater hadn’t yet figured out the team’s full capabilities. Even if they were sending their strongest vehicles to break out, Kleissmann would not recklessly put Raven with them.

“No, impossible! It can’t be!” Elf reassured herself again and again, scrutinizing each vehicle through her scope. She couldn’t see inside, but she kept repeating the action, unwilling to miss any detail.

In the frozen tension of the moment, the Grizzly had already advanced about twenty meters beyond the courtyard, flanked in a triangle by two Humvees. Overhead, the Little Bird circled, changing speed and altitude to make itself a difficult target for rockets.

Just then, the Little Bird’s surveillance feed was projected onto the screen. Seeing the convoy pass smoothly through the narrowest point in the wall, Major Kleissmann’s grin broadened. He patted the shoulder of the monitor operator beside him. “Tell the convoy to keep advancing at this pace. They’re more anxious than we are—I want them to make mistakes under pressure.”

The operator relayed the order. As Major Kleissmann relaxed, standing up and stretching, a subordinate with a headset suddenly reported, “Major, our informant has replied. During the attack in the city, the Libyan army lost two vehicles—model One.”

“One?” Major Kleissmann folded his arms, absently stroking the stubble on his chin. “What weapons were mounted on the armored vehicles?”

“A 12.7mm machine gun and a 14.5mm quad anti-aircraft gun.”

“No surface-to-air missiles?”

“Confirmed negative, sir.”

“Then nothing to worry about. The sooner they show themselves, the sooner we can end this fight.” Kleissmann’s mind eased. He returned his attention to the screen, watching the vehicles inch closer to the residential district. From there, the Grizzly convoy could get onto the road and access any part of the city—whether to attack, defend, or retreat, their options would be far more flexible.

The squat Grizzly armored vehicle drew nearer and nearer to the residential zone, and in the Blackwater command center, everyone held their breath. Whoever was lurking outside, this was the ideal spot for an ambush. If the Grizzly convoy passed unscathed, it meant the enemy had either given up or lacked the confidence to attack, freeing Blackwater to act without restraint.

“Two hundred meters... one-fifty... one hundred...” an operator called out the distance, his voice growing increasingly taut.

“They’re through! No attack. They made it!” As the Humvees turned onto the road after the Grizzly, the operator, nerves stretched to breaking, couldn’t contain an excited shout.

“Grizzly, hold position. Humvee teams dismount and sweep for hostiles nearby. Little Bird, circle back to base. Next, we’re going to flush out these rats in the dark.” Major Kleissmann, feeling immense relief, issued further orders. He planned to send the company’s key personnel to rendezvous with the convoy, then head straight for the nearest airport, where a plane was standing by to fly these valuable individuals directly to France.

While Blackwater’s fighters carefully swept the open ground around the residential block, Elf’s team was on the move—swift and concealed. To avoid detection by the Grizzly convoy, they had already abandoned their original hideout. Now, to ambush the next wave of vehicles, Elf led her team back, positioning them on both sides of the new corridor the Grizzly had opened. Iron Man, in particular, was making every second count, setting up his gear within easy reach. Misha, the driver of One, and Emma, the gunner, had also climbed into their armored vehicle, ready to join the battle at any moment.

The Little Bird helicopter made one final circuit overhead before banking and flying back to the oil company’s compound, landing on the roof of Building Three. Meanwhile, four Humvees—two in front, two behind—escorted forty-five sedans in a column, speeding along the route the Grizzly had cleared, about to meet up with the Grizzly convoy at the intersection.

At last, Elf made her move. With a single shot, she shattered the deceptive calm—a bullet slicing through a side window and striking the driver of the first sedan behind the Humvee. The out-of-control car slowed, and the second sedan, unprepared, crashed into its rear. The cars behind swerved to avoid a pileup, and in moments, the orderly convoy dissolved into chaos.

“Enemy spotted! Six o’clock!” The Blackwater mercenaries searching nearby quickly pinpointed Elf’s position, and in the next instant, assault rifles from both sides erupted into a furious firefight.

In the melee, the Humvee’s mounted machine guns were the deadliest force on the field. As soon as they opened fire, Elf’s side was pinned down, their small arms nearly useless—just raising their heads was a deadly risk.

Tat-tat-tat! One of the Humvees, firing as it moved, shielded a sedan exposed to enemy fire behind its armored bulk. Suddenly, a rocket whistled over, instantly turning both the Humvee and the sedan behind it into twisted wrecks.

The Little Bird, now with a new crew, lifted off again. Before it even reached the firefight, the Gatling gun aboard unleashed a withering barrage from above, raking Elf’s hiding spot with a hail of bullets, raising clouds of dust and obliterating visibility in seconds.

Another team member, popping up to fire a burst, was immediately targeted by the Little Bird. The helicopter banked in a tight circle, the side-mounted Gatling spinning up again, and in a blink, shredded the retreating operative to pieces.

“Wild Hair, take that Little Bird down! Now!” Elf couldn’t contain herself and shouted into her phone. But Wild Hair, hidden out in the wasteland, listened in silence, giving no reply.

In truth, Wild Hair had been waiting for an opening against the Little Bird for some time. But without absolute certainty, he dared not act rashly. The pilot was a Blackwater veteran—if the first shot missed, there’d be no second chance.

Just then, another team member couldn’t hold back any longer. From a patch of wild grass about 3,400 meters from the Little Bird, a rocket streaked up unexpectedly. The pilot, living up to his reputation, calmly banked the chopper right, dodging the missile by a hair’s breadth with deft skill.

“Now! I’ve been waiting for this!” Wild Hair, who had been watching intently, suddenly sprang up. Half-crouched in the tall weeds, he launched his own rocket without hesitation.