Thunder Warrior Saves the World

Page 19

"Details." The capital's defenses had faltered, causing countless possibilities to flash through Lu Wu's mind.

"Remember those people you caught in Svorbella? We traced them back to a high-ranking mole that Belken had planted in our logistics department," Kaineng sneered.

"Oh, so you also use 'mole' to refer to spies." This trivial thought flashed through Lu Wu's mind, then he remembered something unpleasant, and his expression darkened. Since ancient times, military logistics, a position involving national security and numerous vested interests, has been of paramount importance in military development. If someone in this position makes a mistake, it can lead to anything from stagnation and backwardness in military development to the destruction of the nation. With a mole infiltrating such a department, it's not hard to understand why the Elgin army performed so poorly against the Belken invasion.

If this mole could directly threaten the safety of the capital's defenses, then its level must be quite high. Therefore, Lu Wu waited for Kaineng to continue. Sure enough, Kaineng continued after a moment, and this rebellion, which could plunge the entire country into utter ruin, gradually unfolded before Lu Wu's eyes…

Belken's mole, Eugene Ryan, is the deputy head of the Logistics and Ordnance Department of the Kingdom of Elgia's army, holding the rank of Major General. Originally the commander of an infantry division in the Western Military District, he was later transferred to the Logistics and Ordnance Department. Eugene, who always wanted to remain in combat, harbored resentment towards the current king. Belken seized this opportunity to cultivate a relationship with Eugene, recruiting him as a mole. Eugene began providing Belken with various intelligence and developing his own network. During this time, he used methods such as assassinating researchers and deliberately delaying operations to hinder the Kingdom of Elgia's ordnance research and development. He also leveraged his existing connections within the military to continuously gather intelligence on the western defense line.

After several years of development, the Belken people had built a large-scale spy organization in the Kingdom of Elgia, which included many former high-ranking military and political figures. Under their mutual cover, the security department was unable to find a single clue about the organization. If it weren't for the assassination of Swobella, the Belken spy organization would probably not have been exposed so easily.

Enraged by the existence of this organization, the Kyrgyz Security Service vowed to eradicate it. Their actions, naturally somewhat reckless, included a raid on one member that inadvertently escalated the situation. This alerted the astute Eugene, who realized something was amiss, especially after several of his subordinates went missing. He concluded that his exposure was more than 50% likely. If his actions were discovered, he knew he would face dire consequences. The capital's security force, which he had corrupted through years of money, power, and sex, became his trump card for self-preservation in this situation.

When Eugene telegraphed the Belken intelligence agency requesting an evacuation, the Belken, unsurprisingly, refused. Knowing he possessed a garrison regiment in Fabandi, the Belken simply ordered him to lead these men in a rebellion within the city and capture the King of Elgia. Whether the Belken genuinely expected Eugene to capture the King of Elgia is another matter; Eugene could hardly help but suspect that the Belken intended to discard him after using him, simply exploiting his remaining value to create opportunities for the Belken army outside. Regardless, ever since he provided the classified information to the Belken and they initiated hostilities, he had no leverage to refuse their demands.

Fueled by this resentment, whether he liked it or not, he ultimately had no choice but to obediently summon the high command of the guard regiment under the surveillance of Belken agents and convey the Belken people's demands.

The traitors' first targets were naturally the soldiers and officers within the garrison who remained loyal to the king. Under the guise of a meeting, they lured these unsuspecting officers to the conference room and executed them with machine guns. The soldiers, meanwhile, were killed in their sleep by having their throats slit.

Subsequently, the guard regiment split into three detachments and advanced towards the palace. The militiamen on duty along the way were fooled by the regular soldiers' identification, the officers' arrogant attitude, and the civilians' innate fear of the government's authority—although they hadn't received any orders and no one answered their phone calls, they were all familiar faces, so surely nothing would happen?

However, this tactic failed with the guards surrounding the palace. The guards were highly suspicious of these suddenly appearing, fully armed "comrades," and their evasive words only heightened their vigilance. Seeing they couldn't get away with it, the rebels dropped their disguise and opened fire on their own comrades. The outnumbered outposts couldn't stop the rebels' advance, but they successfully sounded an alarm for the loyalists inside the palace. Some guards began evacuating the royal family members, others established a defensive line within the palace, and the rest went to investigate the direction from which the gunfire was coming. Fabandi, too, was thrown into chaos by the gunfire.

Volume 1: Chapter 108, Chapter 97: A Night of Chaos (2)

The three groups of traitors weren't all targeting the royal palace. As a high-ranking member of the Logistics and Ordnance Department, Eugene naturally knew that the Elgin Kingdom's army had recently acquired a batch of Amelia's military equipment, and this department was responsible for designing and researching this equipment. Eugene was well aware of the suppressive effect these armored monsters would have on light infantry, so he specifically assigned one team to intercept the equipment. Using it themselves would be ideal, but if not, at the very least, they had to be destroyed to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Elgins.

The locations where these weapons were stored and tested were naturally under tight protection by the Kingdom of Elgia's army. However, this tightness was more for external use than internal. Eugene's identity provided significant cover when the rebels infiltrated. With his high-level privileges, entering such a confidential location wouldn't have been a major problem for him. Although arriving here at this particular time, amidst the chaos, to move classified equipment seemed somewhat coincidental, who could have imagined that his superior, the second-in-command of the Ordnance Bureau, was a despicable traitor?

Once these traitors came into contact with the equipment, they finally dropped their disguises and launched vicious backstabbing attacks on the unsuspecting soldiers, wiping out the defending army almost instantly.

Thanks to the operational manuals distributed by Eugene beforehand, these Amelia equipment quickly became accomplices in the traitors' rampage in Fabandi. This armored unit joined forces with the troops attacking the palace, and after paying the price of five SU-57 self-propelled anti-tank guns being destroyed by loyalist soldiers who risked their lives to get close and drop bombs, the rebel force finally succeeded in breaking through the outer defenses of the palace.

Meanwhile, the rebels who flooded into the palace did not rush straight into its depths. Instead, they established a blockade within the palace grounds before slowly tightening the encirclement. The third force, which had been spun off, remained outside the palace to intercept any loyalist troops attempting to reinforce it, creating an opportunity for the rebels to carry out a decapitation strike.

These traitors who launched the rebellion clearly knew there was no turning back. If their operation failed and they fell into the hands of the Elgians, death would probably be their greatest relief. Therefore, they all exerted 200% of their fighting strength. Facing the Elgians who shared the same blood as them, they showed no mercy and even became more ruthless.

Although the army of the Kingdom of Elgia had significantly improved its combat effectiveness under the call to "defend our lord," the situation was unclear, and it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. The royal army even initially mistook the rebel attack for accidental firing by the palace guards. Only after suffering heavy losses did the royal army finally realize what had happened. By this time, a full three hours had passed since Eugene launched his rebellion.

Although the commander of the Fabanti defense line tried to suppress the news, a telegram from the Belkens declaring Eugene's "defection" and the capture of the King of Elgia had spread like wildfire throughout Fabanti. Despite the commander's initial announcement that the palace was still under "control," senior officers with their own intelligence networks quickly learned that the palace was surrounded by rebels and the royal family was trapped. While the rescue forces had tied down the main rebel force, preventing them from fully breaking through the palace guards' defenses, they were also unable to breach the palace walls. Just as the Fabanti defense line was gripped by this news, the Belken army launched its attack.

Fabian was much more exciting than Swobella that night.

Lu Wu clicked his tongue in amazement, then asked, "So, what are you going to do next?"

Fabanti's unexpected turn of events forced him to reconsider the future cooperation between the 7th Brigade and the Kingdom of Elgia. If, as the Belken telegram stated, the king had been captured, that would undoubtedly be the worst-case scenario. The Belken could use this leader as the legitimate head of state of the Kingdom of Elgia to establish a provisional government and issue a ceasefire and surrender order. It was foreseeable that a significant portion of the army would comply with this order, and the key figures in this provisional government, formed by the Belken, would inevitably label those who continued to resist as "rebels" for their own vested interests.

Does this sound absurd? Don't forget, this is a monarchy where the monarch still wields considerable power and retains many feudalistic practices. For most ordinary Ergia citizens, the king's orders are supreme. Moreover, in this era, the populace is forgetful and short-sighted; the allure of national sentiment and patriotism is less significant than the immediate comfort of their lives. Although the previous bloody massacre by the Belken Empire's army ignited resistance among the Ergia, as long as the Belken Empire shows a conciliatory side and invokes the presence of the Ergia king, those citizens will deceive themselves into believing that life under Belken's actual control isn't as bad as they imagine. In the long run, their will to resist will be eroded, and the resistance faction will completely disappear.

To avoid this situation, the key is to prevent the Belken Empire from having the opportunity to arbitrarily use the king's name.

Thinking of this, Lu Wu had some guesses about why Kaineng had rushed to find him. He was probably after his air assault company. After all, through this period of joint operations, the Elgins had come to understand the characteristics of the "Hisla"—a powerful, highly mobile, manned, and even partially armored "airborne infantry fighting vehicle"—and they would definitely want to use this unit to rescue their king from his predicament.

Sure enough, what Kaineng said next confirmed his guess.

"My brother, can your air assault company break into Fabandi and rescue our king?"

"Do you know the exact location of your king?" He could do it, but Lu Wu was not about to agree to the other party's request so easily.

"Inside the palace. We can confirm that half an hour ago, the rebels still hadn't broken through the guards' final defensive line."

“Great, this way we can at least narrow down our operations to a smaller area, instead of wandering around a city of millions.” Lu Wu then posed another question, “So, do you know how far Fabandi is from here?”

"The straight-line distance is two hundred kilometers," Kaineng replied immediately.

"That's the problem. This distance is beyond the combat radius of our helicopters. Even if we could fly there at maximum speed, it would take us nearly forty minutes. Can the Royal Guard hold out for that long?" Lu Wu's serious and unjoking expression made Kaineng's heart grow cold.

Volume 1: Chapter 109 (Chapter Ninety-Eight) A Shocking Rescue (1)

Kaineng, unaware of the "Hispan"'s specific technical specifications, naturally believed Lu Wu's explanation. But Yelena, of course, understood. The "Hispan" had a maximum range of 1000 kilometers, and with four external fuel tanks, its combat radius increased to 288 kilometers. She immediately realized Lu Wu was merely stalling for a higher price, so she didn't correct him.

Although it was his first time doing something like this, Lu Wu managed to resist the urge to actively promote the rescue plan. It would be beneath him to offer his services unsolicited, and things that were hard-won were more valuable to others. So, with trepidation about whether the Elgins would simply give up or continue begging, he displayed the same patience he had when he was camping out in the Polish plains of Andon Star, waiting for the Elgins to lose their composure.

"With such advanced technology and equipment, what do you usually do when faced with this situation?"

Ultimately, it was the Elgins who couldn't sit still any longer. This meant that in the ensuing negotiations, the Elgins would be at a complete disadvantage. Even if Lu Wu offered some unreasonable conditions, the Elgins would likely have to swallow their pride and accept it, since they were the ones asking for a favor—a precondition that inherently put them at a disadvantage. Perhaps to avoid making their powerlessness too blatant, Kaine used a relatively tactful way of expressing it.

"In our Amelia, if a similar situation occurs and there are no troops nearby that can arrive in time, we usually consider airdropping super-duper warriors to solve the problem." Since there's no tax on bragging and no one here can expose him, Lu Wu simply made things up.

"Air-dropped super soldiers?" Perhaps it was because the non-existent country of Amelia had already left an unfathomable impression on Kaineng, even though he didn't know exactly how super these super soldiers were, the name alone made him feel that their combat power far exceeded that of the volunteer soldiers. As for the other term, "airdrop," its specific meaning didn't seem to be the kind of air assault he had ever seen.

"That's right, their official name is Spartan Warriors. They enlist and train from a young age, undergoing 22 bio-modification surgeries to enhance their abilities. Their bones are harder to break than ordinary people's; their muscles are denser and less prone to fatigue; their vision is greatly improved; and their reaction time is 300% of that of ordinary people. To ensure they can perform at their best on the battlefield, we have even custom-designed a power armor called 'Thor's Hammer' for them. This armor not only allows them to survive and fight in a near-vacuum, oxygen-free environment, but also features force feedback and excellent protective performance. It's no exaggeration to say that one super soldier is worth an entire infantry division."

Seeing Lu Wu's genuinely longing gaze, Kai swallowed back the words "You're lying." If such an exaggerated warrior really existed, then it seemed that the predicament faced by Elgia could be easily solved.

"Let me guess, is there a team of super soldiers in the Amelia Volunteer Army to help us solve our problems?" Kaine tried her best not to imagine whether there was any unspeakable reason for the existence of such a super soldier team in the Amelia Volunteer Army, and asked this question.

"One team? No, just one is enough to solve the problem."

Seeing Lu Wu's expression, which seemed to have been insulted, Kaineng silently raised his prediction of the combat power of these super soldiers by one level. So he continued to ask, "So, is there one such super soldier in the Amelia Volunteer Army right now?"

4. Unfortunately, no, the above content is purely fictional.

Yelena said to Kaineng with regret in her heart.

“My combined arms brigade does not have any super soldiers, and the deployment of super soldiers requires permission from the Supreme Command. We have no authority to issue such orders,” Lu Wu said with a regretful shrug. “However, we are willing to request deployment from the Supreme Command.”

"Are you kidding me? With this process, by the time the super soldiers arrive in Fabandi, the king will probably have already finished his seven-day mourning period." Whether Lu Wu genuinely didn't understand or was just pretending, Kaineng's expression was incredibly interesting after going around in circles and returning to the starting point. Especially remembering that he was the one who raised the question, he really wanted to find a time machine to go back a few minutes and slap himself a few times, telling himself to stop with all the nonsense and just ask the Amelia people what their solution was.

"Besides this plan, are there any other action plans that fit our current situation? For example, is there any way to increase the helicopter's operational radius, etc..."

"If we remove the armor plates and cannons from the helicopters, reduce the number of personnel, and add extra fuel tanks, we might be able to increase the combat radius. However, once the Belkens discover us, the risk of being shot down will become very high. You know, with a straight-line distance of 200 kilometers, this almost means that after our fighters fly there, they can only fight over Fabanti for a maximum of 5 minutes. After that, our unarmed helicopters can only passively take hits from the Belken fighters. Moreover, the reduction in combat personnel and supporting firepower will make our rescue operation more difficult, and casualties will increase accordingly." Lu Wu spouted nonsense.

“Every one of our airborne infantrymen is trained with great effort. To invest such a valuable force in an extremely risky operation is irresponsible to our soldiers and even our country.”

But this nonsense didn't fool the Elgins; they astutely grasped the key word—"risk." Risk meant there was a possibility of success, which was far better than doing nothing and waiting to die. The crucial question was how to get the Amelia officer to take such a risk and implement the rescue plan.

Money? He's never been interested in that. Resources? The previous arms trade had already emptied Swabella's warehouses; where would he get those things anytime soon? Besides, they probably wouldn't be that valuable to a military commander.

But aside from those two things, Kaine couldn't think of any other cards he could play in the short term. What exactly did this Amelia force want? Did they participate in this war simply because they couldn't stand this unjust war? He had to find the answer to this question as soon as possible.

Volume 1: Chapter 110 Nothing More Today

I'm too busy with work, I'll skip today, but I'll definitely do it tomorrow.

……………………………………………………〇…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Volume 1: Chapter 111, Chapter 99: A Shocking Rescue (2)

Logically speaking, what can move an ordinary person is nothing more than money, power, or sex; but if you want to move an idealist with a pragmatic spirit, you have to start with their aspirations. Being able to fight for a group of complete strangers—this act, full of internationalist spirit, clearly shows that these people are quite close to idealists. Just as Kaineng was racking his brains trying to figure out the bargaining chips, Lu Wu proactively provided the Ergia with the code.

"We, the Amelia Volunteer Army, are willing to risk heavy casualties to carry out the mission of rescuing King Elgia."

Lu Wu's move had clearly caught the Elgins off guard. "I was still figuring out how to break through, and you surrendered before I even had a chance to act? Even the French resisted for a while before surrendering." Something was definitely amiss. Kaine's gaze towards Lu Wu became wary, fearing the Elgins might demand an exorbitant price.

"What do we have to pay?"

"General, have you ever thought about why Belken invaded Ergia?" Lu Wu seemed to be starting to talk about something unrelated.

"What?" A look of confusion flashed in Kaineng's eyes. He seemed unaware of how this question was related to his own question.

Although he hadn't been in the world of Ens for very long, through questioning captured Belken soldiers and Elgia people, Lu Wu had finally begun to understand this country—a nation founded on strict chivalry, with strained relations due to border disputes with Elgia, resulting in several intense border conflicts over the past fifteen years. While these conflicts didn't escalate into a full-blown war, the enmity was firmly established, and Belken, having suffered considerable losses, naturally deepened its hostility towards Elgia. VII

In an effort to resolve the border conflict once and for all, Belken's investment in military buildup increased year after year. This investment even impacted the country's normal economic development, leading to growing discontent among the common people. This discontent was exploited by Belken's pro-war faction—the reason they were investing so much in the military was because their eastern neighbor posed such a significant threat. They argued that once they dealt with Ergia, everything would be fine. They then poured even more funds into military technology research, developing new equipment such as dreadnoughts, aircraft, and tanks. After establishing a technological advantage and intelligence infiltration over Ergia, they finally launched their long-planned war.

"Because he has a technological advantage over us?" Kaineng casually offered the most obvious reason.

"That's not all. There's another important reason: the international community lacks a proper organization to effectively sanction Belken's acts of aggression, giving them the illusion that they can do whatever they want." Lu Wu didn't mention the Belken Empire's dire and distorted economic development, or the increasingly acute class contradictions—the fundamental reasons—but only one external factor. This reason, of course, was to pave the way for what he would say later.

"Amelia believes that in the past thousand years of history, there have been enough unjust wars that trample on justice, cause the deaths of many innocent people, and severely damage the international order. We need someone to stand up and rebuild a stable international order to prevent the recurrence of such unjust wars. We humans should not focus on the struggles between our own peoples; we should look to something more distant."

Kaineng automatically ignored the irrelevant details in Lu Wu's lengthy statement, focusing instead on the key sentence: "Re-establish a stable international order and prevent the recurrence of unjust wars."

"An unjust war? What constitutes unjustness? Is that for you to decide?" A pointed question.

"Of course not. This organization is not a one-man show by any particular country or organization, but an organization that can provide justice for the oppressed and the unjustly treated around the world. Therefore, the standard for defining justice must be based on the consensus of the majority and is influenced by different countries, ethnicities, and cultures. Such a standard cannot be formulated by a single country. Therefore, we are also looking for like-minded partners in the international community. As a victim of Belken's violent means of war, Ergia has naturally become a partner that our organization is considering first."

"If we don't join this organization, we probably won't be able to get rescued by you, right?" Zero

"No. Even if you are unwilling to join us, we will still fight to eliminate oppression. But we sincerely hope that more and more comrades will join us in this great cause."

Lu Wu's words silenced Kaineng for a while before he finally spoke: "You can't possibly be unaware that I am just the commander of an infantry division. There are quite a few people like me in Ergiah. My words do not represent the opinion of the country. Even if I agree, our government can easily deny it. I cannot provide you with any guarantees."

"Of course we know, but we don't care. Amelia has enough power to push this plan through." The power of force speaks volumes. "We simply want to gain more comrades. Whether you're willing to become our comrades is your business. We don't want you to treat joining this organization as a transaction, but as an opportunity."

An opportunity? What kind of opportunity? Although Lu Wu didn't say it aloud, just considering the formidable technological level of the Amelia Volunteer Army was enough to ignite a strong sense of curiosity in others. As for how the Amelia planned to eliminate the unjust war, Kaineng felt that their armed intervention in the Elgia-Belken War offered a glimpse into their intentions. Their superior technology was not only a condition for attracting allies but also the foundation for their confidence in establishing a new international order. Faced with such temptation, the probability of Elgia ultimately choosing to join this de facto alliance was not low. However, even if Elgia eventually joined, there would be a priority and amount of resources allocated within the alliance, and if one was a veteran member, the order and amount of resources received would undoubtedly be elevated.

“I understand. I will report this to my superiors as soon as possible. I will try to promote this matter domestically.” Judging from the organization’s platform, it seems to have no conflict with the national interests of Elgia, and may even offer considerable benefits. Therefore, despite the regulations prohibiting military personnel from interfering in politics, Kaineng still expressed his opinion.

"That's not urgent. Let's discuss how to rescue the king first." Although Lu Wu was overjoyed that he had achieved his goal, he still maintained a serious expression and turned the topic back to the rescue plan.

……

I had dinner with colleagues today and drank some alcohol. I originally wanted to do something earlier, but then I remembered I promised everyone yesterday that I would today, so I quickly wrote a chapter as a New Year's gift for everyone.

Happy New Year 2022 to everyone!

Volume 1: Chapter 112 The Shocking Rescue (3)

Historically, successful military operations have almost always been based on accurate intelligence. The most typical example is undoubtedly that "large-scale international telecommunications fraud."

In the naval battle that took place on June 4, 1942, the US Navy, before the battle, used a pre-battle phishing text message claiming that "AF is short of fresh water" to clearly identify the Japanese attack target. This caused the Combined Fleet's surprise attack to lose its element of surprise, turning it into an asymmetric battle where "you don't know I already know your plans." Meanwhile, during the Japanese combat mission, the seaplanes on the sister heavy cruisers "Tone" and "Chikuma," responsible for reconnaissance, also malfunctioned. This prevented the Combined Fleet from detecting the US carrier fleet in a timely manner, thus losing the initiative and ultimately leading to the sinking of all four carriers in the Combined Fleet participating in the battle.

Intelligence is arguably the key to the success of a military operation. A competent commander will avoid throwing his troops into an unfamiliar battlefield environment without fully understanding the situation; otherwise, his troops will be like candles in the wind, dying without even knowing how they died.

Therefore, after deciding to storm Fabandi to rescue the King, Lu Wu immediately recalled the air assault company, the 46th Air Regiment, and the Witch Squadron of the 588th Air Regiment, which were pursuing the remaining enemy forces. Two MiG-21 fighters were immediately equipped with reconnaissance pods to conduct aerial reconnaissance, while Su-7s were equipped with CAS configurations and stood by with the air assault company. The support battalion hurriedly manufactured spray-painted cover plates of the Ergia royal rose emblem to cover the original identification markings and avoid being mistakenly injured by the Ergia.

Even though the MiG-21PFM has excellent speed as an interceptor, it still takes some time to scout a target 200 kilometers away. During this time, Lu Wu and his team did not just wait idly, staring blankly at the map.

They had originally wanted the Elgins to provide a map of Fabandi's defenses, but Fabandi was now in complete chaos. Sending a map physically was highly unlikely. The Ens world hadn't even developed a computer like "ENIAC," let alone the ability to transmit data electronically. Therefore, they gathered a group of high-ranking officers who had been to Fabandi, especially those who had been fortunate enough to enter the royal palace, and attempted to map parts of Fabandi based on their oral recollections. Based on this information, they also drafted a preliminary rescue plan. While the Elgin officers were amazed by the glass-like devices that could display troop positions in real time, their concern for the war outweighed their curiosity, and they didn't pursue the matter further, which relieved Lu Wu. After all, these things involved a wide range of issues and couldn't be explained in a short time.

Given the current situation of the 7th Brigade, sending a squadron of soldiers by helicopter was undoubtedly the only feasible option. The Erzgeese revealed that the enemy had deployed aircraft in the Fabandi area. Due to the special nature of this mission, the Army did not intend to deploy the Mi-4 helicopters, which had greater carrying capacity but were thinly armored. The Mi-24 was a better choice. They had full confidence in the armor protection of the Mi-24; even a regiment of rebels wasn't a particularly difficult problem. The issue was that once the squadron arrived in Fabandi, their mission would likely become a hostage rescue, which was precisely one of their weakest areas. They were regular troops, fighting on the front lines, facing mostly well-trained regular troops. The possibility of such a hostage situation was extremely small. Even for air assault companies that frequently conducted unconventional operations, most of their unconventional combat experience was related to operations behind enemy lines.

In short, they are good at assassinations and sabotage, but they are not so good at rescuing hostages.

After much deliberation, Lu Wu concluded that his personal guards were probably the most suitable to carry out this mission.

As a special forces unit primarily tasked with protecting VIPs, indoor CQB (Close Quarters Battle) and personal security are their most frequent training subjects, a key difference between them and field troops. Since the mission is to protect dignitaries, special circumstances such as hostage situations cannot be ignored; therefore, the guard unit has also undergone corresponding hostage rescue training. Thus, assigning the guard unit to handle this incident is a perfect fit of their expertise. As for why an air assault company was on standby when the guard unit was chosen, that's because their "Hind" helicopters needed to be utilized.

There was no other way; the 7th Brigade was short of funds, and all the female deer were concentrated in the air assault company. He would definitely buy another batch of female deer when he had more money… Thinking of this, Lu Wu's expression suddenly changed. He realized that he seemed to have completed the task the system had issued some time ago. That damn snail should be paid by now; perhaps that salary would come in handy in this operation.

After making an excuse to leave the command room, I took out my terminal in my room and opened the mission page. Sure enough, the missions of gaining air superiority and providing cover for ground troops that were previously issued had been completed. After pressing the button to claim the mission rewards, a notification popped up that the Golden Eagle had been credited to my account.

This greatly disappointed Lu Wu. He had originally hoped that Snail would provide something better, but he didn't expect that a battle that should have been a large-scale campaign would be dismissed with less than 10,000 Golden Eagles. This once again proved that Snail and C2 Agency were two of a kind.

Composing myself, I returned to the command center just in time for the Golden Eagle Squadron to report that their reconnaissance mission was complete and they were heading back. Although the Golden Eagle Squadron hadn't returned home yet, they brought good news—Fabanti and the palace were still putting up resistance.

This will provide significant cover and convenience for the subsequent rescue operation. As long as Fabandi is in chaos, the Belken regular army will find it difficult to spare manpower to deal with their small squad. The Hind's troop compartments are not large to begin with, only able to hold about 10 fully armed infantrymen. Because space needs to be reserved for VIPs, some Hinds have to leave some room, so only a mere forty infantrymen, or a reinforced platoon, can participate in this operation. If the palace has not yet fallen, the small squad can greatly reduce the mission time—the shorter the time, the lower the probability that the Belken will be able to react and send out interceptors. Although the Belken fighters do not pose a great threat to the Hinds, such unforeseen complications should be avoided as much as possible.

……

One hundred chapters! Yay!

Volume 1: Chapter 113 (4)

Although the reconnaissance aircraft brought back a floor plan of the palace area, such a map had significant limitations. This is because the palace was not a single-story building complex, but a multi-story complex encompassing multiple buildings, covered walkways, a castle, and underground structures. Faced with such a complex, the MiG-21PFM's aerial reconnaissance capabilities were limited; it could only roughly ascertain the general terrain and the distribution of outdoor enemies, while remaining completely in the dark about the interior.

"Can we contact the people inside the palace? That way we can avoid the enemy and increase the king's safety."

Kaineng naturally hadn't missed Lu Wu's question. Unfortunately, not long after he set off, they lost contact with the palace again.

Considering the possibility of VIPs being injured and affecting operations, Lu Wu included two highly skilled medics in this 40-person squad to handle such situations. He also transferred two engineers from the engineering company, both masters of civil engineering and demolition. Since they were already drawing from the engineering company, they decided to include water-cooled armored combat engineers as well—for the light infantry of this era, these combat engineers were truly super soldiers, capable of exerting immense psychological pressure on the enemy. Of course, the weight of these two combat engineers directly increased the squad size by six; after all, the price of superior combat power is a sharp increase in equipment weight and ammunition consumption, so to ensure endurance, it was essential to carry more ammunition.

Besides these combat personnel, he also needed to assign a guide to the squad who had been to the royal palace before, to minimize the chances of them getting lost. The candidate would naturally be chosen from among these Elgin officers.

“No one here knows the layout of the palace better than me. After all, I’ve been to the palace three times, making me the person who has been there the most.” Brigadier General Hiraghi stepped forward once again.

"You?" Lu Wu looked at Hiraghi with some surprise. His eyes held a hint of doubt, not about Hiraghi's familiarity with the palace, but about his operational capabilities. As an elderly man, he doubted whether Hiraghi could keep up with the rescue team's pace. Such operations demanded speed, stability, and ruthlessness, and given Hiraghi's status as a brigadier general, his position was already special. If Hiraghi were to fall behind, be injured, or even die, even if the king was successfully rescued, the victory would be diminished.

“Don’t worry, even though I look old, my physical strength is no worse than yours, young people.” Shiraji was obviously quite confident when he said this. “Moreover, as outsiders, the simplest and quickest way for you to gain the king’s trust is to find a trustworthy guarantor.”

This argument seemed to make some sense, and it also silenced some of the Elgian officers who wanted to persuade him. Although a token could serve a similar purpose, in the current situation, a living, talking person would be more effective. After a moment's consideration, looking into Shiragi's bright and spirited eyes, Lu Wu decided to trust him this time. "I understand. Prepare a set of protective gear for Brigadier General Shiragi."

"Also, I will personally lead this mission."

After some hesitation, Lu Wu finally made the decision. Naturally, this decision caused a minor commotion within the 7th Brigade command. Despite Brigadier General Shiraji's earlier initiative to join the battle, the Ergia seemed to be taken aback by Lu Wu's decision.

“Anna and the others also lack practical experience in this area and need an experienced person to lead them. Moreover,” Lu Wu said in Russian, “this mission is very different from the missions we have carried out in the past. We cannot afford to make any mistakes, and we must go all out.”

“But, Commander, isn’t this a bit too dangerous…” someone worriedly advised.

"Don't forget, I didn't get this brigade commander position by sitting in a military academy writing papers. I'm also a soldier. In terms of combat experience and number of battles, I'm the boss here."

"Alright, Comrade Commander." These people all knew that once their brigade commander decided to do something, probably no one could stop him, so they could only accept this fact helplessly.

"Have Lieutenant Anna come over here four times. Also, have the entire ground forces prepare more protective gear on the Hind helicopters." Seeing that no one objected, Lu Wu issued further instructions. Next was the preparation of specific combat plans and emergency response plans for unforeseen circumstances. After these plans were completed, it would be time to officially begin operations.

Both aerial reconnaissance and personnel interviews confirmed that the castle within the palace complex was the core of this area. Given that enemy forces were advancing in this direction, this was likely the site of the royal family's final resistance. This also explains why the royal family was able to hold out for so long against the rebels' betrayal – to conquer a castle without heavy firepower, without an inside agent, and without knowledge of its layout, the only way would probably be to use sheer numbers.