Mercenary's War

The excitement from Satan’s largest income to date only lasted for a short time before turning to tension.

Major General Fahd has been confirmed dead in northwestern Yemen, verified by official channels from Saudi Arabia, turning into global headline news.

Saudi Arabia’s wealth is a global consensus, as is the sophisticated and large-scale armed forces maintained worldwide due to their riches.

Now, a Saudi Arabian major general who was also a prince was eliminated by the Houthis in Yemen—a stark contrast that’s hard to ignore.

The world is shocked, and Saudi Arabia’s response is intense.

Given Saudi Arabia’s intense reaction, there will undoubtedly be a large-scale reprisal.

Knowing that Saudi Arabia plans a large-scale reprisal and is determined to use mercenaries significantly, gathering mercenaries takes time. Thus, Saudi Arabia’s retaliation might not use mercenaries but rather initiate immediate military action with its own troops.

The key point is that even if Saudi Arabia doesn’t deploy ground troops or special forces, it can still react swiftly. Even just deploying aerial forces is enough to express their stance and determination.

A single cluster-guided bomb could wipe out nearly all of Satan’s artillery. If Saudi pilots locate Satan’s camp and drop several bombs, or if in a fit of rage, they send bombers to attack any moving objects on the northwest border indiscriminately, disregarding whether the target is necessary, everyone at the northwest border will be in danger, including Satan.

Thus, the former camp cannot be stayed in anymore; everyone must disperse and hide in covert, safe places, with no more than three people together. Even if unlucky enough to be bombed, casualties would not be too severe.

Despite the lower likelihood of an airstrike, a low probability still means there is a possibility, and every possibility must be met with the highest alert.

Gao Yang, Yake, and Tarta sat in the shadow of a large rock.

After checking the watch, Gao Yang whispered, "It’s been six hours. I need to turn on the phone and contact Justin."

Yake waved and said, "I’m the Intelligence Officer; it’s my duty for this. You two stay here; I’ll go farther to make the call."

"How strong is Saudi Arabia’s electronic surveillance capability? Do we really need to be this careful?"

Tarta muttered in annoyance, but he was merely complaining and not objecting to Yake’s caution.

There have been too many precedents of getting bombed while calling, like Chechnya’s Dudayev, who was detected using a satellite phone by Russian A50 early warning aircraft, followed by two Su-25s firing DAB-1200 anti-radiation missiles, killing Dudayev on the spot.

Dudayev was killed in 1996, nearly twenty years ago, and even then, Russia’s technology managed it. Saudi Arabia has no reason to fail now, as they purchase the more advanced early warning aircraft and radar from America.

Saudi Arabians certainly don’t know about Gao Yang’s satellite phone, but they don’t need to. The simplest method is for the Saudi Air Force to bomb immediately upon detecting any ground electronic signals. Simple yet sufficient to annihilate most Houthis leaders since anyone using satellite phones on Yemen’s northwestern border is likely with Houthis forces.

They’ve learned that an E3A early warning aircraft and sixteen F15E bomber fighters took off from Saudi Arabia, like having sixteen daggers overhead hidden in airspace. Using a satellite phone recklessly would risk a missile guided by the electronic signal being launched—a perfect hit even without visual confirmation.

Satan now dares not use any communication devices, ever since hearing Saudi Arabia went to extremes by deploying early warning and bomber aircraft for indiscriminate bombing, prohibiting all devices emitting electromagnetic signals. Essentially, communication relies on shouting.

Walkie-talkies are unusable, satellite phones unused for a while. Gao Yang desperately wants to know the new movements of the Saudi military, like whether their early warning aircraft have returned.

Taking the phone, Yake was about to leave when Gao Yang hesitated before saying, "Forget it; let’s wait another two hours."

Waiting several hours has its reasons too. Saudi Arabia doesn’t station E3 early warning aircraft at the Fahd Military Base, the closest to Gao Yang and his group, as it focuses on Yemen’s defense, which has almost no aircraft, and thus no need for early warning aircraft.

Aside from Fahd Military Base, Saudi Arabia has two more significant military bases, one being the King Faisal Military Base on their northwest border, defending against Israel, and another in the northeast dealing with Iraq.

The King Faisal Military Base mainly safeguards against Israel, home to Saudi Arabia’s most advanced and extensive aerial force, with early warning aircraft dispatched to Yemen’s border from there.

Every aircraft has its maximum range; the E3 early warning aircraft can stay at an operational point about one thousand six hundred kilometers from takeoff for around six hours with maximum fuel load. The E3 early warning aircraft temporarily dispatched from Faisal Military Base is roughly that far.

After learning about the incoming early warning aircraft, Gao Yang waited six hours to prepare making the first call. However, considering possibilities of refueling at Fahd Military Base or aerial refueling, he decided to wait two more hours to exhaust the E3 early warning aircraft’s maximum airtime.

Waiting eight hours is also advantageous, as crew members are human, bounded by physical limits. Performing eight hours of flight under high mental strain, plus transit time, is seriously exhausting for Saudi pilots.

So, waiting eight hours is a must, and finally reaching that time, Yake briskly left Gao Yang’s group by at least one thousand meters before calling Justin. He immediately received long-awaited intelligence.

"The early warning aircraft landed at King Fahd Military Base an hour ago; the good news is you now have three hours to make calls, but the bad news is another early warning aircraft is already on the way."