Mercenary's War

The plane landed, and it was Salim again who came to pick them up.

Even though he hadn’t been gone for long, only about a month in fact, returning to Sana’a, Yemen, Gao Yang felt as if he had been away for ages.

As for whether he was reluctant to set foot on this land again, Gao Yang was truly uncertain.

"You’ve finally returned, that’s great. My brother, I’m really so happy to see you again!"

Seeing Gao Yang, Salim spread his arms wide from afar and gave Gao Yang a heavy hug and several pats on the back before saying with great joy, "I’m really so happy to see you again! That’s great!"

Gao Yang smiled and said, "How’s everything been lately? All good?"

"Good, all good."

Salim hesitated noticeably when he responded, so Gao Yang immediately understood that the Houthis Armed Forces must have encountered some issues during this time. The issues couldn’t be too severe, or he would have heard about them in the news, but they also couldn’t be trivial, or Salim wouldn’t have been so excited to see him.

It seemed Salim wasn’t planning to speak in public. Gao Yang checked his watch and chuckled, "I wonder if our previous residence is still retained."

Salim responded enthusiastically, "Yes! Of course, it is. Knowing you’d come back, how could the residence not be there? It’s still in the same place. Let’s get in the car; everything is ready."

Gao Yang got into Salim’s car, and Joseph naturally had to ride in the same car with him. After the car started moving, Salim said in a low voice, "A lot has actually happened lately."

Gao Yang merely nodded slightly, showing he was ready to listen. Salim swallowed and then said in a low voice, "After you left the Northwestern Front, Iran sent people to take over your position and launched two large-scale attack operations."

"Did they fail?"

"One wasn’t really a success, but the other was a complete failure."

Salim’s words were somewhat vague. If it wasn’t really a success, then it must have been a failure. As for the complete failure, Gao Yang actually knew about it.

To be precise, that was actually an utter defeat for the Iranians.

How did Gao Yang know, you ask? It’s too simple. The Iranian forces encountered the Solar System Company, codenamed Venus...

"Recently, the Shahs have been quite aggressive on the Northwest Border. They haven’t used large-scale armored forces for attacks but have sent small-scale Special Forces to harass us. To be honest, we’ve sustained significant losses, especially after you left. It’s like we’ve lost control of the situation on the Northwest Border."

Salim appeared worried, waving his arms and occasionally slapping his thigh, sighing, "The Iranians conducted two Special Operations. The first one, neither a win nor a loss; the Iranians sent over sixty people to attack a Shah outpost but ended up losing seven people while killing three of the enemy. The action wasn’t a success, but not a major failure either. The second time was different..."

"The Iranians sent about a hundred and fifty people, and as a result, lost over twenty, with over twenty others injured. They only managed to kill a dozen of the enemy before reluctantly retreating, and soon after, the Iranians immediately withdrew from the Northwest Border, claiming they needed to regroup, sigh..."

Salim was quite helpless recounting the Iranians’ defeats, and Gao Yang could only laugh because the Iranian casualties were underreported and seriously so.

Gao Yang knew what happened in the second instance. The Iranians deployed more troops to uproot a Shah outpost in a strategically important position because removing that outpost would block a crucial passage used by the Shah to dispatch small teams for harassment.

Unfortunately, though the Iranians’ plans couldn’t be said to be flawed, the Shahs dispatched Venus Troops, and then more than a hundred wiped out at least half of the Iranian two hundred-strong force without sustaining any losses themselves, not even an injury.

Iran is considered a regional powerhouse, with considerable strength in the Middle East, but their soldiers, frankly speaking, are really just average at best.

In that region’s countries, apart from Israel, each one is worse than the last. Iran is like a stand-out in a batch of mediocres, but against the Shah, they might have the upper hand. Yet, when faced with Venus Troops, they were utterly exposed.

The result was just one battle, which completely dismantled the Iranians’ dreams of conducting Special Operations.

It’s uncertain whether Salim covered up for the Iranians or if the Iranians even kept the Houthis Armed Forces in the dark. Gao Yang believed it was likely the latter because Salim had no reason to conceal such a disgrace for the Iranians.

Looking at Salim’s troubled expression, Gao Yang said calmly, "And then? After both failures, the Iranians just gave up?"

"The Iranians really did pull back. They pulled completely out of the Northwest Border. Now, it’s not like before. The Shahs have suddenly become much stronger. Our outposts and rear command posts are frequently harassed. We’ve suffered heavy losses, yet we have no effective means to counterattack, only relying on the Dagger Assault Team, but there are too few members in the Dagger Assault Team."

Gao Yang was still very concerned about the Dagger Assault Team he had personally built. He didn’t want the Dagger Assault Team to be treated as expendable in such a futile tug-of-war.

"So, how’s the Dagger Assault Team doing? Have they suffered significant losses?"

Salim said softly, "No, the Dagger Assault Team is fine. Two skirmishes resulted in minor losses, but the issues aren’t major."

Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief, then said in a deep voice, "So, does this mean we need to return to the Northwest Border?"

Salim paused, looking even more distressed, and then said in a low voice, "Compared to the Northwest Front, the situation in Aden is worse. The Shah’s Coalition Forces hold an absolute advantage there, and that area isn’t our traditional stronghold. The current situation is that if we can’t stabilize the situation in Aden, we’ll have to abandon the entire Southern Yemen."

Gao Yang glanced at Salim, thought for a moment, then said quietly, "But we have too few people. You want us to go to Aden? No, that’s unlikely. Our role in Aden would be limited, and besides, it’s too dangerous. Over there in Aden, the Iranians should be the ones going."

Salim said in a low voice, "The Iranians refuse to send troops directly to fight, and it’s the same in Aden. Right now, we’re unable to drive out the entrenched enemy in Aden, but we hope to at least take the initiative in guerrilla warfare."

Gao Yang laughed heartily and said, "I understand. The Shah harasses you on the Northwest Border, and you conduct harassment operations against the Shah’s Coalition Forces in Aden. Is that it?"