Chapter 2490 - 2466
Originally they’d planned to give the competitor a nasty hit, but the other side just sent in a few gunships and flipped the situation. There was nothing they could do about that.
The Houthis Armed Forces had to hold the river valley passage at all costs, so no matter how Saudi Arabia attacked, the Houthis Armed Forces had to keep taking it.
The Houthis had no choice but to fight like madmen, but Satan didn’t have to, so before Saudi Arabia’s gunships actually began their strike, Satan was never going to be the one to stick their neck out.
The gunships flew back and forth overhead a few times, then locked in their primary attack targets.
The soldiers who got off the transport helicopters didn’t mass up. They stayed in elements of a dozen or so, still split into three small teams. These were the enemies that had just appeared behind Satan. Meanwhile, to Satan’s front, on the hilltop originally held by Saudi Arabia, scattered silhouettes of soldiers finally started to show.
Saudi Arabia was going for a double envelopment, folding the Houthis Armed Forces’ forward main line into a dumpling. Strictly speaking it was a three‑way encirclement—there were helicopters in the sky as well.
Both flanks were Houthis’ positions, and both had been marked by the enemy. Running to either side would just be asking to get hit—obviously not an option. To the north was Saudi territory, so there was no way they could run north. To the south, the enemy had just air‑landed around forty to fifty troops. No doubt they were elite from Three-leaf Jungle. You could tell they knew their business just from their posture—hopping off the helos, they immediately each picked a covered spot and hid. Even when they moved, it was quick, brief rushes followed by another hide. They each looked like some timid Mouse.
Too bad. The enemy airborne behind them looked sleazy and timid, creeping around all sneaky and underhanded. But anyone who’s actually been in combat knows: the ones that move like Mouse are the hardest bastards to deal with.
The guys who swagger all over the battlefield full of "fearless spirit" never live long. These enemies who look like Mouse, who seem like cowards—once the fight starts, you realize that when it’s time to hide they’re like Mouse, but when it’s time to attack they’re like Tiger—and Tigers with damn good marksmanship.
This was supposed to be a cheap fight—watch the situation, ambush if there’s an opening, take a bite and slip away if there isn’t. But those Three-leaf Jungle guys, whether it was overconfidence or desperate to show off, actually dared to play a double envelopment with forces that weren’t even that superior. With that, Satan’s easy fight was gone; now they had to fight for their lives.
Letting out a helpless sigh, Gao Yang roared, "Turn on the radios!"
The enemy was definitely going to use radio, that much was beyond doubt. Since the enemy would be using radios and there were helicopters in the air, once the electromagnetic environment got messy, they didn’t need to worry about AWACS or anti-radiation missiles anymore.
Once the shooting started and the guns and artillery roared, you could scream yourself hoarse and no one would hear a thing, so better to switch on the radios now.
Radios on, Gao Yang said urgently, "All elements, attention, our primary axis of engagement is now shifting to the south. Repeat, south is now the primary axis. Order! Without my command, no one opens fire. Repeat, without my order, no one opens fire! Out!"
He looked up at the helicopters overhead, exhaled in relief, and said with a face full of gratitude, "Lucky, lucky as hell we had Dagger prep a large stock of Anti-aircraft missiles. Otherwise this one would’ve been real hard to call."
Glolov still had lingering fear in his voice as he said, "Exactly. Thanks to your insistence. At first I thought bringing all the Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) was pointless. Now I’m extremely glad you made that call."
Just then, Li Jinfang shouted over the radio, "Friendly forces on the west side have launched Anti-aircraft missiles! Two shots—four shots—four‑round salvo!"
Gao Yang was already facing south; he twisted his head to look to the right and saw four plumes of smoke rise in succession from the hilltop where Peter was. The four missiles, launched from positions spaced far apart, were all headed for the four helicopters.
It’s very common to fire two missiles at the same helicopter to improve the kill probability, but Peter didn’t choose that higher‑success method. Instead, he recklessly and wastefully fired four missiles in one go.
Those fairly advanced Anti-aircraft missiles achieved nothing. The helicopters popped infrared Decoy Flares and simultaneously accelerated into evasive maneuvers. The IR-guided Anti-aircraft missiles chased the flares and failed to score any kills.
The helicopters immediately struck back, rockets and cannon fire lashing the Houthis Armed Forces’ positions.
Eileen shouted over the radio, "Turtle is going to give them a surprise!"
Peter was commanding half the Dagger Assault Team over there, and he’d brought a full thirty‑two sets of Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).
Vorvitsky was on the other hill, and he had a full thirty sets of Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) with him.
You could say at least a third of all the Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) the Houthis Armed Forces had along the entire Northwest Border were now near Satan. The only reason they could mass that much air defense firepower was because these missiles had been supplied by Satan.
The first round of combat kicked off: ground-based air defense versus helicopters.
Tarta was there too; full of confidence, he said, "We’ve got so many Anti-aircraft missiles that even if we don’t shoot them down, we’ll definitely chase them off!"
Gao Yang said over the radio, clearly worried, "Right now I only hope Turtle and Cobra are okay. Guys, say a prayer for those two. Wish them luck."
In fact, the Apache’s first strike hadn’t been very effective. The Houthis Armed Forces’ troops were spread out enough, and the mountain was full of rocks, which meant plenty of cover with decent protection.
If people were bunched up for the helicopters to hit, sure—but nearly two hundred men scattered across a hilltop, then the helos’ attack effect naturally couldn’t be that great. One cannon shell isn’t guaranteed to kill a man, and even a single rocket can’t be counted on to blow one up for sure.
Facing enemy troops spread all over the mountain, the helicopters couldn’t possibly saturate‑bomb the entire slope. They wouldn’t do that and didn’t have the capability anyway.
The enemy helicopters would try to conserve ammo instead, so that whenever the ground assault ran into a hard nut that couldn’t be cracked, they could provide immediate air support to help the ground troops clear obstacles. That was the main operational role of the four helicopters here.
So after one demonstrative strike, the helicopters stopped firing, pulled back a bit further, and began patrolling back and forth at an altitude four to five kilometers out, waiting for calls for support from the ground.
"The enemy in front is moving!"
"The enemy in back is moving."
Gao Yang shouted, "Keep them under observation!"
The enemy began to move. They’d barely finished massing and were immediately launching a ground assault. But now neither of the main positions on the left and right flanks fired on the helicopters anymore, even though the helos were still within missile range.
After watching for a moment, Gao Yang said quietly over the radio, "I think Turtle and Cobra are playing it tactical. They’ve got to be holding back a big move to bring those gunships down!"