gnovel Chapter 41 Departure
Chapter 41 Departure
At 7:50 a.m., all members of the Black Scythe Squad were ready to go.
Lu Ye's gaze swept over his teammates beside him.
Captain Yuri, as the assault soldier and overall commander, held an AK-12 assault rifle with a GP-25 grenade launcher attached, and his tactical vest was full of stun grenades and spare magazines.
A menacing PKP "Pecheneg" general-purpose machine gun was mounted on Ruslan's imposing body, with two heavy, yellow ammunition belts crisscrossing and coiling around his broad chest like two pythons.
Artyom changed into a lightweight, highly mobile body armor vest, and his AK-105 short assault rifle was equipped with a red dot sight and a suppressor, clearly for the ultimate close-quarters assault.
Roman had a backpack slung across his back and a small, deadly MP7 submachine gun hanging in front of him.
Eugene, on the other hand, carried a military-grade individual communication repeater with a long antenna and a drone control terminal on his back, and held an AKS-74U for self-defense in his hand.
With their heavy sniper gear, this squad's firepower is enough to tear apart an infantry platoon in a local conflict!
At eight o'clock in the morning, everyone arrived at the edge of the camp on time.
A black SUV, modified with bulletproof features, was already parked there, its engine emitting a deep roar.
Colonel Vorov and his adjutant were already waiting in front of the car.
Yuri strode forward, cutting to the chase without any pleasantries: "Major, we're moving out immediately. According to the schedule, I expect your two companies to arrive at their attack positions on time, and not let them falter at this crucial moment."
"Don't worry, Yuri." Wolf took a deep drag on his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke.
"Those are my two best-equipped regular army armored companies! I would never use cannon fodder to ruin a deal like this that involves millions of dollars."
When he mentioned the word "cannon fodder," Vorov glanced meaningfully at Rikuno, who was standing at the back of the group.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ye's eyes remained cold, and he didn't even lift his eyelids.
Vorov, feeling rebuffed, turned to Yuri, his expression turning serious: "As agreed, as soon as we see the red signal flare rising from the core area of the assembly station, my armored company will immediately launch a frontal assault!"
"Understood. Let's go!"
Yuri simply waved his hand decisively.
Artyom yanked open the driver's side door and jumped in, while Yuri sat in the passenger seat.
Lu Ye, Ruslan, Roman, and Eugene quickly squeezed into the back seat.
As the off-road vehicle drove out of the camp, Lu Ye finally received his mission.
[Trigger Mission: The Battle of Kalinovka]
[Mission Description: Cooperate with the Black Scythe Squad to complete the objective. As a temporary mercenary for the Black Scythe Squad, you must prove to Yuri your ability to serve as the squad's lead sniper. This is your first battle in the mercenary world, and also the first time you will appear in the mercenary arena.]
[Task Rewards: 500 points, 2 attribute point, 1 skill point]
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At 10 a.m., the SUV came to a sudden stop in a desolate, secluded grove of trees.
"Everyone get off the vehicle, gather your gear, and proceed on foot!"
Yuri jumped out of the vehicle, checking the bolt of his rifle as he rapidly issued orders over the comms: "Listen, our primary objective now is to bypass enemy-occupied territory. We must reach the breakout point near M-30 Highway by 4 PM!"
He turned to Eugene, his tone stern: "Eugene! From this moment on, maintain absolute radio silence with Vorov, except through our squad's internal communication channel!"
"Roger that, boss! External bands are locked!" Eugene tapped the tactical tablet on his chest a few times.
"Enter tactical formation!"
At Yuri's command, the squad quickly deployed.
Yuri, as the team's commander, walked at the forefront, responsible for controlling the team's pace and adjusting the formation according to road conditions and enemy situations.
Artyom, as the second assault soldier, stayed close to Yuri's left flank, forming a crossfire network of close-quarters combat with Yuri to cover Yuri's blind spot on the left.
As a heavy firepower specialist, Ruslan was positioned on Yuri's right flank, responsible for suppressing mid-range attacks from the right front and right side.
As the team's most critical information node, Eugene operated a low-altitude silent drone to continuously scout ahead, keeping electronic spectrum monitoring active throughout, countering enemy radio eavesdropping, and reporting the risks ahead to Yuri in real time.
Lu Ye, carrying a sniper rifle, hung at the far back of the team alongside Roman, serving as the rear guard and providing sniper cover.
Carrying over sixty pounds of weight and marching twenty kilometers through rugged terrain is an extremely demanding test of physical endurance.
Even though Lu Ye's body had undergone systematic enhancement, the lack of long-term special physical training meant that by the afternoon, his breathing had become extremely heavy, and his legs ached as if they were filled with lead.
At 4 p.m. sharp, the team finally arrived at the designated separation point without any major incidents.
"Roman, Artyom, break away from the group!" Yuri crouched behind a bush and gave a tactical hand signal.
Roman patted Lu Ye on the shoulder, then followed Artyom and quickly disappeared into the woods on the side, heading towards the M-30 highway.
The remaining four men continued westward, advancing towards the low-lying swampy area on the flank of the Kalinovka marshalling yard.
Night falls.
The four of them lay silently in the sparse bushes at the edge of the swamp.
Lu Ye observed the surrounding environment and, with Yuri's consent, broke away from the four-man team and found a good position to observe the enemy's situation.
Through the scope, Lu Ye could clearly see the towering abandoned water tower in the distance, as well as the faint outline of the factory buildings further in.
"Lu, judging from your physical fitness, you really are a greenhorn." Ruslan's low, teasing voice suddenly came through the tactical headset.
"I've been listening to your heavy breathing all day on my headphones."
Lu Ye carefully scanned the water tower ahead and retorted, "That's because we've entered the enemy's defense zone! We can only slow down and proceed cautiously."
"I agree with that." Eugene chuckled on the communication channel. "But to be honest, Lu, your marksmanship and reaction speed in yesterday's match were insane."
"It gave us all the illusion that you were a veteran who had served for more than ten years."
"Yeah, right." Ruslan chuckled. "The captain really hit the jackpot this time. His eye for talent is like finding gold in the shit!"
Lu Ye's lips twitched suddenly, and he was speechless for a moment.
"Ruslan, are you Russians really that bad at praising people? Can't you say something nice?" Lu Ye stared at the scope and couldn't help but complain.
"In my hometown, this is called having a discerning eye for talent, or a talented horse meeting a discerning judge of horses, you know?"
The tactical channel suddenly fell silent for five seconds.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, wondering to himself: What's going on? Did I kill the conversation?
"Um..." Ruslan's rough voice cautiously broke the silence.
"Lu, what kind of horse is a 'thousand-mile horse'? How fast can it run? And... who is Bole (a legendary horse connoisseur)?"
Lu Ye almost spat blood onto his tactical mask. This cultural difference!
"The talent scout isn't the boss; it's a metaphor..."
Lu Ye was preparing to use simple and easy-to-understand words to teach this group of Russian men about Chinese idioms.
"Shut up!"
Yuri, who had been silent all along, suddenly let out a low shout in the channel.
"Attention everyone! Something's up! Eugene, keep the drones at bay!"
"Lu, check if two more sets of permanent sentry posts have been added behind the barbed wire fence in the swamp!"