They cannot use climbing ropes, as rope friction and hook sounds might reveal them; they can only rely on handholds and simple rock wedges and grab knots for assistance.

Song Heping first found a crack, wedged his fingers into the cold rock crevice, and his toes searched for a foothold.

He applied the standard "three-point fixation" principle, always keeping three points in contact while moving, only moving one hand or foot at a time.

The movements were slow and precise, with each exertion controlled within a minimal range to avoid dislodging loose stones.

The night vision device provided good depth perception, but slippery and fragile areas of the rock still required tactile judgment.

"Iron Wolf" and "Shadow" separated a bit below him, each seeking their own route.

During the climb, the only sounds were their suppressed breathing, the faint friction of their combat uniform against the rough rock surface, and the eternal wind sound from afar.

Sweat trickled from the corners of his forehead, stinging his eyes, but he could not wipe it away.

All focus was concentrated on the contact points of fingers, toes with the rock, and the darkness above, for it harbored deadly eyes.

Fortunately, the slope was not particularly steep, so as long as they didn't slip and fall or make noises that might alert the sentries above, everything was fine.

The climb took a full twenty minutes.

When Song Heping's fingers finally touched the edge of the cliff-top, he paused, pressing his entire body against the rock face like a protruding stone.

He carefully edged the night vision device's lens out over the edge, revealing only a small portion.

In his view, the cliff-top was a relatively flat, open area scattered with various-sized stones, extending east about thirty meters before starting to slope downward toward the interior of the hilly terrain, also where the Highway 1 cuts through.

At his two o'clock direction, approximately fifteen meters away, a figure curled under a blanket beneath a protruding rock, hugging a rifle, with the head occasionally swaying slightly, seemingly resisting sleepiness.

This was precisely the sentry shown on thermal imaging.

Song Heping retracted his head and gestured "in place" to the two positions below.

He needed to deal with two sentries simultaneously, without any screams or gunfire.

So he raised his hand to indicate "Iron Wolf" handle the left side, "Shadow" and he would handle the right side together.

The three rose like silent Grim Reapers from the ground, flipping onto the cliff-top, then crouching low, using the stones for cover as they crept toward the target.

The ground was loose sandy soil and debris; while crawling, elbows and knees needed to carefully avoid stones that might roll.

A fifteen-meter distance took nearly three minutes to crawl.

At approximately five meters from the sentry, Song Heping stopped, signaling to "Shadow"—

Attract attention from the front, and I'll strike from the side and rear.

He drew a silenced Glock 19 pistol, slid off the safety, and held the Strider knife in a reverse grip with his left hand.

"Shadow" picked up a small stone from the ground and gently tossed it toward the sentry's front side, approximately two meters away on a rock.

A soft "tah" sound echoed.

The sentry suddenly jolted awake, raising his head, sleepiness vanished, quickly taking up his rifle, warily watching the direction where the stone fell.

As the sentry's attention was drawn, Song Heping surged forward from behind, clamping the sentry's mouth and nose with his left hand like iron tongs, while his right hand's Strider knife blade precisely pierced through the ear area, slipping between the skull and cervical vertebrae, deep into the brainstem.

The movements were swift, precise, and lethal.

The sentry's body convulsed dramatically, like a dying fish, struggling a few fierce jerks before going limp, being gently laid down by Song Heping without making any discernible sound.

Almost at the same time, three light taps came over the headset—"Iron Wolf" signaling success.

The other sentry had been dealt with as well.

Indeed, the ruthless efficiency of top-tier special forces honed by Old Russians—they acted decisively without leaving loose ends.

Perfect!

Song Heping whispered two words into the radio microphone: "Sentries eliminated. Route secure. Assault team, begin climb."

Seventeen waiting assault team members immediately started moving.

They divided into three groups, following the path opened by Song Heping and the others, beginning orderly climbs.

This time they could use the static rope dropped down by Song Heping's team for protection, but absolute silence was still required.

The entire climbing process lasted about twenty-five minutes.

The last team member scaled the top and the time was 05:18.

Everyone gathered in the shadows on the western edge of the cliff, taking a brief respite and organizing gear.

Song Heping scanned the front and east side of the cliff again using thermal imaging.

The heat signals of the three main positions on the east side of the cliff remained unchanged, with no abnormal movements.

Two clusters of heat sources near the edge below the hills also remained stable.

Based on electronic reconnaissance information provided by the US Army, the enemy communication channels had only sporadic static noise and a brief Kurdish query.

"Time 05:20."

Song Heping checked his luminous wristwatch.

"Group according to plan, move towards target positions. Remember, synchronization is key. Sniper team, support team, report status."

"Sniper team in position, good visibility, able to monitor the canyon bottom and partial areas of east-side cliff top. No anomalies detected," Jiang Feng reported.

"Support team in position, rear secure," Abu You's voice came through.

"Good. Assault team, confirm grouping: A group led by me, target position one (furthest north); B group led by 'Butcher,' target position two (middle); C group led by 'Hunter,' target position three (southernmost); D group led by 'Wanderer,' mobile reserve, also responsible for clearing possible scattered sentries or sensors on the west side. Attack initiation time: 05:30 sharp, on my signal. Move."