Nightfall descends on Badi Town in the southwest region of Illigo, near the border with Siria.

A convoy races along the sandy roads under the moonlight towards the town.

As they near the town, several pickups appear by the roadside with I5I5 terrorists armed to the teeth aiming their guns at the convoy, and the large-caliber Desheka machine guns in the truck beds also swing around to target the speeding SUVs.

"They're here!"

The lead spotter, upon seeing the SUV convoy, picks up the walkie-talkie to call the commander in the rear headquarters.

"Looks like it's the CIA."

"Check them out, then bring them in."

"No problem."

The small-time leader puts down the walkie-talkie, holding an AKM assault rifle, and steps into the middle of the road with a hand gesture signaling the approaching convey to stop.

The convoy does indeed slow down, stopping in front of the small-time leader with the full beard.

The vehicle doors open, and several armed "Watcher" operatives unfold into a defensive formation.

Although both sides know they are cooperators, neither holds a good impression of the other, and both can see caution in each other's eyes.

The door of the second car opens, and Mr. Rod, the temporary person in charge of this operation, appears in the sight of the small-time leader.

The scene suddenly becomes somewhat bizarre.

A group of CIA operatives entirely equipped in American style and members of a group designated by the United States and the international community as a terrorist organization are standing together.

These two completely opposing groups are now each other's cooperators.

Mr. Rod walks up to the small-time leader and gets straight to the point with his identity: "We are CIA operatives, here to assist you in combat. Lead us in to see your commander."

The small-time leader sizes up Mr. Rod, and after confirming identities with a look over the other "Watcher" members around him, he nods and waves a hand: "Follow my truck."

After saying this, he walks back to a pickup, gesticulating and giving orders to his subordinates: "You guys keep watch here, I'll take them inside."

Once done, he hops onto the vehicle, quickly moving away from the roadside and entering the dirt road towards the center of the town.

Mr. Rod has already returned to his own vehicle, pointing at the pickup in front saying to the driver, "Follow them."

The convoy moves on, with Mr. Rod watching the surrounding scenery through his night vision goggles.

This frontier town was never densely populated to begin with.

In the last two years, the situation here has been chaotic; armed factions fighting has left even fewer people remaining.

The town is less than two kilometers ahead, where a faint glimmer of light can be seen, and the occasional tree flickering by the roadside, desolate like lost souls.

Under the small-time leader's guidance, the CIA's convoy quickly arrives at the I5I5 temporary headquarters.

Tonight, the I5I5 are armed as if facing a formidable enemy.

According to intelligence provided by the CIA, the "People's Power" militia has mobilized a large number of soldiers moving towards Badi Town.

Badi Town is strategically important.

Located to the south of the west side of Mosul, traveling north takes one to Persia, west to Siria, northwest to Turkey, and going south heads towards Saudi, which is also the direction of the stronghold of the People's Power militia.

Song Heping once discussed this "arc of resistance" with Avanti; Persia must expel the I5I5 militants obstructing the southwest and northwest regions across the Euphrates River to completely clear the corridor and connect the local militias of Illigo and the pro-Shiye Sect militants.

In doing so, the Persia-Illigo link of the "arc of resistance" will be penetrated, forming a triangular matrix with Siria, which in the future will be able to pose a tripartite stance against the Daishe Bird Country.

And what the CIA wants is for the I5I5 militants to take root here and preferably control all of the border regions to the west of Illigo and Siria, effectively inserting a wedge into this "arc of resistance" to cut it off, ensuring that the pro-Shiye militias of Illigo, the Siria Government Army, and Persia cannot connect, becoming three disjointed fragments.

"Mr. Ahmair."

Mr. Rod takes the initiative to greet the supreme commander here.

"Mr. Rod, welcome to my headquarters."

Ahmair too greets him with a forced smile, the two exchange pleasantries formally, and then Mr. Rod says, "We need to occupy a little space in your command center."

He glances around, pointing to a few tables in the corner of the room.

"My people need to start working immediately."

"No problem..."

Ahmair turns and directs his subordinates with a flurry of commands.

"Quick, clear that area for our friends."

A few I5I5 militants go and drag away the tables, removing the debris from the ground.

Mr. Rod asks Ahmair, "Where is Mr. Baghdadi?"

Ahmair smiles mysteriously and says, "He's not here. You said that Mr. Song is targeting him, so our leader doesn't plan on staying here. I will be in command of the operation tonight."

Mr. Rod asks, "Did he go to Siria?"

Ahmair nods, "But for security reasons, I cannot tell you where he is right now."

Mr. Rod internally scoffs but outwardly pretends nonchalance: "As long as he's safe. We're not here to protect him, we're here to find Song Heping."

This hidden barb seemed to irritate Ahmair somewhat.

"I heard that it wasn't supposed to be you, Mr. Rod, assisting us, but a manager named Nathan, who was attacked right after disembarking from the plane?"

Mr. Rod's expression subtly changes.

This was an embarrassing affair.

The mighty CIA had been attacked by a small squad of a Defense Company, killing the manager in charge of the operation here.

Indeed, it was a rather disgraceful matter.

"So it's best if your leader stays well hidden, lest he be found by Song Heping."

Ahmair, having gained the upper hand in the conversation, suddenly feels much better and laughs heartily: "We're not worried at all. People's Power has organized so many men to fight a decisive battle with us tonight. I estimate that tonight's attack is being directed by that Mr. Song. When you help us win, we'll help you capture Song Heping."

The tables in the corner have been cleared, and some members of the "Watcher" squad come over to set up computers and communication radios on the tables, and others go outside to set up a satellite antenna.

Seeing this setup, Ahmair's mood blooms with joy.

Who would have thought... who would have thought...

The mighty Central Intelligence Agency is actually providing services for people like me.

As a high-ranking commander of the I5I5 armament, Ahmair certainly knew that these American special agents were just using him to achieve their goals.

But isn't his organization also using them?

It's mutual exploitation.

The computer boots up, connects to the internet, and images appear on the screen.

Ahmair pointed at one of the computers and asked, "Is this the drone's feed?"

Mr. Rod said with some pride, "It seems you know your stuff."

"So, we have drone support tonight?" Ahmair asked, barely able to suppress a laugh.

"Our drones can only provide intelligence and surveillance support, not engage in attacks against the People's Strength militants. With aerial surveillance, it's like having eyes in the sky, isn't it easy to defeat the opposition?"

Mr. Rod said, "If we use drones to attack the People's Strength militants, it's equivalent to telling everyone that we have cooperation with you. I hope you understand that."

"Alright..."

Ahmair spread his hands in slight disappointment: "It seems we still have to do the tough jobs ourselves."

He paused and then asked, "Where are Samir's men deployed now?"

"Right here..."

Mr. Rod pointed to the places on the screen marked in red.

"Hader, Helaisiye, over two thousand men deployed in both directions, it seems they're planning to attack Badi Town from both sides."

"Over four thousand men..." Ahmair stroked his Big Beard, tilting his head, "Seems quite a few."

"How many troops do you have?" Mr. Rod asked.

Ahmair replied, "Just over three thousand."

Mr. Rod commented, "You're outnumbered."

Ahmair said, "No rush; we're less than thirty kilometers from the border. Our brothers in Siria have already set out. They should arrive here within an hour or two, with nearly two thousand soldiers."

"That looks not bad..."

Mr. Rod uttered an ambiguous, perfunctory comment.

He had long heard that I5I5 militants had been covertly recruiting many extremists near the Siria border.

But he didn't expect their strength to be quite significant.

He had a vague feeling that this extremist group might be getting a bit too large...

Their development seemed too fast.

But he quickly dismissed these concerns.

That was a problem for the future and something for those higher up to consider. His task tonight was to assist the I5I5 militant group in combat, to thwart the attack by the People's Strength militants and seize the opportunity to capture Song Heping.

What he didn't know was that the situation had already strayed beyond his imagination.

While Ahmair was waiting for reinforcements from Siria, dozens of kilometers away at the border, a large contingent of the Illigo Government's heavy armored forces was gathering.

This was the first armored brigade organized by the Illigo Government with the help of Americans, equipped with a low-tier version of Abrams tanks and heavily relying on U.S. gear, including Hummer Light Transport Vehicles.

The armored force had been moved from the outskirts of Mosul by the Illigo Military to this location a day earlier and stationed less than three kilometers from the border. As nighttime fell, the entire brigade began to mobilize, establishing a defense line near the western border.

Soon, reports from the forward surveillance units came through the radios in the armored command vehicles.

"Brigade commander, a large number of armed vehicles have been spotted near the border. I estimate it's I5I5's reinforcements," came the report.

"Order the armored troops to enter combat readiness immediately, all personnel to occupy advantageous terrain, block off the border line, and when they approach, fire warning shots. Inform them to leave immediately, or we open fire!"

The commander was very decisive tonight.

In fact, he had been holding back frustration for a long time.

I5I5 militants had been operating in the border area for over a year, always retreating back to Siria when they couldn't win. Communicating with the Cilia Government proved ineffective because the border area was sparsely populated and once these armed men returned to Siria and hid their weapons, they became indistinguishable from ordinary citizens, unless someone betrayed them, their identities were impossible to verify.

Tonight, the first armored brigade commander received orders to seal off the border, saying that a large number of I5I5 personnel would enter Illigo.

The intelligence was very accurate.

The brigade commander couldn't wait to leave the command vehicle and ran to high ground, picking up binoculars to look towards Siria.

Through his lens, he saw dust rising near the border mountain pass leading into Illigo; hundreds of trucks and pickups were crammed on the entry road, attempting to cross the border.

Thud thud thud—

A heavy machine gun on a Hummer parked near the border line fired a series of tracer bullets, clearly not aimed at strafing the convoy but whizzing over their heads.

But this warning fire was sufficient. The entire convoy immediately hit the brakes and quickly came to a stop.

Next, the soldiers of the first brigade began using loudspeakers to address the I5I5 militants on the other side of the border—

"Incoming convoy, listen up, you are approaching the national border of Illigo. Without our permission, any unauthorized crossing will be met with force!"

The vehicles on the other side, the trucks, and pickups, halted on the road. No one got out, and no one turned around.

Both sides were at a stalemate, but there was no response from the other side.

Time seemed to stand still.

Suddenly, everything went eerily silent, a terrifying silence.

Sweat beaded on the brigade commander's nose.

He knew exactly what kind of scum were on the other side.

The I5I5 militants were all extreme terrorists, desperadoes.

If it really came to a fight, both sides would inevitably suffer losses.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com