Chapter 766: Five-Star Service

Turkey seemed like a giant chessboard, becoming a battleground for various factions.

The fourth squad was not on a short-term mission in Turkey; they were not only transporting a shipment of weapons to support the Kurdish forces but also training armed personnel and assisting in offensive operations, helping the Kurds tackle some tough challenges.

This time, their mission was to assist in eliminating a few rebellious leaders within the Kurdish armed organization who were trying to split the group, but their actions were exposed, falling into an ambush laid by the enemy, nearly costing them their lives. One powered armor, one Flying Wolf rotorcraft, and one transport helicopter suffered devastating damage, the losses were immeasurable.

After the battle, the Night Special Forces quickly gathered some information and evidence from the scene, revealing that the attackers were not the Turkish government army, but rather a covert international organization supporting the separatists. This organization did not wish to see the Chinese meddling in the affairs between the Kurds and the Turks; they wanted to insert themselves into the conflict as well.

As a result, under Lin Mo’s relentless bombardment, almost the entire force of this international organization was wiped out, including a technical expert who intended to bring back Chinese-made powered armor.

A carefully crafted conspiracy may have been close to succeeding, but this international organization clearly did not anticipate that the Chinese military would dispatch a high-performance stealth fighter capable of swiftly crossing multiple national borders to provide heavy fire support.

The Turkish government had long suspected that clashes were brewing on their soil and had no intention of openly interfering. Instead, they dispatched F-16 Falcon fighters equipped with ground attack weapons, hoping to corner both sides and benefit from the chaos.

No government wants to be the subject of manipulation by external forces, including the Turks. While they supported East Turkestan, they were well aware that the Kurds had the backing of the Chinese.

However, many matters cannot be brought into the open. Those who break the rules of the game become targets for all, and even the Americans are no exception. When WikiLeaks released secret documents, the White House nearly faced a crisis of collapse.

The outcome of this struggle between the clam and the snipe caught everyone by surprise. Neither the F-16 Falcon squadron sent earlier nor the retaliatory forces that surged in afterward fired a single shot; several fighter jets turned into mere targets, leaving the Turks to bear the brunt of the loss.

In terms of the cost-benefit analysis after the battle, only Lin Mo gained a significant advantage on the battlefield, becoming the true beneficiary.

The Turks, who lost several F-16 Falcons without accomplishing anything, would not simply let this go. Regardless of day or night, they deployed their armed helicopters and small ground forces to conduct extensive searches of the most dubious areas.

This was much like the Japanese invading a village, as the army passed through, all manner of hidden entities came to light, and sudden skirmishes were unavoidable.

…

Smoke filled the valley as gunfire ripped through the mist. Occasionally, black dots would streak through the sky, trailing white smoke as they plunged into the valley, exploding into fireballs and vast clouds of smoke, making the entire valley increasingly hazy.

Two yellow-green T-129 attack helicopters repeatedly swept over the valley, launching attacks. The three-barreled 7.62mm Gatling guns beneath their noses spat fire, sending deadly bullets into the valley, while the return fire from within never ceased.

The Turkish version of the A-129 Mongoose attack helicopter, purchased from Italy’s Augusta Westland, possessed significant attack capabilities.

Seven kilometers away on a mountain ridge, two CH-47 Chinook military transport helicopters hovered five meters above ground, deploying fully armed soldiers via parachute lines.

Once a target was spotted, the Turks became like rabid dogs smelling blood, rapidly rallying their armed forces to encircle and eliminate it.

In addition to the two T-129 “Turkish Mongooses” that first spotted the target, attacking helicopters nearby raced towards the area at a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour, focusing their firepower to first destroy this unidentified armed group before identifying who they were.

With the enormous losses from the F-16s, the Turks were furious, as the smoke and flames within Turkey seemed to resemble a small-scale civil war. Military personnel and the government were enraged, and everyone was mobilized.

Perhaps the organization that Lin Mo annihilated was secretly celebrating, as the Turks might have luck on their side and end up capturing the Chinese and those ungrateful Turks in one fell swoop. They might even retrieve the little girl from the Turks.

“Fire Eye, report the casualties!”

While firing at the sky through thick smoke with infrared mode, the fourth squad leader “Fire Eye” suddenly heard a voice near his ear, showing a small light on his helmet display, rapidly approaching on the terrain map.

Is it the Dragon Knight?

Did he dare to come out in broad daylight? That’s quite bold.

“No personnel injured, two Kurds dead, one severely wounded, one lightly wounded, and eight are unharmed!”

“Fire Eye” quickly assessed the combat losses. Each fourth squad warrior in their Dragon Guard armor acted as a data collection point, sending their observed conditions back to the Night headquarters via satellite for comprehensive analysis, easily yielding the information they needed.

“I’ve confirmed your location; hold on for half a minute, reinforcements are on the way!”

For Lin Mo, satellite positioning was an easy task. Under high-tech armament, war increasingly resembled a game.

At the Night headquarters command center, orders were swiftly issued, almost indistinguishable from an instant strategy game. A quick swipe of the mouse selected some soldiers, and with a click on the attack target, those in digital tactical armor rushed to engage their new enemies.

Half a minute? That means they’ll be here soon!

The Dragon Knight’s words instantly invigorated Fire Eye and his team. Just as Lin Mo volunteered to provide them with fire support, the aircrew’s service turned out to be nothing short of five-star attentive care.

Such rapid support and strike capabilities could probably only be experienced by elite American special forces. It was unexpected that the fourth squad would receive such excellent service during their mission in Turkey.

The Turks were about to have a terrible day.

“Deploy all the smoke bombs, leave none behind, maintain stealth!”

Fire Eye’s command reached every soldier in Dragon Guard and every Kurdish fighter.

Each soldier from the fourth squad was accompanied by several Kurdish armed personnel, allowing the Kurds to indirectly benefit from the digital command and combat system. Battles were no longer aimless; targets were clear, and every engagement allowed them to unleash heavy firepower on the enemy.

The urgently dispatched Turkish Third Special Operations Brigade had only about eighty personnel, specifically trained to deal with Kurdish guerrillas. They had just been deployed by the CH-47 Chinook and were rushing to the battlefield.

To capture the opponents entirely, the Turkish military even dispatched the SAT special operations forces, trained by the U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), who were en route to ensure the mission was foolproof.

In the post-9/11 era, Turkey was one of the few countries in the Middle East capable of cooperating with Western nations in anti-terror intelligence gathering and military strikes, and their combat effectiveness was extraordinary.

If it weren’t for the consistent foreign support and aid received by the Kurdish separatist organizations, the Turkish military might have already eliminated their major threat, the PKK.

The Chinese were secretly amused; if you don’t support East Turkestan, I won’t help the Kurds create trouble for you.

The Incirlik Air Force Base had already launched two F-4E 2020 “Terminator” jet fighters, speeding towards this valley battlefield.

The Turks had laid out a large net and were gradually tightening it. After completing the call with Lin Mo, Fire Eye immediately felt immense pressure as another T-129 “Turkish Mongoose” arrived to join the battle.

The smoke didn’t hinder the three T-129s much; it merely caused slight disruption as they relied on advanced targeting systems to rain fire on the fourth squad and the Kurds’ hiding spots.

The turret under the helicopter’s nose was equipped with an all-weather day and night observation system, integrating the second-generation forward-looking infrared system (using 8 to 12 microns wavelength) and a neodymium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) solid-state laser generator. Images captured by the HeliTOW thermal imaging system were transmitted to the weapon control personnel’s viewing system displayed on Honeywell’s aftermarket helmet display device.

This system was also employed on the AH-64 Apache helicopter, and a second forward-looking infrared system, the HIRNS (Helicopter Infrared Navigation System), provided infrared images for the pilot and weapon control personnel.

These two systems allowed pilots and weapon controllers to simply turn their heads to track and target, effectively improving the accuracy of mounted machine guns and unguided rockets.

“Everyone! Stay hidden! The strike begins now!”

As the massive rock that served as natural cover for Fire Eye was blasted to pieces, revealing terrifying fissures, Lin Mo’s voice echoed in his ears. Even inside the Dragon Guard, he felt the shock from shrapnel and debris.

“Here they come! Stay concealed!”

The fourth squad warriors under Fire Eye all shared surprise as they heard three nearly simultaneous explosions above the valley.