King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

What Joe Ga referred to as "regaining the ground" was just an offhand remark!

As daylight fully broke, the Nigerien Defence Forces began to slowly move into the small town and set up evacuation corridors for civilians, the Boko Haram fighters began to lay down their weapons, hoping to blend in with the civilians and slip away.

The 300-strong force from the Nigerien Defence Ministry was not an overwhelming presence, but they moved methodically, advancing slowly under the cover provided by French forces and Team E snipers.

Even when encountering the enemy, they were not perturbed. With snipers from the rear pinning down the enemy, groups of about a dozen soldiers armed with RPGs would spring forth to "greet" the enemy with rocket-propelled grenades.

If they encountered particularly tenacious foes, they could also call upon helicopters and Big Beak Birds in the sky.

The Americans were all in this time, having not only dispatched one Black Hawk and three Little Birds, but also a convoy of Humvees.

The moment this convoy arrived, they charged into the Mosque with the Rangers who had arrived the night before, to report to Joe Ga.

As the on-site commander, Joe Ga felt a bit awkward returning the salute of the captain from the convoy, but then looked at the captain, who carried a 'we are ready to leap into hell at any moment' expression and said with a smile, "Buddy, this isn't Mogadishu, we are about to win!"

The Humvee convoy captain, who had been picturing himself as a lone hero up until arriving, was taken aback, then nodded and said, "Sir, I've heard about your operation. Thank you for saving our comrades' lives.

This convoy is now under your command!"

Joe Ga was pleased with the Americans' attitude. He shook hands firmly with the captain and said, "First, escort all the wounded out of town, then help the Nigerien Defence Forces set up the evacuation corridors for civilians.

Buddy, I too want to take out all the terrorists, but before we do that, we need to ensure the civilians are safe so we can then pour all our firepower onto those bastards without any worries."

As he spoke, Joe Ga looked at the slightly excited captain and said with a smile, "You guys brought enough ammo, right? The enemy doesn't have heavy machine guns, and there probably aren't many RPGs left either.

We don't stop today until we have rendered all the barrels useless, got it?"

At that moment, the captain realized that Joe Ga intended to fight an overwhelming head-on battle, giving no opportunity to the terrorists hidden in the town.

If people from Boko Haram ran away and laid down their weapons, as long as they could pass through the screening by the Nigerien Defence Forces and the survivors from the town, terrorists lucky enough to that extent could go for all he cared.

The main targets this time were the veteran gunmen from the Middle East, along with the most fanatical elements of Boko Haram.

Fighting close-quarters combat with them would be an insult to the Americans; such a situation called for bombing them, otherwise it would be a disservice to those arms groups who went to great lengths to stuff their weapons into the United States Military's arsenal.

The Super Albatross had re-entered the battlefield, but this time they had essentially brought cannons to a gunfight.

The American base not only replenished their munitions but also fitted them with 'Hellfire' air-to-ground missiles.

Each mount could carry two missiles, and with two Big Beak Birds and a total of ten mounting points, they brought a total of 20 'Hellfire' missiles with them.

A Hellfire missile cost at least $70,000 at its cheapest, which amounted to $1.4 million!

This stuff was far more powerful than the $800-per-shot rocket-propelled grenades!

Together with the three Little Bird helicopters equipped with rocket pods and carrying the Fire God,

plus the addition of the Humvee convoy, the Americans put at least $5 million worth of materials into this 'volunteer work'.

Joe Ga felt envious of the money they were burning through!

He had spent up 300 shells the day before and was scheming to claw back the money from the Nigerien Defence Ministry, yet here were the Americans purely investing.

Too damn rich!!

In such a situation, the correct approach was to be steady and gradually push the terrorists into a corner, and in the end, incinerate them with a fire that would send them to meet their God and enjoy the services of 72 virgins.

Joe Ga wasn't adept at specific command tactics, so he conveyed the objectives to the Humvee convoy captain and left the rest to him to figure out.

After arranging for the wounded and the most important hostages from the film crew to be taken away, Joe Ga went into his final preparatory phase.

The incessant reporting and requests for instructions from the Nigerien lieutenant colonel began to irritate Joe Ga, so he handed over the command for building the safe corridor to Antar and Waters...

One was thorough enough, and the other could facilitate communication between the American and Nigerien forces. Soon, an evacuation corridor was established, and masses of terrified civilians began to retreat out of town.

The evacuation of the town's civilians continued from 6 AM until 10 AM.

What surprised Joe Ga was the lack of any specially intense backlash from the terrorists within the town.

Under the squeeze of the Nigerien Defence Forces, they took some civilians hostage and slowly concentrated in the houses in front of the Mosque.

Standing by the window in the Mosque, Joe Ga watched a group of Middle Eastern men with their heads wrapped, each holding a hostage as they walked out into the open space in front of the Mosque.

They were now effectively surrounded by the Nigerien Defence Forces and the Humvee convoy.

Joe Ga thought these people wanted to use the hostages to negotiate, but things turned out to be very different from what he expected.

A man in a white robe with a big beard stepped forward, wielding an AK and loudly saying something to his own people...

Upon hearing the Middle Easterners burst into laughter, Joe Ga frowned and said, "My Arabic should be fine, but why does it sound like they're declaring their victory?"

As a Kurdish person who knew the situation in the Middle East best, Antar suddenly shouted into the communicator, "Beware of suicide bombers, they're desperate..."

Before Antar's warning had even finished, the terrorists holding the hostages simply killed them and, like wild boars injected with adrenaline, started to charge toward the Mosque.

There was no need for further reminders from Antar; the bomb vests on their bodies clearly showed their intent...

"Kill them, kill them..."

Joe Ga shouted the order to open fire, and then he himself swiftly took down two terrorists with his HK416.

As the terrorists hit the ground, their detonators were released, and the bombs exploded.

The massive explosion affected the terrorists sprinting around; they were sent flying by the blast wave, and most of them exploded while running, but there were one or two who flew down to the steps in front of the mosque…

"Boom…"

The massive explosion sent up black smoke, making it difficult for Joe Ga and his team inside the mosque to breathe.

Quickly putting on gas masks, Joe Ga shouted into the communicator, "Is anyone injured? Devil Bird, Dragon Gecko, Elephant, Owl, King Kong, respond…"

Nis: "I'm fine."

Antar: "I'm okay too."

Karman: "I'm behind the mosque, I'm alright. It seems they didn't want a fight but a death wish."

Dorian: "I'm fine, but I almost got scared to death. A madman's head hit me, shit, this guy seems to be smiling."

King Kong: "Boss, I'm fine, but a few kids were knocked unconscious, and 'Hemostatic Forceps' fainted as well."

After hearing their responses, Joe Ga fell silent for a moment before pressing the communicator, saying, "Cobra, Archerfish, blow them up for me, blow these madmen sky high."

"Yes sir!"

Cobra and Archerfish, already aware of what happened with their boss, began their dive.

The 'Hellfire' missiles carried by the two Big Beak Birds precisely hit a row of houses in front of the mosque.

Following a series of terrifying blasts, the buildings, already riddled with holes, erupted in enormous flames, and then some began to collapse.

The entire front of the mosque was instantly shrouded in gunpowder smoke!

With visibility reduced to zero, Joe Ga loudly called all the machine gunners to be on alert and to take down anything that moved at first sight.

He then turned and rushed into the mosque to check inside and found a few injured, but most were just badly shaken.

The solidly built mosque had withstood the human bombs, after all.

Confirming that he himself was fine, Joe Ga urged Cobra and Archerfish to make another trip to the United State. Military Base to see if they could get a few more 'Hellfire' missiles. Then, he pressed the communicator to ask loudly on the joint command channel, "What the hell is going on?

These terrorists claim they've won. Where exactly have they triumphed?"

The channel remained silent from both the American and French sides for a long time until a hoarse male voice replied, "Niger Base in France has been attacked. The Armored Troops suffered heavy losses, and 13 soldiers have been captured by the terrorists.

The first infantry regiment of France in Mali was ambushed during their transfer. They fought off the enemy attack, but suffered heavy losses themselves. The terrorists had plenty of anti-tank weapons, a lot of them…

The uranium mines in Niger and Mali were raided, with tremendous losses!

Paris suffered two bombing attacks; we neutralized one, but an explosion in another park resulted in 13 dead and 45 injured.

Hu Lang, we appreciate your efforts in Niger, but this round, they've won!"

After listening, Joe Ga waved to Nis, who had come down to check on him, to go check elsewhere. Then he said incredulously, "How could you possibly have taken such a beating?

FUCK, what exactly did the terrorists get from the uranium mine?"

The French commander, after a long silence, responded heavily, "We don't know how they organized an attack of this magnitude. Our intelligence system received no warning; it's not normal!"

Speaking with an implication, the French commander continued, "The detailed post-war statistics have not yet come out, but to my knowledge, we've lost a portion of our uranium ore that had undergone preliminary processing.

The terrorists won't have nuclear weapons because of this, but they are capable of making dirty bombs.

Someone is hiding intelligence, and I hope they don't reap the whirlwind because France is not the primary enemy of ISIS!"

After saying this, the French commander cut off all communications, leaving only Joe Ga and the Americans in the channel.

Joe Ga hesitated before asking, "Does this really have something to do with you guys?"

The person on the American side replied with a bitter smile, "We're just soldiers responsible for combat; we don't know anything. I don't think it's our fault because if ISIS had dirty bombs, the people in the White House would go mad."

Upon hearing this, Joe Ga felt the response was disingenuous since such scale of movements couldn't have been hidden from NATO and the American intelligence network.

Aaron was just an arms dealer, not a magician; he couldn't have orchestrated an operation of this magnitude by himself…

There must be something Joe Ga couldn't interfere with, and besides, asking them would not be as straightforward as asking Aaron. So, he laughed it off and said, "Fellas, don't overthink it. The Frenchies suffered heavy losses this time, so it's normal for them to be upset.

Like you said, we're soldiers; our only job is to send terrorists to hell.

My two Super Albatrosses have run out of ammo; they need a full resupply. I have to ensure no more deaths in this town afterward!"

"But those people already…"

Joe Ga laughed dryly and said, "The human bombs created a thick fog. I believe definitely not all are dead. Without 'Hellfire,' we don't feel safe even cleaning up the battlefield.

Buddy, your Rangers suffered a lot, so you should offer them as much security as possible.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After all, it's not like it's coming out of your own pocket, right?"