King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer
Chapter 922 - 832: Sudden Changes

While everyone celebrated P.B.'s victory, a Predator drone carrying two air-to-air missiles shot down two unmanned airships.

The fireballs that exploded in the sky, along with the sudden loss of mobile phone signals, created a moment of chaos in Mosul and the Safety Zone.

The Mosul mercenaries, long accustomed to the support of unmanned airships, had to pull back when ISIS suddenly launched a fierce counterattack, relinquishing control of some areas they had occupied, to finally stabilize the front line.

In the counterattack by ISIS, dozens of mercenaries from various groups were killed, their bodies dragged behind pickup trucks and filmed, the footage then uploaded to the internet.

Terrorists on the Syrian front also started to act...

The heavy losses over the past few days had severely weakened ISIS, and they were determined to kill Boss Qiao and eliminate the 'Safety Zone' as a thorn in their side, gathering nearly 5,000 troops from other areas...

ISIS temporarily gave up control of other locations, aiming to make one decisive move.

This was all of ISIS's main force in Syria; they could not afford to lose.

At this time, 'Iblis' did not head to Syria to fight but took the forces that attacked the Iraqi Air Force Base and drove north into Iraq, closing in on P.B.'s artillery position near the border.

This was the plan of 'Iblis'...

First to destroy P.B.'s 'eyes', wipe out their air force, and once their artillery positions were taken, the Hu Lang trapped inside Syria would become a sitting duck.

'Iblis' didn't need much; if he could gain 5 to 10 days, ISIS could reverse the situation in northern Syria completely with the financial and manpower support from all over the world, along with the superior force of ISIS.

The operation went even smoother than 'Iblis' had imagined...

The location of P.B.'s artillery position was no secret, and the mercenaries guarding it, 'Sea Hound', seemed somewhat disorganized.

'Iblis', knowing the essence of speed in warfare, commenced a swift assault after a simple reconnaissance.

Then, 'Sea Hound' from Italy unexpectedly fled without putting up much resistance.

When 'Iblis' smoothly entered the artillery position, he could hardly believe it, but when he saw the six Nora automatic grenade launchers and a large stash of 155mm shells, he knew he had succeeded!

The arrival of two Super Albatross planes and four Black Hawk helicopters in support made 'Iblis' believe he had found the reason why 'Sea Hound' retreated so easily.

This guy lamented how unreliable mercenaries who call for backup at the first sign of trouble were, and then ordered his subordinates to plant explosives on the automatic cannons, speeding into Syrian territory while being chased by several aircraft...

With the explosions destroying the position, 'Iblis' immediately ordered his forces to scatter, using 'Stinger' missiles to fend off the planes overhead and opening up the satellite phone to notify the others...

"Begin the attack, we have 5 days to capture the Hu Lang and Safety Zone, we need to completely cleanse this corrupted region."

After 'Iblis' left, 'Sea Hound' and the artillerymen who fled returned.

The artillerymen first took Black Hawk helicopters to Gaiyara Base south of Mosul, while 'Sea Hound' began moving towards the Safety Zone on foot.

'Sea Hound' needed to trek to the Safety Zone to help the Martyrs Camp there resist ISIS's attack.

The artillerymen would head to Gaiyara, where a C-130 would take them to a United States Military Base in Northeast Syria.

Oh, that place is now Boss Qiao's property; the American troops had already evacuated to other locations, and all equipment and munitions in the base had been taken over.

Now in control there were Hasan who came from Libya, 'Gunfire', and 'Rooster', who led the team to Syria to deliver supplies.

Hasan had 200 Libyan Militia troops he personally trained.

'Gunfire' had 80 Tuareg Mercenaries under his command.

And after 'Rooster' arrived at the base, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, he summoned a C-130 from Baghdad, and then a formidable Chinese Squadron parachuted into America's military base.

The day before 'Iblis' launched the attack, the base transfer was thoroughly completed.

'Coincidentally', it also had the large-caliber grenade launchers left by American troops, along with a large number of guided shells that had been delivered in advance.

ISIS's redeployment took the pressure off the Kurdish controlled areas,

allowing P.B. to easily transport the large-caliber grenade launchers from the base and provide new support to Boss Qiao from the south.

'Rooster' had spent a long time mingling with the intelligence systems of P.B. in Libya, working in tandem with intelligence organizations from England and France.

He witnessed firsthand how P.B. cooperated with the National Army, gradually 'awakening' Tubruq and Byrdi, two cities, turning them into important crude oil export ports and trade hubs for the Mediterranean.

The original plan of P.B.'s Warlord boss was to use Tubruq's seaport as a base to sell crude oil while trading with Egypt using Byrdi's strategic location, providing enough job opportunities.

The function of the city of Byrdi was to engage in bilateral trade with Egypt.

But who could have imagined, with the influx of a large amount of supplies, Byrdi became a one-way export port.

Egypt opened its borders to trade with Libya initially to make money by importing goods and to simultaneously give a lift to Haftar, a similarly Russia-aligned big brother.

But no one expected that Libya's impoverished people would export a large amount of Chinese products to Egypt through small-scale civilian trade.

Because the half-smuggling method avoided tariff barriers, the prices were much lower than those of goods entering Egypt through other channels.

As time went on, both sides became dissatisfied with trading mere trifles and, supported by certain interested parties, began to deal in larger goods.

From semiconductors for mobile phones to refrigerators, color TVs, and even tractors and cars...

Whether this qualifies as smuggling and undermining Egypt's interests or not, 'Rooster' couldn't really say, but he noticed the Egyptian border guards seemed quite pleased.

'Rooster' thought his career would peak in Libya, but he never imagined that he, a 'laid-off staff officer' on a business trip, would have the opportunity to lead China's 'laid-off brothers' in occupying a United State. Military Base?

The Special Land Forces Squadron that came for 'on-the-job training' were all in a state of bewilderment.

Parachuting was of course easy for them, but the realization they landed inside a United State. Military Base was surreal.

'Rooster' was not the commander; it was his fellow Nis-born Hasan who was.

This man, who had come all the way from the Libyan battlefields, had rocketed in status ever since he successfully 'found his relatives'.

Now Hasan, from a fearful noble living in a small village, had become an important figure in northern Libya, with even the National Army's Haftar treating him with great courtesy.

Posing as P·B troops and helping Qiao secure his village storing chemical materials became Hasan's turning point in life.

Upon hearing about Qiao's predicament in Syria, Hasan proactively boarded the Great Warlord Princess's warship heading to Syria.

When the volunteer soldiers went to the rescue, Hasan was ordered to stay in the south, and as soon as Qiao negotiated terms with Defense Minister Carter, Hasan was sent to take over this United State Military Base and the shares of the Haliburton refinery that had been annihilated here.

He didn't have to participate in the combat; Hasan, this 'royal relative,' just needed to secure the base and then assist 'Gunfire' and 'Rooster' with their men, protecting the artillery as they advanced, securing the rear and keeping the surrounding Kurdish population at bay.

The Kurdish people around the United State Military Base were baffled!

The sudden withdrawal of their American 'father' left them at a loss...

For the past half a month, due to Qiao's deliberate targeting, these Syrian Kurds have been utterly disgraced.

They abandoned the protection of their own people to follow America's lead, and now the Americans had just slipped away.

While it wasn't a complete abandonment, an important military base had been transferred.

The swift change of command left the Syrian Kurds completely unprepared.

When the base raised P·B's lion flag, the Kurdish leaders wished they could slap themselves.

"What are we doing?"

'Rooster' stood at the entrance of the base, watching Hasan sternly berating a group of dejected Kurds...

After those Kurds left, 'Rooster' said with a smile, "There's no need to be so harsh on them; they are also helpless."

After hearing this, Hasan's face twisted into a vindictive smile, "Helpless?

No, they just wanted too much and forgot what's most important before their eyes!

These Syrian Kurds have disappointed our boss...

If the Americans can make them 'helpless,' so can we!"

'Rooster' listened and then nodded with a smile, "You're right, mistakes come with a price. They need to show enough sincerity..."

With that, 'Rooster' glanced at his watch and said, "The artillery from Iraq will be here shortly, notify 'Gunfire' to move out first, we will roll out to protect the artillery to the assigned location, which will probably take two days.

Let's hope the boss won't be under too much pressure these two days!"

After hearing this, Hasan's face twitched over the scar, saying, "Are your people really up for it?

They look like they have never fought in a war; should I send my men instead...?"

'Rooster', with a serious look, nodded and said, "Hasan, not having killed doesn't mean they can't fight.

They have been through the toughest training, and have always been waiting for a moment like this.

Do you know what sets them apart from you?"

As he spoke, 'Rooster' patted Hasan's arm, saying, "You were dragged passively into warfare, while they have been actively preparing, some even their whole lives without ever getting the chance..."

Hasan couldn't comprehend this, frowning, he said, "Your soldiers are looking forward to war their entire lives?"

'Rooster' shook his head, "It's not 'looking forward,' but 'preparing'...

In China, there's a saying 'those eager for war will perish, those who forget war will be endangered'!

We are not warmongers, but we are always ready..."

Continuing, 'Rooster' suddenly said with a laugh, "Our boss, on the other hand, truly loves war, but he always fights when he is prepared..."