Mercenary's War

Chapter 2439: Chapter 2415: The Difficult Journey

The departure time was indeed later than Gao Yang had planned. By the time the cannons were loaded onto the trucks and each unit was arranged to depart separately, it was already 9:30 PM when Satan’s main team finally set off, an hour and a half behind Gao Yang’s schedule.

When Satan’s group of a dozen people, driving seven vehicles, had set off and traveled more than twenty kilometers out of Sanaa City, it was already 10:30 PM when Gao Yang finally received a notification from Rebrov.

"The Duck is on the road, repeat, the Duck is on the road, please respond if received, over."

"Received, be careful on the way, over."

Ending the call, Gao Yang took a deep breath and said to Glolov who was in the back seat, "Rebrov and the others are on the road."

Glolov nodded and said solemnly, "The road conditions are still okay now, try to get some rest."

Gao Yang, not being polite, glanced at his watch and said loudly, "Alright, wake me up at three."

Finally on the move, Gao Yang was still excited, and with threats above, he was also a bit worried about encountering an air raid. But neither excitement nor worry could solve any problems; the road ahead was long, and it was better to rest for a while if there was time.

Despite the excitement, Gao Yang could sleep as long as he needed to; this was a skill he had developed.

The speed of the vehicle was not fast, nor could it be fast. In the swaying car, sleep was not restful. While Gao Yang was half awake, he suddenly heard someone whisper, "Gao, wake up, time’s up."

Gao Yang opened his eyes, rubbed them, and put on his bulletproof glasses. He found Glolov was driving, while Joseph was half-lying in the spacious back seat of the SUV.

"Where are we?"

Checking his watch, it was indeed 3 AM, so Gao Yang casually asked. At this time, Glolov said helplessly, "The speed is much slower than expected, we just passed Rayda, and it’s impossible to reach the destination before dawn."

Without even looking at a map, Gao Yang thought for a moment and said dejectedly, "We’ve only gone a little over 130 kilometers, it’s too slow."

Glolov said in a low voice, "The road conditions are too poor. Our vehicles are not too affected, but the artillery trucks are greatly impacted. They’re still more than forty kilometers behind us."

In over four hours, they had covered less than a hundred kilometers. This speed was indeed too slow, but traveling on extremely poor roads, it wasn’t considered too slow. The country was poor, constantly plagued by civil wars, and with the current civil war ongoing, maintaining infrastructure was unheard of, and recent bombings had destroyed many roads, so it’s no wonder the speed couldn’t pick up.

While Gao Yang was pondering, Glolov said, "We’ll try to speed up. We estimate we can reach Hameir before dawn. We’ll stay there for a day and set off again tomorrow night; that’s the best we can do."

Gao Yang shook his head and said, "No, Hameir is in the desert with sparse vegetation and surrounded by plains. Our large convoy has nowhere to hide, and although we can reach there, it’s not safe enough. Let’s stay at Kamar for a day. Kamar town is a shallow mountain town with relatively good vegetation, convenient for us to hide. Although it’s a bit closer than Hameir, it won’t hurt to take this extra bit of time."

Glolov nodded and said, "Alright, your call."

Gao Yang picked up the radio and said in a deep voice, "Wild Duck, please answer if received."

Only the sound of static responded. The distance was too far, and the radio could not receive a signal. Gao Yang could only make a call, and after Rebrov picked up, he whispered, "Go to Kamar to stay, don’t inform others, we’ll talk upon arrival."

"Yes, I understand."

After Gao Yang hung up the phone, Glolov said in a low voice, "Aren’t you going to inform Salim?"

Gao Yang shook his head, smiled bitterly, and said, "Forget it, I really don’t trust the Houthis Armed Forces’ confidentiality. Both sides of the conflict infiltrate each other like sieves, and that they can still continue fighting baffles me."

Saudi Arabia would naturally send spies to Yemen, and not a few, with considerable success. Gao Yang naturally had to be cautious about exposing his whereabouts.

As they approached a small town called Kamar, Gao Yang finally informed Salim to contact the commander of the Houthi Armed Forces stationed at Kamar to coordinate their temporary stay.

They arrived at Kamar a little after 4 AM, and it was almost 6 by the time the trailer carrying the cannons arrived, with the sky barely lightening.

The convoy did not enter the town. A few kilometers to the west of the town was a small village, where the vegetation was relatively rich and dense. After selecting a suitable hiding spot, those who arrived first, including Gao Yang, began methodically directing the convoy to their respective hiding locations once the convoy carrying the self-propelled artillery arrived.

The self-propelled artillery would not be unloaded from the trucks. To avoid air raids, a camouflage net had to be deployed, and the convoy had to be hidden under relatively dense trees. Luckily, Kamar had a good number of large trees, providing some covering shade. However, there was no significantly larger forest, so the convoy had to be scattered to hide properly.

The trucks carrying self-propelled artillery were the biggest target and had to be handled with care. Rebrov and his team quickly set up the camouflage net, aiming to finish before daybreak, while Gao Yang and Salim stood aside, accompanied by two Houthis Armed Forces officials responsible for military and administrative affairs in Kamar.

Two large flatbed trucks stopped under the same shade, where there was a water well. In the morning, people came to fetch water. Upon discovering the commotion caused by the sudden appearance of the convoy in the early morning, some men came out to watch the spectacle, while women with black veils quickly fetched water and returned home.

Being in the village made it impossible to completely avoid contact with the villagers. Gao Yang kept a sidelong glance at those fetching water or watching the spectacle.

There weren’t many people, only about a dozen, and as they realized there wasn’t much to see, some began to leave gradually.

At this moment, Gao Yang suddenly said urgently, "Grab him!"

An elderly man with a small donkey had just drawn a bucket of water from the well with a communal bucket and was about to leave after pouring the water into a large plastic bucket. He didn’t appear out of the ordinary, but Gao Yang pointed at the old man, instructing Salim’s guard to grab him.

Salim’s guard hadn’t moved yet, but Joseph immediately placed his hand on the holster on his waist. He wouldn’t meddle like a dog chasing a mouse; his sole mission was to protect Gao Yang, so he wouldn’t do anything outside of that duty.

Seeing Salim’s guard a bit confused, Gao Yang said helplessly to Joseph, "Go grab him, it’s alright."

Joseph immediately rushed over, grabbing the old man’s collar from behind, pulling him to the ground, and pointed a pistol at him, while vigilantly watching the surroundings.

It was only then that Salim asked confusedly, "What’s going on? What’s the matter?"

Gao Yang confidently said, "A spy, I suspect he’s a spy collecting military intelligence!"