Chapter 40: The Three-Headed Serpent

Now that the Second Chechen War has ended, the main forces of the Chechen rebels have completely collapsed under the Russian military's multi-layered, high-intensity strikes. Only a small portion of the Chechen army has taken refuge deep in the southern mountains, continuing to resist the government forces through guerrilla tactics. It can be said that these soldiers who survived two Chechen wars and still survived were battle-hardened elite members of the Chechen army, growing through the smoke of battle. The strength hidden within them was not to be underestimated.
This group of Chechen soldiers continuously attacked small Russian military garrisons, and after cooperating with Afghan guerrillas and the third leader of the "Assassin Organization," Amirali, they increasingly employed terrorist strategies. Faced with such an armed force with rich combat experience, relying on the mountains as platforms and with the voluntary assistance of local residents, concentrating efforts to clear the endless mountains unsuitable for large-scale mechanized operations, the possibility of completely annihilating them in one go was extremely slim. Deploying heavy troops in the former Chechen-controlled areas, using spatial blockades between points and areas, combined with support from mobile forces, to strangle these rebels deep in the mountains is an unrealistic task for the Russian government, which has just experienced the second Chechen war and urgently needs to breathe and ease its financial pressure.
The Russian government could only tolerate the presence of remnants of Chechen rebel armed forces in a helpless mindset. Faced with hundreds of mercenary groups swarming into Russian territory, the Russian government simply turned a blind eye, even secretly sending intelligence to more powerful groups capable of posing a deadly threat to the Chechen rebel guerrilla forces. Under their deliberate guidance, hundreds of mercenary groups surrounded the Chechen rebel entrenched mountains from all directions.
They don't have to spend a single shot, deploy planes, tanks, or artillery, or waste precious soldiers' lives. Sitting on the sidelines and watching tigers fight—this is exactly what the Russian government most wants to see, and they have indeed done it!
These mercenary groups were like swarms of locusts. They entered the mountains, striving to follow the traces left by the war heroes, while also fighting the elusive Chechen guerrillas familiar with the terrain. Occasionally, they would run into other mercenary groups in a narrow encounter, fighting swords and soldiers, avenging their enemies and avenging their wrongs.
In this deep mountainous area, for half a month, battles occurred daily, with the frenzied barrage of light and heavy weapons, grenades, grenades, rocket launchers, and even the firing of Vulcan guns from Russian military attack helicopters being heard everywhere. Everywhere, you could see battlefields beaten so badly they couldn't bear to witness, and everywhere you saw grass buried, tied together with two branches, barely counting as a grave of a cross.
In just two weeks, at least 1,500 mercenaries, 420 Chechen guerrillas, and 25 Russian government soldiers died on this land. After two weeks of fierce battles, at least twenty mercenary groups were wiped out or lost the ability to continue their missions in narrow battles, and at least fifty mercenary groups announced their withdrawal from this now upgraded honor battle.
However, during these two weeks, two special operations teams gradually emerged from relentless fierce fighting.
Among them, there was a very small unit with only five members, all Asians. No one knew their mercenary group's name. In fact, many were already suspecting that they were not a mercenary group assembled for financial gain, but rather a senior special forces unit dispatched by a certain country. Each of them was heavily painted with camouflage oil, making it impossible to see their features clearly. Each of them was highly skilled in military affairs, coordinated seamlessly, and ruthless in their actions—truly a merciless killing style. They rarely cause trouble, but once a mercenary group provokes them beyond their limits, what is about to begin is a deadly massacre that can be recorded in modern special warfare history.
Of the twenty mercenary regiments that were wiped out, four were cut down by them simply because they saw they were outnumbered. Of the 420 Chechen guerrillas killed, at least 100 were killed by their own hands.
The second special operations team had even fewer members, only three people!
Among these three people is the target that everyone cares about most...... Song of the Battle Chivalry!
There was a mercenary group of nearly thirty members, who mistakenly used violent methods to "persuade" Zhanxiage to accept their protection. This three-person special operations team used various terrain and pre-laid mines deep in the mountains to wipe them out one by one. In the end, only the deputy commander escaped the mountains alone, his left arm severed and covered in blood.
When others asked him about the battle, the deputy commander's eyes were filled with fear. He shouted hoarsely, "Landmines, watch out for landmines! There are mines everywhere in the whole mountain!" There might be landmines hidden under our comrades' bodies, landmines hanging on the treetops above us, and a large bird crouched in a tree with a landmine fuse tied to its leg. When we passed by the bird, they just fired a shot, then used 'remote control' to startle the bird into flight, detonating the explosives under the tree! Even a seemingly harmless wild fruit can hide a ping-pong ball-shaped grenade. From a distance, they blast the grenade suspended in midair, and when we instinctively dodge around, we step onto an even more terrifying and destructive landmine! We were already very careful, yet we kept stepping into their preset minefields, and we kept suffering heavy casualties. We haven't even fought them yet, and in just a two-kilometer chase, half our soldiers have fallen! ”
It was only at this moment that the mercenary corps commanders realized that the target they wanted to protect and compete for was the most formidable and formidable figure here. To "persuade" such a figure to accept their protection and obediently follow them back to China to help them regain the reputation of a mercenary in exchange for large amounts of cash and mercenary fame is absolutely not an easy task.
The Chechen rebels had long been insightful about this, because they realized they had encountered true guerrilla warfare experts! Led by Zhanxiage, this three-person special operations team continuously employed guerrilla and ambush tactics to strike their soldiers. They mastered a wide variety of tactics—poisoning, arson, assassination, sniping, ambushes, and assaults. In just two weeks, at least 180 Chechen soldiers and "assassin organization" terrorists died under their guerrilla tactics.
Facing this special operations group, which was even better at running, dodging, fighting, and guerrilla warfare, they had already earned a resounding nickname within the Chechen guerrillas...... The three-headed serpent!
"Crazy, crazy, all crazy!" The furious roar crashed against the stone walls of the valley, echoing far and wide, even the nearby leaves rustled, as if echoing his voice.
"We only have three people, while the other side has a full 150 professional soldiers armed with weapons! Even if you think you're awesome or unremarkable, the elite of the elite, the Chechen soldiers who survived two Chechen wars are also battle-hardened veterans! ”
A voice cautiously advised, "Master always has his own reasons for doing this, and we've already conducted repeated reconnaissance of them. We have a clear grasp of their personnel structure, weaponry, and other intelligence." If we can really lure them into the ambush as Master predicted, we do have a chance to deal them a fatal blow, then use a devouring method to gradually gnaw away at their armed forces! ”
"Zhao Haiping, do you have any brains?" The voice grew even angrier, "Your master is clearly tired of living, wanting to die on this battlefield!" Clearly, there was a chance to escape, but they stubbornly stuck in this valley, stalling with the Chechen rebels. Zhao Haiping, do it yourself—ever since the three of us met, how many battles have we fought in just one month? No matter the scale or how many bullets whizz across my head, we've already fought 107 battles, averaging three battles a day! It was better earlier. The two of us followed your master, who had been provoked by some unknown but clearly lost his mind. We swept through the valley through the Chechen scattered soldiers, evenly matched, each relying on real skills to survive on the battlefield. Now that the little shrimp and millet were tired of fighting, his appetite was growing, and he actually wanted to swallow up a guerrilla camp of 150 people in one go. I'm a mercenary, not a suicide squad who foolishly charges in knowing death is certain! ”
Zhanxiage, who was chiseling a piece of wood with a tiger-tooth military knife and trying to turn it into an explosive shell, didn't even look up and said, "Mr. Oran Lia, you're right. You're just a mercenary, not a suicide squad, and no one will pay you a penny for these 107 battles." If you're not satisfied, your legs will grow on your own body, and you can leave us at any time. Aren't you known as the 'South African Flying Tiger'? This small hill, water, and jungle shouldn't be a problem for you, old man, right? ”
The mercenary captain known as the "South African Flying Tigers," known as the "South African Flying Tigers," who had once fought life-and-death battles with Zhanxiage on the battlefield, but after facing a common enemy, they joined forces to deliver a brilliant assault. His eyes widened as he shouted, "Damn!" Zhanxia Ge, didn't you blush when you said that? I saved your foolish and foolish apprentice, who only knew how to follow your orders and was knocked unconscious by a T80 tank. And together we saved you, the madman who led a large group of Chechen terrorists into the valley. In short, I am your savior. You bastard, not only do you not want to repay your kindness, but you actually want to push me toward my death?! ”
"Now that you've led us into the southern mountains where the Chechen rebels are most concentrated, we've fought so many battles. Who doesn't know that I, the 'South African Flying Tiger,' and you Chinese soldiers are on the same boat?" Do you really want me to be beaten into a hornet's nest by those already bloodshot guerrillas?! ”
Olanlia was absolutely right. They were now surrounded by endless mountains, filled with Chechen rebels who had fled into the mountains during the Second Chechen War. Chechen guerrillas of varying numbers could be seen roaming the mountains, mixed with experienced Afghan guerrillas and groups of religious fanatics. If the three of them were scattered in this situation, Zhan Xiaoge and Zhao Haiping could support and look after each other, which would be somewhat better. Oranya had to cross these 500-kilometer-long mountains alone. If he encountered Chechen guerrilla forces formed by rebels, with no companions to support him and unfamiliar with the terrain, it would be very difficult for him to escape their pursuit.
Zhan Xiaoge stuffed a dozen bullets he'd picked up from deep in the mountains, along with a dozen filled with gasoline and sealed with wax, into a hollowed-out wooden box. He carefully loaded the explosives taken from an unexploded shell. Seeing there was still space in the wooden sleeve, Zhan Xiaoge simply grabbed another handful of rubble mixed with shrapnel from the ground and stuffed it all in at once.
Finally, with a set of walkie-talkies seized from Chechen rebels, Zhan Xia Ge was made into a simple remote-controlled ignition device, turning it into a "wooden tube" remote-controlled mine. Looking at the row of bizarre mines beside Zhanxiage, designed to target human physiological and psychological weaknesses, even battle-hardened mercenaries like Olannia had to admit that these were indeed weapons of killing and arson, applying despicable, shameless, and vulgar combat aesthetics to the extreme.
Zhan Xia Ge grabbed another grenade and repeatedly gestured, seemingly preparing to tie dozens of shells filled with gasoline and sealed with white wax to this grenade, creating a high-explosive incendiary grenade even more shameless than a steel ball grenade. After spending about thirty days together with Zhan Xia Ge, Olan Lia understood that he would definitely plant a few more high-explosive incendiary mines near this one, which had limited lethal power and a visually stunning detonation!
While remelting a pile of scrap he'd picked up from battlefields deep in the mountains and remelting them into a deadly weapon, he raised his eyebrows and said nonchalantly, "Oh, then please let Zhao Haiping recount for us how our 'South African Flying Tiger' Mr. Oranya extended a hand of friendship to you, and how he bravely rescued me, a Chinese soldier, from the hands of over a hundred Chechen rebels!" ”
"At that moment, I saw the main gun of the T80 tank already aimed at where I was hiding. Without hesitation, I jumped downward. Although I wasn't hit by the howitzer, the blast from the shell still pushed me down a hillside." Zhao Haiping wore a sincere smile and said, "When I woke up, Mr. Olan Lia had already dragged me behind a bush, and he was holding a cross around his neck, praying to something called 'Our Lord Jesus the Virgin Mary, Great Mercy and Salvation for the World.'" ”
Olanlia's face instantly turned like a pig's liver. He glared at Zhao Haiping and shouted, "You heard everything?" ”
"Yes, you lowered your voice at the time, but I was lying under your feet, and your voice was much louder than most's. It was hard not to hear clearly."
Zhao Haiping said, "Although I'm a farmer, at least I finished middle school, and after joining the army, I even tutored English in cultural classes. You kept repeating the simplest words at the time, and I could barely guess and make sense of what you said! ”
Zhanxiage said, "What was he talking about at the time?" ”
"At that time, Mr. Orannia kept saying 'Don't come any closer,' 'Please don't come over,' 'Please, please, don't come any closer!'" Zhao Haiping replied honestly, "Mr. Olannia noticed my legs were still exposed outside the bushes. He immediately broke off a few branches and placed them on my legs, even helping me with a little camouflage!" When he realized I had opened my eyes, Mr. Orannia was truly startled. He called out in Chinese, 'Damn, you're awake?!' ”
"And then?"
"Then I suddenly noticed you, Master, carrying a 7.62mm caliber vehicle-mounted machine gun, firing while retreating in our direction. Behind you, at least a hundred Chechen terrorists relentlessly pursue you?"
"And then?"
"Of course I jumped up and shot the nearest Chechen rebel chasing after you, Master!"
"And then?"
"Then Mr. Orania suddenly became inexplicably angry and kicked me hard!" Zhao Haiping asked in confusion, "At that time, he shouted a word, and it sounded like 'shit.' What does the word 'master' mean?" ”
Zhanxiage still asked in his usual voice, "And then?" ”
"And of course, Master, you spotted us and immediately ran in our direction, and that group of Chechen terrorists followed you. It seemed that some of them recognized Mr. Oranlia, and called out his name directly. ”
"And then?"