Ten attack squads had arrived at their designated buildings according to the map, just waiting for Song Heping's order to begin the attack.
"Squad 1 in position..."
"Squad 2 in position..."
"Squad 3 in position..."
...
Song Heping had also reached the headquarters of the Salafi Organization, which was beside that courtyard.
Behind Song Heping were Samir and another local Illigo Mercenary.
He turned and signaled to Samir to circle around to the other end of the yard.
Samir left with his orders, obeying them.
Song Heping peeked around the corner towards the entrance of the courtyard.
Sure enough, he saw a sentry.
He could also hear voices coming from inside the courtyard.
It seemed that some people were not asleep.
All the attack squads were in position, and the only concern now was that some squads lacked core members to lead them. It was uncertain whether they could kill a large number of enemies in the shortest possible time. If the enemy were to counter-attack from the houses, it could lead to a stalemate.
But there was no time to consider that.
These people were staying inside the buildings, like fish and shrimp hiding in their holes; just block the exits and it would suffice.
Song Heping's order to everyone was, if they could not enter the buildings to throw grenades and kill the sleeping enemies, then they should secure the exits of the buildings.
Most of the buildings here were one-story, and if one person guarded the front gate and another the back, the enemies would have a hard time escaping.
As for the squads that failed to subdue the enemies quickly, they were to hold their ground and send out a call for help so that nearby squads that had completed their tasks could come to support them.
There was no time to delay, Song Heping knew that if the delay continued, the leaders inside their headquarters would definitely become suspicious.
After all, the sentries must have noticed the convoy coming in and must have notified the people inside. If they saw no sign of the convoy's arrival for too long, it would raise suspicions.
The operation had to commence immediately.
Without any formal order to act, Song Heping's command to everyone was, the sound of gunfire meant the beginning of the operation.
The gunfire was the command.
Song Heping raised his MK18 assault rifle, without the silencer, and fired a burst at the sentry guarding the entrance of the headquarters' courtyard.
Pop-pop—
At the sound of his gunfire, a cascade of gunfire erupted from all around the town, in every direction.
It was as if it were New Year's Eve in his childhood, when at the stroke of midnight, every household, as if by silent agreement, set off firecrackers all together.
The leaders in the courtyard who were talking were instantly bewildered by the gunfire.
Gunfire?
Just outside the courtyard gate?
In less than three seconds of hesitation, the main leader swiftly removed his rifle from his shoulder, held it in his hands, and reached to toggle the safety off.
The subordinate leader was doing the same.
But Song Heping was faster, having already reached the courtyard entrance, and riddled the two men with bullets.
Pop-pop-pop—
Pop-pop-pop—
At that moment, Samir also rushed into the courtyard.
"You take the left, I'll take the right!"
Song Heping directly took out a hand grenade, rushed to the door of the building on the right, pulled the pin, and threw it inside the house.
After throwing one, he quickly threw another.
Just as the second one was thrown inside, an armed fighter, not properly dressed, rushed out of the house.
Song Heping didn't have time to use his rifle, so he pulled out his handgun and fired a shot into the man's temple.
The armed fighter hadn't even fully grasped what was happening before he fell at the entrance.
Armed fighters were pouring out where Samir was as well.
He was following Song Heping's example, preparing to throw a second grenade.
Before it could be thrown, people had already emerged.
Luckily, he had another Illigo Mercenary by his side, holding an AKM, guarding the place.
The mercenary sprayed bullets at the people coming out, turning the two who had rushed out into sieves.
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Hand grenades exploded continuously in the room.
Things heated up quickly.
Screams filled the room.
Then, armed militants, faces covered with dust and hair disheveled, stumbled out, staggering and tumbling.
Most of these people were so dazed by the blasts that Song Heping didn't hesitate, raising his MK18 assault rifle to deliver bursts of gunfire to these confused individuals.
Basically, each one that came out died.
Soon, the doorway was piled with bodies.
Song Heping threw another hand grenade into the room.
After the explosion, he quickly changed magazines and charged in with his rifle ready.
The house was thick with the smell of blood, and blood was everywhere on the walls and floor.
There were still many bodies lying in disarray.
A few armed militants were writhing on the ground, howling in pain.
Song Heping made sure to fire two more shots whenever he saw a body.
Soon, one magazine was empty. He swiftly replaced it with another and continued firing.
Reports of the other teams' combat situations gradually came through the headset channel.
Most teams were successful.
But there were injuries.
Song Heping listened for a moment. Teams 5 and 6 were facing resistance and hadn't managed to enter the buildings to throw grenades before being pinned down outside the courtyard.
"Team 5 is facing resistance. We're stuck outside the courtyard; their firepower is fierce..."
"Team 6 is facing resistance. We have injuries... requesting support!"
Song Heping rushed out of the courtyard and said to Samir, "Clear it up, then go support whoever needs it!"
Having said that, he jumped onto the courtyard wall, then flipped onto the rooftop, took a running start and leaped across, landing on the rooftop of another bungalow, soon disappearing into the night.
His agility left Samir, standing in the courtyard, dumbfounded.
The buildings here were close together, a dense array.
Song Heping moved from rooftop to rooftop and quickly arrived at the building next to where Team 5 was located.
An armed militant was climbing up to the rooftop from the building below and was hit by Song Heping with a burst of gunfire, falling straight down into the courtyard.
The other militants in the courtyard, who were firing at two Illigo mercenaries outside the gate, spotted Song Heping and turned their guns to sweep fire at him.
Song Heping quickly lay down, took out a hand grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it into the opposite courtyard.
Seeing the grenade fall from the sky, the militants in the courtyard scrambled, some running, some retreating.
Boom—
The shrapnel brought down several of them.
Seizing the opportunity of the explosion, Song Heping immediately got up, knelt, and swept fire on the enemies in the courtyard.
In the courtyard overseen by Team 5, the militants' defense was disrupted.
They were in complete disarray, and as the pressure on the two Illigo mercenaries at the gate lessened, they took advantage of the explosion and began firing into the courtyard from behind the gate corner, throwing grenades inside.
Soon, all enemies in sight in the courtyard were down and not getting up.
"Can you handle things here!?"
Song Heping shouted.
The two subordinates looked at the situation in the courtyard, nodded, and answered, "Boss, we can handle it!"
Song Heping jumped down from the house and ran towards Team 6.
Just as he burst out of two alleyways, a dark shadow suddenly flashed from the right.
The two collided head-on, completely unprepared.
Song Heping's peripheral vision caught the other person, who turned out to be an armed militant.
The distance was too close, there was no time to raise the rifle.
Song Heping's muscle memory kicked in, subconsciously drawing his dagger and driving it straight into the belly of his opponent.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Blood splattered.
Blood bubbled from the corners of the other's mouth.
Song Heping took the gun away from him, threw it aside, sheathed his knife, raised his rifle, and continued toward his target.
Anything that stood in his way had to die!