"You're celebrating too early..."
Song Heping opened his eyes and gaze sharply at the leader of the armed group.
Song Heping's glare froze Morins' smile on the spot, forcing a strained grin as he asked, "Why are you staring at me like that? Didn't we just win a battle? It was a great start!"
"Humph!"
Song Heping snorted coldly, "It's only you who would get excited over this. Do you call this a victory? I had Anthony set up twenty Arrow-2M units for an ambush, and after firing ten, only eight helicopters were brought down. With such a short distance, letting two escape shows just how poorly your men train…"
Morins said, "Those man-portable air defense systems were the ones you sold us, and we haven't had them for long. It's normal that the training isn't sufficient, and that's what's bothering you?"
Song Heping replied, "In the future, you need to send more people to train with me. Otherwise, with ELN's current combat effectiveness, let alone becoming the largest armed organization in Colombia, maintaining your third-place position would be difficult."
Morins responded, "Okay, it's just about sending more people for training, right? Once we win this war, I will send people every year for you to train properly."
Hearing this, Song Heping didn't want to dwell on the matter further.
After all, that was business for the future, which wouldn't lack opportunities if they win big now.
What was urgent, however, was the current state of the conflict.
So, he asked Morins again, "I told you not to celebrate too soon not just because two helicopters got away. The war has just started. Don't think that just because we've taken out an AGLAN squadron, we have already secured victory. You are facing superior forces from AUC on both north and south flanks, and the central Tame Region with only two battalions, is almost impossible to hold against the government and Special Forces' attacks."
Morins said, "I can hold off AUC on both ends for a month. They won't have the upper hand. If necessary, according to your tactical plan, we can draw them into the mountains for a guerrilla warfare. Large troops can't deploy effectively in the mountains."
Song Heping took a sip of his coffee, his expression solemn, "That's the theory, but it's predicated on successfully pushing back the government army. If the government army doesn't retreat, they can use the Air Force to help AUC fighters attack you. Then, you will really be in for a rough time. And if Anthony in the central Tame Region gets overrun by the government army's superior forces and your defenses are split in two, then you can start thinking about escaping."
Morins fell silent.
Song Heping's blunt reality check had extinguished his hubristic fire completely.
"Where are your informants and intelligence? Why haven't there been any updates?"
"I'll hurry them!"
Morins immediately went to contact his insiders.
This was the most critical point in the entire war.
Only by obtaining evidence of the US Army, Colombian Government Army, and AUC fighters colluding could Song Heping detonate the trap he had set and force the government army to retreat through American media pressure.
Otherwise, there was no point in fighting this war; it was a certain loss.
While Morins was busy contacting his informants for intelligence, the battle at Camp G1 had already concluded.
Anthony returned to the camp with over forty men.
The battle ended quickly.
It didn't need much fighting, all thanks to shelling.
Twenty mortars bombarded a 20,000-square-meter camp with three rounds of rapid-fire, leaving hardly anyone left breathing in the camp.
When ELN's armed soldiers re-entered Camp G1, they encountered little resistance.
The camp area was full of craters, densely packed, with hardly any good ground left.
Anthony quickly found the AGLAN team leader next to the ruins of a wooden house.
He was still alive, but not for long.
His body was riddled with shrapnel wounds, his right hand blown off, his feet full of bullet holes, and a shrapnel piece still stuck in his cheek, the bloody sight evoking pity.
Seeing Anthony approaching with his men, he struggled, trying to crawl and reach the assault rifle that had fallen two meters away.
Just a slight movement and intense pain shot through his limbs, and he couldn't help but moan deeply.
"Captain, don't struggle in vain."
Anthony walked over, picked up the adversary's rifle, and slung it over his shoulder.
Only then did the AGLAN team leader remember to check for his pistol, but when he reached for it, he found it missing, blown off in the explosion and the holster nearly torn away.
"Hahaha…"
He laughed despairingly, leaning against the only bit of wall left, about a meter high. As he laughed, blood gushed out.
Then a second, and a third mouthful of blood…
Anthony watched the opponent in front of him.
The AGLAN Special Forces were the highest-skilled unit in jungle warfare within the government army.
So, ELN had suffered quite a few losses from them.
When the Army attacked ELN arms, the damage wasn't so great; usually, the armed men would retreat into the mountains, and the Army would not dare to pursue.
But AGLAN was different—they were jungle warfare experts, and several camps had been attacked and chased by AGLAN even deep into the mountains.
In two years, three camps had been wiped out by AGLAN.
This grievance, this anger, Anthony had fully settled and expressed today.
"Kill me…"
The captain looked disdainfully at Anthony, his gaze provoking.
He knew he was not going to live.