"Understood." Jiang Feng's expression became completely serious.
"Third." Song Heping pointed to the desolate mountains outside the window, "Where we're going, it's closer to the border, and the situation is even more chaotic. Besides the government army and the Revolutionary Guard, there are various local armed forces, tribal powers, smuggling groups, and possibly remnants of extremist organizations roaming around. Don't trust any strangers who haven't been verified. All handovers and contacts must strictly follow encrypted procedures and passwords."
"Got it, I remember it all." Jiang Feng nodded heavily.
The two then delved into a discussion about the situation in Northwest Illinois.
They talked about potential retaliatory actions by the 1515, the mindset of various wavering tribes, and future training focus areas.
The battered sedan rumbled along the bumpy road, the cabin filled with the smell of tobacco, dust, and the unspoken trust and understanding between two seasoned warriors.
The sky gradually darkened, the highland night came quickly, and the temperature dropped sharply.
Song Heping left the Main Street and drove onto an even more rugged, barely visible dirt and stone road.
The vehicle moved forward amid intense jolts, surrounded by pitch-black mountains, with only the car lights illuminating a small, constantly bouncing patch of road ahead.
After nearly two hours of arduous driving, the vehicle stopped at an inconspicuous entrance to a valley.
Song Heping turned off the engine and extinguished the car lights. Instantly, the entire world fell into silence and pure darkness, with only the wailing sound of the wind sweeping over the rocks on the highland.
Song Heping picked up a dim flashlight and flashed it a few times toward the depths of the valley in a regular pattern.
A few minutes later, a sound similar to wolf howls came from the darkness.
Song Heping responded with a few howls of his own.
"The password is correct. Let's go."
He said in a low voice, restarted the car, and slowly drove into the valley.
After traveling about a kilometer, a few dim lights appeared ahead, and some caves dug into the mountainside and low, camouflaged shelters could be faintly seen.
A few figures in mixed combat uniforms, holding AK-series rifles, appeared in front of the car lights, watching the vehicle cautiously until they recognized Song Heping in the driver's seat. Then they relaxed slightly and signaled the vehicle to pass through.
"We're here. Welcome to our secret camp." Song Heping stopped the car and said to Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng jumped out of the car, took a deep breath of the cold, thin air, stretched his stiff limbs, and quickly surveyed the hidden camp in the dim light.
A moment later, a smile of excitement appeared on his face: "Quite a place, easy to defend and hard to attack, though a bit rough. Where are my students?"
"Most of them are already resting. Tomorrow, they'll be yours."
Song Heping patted him on the shoulder, "First, let me show you your quarters and food."
"Food can wait!" Jiang Feng flung open the car door, dragged out the heavy backpack, "First, take me to see the equipment depot and the training ground!"
Song Heping looked at his eager old friend, and a smile once again appeared on his face.
Getting Jiang Feng, this "devil instructor," here was definitely the best choice.
Clearly, Jiang Feng did not disappoint Song Heping.
For the next two days, Jiang Feng was almost sleeplessly and tirelessly engaged in work.
He held several lengthy meetings with Samir and Naxin, understanding the structure, personnel background, current equipment, and tactical level of this so-called "Eligo Liberation Force" in detail.
"The foundation is even worse than I thought."
After understanding the specifics, Jiang Feng pointed out bluntly, "Individual military skills are inconsistent, many people just know how to shoot. Discipline is loose, coordination is lacking, and tactical awareness is almost zero. Some are better than those in Africa who just hold the trigger down, but only slightly."
Yet, he changed his tone, eyes gleaming, "However, the potential is indeed there! Quite a few have genuinely fought against the 1515 brutes, seen bloodshed, and are not afraid to die. Hatred is the greatest motivator. What they lack is some pounding, something to unite them!"
He immediately embarked on a fierce overhaul of this unit.
The training methods bore his personal style—rough, direct, practical, and all of them summarized from the bloody realities of life-and-death battlefield encounters.
Soon, the entire camp resounded from dawn till dusk with his hoarse shouts, the exhausted gasps and groans of militia members, and the crackling sounds of blank rounds simulating firing.
While training the troops was handed over to Jiang Feng, Song Heping focused his attention on monitoring and analyzing the situation in Illiguo, closely following developments in Northwest Illinois and the entire region through the intelligence channels of Henry and Avanti.
He was waiting for a certain situation to develop.
That situation was recruits.
Currently, what the "Liberation Forces" lack the most is recruits.
Entering Persia, recruitment became the most challenging task.
They certainly couldn't recruit locally in Persia.
So the only recruitment channel remains in Illinois itself."
He had Samir keep in touch with the leaders of all small, scattered militia groups within Illinois, spreading the word, telling all tribal militias that if they were attacked by 1515 Armed and had nowhere to go, they could contact him. He would arrange weapons, funds, and even provide shelter and training, to gather strength in resistance against the establishment of a "Levant" by 1515.
If his guess about the current situation was correct, after the 1515 Armed faced a setback in Tikrit, their main forces would inevitably retreat to the Mosul region in the northwest to fortify.
Since advancing toward Baghdad was not possible, they would inevitably set their sights on expanding their territory northwest and southwest.