The massive rubble heap formed by the collapse soared several meters high, completely blocking the street. Its width and volume far exceeded the previous stone wall, thoroughly eliminating the possibility of the enemy's rapid advancement from this direction.
The enormous noise from the explosion and collapse even caused a brief pause in the intense crossfire.
The attacking "Victory Front" soldiers were stunned by the horrific scene, watching in terror at the completely blocked road and the buried tanks, their momentum halted.
"Beautifully done!!!"
The Chef excitedly slammed a fist on the cover.
"Song! You're simply a genius!"
"I'm no genius at all."
Song Heping also let out a long breath, though his expression remained solemn: "It's not over yet; the real trouble begins now."
After speaking, he glanced at his watch, noting there were a few hours left.
They had only bought a bit of precious time for the command center.
The brutal battle was far from over.
The coming hour and a bit would be the decisive moment of life and death.
He picked up the radio to report to the command post: "Hive, crisis at third entrance temporarily resolved, passage blocked. However, the enemy may strengthen the attack from other directions; please closely monitor other defense lines and increase defensive efforts..."
His words were interrupted as the denser gunfire and explosions washed over from other directions of the city, resounding like a tsunami.
The night remained long.
Purgatory was just beginning to show its true cruelty.
As Song Heping left the command post, personally fighting on the front lines, beyond the despair and hope intertwined focus of Halaib, two deadly daggers destined to decide the final fate were quietly cutting through the darkness, revealing their sharp blades.
Eastern line, east of Dahuk Town.
This was an abandoned urban area turned to ruins in past conflicts.
The twisted shadows cast by crumbling walls in the bleak moonlight were sinisterly distorted, and the air was filled with dust, burnt matter, and a faint hint of corpse stench.
This was a corner forgotten by war and became a supply transit point in the "1515" Armed Organization's eastern defense system.
At five in the morning, the last darkness before dawn yet to retreat, a group of Hunters more secretive than shadows were quietly moving.
Jiang Feng, acting as the operation's commander, was positioned relatively towards the back of the team, his gaze continuously scanning the tactical tablet's electronic map and the infrared images relayed by the Persia drone.
The drone, codenamed "Migratory Bird," hovered like a ghost at high altitude, clearly marking the subtle changes in Dahuk Town's east-side defense deployment, even capturing the patrol teams' movement patterns.
"Attention all personnel, in 300 meters ahead, entering enemy perimeter alert zone. Maintain absolute silence, proceed along the planned route, and advance to the attack position separately."
Jiang Feng's voice transmitted through the encrypted individual communication system crisply to each commander's ears.
Instantly, the team altered their approach, shifting from low-profile stealth to a more dispersed tactical formation, each person's steps as light as the feline, probing with their toes before gently placing their feet down on the rubble.
All equipment was meticulously fixed to prevent any collision sounds.
Behind a dune on the town's west side, Samir signaled his men with his arms raised, calmly making a few hand gestures: "Two o'clock direction ahead, rooftop of the abandoned two-story building, one sentry. Eleven o'clock direction, collapsed shop entrance, one hidden post. Dozing off."
Two members responsible for clearing obstacles immediately crouched slightly like Cheetahs. They exchanged a glance, nodding in tacit agreement.
One drew a specially poisoned dagger from the scabbard on his leg, while the other took out a segment of extremely thin yet exceptionally sturdy piano wire, wrapped with non-slip cloth strips at both ends.
They did not directly charge forward but utilized the brief noise of wind stirring up dust, along with the faint generator rumble from the town direction as cover, silently approaching from different paths.
The target was the sentry on the rooftop.
One team member effortlessly climbed the adjacent building's ruins like a gecko using pipes and the wall's ridges, moving so gently not a speck of dust fell.
He lay in wait on the rooftop's edge, patiently.
The other team member hid in the building's shadow below.
The timing was right!
The member downstairs lightly clicked his tongue, making an almost imperceptible "tick" sound.
The rooftop sentry seemed startled by the slight noise, sleepily leaning out to look down.
At the moment he leaned out, the rooftop team member, like a Grim Reaper in avatar, leaped like a leopard to the opposite rooftop.
The 1515 sentry seemed to hear something, quickly turning around...
But everything was too late.
A black shadow was already behind him, the poisoned dagger slicing across his neck precisely and fiercely, while the other hand firmly covered his mouth and nose, pulling hard backward!
The sentry, caught off guard, fell straight back and was pinned down.
The neurotoxin smeared on the blade quickly took effect, and the sentry's body merely twitched violently twice before going completely limp.
Almost simultaneously, the hidden sentry leaning against the shop doorframe, who seemed to hear the faint rooftop commotion, involuntarily lifted his head.
But what he saw was just a blur of shadow coming toward him.
Before he could utter a sound, the team member hidden below had already darted forward like lightning.