Chen Ge let out a long breath and slid his handheld tactical radio back into his pouch. Hearing the fierce firefight echoing from the main entrance, he patted Drill Bit on the shoulder.
"I'm going to reinforce the front. Hold this spot, and call if you need anything!"
Drill Bit gave Chen Ge a friendly punch and grinned. "Brother, thanks!"
"Save the verbal thanks. Just introduce me to your sister..."
"No way! Not a chance in hell! Keep dreaming!"
Chen Ge chuckled, brushed the dust from his helmet, and ran toward the main entrance with rifle in hand.
The mercenary beside Drill Bit said, "Sledgehammer seems to have gotten a lot stronger. If he hadn't brought his fire support team to back us up just now, the Ukrainians would have breached the line already."
"Isn't it great that Sledgehammer got stronger? If I make it out of here alive, I'm definitely going to learn Chinese kung fu from him!"
The mercenary stared blankly for a second, giving Drill Bit a bizarre look.
"Sledgehammer charges five thousand dollars for tuition—a whole month's pay. Can you really bring yourself to spend that, Drill Bit?"
Drill Bit pondered for two seconds, shook his head, and replied in all seriousness, "Hmm... no, I can't. Maybe I could consider setting him up with my sister after all. He's good-looking, has a great build, and is so strong. My sister would definitely like him!"
The surrounding mercenaries went dead silent, giving Drill Bit looks of utter contempt. Pimping out his own sister just to save five thousand bucks?
What a wonderful older brother!
Then again, Sledgehammer really was a prime catch...
*Crack, crack, crack!* Bullets snapped through the air and slammed into the concrete pillars, sending stone fragments flying.
Drill Bit raised his rifle and roared, "*Suka blyat!* The Ukrainians are coming again! Hold the line!"
At the main entrance, Rock's Assault Team One had suffered catastrophic casualties. Only ten men were left, and their ammunition was on the verge of running dry.
Wave after wave of Ukrainian troops surged forward with savage firepower—grenade launchers, RPGs, and even two NSV Utyos heavy machine guns they had dragged into position.
The sandbag defenses could not stop 12.7x108mm heavy machine gun rounds. Two mercenaries had already been struck right through the sandbags; massive holes were torn into their chests and waists, splattering their internal organs against the wall behind them.
Rock decisively abandoned the sandbag positions outside, pulling the surviving men back into the building to mount a defense around the large breach blasted in the wall.
Yet the brick walls were no match for the heavy machine gun fire either. Dust and brick shards showered the air as terrifying craters were carved across the masonry.
Though the rounds lost more than half their kinetic energy passing through the bricks, they were still potent enough to pierce ballistic helmets and armor plates. Two more mercenaries were hit and went down.
One was struck in the left eye, the top of his skull torn clean off as warm blood gushed out, soaking the floor crimson.
Hunched low, Chen Ge charged over, nearly slipping when he stepped in the fallen mercenary's brains.
Catching his balance, he leaped into a roll beside Rock, going prone and cautiously peering out.
Rock's face had been slashed open by shrapnel, the flesh torn and bloody, his collar completely soaked in gore.
"Thank God! Sledgehammer, you're finally here! Take the mortar tube and blow these sons of bitches to hell!"
As Rock spoke, he shoved the 60mm mortar tube beside him into Chen Ge's hands.
"Brother, you're disfigured. Your wife isn't going to ditch you over that, is she?"
Chen Ge traded light banter as he took the tube, then turned and yelled, "Big Bear, shells!"
Big Bear sprinted up dragging the ammunition pack frame. Manhole Cover and Lightbulb moved in to assist, while Night Cat took up spotting duties to call out bearings.
The first mortar shell was passed into Chen Ge's hands. He slipped it into the muzzle, blowing apart a heavy machine gun nest set up three hundred meters away inside the ruins of a residential home.
Then came the second round. Both heavy machine guns were knocked out of action. The Ukrainian assault stalled for several seconds before resuming with even greater ferocity, focusing their fire directly on Chen Ge's position and forcing the men to flatten themselves against the floor.
Right then, Ratibor's artillery barrage arrived.
Three 2S7 Pion 203mm self-propelled guns, four 2S19 Msta-S 152mm self-propelled howitzers, and four 2S5 Giatsint-S 152mm self-propelled guns fired their ranging shots. Their targets were Hill 215.7, four mortar positions situated to the east, west, and north of the building, and the water tower atop the high ground.
Chen Ge strained his ears to listen. Lowering the mortar tube, he rolled over, scrambled up, shrank into a corner, and pulled out his tactical radio to report the deviations.
"Two hundred meters left, one hundred meters short..."
Adjusting their firing data to the corrections, the artillery crews sent the second salvo crashing down moments later.
"*Suka blyat!* Still off, not a single hit! Fucking garbage!"
Chen Ge cursed under his breath and continued calling out corrections.
The third salvo finally struck home. Upon receiving Chen Ge's confirmation, the artillery transitioned into fire for effect, hammering the area with seven consecutive barrages.
The destructive power of the 203mm shells was nothing short of terrifying. Just two rounds obliterated the water tower, bringing it down with a thunderous roar and raising a towering plume of dust.
The four mortar positions were sequentially eradicated, the barrels of several 120mm mortars tossed over a hundred meters into the distance. Peregrine's defensive pressure was instantly cut in half.
Rock slapped in his last magazine, glanced back, and asked, "Sledgehammer, were you calling in artillery corrections? How did you know they were off?"
"I'm an artilleryman. I can calculate the impact deviation just with my ears. You got a problem with that?"
Rock's brow furrowed. He raised a hand to touch the wound on his face, eyeing Chen Ge with deep suspicion. It seemed completely absurd, yet he had no way to refute it.
Chen Ge's gunnery skills were beyond question. Aside from mortars, he was proficient with all kinds of towed howitzers. In Syria, he had once used a D-30 122mm towed howitzer to land seven consecutive direct hits on an IS stronghold 14.8 kilometers away.
Still, knowing the exact deviation solely by sound—wasn't that a little over the top?
If he couldn't wrap his head around it, there was no point dwelling on it. Sledgehammer was on their side, and the more capable he was, the safer they all were.
"Uh, no problem at all. Praise the Lord! Sledgehammer, you really are the finest gunner in the world!"
"Thanks for the compliment. Now get moving, all of you! While the Ukrainians have halted their push, go scrounge up some ammo!"
...
Second floor.
Trench and Hailstone watched the Ukrainian mortar positions get wiped out by heavy-caliber artillery. The sudden pleasant surprise caught them completely off guard.
Since when could their artillery shoot with such precision?
Ratibor's voice crackled over the radio: "Peregrine! This is Ratibor. Are the Ukrainian artillery positions destroyed?"
Trench replied, "This is Peregrine. The four mortar positions and the water tower are destroyed. The Aerospace Forces are about to conduct their bombing run. You may launch the assault as planned. Over!"
"Good, very good! Sledgehammer did an outstanding job, make sure you keep him safe! He found the artillery deployment map in the Ukrainian command post and radioed me their exact coordinates. Otherwise, our artillery could never have taken out the Ukrainian batteries so easily. Beyond the positions on the high ground, seven heavy artillery positions within a thirty-kilometer radius have been neutralized!"
Ratibor was clearly in high spirits, his tone laced with satisfaction.
"The ground assault begins in ten minutes. Hold your ground. Out!"
Ratibor signed off. Trench looked up at Hailstone, a gratified smile breaking across his face.
"Sledgehammer really is our lucky star! He's the one who gave Ratibor the coordinates for the Ukrainian artillery!"
Hailstone asked in astonishment, "How did he get those coordinates?"
"Must have been when I sent him down to the underground shelter to support Thunder earlier. The Ukrainian commander probably left their artillery deployment map behind during the retreat, and Sledgehammer spotted it and called it in to Ratibor."
Chapter 19