Middle Eastern tyrants

Chapter 22 The Defense of Nukoshir (Part 5)
As soon as Lu Lin opened the door, he found Major Bandar standing there like a wall.

"What are you doing?" he asked, puzzled.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Major Bandar's voice boomed like thunder: "Why didn't you assign any missions to the Sultan Armored Company?"

Lu Lin frowned and said, "Since I haven't assigned you any tasks, you should calm down and prepare for war. Keep your shells and cannons clean. There will always be a time when you need to take action."

The Zion Front has suddenly suspended its artillery fire; it is now preparing to scout the situation.

Major Bandar, however, persisted, blocking his path with his body and loudly demanding, "Do you have a personal problem with me? If I've done anything wrong, I apologize!"

What's going on all of a sudden?
Lu Lin, growing impatient with him, snapped, "Speak your mind, or shut up!"

Major Bandar said, “Lieutenant Colonel, I admit that I had some opinions about you when I first arrived at the outpost. I thought you were able to become the commander because of His Highness the Prince, but I have realized that I was very wrong these past two days!”

Whether it's your strategic approach or your outstanding artillery command skills, if I were to still treat you like a prince pampered in a honey pot, I'd deserve to be sweeping the stables every day!

Lu Lin glanced at the burly man, who was comparable to a bear, with some surprise. He hadn't expected the other party to be so humble.

Addressing the psychological issues of subordinates is also the commander's responsibility. He sighed and patiently explained:

"If you think I would blame you for such a small thing, then you really don't understand me. Major Bandar, I have never had any prejudice against you."

Now that you understand my battle strategy, you should be aware of the consequences if I send you to fight the chieftain of Zion in a real battle!

"Our morale hasn't collapsed yet, all thanks to the orderly execution of the battle plan. But if you lose, the loss won't just be a tank company; our morale will be the first to crumble!"

He paused for a moment: "Besides, aren't the infantry company on standby just like you?"

Major Bandar's lips moved, and he gritted his teeth as he said, "But some people don't listen to your reasoning!"
During dinner tonight, I overheard some scouts in the camp saying, "We might as well rename our battalion to artillery. The tanks are just for show anyway; it doesn't matter whether they're operational or not!" Tell me, who could stand that?

Major Bandar said urgently, "Lieutenant Colonel, you can't just let the artillery regiment and the anti-aircraft company show their faces!"

"Who says tanks are just for show!"

Looking at Major Bandar's furry face, which was contorted with anger from feeling wronged, Lu Lin said sternly, "You are also an experienced veteran! In the entire battalion, you and Ahmed are the ones I trust the most in battle."

"But can't you learn from others and keep your temper in check? Don't come to me to complain all the time!"

Lu Lin reasoned with him: "You know in your heart that you need to use different tactics to deal with different enemies. We use anti-aircraft guns to shoot down aircraft, heavy artillery to shoot down armored formations, and it's only when we're fighting infantry that it's your turn to step in!"

His words were reasonable and well-founded, and Major Bandar's anger subsided considerably.

The burly man was about to say something when Lu Lin waved his hand to interrupt him: "Alright, I have an important task for you to complete later!"

After giving Major Bandar a pep talk, Lu Lin returned to the command room. Khalid looked at his dark circles and said, "Amir, you'd better take a nap. The Zionians shouldn't be shelling tonight."

"I'm in great spirits," Lu Lin called out to the guard. "Give me a cup of coffee!"

A rumble of wheels sounded, and Yehena pushed in a coffee cart. She asked, "Who wants coffee?"

"I want it." Lu Lin waved his hand, a little puzzled, and asked, "Why did you start doing this?"

"I'd like to do something within my ability. Would you like some sugar?"

"No sugar, no milk, thank you," Lu Lin said.

Yehena distributed coffee to the group of advisors. Unlike Lu Lin's composure, the others seemed flattered.

"It's probably because of her identity as a prophet," Lu Lin thought to himself as he sipped his coffee.

"It's getting late, why don't you go back and rest for a bit?"

“I have to stay by your side all the time, that’s my duty.” Yehena shook her head.

Lu Lin looked around and found a cot in the corner, where anyone who was tired or sleepy could lie down and rest for a while.

He noticed that Yehena's eyelids were starting to droop, and this girl probably didn't usually stay up late, so he pointed to the bed and said, "Why don't you make do for now? We still have at least two more days of fighting, and sleep is precious."

Yehena hesitated for a moment, but in the end she obediently nodded without being coy.

“I can sense danger even when I’m asleep,” she told Lu Lin, as if to say that she wouldn’t neglect her duties.

"Well, I see."

Yehena then closed her eyes with relief, and the noise in the staff room subsided considerably.

Soon after, the sound of soft breathing could be heard.

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen you feed the eagles," Khalid said casually.

"I handed it over to the mess hall. The food there is pretty good; they provide meat every meal," Lu Lin made up.

He didn't know why he made it up.

“Really? I think I saw Enzidu in the sky a couple of days ago. I thought you were walking it,” Khalid recalled.

Lu Lin broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this.

As night deepened, Lu Lin felt a wave of weariness wash over him. For the past few days, he had been essentially acting as a human radar, working through the night and getting no more than four hours of sleep in total. He hadn't been able to fall asleep because of the adrenaline rush. The high-intensity reconnaissance mission had even exhausted Enqi, let alone him. Every time Enqi flew back, he was too tired to even peck at Lu Lin's hair, and was so sleepy he was practically swaying from side to side.

Now that he'd recovered, the heavy weariness couldn't be stopped even by coffee. Since Yehena had taken the cot, Lu Lin had no choice but to lie on the table and prepare to take a nap.

He slept very deeply that night.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but in his half-awake state, Lu Lin vaguely heard someone calling his name.

"Amir! Wake up!"

A piercing scream quickly approached, and Lu Lin was jolted awake.

He felt someone tackle him to the ground, and then the world collapsed in a white light.

"boom---!!!"

The deafening roar, accompanied by a massive shockwave, sent Lu Lin flying, his head slamming hard against the metal filing cabinet.

The powerful explosion caused him to lose consciousness instantly, as if ten thousand tons of explosives had detonated above his head. Lu Lin felt his ears ringing and all he could see was a chaotic blur.

For a moment, Lu Lin didn't even know if he was still alive. It was as if his soul had been ripped from his body, and everything around him was drifting away.

A dozen seconds later, he got up.

Were they attacked?

Artillery fire?

Lu Lin was somewhat bewildered. He looked at the spot where he had been sitting, which was now buried under a boulder.

In his arms, Yehena had already fallen into a coma.

If this girl hadn't bumped into him with her body, he would probably be dead from being hit by the stone by now.

The close contact made Lu Lin realize that this girl was more voluptuous than he had imagined, but at the moment he couldn't care less about enjoying the soft and fragrant body in his arms, and he slapped her face hard.

"Well"

Yehena frowned in pain; she appeared to still be alive.

Lu Lin then realized that his hearing had returned, and the wails from the staff room reached his ears, along with the rumble of cannons.

The scene was one of utter devastation; a shell had hit the ventilation shaft, triggering a chain reaction of collapses.

Ahmed, covered in dust and dirt, was kneeling beside a young officer whose face was covered in blood.

Lu Lin didn't recognize who it was at first, but later realized it was Khalid.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Is she still breathing?"

Ahmed checked his carotid artery and said, "Probably, but he's badly injured."

Lu Lin breathed a sigh of relief, but when he saw the half-arm protruding from the ruins, his heart sank.

He only glanced at it and knew that his staff was basically finished.

A large hole appeared in the ceiling of the semi-underground fortifications, while the floors above ground were completely leveled, revealing the sky shrouded in smoke and dust.

The medics arrived at this time, and the engineers who arrived first began to quickly reinforce the crumbling building structure—no one knew whether there were people buried under the ruins.

This power is unlike the caliber of a conventional artillery shell.

"Pull up the people who can move first, then give me a radio!"

Lu Lin's voice was like a reassuring injection, and his needs were quickly met.

"Reconnaissance platoon, from which direction is the air attack coming?!" he asked.

After receiving the answer "west," he quickly looked at the battle map hanging on the wall.

The area twenty kilometers to the west of the Nukoshir outpost is all sand. For armored forces to go in would be tantamount to suicide. Lu Lin had tried it before, and even a 15-ton light tank could hardly make a move.

About ten kilometers further west lies the Red Sea.

Wait a minute, Red Sea?

Lu Lin suddenly realized something. The Zion Navy was small in size, but behind them stood a maritime military superpower—the United Kingdom.

Recalling the battle reports from the previous two days mentioning the withdrawal of Masr's army from the Sinai Peninsula, he realized that the Arab countries had mostly lost control of the Suez Canal.

Therefore, it is highly likely that the United Kingdom's fleet is currently sailing on the Red Sea.

Lu Lin immediately had a bold guess: they were very likely hit on the head by the battleship's cannon.

(End of this chapter)