Chapter Twenty-Six: Search

  The engine rumbled, inside the sweltering armored vehicle, some robust men with camouflage cream on their faces sat spiritedly, listening to their superior's speech.

  "Fighting in the marsh, our greatest enemy is not the Iranians, but the natural environment. Here, somewhere there is miasma, somewhere there are deep mud pits, and somewhere crawling with unknown poisonous insects. We must be the masters of nature here, remember all kinds of threats at all times, and take accurate countermeasures." Zhang Feng said to his soldiers.

  This improved Type 63 armored car has five road wheels on each side, lengthening the vehicle to accommodate 14 troops and two crewmen.

  Zhang Feng did not use additional drivers and vehicle commanders, as these people were all from the mechanized infantry, almost everyone could drive this armored vehicle proficiently, leaving space for carrying extra fuel and their equipment.

  Zhang Feng's plan was to crisscross the swamp for three days, searching for signs of the Iranians. He would split the three vehicles apart, spacing them about ten kilometers apart, thus expanding their search area and allowing them to provide mutual support in case of an emergency.

  From their base they headed north and then east, combing these marshes like a fine-toothed comb, hoping to find some sign of the Iranians.

  On the turret, a soldier was vigilantly looking around, whether to discover the enemy first or be discovered by the enemy first, it all depends on his speed.

  However, this armored vehicle had been camouflaged by Zhang Feng, with withered vines wrapped all around it. Except for the rear door and the front of the driver's cabin, which were left exposed, from a distance, it was already indistinguishable from the marshy terrain.

  On this battlefield where infrared observation devices were still scarce, such camouflage was sufficient, and for the Gulf War in the 1990s, it was as good as no camouflage at all.

  The Type 63 armored car showed good terrain adaptability, and it was also easy to traverse marshy areas except for places with puddles on the surface.

  Suddenly, Sergeant Vilatte on the turret tapped on the armor of the upper part of the armored vehicle, and a clear voice came over.

  "Pull over and turn off the engine." Zhang Feng ordered immediately.

  The huge roar suddenly disappeared, and the thick smoke at the tail also stopped appearing. The steel monster that was still walking around just now suddenly became harmless like a sheep, quietly lying down.

  At the same time, the rear door of the armored vehicle opened, and the special forces members emerged from the rear door in a pre-trained manner, surrounding the armored vehicle and forming a defensive formation by taking advantage of the camouflage provided by the surrounding terrain.

  "Hum, hum." The sky reverberated with the roar of a helicopter.

  Looking up, it was still an Iranian Cobra helicopter, with the rocket pods under its short wings appearing so clear.

  Infantry against helicopters is simply invincible, but now it's different because two people in Zhang Feng's team use portable anti-aircraft missiles.

  Hades glanced at Zhang Feng, and Zhang Feng made a gesture to him.

  Hades nodded and raised the SA-7 anti-aircraft missile.

  The other's helicopter, so far, has not found itself, but in order to be prepared for any eventuality, as soon as the other discovers itself, its own missile will have sentenced it to death before its rocket is launched.

  Even an old RPG-7 rocket launcher can threaten an armed helicopter, striking the thin rotor blades of a helicopter. A skilled shooter can do it easily, not to mention precision-guided anti-aircraft missiles.

  A helicopter flies by from the left, not far away, without noticing some armored vehicles that have already infiltrated their territory on the ground.

  It's a close call, if discovered by the enemy, even if they managed to take out the enemy's armed helicopter, it would still expose their target. In that case, sneaking up on the enemy's fuel supply depot would turn into a frontal assault, which is practically an impossible task for special forces.

  The strengths of special forces lie in special operations, this level of infiltration is the specialty of special forces, fighting to the death with an enemy several times their own number is already beyond their capabilities, no matter how tough a warrior is, they are still human, not Transformers.

  As the helicopter flew away, Zhang Feng felt relieved and also a little excited. He discovered that the other side had an armed helicopter, which meant that they were not far from the other side's position. Otherwise, why would they be flying around in this worthless swamp?

  "Get on board and move forward, inform the other two armored vehicles to pay attention to anti-aircraft." Zhang Feng said.

  Victory is within sight, they need to be careful and cautious in conducting reconnaissance activities to prevent being discovered by the opponent's armored soldiers, otherwise, a dozen or so shells will come together, and everyone on the vehicle will be annihilated.

  Rasul and Shamsuddin flew in a Cobra helicopter, constantly patrolling at low altitude.

  Since the armored division entered the swampy area, they began patrolling and escorting missions in the air above. They had to ensure the safety of the convoy below while avoiding detection by the Iraqis, so they flew very cautiously without entering within fifty kilometers of the border zone.

  It was originally expected that it would take two or three days to pass through the swamp, but in actual operation, all kinds of unimaginable difficulties were encountered.

  For example, by the second day, all the bundles of reeds had been used up and some more had to be urgently requisitioned from the rear.

  Rajavi's commander was in a hurry, regardless of whether the ground could bear it, and ordered the troops to continue advancing. As a result, in a slippery area, three tanks overturned, completely blocking the road.

  Helpless, they had no choice but to return and proceed from a spare road.

  After eight days, they finally arrived at the final assembly point: a dry land about 50 kilometers from the edge of the swamp, which was previously discovered by a helicopter. The ground was still hard enough to support the weight of tanks, and the area was large enough to park off-road trucks as a temporary fuel supply station. Several tents were set up, and a temporary command center was established.

  Here has become a key protected location.

  Even armed helicopters were dispatched to patrol around.

  Rasul passed over what looked like a normal marshland, and suddenly flashed a thread of doubt.

  In a flash of flying, he seemed to see a red light flashing on the ground. Just once, it disappeared again.

  Red light, what is that? Maybe it's the reflection of something inconspicuous in the mud, maybe it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, or maybe it's the sniper rifle's scope!

  "Shamsuddin, let's fly over the area again and take a closer look," Rasul said.

  "Very well, Captain," Shamustin replied.

  Rasul pressed the left pedal of the directional rudder with his left foot, and at the same time pushed the control stick in his hand to the left. The helicopter roared and drew a beautiful arc, flying back to the area it had just repeated.

  Even if there are snipers on the ground and even anti-aircraft missiles, he still has to fly again, it's his responsibility!

  The huge rotor of the Cobra helicopter stirred up the air, making a loud "whooshing" sound. Shamstein sat in the front row's low seat, carefully observing the situation below through the bulletproof glass.

  The swamp is as calm as before, yet seemingly unfathomable in depth. Nothing out of the ordinary has been found, no abnormalities have been discovered.

  "Captain, you didn't just see things, did you?" Shamsutdin said.

  Damn Iranian helicopter. Zhang Feng really wanted to order it shot down, but he suppressed his emotions and told himself that it would pass, it would pass.

  At this time, if you shoot down a helicopter, all your previous efforts will be in vain.

  The armored vehicle had just gone two miles when it was chased again by the other side's helicopter. Zhang Feng had no choice but to order the armored vehicle to hide in the bushes again, blending in with the natural camouflage. He dispersed his team members and prepared for the worst.

  At last, Rasul pulled the helicopter up high and began heading back.

  Zhang Feng let out a sigh of relief.

  "Advance further." Zhang Feng commanded.

  PS: Thanks for the reward from Faxis! This is the first reward for this book, thank you very much. I'm really sorry that three updates are really impossible to be written out because I have to go to work at night. I usually write in the early morning, noon and evening. There are only two updates today, thanks for your support.