King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

The grasslands outside the small town of Kwajok, south of SD.

Joe Ga and his team had left the highway and turned onto the grassland about 5 kilometers from the town, led by Karman through a circuitous half-hour route that brought them to the periphery of the town without anyone noticing.

The small towns in southern SD differ from what most people imagine; as one of the world's poorest regions, aside from a slightly commercial street with some brick buildings, the rest are mainly makeshift houses constructed with corrugated iron and asbestos tiles.

A road cuts through the center of the town, that is, through the main commercial street, and behind the street-side buildings are all the simple structures built by the locals.

The most luxurious building in Kwajok is the residence of a local tribal elder located on the southern edge of the town.

This "most luxurious" structure consists of just a few small buildings surrounded by a 3-meter-high wall.

According to intelligence provided by Dorian, people from the Mori Family were staying in a hotel adjacent to this luxurious construction, where the intelligence broker from England was also waiting for news.

Joe Ga and his team disembarked, crossed a dry riverbed, and walked for a kilometer before, under Karman's guidance, scaling a dirt mound over 30 meters high.

The side of the mound facing the town was a landfill that emitted an awful stench under the sweltering heat.

As Joe Ga climbed the mound, he noticed something was off. Looking through the infrared binoculars, he saw figures on both sides of the road to the south of the town and said incredulously, "The Cardin people in this town have lost it; they're ambushing the Blue Helmets."

Dorian gave a shrug and said, "But they won't succeed because the people at the mines haven't called for help from the Blue Helmets."

As he spoke, Dorian directed Joe Ga to turn his gaze and said, "See that hotel with the sign lit up? That's where the Mori Family members are.

I didn't expect the Cardin people to be up all night; looks like our mission won't be easy since the moment we start attacking, it will alarm those Cardin people.

I really want to take out the Mori Family, but given the current situation, I suggest we maintain surveillance until the Cardin people go home to sleep; they won't last long."

Joe Ga lowered the binoculars, stepped back, and said to Antar, "Deploy the drone for reconnaissance. We don't have much time; we need to eliminate those bastards before dawn tomorrow.

If they discover that they can only reach Dorian, they'll know something has gone wrong at the mines, and they might use those Cardin people to do even more outrageous things."

Antar was thoroughly professional from start to finish. Facing Joe Ga's instructions, she nodded succinctly, found a suitable spot to sit down to release the drone, and signaled Nis to help her record the sniper data.

Position, distance, humidity, wind speed, angle...

Joe Ga might only roughly understand the principles involved, but that didn't prevent him from admiring these two female soldiers.

Dorian, a professional player unlike the country-bumpkin Karman, was more aware of the technical aspects of Antar and Nis's actions.

As a special forces unit specializing in urban combat, their snipers rarely needed to deal with targets over 400 meters away.

Just like most urban SWAT teams, Leather Head's snipers are looking for guys who can hit a head at a distance of 200~300 meters.

At that distance, as long as the gun is accurate enough, the sniper needs to calculate very little, and extensive training ensures they can respond accurately within the city.

The most important quality of an urban sniper is psychological strength, so not every Leather Head sniper has a spotter, and even those who do often serve more as a second pair of eyes, providing observation support for the sniper with a narrow field of view.

Compared to these urban snipers, Nis and Antar—an even more meticulous pair—proved to be even more lethal!

That doesn't even include Antar's drone reconnaissance; this lady's display of professionalism left Dorian, a special forces soldier, somewhat astonished.

Europa might seem particularly advanced but, in reality, the equipment used by most of their militaries is far from the excellence that outsiders imagine—even Leather Head, the only Italian team to speak of, is no exception.

Never mind the rest, the G29 and TAC-50 set up on-site were weapons Leather Head simply didn't possess.

Compared to Leather Head's most powerful Barrett M82, the TAC-50 beats the Barrett both in price and accuracy.

Drones might no longer be anything special nowadays, but Dorian, curious, leaned over to look at Antar's drone and confirmed that Leather Head's drones were surely not as advanced as Antar's.

Having optical and infrared modes is nothing unusual, but the clarity of the image on the tablet display in Antar's hands was too good.

This is the difference between standard issue and enthusiast demand—it's not that military-grade gear isn't good enough, but it is designed for cost-effectiveness.

On today's market, any unrestricted civilian products are sure to be better—and more expensive—than those aimed at military enthusiasts.

Dorian watched with surprise for a while, and when he noticed that Antar's hands were severely disabled, he approached Joe Ga and whispered while helping to set up the 120mm mortar, "Owl's hands... Can she really manage...?"

Joe Ga cast a weird glance at the astonished Dorian and shook his head, saying, "If you're suggesting Owl isn't fit for the battlefield, you might as well save your breath. Chivalry doesn't apply here with us.

"The shot that killed the Sea Hound sniper this morning was Owl's. Do you think she's incapable?"

Dorian paused, then shook his head and said, "But missing a thumb will make her lose the ability to shoot continuously. Although she's just a spotter, once they get into close combat, Owl will become a liability to the team.

"I'm not a male chauvinist, nor do I think women cannot go to war, but I still feel that letting Owl onto the battlefield is an irresponsible move."

Joe Ga always had a positive impression of Dorian, so he said patiently, "Telling me this is pointless; Antar has been proving to me these past few days that she's a qualified spotter, so why would I strip her of her right to work?

"She can shine in her current position!" Enjoy exclusive chapters from m-v l'e|m,p| y- r

As he spoke, Joe Ga patted the mortar in front of him and said irritably, "You don't need to worry about Antar; I have ways to restore her rapid-firing abilities.

"Hurry up and lend a hand. This thing was brought to Africa by the Mori Family, and if needed later, I'll send the shells right back to them."