OR1-EP2: Battle of Rhodesia (12)

Compared with the nomadic tribes active in Asia, the activities of African indigenous tribes are greatly restricted. The harsh natural environment makes their migration difficult. Every time they decide to move into the unknown world is a gamble. Today, the living space of the indigenous people has been compressed to the limit by the EU colonists who invaded Africa. They can only resign to their fate in the reserved area, and all the resistance activities have ended in failure. The few indigenous people who hoped to change their own destiny chose to compromise. They gradually integrated into the EU's colonial society and became a miserable group living at the bottom of view. After the scope of the reservation was determined, these tribes completely lost the opportunity to move, and the natives who belonged to the above-mentioned tribes lived here for generations, and they were used to everything in the reservation. For McNeil or other task force members who want to survive, the only way for them is to completely destroy the living environment of the natives and make it a scorched earth. When McNeil broke the news to the others, no one objected, and everyone realized that they had to do whatever it took to survive.

"It's not too late, we should start acting immediately." Someone suggested that the final plan to break the chain should be started immediately, "Since we have been driven to a dead end, only by placing the natives in the same desperate situation as us can we have a chance to escape. Fuck the bounty, I prefer to leave this haunted place alive."

David Roberts also suggested moving quickly, but McNeil decided to wait, given the uncertainty surrounding Carlo Fare's situation. That afternoon, the dusty Italian young man returned to the underground facility and truthfully reported what he had seen and heard to McNeil. As expected by McNeil, Colonel Carl Dustman only promised to continue to shrink the encircling net and provide enough supplies after hearing the report, and there was no extra guarantee. When Carlo Fare heard that the rest of the team had been killed, the great frustration and despair left the young man slumped in the corner.

"...Actually, the situation is not so pessimistic, at least the Defense Force is still on our side." David Roberts comforted McNeil tentatively, "Besides, we had expected them to have no substance support."

"I know, but it's more frustrating to hear this kind of nonsense in person." McNeil looked at the map listlessly, "In short, we can't count on allies to provide reinforcements, we'll do the rest ourselves. Now, I need everyone to split into two teams, each on two different missions."

At the heart of the whole plan is to passively involve the Defense Force in the fight, so extending the damage done by the plan would be McNeil's sole purpose. The purpose of the first unit was to poison the drinking water and then proceed downstream along the creek. Considering that the natives or the Britannia's behind the natives may have suspected that McNeil had manipulated the river, the resistance encountered by the first team will be quite fierce, and the natives may send a large number of people to control the water source. The second unit is tasked with setting fires near the site of the Aboriginal tribe to create a massive fire that would ideally develop into a raging fire that spreads across the reservation, where the Aboriginal will lose their shelter. If the natives do not want to stay in place and be burned alive, they will inevitably choose to break through. At this time, they will collide with the defense force head-on, and the army that has been standing by will play the role of confronting the natives.

However, the biggest problem facing the plan is that there are too few soldiers. There were less than ten people left around McNeil, and the numbers of the two detachments were probably not comparable to that of the indigenous patrols. As long as there was a fierce battle, the consequences would be unfavorable for them. Even if they decide to do their best to avoid a pointless fight, the pursuit of the enemy will force them to turn their heads and fight the enemy desperately.

An unprecedentedly solemn expression appeared on everyone's face. Whether it is for money or fame, they must live, even if they are to face the censure of the defense force, it is better than to die here silently. Michael McNeil pointed to several roads leading to the river and said to his teammates:

"The first team needs two of you. As long as they can successfully poison the water, they can complete the task. After that, they can choose to detour to the scheduled meeting point in the downstream area, and they don't have to go along the river." Speaking of which, he looked at the uneasy David Roberts side by side, "The tragedy that happened two days ago reminded us that the captain and vice-captain should not be in the same place, otherwise the others will be completely out of command. The vice-captain Roberts is in charge of the second team ... Those who is willing to go with me and poison the water in the upper reaches of the river, please sign up now."

Carlo Fare volunteered himself, hoping to assist McNeil in this task. Others went all over the place with David Roberts to fan the flames and make sure things got out of hand. Although everyone did not get enough rest, McNeil still ordered to go immediately, he did not want to wait until the natives completely surrounded the place before he took action. In fact, since the natives were able to set up ambushes here before, the natives must have continued to monitor the nearby areas in the past few days, and maybe everyone's every move was noticed by the natives.

"They are too reckless." David Roberts is still criticizing the dead team members, "When the situation is unclear, they should have exercised restraint, at least until we returned. Some kind of excitement courage them to attack the ambush set by the enemy recklessly, not only losing their own life, but also putting everyone in danger. If they have any results, they probably wiped out far more indigenous than their number."

"We're not them, and we can't speculate what happened to them." McNeil walked out of the underground facility and turned back to Roberts, who was still standing on the stairs, "but, I think one thing is certain: they will not do all of this just to block our way. In any case, they made what they thought was the most appropriate plan from the perspective of the time. No one can never make mistakes, let alone a group of ordinary people who are locked in underground facilities and wait."

The two groups separated at the entrance and drove towards their respective destinations. McNeil and Carlo Fara headed to the creek along the original route, intending to poison the location where they were least noticed by the enemy. In fact, McNeil himself did not know whether it was useful or not. The poison in his hand was found from the back molars of some dead teammates-these mercenaries believed that once they were caught, they had to choose to take poison to kill themselves before being tortured and then executed. Although these highly toxic substances are easy enough to kill a person, the effects of dropping them into the river are yet to be studied, and perhaps the river will not turn into a highly toxic river in a short period of time as McNeil had envisioned.

The two marched on the wilderness, and night was about to fall. McNeil guessed that the natives might attack the underground facility in the middle of the night, but that was no longer important. The battle to decide their fate will take place tonight, and the Britannians who are behind their plans have so far not been seen. If they lose, they just lose all, and McNeil doesn't want to make excuses for himself. He just regrets it. If they get the full support of the Defense Forces and can mobilize troops and materials at will, the losers will definitely be these natives who lack basic fighting qualities. However, regret is useless. No one can achieve ideal conditions before every battle. The cases of shocking reversals in the history of war sometimes happen when the victorious side has insufficient advantages, which makes them enough to be recorded in history.

"Captain-"

"Stop talking nonsense, if you have anything you want to say, just say it when we finish it." McNeil stopped Carlo Fara's question in time, "Boy, you still have a long time to come, no one should lose their lives here. "

McNeil guessed that the natives must have prepared for defense, and as he approached the river, he vaguely saw firelight and shaking figures. The two hid in the bushes and saw several natives patrolling along the low river bank. From time to time the natives said something they couldn't understand in a complaining tone. There are no other enemies around, as long as they cooperate properly, they have a chance to take out these guards.

When the natives turned their backs to each other, McNeil stood up from the bushes on the side and shot at the natives on both sides with Carlo Fara. The natives were caught off guard by a sudden attack, and even two people were killed. Before the remaining two natives could raise their guns, McNeil had broken their heads one by one. After eliminating the guards, McNeil took the lead out of the bushes and asked Carlo Fara to drag the native's body away with him before deciding to sprinkle the poison into the water.

After cleaning up the scene, the two sat beside the river bank to rest. There was no fire in the distance, and it seemed that the second unit under the command of David Roberts had not yet started its mission, or they had encountered unexpected trouble. No matter what the situation is, McNeil must leave here and go to the designated location to wait for his teammates. He took out his lighter, ready to light the debris piled up beside the bushes.

"We need to attract their attention away from the deputy captain now. The enemy will the fire on the side of the river. Even if they don't care, they must send people to inspect. Maybe those Britannians will also come here." McNeil explained, "Then we retreat downstream together, and we should meet the army."

McNeil was about to set fire, and an inexplicable intuition prompted him to immediately roll over and roll into the bushes. There was a gunshot in the ear, a big tree was hit, and the bark was shattered. The gunfire lasted for about half a minute, and another group of people came out from the other side of the bushes, and McNeil was able to get a glimpse of their whole picture through the moonlight.

These men are true professional soldiers, unlike the generally malnourished natives, whose body size speaks for itself. The leading Britannian soldier wore a green short-sleeved shirt and looked at the surrounding environment. Apparently, what they were looking for was McNeil and Carlo Fara, who tried to set fire to the place after poisoning. McNeil doesn't know how this action plan was revealed. If it was a coincidence, it's okay to say that the enemy does monitor their every move all the time, while he hasn't caught the monitor after so long.

"After the battle, run away while they don't notice you." McNeil whispered to Carlo Fara, who was hiding beside him, "Then tell Deputy Captain Roberts that our work here went well. Let them evacuate immediately and leave me alone."

The Britannians may be clumsy, or they may not have accurately saw that two people were active here. The bodies of the nearby guards were dragged away, and Britannians did not know that there was a battle here. However, the sound of gunshots could not be faked, and it was precisely when they heard the sound of gunfire that they came to find out the truth.

"Captain Darlton, these goddamn natives have gone somewhere, and they left their posts without permission," a Britannian soldier said angrily. "It's disgusting to work with them, these incomplete animals don't deserve our kindness. If they are not used against the EU, His Majesty will destroy them first."

The officer known as Darlton glanced at his subordinates majestically, and said, "These natives have many problems, but they may have been attacked just now, and the enemy moved too fast. The battle was over by the time we got here. "

McNeil doesn't care what these Britannians are talking about, he just needs a chance to attack. The Britannian soldiers searched in the direction of their hiding, and they were about to come to McNeil. When a soldier's boots came into view, McNeil accurately plunged the dagger into the man's calf and jumped up, knocking the soldier to the ground. The sudden appearance of the enemy terrified the Britannians in the rear, and they prepared to shoot in a conditioned reflex, but the enemy and their companions were entangled, and no one could guarantee that they would not accidentally injure their comrades. Just as everyone hesitated, they saw a black figure emerge from the bushes next to it, and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Captain Darlton told his comrades to chase the fleeing enemy, and he and two other soldiers stayed here to await the outcome of the battle.

After a few seconds, the fight was over. McNeil pushed the corpse of the Britannian soldier away and looked at Darlton, who stood by, suspiciously.

"You just watched your comrade-in-arms get slaughtered by me?"

"The weak are not qualified to live in Britannia," Darlton said lightly. "You are Britannian, right? I don't know why you serve the EU; you should return to your true homeland."

"It turns out that you think that the loss of losing a useless companion is far less than the gain of gaining a capable thug." McNeil sneered and wiped the blood from the dagger, "Fuck the Empire or emperor, I have no intention of facing the emperor or the king humbly."

TBC

Chapter Notes:

Having thus far failed to find valid evidence of the EU being an ad hoc union, I would still cast it as a modern state with federalism.

Andreas Darlton was probably a captain(OR-2) in the Imperial Britannian Air Force at this time, his official rank may be written as Flight Lieutenant.