Culmination

After a 2-hour stop, at the end of a fierce battle, the column finally approached the borders of the city. They stopped one and a half kilometers from the city itself. At the stopping place, they regrouped, distributing roles and responsibilities, which changed due to the huge number of wounded. The main goal of the general plan has not changed – to take the city by storm and hold it for two days. However, it has now undergone major changes. Of the more than 10,000 contingents capable of conducting active combat operations, at least 4,000 fighters remained. Another three thousand had wounds of various degrees of severity but were able to conduct combat operations already in a defensive role. This grouping was divided into a huge number of subgroups with their own equipment and plans. Each of the groups had to slowly capture building after building. Common roles were created to realize their own capabilities. Created about 5 assault groups whose goal was to get to the center as soon as possible and capture the entire street, given the city hall, which was a key point. The remaining groups had distributions in the form of joint participation of both the wounded and the healthy. Those who, for one reason or another, could not walk – controlled the vehicle or wielded weapons that were installed on it.

— So, — Quiet put the card on the barrel, which served as an impromptu table, — we will have to go through the supermarket to exit to this street. Any questions?

— Yes, — Date decided to clarify something, — why are we going through the supermarket when you can walk along this street? The path, of course, will be longer, but safer.

— Look here, — Pie cut in sharply, — Date, see? If something goes wrong, there will be nowhere to retreat. Or take away the wounded...

— That's right, Pie, — said the Pillar suddenly, — only you're both missing something. We have five strike teams. Each will gnaw its own way, most likely without encountering resistance, the city is empty. However, look here, — he pointed at the clothing store, — it leads directly to the city hall, what do we need? That's right, with minimal losses, clean up these streets and move forward sharply like a locomotive. That's why we're storming the supermarket. Even if there is a clash, we will have an advantage.

While they were arguing among themselves, discussing the layout, the others who entered their group simply watched, listening to the argument over tactics and possible situations. However, the argument came to an abrupt end when Quiet began talking about how they would storm the supermarket to make a sudden change of direction, going through the houses. The purpose of the assault on the supermarket was completely unexpected. According to the plan of the Quiet, he, along with Cake and the others, will have to go around the supermarket along the next street, and Pie with the Pillar will have to break through the supermarket. Date, in turn, had to make her way through the residential buildings that were on the other half of the street, to the city hall. The plan was terrible, and everyone understood it, even Quiet himself. But the emphasis in it was not on tactics, but on luck and surprise, given the possible presence of an enemy on the main street, because the mayor's office was akin to an oasis and militants who were known to be hiding their business in such cities could hide there.

∆

While the others, led by Quiet himself, were slowly making their way around the detours, and Date had to go to the city hall through the houses, Pillar and Pie slowly approached the supermarket. Pillar's main role during the entire time he was in the detachment was to actively support the assault groups, as well as engage in engineering work such as creating tripwires and other things. Pie, in turn, played the assault role. Each time he storms, his eyes fill with fire, making him an excellent stormtrooper who makes little to no mistakes. And so, this duo stepped out the doors of the supermarket, where they saw a ruined store in which there was pitch darkness, an ideal place for an ambush.

— Well, damn it, — Pie said, turning on the flashlight that was on the AK-12 handguard, — and this is not taking into account the lack of light. Did a hurricane blow through here? Somewhere a dump, and somewhere empty, utter.

— Don't talk too much, — said Pillar, turning on the headlamp and taking out the G36C from behind, — focus on the task. Even though it's a hole, it's huge. Moreover, it is not known what might be in it. You better tell me what your father did to you? You're only going after me because I look like him. Although I will not hide the fact that I like to look at your angry face, which puffs up like the cheeks of a fish, — the Pillar began to laugh maliciously.

— I don't need it here, you're also that homeless slipper. Yes, you look like my father, so what? The fact that I spoke about him during one argument does not prove anything. And anyway, I don't want to touch on this topic, the old man is already in the grave anyway ... — Pie said the last sentence with a little sadness.

— Okay, let's not touch her. Better answer, why are you so eager to fight that your eyes are burning? Do you get any pleasure from this or something, or just adrenaline hammering in your head? Of course, I don't like you, but I don't want you to die like a rat that fell into a mousetrap due to its own stupidity.

— A little of everything... — Pie wanted to answer, but a sharp noise interrupted their conversation.

Although both were alert, the sound frightened them. It was a mixture of screaming, gunfire and explosions. It lasted only a couple of seconds, but this horror could not be described in words. Although they were hardened by various battles where such sounds were commonplace, this one was something else and repelled them. It can even be said that this sound sounded everywhere in an instant, which made it impossible to track it.

— Fuck… What was that? I'm not filming the paranormal here, — Pie said, dusting himself off.

— Even my hairs stood up here… — Pillar's sentence hadn't even finished before it was abruptly cut off by an earthquake that knocked them off their feet.

They slowly stood up and began to clean their equipment from plaster that had fallen on it. They only wanted to ask each other questions as explosions sounded in the distance, and the ceiling of the supermarket collapsed. Part of the frame of the helicopter fell on him. From the sudden shock wave and strong impacts on various objects, they both fell to the floor. They were in severe pain, and the same plaster burned their lungs. They were slowly recovering their strength, lying on the floor, when suddenly a radio-set sounded a notification that the Russians and Americans clashed in a fierce battle on the territory of the city, and almost all of their equipment was either damaged or destroyed and therefore could not come to them. help in the city. After that, only one order was received - to hold the central street at any cost.

∆

From a sudden explosion that thundered nearby, the load-bearing wall collapsed, and with it the floor of the 4th floor where Date was located. From surprise, she did not have time to grab onto anything and fell through with the floor. But unlike the floor that was stuck on the 3rd floor, it fell into a place where there was a gaping hole leading to the second floor. Falling there, she hit hard on the glass table, crushing it. The shrapnel had torn her equipment, and the wound on her shoulder had reopened, leaving her in great pain. Fortunately, she had a small first aid kit with her and, having taken out a cartridge with morphine, she made herself an injection in the open wound area, after which she disinfected the wound and wrapped it with a bandage. Although it was not the best solution, it was the best way out of the situation.

— Fuck… «What just happened?» I have to slowly get up and look out the window, — after which she, leaning on the battery, got up and decided to look out the window.

The window overlooked the street, which was in the form of a snake and led indirectly to the main one. A real battle unfolded on it. A Russian tank shot down an American attack helicopter, which accidentally fired missiles at a nearby house and then fell on a flat building from the side. The infantry covered the tank, which moved along the street, looking around, looking into every window. Fortunately, Date managed to hide from the gaze of the Russian military. Suddenly, an HMMWV drove out to the rear of the tank, machine-gunning most of the infantry. From the walkie-talkie, she heard the same thing as the Pillar with the Pie. However, if these two were not far from the main street, Date would have to make his way through residential buildings, avoiding the gaze of two opposing armies.

She made a decision to avoid any contact and, putting bandages and a couple more cartridges of morphine into the unloading, she began to slowly climb to the 6th floor, where she could see a hole leading to the open window of the next building. After spending about half an hour, she had a view of a huge number of explosions in various parts of the city, as well as helicopters flying everywhere, either fighting among themselves or inflicting massive missile strikes on the enemy. She, having estimated the distance, decided to bring some long board instead of jumping. After spending another ten minutes, she managed to climb into the next building. Fortunately, such buildings were built in a straight line and went straight to the main street.

∆

At the same time, the assault group under the command of Quiet was slowly approaching the main street. However, even this group did not manage to avoid a fire clash with the regular army of one of the countries. Being in a disadvantageous position for themselves, the Quiet group entered into a shooting battle with the Russians. The Russians had an advantage in both cover and armored vehicles. Fortunately, luck smiled on their face and an American helicopter that appeared unexpectedly for everyone destroyed the entire vehicle with a rocket salvo. At this point, Quiet's group, taking advantage of the commotion, changed position by quickly entering the building. She quickly climbed to the 3rd floor from where she began to fight with the American infantry. Although they believed that luck smiled at them, their thoughts changed dramatically. The windows that overlooked the enemy infantry also overlooked the rest of the street, where two tanks aimed at them. Three shots were fired. The second floor of the building collapsed completely from high-explosive shells filled with large amounts of explosives, and the entire Quiet group fell one floor below. And at that moment the ammunition of one of the tanks exploded, leaving nothing of it.

There was a real mess in the city. The flames that the war brought to these lands spread rapidly, reaping with its heat everything it could reach. If you look at it from the outside, you can be horrified by how many human lives perish during each interval of such a war. And it is not known what they fought for. No one knew this but themselves. However, the only one who benefited most from all this was the Blood Flower, which was saturated with the blood and souls of the fallen warriors and, located under the walls of the city hall near the tree where this flower was planted more than two hundred years ago, now successfully fought the hand of the Reaper, which wanted to devour him. As a result, the Reaper's hand hung over the entire central street, which was in the form of a straight corridor.

At the same time, the remaining mercenaries that were supposed to defend the city streets were heading towards the main street, meeting incredible resistance. Their incentive was what they heard on the radio of one of the dead soldiers. From all over the city, they slowly made their way through the walls created from dead bodies, while at the same time fighting with the regular armies of both sides. Although they did not have the vehicle with which they arrived in Syria, but this did not prevent them from waging war with agility. The tactic consisted in a sharp break into the ranks of the enemy on a vehicle captured earlier, and in a short period of time, kill the maximum number of people, sowing panic in their ranks. The more time passed, the more the war flowed from an active, more like a massacre, phase to a partisan phase in which, practically, everyone began to hide inside various buildings. As a result, the mercenaries had to move towards the main street through the city buildings with unprecedented difficulty. Although their progress regarding promotion was relatively zero. The only ones who had even the slightest advantage were the group of Quiet, Pie and Pillar, as well as Date, who had already crept quite close to the main street. She only had to overcome two buildings. It can be said that this was the decisive moment in the battle for Lastroke. Already by this moment, absolutely everyone knew why the war was being waged in the city and why everyone was so fiercely rushing to the main street, especially to the city hall, which, due to information, became the most important object in the whole city, for which a large number of human lives could be given.