A day ago, the mayor of Farmville Town raised the issue of "security assurance" to 'Holy Light'—without security, the town naturally couldn't ensure supplying electricity to 'Holy Light'.

Thus, Zhou Qingfeng took the reconnaissance team and continued moving east, approaching Richmond, intending to see what kind of capabilities the 'Richmond Guard Team' actually possessed.

Rumor has it that the opponent is highly powerful, with over three thousand personnel, fully equipped with US Military equipment, and even possessing aerial strike capabilities, virtually dominating all of Virginia.

A large drone with a reconnaissance pod was flown over to scout, hoping to probe the enemy's base, preferably keeping them under surveillance twenty-four hours to guard against sudden attacks.

However, the large drone with a wingspan of six to seven meters just appeared over the Richmond Guard Team's camp, and within less than half an hour, contact was lost.

The wreckage of the drone fell in the ruins three to four kilometers away from Zhou Qingfeng, who used another small drone to fly over low and capture footage, only to find it was shot down by a ground missile.

"It's a man-portable missile," Jiang Menglong, beside Zhou Qingfeng, made the judgment after glancing at the footage, "Probably a simple air defense vehicle known as 'Avenger', carrying the FIM-92 'Stinger'."

The US Air Force is too strong, resulting in their Army's air defense being quite poor. Small forces of thousands can't handle large complex systems, but air defense vehicles are doable.

The last images from the large drone clearly showed a convoy of over a hundred vehicles and hundreds of people preparing to leave the Richmond Guard Team's camp.

Leading the convoy were several 'Humvees' armed with heavy machine guns paving the way through the city ruins, heading directly towards Zhou Qingfeng and his team.

Clearly, the enemy has mobilized, their target being a hundred kilometers away at Farmville Town, and another hundred-plus kilometers beyond is the 'Holy Light' base.

But the dozen members of the reconnaissance team dare not move at the moment, because while they could deploy drones, the opponent also utilized drones, flying right above them.

"Don't move, we're very likely to be spotted by the enemy now," Jiang Menglong signaled the team to hide in the ruins and be discreet while he himself held a telescope observing the sky, "It's a US military 'Jump 20'."

At about five hundred meters altitude, a drone with a wingspan of over five meters was flying, appearing as an inconspicuous black dot from the ground, hardly visible to the naked eye.

The ability to discover it was solely due to the team's acoustic radar—essentially a high-resolution battlefield microphone, covered with a furry protective cover, used specifically to collect and amplify sounds that are difficult for the human ear to capture within tens of kilometers.

Compared to phased-array radar, acoustic radar is passive, not emitting electromagnetic waves, lightweight, compact, and consumes less power, making it particularly suitable for special ops teams engaging in field operations.

From mortar sounds, drone hums to convoy-generated noise, this acoustic radar could detect all.

Thanks to its presence, Zhou Qingfeng and his team could discover the 'Jump 20' suddenly appearing overhead a few minutes early and evade in advance.

"The enemy is very alert; they must've guessed we're nearby." With a rough acoustic radar position, Jiang Menglong used his telescope to locate the target,

"That 'Jump 20' is hovering overhead, its pod having a vast reconnaissance range, immediately cutting off remote control."

No matter whether the opponent had conducted radio positioning or not, Zhou Qingfeng already ceased drone reconnaissance. But with the end of the monitoring footage, he shook his head and said:

"We can't let this force pass before our eyes, or our newly established credibility and prestige will collapse. Let's give them a harsh blow!"

-----------------

At this moment, Major General Borg of the "Richmond Guard Team" was furious, his face grim. Since losing contact with the dispatched Major Fleming yesterday, any clear-eyed person could tell something had gone awry.

Early this morning, the Major General ordered an emergency mobilization of a regiment-level combat group, intending to personally lead the troops to Farmville Town, not only to severely punish those daringly defiant fools but also to conveniently seize the "Xihu" hydroelectric station.

Just as the combat group's vanguard company was leaving the camp, Farmville Town stealthily sent a middleman to pass on a message, claiming Major Fleming wasn't harmed by them but rather by a more western force known as 'Holy Light'.

The middleman disclosed that the mechanized platoon led by Fleming suffered heavy casualties, with over a dozen dead, and the remaining seven or eight captured and now enslaved by 'Holy Light'.

Mayor Aik politely indicated that despite a large population, their town was weak, powerless against the formidable "Richmond Guard Team", and too fearful to provoke the aggressive 'Holy Light'.

Implying that they wouldn't interfere with the two forces' battle, willing to submit regardless of who won.

"That fool thinks he can remain neutral?" Major General Borg snorted angrily.

He had planted informants in Farmville Town long ago, already aware the local residents were secretly flirting with 'Holy Light'—'Holy Light' could provide food and drink, and they provided electricity in return.

As for the "Richmond Guard Team", besides delivering bullets, they had nothing to offer.

"Order the flying squadron to dispatch immediately, give those ignorant people in Farmville a lesson, drop a few bombs, let them snap to their senses!"

"I want the hydroelectric station, their attitude is irrelevant. I hope the mayor has awakened by the time I arrive at that little town."

Major General Borg then boarded an armored command vehicle, leading the main force of the regiment-level combat group out of the camp, the rumbling of tires heralding an impending storm.

In an estimated three hours, they would reach Farmville Town to firmly control it.

Of course, besides the planted potatoes, the impoverished town had little to offer.

Thus, the Major General's march wouldn't stop there; at most, he'd rest for an hour or two before continuing westward, aiming to completely eradicate the 'Holy Light' force.

Inside the bumpy command vehicle, the combat group's intelligence chief relayed a message—the air defense company's 'Avenger' system had just shot down a drone hovering overhead.

"Pesky drones!" The major general felt a surge of annoyance upon hearing the word drone.

These damned things could easily fly hundreds of kilometers; the larger ones even thousands, who knows which force was secretly spying?

"Enhance vigilance!" Major General Borg dared not let his guard down, immediately instructing the intelligence chief to closely monitor radio communications, "Be wary of rats stealthily lurking around us."

The current ground situation was too complex, making ambushes and stealth attacks nearly impossible to defend against. If viable, the Major General wished his troops could sprout wings and soar freely in the sky.

"It's said 'Holy Light' equipped quite a few low-altitude vehicles; if we could capture dozens, we could form an airborne unit."

"Luckily, I also have a flying squadron composed of helicopters, capable of conducting strikes over hundreds of kilometers. It's just a pity the helicopters consume too much fuel, and maintenance is too challenging..."

Major General Borg was contemplating whether to dispatch his flying squadron to directly raid 'Holy Light's camp, aiming for a decisive resolution.

"That would be too risky; I have only a dozen helicopters, with limited troop capacity. If 'Holy Light' resisted desperately..."

After careful consideration, the Major General ultimately found the "air-ground coordination" strategy more prudent. He mustn't risk his most precious trump in a desperate gambit.

At that moment, the combat group's vanguard company had passed right before Zhou Qingfeng's reconnaissance team, with the gun muzzles and artillery pointing to both sides of the road, ready to engage any encountered forces.

"Let them pass," Jiang Menglong, as the deputy squad leader, was responsible for commanding the team's operation.

The enemy's vanguard was all wheeled vehicles, rapidly whooshing vanished at the road's far end. Seven to eight minutes later, the main force of 'Richmond Guard Team' appeared.

Leading was an eight-wheeled Striker armored vehicle, equipped with a 105mm cannon.

As the armored vehicle rumbled past, an ambushed mechanical dog appeared roadside. The dog carried a fiber optic dispenser, trailing a thin fiber optic cable from its rear, laying fiber as it moved.

The dog's head had cameras, watching the armored vehicles passing down the road, while on its back was mounted a 'Gustav' M3 recoilless rifle—acquired from Major Fleming's convoy yesterday.

Through the fiber optic, Zhou Qingfeng could clearly watch the enemy's main force appear before them on a military computer several kilometers away. He nodded towards Jiang Menglong and ordered, "Strike them a heavy blow."

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