Mercenary’s War

The four members of the Black Demon all arrived near the airport. Although it wasn’t necessary for all of them to be there in person, they all went to watch the excitement when Satan launched the missile. As information gatherers and damage effect observers, the Black Demon couldn’t possibly miss out.

Ballistic missiles are national heavy weapons, a major weapon, a trump card, but the higher their status, the less they can be used lightly.

Thus, in Soviet history, missiles were never put to practical use. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia also never used ballistic missiles in actual combat.

The Soviet superpower possessed a nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the Earth, and ballistic missiles were the Soviet Union’s main means of delivering nuclear weapons. Even though short-range ballistic missiles could carry conventional warheads, the Soviet Union still refrained from putting ballistic missiles into actual combat because the implications were just too significant.

During the Cold War, the US and Soviet Union were both on edge, ready for a third world war at any moment. Under such tensions, the use of ballistic missiles, which could easily lead to strategic misjudgments, was not to be taken lightly.

Of course, for the Soviet Union, all wars experienced after World War II were small-scale, local conflicts, and using ballistic missiles would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, unnecessary from any angle.

To date, the largest deployment of ballistic missiles in human history was the 3,000 or so V2 rockets fired by Germany during World War II.

But the V2 missile was only at the initial stage of ballistic missile development. The Iran-Iraq War was when ballistic missiles reached a mature stage, and both sides used them in considerable numbers. Iraq and Iran fired a large number of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles at each other, achieving certain combat results.

The Soviet superpower dared not readily use ballistic missiles, but smaller countries could because the whole world knew Iraq and Iran didn’t have nuclear weapons. Even though they had ballistic missiles, they didn’t have the capability to disrupt world order.

The special term for using ballistic missiles in the Iran-Iraq War was "missile city assault" because the accuracy of Iraq and Iran’s missiles was too low to strike higher-value targets like troop concentrations, enemy command centers, power plants, oil depots, airports, and transportation hubs.

Striking the enemy’s capital and major cities can indeed put pressure on the enemy and cause psychological trauma, as well as demoralize them, keeping them in a state of mental tension. But can missile city assaults really make the enemy’s will to fight completely collapse?

Of course, the answer is no. Germany fired over 10,000 V1s and 3,000 V2s at the United Kingdom but couldn’t disband the British will to fight. Moreover, in the Iran-Iraq War, both sides together only fired nearly 300 missiles.

If a ballistic missile doesn’t have a nuclear warhead, it must be able to accurately strike high-value targets to have significance.

During the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq used more ballistic missiles with slightly better results, striking Iran’s power and oil refineries and achieving victory in the missile city assaults.

However, the Iran-Iraq missile city assaults targeted morale, having virtually zero impact on the frontal battlefield. The conflict ended not because Iraq won but because both sides could no longer endure.

In Hammer’s view, the use of ballistic missiles should not be as in the Iran-Iraq War. If the Soviet Union used ballistic missiles in combat, it wouldn’t just be to coerce opponents into negotiations but to ensure the enemy was hit to the point of losing the ability to continue fighting.

Sadly, hypothetical situations can only remain hypothetical. The Soviet Union no longer exists, so pondering how the Soviet Union would properly use ballistic missiles holds no significance.

To Hammer, he was a weapon created by the Soviet Union solely for war, on par with ballistic missiles as a super weapon of strategic significance. In terms of any perspective, his value equated to that of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

But those intercontinental missiles remained in the hands of Russia, continuing to play their role, whereas he was disbanded, losing his purpose from then on.

Therefore, Hammer has always held a unique affection for ballistic missiles, a sense of empathy, and a nostalgic feeling. This emotion is complex and difficult to express in words.

Yet today, the Soviet-made ballistic missile was going to be used in combat, not some export-only monkey model but a genuine missile manufactured by the Soviet Union and inherited by Ukraine. This made Hammer both excited and gratified.

At the end of his lifecycle, Hammer finally had a purpose again. He now wished to see if his old comrades from the same era could shine brightly upon landing, if they could realize their ultimate value.

Hammer was thrilled and nervous, hoping to witness the grand scene of the missile blowing its target to the skies. But he also feared the missile troopers might miss their mark. So, he was eager yet anxious to see the missile land and explode.

Draped in a long robe, with a headscarf wrapped around his head, he appeared weary and worn, like an old man hiding in the city due to the war. But Hammer was equipped with a powerful telescope in his hand, a complex wireless communication system underneath his robe, and even a camera mounted on a tripod beside him.

The communication signal, hidden within Aden City, would be transmitted through a high-powered relay station to connect Hammer with the missile-launching troops.

Excitement, anticipation, exhilaration, fear, concern, sadness, happiness—these emotions made Hammer’s hand tremble slightly.

Lowering the hand that held the telescope, Hammer sighed deeply, then wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand to prevent it from dripping into his eyes.

As Hammer closed his eyes and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, he suddenly heard a sentence in his earpiece.

"Open the door, deliver the package!"

Hearing Gao Yang’s loud shout, Hammer jolted, then snapped his eyes open to stare at the airport.

The missile had been launched, but why use such a completely nonsensical phrase as the launch code? It was inexplicable and meaningless.

"If it were up to me, I’d definitely change the missile code to Red Hammer! The launch code must be changed to Red Hammer Strike! It won’t do; I must tell Gao Yang to change it to Red Hammer!"

While grumbling to himself, Hammer’s eyes involuntarily widened. Without using the telescope, he intently stared at the airport.

A flash blinded Hammer’s eyes, followed by a thunderous bang that rattled his eardrums.

However, Hammer didn’t close his eyes, and he instantly determined the missile’s impact point. Though he didn’t yet know the exact hit location, he was certain it was within the airport’s perimeter!

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!