Mercenary’s War

The hole wasn’t very big, but Hammer still easily squeezed in. Although he was no longer young, such a small task wouldn’t trouble him.

"Flashlight!"

Taking the flashlight, Hammer began crawling in. There were only a few rooms left in the building, and once inside, he found there was indeed space, making it easier to search for people.

Hammer wasn’t really aiming to rescue people; he was just assessing that the remaining structure could stay up without collapsing for a while. If it was truly at risk of collapsing, why would he even get in?

After crawling through a very small space, Hammer shone the flashlight and found a door.

"Is anyone in there?"

Hammer shouted and then shouted again, "Is anyone there? Can you make a sound?"

"Help me..."

A very faint cry for help led Hammer to crawl towards the door immediately.

After the door, he could stand up. Hammer shone the flashlight around and found the room’s ceiling had deformed. Many chunks of cement had fallen under the heavy impact, but the ceiling hadn’t fully collapsed.

"Help me!"

A cry of pain led Hammer over to stand by the bed.

A man with a head full of blood was lying by the bed. His head was covered in blood, but he didn’t seem too severely injured. If he wanted to crawl, he could, maybe even walk. He definitely wouldn’t die.

But being jolted awake to a world crumbling around him, unable to see anything, it was impossible for anyone to remain calm with a clear mind.

"Colonel, is that you?"

"It’s me, get me out, quickly!"

Hammer approached the Colonel’s side, inspecting the Colonel’s head with the flashlight, finding a laceration above the ear still bleeding. He might be dazed from the hit, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

Hammer pulled out his hammer but immediately put it back, picking up a fist-sized piece of cement from the ground instead.

"Colonel, are you alright? Please hold on, I’ll get you out, just hang in there!"

Hammer shone the flashlight into the Colonel’s eyes, causing him to shut them against the glare. It was then that Hammer weighed the piece of cement in his hand and smashed it against the Colonel’s neck.

With a light thump, the Colonel fell silent, looking at Hammer with eyes wide open in shock.

Hammer placed the cement block beside the bed and adjusted its position after thinking a bit.

"Colonel! I’m here! Colonel, Colonel!"

Someone shouted loudly from behind—it was the lieutenant. Hammer immediately yelled, "Don’t come in, don’t move! It’s dangerous here, I’ll drag the Colonel out, the Colonel’s still alive!"

Indeed, that Colonel was still alive.

But he couldn’t speak or even move a finger.

The precise hit from Hammer’s blow fractured his cervical spine, causing massive paralysis, but it wasn’t immediately fatal.

More precise than any surgeon or orthopedist, he could decide life or death, or leave someone hanging between life and death.

That’s how tough and strong he was.

Hammer thrived in competition with Tarta by wielding his hammer with extreme precision.

So, the Colonel lived on, but not for long; he wouldn’t die quickly, still wouldn’t utter a word or move a finger.

Supporting the Colonel, Hammer started to walk out, but the lieutenant had already entered, and Hammer couldn’t stop him.

"Colonel! Colonel! What happened to you?"

Hammer feigning urgency said, "The Colonel got hit, but he’s still alive. This place can’t hold two people, let’s get out of here quickly."

The lieutenant grabbed the Colonel while Hammer lifted the Colonel’s legs, and together, they dragged the Colonel to the small opening and finally got him out.

"Doctor! Is there a doctor? The Colonel is still alive!"

The lieutenant shouted himself hoarse, while Hammer crawled out through the hole, aided by two foreign workers.

The Colonel was carried away on a stretcher, the lieutenant running alongside, but after a few steps, he turned back and shouted to Hammer, "Wait here for me, wait for me!"

"Wait for you? I’d truly be a fool if I did."

Cursing internally, Hammer watched the Colonel being taken away with concern, then turned and shouted to the foreign workers, "Get moving, don’t just stand there, keep rescuing people. The excavator should remove the big debris, then manually dig further to avoid another collapse. Work quickly but steadily!"

Shouting, Hammer kicked the workers into action, then brushed off the dirt on himself and took a few steps back when no one was watching.

What the missiles failed to accomplish, Hammer did. He was quite satisfied.

It was time to retreat, slip away amidst the chaos quietly; perfect and unnoticed.

The vicinity of the ruins was initially lit by car headlights, now illuminated by construction floodlights. Hammer took a few more steps back, though still brightly lit, he’d moved out of the light’s reach. Just twenty or thirty more steps would plunge him into darkness.

As Hammer turned, he saw over a dozen men approaching briskly.

"General, it’s him!"

The lieutenant who escorted the Colonel out was back, alongside someone in a Saudi uniform, a General.

Hammer remained calm inside.

The lieutenant was Emirati, but the approaching general was Saudi, easy to differentiate.

"General, he’s the one who saved Colonel Zayed."

A brigadier glanced at Hammer and quickly said, "You’ve done well, please come with me, we’ll discuss this later."

The lieutenant gestured to Hammer to follow, and then proceeded with the Saudi brigadier.

Hammer felt slightly upset, the Saudi General, being the highest GCC Allied Forces commander in Yemen, definitely needed to assess the explosion site, and if Hammer insisted on leaving now, it wouldn’t work.

Hammer had no choice but to follow.

The brigadier stood before the ruins looking furious and sorrowful, loudly ordering those present to spare no effort in rescuing people.

After making a necessary but meaningless speech and gestures, the brigadier finally had time to speak a few words with Hammer.

"You did well. Your performance was brave. Colonel Zayed survived because of your significant contribution. Are you Emirati?"

Surrounded by many guards, Hammer abandoned the idea of swinging his hammer at the brigadier’s head, feeling it was a pity.

As Hammer pondered how to respond to the General’s question, the lieutenant checked his radio and then sorrowfully told the brigadier, "General, Colonel Zayed didn’t make it..."

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