Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 797 A Parachute Descent into the Valley to Avenge the Herdsmen

As evening approached, two medium-sized seaplanes appeared on the distant horizon.

The plane slowly landed at the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan Logistics Company's seaplane airport.

The cabin door opened, and 50 special forces soldiers dressed in civilian clothes disembarked from the plane one by one.

In order to avoid arousing suspicion from the Nationalist government authorities and to maintain the secrecy of the rescue mission, the special forces members disguised themselves as employees of a logistics company, and the two medium-sized seaplanes were also newly acquired assets of the logistics company.

Leading them was Zhou Pomen, the captain of the special forces team.

Fang Wen and Sun Debiao greeted them at the dock.

Because of his disguise, Zhou Pomen did not salute, but simply reported: "50 special forces personnel participated in this operation. 50 personnel are present."

Fang Wen nodded, "You stay here for the night and we'll move out tomorrow morning."

Then, Sun Debiao said, "Brothers, come with me, I'll take you to rest."

The special forces soldiers followed Sun Debiao to the airport dormitory in an orderly manner, without saying a word the whole time.

As for the two planes, two people were left to guard each one.

Silent all night.

As dawn broke and the east began to lighten, the special forces soldiers inside the warehouse were already up and waiting.

Sun Debiao and the airport canteen staff brought a hot breakfast. The special forces soldiers quickly finished eating and then went to the dock to assemble. They then boarded two seaplanes in an orderly manner.

Fang Wen led the operation. He boarded the first seaplane, sat in the cockpit, checked all the aircraft's parameters, and after confirming that everything was correct, said into the communicator: "Attention co-pilot, I will take off first, and you will follow me to the target area. Also, after takeoff, have your special forces members change into their uniforms and prepare for the airborne operation."

After putting down the microphone, Fang Wen said to those behind him, "You all do the same. Change into your clothes as soon as I take off."

Zhou Pomen replied, "It's the general manager."

Immediately, Fang Wen started the engine, controlled the aircraft to turn, and then accelerated and took off while gliding on the water.

The co-pilot aircraft then took off as well.

After takeoff, the special forces members inside the cabin quickly changed their clothes, shedding their civilian attire and donning black special operations uniforms. They put on helmets, equipped themselves with firearms, magazines, grenades, and other combat gear, instantly transforming from "civilians" into fully armed, menacing elite warriors.

Two seaplanes climbed to an altitude of 4000 meters, weaving through the clouds and speeding towards eastern Tibet.

After a flight of more than two hours, the two seaplanes arrived over the mountainous area near Nyainqêntanglha Valley in eastern Tibet.

Fang Wen activated his mechanical perception ability to carefully investigate the enemy situation below.

The supernatural power spread out, covering the entire valley. Fang Wen could clearly see that there were fewer armed personnel in the valley than yesterday.

He then shifted his reconnaissance focus, extending his supernatural abilities to the Nianqingdawagou area, where he indeed discovered the remaining armed personnel.

There were about thirty people, divided into several small teams, searching back and forth along the Nianqingdawa Valley. They were carrying weapons and occasionally looking at the cliffs on both sides of the valley, obviously looking for traces of Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice.

It seems they haven't given up the search; on the contrary, they've intensified their efforts.

Fang Wen pondered in his heart.

Although the enemy is split into two groups, their supplies and ammunition are still located in the valley. Once this area is controlled, dealing with the remaining enemy will be much easier.

Then he said to those behind him, "Zhou Pomen, come here."

Zhou Pomen, the fully armed special operations captain, strode over: "Here."

Fang Wen instructed, "Target the valley below. There are about fifteen armed men in the valley, and the remaining thirty or so are searching the Nianqing Dawa Gully area. After the parachute drop, immediately annihilate the enemy, then ambush them at the northern entrance of the valley and snipe the returning enemy. Understand?"

"Understood," Zhou Pomen replied loudly.

Immediately, Fang Wen picked up the microphone and contacted the co-pilot: "Co-pilot, be prepared to follow the airborne operation."

"Received!" came a loud reply from the communicator.

Fang Wen piloted the plane to a lower altitude, circling around the valley, with his co-pilot following closely behind.

After descending to an altitude of 1000 meters, Fang Wen picked up the microphone: "Airborne operation begins."

At his command, the cabin doors of both planes opened.

The special forces soldiers lined up, each with a safety rope hanging from a parachute pole above their heads. After jumping, the safety rope automatically released the parachute safety, and the parachute opened a few seconds after they jumped.

The special forces soldiers jumped out of the aircraft one by one, their parachutes unfurling in the air as they plummeted rapidly toward the valley.

The thieves below had never seen an airplane before, nor did they know what paratrooper operations were.

The roar of the planes made them look up.

As small black dots emerged from the plane and then bloomed into white flowers in the air, it was as if they had seen the flying apsaras paintings of Dunhuang.

Some of them knelt on the ground in worship, muttering incantations.

Some people don't believe it, but they don't know what's going on.

Until the nearest special forces soldier landed on a nearby shack.

With a "crack," the wooden beam of the shack snapped under the weight.

The noise startled the cattle and sheep grazing near the shed, and the animals immediately panicked.

This commotion suddenly made the thieves realize that these flying beings were no longer sacred.

Immediately, someone shouted at the top of their lungs in Tibetan: "Enemy! Grab your guns!"

The bandits in the valley were instantly thrown into chaos.

The bandits who had been chatting idly by the fire suddenly panicked, stumbling to their feet and running toward the weapon rack, while some remained standing there in a daze.

They never imagined that someone would descend from the sky, let alone that such elite armed personnel would launch a surprise attack on them.

Just as the bandits frantically grabbed their guns, the special forces soldiers on the roof of the shack did not hesitate for a moment. They quickly steadied themselves, raised their Thompson submachine guns, aimed at the panicked bandits below, and pulled the triggers. "Rat-a-tat-tat—" Rapid gunfire rang out instantly, bullets raining down on the bandits. Several of the fastest-running bandits fell to the ground, their blood instantly staining the grass beneath their feet.

The bullet also hit the campfire nearby, sending sparks flying and shattering the burning firewood into pieces.

The sparks from the explosion landed among the horses, and the intense heat threw them into disarray, causing them to break free of their reins and scatter in all directions towards the edge of the valley.

Then, gunshots rang out from different directions, and two more thieves fell down after being shot.

These bandits were a mob with no sense of collective combat. When they saw the enemy's fierce firepower and ruthless attacks, they were terrified and dared not resist. They turned around and fled to all parts of the valley. Those who could not escape simply dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.

"Don't let any of them escape!" Zhou Pomen shouted sharply upon seeing this, and was the first to rush out from his hiding place, raising his rifle and pulling the trigger at the fleeing bandits.

The remaining special forces members also sprang into action, chasing after the fleeing bandits. The sounds of Thompson submachine guns and rifles rang out one after another, and bandits fell one after another on their escape route. Some bandits tried to hide in wooden houses and tents to put up a last stand, but they were quickly surrounded by the special forces members, and after a few shots, they fell silent.

The battle proceeded exceptionally quickly; within just over ten minutes, all fifteen bandits in the valley were captured.

Nine bandits were killed on the spot in the fierce battle, and six bandits were captured and knelt on the ground in a sorry state, with their hands covering their heads, not daring to look up at the special forces soldiers in front of them.

Zhou Pomen signaled his team members to take care of the prisoners, then said in a deep voice to the team members beside him: "Search the entire valley carefully. Check every wooden house and tent thoroughly to make sure there are no hidden enemies. Also, see if there are any local herders."

The special forces soldiers immediately sprang into action, searching the cabins and tents. But when they pushed open the door of the cabin, the scene before them stunned all the soldiers.

The room was littered with corpses—old people, women, and children—covered in knife and gunshot wounds. Their blood had long since congealed, staining the floor and walls red. The air was thick with the stench of blood and rotting corpses.

The scene was horrific.

Upon witnessing this scene, a young special forces soldier could no longer contain himself, turned around, rushed out of the wooden house, and began to vomit violently while leaning against a wooden stake.

The other team members also frowned, their eyes filled with anger and grief.

They are hardened warriors who have seen countless lives on the battlefield and never show mercy to the enemy, but they still cannot tolerate these unarmed herdsmen who are being brutally slaughtered.

They were once ordinary people, just like these herders. It was the war that made them take up arms, just to protect more innocent people.

Zhou Pomen walked into the wooden house. Looking at the miserable scene before him, his face was so gloomy it could drip water, and his eyes burned with the flames of anger.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, picked up the walkie-talkie, and reported to Fang Wen: "General Manager, a large number of herder corpses have been found in the valley, including men, women, and children. They were slaughtered by these guys. These guys are not human. I request that all these prisoners be killed immediately to avenge the herders!"

At this moment, Fang Wen was piloting his plane, circling above the valley. He had already seen the terrible scene inside the wooden house yesterday through his supernatural abilities.

These guys truly deserved to die.

But he wasn't blinded by anger. He said in a deep voice, "Okay, but remember, interrogate those who can be interrogated first. I need to know their identities, why they are here, and who ordered them."

"Yes!" Zhou Pomen answered loudly, put down the walkie-talkie, turned to look at the six prisoners under his guard, his eyes were cold, and said coldly to the team members beside him: "These guys are unintelligible, they are not worth interrogating, kill them all, pay for the lives of the herdsmen!"

The team members were already burning with rage. Upon hearing the order, they did not hesitate at all, and they all raised their guns, aimed at the prisoners, and pulled the triggers.

After several gunshots, six prisoners fell to the ground.

Zhou Pomen said, "Let's ambush them at the valley entrance. We'll settle these blood debts for them today."

"Correct!"

The team members responded in unison and headed to the northern entrance of the valley. Taking advantage of the valley's terrain, they concealed themselves behind rocks and bushes, set up their rifles, and prepared for an ambush.

Fang Wen continued to hover above the valley, using his supernatural abilities to closely monitor the movements of the bandits in the Nianqingdawa Valley area. He relayed the bandits' locations and routes to Zhou Pomen via walkie-talkie in real time, providing precise guidance for the ambush operation.

More than half an hour later, the thirty bandits who had searched the Nianqingdawa Valley without success returned to the valley.

They were scattered in twos and threes, looking exhausted, completely unaware that a deadly trap awaited them ahead.

As they entered the northern entrance of the valley and stepped into the ambush set up by the special forces, Zhou Pomen suddenly shouted, "Fire!"

The special forces soldiers, who were already prepared, pulled the triggers instantly. The sounds of rifles and submachine guns rang out simultaneously, and bullets rained down on the bandits like a storm.

They also fired grenades at the thieves.

Caught off guard, the thieves were hit by bullets and fell to the ground. Grenade launchers then exploded among them, and screams of agony filled the air.

This completely stunned them.

They were powerless to fight back. The Taishan Special Forces were well-equipped and had fierce firepower. They were also well-rested and had the advantage of terrain. The Taishan Special Forces were exhausted from their long search and were caught off guard. They were quickly scattered and trapped in a desperate situation.

"Charge! Avenge the herdsmen!" Zhou Pomen's eyes blazed with fury. He was the first to rush out from his hiding place, picked up his submachine gun, and charged towards the bandits.

The special forces soldiers followed closely behind, charging like tigers descending a mountain, towards the chaotic bandits. Their weapons continuously spewed flames, knocking bandits to the ground one by one.

The fierce battle lasted only a little over ten minutes. Of the thirty bandits, twenty-two were killed on the spot, and eight were wounded or captured.

After the battle, the valley was in ruins, littered with the corpses and weapons of bandits, and the stench of blood in the air grew stronger.

Zhou Pomen stood in front of all the prisoners and shouted sternly: "Those who can speak Mandarin, step forward; those who cannot, be shot on the spot."

As soon as he finished speaking, a young bandit stepped forward from among the prisoners, trembling. His face was ashen and his voice trembled: "I...I can speak Mandarin. I'll confess everything. Please spare my life, sir!"

Zhou Pomen stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and said coldly, "Speak! Who are you? Why are you here? Who ordered you?"

The young thief dared not conceal anything and quickly confessed the truth: "We...we are bandits from the eastern Tibet region. We usually rob merchants on the eastern border and never come to such remote and impoverished places because there is no profit to be made here. But last month, a foreigner found our leader, gave us a large sum of money, and asked us to help find an ancient treasure left behind by the Bon religion. He also said that the treasure is in the Nyainqêntanglha Valley area."

He paused, swallowed hard, and continued, "Our chief, greedy for money, agreed and brought us here, intending to hire local herders to help us find treasure. But when the herders heard that we were looking for sacred objects that their ancestors had guarded for generations, they all refused, saying that we were blaspheming their faith. Our chief, enraged, ordered the entire herder tribe to be slaughtered."

His words enraged the soldiers, and one soldier raised his gun, only to be stopped by Zhou Pomen.

"Let him continue."

Upon seeing this, the young bandit hurriedly said, "But we didn't expect that there were two people hiding in this tribe, an old man and a young man. When we massacred the village, they took advantage of the chaos and escaped with the tribe's chief and his family. We chased after them and killed the entire family in front of the chief. Before he died, the chief seemed to tell the master and apprentice some secret, and then he rushed at us with a knife and was killed on the spot. Taking advantage of the chaos, the master and apprentice disappeared without a trace. We have been searching the Nianqing Dawa Valley area for days, but we can't find them anywhere."

Zhou Pomen, who was still on the phone, heard this and asked into the walkie-talkie, "General Manager, what do you think?"

"They're your responsibility. After you're done, go to Nianqingdawagou and rescue them," Fang Wen replied via radio.

Fang Wen put down the microphone and pondered.

Now that the enemy has been eliminated, he needs to find a body of water or flat, hard ground nearby to land on and bring his soldiers and Gong Xiuneng and his apprentice back. (End of Chapter)