It is about 50 kilometers from Mtskheta to Gori. It's not too far, but the road is not easy. Because not only are the routes mostly mountainous, but there are also a large number of military vehicles coming and going on the road. Some of these vehicles carried supplies, others carried men and cannons, and many of them carried the Georgian cross flag similar to that of the Kingdom of England. When approaching Gori, you can see a large number of ordinary people retreating south, some of them walking along the edge of the road, and more of them driving small cars or buses, which are full of people and stuffed with a lot of luggage, that is, there are boxes or large baggage bundles on the roof of the car, which makes some narrow roads cause serious congestion.

"Are these refugees?" Ellie, who was sitting in the car, looked out the window at these humanes.

Eric looked outside and didn't speak, but Steve, who was driving, said as he followed the car in front of him, "It should be okay now." After all, the scale of the conflict is not large, and the subsequent fighting will most likely be on the side of South Ossetia, so refugees in the real sense of the word are not yet counted. ”

Pete listened to Steve and looked out the window of the car farther away, and it was still calm at the moment, with no billowing smoke, no gunshots or explosions. It should be said that this conflict is still being controlled on a very small scale.

Almost two hours later, the minibus entered the city of Gori. However, instead of entering the city, the car went directly to the north of Gori from the outside, and after continuing a short distance north, the whole picture completely changed. There are no more civilians here, but soldiers in camouflage and weapons who come and go. Tanks and armored vehicles were everywhere, and from the north there was constant gunfire and even artillery fire.

The car quickly drove to a small village where there was a makeshift camp. After communicating with the soldier in charge of the guard, Steve drove the car outside the camp under the guidance of the other party. Eric in the car seemed to be in a hurry, and he couldn't wait to get out of the car as soon as it was parked. This guy didn't talk much along the way, as if he had been thinking about something very important, and he looked absent-minded.

Donovan took Pete and the others out of the car, and after getting out of the car, Pete quickly looked around. It was supposed to be a staging point, and there were a lot of supplies piled up around it, in addition to a lot of Georgian soldiers. In addition, there is a place where the tent is set up and looks like a command post. Although there was a constant sound of gunfire outside, everything was orderly here, and the atmosphere did not seem tense at all.

Eric walked briskly to the big tent, looked at Donovan and said, "Wait for me here." I'll go to someone and ask about the situation. With that, he beckoned to Steve and motioned for him to go in with him.

Donovan nodded and said nothing, looked at the others and said, "We'll wait here." Don't mess around. ”

Morris looked around and pulled out a cigarette as he said, "The way it looks here makes me more confident that these people will take South Ossetia." ”

"John said before that South Ossetia is weak. Not a threat. Evans lit a cigarette and took a puff after saying that, and turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound of artillery came from time to time, "Shelling." I hate the sound of cannons. ”

"Haha. What does it matter? Anyway, it was a Georgian shell to the north. It's not here to blow us up. Morris smiled nonchalantly.

Pete walked up to Donovan's side, looked around, and said, "These people don't use very good weapons and equipment. Especially those heavy weapons. ”

Donovan smiled and said, "It's not good. It looks like something outdated. However, it is said that their 1st Brigade was reequipped with American-style equipment. ”

"If the Russians go south, how long will they be able to hold out?" Pete looked worried, "Will it collapse at the touch of a button?" ”

Donovan looked at the Georgians around him and did not answer, and at this moment Eric and Steve came out of a tent, along with a Georgian soldier in camouflage. The three men walked out quickly, and after coming to Donovan's side, they introduced Donovan: "This is Captain Yashvili. He will take us to the border line immediately. ”

"To the border?" Evans asked, confused.

"Yes. Go to the border. Steve, who was next to Eric, said, "It's a critical moment. ”

Eric glanced at Steve, as if he was not satisfied with his mouth, but he immediately said, "Let's talk to you." Tonight, tomorrow morning, to be exact, the attack will begin. I mean the real attack, the all-out attack. So now it is necessary for me to meet with a few important Georgian commanders, and there are some things I must advise. ”

Eric's words made everyone look at each other, because they thought that everything would have some time, but they didn't expect a general attack to be launched so soon, wasn't it that the arms from Romania had not yet arrived? As Eric walked towards the minibus with the Georgian officer and Steve, Jeff on the side whispered, "Tomorrow morning?" Go to war on the opening day of the Olympics? ”

"Isn't that a surprise?" Morris smiled and said, "Obviously planned. When you don't think so, it's the best time. This makes me even more convinced that these men will soon take South Ossetia. ”

Eric, who was walking in front, obviously heard the conversation between Jeff and Morris, and he suddenly turned his head and said, "That's a good point. Taking South Ossetia is not a problem. In my estimation, we should be in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, by this time tomorrow. But then Eric looked worried, "That's when our work really begins." ”

After getting back into the car, Steve drove all the way to the east, following the car in front of him, driven by Captain Yashvili, and circled all over the place. Whenever the car stopped, Eric would get out of the car and work with Yashvili to find the local commander and chat with him for a while. I was so busy until the evening that I returned to Gori, but this time I didn't go to the camp but went straight to the city of Gori, where I stayed at a hotel in the city.

After dinner together, Pete and Donovan came to the hotel door and smoked, and they came out with the guy named Steve. When Pete saw him come out, he pulled out a cigarette and handed it to him.

Steve also took the cigarette and lit it himself. Pete took a puff of cigarette and looked at Steve, "Is Mr. Eric worried about something?" I always felt that he was nervous, as if he was about to go into battle. ”

Steve looked back at Eric who was still eating in the hotel and whispered, "He's not worried about going to war. We will not go to war at all, he is worried that this war will not be worth the loss. ”

Pete looked at Steve puzzled and said, "Didn't Mr. Eric say that it would not be a problem to take South Ossetia?" Now that the goal has been achieved, how can the gains outweigh the losses? ”

"Nope. Not South Ossetia. Rather, the Russians, to be precise, the Russian peacekeepers stationed in South Ossetia. Steve said, took a drag on his cigarette, and then continued, "Those people are a nuisance. Eric didn't want to be injured by mistake, and he feared that in case of a fight with the so-called peacekeepers, the Russians in the north would use this as an excuse to immediately move south. But it was not very likely that they would be injured by mistake, and Eric hoped that if he did, he should be determined to kill them, so as to prevent the Georgians from becoming the roasted sausage in the middle of the hot dogs after the Russians went south. ”