The night was not bad, and the leeward place felt much better in the current season. Although there were some gunshots at night from time to time, they were neither intense nor far away from us.

After another night's stay, Ahmad led us south to Hadir, as planned. We need to get to a place where we can rest as soon as possible, because we have been traveling for four or five days since we came out, and not only are we all sleepy, but we also need to replenish food and especially water. Fortunately, we walked smoothly along the way, and on the way, we met a few locals who were also in a hurry, and delayed us for some time.

The reason for the delay was not that these hurried people caused us any trouble, but that Ahmed took the initiative to have a long conversation with these people, and we watched from a distance and took this time to rest.

From this it can be seen that Ahmed is very unconfident about the current form of the neighborhood and treats me. He asked almost every local we met who was on the road, and it took a long time each time. And every time he got an answer, he didn't seem to be very satisfied. I didn't ask him what he wanted to know, he was a guide, so he naturally had his plans and considerations. Another point is that I think what he can inquire about is actually not difficult to guess, it must be about the traces of the TLB forces in the vicinity and the movements of the Yankees.

When it was nearly evening, and I hadn't seen anyone passing by on the road for a long time, Ahmed slowed down, and he looked at me and took the initiative to tell me what he had learned.

"It doesn't seem to be in good shape around here lately." Ahmed said.

"What do you mean? Is that TLB really going to act on a large scale? I asked.

Ahmed didn't answer a direct yes or no, but said, "Several passers-by who asked today said that they had all seen TLB people haunting the neighborhood recently. It's strange ... ”

"Strange? Isn't that how it should be? Unable to confront the Yankees head-on, they wander around like guerrillas, looking for opportunities to attack with cold guns. I said.

"Nope. It stands to reason that they should retreat south. As I have said before, this is no longer their territory, and even if they can now operate in some remote places outside the main cities and towns, the purge should begin soon, and no one wants all kinds of guerrillas to roam in the places they have declared to occupy, just as one does not want one's house to be full of rats. Ahmed said.

"Then what do you mean... This group of people does not care about the purge that will come at any time, and they do not hurry up to evacuate but move around, which makes you feel strange? I asked.

"Yes." Ahmed nodded, "What strikes me most is that they seem to be massing, and a passerby told me that he saw that there were TLB forces moving in our direction, that is, north, instead of going south, and that some were still collecting food and supplies. In other words, the teachers at home are gathering together and preparing to attack a certain target. “

"Does this have an impact on our operations?" As I listened to Ahmed's words, I suddenly remembered Ahmed's words last night about the answerers, "The one who answered us ... Do you know that there is action? Who is he? “

Ahmed glanced at me, sneered, and said, "People from TLB." Hehe, you didn't expect that, right? “

"People from TLB? Why would he help the USSR. No, it's the Russians? I asked.

"It's simple... That guy isn't a maniac. Haha, he knew they were going to be finished, and he was looking for a way out of here. "And the person we're looking for is a back road." That's why he worked so hard to help. ”

"Is this man's refusal to go to Gargharib for safety reasons?"

Ahmed nodded, "That's what I'm worried about. Since that guy is discouraged, he will no longer have the heart to participate in the battle, no matter whether the battle is sure or not, whether the scale is large or small, he will not participate. So what does it mean that he wants to leave so much, but he doesn't take the initiative to meet us quickly? ”

"Description is dangerous? Will there be a fight? ”

"It can only be explained." Ahmed said, "I hope I guessed wrong." But what I've learned from these passers-by suggests that most of my fears will come true. ”

After nightfall, we came to the small village called Zajir. The village seemed to be much better than the ones we had seen before, at least with the smoking chimneys, the light coming through the houses, and some people busy packing up.

We did a quick reconnaissance outside the village, and after making sure there was nothing wrong, we came to the east of the village. We soon saw a figure sitting at the entrance of the village.

"Is that the man?" I asked in a low voice.

The man at the entrance of the village seemed to be keeping an eye on the movements around the village, and when we saw him, he apparently saw us outside the village as well, and he got up from where he was sitting and seemed to wave at us after observing us for a moment.

"Do you want to go over?" I asked in a low voice.

"I'll go first. You are waiting here. Ahmed said as he prepared to walk forward.

I grabbed him, pulled out my pistol and handed it to him, "Take it." If something is wrong, just kill him and run. We'll be ready here. ”

"Don't worry. It's going to be fine. Ahmed didn't take the gun, but walked towards the man at the entrance of the village.

The man at the entrance of the village stood still and watched Ahmet walk up to him, and then the two of them seemed to talk for a few words, and after a few moments, Ahmet walked quickly back to us, and waved at us as he got closer, saying, "No problem. We'll go with him right away. “

We quickly entered the village, and the people of the village did not seem to be surprised that we had entered the village, but watched us go about their business again.

The man who answered us at the entrance of the village took us to a courtyard in the southeast of the village, and he knocked on the courtyard door, which opened from the inside, and two men with AK rifles on their backs stood in front of us.

The man who led the way pointed at us and said a few words to the two men, who got out of the way and lowered their guns to signal that we could go in. Ahmed led us into the courtyard, where I saw three other armed men standing on either side of the courtyard. The man who led the way quickly ran to the main house in the courtyard after entering the courtyard, knocked on the door and said a few words, and after a few moments the door opened from within, and out of it came a man with a thick turban on his head and a beard.

The battle is coming soon ...

(End of chapter)