143 Salute to God (A belated extra chapter!)

"I promise you, I will get them out alive and out of Misrata!"

"Thank you!"

Even the Old Russian could not help but be moved at this moment.

"Fuck!"

He cursed fiercely.

No one knew who he was actually telling to fuck, but Li Changjiang knew that Will was truly a brave man.

Even himself would not be able to give up the hope of living at this moment. Li Changjiang knew very well that he was no saint. Of course, there were other factors as well—at least the Englishmen right in front of him were not worth him doing this.

"I'll cover you!"

Soon, both Li Changjiang and the Old Russian had found their sniper positions.

"This gun is for you!"

To Li Changjiang's surprise, Will directly handed the L115A3 sniper rifle in his hand—equipped with an S&B 5-25x56 daylight telescopic sight—over to Li Changjiang.

The weight of seven kilograms made Li Changjiang's hand sink, but the heavy texture with its metallic black sheen still allowed him to clearly perceive the terrifying energy contained within this weapon.

As one of the finest standard-issue weapons of the British special forces, the L115A3 sniper rifle used custom ammunition of a unique caliber. Li Changjiang was not surprised when Will immediately took off all the magazines on his belt and handed them to him.

"You're a hell of a fighter. This gun will be much more useful in your hands. Use it to get my people out of here, Li!"

Suddenly calling him by his Chinese name, the expression on Will's face softened somewhat.

"I will!"

"Nikolai! Get ready to shoot!"

"Everyone else, prepare to evacuate!"

*Click, click!*

With a forceful yank to clear the chamber, Li Changjiang quickly familiarized himself with how to operate the new weapon, then slammed the magazine home. Through the scope, the high magnification quickly allowed him to capture the silhouettes of the distant rebel soldiers.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Will charged out fiercely.

At the intersection opposite, two rebel soldiers immediately raised their guns to fire upon seeing a figure rush out toward them, but Li Changjiang was faster.

*Whoosh—whoosh!*

With two muffled thuds, before the two men even hit the ground, Will had already flashed past their sides. His figure then instantly vanished into the entrance of the building. Less than thirty seconds later, Will's voice came through the headset.

"Duke, break through toward the left side. There will be an alley ahead; you can reach another street from there."

"This is Duke, copy!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

Li Changjiang muttered under his breath.

Then he took the lead and dashed out from his hiding spot at the base of the wall. Aside from the L115A3 sniper rifle, the only things left on him were a pistol and ammunition. His AK-74 assault rifle had been lost in the previous skirmish, and he simply didn't have the extra stamina to carry anything more.

Following closely behind Li Changjiang were Tank and the Old Russian, while the remaining dozen or so British agents cast solemn looks toward the top of the tower.

"Go! Go!"

Quickly passing through the alley Will had mentioned, a street did indeed appear before them. Before Li Changjiang even had time to stop, Will's voice reached his ears once more.

"Duke, keep walking straight down this road. There will be another street at the end; follow the right side all the way and you'll reach the exit. Good luck!"

Will's voice suddenly caused a sharp pang in the depths of Li Changjiang's heart.

He suddenly turned around to cast a glance at the direction where only a tiny tip of the tower was still visible, his expression instantly turning cold.

This account.

Sooner or later, he would settle it with those damn bastards.

Li Changjiang had no desire to get too deeply involved in a war that didn't belong to him, but he knew he was already deep in it.

*Bang! Bang!*

Just as Li Changjiang and his group's figures gradually vanished at the end of the street, a burst of sparse gunfire suddenly echoed from behind.

The *bang, bang, bang* echoes did not travel far across the empty expanse, but they were exceptionally clear, stretching from the dawn hour into the encroaching dusk.

At last, they were about to leave this damn place.

The exit on the east side of Misrata was a long asphalt road, flanked on both sides by abandoned cars and debris scattered across the gobi desert.

At the far edge of the distant desert.

The enormous red sun was slowly sinking westward, casting the long shadows of everyone trailing out across the ground in a reddish-orange glow.

In the distance, Li Changjiang spotted figures rushing out from the roadside—a sparse, scattered crowd.

"Hey! Elisa!"

"Li, you're back! God, my God, you're finally back!"

Everyone was exclaiming in awe at this miracle that had sustained an entire day. While Li Changjiang and the Old Russian shed tears of joy, the British appeared somewhat desolate.

"Damn it! Where's Will? Will! Will!"

"Fuck! Bastard!"

"Why didn't you bring Will out? Why?! You bastards!"

Clark's frantic voice silenced everyone, including Li Changjiang. He suddenly realized that the British were not particularly special; even if they could be arrogant, in the face of death, they were even more nervous.

Many of the British couldn't help sobbing quietly. To be precise, among the remaining British personnel, many had been saved by Will.

"Go! Go! Go! If you don't want to die here, we keep moving. The Libyans will be on our tail soon."

Although Li Changjiang's voice sounded somewhat cold, no one openly questioned his words—not even Clark. As the head of the MI6 station, he wasn't a fool; he could naturally tell that this guy whose face was smeared with camo and whose features were obscured held immense prestige among these damned mercenaries. Even more frighteningly, the remaining agents of the intelligence station vaguely took him as their leader.

What the hell was going on.

The large group then set off, following Li Changjiang forward along the left side of the exit. This time, Li Changjiang chose not to take the road, attempting instead to cross directly across the desert toward the northern Mediterranean coast.

There were vast deserts within Libyan territory, and Misrata itself bordered the Mediterranean. Having broken out from the east, the fastest way for them to leave was to head north.

It was truly absurd that the government forces and mercenaries under that bastard Khamis had failed to breach even the first defense line when attacking from the west.

The night was far too long.

Yet compared to the long darkness, the most terrifying moments during fatigue and the initial recovery state were being jolted awake by unknown gunfire from behind.

Li Changjiang kept his nerves on edge the entire time, with Elisa closely following right behind him. The entire squad remained extremely quiet as they walked along the coastline for the better part of the night, right until the approach of dawn.

"Boss! Boss! Come and look, what place is that?"

Keyboard's voice sounded somewhat weak.

Hearing this, Li Changjiang immediately waved for everyone to halt, then broke into a light jog up to the sandy slope ahead. The sea breeze from behind carried a trace of a salty, fishy tang into his nostrils.

Right behind them lay the endless expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. Across the rolling waves lay Europe—a land of prosperity and affluence—yet at this very moment, they found it hard to believe that they had just emerged from a war zone.

The morning light gradually crested the horizon, casting golden rays upon the silhouette of a city not far away.

Li Changjiang felt utterly overwhelmed to the point of collapse.

Good grief!

"God, we finally made it out! Hahaha!"

"God! God!"

"Thank you!"

"Thank you!"

At this moment, everyone abruptly relaxed.

Because less than a few kilometers ahead, illuminated by the morning light, was the small nation of Tunisia, located on the western side of Libya.

This damn journey was finally coming to an end.