Chapter 44: Night Assault
Translated by: kevin1782
Edited by: Isalee
It was very bright as the light poured through the patio past the main entrance gate. If anybody were to take a glimpse outside, they'd find Grolev and Gao Yang.
There was a cloister outside the window. If they wanted to get close to the windows they had to pass through the door area. They sneaked towards the cloister.
The windows were all very low and were at Gao Yang's waist level. They had to crouch and duck walk step by step until they reached the window that they were gonna attack.
Grolev nodded to Gao Yang when they both were beneath the window. He then slowly opened the mortar crate and fished out a mortar shell. He counted from three to one with his fingers. After that, he stood up while Gao Yang shot the glass nearest Grolev.
Gao Yang and Grolev both thought that one shot was enough to break all the window glass but it didn't turn out as they had expected. Although there was a small hole in the glass, it didn't shatter. Grolev couldn't throw the mortar into the house.
Gao Yang's gunshot engendered in utter havoc. Twenty plus to thirty people were all screaming and some were even reaching for their weapons. Luckily, in spite of Grolev not being able to throw the mortar shell in, Gao Yang didn't give the people inside time to react either. He shot twice in a row at the glass. Just when the "grenade" was about to explode, the glass shattered.
The moment the window opened, Grolev ruthlessly threw the mortar into the house and dived down immediately. Although Gao Yang was slower by a bit, he made it in time for cover behind the walls.
There was a loud boom after Gao Yang had just taken cover. The room that the mortar was thrown in was totally out of light. Furniture shrapnel accompanied by waves of gust rushed out of the window. Gao Yang's ears rang once and then he couldn't hear anything.
Gao Yang was dazed by the explosion that was so close to him. He was tottering and he clumsily turned his gun, shooting into the house like an automaton. But Grolev pushed him to the side after only two shots and he threw in another mortar shell.
Gao Yang hid behind the walls and managed to load two shotgun shells into his gun in time. After the second mortar exploded, he flashed into sight and began firing into the house. This time he took notice of what Grolev was doing at the same time. When he saw Grolev holding two mortars with one in each hand and knocking it at other walls, he continued firing and dodged behind the walls after Grolev threw them in.
Two explosions simultaneously erupted. The whole house was trembling. The blasts from 82mm mortar bombs weren't too big, but four of them in the same room? Gao Yang didn't think there would be any survivors.
Grolev snatched the M4 on his back after depleting the mortar bombs. He shouted at Gao Yang, but Gao Yang's ears were ringing like hell. Even though he could hear the shout it wasn't clear. Seeing Grolev's actions and expression, Gao Yang knew what had happened.
Gao Yang turned around but saw that the door was already opened and men were pouring out from the room. But while they were rushing, Tribo's RPD (Russian light GPMG) sounded out too. Those who rushed out were swept to the ground by the RPD. Three men fell straightaway at the doorway.
Tribo locked the door and Gao Yang didn't need to worry anymore. He turned back and signaled Grolev to retreat. It was at this moment that Gao Yang had found out as consternation struck him that three men had emerged from the cloister's other end.
Someone appearing from the other side of the cloister only meant that there obviously was a side door. What was even graver was that the three appeared behind Grolev and he didn't know at all. Gao Yang shouted warnings to him and immediately raised his gun to shoot. Those bullets almost brushed past Grolev's ears and struck down one of the guys who already had his gun raised.
Gao Yang's actions immediately made Grolev aware of what had happened. He swiftly turned to the enemies to fire, but it was at this very moment that the other two guys also fired. Grolev, who was twirling his body to face their enemies, suddenly juddered and fell whilst turning.
When he fell, although the M4 in his hands already fired and hit one of the enemies to the ground, he was also hit by the same man who held an M4 while he fell.
When Grolev fell down, a 'Ka-ta!' sound went off as Gao Yang pulled the fore-end[1] to load the rounds. The round glided above Grolev's head and exploded the last enemy's head.
Although slow in narration, everything happened instantaneously. The three who suddenly emerged took them by surprise and although Gao Yang and Grolev's reactions were fast enough to annihilate all the enemies, Grolev was shot down.
The reason Gao Yang wasn't hit was only because Grolev was in front of him. Grolev was hit by the two men who had fired.
"Hare, cover us!"
Seeing that Grolev was down, Gao Yang was getting anxious. He shouted and didn't care if Tribo heard or not. He threw the shotgun to the floor and rushed before Grolev. He wrenched Grolev's belt and grabbed his collar. He growled furiously as he carried Grolev and jumped over the waist-high cloister banisters. He threw Grolev down from the cloisters. It was around the height of a man.
Gao Yang had no choice. Tribo had to blockade the room's position. Gao Yang couldn't drag Grolev away from there and so he could only throw him below the cloister.
Hurling him out, he jumped with a huff and reached the bottom of the cloister. When he landed he realized that he had forgotten his shotgun. Grolev's M4 was still there too.
When Gao Yang jumped, two other men rushed out together. He immediately unholstered his pistol and fired before they could lean over to shoot. One of them was hit and dropped down headfirst beneath the cloister, but the other fell back and got up again to shoot.
The man was apparently wearing a bulletproof vest. When he was about to fire, Gao Yang had run out of bullets.
Gao Yang had already fired his seventh bullet and was reloading. He couldn't make it in time. Luckily, Tribo turned his RPD in time to get that man. Before the enemy could shoot, blood flowers blossomed from his body as the RPD bullets hit him. Bulletproof vests could stand against Gao Yang's .45 ACP dumdum bullets, but not an against RPD's bullets. There was totally no hope at near range.
Gao Yang reloaded and had M1911 in his hand. He dragged Grolev's arm with the other. He just ran while half-flinging Grolev like a madman.
Grolev was around a hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall, he was not corpulent but he was sturdy. He weighed at least two hundred pounds. Theoretically, Gao Yang would be straining to drag him, but the physical potential of an anxious person on adrenaline and anxiety was really astounding. Gao Yang almost couldn't feel Grolev's weight. He had to take note of other hostiles emerging at the same time. He still managed to zoom all the way to the back of the pickup truck at such amazing speed. He rendezvoused with Tribo.
Tribo shouted while gunning, "What's happened with old Ruski?!"
"He's shot!"
Although he wasn't well-versed in RPD, the short proximity of thirty meters ensured that it was foolproof. Whenever people rushed out of the house they'd retreat from Tribo's bullets.
Gao Yang only had a chance to check Grolev's current status after hiding behind cover. Just when he was leaning over to check, Grolev's hand shakily reached out and grabbed Gao Yang's shoulder. He spoke weakly, "Gao, you want me to fall to my death?"
Gao Yang burst out in joy when he saw that Grolev wasn't dead. He shouted, "How are you? Where were you shot?"
Grolev coughed and shook his head, replying, "I don't know. I think I've been shot at least four or five times. It's f*cking painful. Go, I'm beyond salvation."
Gao Yang ignored Grolev and shouted at Tribo. "Can you carry Grolev?"
Tribo didn't reply and retrieved a drum while firing. When the gunfire stopped he loaded the new drum and fired a few shots. Only then did he shout, "Take her. You cover, this is the last drum. Take care, I'm gonna carry him."
Gao Yang ran to Tribo's side, took the RPD, and fired a few shots. Tribo carried his M700 on his back and knelt beside Grolev. He roared and carried Grolev. He tottered a few steps and stabilized his footing. Then he started jogging with Grolev on his back toward the streets.
Tribo was only one hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall and he approximately weighed a hundred and fifty pounds. He wasn't tall or large but he had the strength. He carried Grolev who was a notch larger in size than him. He could even run.
Even though Gao Yang always called Tribo "Hare", he had another nickname:"Mule". Another one was "Livestock". It's just that those weren't as widely known as "Hare".
Tribo's actions made Gao Yang look gratified and astonished. He felt that it was good enough that Tribo could even carry Grolev. What exceeded his expectations was that he could jog even with that deadweight. It indeed did not discredit his "Livestock" nickname. Although it was the sudden burst from all that pandemonium, Gao Yang still couldn't carry somebody who was two hundred pounds. Not to even mention that Tribo had ammunition and a gun on him also.
After waiting for Tribo to run dozens of meters away, Gao Yang carried his M1A and fired as he retreated. But when he retreated behind the last pickup truck and was about to get out of its cover, he saw that there were two wheelbarrow sort of push carts in the truck. They were the type that had two wheels beneath the metal body. Those were frequently used in Mainland China's construction sites.
He opened the truck's trunk and wrenched a cart from it. He racked the gun on the cart and retreated while firing. Its accuracy was hard to maintain. Additionally, the shift in firing position caused Gao Yang to be unable to blockade those within the building.
After another stack of bullets was fired, Gao Yang squeezed the trigger but nothing came out of the gun. The last drum was finally out.
Translator's note(s):
1. Fore-end: