Thirty kilometers north of Bayji, the desolate Gobi Desert gleamed with a dark red hue in the twilight.
Az stood atop his command pickup, raising his binoculars, a smug smile gracing his lips.
On the horizon ahead, the pursuit force he had dispatched had already latched onto the tail of Song Heping's troops—
At least, that's what he believed.
Dozens of armed pickups kicked up a storm of dust, the tongues of fire from their heavy machine guns blazing conspicuously in the darkening skies.
"Warriors of Allah! Move forward! Crush these heretics!"
Az roared into the radio, spitting saliva everywhere.
His twenty-thousand-strong army spread like a black tide across a front more than five kilometers wide, advancing in pursuit.
Though the previous ambush had cost him dearly, his numerical advantage remained overwhelming.
Moreover, he had received definite intelligence—there were over a thousand troops of the Abu You Brigade stationed at Bayji, the nearest to Song Heping.
