Finally, the numbers on the timer hit zero.
The moment the first 152mm howitzer shell was fired, the sound seemed to tear through the night sky over the Mesopotamian Plain.
The muzzle brake spewed flames several meters long, mixed with dense gray smoke, forming a menacing silhouette in the moonlight.
The barrel abruptly recoiled over a meter backward under the massive force, slamming heavily into the hydraulic buffer, kicking up a circle of dust.
The artillery crew had long since adeptly retreated to a safe distance, eyes under their ear protectors fixed on the target zone six kilometers away.
There, the shell was still flying through the air, taking a full twelve seconds to reach its destination.
Inside the Joint Operations Base command center, Lemont was reviewing the latest satellite images when he heard the sound that sent chills up his spine.
