"Are the Adcardo people in position?" Mercer opened the voice communication.
Pan'an's voice came through: "Don't worry! Do you need the road blocked now?"
"Almost, go ahead, first cut off the traffic." Mercer gave the order.
"No problem, Scorpion! Go get ready to block the road!" After Pan'an gave the instructions, she looked at Mercer's fully armored appearance in the video call: "Don't mess up, if something goes wrong, run, we can always pull you out."
"Don't worry, the one who needs to run won't be me." Mercer smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.
After that, Pan'an nodded, hung up the phone, and began to block the road.
Blocking the road was actually just creating a traffic jam artificially. Pan'an would instruct some Adcardans to pretend to have a vehicle collision, and then several vehicles would be placed across the road for an argument. This was to avoid innocent citizens being drawn into the battlefield.
Ambushing dozens of fully armed soldiers, this intensity of warfare is not considered a skirmish even in modern warfare. During full-scale war times, the attack and defense of a stronghold often involved only twenty or thirty people.
Unlike ancient large-scale troop battles, in today's era of integrated information warfare, large-scale armored assaults are not cost-effective unless they are unmanned.
At the same time, Mann's voice came through: "I see the convoy! No Demon Lizards, but the Behemoth is still there. I suspect those two Centaurs are also present."
"Understood, have Sasha contact the Adcardo side to start blocking the traffic behind Biotech. Our goal is to complete combat in five minutes."
The roads need to be blocked from both sides, one side to block exiting the city, and the other to block entering from near the checkpoint.
However, the methods differed for both sides. On the route from the checkpoint to Night City, the Adcardans would disguise as NCPD, set up a checkpoint using fake police cars, letting only Biotech's convoy pass.
"The targets are estimated to reach your position in three minutes, A, be careful." Mann's voice was stern.
"No problem." Mercer chuckled, "Once this job is done, I'll invite you all to my place for dinner."
"...Don't say things like that before a job." Mann said helplessly, "Are you doing it on purpose?"
"Hahaha! Don't be so serious, relax." Mercer indeed was not nervous at all.
On the contrary, his heart was pounding, and the excitement had started to pump adrenaline through his veins.
In just two short minutes, the convoy finally cast shadows in the middle of the road from a distance.
Biotech and Military Science's convoys lined up like a dragon, approaching the highway where Mercer was located.
Leading were two small armored vehicles, followed by an overhauled large Military Science armored vehicle, then three Military Science Behemoths, and three armored vehicles with Biotech logos.
"Mines have been placed." Pira's voice finally sounded.
"Get ready for action!"
Mercer had already exited the vehicle early, standing by the side of the highway waiting for the convoy to arrive.
He flexed his muscles, watching as Pira's vehicle veered off and took to the dirt road beside the road, heading into the wilderness.
Their plan was to use drones and rocket launchers to attack the convoy from a distance, while Mercer's task was a direct frontal assault.
Meanwhile, Mann, V, and Rebecca disguised as private cars, trailed not too far from the convoy, ready to infiltrate from behind once the frontal attack commenced.
As for the man-portable missile launcher, Mercer didn't plan to use it—mainly because he wasn't familiar with its operation and exact power. Rather than fumbling with a new gadget, sticking to the original plan seemed more prudent.
He stood quietly on the side of the road, waiting for the right moment.
The first sound he heard was the buzzing of drones—a sudden swarm of drones emerged from the side of the road, rushing straight toward the distant convoy. Soon after, the lead vehicle of the convoy hit a mine, blown skyward.
At this moment, on the wild plains beside the road, Pira excitedly aimed the pre-set multiple rocket launchers at the convoy.
"Taste my baby!"
He laughed out loud, pulled the trigger, and the multi-barrel rocket launcher, cobbled together from multiple single-man rocket launchers, fired sequentially like a rocket battery, blasting towards the armored vehicles that had been locked on.
However, the three Behemoths were deliberately spared.
Biotech and Military Science's convoy was already reacting to the drone presence, with numerous soldiers quickly forming a defensive line relying on the armored vehicles; vehicle-mounted machine guns and portable anti-air missiles were also deployed.
In no time, the sounds of cannon fire roared, bullets streamed, and the sky turned red with explosions. Even a kilometer away, Mercer could feel the sudden intense wind pressure and the smell of gunpowder.
Of the nine rockets launched by Pira, only three hit the enemy positions, with six intercepted mid-air.
The enemy's anti-aircraft missile accuracy was extremely high, making it overkill to face slow-moving single-man rockets. If the Demon Lizard were here, just the automatic missile defense system on one Demon Lizard could intercept all the missiles.
Though the missiles could be stopped, the large swarm of drones that Mercer had prepared managed to breach the enemy's defenses.
Each slim drone zipped through bullet showers; although most were shot down mid-way, the few that made it through still caused significant personnel and vehicle losses to Military Science.
Two armored vehicles were set ablaze, though not exploded, they lost both mobility and machine guns.
And, the soldiers had no effective means against the drones; they could only shoot down as many as possible. But when a drone got too close, all they could do was hope that a nearby companion could shield them from the blast.
In just a brief encounter, over half of the forty soldiers and nine vehicle convoy were out of action.
"Mercer! It's your turn!" Pira's voice came through the headset, amid the sound of whizzing bullets: "Damn, I need to move further away... those bastards are about to use vehicle-mounted missiles on me!"
"Don't worry, I'm on my way." Mercer's voice remained calm.
The compressed propulsion unit on his armored back suddenly emitted a somewhat piercing hum, and then, with a slight exertion of his legs, as he leaped into the sky, he turned into a streaking meteor, diving towards the distant convoy like a missile.
With the comprehensive coverage helmet marking the enemies the instant, the Military Science and Biotech personnel immediately noticed another unknown aerial entity.
Upon realizing what was flying in the sky, the Military Science operative in charge shouted in a somewhat incredulous voice: "Aim the vehicle-mounted missiles, shoot him down!"
In the moment that tiny swarm-like missiles flew towards Mercer, he merely raised his hand.
With a flicker of blue electromagnetic light in the air, the small missiles streaming in from afar, as if pressed by invisible hands, hovered in the sky, including the incoming bullets, caught as if against an invisible air wall, held in a freeze-frame.
Then, Mercer extended his hand and gave a slight twist.
"Holy... Fuck!" The lead Military Science operative could only gape in disbelief at the scene unfolding.
Mercer, however, glanced at the redirected bullets and missiles in front of him with a click of his tongue at the power display readout.
Such a seemingly awe-inspiring maneuver had depleted 30% of his armor's power.
But fortunately, the enemy was dumbstruck, even unconsciously releasing the trigger—what's the point of continuing to fight?
The corners of Mercer's mouth curled up beneath his helmet.
Next...
It was finally time for the combat test that Arasaka had longed for!