Chapter 43: Hellish Difficulty

In all types of terrain warfare, jungle combat is the hardest, bar none.

Note, that jungle warfare is the hardest, not the most dangerous. Urban combat, especially indoor combat, is more dangerous and results in higher casualties.

However, whether in urban or indoor combat, if one side gains an absolute advantage, the terrain won’t be the primary deciding factor.

Firepower superiority can significantly or even entirely negate terrain advantages. A simple example: one side holds a fortified stronghold, but the other side can use artillery to flatten it. If one shell isn’t enough, use ten; if ten aren’t enough, use a hundred. If artillery doesn’t solve it, use bunker-busting bombs, thermobaric weapons, or even nukes. The stronghold will be demolished eventually.

Urban battlefields are limited in size, focusing on combatants within a city. No matter how large, a city has boundaries, concentrating combat intensity and severity.

But jungle warfare is different.

Among all terrains, the jungle is the most favorable for the weaker side because the characteristics of rainforests render almost all modern high-tech weapons ineffective.

The jungle makes aerial reconnaissance almost useless. Satellites can’t penetrate dense canopies, nor can reconnaissance planes. Night vision devices can turn night into day, but thermal imaging can't pierce thick vegetation.

Without effective reconnaissance, firepower superiority is nullified. Carpet bombing can destroy a city but not a vast rainforest. Artillery barrages without clear targets waste shells.

Heavy combat equipment cannot be widely used in jungles. No one would foolishly deploy tanks or armored vehicles in a jungle blitzkrieg. Large-scale airborne operations are impractical, and even the most flexible and rapid air assault operations by helicopters are significantly limited in the jungle.

Abandoning all advantages, the jungle forces the use of basic infantry, basic firepower, and low-intensity, low-severity guerrilla warfare—essentially, the final form of jungle warfare.

Thus, the rainforest becomes the natural ally, even protector, of the weaker side.

In Colombia, guerrillas are the weaker side, and the government is stronger. Yet, despite decades of government offensives, the guerrilla Gowu organization remains undefeated.

Compared to the guerrillas, Arthur’s group is even weaker. So, the good news is that from now on, the rainforest is their shield.

No matter how long the guerrillas have lived here or how well they know the terrain, as long as visibility in the rainforest doesn’t exceed thirty meters, they lose any home-field advantage.

If outmatched, one can simply retreat into the jungle. Finding someone in there is nearly impossible; the jungle itself will consume intruders, excluding human intervention.

Arthur understood these jungle warfare characteristics. As a military enthusiast, knowing these basics was essential. But knowing the difficulty and characteristics of jungle warfare didn’t translate to knowing how to fight in one.

Knowing the theory but not the practice, Arthur had more theoretical knowledge than Frank and the others. But truly navigating the jungle, let alone fighting, was overwhelming for him.

Feeling deeply inadequate, Arthur began to sympathize with Rubber.

With just five people, one captured, they were down to four.

Among these four, one had never been in a jungle or fought a battle.

Excluding the rookie, among the three veterans, one was a mentally shattered commander.

Eliminating the mentally shattered commander left two capable fighters.

But that wasn’t the end.

With just two capable fighters, they had to execute the most challenging rescue mission in the hardest terrain, the jungle.

If this were a game, this would be a nightmare-level dungeon on hellish difficulty.

Arthur felt profound sympathy for Rubber.

Rubber, indeed following the Captain’s path, was on the verge of mental collapse.

After advancing just a few dozen meters, Rubber realized the mess he had taken over. He halted, raised his right fist signaling to stop, then extended three fingers pointing to the right front, followed by pointing to his eyes.

Advance while scouting at the three o’clock position, with two covering the flanks and one watching the rear, ready to halt and engage if needed.

Hand signals can't convey complex messages, only simple ones. Rubber quickly and simply conveyed a few signals with hand gestures but soon realized Arthur looked confused while the Captain was absent-minded.

Yes, Arthur couldn't understand the hand signals.

Arthur was a military enthusiast. He had studied hand signals, but the problem was that hand signals are not something a military enthusiast can fully grasp.

Hand signals are used most frequently in special forces, but this method of battlefield communication isn't standardized. For security reasons, hand signals can't be uniform across all units. Only after joining a unit and becoming familiar with it can one understand the specific meanings of that unit's hand signals.

So, with Rubber making various hand signals, how could Arthur possibly know what they meant?

Luckily, when Rubber looked back, he noticed Arthur’s confusion and the Captain’s distracted state. Rubber, looking frustrated, stopped his signaling. The Captain, snapping out of his daze, stared at Rubber and gestured, asking what he had just communicated.

Rubber didn’t want to make noise, as in the jungle, sound detection is crucial. But now, he had no choice but to speak.

"Captain, can you pull yourself together?"

Signaling George to stay alert, Rubber moved back to the Captain. Grabbing his collar, Rubber's anger and frustration were evident, though he kept his voice low, unable to fully express his anger.

"Bottle Cap isn't dead yet. How can we rescue him if you’re like this? Kung Fu Kid doesn’t know anything. You at least need to watch our rear! Damn it, are you listening to me? Stop acting like you want to die!"

Unable to shout, Rubber used his strength, shaking the Captain vigorously. The Captain, jolted by the shaking, pushed Rubber away forcefully.

"I know, I don't want to die!"

The Captain’s voice was loud, so Rubber glared at him. Realizing this, the Captain lowered his voice. "I know what to do. Don’t worry about me."

"I'm worried about ourselves!"

Rubber grabbed the Captain again, snarling, "You got Bottle Cap killed, and now you want to get us all killed? Four hundred million dollars is gone, but I don’t want to lose my life here. Damn it! Stop dragging us down!"

Hearing "four hundred million dollars," the Captain snapped to attention, his face filled with reluctance and anger. But soon, he sighed softly and said, "I'm sorry... I'm okay now. Don’t worry about me."

Rubber, still frustrated, let go of the Captain and approached Arthur. Grabbing Arthur’s collar, he sternly said, "Now, keep your ears open, listen to every sound around us, and follow me. Don’t get too close, but stay within sight. Got it?"

"Got it."

Rubber shook his head, sighed, and said quietly, "Move out."

Arthur felt ashamed but followed Rubber’s orders, inching forward.

The jungle was sweltering, unlike the cool highlands. It was incredibly hot and stuffy.

Sweat poured down, and Arthur felt he could hardly endure it, but he wouldn’t complain. He just kept moving forward.

After two hours of trudging, Arthur lost all sense of direction. Only when Rubber checked the GPS to confirm their path did Arthur realize they had advanced 900 meters in a straight line, but the actual distance covered was 4,200 meters.

Four kilometers in the jungle is vastly different from four kilometers on flat ground, let alone on a road.

Rubber signaled a stop. It was time to rest.

Resting meant no idle chatter. The four replenished their water and ate to regain energy. After half an hour, Rubber stood and signaled to move out.

Rubber had just signaled when a faint voice was heard not far away.

The voice was almost inaudible, but it startled everyone.

Rubber immediately signaled to hide. Even if Arthur didn’t understand, seeing the others crouch and hide, he did the same.

They stayed hidden for ten minutes, hearing no further sounds. Finally, Rubber pointed at Arthur to stay put and at the Captain to stay alert. Then, Rubber and George slowly moved to find the source of the voice.

Half an hour later, Rubber and George returned.

The four gathered to discuss.

"We’ve found the enemy camp."

Rubber’s face was grave and despairing. He waved his hand and whispered, "It's less than 200 meters from us. We’re at the edge of the enemy camp, but they haven’t noticed us."

In the jungle, a camp can’t be surrounded by sentries unless there are thousands of them.

Frank asked, "Is the camp large?"

"Very large and dispersed. We can only see a part of it, but it's undoubtedly been here a long time. The buildings are old, so this is a well-established camp."

A well-established, long-term camp isn’t something temporary or easily abandoned because building a camp in the jungle is hard. No one would abandon it lightly.

Frank sighed helplessly. "I'll go observe. If it’s a permanent camp, maybe we can negotiate."