Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1034 The Fall of Savinnu

The media storm that Angel stirred up was far more powerful than any shell that exploded in Savinnu.

The meticulously edited footage of ammunition debris bearing clear U.S. military markings; the horrified testimonies of port workers describing the moment of the explosion as feeling "the whole earth was shaking, and the seawater was boiling"; the authoritative interpretation by comparative experts that "an explosion of this magnitude would require at least several hundred tons of military-grade explosives"; and the military background behind the Marlin unearthed by "Horizon"—all these ultimately point to DC, the District of Columbia…

This information spread like wildfire on the internet.

"White House arms scandal" instantly became the hottest topic globally.

The Democratic government was caught off guard.

Every weak and feeble explanation from the White House press secretary was met with more solid evidence and sharper questions from "Horizon" and other international media outlets that quickly followed suit.

Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are on tenterhooks, with the midterm elections fast approaching and their offices nearly overwhelmed with calls from protesters demanding a thorough investigation into the matter.

Republicans, more like a pack of hyenas smelling blood, launched a fierce attack in Congress, demanding the establishment of a special commission of inquiry, with their fingers pointing directly at the Oval Office and the CIA.

Washington, D.C., West Wing of the White House, inside the office of the President's National Security Advisor.

Tom Reid, the chief of staff known for his tough stance, was now ashen-faced as he slammed a thick public opinion report onto the table, scattering the papers all over the floor.

"Look! Look at these damn headlines! 'Horizon'! It's that damn 'Horizon' again! And CNN, BBC, and all those sycophants! What are they trying to do? Try to ruin this midterm election?!"

Reed's voice was hoarse with anger. "Those CIA idiots! They swore they'd got everything covered! And now? The ship's sunk! Evidence is flying everywhere! And it's all been photographed so clearly! Now the whole world is laughing at us! Watching how we cover up this colossal lie!"

Across from him was John Black, a senior CIA official in charge of African affairs.

The guy's face looked as if it had been smeared with excrement, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

He tried to explain: "Sir, this operation... was under the highest level of secrecy! Who could have imagined..."

"Who would have thought?!"

Reed abruptly interrupted him, his finger almost poking Blake's nose, spittle flying everywhere.

"I never expected the ship to explode?! I never expected there to be a mole within the CIA?! Or is it just the media relentlessly attacking like mad dogs?! Are all the people in the CIA rotten?! Are all our Marines idiots?! That piece of trash Saif is about to collapse in Savinnu! Haftar and that damned Song Heping, they're about to have the whole of Lebia in their hands! And us, we're fucking wrecked by our own arms ship, and we still have to face parliamentary questioning and the wrath of the voters! It's all because of your incompetence!"

Blake's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard. "Then... what about Lebia... Saif... can we still...?"

"What else could it be?!"

Reed looked at him like he was an idiot, his voice suddenly rising in a desperate roar.

"Support? What kind of support? Send another 'Marlin II' to be a target for Song Heping?! The eyes of the whole world are on us now! If we send another bullet to Lebanon, tomorrow's 'Horizon' headline will be 'The White House continues to supply arms to hell'! The Democratic Party can just wait to be torn to pieces by voters in the midterm elections!"

He slumped back into his chair, rubbing his throbbing temples, his voice filled with exhaustion and a sense of helplessness that all was lost.

"Let Saif do his own thing. Our only task now is to put out the fire! To save our own backside! We're in a bad position in the swing states right now, the midterm elections are our top priority! To hell with everything else! Let the CIA use all its resources to muddy the waters! To shift the blame to... to those damn extremists! Or... pirates! Whatever! Anyway, immediately! Right now! Get this damn 'arms scandal' off the headlines! At least... before election day!"

Blake opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, silently nodded, and turned to leave the office.

He knew that the Americans were already out of the game in Lebia.

At least in the short term, they will not return to Lebia to wade into this mess.

Clearly, Reid's meaning was very clear—Saif, this puppet, had been ruthlessly abandoned.

On the third day after Haftar's forces turned to a war of attrition, Savinnu's meat grinder began to show the effects predicted by Song Heping.

The GNA's ammunition reserves are gradually running out.

The soldiers received fewer and fewer bullets, and the heavy artillery positions gradually fell silent due to a lack of artillery support.

Despair spread like a plague across the front lines.

Just as the GNA soldiers were on the verge of collapse, the ammunition supplies that Haftar's forces were waiting for arrived at the front lines from the direction of North Darfur in time.

What followed was the moment when Song Heping fulfilled his cold-blooded promise.

On the morning of the fourth day, as the first pale rays of sunlight pierced through the smoke and dust over Savinnu, the piercing sound of shelling alarms tore apart the brief silence.

The earth began to tremble violently, as if a sleeping ancient beast was awakening.

Dozens of large-caliber howitzers and multiple rocket launchers deployed by Haftar's forces around Savinnu roared deafeningly!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!
The dense, suffocating sound of explosions instantly engulfed the entire city.

Shells from the 155mm howitzer rained down.

Each shell that landed was accompanied by a deafening roar, and the massive shockwave instantly tore apart and blew away the already crumbling buildings, the sturdy reinforced concrete bunkers, and even the entrance to the command post hidden deep underground!
The salvo from multiple rocket launchers brought about an apocalyptic scene.

Rockets trailing long plumes of flame hurtled towards the city's core area like a swarm of bees, lacking precision guidance and aiming only for indiscriminate destruction.

Block after block was completely flattened by a series of explosions, flames shot into the sky, and thick smoke billowed and condensed, forming a huge black mushroom cloud that shrouded the city.

The air was thick with the smells of gunpowder, burning, and the nauseating stench of burning protein. The artillery preparation lasted a full hour.

When the shelling finally stopped, the entire core area of ​​Savinnu had been completely reduced to ruins.

The GNA's meticulously constructed defenses, firing positions, and sniper positions proved as fragile as paper in the face of this devastating steel storm.

In the instant the artillery fire extended, behind a concealed window of a building in the distance, Song Heping lowered his binoculars, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He raised his hand, turned his head, and gently pointed his finger towards the GNA-controlled area—

"Attack! Take them down!"

At a single command, Haftar's armored assault group, which had been waiting on the front line of the attack, roared in fury.

A dozen or so T-72 and T-55 tanks, clad in homemade slat armor, roared with their engines, spewing thick black smoke from their exhaust pipes as they brutally crushed bricks and rubble, smashed through broken walls, and charged into the core urban area with an overwhelming force.

Following closely behind were armed pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns and automatic grenade launchers, which began their advance under the cover of the tank onslaught.

Infantrymen of Haftar's forces, who had undergone rigorous training at the "Musicians" training base in North Darfur, leaped out from behind tanks and pickup trucks, moving in groups of three or five with exceptionally skillful tactical maneuvers.

They stayed close to the tanks for cover, using the ruins as springboards to quickly advance and divide the area.

Once a remaining strong firing point is located, the tank turns its gun and blasts the target to smithereens.

resistance?

After enduring that hellish hour of artillery barrage, the surviving GNA soldiers were long gone.

Many people were blasted by the violent explosion, bleeding from all seven orifices, their eyes glazed over, and they collapsed in their bunkers, unable to even hold their weapons.

The few officers who attempted to organize a counterattack were hoarse and desperate, their orders sounding like distant murmurs to the numb ears of the soldiers.

Faced with Haftar's combined arms force of infantry and tanks, any resistance was futile, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, and was instantly overwhelmed by fiercer firepower and more ruthless killing.

The most deadly thing is that a terrible message has been spreading like a plague among GNA soldiers in the past few days.

It is rumored that American aid will not be arriving.

The ship, laden with weapons, was blown up by terrorists in Jebuti harbor.

The GNA armed forces, whose morale had already collapsed, crumbled at the first touch when faced with the overwhelming offensive forces of Haftar's forces.

Large numbers of fleeing soldiers appeared throughout the city.

Escape is just as terrible as a contagious disease.

Once morale collapses, it becomes as unstoppable as a domino effect.

Savinnu, once considered an impregnable fortress by the GNA, fell completely in less than forty-eight hours under Song Heping's ruthless iron will and devastating artillery fire.

The gunfire within the city, initially fierce resistance, quickly became sparse and sporadic, eventually fading into silence with only a few scattered, symbolic shots.

A slightly tattered GNA green flag, planted on the rooftop, was torn down by a Haftar soldier and casually thrown into the still-burning ruins below.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of Lebia.

In the areas controlled by the GNA, panic spread like wildfire, like a plague.

The remnants of the defeated army that retreated from Savinnu described Haftar's forces as terrifying in combat and Song Heping's determination to destroy everything as demons from hell.

Panic triggered an avalanche-like collapse.

The GNA local commanders and tribal elders, who had been observing or trying to organize a defense, completely lost the will to resist.

Benghazi, a major city in eastern Lebanon, opened its doors with almost no resistance.

Haftar's mechanized forces swept through the city and seized control of this vital port city and transportation hub without firing a shot.

The momentum of victory did not stop.

Riding on the momentum of Savinnu's major victory and the fall of Benghazi, Haftar's forces spread like wildfire, rapidly engulfing the vast deserts and oasis towns of southern Lebia.

The oil-producing cities of Jalu and Ajdabiya in the Cyrenaica region (eastern Lebia), and Sebha and Obari in the Fezan region (southern Lebia)...

Previously, local armed groups that were affiliated with the GNA either surrendered without a fight or were utterly crushed in brief skirmishes.

In just half a month, the area represented by Haftar's forces on the map of Lebanon expanded rapidly like a snowball, occupying more than 80 percent of the country's land and its most important oil-producing regions.

The GNA's power has been compressed to Tripoli and a small, narrow coastal area, leaving it teetering on the brink of collapse.

　Asking for a monthly ticket! Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)