Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1141 The Phone Ringing in the Middle of the Night

Headquarters of "Musician" defense company, Senegal, Africa.

Vice President Ferrari, core member and top sniper "Hunter", intelligence chief Henry and others gathered in the emergency operations room, the atmosphere so tense it was almost palpable.

Ferrari dialed Song Heping's satellite phone and encrypted cell phone again and again, but all he got in response was a cold, switched-off message.

He tugged at his tie impatiently, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Still can't get in touch! All the numbers are invalid!"

Ferrari's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of panic.

Song Heping is the soul and pillar of the company. If something happens to him, the "Musician" defense company, which has just gotten on the right track, will face annihilation.

Intelligence chief Henry spoke with a grim expression: "I just received urgent intelligence from an informant in Damascus. The information has not yet been confirmed, but the source is highly reliable. It is said that... the boss and President Hafez had an accident at the safe house dinner, suspected of being poisoned, and have been rushed to the army hospital for emergency treatment. The specific details are unknown."

"Poisoned?!"

Ferrari jumped to his feet. "What happened? The security at the safe house is the tightest in Celia! How could it be poisoned?"

Henry hesitated for a moment, then said, "Ferrari, the boss asked me yesterday to urgently gather detailed background information on Jackson, the new acting director of the CIA's Operations Division. I suspect... this incident is very likely related to the CIA's Operations Division. They've always seen Mr. Song as a thorn in their side."

The "hunter," who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ice: "If it was the CIA, then it's not surprising. They definitely have their own special agents in Damascus, and who knows what dirty tricks they might use to bribe the people in the safe house..."

Ferrari took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "No, I have to get to Damascus right now!"

"The Hunter" immediately stopped him, saying, "You can't go. If this is truly a CIA trap, or if Damascus has become extremely dangerous, going there will be like walking into a snare. The company needs someone to stay and oversee things. I'll go."

He stood up, his tone leaving no room for argument, “Henry, prepare the fastest route to Lebanon for me; I’ll enter Syria from there.”

Looking into the hunter's determined eyes, Ferrari knew in his heart that this was the most reasonable choice.

Reason compelled him to abandon his insistence, and he nodded heavily, saying, "Alright! Stay in touch! We must find Song and confirm his safety!"

Moscow, on the other side of the world.

Late at night, at the Kremlin.

President Vladimir was awakened from his sleep by the urgent ringing of the telephone.

"Who?"

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked the other person's identity with some helplessness.

After all, that's just the nature of this job.

There is no personal time.

"President, it's me..."

The voice on the other end of the phone was that of Timov, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

"Something's happened in Damascus..."

"what?"

Vladimir was instantly wide awake.

When he finished listening to the urgent report on the other end of the phone, his expression instantly became extremely serious.

After hanging up the phone, he quickly got dressed and drove to his office in the Kremlin.

When he entered the office, Defense Minister Zhao Yigu, Chief of the General Staff Rahimo, and the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Timov, were already waiting there, each with a gloomy expression on their face.

The SVR chief immediately reported the top-priority intelligence he had just received: "Mr. President, a few hours ago, we received reliable information that President Hafez of Syria, Song Heping of the 'Musician' Defense Company, and Yevgeny (the cook) of the Wagner Group suffered an unexplained poisoning incident while having dinner together at a safe house in Damascus! The three have been rushed to the Damascus Army Hospital for emergency treatment, and their condition is unknown! Our initial assessment is that this incident is highly likely to be the work of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)."

He paused, then emphasized his assessment: "Mr. President, we believe that if Hafez, Song Heping, and Yevgeny were to all die simultaneously, the command structure of the Syrian government forces and pro-government armed groups would be paralyzed, and the northern front would collapse completely in a very short time—possibly no more than a week. The entirety of Syria could quickly fall under the control of extremist and pro-Western forces, and all our strategic investments in Syria, including the Tartus naval base, would face serious threats."

The office was completely silent. The air seemed to freeze.

President Vladimir walked to the huge map, staring intently at the location of Sirya, his gaze deep.

He was well aware that the assessment by the head of SVR was by no means alarmist.

Song Heping and Wagner, led by "The Cook," are key pillars supporting the ground combat capabilities of the Silja government, while Hafez is a symbol of maintaining national unity.

If these three pillars collapse simultaneously, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Should we continue with the current limited but ineffective support model, or risk a direct conflict with the West by launching a larger-scale military operation to completely reverse the situation in Syria?

This difficult decision could perhaps have been delayed in the past.

But now, with this sudden "poisoning" incident in Damascus, it has been mercilessly laid before him.

The clock is ticking as it approaches the critical point.

At the heart of this storm, in a secluded ward at the Damascus Army Hospital, Song Heping calmly drank water, seemingly oblivious to the tumultuous world outside.

He was waiting, waiting for Moscow to make a decision, and waiting to see what the final outcome of his elaborate scheme would be.

This international game, where lives and national destinies are at stake, has reached its most thrilling moment.

Moscow, Kremlin.

The heavy oak door shut out the outside world, leaving only the faint ticking of the old clock on the wall, which made the silence in the room feel oppressively suffocating.

President Vladimir was not seated behind his large desk, but stood before a huge map of the Middle East, his gaze fixed on Seria—that narrow coastline torn apart by war and crucial to Russia's fate. Defense Minister Zhao Yigu broke the silence first: "President, the situation is very clear, and extremely critical. The simultaneous downfall of Hafez, Song Heping, and Yevgeny is tantamount to removing the backbone of the Seria government forces. The soldiers on the front lines are still fighting because they believe in stable command and support from the rear. Once this news is confirmed, even if it's just widely disseminated, defeat will occur in an instant."

Chief of the General Staff General Rahimo then spoke, tracing the northern front on the map with a laser pointer: "According to the latest simulations by our General Staff, without effective command and the support of core combat forces like Wagner and 'Musicians,' the northern defenses, especially in Idlib and the southern region of Aleppo, can only hold out for a maximum of 72 to 96 hours. HTS and the so-called 'Free Army' will surge in like a tide. Their next target will inevitably be Homs."

The red dot of the laser pointer landed heavily on Holmes.

"Once Holmes falls..."

Rahimo's voice grew increasingly somber. "The road to the Mediterranean coast will be essentially open. Opposition forces will be able to directly threaten Tartus, and even further north to Latakia. Our Khmeimim airbase and Tartus naval supply base will be directly exposed to enemy artillery fire, and the threat of guerrilla and terrorist attacks will increase exponentially."

Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Timov slowly added: "This is not just a military defeat, Mr. President. It will be a catastrophic geopolitical failure. We have been operating in Seria for decades, investing enormous political, economic, and military resources. Tartus is our only naval foothold in the Mediterranean and a symbol of Russia's presence as a global power in this crucial region."

"If we lose it due to the collapse of the Siri regime, our influence in the Middle East will be devastated, and our strategic space will be drastically compressed. The Americans, the Turkish, and the Gulf states will ruthlessly fill the vacuum we leave behind. At that time, NATO's influence will be directly close to our southern vulnerability."

President Vladimir finally turned around, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, but his gaze was unusually firm.

He walked straight to his desk, placed his hands on the surface, and glanced at his three key advisors.

"I understand everything you've said."

His voice was steady, yet carried an undeniable firmness.

"Our strategy over the past two years has been limited military intervention coupled with proxy wars to maintain the survival of the Sirian regime and preserve our strategic assets at the lowest possible direct cost. But now it seems that the marginal effect of this strategy has reached its limit. The enemy has seen our bottom line and is constantly testing and pushing it."

He straightened up, his tone growing increasingly cold: "The Americans? Of course they want us out of Syria. Their proxies are fighting our people on the front lines. Relations? Since the Korean War, has there been any room for our relations with the West to deteriorate further? Sanctions come one after another, accusations grow more absurd than the last. Will they stop if we back down? History tells us no. They will only push their luck further."

The president's gaze fell once more on the map of Syria, as if he could see through the paper and witness the smoke and bloodshed on that land.

"Losing Tartus and Khmeimim means Russia will be completely squeezed out of the Eastern Mediterranean. It means our Black Sea Fleet will be trapped in the Black Sea, and our strategic projection capabilities will be severely constrained. This is not just about losing an overseas base; it is a serious weakening of our great power status. How will our adversaries view us? What will our friends think?"

He paused for a moment, and the office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; only his steady voice echoed.

“Zhaoyi Valley”.

He looked at the Minister of Defense and asked, "If we were to conduct a large-scale, overt military intervention, how much time would the General Staff need to complete the formulation of major operational plans and the assembly and deployment of troops?"

Zhao Yigu immediately replied, “Mr. President, we have been continuously updating and improving our contingency plans for Silia. The forward deployment of the Aerospace Forces can be strengthened within 48 hours. As for ground forces, we can immediately send more military advisors, special forces, and reinforce the garrison of naval infantry. If we need to deploy complete army units, we will need more time for strategic projection, but key air strike and special operations forces can be quickly deployed to stabilize the core nodes of the front line.”

"Comrade Rahimo," the president then turned to the Chief of the General Staff, "what is the primary military objective?"

Rahimo answered without hesitation: "Using our absolute air superiority, we will immediately launch a devastating air strike against the southward-bound HTS and the main Free Army forces, slowing their offensive. At the same time, we will ensure the absolute security of the core corridor of Homs-Hama-Tartus. As long as we have this corridor, we can stabilize our position and then support the Damascus direction."

The SVR Director interjected at the opportune moment: "Intelligence indicates that the 4th Armored Division of the Cyrian Republican Guard is currently the most complete and combat-effective government force, stationed near Homs. If we can quickly establish effective contact with the division commander and provide support, the ground defenses may be able to hold out for a little longer."

President Vladimir slowly walked to the window and looked out at the quiet Moscow night.

The silence that lasted a few minutes felt like an eternity.

The three high-ranking officials held their breath, awaiting his final decision.

Finally, he turned around, all hesitation and deliberation gone from his face, replaced by a resolute determination.

"Gentlemen, we have nowhere to retreat."

His voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer: "To back down means to hand over Sylvia, to abandon our decades of strategic investment, to show weakness to our adversaries, and to see Russia's international standing crumble. This is unacceptable."

He walked back to his desk, sat down, glanced at the three men, and gave the order:
"Zhaoyi Valley, I order the Ministry of Defense to immediately activate Operation 'New Celia'. The Aerospace Forces shall intensify and improve the quality of airstrikes against terrorist targets within Celia. Execute immediately! Deploy all necessary air and ground forces to Tartus and Khmeimim to ensure the absolute security of the bases."

"Rahim, the General Staff is fully cooperating to develop a detailed phased operational plan. The objective is to stabilize the current front and seize opportunities to turn the tide of the war. Priority is given to ensuring the safety of Holmes."

"Tymov".

He looked at the intelligence chief and said, “Use all resources to verify the exact situation of President Hafez and others as soon as possible, and try to establish a direct and effective command and coordination channel with the reliable forces of the Syrian government army.”

Finally, President Vladimir said in a solemn voice: "Inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare the necessary statements. Our actions are aimed at the threat of terrorism, to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and to protect Russia's legitimate interests and the security of its military facilities in the region. The wording must be strong, and the stance must be firm."

"Yes! Mr. President!"

The three responded in unison, their faces showing a mixture of relief and fighting spirit.

Although this decision was difficult and risky, it at least provided a clear direction, which is much better than sliding into failure through indecision.

With the order issued, the massive Russian war machine began to accelerate. Warships of the Caspian Fleet started fires, and at airfields in the Southern Military District, warplanes loaded with bombs and missiles were towed from hangars. Strategic bomber units of the long-range aviation received orders to stand by…

A large-scale military intervention that will profoundly change the course of the war in Syria and even the landscape of the Middle East has begun.

In the quiet ward of the Damascus Army Hospital, Song Heping's other encrypted phone on the bedside table suddenly lit up, and a short, complexly encrypted message from a specific channel was silently delivered.

The decoded message contained only one short line of text:

"Polar bear, has emerged from its den."

Song Heping picked up his phone, glanced at it, and a barely perceptible smile curved his lips. He walked to the hidden door leading to Hafiz's room, knocked lightly, and then pushed the door open and entered.

President Hafez and the cook both looked at him.

Song Heping turned his phone screen towards them, where the short message was displayed.

Hafiz let out a long sigh of relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing a bit, but his eyes were still full of worry. The cook grinned, rubbing his hands together eagerly: "Finally, they're here! I've been itching to get started!"

Song Heping said calmly, "Mr. President, the first step has been successful. But the real test is yet to come. The Russian army's planes and artillery can destroy the enemy on the front lines, but to counterattack the lost territory, more blood will be needed. It seems that our time to 'recover' has come."

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

　　
　
(End of this chapter)