Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1143 Global Shock
The press conference hall of the Presidential Palace in Damascus was brightly lit and bustling with people.

Reporters from major media outlets around the world crowded every corner, their cameras and microphones aimed at the empty podium.

There was a tense and expectant atmosphere in the air.

Over the past three days, rumors have been rampant about President Hafez being critically poisoned and the imminent collapse of the Siliya regime, making this suddenly announced press conference full of suspense.

At 10 p.m. local time, the side door opened.

Escorted by a team of elite presidential guards, President Hafez, dressed in a crisp military uniform (not a hospital gown), walked steadily onto the platform.

Although his face looked slightly tired, his eyes were sharp and his posture was upright, a stark contrast to the rumored image of him being "on the verge of death".

A huge commotion erupted from the audience, and flashbulbs went off everywhere, almost flooding the entire hall.

Exclamations, the sound of camera shutters clicking, and reporters' urgent questions mingled together.

Hafiz pressed his hands together lightly, signaling for quiet.

He walked to the microphone, his gaze sweeping across the room, his voice carrying an undeniable authority through the microphone:

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media. First of all, I would like to thank you for your concern for my personal health. I have indeed experienced a sudden health challenge in the past few days."

He paused, deliberately leaving a brief silence, making everyone hold their breath.

"but--"

He emphasized his words, his voice booming, "As you can see, the President of Syria is still standing here, in his post! Any conspiracy to destabilize Syria through despicable means is doomed to failure!"

He directly pointed out the "conspiracy" without providing specific details, leaving enough room for imagination and avoiding prematurely revealing his strategy.

"I want to tell all the people who care about Celia, and those enemies who want to see us fail: the Celia government remains strong! Our army remains loyal! Our will is unbreakable!"

Hafiz's voice was full of power.

"In response to the recent temporary difficulties encountered on the northern front, I would like to announce an important message: Based on the deep strategic alliance between Russia and the West, and at our request, our great friend, the Russian Federation, has decided to take all necessary measures, including military means, to assist us in combating terrorism and restoring national peace and stability, effective immediately!"

This statement caused another uproar in the audience. Russia's deep involvement!

This means that the situation in the Sire war will be fundamentally reversed!

Immediately following up, Hafez delivered a passionate mobilization speech, calling on the entire nation's military and civilians to unite and cooperate with the Russian army in launching a counterattack against the enemy.

His image of "returning as a king," along with the bombshell news of Russian intervention, was instantly broadcast worldwide via live stream.

The entire global village was immediately in an uproar.

First, regarding Moscow, although the Kremlin now knows that Hafez and Song Heping have actually played a "resurrection" trick on them, it is still "gratified" by Hafez's "recovery" and swift statement, claiming that this proves the resilience of the Syrian regime, and reiterating that the Russian military action is limited to combating terrorists and supporting the legitimate government.

The Americans reacted rather angrily.

A White House spokesperson used strong language to condemn Russia's "military adventurism" as a "serious violation" of Syria's democratic oil, and said that the Hafez "poisoning" incident was highly suspicious, suggesting that it might be a staged event to create a pretext for Russian intervention.

Then, the U.S. State Department announced that it was considering imposing a new round of sanctions on Russia.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught.

Since the Crimean crisis at the beginning of the year, the US and its allies have already imposed hundreds of sanctions on Russia.

As the saying goes, "The more debts you have, the less you worry; the more lice you have, the less they itch."

The Russian side reacted very coldly to this, adopting an attitude of "do whatever you want."

In Europe, major countries such as the UK, France, and Germany expressed "serious concern" and called on all parties to exercise restraint to avoid escalation. However, significant internal divisions made it difficult to form a unified and strong response.

The reactions of Middle Eastern countries varied – Turkey protested strongly, saying the Russian military action threatened its security; the Hoopoe remained silent, but its air force increased patrols over the skies; and Persia publicly expressed its support for the decisions of the Syrian government and Russia.

Hafez's appearance acted as a shot in the arm, temporarily stabilizing the panic in Damascus and even the entire government-controlled area.

But the real test was on the northern battlefield.

Just as Hafiz was holding a press conference, several bulletproof off-road vehicles sped north along the strategic highway leading to Holmes in the darkness.

Inside the car, Song Heping and "cook" Yevgeny carefully studied the unfolded map by the light of a reading lamp.

"The vanguard of the Free Army and HTS has reached the checkpoint on the northern outskirts of Holmes and is engaging in firefights with the forward forces of the 4th Armored Division."

"Cook" refers to several points on the map.

"The commander of the 4th Division, Rahman, is a tough nut to crack, but he lacks heavy artillery and effective air support, so the fighting is very difficult. My Wagner detachment, with about 2000 men, is scattered in and around Homs and has been engaged in the battle, but it is not strong enough."

Song Heping stared at the arrows representing the enemy and friendly forces on the map and said in a deep voice, "The key is to hold out for the first 24 hours. The Russian Aerospace Forces need time to establish a complete air strike chain. We must integrate all available forces and establish a flexible defensive line outside Homs to prevent them from breaking into the city. The situation here is different from that in Haibab."

"no problem!"

The cook grinned. "I've already put Wagner's lads in command of several key high ground positions. The soldiers of the Fourth Division are individually skilled, but their morale is low, and they need someone to lead them. Your arrival is the best morale booster."

As dawn approached, the convoy braved sporadic artillery fire and entered a relatively intact military base west of Homs.

This is also the location of the headquarters of the 4th Armored Division.

The base was bustling with activity and tension, as wounded soldiers were constantly being carried down, their faces showing exhaustion and fear.

When Song Heping and the "cook" entered the division headquarters, the previously noisy headquarters instantly fell silent.

All the officers’ eyes were focused on these two legendary figures.

Commander Rahman of the 4th Division strode forward and saluted excitedly: "Mr. Song! Colonel Yevgeny! You've finally arrived! The President, he..."

"The president is safe and sound and is directing operations from Damascus."

Song Heping succinctly confirmed the information, then went straight to the point, "General Rahman, please report the latest situation immediately."

Rahman immediately led the two to the sand table: "The enemy's main force consists of about two brigades, equipped with tanks, armored vehicles, and a large number of pickup trucks and machine guns, and is advancing from the north and northwest. We have lost most of our outer positions, and now we can only rely on the last line of defense on the outskirts of the city to hold them off. The most troublesome thing is their mortars and rocket launchers, which pose a great threat to our positions."

The cook interjected, "What about the artillery? How many are still usable?"

"The division's artillery has suffered heavy losses and is also running out of ammunition." Rahman's face was grim.

Song Heping nodded and calmly said, "General Rahman, you are in charge of commanding all government troops to tighten the defensive line and focus on guarding the main roads leading to the city and the high points on both sides. Cook, you will assign your Wagner Group to the elite government troops as a mobile reserve force to counterattack the enemy's breakthrough points and organize small forces to harass them at night."

He looked at the two men and said in a resolute tone: "Our mission is not to launch an immediate counterattack, but to stay here! To hold this position like a nail! To create targets for air strikes! Tell all the soldiers that reinforcements have arrived, and the biggest reinforcements are in the air! Russia announced its intervention in the Syrian situation three hours ago to strike terrorist organizations and anti-government forces."

The arrival of Song Heping and the "cook," along with their clear and decisive command, acted like a powerful stabilizer, injecting a much-needed boost into the collapsing nerves of the Homs garrison.

The order was quickly issued, the chaotic defense system began to be reorganized, and the soldiers rushed to their respective positions with new hope and limited ammunition.

However, the pace of war never slows down just because one side regroups.

boom!
boom!
boom!
boom!
Just as Song Heping finished deploying the key defensive points and was preparing to learn more about the details of the ammunition reserves, a dense and fierce barrage of artillery fire suddenly rang out from the northeast direction outside the city.

Unlike the sporadic exchanges of fire before, the intensity and density of this shelling far exceeded those of the past. Immediately afterwards, a dense barrage of gunfire, like popping beans, and the whistling sound of rockets exploding came like a tide, interspersed with a deep and unsettling rumble of metal tracks crushing the ground!
"What's going on?" Song Heping looked away from the defense map and towards the northeast.

"I bet the Kremlin announced its intervention, and those bastards from HTS want to take advantage of the time the Russian army needs to prepare to seize Homs first!"

The cook's mind worked quickly this time, and he immediately gave an answer.

Before Song Heping could react, a government military staff officer rushed in through the door.

"Those lunatics from HTS have launched their all-out attack!"

General Rahman's expression changed drastically as he looked at Song Heping and the "cook": "Judging from the noise, it seems to be the main attack, and there are quite a few tanks!"

"Let's go! Let's go see the front lines!"

Song Heping grabbed a pair of binoculars from the table and spoke to the "cook" and Rahman.

The group quickly left the command post, boarded a jeep, and sped toward the northern defense line where the artillery fire was most intense.

Outside the vehicle, the flashes of exploding shells occasionally illuminated the dim pre-dawn sky, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

They arrived at a government army forward observation post located halfway up the mountain, where the view was relatively open, overlooking the main road leading to the city at the foot of the mountain and the open fields on both sides.

Several soldiers and officers stood in the observation post, observing intently.

Upon seeing Song Heping and the others enter, they quickly stepped aside.

Song Heping approached the observation post, pressed himself against the wall, and carefully raised his high-powered binoculars to look down the mountain.

The scene in sight was terrifying.

Amidst the sparse morning mist and pervasive smoke, dozens of vehicles of various types surged along the highway and across the open fields.

Leading the way were more than twenty tanks with HTS black flags hanging on their turrets.

Song Heping's pupils contracted slightly as he carefully identified the models—mainly the old T-55s and T-62s, but surprisingly, there were two or three T-72s that looked to be in good condition among them.

These steel behemoths advanced slowly, bombarding the government forces' forward positions with their main guns. Each flash of the cannon meant that a firing point might be wiped out.

Following closely behind the tanks were a dozen or so rusty BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and even more "tactical" pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns and recoilless rifles, with HTS militants standing in the truck beds, operating large-caliber machine guns and firing continuously.

About a hundred meters behind the armored units and armed pickup trucks, figures could be vaguely seen scurrying like rats among the ruins of houses and piles of stones, constantly approaching the Holmes city defense line.

The government forces' firepower appeared somewhat weak.

The machine gun fire from the position could only produce a few sparks when it hit the frontal armor of the tank.

The anti-tank missile gunner attempted to retaliate with an RPG rocket launcher, but due to the distance, he had to wait until he was close enough to fire.

They are often suppressed by enemy armed pickup trucks and accompanying infantry fire or tank coaxial machine guns before they can even fire.

It must be said that this HTS unit's combined arms operations are quite decent.

They were at least a level above the "Victory Front" militants that Song Heping had seen in Haibaib.

With its numerical superiority in armored vehicles and the desperate charges of militants, HTS's main assault force is gradually chipping away at the government forces' outer positions.

In the ten or so minutes that Song Heping was observing, several forward positions had been lost, most of them directly shot up by tank artillery.

"Damn it! How come they have more tanks than us?!"

"The cook" put down his binoculars and growled incredulously as he turned to Rahman, his tone stern.

"Rahman, is your 4th Armored Division just sitting around doing nothing? You're an armored division, how come your armored forces are inferior to these terrorists?"

General Rahman's face showed a complex expression of humiliation and helplessness. He explained bitterly, "Colonel Yevgeny, Mr. Song, you are unaware of this... This was mainly the seed of disaster sown in the early stages of the civil war."

He pointed north, his voice low: "In the early stages of the war, the Americans and their NATO allies established a 'no-fly zone' in the north under the pretext of 'protecting civilians,' but in reality, they were taking sides! Their planes circled over our government's armored forces like vultures! Whenever our tank groups tried to assemble for a counterattack, or even just marched on the roads, they would be met with devastating air raids!"

A flicker of pain crossed Rahman's eyes.

"At that time, our air defense system was almost paralyzed, and we completely lost air superiority. The morale of the soldiers collapsed, and entire battalions and brigades were scattered in the face of the air attack without warning. A large number of tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery were abandoned on the battlefield because they ran out of fuel, lacked spare parts, or were simply abandoned in order to escape. T-72s, T-62s, and even the relatively new BMP-2s... all became unattended scrap metal."

He took a deep breath and said bitterly, "Later, most of the equipment we abandoned was taken over by the rapidly expanding HTS and various 'Free Army' factions. They had plenty of time to slowly repair the equipment. Although the maintenance was very poor, and many of them even had malfunctioning fire control systems, only able to fire with direct fire, but... in this kind of low-intensity ground combat, especially against infantry lacking heavy weapons, these lumps of iron were mobile fortresses! And we... we lost not only equipment, but also the initiative on the battlefield!"

Song Heping listened in silence, his binoculars never leaving the battlefield.

He saw a building defended by government troops be directly hit by a T-72's 125mm main gun and instantly reduced to ruins.

On the other side, an HTS T-55 even arrogantly rushed to within 500 meters of the position and indiscriminately sprayed the trenches with its machine gun.

The situation was more serious than he had anticipated.

The government forces' defenses appeared to be crumbling in the face of the enemy's overwhelming armored assault.

The soldiers, relying on courage and light weapons, were unable to effectively stop the advance of these steel behemoths.

"We must suppress their tank forces immediately!"

Song Heping put down his binoculars and said to "The Cook" and Rahman in a serious tone, "At this rate, their vanguard tanks will be able to penetrate to the edge of the city in at most an hour. Once the tanks lead the infantry into the urban warfare phase, we will lose our advantage in peripheral vision and mobility. Even if the Russian planes come, they will be hesitant to attack and will find it difficult to play a decisive role. At that time, the price we pay will be too high."

He looked sharply at the "cook": "How many usable anti-tank missiles do you have left? How many RPG-29s and Kornets are left in stock?"

"Most of them are RPG-29s, and as for the short ones... I estimate there aren't many left."

The cook looked troubled.

Song Heping then looked at Rahman: "General, how many anti-tank weapons do you have left?"

"I……"

Rahman pointed to the distance.

"It's mostly RPGs, otherwise it wouldn't have turned out like this..."

Song Heping suddenly felt like cursing.

The mighty government army, an elite armored division...

They couldn't even muster a decent number of anti-tank weapons; they were all outdated rocket launchers...

This thing has a short effective range, making it completely ineffective on this suburban battlefield where there are few hiding places.

Is it...

Is the only way to save lives?

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)