Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 874 Whirlpool
"This job is really tough..."

The hunter shook his head and smiled wryly, "They make it sound so simple. If they're so capable, why did they hire us if they could handle the rebels themselves?"

Song Heping said, "Every country has its own factions with vested interests. A country like Senegal has been impoverished for so many years despite its mineral resources. Do you think this isn't an internal problem?"

The hunter said, "Why don't we just tell M that we're not doing this job, and let these self-righteous bastards fight the rebels themselves and see if they can hold the capital?"

Song Heping said, "If it were that simple, we could just be a hands-off manager. If we don't do the jobs we've already taken, not only will our reputation be damaged, but M will also stop giving us any intelligence support in the future. Given our current situation, it's better to have more friends than more enemies."

After saying that, he looked back at the map, studied it for a while, and then said, "Tell everyone to assemble in one hour. I have something important to announce."

"OK."

The hunter nodded and turned to leave the tent.

After the hunters left, only Song Heping remained in the tent.

He stared at the blue flight path on the map, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. The shadow of the F-15E "Strike Eagle" loomed over him like a Damocles' sword hanging over his head.

The tent flap was lifted again, and Lumar strode in.

The representative from the Seine government had beads of sweat on his forehead, clearly having run all the way there.

"Song, was Fernandez here just now?" Lumar asked bluntly, his voice low. "Did he yell at you?"

Song Heping looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly.

"Yeah, he came in and immediately started yelling at me, saying I'd been here for days and hadn't done anything."

He pointed to the map, "It's as if, in their eyes, fighting a war is like playing a video game—you can win by clicking a few mice."

Lumar shook his head with a wry smile, took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one to Song Heping.

“I don’t smoke.” Song Heping waved his hand and picked up the chewing gum on the table: “This stuff is more suitable for me.”

Seeing that Song Heping wasn't smoking, Lumar lit a cigarette for himself, and the tent was immediately filled with the pungent smell of tobacco.

"Who is this General Ula?"

Song Heping popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth, chewed a few times, and then asked, "Looks so arrogant? If he's so capable, how come he couldn't stop the rebel alliance's advance?"

Lumar took a deep drag on his cigarette and let out a long sigh.

"The situation here is very complicated."

He walked to the tent entrance, and after confirming that no one was outside, he returned to sit down next to Song Heping.

"Hulla Kamara is the president's cousin."

Lumar's voice was almost inaudible.

"Three years ago, this pig was a regimental commander in the capital's garrison. After the coup, he rose through the ranks at breakneck speed and now holds supreme command of the army of the Republic of Senegal."

Song Heping raised an eyebrow.

Such nepotism is not uncommon in African countries, but it usually means inefficiency and corruption in the command system.

"He has absolutely no understanding of military command."

Lumar continued, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes: "When the rebel alliance first began its operations, he insisted it was just small-scale armed harassment and refused to deploy his main forces. But after the rebels captured three cities, he panicked and scattered his elite troops across a dozen or so strongholds, only to have them picked off one by one by the rebel special forces trained by the Americans."

Song Heping nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder the rebels were able to advance to the outskirts of the capital in just one month. It turns out that it was not only thanks to the US special forces, but also the "divine assistance" of this "genius" general.

“There’s a lot of discontent with him within Sena right now.” Lumar glanced around cautiously. “There are rumors in the Ministry of Defense that the president might replace him.”

Song Heping suddenly understood something, a cold smile appearing on his lips: "So he doesn't like me? If I lead a special operations platoon of thirty men to successfully turn the tide of the battle, it will prove his incompetence and shake his position?"

Lumar nodded, a look of approval in his eyes: "Song, you understand African politics better than I thought."

“This isn’t politics,” Song Heping spat out his chewing gum and smiled, “it’s basic humanity.”

The shouts of soldiers drilling could be heard outside the tent, and the occasional roar of a truck engine could be heard in the distance. Song Heping walked to the water bottle and poured himself a glass of water.

The water quality here wasn't great; even after boiling, it still had a strange, nauseating taste, but he still drank it all.

“There’s a deeper reason,” Lumar leaned closer, lowering his voice, “the current opposition in Sena is pro-British.”

Song Heping paused for a moment, the water glass hovering in mid-air.

“The president supported by the French is already unpopular,” Lumar continued, his eyes fixed on Song Heping’s reaction. “This time, the British ostensibly sent you to help the government forces, but in reality…”

"The real intention was to quell the rebellion and then install the opposition in power."

Song Heping picked up the conversation, his voice eerily calm: "So that Frenchman Fernando is hostile towards me."

He paused, then continued, "Then why did the French agree to let the British send us to help you quell the rebellion?"

"Heh," Lumar sneered.

"In Africa, the British and French have been colonizing for a century, and their interests here are deeply entrenched."

Lumar nodded slightly: "The French are now in a dilemma. Their own military advisors can't solve the rebel problem, so they could only reluctantly agree to the British sending you, but they're certainly not happy about it."

Song Heping suddenly laughed, a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "Interesting. I've become the rope in the tug-of-war between the British and the French."

“Not only that,” Lumar said, a sly glint in his eyes, as if he were to probe further, “if you can assist certain people after the war is quelled, you will gain even more benefits.” He looked at Song Heping meaningfully.

"For example, mining rights, or long-term military advisory contracts."

The tent suddenly fell silent.

Song Heping stared at Lumar, as if trying to see into his soul. This Sena intelligence officer, ostensibly a member of the government forces, had likely already sided with the opposition.

“Lumaar,” Song Heping began slowly, emphasizing each word, “I’m a mercenary, not a politician. My mission is to deal with the US special forces, not to participate in a coup.”

Lumar's smile froze, looking somewhat embarrassed, but he quickly regained his composure: "Of course, of course I'm just providing some background information to help you better understand the current situation."

Song Heping walked to the map, his back to Lumar: "Tell your 'friends' that I don't care who's president of Sena. My contract is to fight the rebels and their American allies, nothing more."

Lumar stood up and straightened his uniform. "I understand your position, Song. But on this land, military and political affairs have never been separated."

He walked to the tent entrance, then turned back and added, “If you change your mind, you can always come to me. Opposition leader Mr. Touré appreciates your professionalism.”

After Lumar left, Song Heping slammed his fist on the table, causing the marker pen on the map to jump up.

"Hold!"

He cursed under his breath.

What I hate most is getting caught up in a political vortex, but now it seems unavoidable.

Footsteps sounded outside the tent, and the hunter led the polar bear and others inside.

"Boss, everyone's here."

The hunter reported, then noticed Song Heping's gloomy face.

"What happened?"

Song Heping took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Let's get down to business first."

He gestured for everyone to gather around the map.

"The plan has changed; it seems we need to act ahead of schedule."

Seeing Song Heping's serious expression, everyone guessed that the situation was urgent. All their playful expressions disappeared, replaced by the focus of a professional soldier.

“According to the latest intelligence,” Song Heping pointed to a canyon on the map, “the Green Hats’ temporary camp is nearby. I plan to lure them out. If the MLC’s command post is attacked, they will definitely come to its rescue, and this is their only route.”

Explosives expert Collins leaned closer to examine the terrain: "High ground on both sides, narrow in the middle, suitable for an ambush. But what about the escape route?"

Song Heping pointed to a dry riverbed on the east side of the canyon: "Evacuate from here. There's a grove of trees nearby, good for hiding your vehicles."

Collins frowned. "The problem is the signal jamming in the canyon. Once we're engaged in combat, we won't be able to call for backup ourselves."

“This is exactly what I want,” Song Heping said calmly. “If the Green Berets can’t call for help, the F-15Es won’t be deployed. We must resolve the battle in the communications blind spot.”

The hunter said, "The crosswinds and whirlwinds in the canyon will be troublesome; I need to calibrate beforehand."

Song Heping looked around at everyone: "Remember, our goal is to eliminate the Green Berets squad as quickly as possible. Once they are eliminated, the rebel alliance will lose special operations support, and their morale will collapse. At that time, we can organize the government forces to launch a full-scale counterattack, which will definitely have a very good effect."

The hunter asked, "Who's in charge of attacking MLC's command center?"

"Jiang Feng."

"To!"

Jiang Feng instinctively stood at attention.

“Relax,” Song Heping said with a smile. “I will contact Lumar and have him provide you with the most elite combat personnel in the government army for you to choose from. Then the government army will launch a feint attack across the board. After the feint attack begins, your task is to lead those elite Sena troops straight to the MLC command post and launch a lightning raid. Make sure they feel threatened, and they will definitely ask the Green Berets for help. In this way, the objective will be achieved.”

"The issue is……"

Jiang Feng asked with some doubt, "Just me? Leading Sena's troops to attack the MLC command center?"

"Is that not allowed?" Song Heping asked.

Jiang Feng shook his head: "It's not that I'm afraid of death, it's just that the government army suffered defeat after defeat before. With such poor military quality, how can I, leading the army alone, create a miracle?"

Song Heping said, "I've read all the battle reports from the previous battles. It's not that the soldiers were less skilled than the rebels, but that the commanders were incompetent. They didn't even understand directions. They probably didn't know military topography properly. There are many gaps on the front line that allow small units to infiltrate. Don't you know military topography as well as they do? Besides, you have GPS assistance. Don't you have confidence?"

Jiang Feng licked his lips, swallowed, and finally gritted his teeth: "Fine, there's no mission we can't complete!"

Song Heping smiled approvingly: "That's right, that's more like someone from the former PLA special forces."

He looked around at everyone, his gaze sweeping across each face.

"Just one last thing."

Song Heping's voice became exceptionally serious.

“There are complex political factors behind this operation. We are focused solely on military objectives and will not get involved in local politics. Understand?”

"Understood!" everyone answered in unison.

(End of this chapter)