Chapter 1358 - 1143: Global Shockwave (Part 2)

"No problem!"

The "Chef" grinned, "I've already had the Wagner boys take over command of several key high points. The soldiers of the Fourth Division are not lacking in individual quality, just low in morale, and need someone to lead them in battle. You and I being here is the best morale booster."

The convoy drove into a relatively intact military base in the west of Homs City under sporadic artillery fire near dawn.

This was also the headquarters of the Fourth Armored Division.

The base was bustling and tense, with wounded soldiers constantly being carried down, and the soldiers' faces showed fatigue and fear.

When Song Heping and the "Chef" walked into the division's command post, the originally noisy command post suddenly went quiet.

All the officers' eyes focused on these two legendary figures.

General Rahman of the Fourth Division quickly approached, excitedly saluting, "Mr. Song! Colonel Yevgeny! You're finally here! The President, he..."

"The President is safe and sound, commanding the overall situation in Damascus."

Song Heping briefly confirmed, then went straight to the point, "General Rakhman, please report the latest situation immediately."

Rahman immediately led them to the sand table, "The enemy's main forces, roughly two brigades, are equipped with tanks, armored vehicles, and many machine gun pickup trucks, advancing from three directions to the north and northwest. We have lost most of our outer positions and can only rely on the last line of defense in the suburbs to intercept. The most troublesome are their mortars and rocket launchers, which pose a great threat to our positions."

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

"The division's artillery has suffered heavy losses, and the ammunition is insufficient." Rahman's face looked grim.

Song Heping nodded calmly, "General Rakhman, you are in charge of commanding all government forces, pulling back the line of defense, focusing on holding a few main roads into the city and the high points on both sides. Chef, assign your Wagner group to elite government units as a mobile reserve team, specifically to counter enemy breakthroughs and organize small forces for night raids."

He looked at the two of them, his tone firm and decisive, "Our mission is not to counterattack immediately but to nail here! Nail it down like a nail! Create targets for airstrikes! Tell all soldiers, reinforcements have arrived, the biggest reinforcements are in the sky! Russia has already announced its involvement in the Syria situation three hours ago, striking against terrorist organizations and anti-government armed forces."

Song Heping and the "Chef"'s arrival, along with their clear and decisive commands, injected a powerful stabilizer into the nerves of Homs' defense forces on the brink of collapse.

Orders were quickly issued, and the chaotic defense system began to reorganize, as soldiers with new hope and limited ammunition rushed to their respective positions.

However, the rhythm of war never slows due to one side regrouping.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Just as Song Heping finished deploying defense priorities and was about to further understand the details of ammunition reserves, dense and fierce artillery fire suddenly roared from the northeast outside the city.

Unlike the previous sporadic skirmishes, the intensity and density of this bombardment far exceeded before, followed by dense gunfire and the roar of exploding rockets, like a tide. Among them was also a deep and heart-pounding metallic track grinding on the ground!

"What's happening?"

Song Heping moved his gaze from the deployment map and looked northeast.

"I guess the Kremlin announced involvement, and those HTS bastards want to seize Homs quickly, taking advantage of the time needed for the Russian Army to mobilize!"

This time, the "Chef's" mind was quick, and he immediately gave the answer.

Before Song Heping could respond, a government army staffer rushed in from the door.

"Those mad HTS are launching a full attack!"

General Rahman's face dramatically changed as he looked at Song Heping and the "Chef," "Judging by the noise, it sounds like the main assault, with quite a few tanks!"

"Let's go! To the frontlines!"

Song Heping picked up a binoculars from the table and said to the "Chef" and Rahman.

The group quickly left the command post, getting into a jeep and racing towards the most intense artillery north defense line.

Outside the vehicle, the explosions of shells occasionally lit up the dark pre-dawn sky, and a strong smell of gunpowder smoke filled the air.

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

Several soldiers and officers were nervously observing inside the observation post.

Seeing Song Heping and his group come in, they quickly stepped aside.

Song Heping approached the observation port, sticking close to the wall, cautiously raising a high-power binoculars to look down the mountain.

The scene in his view was shocking.

Amidst the sparse morning mist and pervasive gunpowder smoke, dozens of various vehicles were surging along the road and field.

Leading the way were over twenty tanks with HTS black flags hung on their turrets.

Song Heping's pupils slightly contracted, carefully identifying the models — primarily old T-55s and T-62s, but among them, there were surprisingly two or three T-72s that appeared in decent condition.

These steel beasts were slowly advancing while bombarding the government army's forward positions with their main guns, each flash of the barrel meaning a fire point might be wiped out.

Following the tanks were over a dozen rusty BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and more in number were "tactical" pickups mounted with heavy machine guns and recoilless rifles, with HTS militants standing in the truck beds operating the large-caliber machine guns, continuously shooting.

About a hundred meters behind the armored units and armed pickups, figures could be vaguely seen scurrying like rats through building ruins and piles of stones, continuously approaching the Homs city defense line position.