Chapter 516 - 460: The South Falls

While Feier and DOD officials wrestled, far away in the Tbilisi Mountain Range of Colombia where the ELN headquarters were located, Song Heping and Morins had erupted into an argument.

"Morins, if I were you, I would immediately have the soldiers in the southern defense zone retreat north. Consolidate the forces and shrink the entire defense perimeter, otherwise, you'll lose half your troops."

A whole day had passed.

Feier had obtained concrete evidence but had yet to make a move.

Song Heping continued to stay in touch with Illiguo, keeping Ferrari and Henry vigilant about the developments in Washington.

However, according to the current situation, the White House and DOD had not reacted to the leak of the Colombian operation.

The media frenzy had already begun.

Numerous talk shows used prime-time slots to report and discuss the matter.

Social groups had begun to demonstrate outside Congress and the White House, protesting against the US Army's involvement in Colombian internal affairs.

Another day, and the DOD would face a routine press conference.

Numerous media outlets had submitted applications and listed their questions, many of which involved issues regarding the operation.

Usually, military and White House spokespeople would come out to manage the crisis.

But not this time.

All fell silent, shrinking back like turtles withdrawing into their shells, seemingly unwilling to respond to the incident with an attitude of indifference.

Meanwhile, on the ELN side, the situation was getting worse.

The ELN armed forces' defensive lines near San Rita and San Jose had been breached, and several key defensive strongholds had completely fallen.

The AUC forces pointed directly at San Rita, and taking it over would mean encapsulating over a thousand ELN troops in a 200-kilometer area between San Jose and San Rita, preparing for encirclement and annihilation.

Song Heping believed this was the ELN's last chance to salvage their southern combat forces.

Once San Rita fell, it meant that the more than a thousand troops remaining in the southern war zone would have their northern escape routes cut off.

If the Tame Region to the north also fell into the hands of the government army, it would mean those over a thousand armed soldiers would end up trapped and completely isolated with no other way out than to fight to the death or surrender.

Not only was the situation in the southern defense area dire.

The Tame Region was also under immense pressure.

Although they had thwarted two government army attacks before, Colonel Lawrence seemed to have caught on now, no longer blindly employing numerous tactical tricks, but steadily advancing north with reliable deployment based on equipment and personnel advantage.

The defenses in Tame had already been halved, and casualties continued to rise among Anthony's two elite combat battalions. Within just one day, over a hundred more were wounded.

At this rate, in another two or three days, Anthony would end up a bare commander with no troops left to command.

Losing Tame was merely a matter of time.

"I can't retreat!"

Morins was still very obstinate.

"We can't lose the southern defense zone!"

"FUCK! Are you insane?! This is war, man! Do you think this is a game?! Thinking you can obstinately refuse to lose does not mean you won't lose! Your entire organization only has about four thousand people, and right now you're just watching a thousand of them get encircled and annihilated. Don't you care at all?!"

Song Heping was no longer polite.

He struck right at Morins's sore spot.

After all, ELN was not his creation; it was the territory his predecessors had fought for.

Yet here Morins was, willing to let his men die needlessly just to save face, a typical example of utter disregard for the legacy he'd been handed.

"When the troops in the south retreat, it will affect the morale of the northern defenses," Morins argued fiercely, his emotions running high as he spoke, his hands waving constantly to emphasize his feelings. "You wouldn't understand; you're just a China Person, oblivious to how we Colombians think!"

"Damn it!" Song Heping snapped, "I've never seen anyone fight a war like this. Your soldiers are doomed with a leader like you. I must have been blind to take you on as a client!"

His anger stemmed from how he viewed Morins' command in combat as very rigid and unstrategic.

When the enemy is strong and we are weak, we should be mobile, not stubbornly hold our ground in positional warfare.

He had even spent a lot of money to buy two fighter bombers and built a runway, and now it seemed that this massive investment was going to waste.

Who wouldn't be upset?

"Is this my fault?! Is it?!"

Morins, losing his patience, pointed at Song Heping and shouted, "Before, you said that without a tri-party photo as evidence to support your so-called media campaign, my men risked their lives to get that evidence a day ago. To secure that photo, I had to pull out spies from the government army headquarters that I had placed there over many years. Do you have any idea how much I've lost? What did you tell me before?! You said that with solid evidence and intelligence, you could ensure the government army would withdraw! What about now?! Where are your people in Washington? Are they doing their job?!"

"Time! News needs time to ferment!" Song Heping said. "You can't expect the government army to call off their operations the second after you provide the photo!"

"I don't care! You promised this; you planned all of it! You're responsible!"

Morins' obstinacy nearly sent Song Heping over the edge.

He seriously considered ditching this stubborn fool and returning to Venezuela.

But reason ultimately prevailed.

After all, he had taken on the contract for eight million US dollars for the lucrative profits, to establish a foothold and expand his own territory in South America.

Ultimately, it was about using ELN and Morins to enhance his own power.

This was his own chosen plight, and he had to see it through, tears and all.

There are no easy bucks in the world.

Seeing Song Heping falling silent, Morins also gradually calmed down.

"Song, I see you as a brother. I know the pressure you're under, but we can't give up San Jose in the south. There are things you wouldn't understand. ELN started by establishing its first territory in the San Jose area; it's of special significance to our entire organization," he said with a heavy sigh. "That's why we value it so highly and can't abandon it. If I give it up, the leaders within our organization will start questioning my authority. We have our factions and some are eyeing my position. I have my difficulties; I'm not trying to make things hard for you!"

Song Heping listened quietly until he had finished, though he still couldn't grasp Morins' stubborn decision to hold out, he at least understood a bit more.

If San Jose was of special significance to ELN, Morins' surrendering it would give others a reason to attack him; his insistence had its logic.

"Report."

An officer came over to report to Morins.

He looked pale.

Song Heping turned to look at him, sensing trouble.

"Speak! What is it?"

Morins, once again agitated, sensed the bad news coming.

"San Rita has fallen... just now..."

Morins turned pale.

Song Heping felt his heart sink.

Though a thousand men might not count for much in a regular army, for an organization like ELN, that was one third of their force.

The grim reality was right in front of him; over a thousand soldiers deployed in the jungle near San Jose were now an isolated force.