There was a noticeable silence from the other end of the phone, and Samir's voice lost much of its confidence, sounding even more low and hoarse.
"I've only managed to gather over 5,000 people here... Boss, I've really done my best. Given the current situation, being able to gather this many is already..."
He didn't finish his sentence, leaving only a heavy sense of helplessness and frustration, clearly conveyed through the radio waves.
"More than 5,000?"
Song Heping interrupted him, with a tone that was neither appreciative nor sarcastic, but rather carried a strange affirmation.
"That's enough. This force is already better than I expected."
He knew well the disarray and inefficiency of the local militia forces in Illiguo, and the number 5,000, in the current chaos, indeed exceeded his conservative estimates.
Samir being able to achieve this at least proved he still had so motivation and execution capability.
"Boss, you have too much confidence in our people..."
Samir's voice was as bitter as chewing on bitter gall, with each syllable carrying indescribable weight.
"To be honest with you, when Illigos hear the numbers '1515' now, their legs start shaking! Two months ago, Mosul was lost. Do you know how it was lost? You might not know the specific details..."
Samir's voice beca agitated, with a humiliation verging on breaking down.
"At that ti, there were 15,000 well-equipped governnt troops in the city! There were tanks! Armored vehicles! Mortars left by the Aricans! And the attacking 1515 force had only a few hundred people! Just a few hundred madn with broken guns! And what happened? The more than ten thousand governnt troops were like sheep scared shitless by a pack of wolves! They didn't even organize proper resistance! The commander was the first to run! The entire defense line crumbled like a pile of sand at the touch! Mosul, our largest city in the northwest! Just like that, handed over to the enemy! Sha! A colossal sha!"
Samir's voice trembled with excitent and sha, almost shouting by the end.
The fall of Mosul was a landmark event marking the complete loss of will to resist by the Illigo governnt forces and a turning point in the rapidly deteriorating situation in the entire northwest region.
The scene of that rout, like a massive, unhealable wound, was deeply engraved in the hearts of all Illigo resistors.
"Damn..."
Song Heping was also shocked at the news.
He knew the northwest of Illiguo was in chaos and that Mosul was lost.
But he hadn't known it was lost like this...
The collapse of Mosul described by Samir instantly overlapped in his mory with the chaotic and desperate fall of Isriye.
The sa fear, the sa collapse without a fight!
"Do the people of 1515 have three heads and six arms, or are they invulnerable to swords and guns?! More than ten thousand afraid of a few hundred?! Where are your balls? Were they all eaten by dogs?!"
An uncontrollable rage surged to his head, and he roared into the phone, his voice echoing around the silent observation point, startling a few sand lizards.
"It's indescribable, Boss..."
Samir was stunned by the scolding, his voice full of grievance and helplessness, trying to explain.
"The big picture is like this... Since last year, the Aricans suddenly announced a large-scale troop withdrawal! It's like... like pulling out the main pole supporting the tent with a jerk! Now, except for so troops posturing in the core areas of the Baghdad Green Zone, there's not a shadow of the US Army anywhere else, especially in our northwest!"
"The 1515 forces seized this once-in-a-lifeti gap! They attacked cities in the west one after another like hyenas that slled blood! Those governnt troops... huh, they used to fight alongside the US Army, bullying under their power, still showed so human semblance, like watch dogs with their master's backing, at least daring to bark twice. Now the master has left, and they're not even as good as dogs! Just a bunch of spineless slugs!"
Samir's tone was full of disdain and anger, clearly fed up with the governnt army's incompetence.
"They're dogs, but you're not!"
Song Heping rcilessly pierced through Samir's defense, his voice as cold as the Siberian wind.
"Samir! Listen carefully to and rember it down to your bones—those who help themselves are helped by heaven, and those who strive for self-reliance are helped by others! If you Illigos can't stand up yourselves, if your backbones are as soft as noodles, and you keep fantasizing about Aricans, Russians, or so other divine emperor to save you, then you're just daydreaming! Look at your cowardly selves now! Even the bit of backbone you had during Sadam's ti is gone! Back then, you at least dared to stand up to the Aricans! And now? A bunch of overgrown babies!"
The words "Sadam" were like a red-hot iron, searing Samir's nerves.
The other end of the phone suddenly fell into dead silence, even the breathing was so faint it was almost inaudible. Samir was once a staunch anti-Sadam supporter, he and his clan had shed blood and paid a heavy price to overthrow that tyrant.
However, after Sadam's noose fell, the "democracy" they had hoped for brought only deeper divisions, corruption, and incompetence.
Song Heping's words precisely hit the most secret and painful scar deep in Samir's heart—
The "freedom" they exchanged with sacrifice now seed so pale and feeble, not even as good as the past era they once hated, where at least this land showed so iron and toughness against foreign enemies.
An overwhelming sense of sha and powerlessness engulfed Samir.
Utekin, watching from the side, noticed Song Heping's face turn ashen, and his knuckles turning white from gripping the satellite phone too hard, quickly leaned in, frantically making eye movents and mouthing "calm down," pointing at the phone, then waving his hand vigorously.
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