The advisor beside him also nodded with a smile: "You must go all out, at any cost, to capture Halaib before the other alliances, and dash straight to Damascus! All aid, including more tanks, ammunition, and reinforcements, has arrived at Otaba and will be prioritized for you by tomorrow morning!"
The last bit of doubt was dispelled.
Abu Omar suddenly drew a lavish pistol from his waist, pointed in the direction of Halaib, and roared angrily: "Order! All units, full-scale assault! Tank troops, lead the way! Infantry, follow closely! Allahu Akbar! Tonight, we will celebrate victory in Halaib City! Tomorrow, our flag will fly over the President's Mansion in Damascus!"
Woo—!
A harsh and frenzied battle horn sounded from the rear of the rebel positions.
The rebel troops, who had been advancing cautiously, seemed to be injected with adrenaline, roaring thunderously and launching a comprehensive offensive!
Dozens of tanks—T-72s, T-55s, and even some old T-62s—roared their engines, spewing thick black diesel exhaust, and their tracks crushed the remnants of suburban ruins and abandoned government positions as they formed a strike formation, first charging towards the urban area of Halaib.
Behind the tanks surged the tide of rebel infantry, riding all sorts of armed pickups, with heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, and even recoilless rifles mounted on the truck beds, howling as they followed.
Further away, the rebel mortar and howitzer positions began an unprecedented fierce bombardment, with shells pounding down on the urban area of Halaib like hail, especially targeting the retreat routes and possible assembly areas of the government army, attempting to completely annihilate the retreating government troops in the field.
The explosion's flames immediately illuminated the night sky of Halaib, the entire city seemed to tremble under the bombardment.
Inside the underground command center in the urban area, the vibrations from the ceiling were even more noticeable, with dust falling like fine rain.
"Report! The enemy has launched a general offensive! Tank groups are attacking the junction of the east and south sections head-on!"
"The bombardment is extremely fierce! Company D of the retreating troops has been covered, with heavy casualties!"
"Rebel infantry are closely following the tanks, in large numbers!"
Bad news kept coming through the communication channels one after another.
Admiral Jamal's forehead veins bulged as he shouted hoarsely into the microphone: "Hold the line! Retreat according to plan! Snipers and anti-tank teams, prioritize taking out the pickups and infantry behind the tanks! Do not get stuck in a fight! Fall back into the buildings!"
Song Heping kept his eyes on the sand table and the thermal imaging footage sent back by the Russian Army's IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft, calmly issuing commands: "Order the artillery battalion in the north of the city, don't be stingy with shells, perform interdiction fire on the rear of the enemy's tank groups, disrupt their infantry follow-up. Retreating units, don't panic, send out engineer squads to preset minefields on the roads into the city, and detonate them as soon as they come in!"
The Chef directly contacted the Wagner forward observation group through his own channel: "Listen, boys! Use your precise firepower to give special attention to those who look like officers or command squads! Take down their command nodes!"
Orders were swiftly executed.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
On the only remaining artillery position in the north of Halaib, several D-30 122mm howitzers roared, shells cutting through the night sky, landing a hundred meters behind the rebel tank clusters, blasting up soil and flames, several armed pickups rushing too fast were instantly overturned or blown apart, causing a brief stagnation in the rebel infantry assault momentum.
Simultaneously, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and anti-tank mines pre-laid on main roads into the city were remotely detonated one after another.
A T-72 tank at the very front had its track blown off, immobilizing it into scrap metal and temporarily blocking the road.
Another T-55 triggered a large IED, and the huge explosion sent its turret flying.
The rebel offensive was slightly stalled, but fervor and numerical superiority quickly compensated for the losses.
Subsequent tanks brutally pushed aside the disabled vehicles, or bypassed them entirely, crushing through gardens, crashing through building walls, and continuing to charge madly towards the city center.
The rebel infantry then dispersed, utilizing craters and ruins to advance, simultaneously unleashing furious gunfire from their rifles, machine guns, and RPGs at any suspicious windows, trying to suppress the defenders.
The first wave of rebel tanks and infantry finally surged into the streets of eastern Halaib City!
However, the true purgatory had just begun.
A T-72 tank roughly smashed through a half-collapsed wall, charging onto a narrow street.
The turret slowly rotated, the 125mm main gun aimed at a suspected firing point ahead—a second-floor window in a three-story building, firing fiercely!
Boom!
The whole building seemed to shudder, the window spewed massive flames and smoke, rubble and bricks fell like rain.
However, just at the momentary lull after the tank fired, a dark silhouette suddenly emerged from the fourth floor of an adjacent ruin!
"RPG!"
The tank commander's terrified shout faintly came through the hatch!
But it was too late.
Whoosh—
Boom!
An R-7PG rocket soared with a trail of fire, precisely hitting the engine compartment on the rear side of the T-72 tank!
Penetration!
Explosion!
A muffled explosion sound came from inside the tank, flames and thick smoke gushed from all openings, followed by the explosion of internal ammunition, launching the turret skyward with a loud bang, then crashing heavily to the ground.
The government soldier who fired the rocket didn't even have time to escape before being riddled with bullets by dense rebel infantry fire below.
Similar scenes played out on countless streets.
Government soldiers, utilizing their familiarity with the terrain, attacked from unexpected angles.