Morsi defiant as Egypt's military vows to defend people against any 'terrorist, radical or fool' Egypt's military vowed to defend the country's people against any "terrorist, radical or fool" hours ahead of its deadline for President Mohammed Morsi to resolve the nation's political crisis -- or face intervention by the army. "We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool," read a post on the official Facebook page of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which is headed by Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. A military source told Reuters that the statement - issued after Morsi appeared on state TV late Tuesday to once again reject an ultimatum from Sissi that he share power with opponents or face military action by 10 a.m. ET - reiterates that the armed forces would not abandon their demands. As the deadline nears, employees at Egypt's state TV station say military officers are present in the newsroom monitoring its output, but not interfering with their work. The military also beefed up the presence of troops inside the building, the employees told the Associated Press, though they were not visible outside. Even before the crisis, a small army contingent usually guards the state TV headquarters. In the emotional 46-minute speech, Morsi vowed not to step down and pledged to defend his legitimacy with his life in the face of three days of massive street demonstrations calling for his ouster. The Islamist leader accused loyalists of his ousted autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak of exploiting the wave of protests to topple his regime and thwart democracy. "There is no substitute for legitimacy," said Morsi, at times angrily raising his voice, thrusting his fist in the air and pounding the podium. He warned that electoral and constitutional legitimacy "is the only guarantee against violence." The statements showed that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are prepared to run the risk of challenging the army. It also entrenches the lines of confrontation between his Islamist supporters and Egyptians angry over what they see as his efforts to impose control through the Brotherhood and his failures to deal with the country's multiple problems. Morsi said Tuesday he would pursue his own plans for reconciliation between his government and opposition leaders, according to Reuters. The looming showdown follows a night of deadly clashes in Cairo and elsewhere in the country that left at least 23 people dead, most in a single incident near the main Cairo University campus. The latest deaths take to 39 the number of people killed since Sunday in violence between opponents and supporters of Morsi, who took office in June last year as Egypt's first freely elected leader. The bloodshed, coupled with Morsi's defiant speech, contributed the sense that both sides are ready to fight to the end. Meanwhile, a Defense Ministry official said Wednesday el-Sissi was holding an emergency meeting with his top commanders. The official, who gave no further details, spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, the Associated Press reports. Khaled Daoud, spokesman of the main opposition National Salvation Front, which pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei leads, said that el-Sissi was holding another meeting with ElBaradei, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar mosque, and Pope Tawadros II, patriarch of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, to discuss a political road map for Egypt. Political sources told Reuters that two members of a rebel youth group that is leading the anti-Morsi protests and members of the hardline Muslim fundamentalist al-Nour Party also attended the meeting. But a military source denied the meeting was taking place, according to Reuters. The army also asked the Freedom and Justice Party -- the political branch of the Muslim Brotherhood -- to meet with el-Sissi, but the invite was rejected. "We have a president and that is it," Waleed al-Haddad, a senior leader of the party, told Reuters. Millions have taken to the streets since Sunday to call on Morsi to step down. Mahmoud Badr, spokesman for the youth movement behind the latest wave of protests, called on anti-Morsi protesters to demonstrate Wednesday outside three presidential palaces as well as the Cairo headquarters of the Republican Guard, an army branch tasked with protecting the president, his family and presidential palaces. Morsi is thought to have been working at the Republican Guard headquarters since the start of the protests. Badr also called on the army to place Morsi under arrest for his alleged incitement to civil war. "Today is the day of decisiveness," Badr said at a news conference. On Tuesday, millions of jubilant, chanting Morsi opponents again filled Cairo's historic Tahrir Square, as well as avenues adjacent to two presidential palaces in the capital, and main squares in cities nationwide. After Morsi's speech, they erupted in indignation, banging metal fences to raise a din, some raising their shoes in the air in a show of contempt. "Leave, leave," they chanted. The president's supporters also moved out in increased marches in Cairo and other cities, and stepped up warnings that it will take bloodshed to dislodge him. While Morsi has stuck to a stance that he is defending democracy in Egypt, many of his Islamist backers have presented the fight as one to protect Islam. On Monday, the military gave Morsi an ultimatum to meet the protesters' demands within 48 hours. If not, the generals' plan would suspend the Islamist-backed constitution, dissolve the Islamist-dominated legislature and set up an interim administration headed by the country's chief justice, the state news agency reported. The leaking of the military's so-called political "road map" appeared aimed at adding pressure on Morsi by showing the public and the international community that the military has a plan that does not involve a coup. Fearing that Washington's most important Arab ally would descend into chaos, U.S. officials said they are urging Morsi to take immediate steps to address opposition grievances, telling the protesters to remain peaceful and reminding the army that a coup could have consequences for the massive American military aid package it receives. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The army has insisted it has no intention to take power. But the reported road map showed it was ready to replace Morsi and make a sweeping change in the ramshackle political structure that has evolved since Mubarak's fall in February 2011. The constitution and domination of the legislature after elections held in late 2011-early 2012 are two of the Islamists' and Brotherhood's most valued victories -- along with Morsi's election last year. Morsi is also facing new fissures within his leadership. Three government spokesmen - two for Morsi and one for the prime minister - quit on Tuesday as part of high-level defections that underscored Morsi's increasing isolation and fallout from the military's ultimatum. Five Cabinet ministers, including the foreign minister, resigned Monday, and a sixth, Sports Minister El-Amry Farouq, also quit Tuesday. The ultraconservative Salafi party al-Nour also urged Morsi to call a referendum on early presidential elections. The party was once an ally of Morsi but in recent months has broken with him. In a significant move, opposition parties and the youth movement behind the demonstrations agreed that reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei would represent them in any negotiations on the country's political future. The move appeared aimed at presenting a unified voice in a post-Morsi system, given the widespread criticism that the opposition has been too fragmented to present an alternative to the Islamists.