These two words seem exciting, yet behind the simple strokes lies an immense cost of blood and fire.
Following Chen Jian’s orders, Shen Yue led the team to pursue the Mechanical God Sect’s Church Protection Army in the direction of Xianning. After a long chase, covering over a dozen kilometers, this force was finally completely crushed.
A large amount of equipment was abandoned, and many straggling members of the Church Protection Army were reaped like a deadly toll by King Yan. Some, lost in fear, wandered into the dense forest and likely became monster fodder.
Shen Yue, of course, felt sympathy for these people. After all, well-educated soldiers could never be completely cold-blooded killers.
But he understood one principle even better:
Sympathy on the battlefield is the most dangerous thing.
Thus, his team struck without hesitation.
No surrender was accepted, no prisoners taken, and they wouldn’t be deceived by believers pretending to defect.
Fine. After all, in the wasteland, population is a valuable resource, and we won’t kill them all.
I will slightly loosen the trigger and raise the muzzle half an inch.
In that moment, seize the chance to run.
But do not come back.
If you try to fight back, only bullets will greet you.
With such a firm stance, it took only 8 hours for Shen Yue’s team to quickly clear all remnants in the southwest direction.
And when they returned, Chen Jian had already led a team around Great Governance Lake, either driving out or killing the remaining Church Protection Army and the Holy Blood.
The fire ignited by the nuclear explosion turned out to be the best aid. Prior, Chen Jian had regretted not having enough fuel to set fires, but now, this problem was resolved in a peculiar way.
At the same time, Lei Jie also smoothly returned with Xie Liu and Zeng Yi.
Everyone regrouped in Yellow Stone City. In the town that had been continuously bombarded and completely destroyed for dozens of hours, they looked around in a daze, feeling momentarily as if there were no rivals remaining.
The blade is drawn, its chill gleaming.
The great victory following a life-and-death struggle would temper soldiers’ morale the most. At this moment, even if Chen Jian ordered a direct attack on Jinling, these dozens of battered armored riders would surely follow without hesitation.
---- However, that is a story for the future.
For now, let the people here savor the joy of this great victory.
Chen Jian lifted his leg towards the church of the Mechanical God Sect, with smoke-stained warriors closely following him.
In front of him, civilians who had been housed in the church were already pouring out to welcome their heroes back.
They stood one by one in the small square outside the church, their eyes glistening with unusual brilliance.
No one spoke, no one cheered, yet the solemn silence was enough to express their respect.
In the crowd, an elderly person with white hair suddenly knelt.
Immediately, a child beside him ran forward to support him with a small body.
We ought to stand tall.
This thought emerged in everyone’s mind, then deeply imprinted itself.
Chen Jian stepped onto the final step, eyes sweeping over the hope-filled crowd, and after a deep breath, he spoke in a clear voice:
"We have annihilated most of the enemy, defeated the remnants, and cleared all surrounding enemies."
A moment later, a tsunami of cheers erupted.
The waiting civilians finally surged forward, pregnant wives leaped into their husbands’ arms, young children rushed into their parents’ embraces, and elderly fathers held their sons’ scar-covered hands, gently wiping away the lingering bloodstains.
In this moment, laughter and tears intertwined.
Chen Jian quietly slipped out of the crowd, along with his original six teammates.
He turned off the exoskeleton’s power, with slightly heavy steps, he walked to the steps at the corner and sat down.
By now, the sun had fallen from its peak.
But everyone sitting beside Chen Jian knew that it would rise again tomorrow.
They were completely relaxed.
Sitting beside Chen Jian, Shen Yue, He Shuo, and Li Shi leaned back dozily on the steps, Lei Jie fiddled with a ratchet wrench he seemingly found from nowhere, Xie Liu silently watched the sunset, while Zeng Yi exhaled a long breath, laying his sword across his knees, and then said:
"I didn’t expect that weapon to be ..."
"I originally thought it would be some kind of... poison gas? Or some strange weapon I couldn’t understand."
"But I didn’t expect its effect to be so... so straightforward."
With Zeng Yi’s words finished, Chen Jian slightly nodded, replying:
"It indeed is quite a straightforward weapon."
"But the more straightforward it is, the more terrifying it becomes, right?"
There was a trace of admiration in Zeng Yi’s eyes, as he went on:
"I have really never seen anything like it, not even dared to imagine."
"I remember when we first discovered that box, you mentioned its power."
"But at that time I never imagined it would appear in this manner... it’s fortunate this weapon wasn’t buried."
At this point, Zeng Yi suddenly chuckled and then asked Chen Jian:
"Do you know what I was thinking when I saw the... sunrise over the river this morning?"
Chen Jian curiously asked:
"That you’re glad you surrendered to us early, otherwise you’d be the one getting bombed?"
Zeng Yi shook his head, sighing as he said:
"I just came to understand one thing clearly."
"Actually, you guys don’t need us at all. It’s us who need you."
".... Did not understand."
Chen Jian looked at Zeng Yi with some confusion, but Zeng Yi seemed unwilling to explain further.
He only coughed, skipped the topic, then asked Xie Liu beside him:
"What about you, how do you feel?"
"Perhaps they have all seen this thing before. Like me, it’s your first time too, no thoughts?"
After a slight pause, Xie Liu earnestly replied:
"If only there were more of these things."
".... I wish there were more, it would be better if they could be thrown everywhere."
Chen Jian was amused and frustrated, but Lei Jie suddenly got interested, scratching his head, and said:
"Actually, finding a few more shouldn’t be impossible, right? Though the locations of missile units are top secret, Captain, can you say you don’t know any?"
"Once things settle here, we certainly still need to continue hunting monsters and gathering equipment."
"At that time, bringing back a few more wouldn’t be impossible..."
"It would be nice to have some, don’t you think I want some?"
Chen Jian rolled his eyes, continuing:
"Don’t think so far ahead first. We still have plenty of things at hand."
"I reckon the explosion here could be seen by all nearby towns."
"Xianning and Han Shui City need not be mentioned, they have been defeated."
"As for other places... I assume soon, the Holy Blood Temple and the Mechanical God Sect will send people to investigate."
"I’m curious what their reaction will be."
Saying this, Chen Jian stood up.
"Alright, that’s enough for now."
"Zeng Yi, Xie Liu, Li Shi, you are physically strong, hang in there, take turns on guard."
Zeng Yi gave Li Shi’s shoulder a hard pat, the latter suddenly awoke, looking at Zeng Yi in confusion.
Zeng Yi pulled him up, then said:
"This is our first watch!"