Chapter 567: The Fall Of Liuhe Base City

The tide of star beasts surged into the city like a flood. Towering flames engulfed the iconic landmarks of Liuhe Base City, painting the skyline in hues of destruction.

Everywhere, cries for help, wails of despair, and screams of fear filled the air, creating a cacophony of misery. The arrival of the apocalypse was always unexpected.

Liuhe Base City had held on for over nine months, only falling due to depleted supplies and the betrayal of traitors within the city. As brutal retaliation against the city's staunch defense, the rebels unleashed a merciless massacre within its walls. The rampaging star beasts brought death in their wake, while the rebels’ cruelty delivered complete annihilation.

In the chaos, a temporary breakout team composed of several hundred high school students escorted a group of civilians. They were desperately trying to break through and flee toward the outskirts of the city.

Amid the fleeing crowd, an elderly man with snow-white hair quietly slipped away from the group. He leaned against a wall on the side of the street, his breath coming in shallow, labored gasps. At his age, with unsteady hands, weak legs, and no combat skills to speak of, remaining with the fleeing team would only burden those brave and admirable young souls.

The old man gazed at the chaotic city streets. Memories from his short, ordinary life flashed before his eyes like a carousel of fleeting images. In his younger years, he had lost all his children to the beast tides. He and his wife had relied on each other for sixty-one years, scraping by with his job at a power armor parts manufacturing plant to survive.

This was the era of the star beasts, and for most ordinary people, such was their fate.

Three hours earlier, the city walls of Liuhe Base City had been breached. Star beasts poured in like a flood breaking through a dam under the command of the rebel forces. His wife, the companion who had shared his life through thick and thin, had been torn apart and killed before his very eyes by a pack of Saber-Toothed Hyenas.

Though his heart burned with rage and grief, he had been powerless. A group of students from Red Flag High School had risked their lives to save him from the pack of Saber-Toothed Hyenas, dragging him to safety and placing him in a fleeing convoy.

But the old man no longer wanted to live. Simply being alive had become too painful. He watched the evacuation team disappear around a distant corner.

He silently waved goodbye to the brave children, his gesture filled with gratitude and blessing. They were good kids.The atmosphere in Liuhe Base City’s schools had changed dramatically since the rise of Red Flag High School. The once proud, lazy, and arrogant students had embraced the chivalrous spirit of martial warriors.

When the city fell into chaos, students from various middle and high schools, as well as Liuhe University, stepped up under the guidance of their teachers and schools. They rescued people, organized breakouts, and fought valiantly.

Countless lives had been extinguished in the blood-soaked battle before they could fully bloom. In just a few hours, countless teenagers, whose lives had barely begun, met their end in the most tragic and heroic way. They fought fiercely against the star beasts, sacrificing everything.

Suddenly, the sound of snarls and barks broke the silence. In the distance, more than a dozen Saber-Toothed Hyenas charged forward like a violent wind. These were Grade One star beasts, resembling hyenas but far more ferocious.

The old man lit a cigarette and took a single drag. Then he remembered his wife, who had died a mere fifteen minutes earlier. A faint, bittersweet smile appeared on his lips. It was as if he could hear her nagging voice in the air. He couldn’t help but shake his head and toss the lit cigarette away. His wife never liked him smoking.

He pulled out a shattered armor-piercing grenade from his pocket. A little girl named Li Jie had given it to him. He knew the girl; she was the younger sister of Li Xiaofei, the once-famous prodigy of Liuhe Base City.

Li Xiaofei! This young man was an extraordinary prodigy, the kind that appeared once in a generation.The legends surrounding him were countless. He had completely shattered the oppressive rule of the major noble families in Liuhe Base City.

He had single-handedly established the Martial Alliance, a powerful organization that commanded respect across the region. He brought fame and dominance to the Cloudy Sky Gang and revolutionized the gang landscape of Liuhe Base City.

He had transformed Red Flag High School from a struggling, bottom-ranked institution into the city's top school and one of the top three prestigious schools in the Northwest. His rise had also reshaped the academic atmosphere across all schools in the city.

The old man had seen Li Xiaofei many times at Old Chen's Offal Shop. He vividly remembered one occasion when some street thugs harassed a young girl at Old Chen's Offal Shop. They had even hit him while fighting over a seat. At the time, he had just undergone brain surgery, and his wife had cried out in helplessness and frustration, unable to stand up to the thugs.

It was Li Xiaofei who had stepped in and dealt with the troublemakers. Even back then, when Li Xiaofei was just a student at the struggling Red Flag High School, the old man had sensed there was something extraordinary about him.

As it turned out, the old man’s intuition had been right. Li Xiaofei had indeed completely transformed Liuhe Base City. The once stagnant and lifeless city, suffocating under the oppressive rule of the five great families, had become a vibrant and hopeful place.

It was because of this transformation that Liuhe Base City managed to hold out for over nine months, even as the entire Northwest fell to the rebels, only succumbing after betrayal from within.

His thoughts drifted. The old man didn’t know why, in his final moments, he kept thinking of that young man. Sadly, Li Xiaofei was no longer in Liuhe Base City. No one knew whether he was alive or had perished in the flames of war. But the old man believed that someone like Li Xiaofei would never stoop to collude with the rebels.

He tightened his grip on the armor-piercing grenade in his hand. Li Jie had given it to him for self-defense. But now... The old man pulled the pin and held the grenade close to his chest.

The pack of Saber-Toothed Hyenas charged toward him, their foul breath hot and rank as they lunged to tear him apart.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed through the street. The old man and the beasts were obliterated, reduced to a mist of blood that scattered across the battlefield.

***

At Red Flag High School.

The national flag had already been taken down. The newly constructed school buildings, barely a year old, lay in ruins. The campus was a scene of devastation. The martial arts hall, once a symbol of the school’s pride and glory, had been burned to the ground. The rebels had destroyed everything in their path.

Their leader was a man named Ye Yu, a former member of the Ye family, once one of the five great noble families of Liuhe Base City. Ye Yu marched his men into the school with great swagger, only to find it deserted.

“Sir, according to some nearby residents we captured, the school principal, Qin Dewei, organized the teachers and students to flee about six hours before the city fell,” a subordinate reported.

“These lowly peasants sure know how to run,” Ye Yu sneered coldly. “But now Liuhe Base City is under our control. There are beast tides everywhere outside the city, so where can they possibly escape to? Send out the order—search for them.”

“Yes, sir,” the subordinate replied, rushing off to deliver the command.

Ye Yu pointed at the remaining school buildings. “Burn them. Smash them. Destroy this school completely.”

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He harbored a deep hatred for Red Flag High School. Red Flag High School had produced Li Xiaofei, who had almost completely wiped out the Ye family of Liuhe.

Once the most prestigious martial arts family in the city, the Ye family had fallen into utter ruin all thanks to Li Xiaofei. There wasn’t a single member of the Ye family who didn’t hate Li Xiaofei or despise Red Flag High School.

“Sir, the governor has issued an order. You are to immediately deploy your forces to the slum in the western district to eradicate the main forces of the Cloudy Sky Gang,” another messenger reported.

Ye Yu’s face lit up with anticipation. He had sworn to destroy Li Xiaofei’s Cloudy Sky Gang ever since his return to Liuhe Base City.