Chapter 445.2: The Light That Destroys Everything

In a military camp outside the valley...

The soldiers and officers of the Army had given up resisting, raised their hands over their heads to surrender.

When they saw that burst of light, despair was etched on almost everyone's faces.

The warhorses trotting through the camp nervously trod their hooves, with the cavalry on their backs holding the reins, trying to stabilize the horses' emotions.

The captain of Sien's personal guard looked incredulously at the light shining from the valley, his eyes flickering with confusion and fear, muttering continuously.

"... Prophecy!"

The lady really was a messenger of the gods! The prophecy of doomsday had come true after all!

But it was comforting that the light that burned everything did not rise on the soil of civilization but within the lost ruins.

At the same time, on the western front of the battlefield.

...

As the glaring white light appeared, the gunfire that echoed through the wilderness stopped abruptly.

Looking at the sky lit by the nuclear blast and the dust nearly reaching the clouds, people momentarily forgot about fighting, their astonished expressions frozen on their faces.

A pause button seemed to be pressed as the world fell into silence.

Only the earth-shaking tremors and the rolling echoes of the explosion remained.

It was as if the gods were roaring.

"... Spirit of the Desert above..." A soldier from the Kingdom of Falcon, his lips pale, shoulders trembling, dropped his gun and knees to the sand.

He was not alone.

Including the centurion and other junior officers, when they saw the nuclear glow from the rear position, many lost the will to continue fighting.

A few hundred meters away, on the other side of the dune.

Sien, who was being bandaged for a gunshot wound, also saw that dazzling light.

Several of his personal guard soldiers immediately stood in front of him, but he waved them away, dispersing them. "The high priest said that those who wither in the curse cannot see the curse."

Sien laughed heartily and continued, "We can see that light. It proves that we can't die."

"That's a curse for the guilty! The gods are on our side!"

He raised his arms and shouted, rallying the soldiers fighting alongside him, "Long live the Camel Kingdom!"

The sudden nuclear explosion caused a momentary pause on the battlefield.

Facing the direction where the nuclear glow had appeared, devout believers knelt on the ground to pray, while the rest, unsure whether to continue fighting, either lay down or squatted hesitantly.

The blast wave seemed to sweep far away, but fortunately, it didn't reach them.

It seemed like divine grace had protected them once again...

...

On another side...

The Skeleton Corps, after reaching the airfield on the north side of Lost Valley and not stopping, continued to push west to reinforce the allies of Petra Fortress that had come out to meet the enemy.

The outcome of the entire battle was no longer in doubt, even to the point where it could be declared that the cleanup phase had begun.

The camp on the north side of Lost Valley had been taken by Petra Fortess’ cavalry, and the Army had lost almost all its armored strength in the region.

The remaining infantry to the west no longer had reinforcements.

Just a few shots of justice from a 155 mm smoothbore cannon would be enough to make them raise their hands and surrender.

And just as the nuclear light burst forth, a Conqueror No.5 bearing the flag of the New Alliance wobbled to the east side of the airport.

As the hatch opened, Escaping Mole, with his bandaged head, poked out, looking towards Lost Valley in surprise. "... Damn."

Hearing the startled voice, the driver yelled, "What's happening out there? I can't see!”

"Nuke...” Escaping Mole gulped before adding, "Damn, that nuclear bomb seems to have exploded!"

If they didn’t count the small one north of Clearspring City that was used back then, it was his first time feeling a nuclear blast up close.

The overwhelming pressure was truly extraordinary, although the explosion seemed less powerful than he had imagined.

Was it really a one megaton nuclear warhead?

Or did it seem less powerful because it exploded in the valley?

"Damn?!" Hearing that a nuclear bomb had exploded ahead, the tank suddenly stopped.

A series of clinking and clanking noises followed, the driver clumsily opened the hatch. Not worried about making a spectacle of himself, he leaned out in excitement.

"Let me see!"

At the same time, at the edge of the nuclear blast zone, there was heart-wrenching screams.

"Quickly!"

"Faster!"

"Ah, ah, ah! It’s coming!"

Lying in the back of the truck, McClennan screamed in an undignified manner, desperately squeezing towards the front of the truck, trying to get as far away from the center of the explosion as possible.

His officer lay on the other side of the truck bed with his hands over his head, eyes tightly shut, mumbling prayers to someone.

Both were already dressed in their protection equipment.

Not only were there protective masks on their heads, they had also taken two anti-radiation pills. However, they still couldn’t withstand the threat of death and deep-seated fear so close at hand.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Sisi remained relatively calm, but looking at the white light reflected in the rear-view mirror, a drop of cold sweat still trickled down her forehead.

The truck she was driving had just rushed out of the northern mouth of the valley when the blinding white light and explosion caught up.

Not daring to look back, she bit her lip hard. Her shoe was basically one with the accelerator, and even on the bumpy, rugged dirt road, she sped up to over 60 km/h!

The scorching shockwave that was carrying surging dust, almost blew into their truck.

The southern side that was open seemed to become a vent for the shockwave. Dust and debris rushed forward from behind her.

Luckily, the epicenter of the explosion was below the surface of the earth.

If it had exploded on flat ground, they probably wouldn't even feel the pain before they and the truck beneath them turned into molten metal and debris...

...

North side of the airfield.

Standing on a dune, Tail held a pair of binoculars as she gazed at the valley now enveloped by night to the south.

When she saw that flash of white light, she couldn't help but exclaim, "GIAO! The nuclear bomb really exploded!"

"Good thing we made it." Sesame Paste breathed a sigh of relief, finally loosening her tightly clenched fist.

Tail suddenly looked at her, puzzled, "But why is there no mushroom cloud?"

"There's only a mushroom cloud in the case of an aerial burst... Probably?" Sesame Paste answered uncertainly.

Standing by, Roshan was still sighing in frustration, obviously distressed about the relics in the valley.

Sesame Paste was about to comfort her when, a truck burst out of the rolling dust, rushing out from the north side of Lost Valley towards the airfield.

As it stopped and everyone gathered around, two people rolled out of the back of the truck.

Just as they tore off their protective masks, they started vomiting with their hands on the ground.

Looking at the two vomiting messily, Sesame Paste who had walked up to greet her teammates unconsciously stopped in her tracks, looking puzzled. "Who are they?"

"McClennan and his adjutant..." Jumping down from the driver's seat, Sisi glanced at the two men on the ground. "I just found out too."

Tail's eyes lit up, staring at the middle-aged man slowly getting up from the ground. "Whoa! You're General McClennan?"

Roshan clenched her bear paw, yelling in excitement, "Tail! We've caught a big fish!"

"YEAH!"

The pale-faced McClennan was slightly stunned, not recognizing the person and bear in front of him, nor understanding why the bear was talking.

But, after all, he was conscious of being a captive, knowing that being cooperative might spare him some hardship, he spoke cautiously. "I'm McClennan... You are?"

"Tail!"

McClennan raised his eyebrows in confusion. "?"

Looking at his bewildered face, Sisi's mouth suddenly curled into a mischievously thoughtful smile. "Speaking of which, back in Lucky Valley Municipality, that balloon was also released by Tail."

Tail nodded in excitement. "Yep! It took a lot of effort from me and Sesame Paste to get that balloon up high!"

Sesame Paste smiled sheepishly. However, McClennan didn't even glance at her.

At the mention of the balloon, his eyes bulged.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

With a murderous gaze, he glared at the proud figure with her chest puffed up, his face turning pale before flushing as he trembled and pointed his finger, "That balloon... You did that?!"

Completely indifferent to the gaze that could kill, Tail proudly nodded her head, "Yep, don't mention it!"

McClennan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood, wishing he could rush up and strangle her.

"Don't move." Enjoying his collapsing expression, Sisi shook the handgun she had just seized, politely reminding him, "Don't forget you're a captive, stay quiet if you don't want to die."

Heh after being hunted down by the bastards of the Army back in Lucky Valley Municipality... After avoiding so many barrages by your stupid airship!

Hmph! I finally have my revenge!

...