Chapter 445.3: The Light That Destroys Everything

At the command center west of Oasis No.9.

A H44 Cutlass Fighter landed on the runway.

Watching the pilot jump out of the cockpit, an officer followed the ground crew's steps forward, asking urgently, "Where is the H55 you were escorting?"

The pilot answered bluntly, "We were attacked by enemy aircraft! The H55 sustained damage to one of its engines during takeoff."

The officer's face paled and he quickly asked, "What about the nuclear bomb?!"

The pilot, bracing himself, answered truthfully. "It’s still on the aircraft..."

As the pilot reported the situation, the officers at the front-line command post had already learned about the front-line conditions through other channels.

Inside the command tent.

Griffin, standing in front of the radio, remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

After about 10 minutes, he turned back to the command table, glanced at the map, and ordered solemnly, "Inform the third battalion of the Falcon Kingdom... They must hold the line until reinforcements arrive!"

"End the second battalion’s rest period, move them to the north side for defense."

Reinforcements from the Enterprise and the New Alliance were arriving in the Sunset Province in succession.

With the support of the Heart of Steel, Oasis No.9 was essentially lost. The best option was to retreat to Oasis No.3 to organize defenses and extend the enemy's supply lines.

He would request more reinforcements from the Marshal soon.

Hearing General Griffin's orders, the officers standing in front of the command table looked at each other.

One officer couldn't help but speak up, "The second battalion had just participated in the siege of the City of Abundance a few days ago, suffering heavy losses in personnel and equipment, I fear their combat strength is less than 30%.”

Griffin merely glanced at him.

That cold look made the officer immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

Looking back at the map, Griffin continued succinctly, "All other units move to Oasis No.3, take all equipment and supplies you can carry, burn what you can't."

The aide standing by asked, "What about McClennan?"

Griffin fell silent, a flicker of complexity in his icy gaze.

He and that semi-arrogant man had been rivals for half a lifetime.

Though he wished the man would just disappear, his departure in that manner still made him feel a sadness akin to one feeling the grief at the death of a like-minded comrade.

He swore he would have his revenge.

Throwing his cap on the map in the command center, he turned and left the tent. "Lower the flag to half-mast."

Behind him, the command tent fell silent.

After a long silence, led by someone, the officers simultaneously removed their caps and held them in their palms.

Flames burned in pairs of eyes.

Those were the seeds of hatred...

...

At the same time.

Chu Guang, who was commanding on the front lines, also learned about the situation near the Lost Valley through Little Seven and the official website forum.

When Chu Guang heard that the camp stationed at the airfield was commanded by McClennan, he was stunned for a good two seconds.

This is really... Too coincidental.

"Where is he?"

Little Seven tilted its head to the side and replied, "He’s under the control of your players now!”

Chu Guang nodded.

Good that he’s alive.

Before it escalated into total war, he could be used as bargaining chips on the negotiation table.

Neither the New Alliance nor the Enterprise would be likely to fight all the way to the West Coast thousands of kilometers away, as it neither served the interests of the New Alliance or the Enterprise, nor was it the goal of either side.

For the New Alliance, the most optimistic scenario would be to extract war reparations from the Army or its vassals, and then collect a few subordinates in the Sunset Province.

Perhaps the Enterprise would be willing to share the secrets of Shelter 0 with him, but he wouldn't be too disappointed without it.

After all, he never placed his hopes on that legend.

"What about the bomb?" Chu Guang asked about his most pressing concern next.

Little Seven spoke softly, "It was detonated by the Army... However, your players sent the nuclear bomb into the deepest part of Lost Valley, and it seems no one was hurt."

Chu Guang looked slightly astonished.

It exploded?

"What's wrong?" Noticing the change in Chu Guang's expression, Vanus cast a strange look his way.

Standing not far away, Finod also looked over nervously, trying to understand which stage the war had reached.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Regardless of who won, as long as it moved to the ceasefire negotiations, he would have a chance to go home.

Chu Guang didn’t respond, instead gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bridge, looking towards the increasingly distant horizon.

If he could have gotten his hands on it...

Even if he just held it and never used it, it would have made the Army wary, unable to freely move on the battlefield.

But now... Things had gotten a bit complicated.

...

In the Great Rift Valley, in Origin City.

In a spacious meeting room, there was a long conference table carved from obsidian, with two people sitting on either side.

The person at the head of the table was about 60 years old, his temples tinged with frost, and his face marked with the crisscrossing lines of age, resembling the crevasses of a canyon.

His half-closed eyes seemed deep in thought.

Perhaps worried he had fallen asleep, the tall man sitting at the other end of the table, reminded him, "They've even used a nuclear bomb now."

He was dressed in a silver-gray uniform. His clothes were impeccably smooth, like a mirror without a single wrinkle.

Hearing the term, the old man’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but he still didn't show much reaction.

"Hmm.”

"It’s getting more and more excessive.”

“Hmm."

"Is that all you can say?" The tall man's voice carried a trace of displeasure.

The old man sighed softly, "I need time to think."

"Think? Are the terms of a written contract no longer valid?" The tall man laughed mockingly, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "If you keep thinking, we might have to fight another war in the trash heap."

The old man sitting in the chair sighed, finally lifting his drooping eyelids.

Looking at the tall man sitting across with cloudy eyes, he spoke in a calm and gentle tone, "The complexity of the problem lies here. Our civilization is on the brink of collapse. Any small mistake could doom our last hope. Don't always use that indifferent tone here, isn’t your Academy partly responsible for this situation?"

"Of course, we made a serious mistake by choosing to trust a group of fools who think with their fists. Even more foolishly, I just wasted another precious five minutes of my life trying to convince a slow-witted old man." The tall man sneered, dropping his arms crossed in front of his chest.

His figure gradually faded, eventually becoming a holographic image, disappearing into a scattering of light particles.

Facing an empty conference table, the old man fell into a long silence.

At that moment, an AI's electronic voice floated to his ears, "... A messenger from the south requests an audience. They call themselves the New Alliance and they want to negotiate over the covert support the Bugra Free State made to the Army."

The New Alliance...

That name seemed familiar. When was that again?

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger, struggling to remember.

Since the end of the Prosperity Era, too many strange things had happened on the land.

From the kingdoms to the chiefs of tribes, as well as various bizarre organizations and ideologies... They were like matches struck in the dark, quick to light and just as quick to extinguish, the only purpose being to burn one's fingers black before they realized it hurt.

But in the end, the old man decided to meet these young descendants.

"Please bring them to the lounge. I'll be there shortly."

The AI assistant responded in a gentle voice, "Very well, Chairman."