Forging Ahead

By this time, due to communication difficulties and the avalanche, the Azure frontline command post at the foot of the mountain had completely lost the ability to monitor or grasp the situation atop the peak. From their vantage point, all that could be seen amid the churning ice and snow was the furious, snow-clad mountain veiled in darkness, along with that colossal beam of light soaring into the heavens from the giant craft at the summit. That meant the crisis persisted, and the situation was exceedingly dire. Yet most of the banners belonging to Azure atop the peak remained standing as well. Therefore, the battle at the summit was still ongoing. It was just that they could offer no help at all now. All they could do was wait—or, as they waited, pray to their respective gods. If such was the case for the front line, it went without saying for the various national fronts in the rear. Azure Huaxia Front, Council headquarters. The atmosphere inside the conference room had been stiflingly tense for a long time... This one-way waiting for an outcome left people feeling powerless and uneasy. "If everyone feels suffocated, go take a walk nearby for a bit. If any news comes in, I'll have someone notify you immediately." Chairman Qu Zhongshi looked up and spoke, doing his best to appear confident. "That works too." Responding in turn, the people in the conference room filed out in twos and threes, finding spots nearby to smoke or talk in private. Chen Buer and the old staff officer returned to the corridor corner where they had been chatting earlier. Just as they lit their cigarettes, they heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned around. "Ah, it's Qiaoqiao. What's the matter, got something you want to tell Grandpa Chen?" As bigwigs from different branches of the Huaxia Front, Chen Buer had frequently disagreed, clashed, and bickered with Qu Zhongshi and Xin Mingzhi. Yet when it came to this young girl belonging to both the Qu and Xin families, he was genuinely fond of her, and his tone carried an unusual warmth. "Mm. Hello, Grandpa Chen." Xin Yaoqiao swallowed back the "Greetings, Legion Commander Chen" that had reached the tip of her tongue in the nick of time. Even though she always called him "Grandpa Chen Buer" or "Grandpa Chen" in private, they were actually not very close. At the same time, as a minor expert with Grade A fusion and an admirer of martial prowess who yearned for the battlefield, standing before humanity's legendary pinnacle of combat power naturally left Xin Yaoqiao somewhat excited and nervous. "I was just thinking how great it would be if you were on the front lines this time, Grandpa Chen." Xin Yaoqiao plucked up her courage and asked, "Why didn't they let you go to the front lines this time, Grandpa Chen?" "Probably because... they didn't think it was necessary." A faint smile appeared on Chen Buer's weathered, peasant-like face. "They didn't suggest it, and I didn't insist on going either. I figured if a Daie or Puda'er really showed up, they'd come looking for me anyway. We're not that far from there, after all." Xin Yaoqiao lowered her head to think for a moment, then looked up. "Mm." She did not press further. Questions like this were generally very complicated, especially when concerning Chen Buer—the world's foremost warrior, and the commander who had led the Huaxia Front's Sole Witness Legion for over twenty years. The logic behind it not being necessary was built upon the recent rise and advancement of humanity's super combat powers. The reality of this battle had already proven that they were indeed capable of dealing with Red Shoulders. The hidden side of the matter, however, was that Chen Buer himself actually did not have many chances left to strike. The blade that could have slain a Daie, a Puda'er, or cleaved toward Miwang, if squandered on a Red Shoulder first... might be a waste, and he might never have another opportunity to strike against an even stronger adversary. From a political standpoint: For Azure, Chen Buer, the universally recognized pinnacle of the mortal world, had to remain around. And he had to remain formidable... continuously providing faith and maintaining deterrence. Yet they—a faction within the Alliance Council—harbored misgivings at the same time, believing that he could no longer be allowed to command this war, unwilling to grant him even greater global prestige or a second Star of Azure. Due to her family background, Xin Yaoqiao vaguely understood a bit of these undercurrents, but also because of her status, she could not discuss them... Glancing toward the two Alliance officials in the distance who had been sent to inquire into the recent technology exchange incident, Xin Yaoqiao asked rather apprehensively: "Then, Grandpa Chen, why did you reject the terms for the technology exchange last time? Isn't that very important for our future battles?" "Yes, it really is very important. That's why both your grandfather and maternal grandfather supported accepting the terms back then, right?" Chen Buer asked, though he didn't wait for the young girl to answer before continuing, "They might not have been wrong, and neither was I. It's just a matter of differing stances. From a soldier's stance, I have to think with a soldier's logic... Politics can compromise, and scientific research can focus solely on its own corner, but soldiers must remain unyielding in such a situation." "But..." "There are no 'buts.' Whatever can be won with a blade, we'll seize with a blade." Chen Buer sounded like a stubborn old man, almost as if he were losing his temper. Xin Yaoqiao wasn't frightened in the slightest, because this fiery temperament was precisely what the legendary Legion Commander Chen was truly like, and his temper wasn't directed at her anyway... Her grandfather and maternal grandfather? She could pretend she barely knew them for now. "Mm." After replying, Xin Yaoqiao hesitated for a moment before preparing to change the subject. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she nonetheless thickened her skin and blurted out, "This time, over at Xilang Peak, a soldier under your command seems to have achieved a great merit, Grandpa Chen." "Is that so? ...Ah, seems like it. There is indeed someone like that." Feigning difficulty before recalling that it was Han Qingyu, Chen Buer broke into a meaningful smile. "Then what do you think of him, Grandpa Chen? Do you feel he..." "So after talking all this time, Qiaoqiao, this was your real topic all along, right?" This time it was the old staff officer who spoke. With that, he and Chen Buer looked at each other and burst into hearty laughter. Xin Yaoqiao looked flustered and embarrassed. She didn't admit it out loud, but neither did she deny it. Coming from an elite background, she knew more about the broader picture and saw many matters more clearly than Han Qingyu himself did. Although she did not fully understand the affair with the Alphonse family, through practical contact she had perceived some of Han Qingyu's vigilance and unease toward the Azure upper echelons... Their entire small squad clearly harbored this anxiety and apprehension. In short, Qingzi's seniority and background were far too fledgling, yet he shone far too brightly. Right now, he genuinely needed "protection" from a higher level. The two old coots chuckled teasingly and exasperatingly for quite a while before finally stopping, at last willing to give a proper answer. "That kid, huh," Chen Buer paused, turning his gaze toward the distant sky in thought before saying slowly, "He's probably someone you can always place your hopes in." ............ The structure of the Great Spike mothership, including the bottom hold, roughly consisted of four irregular decks. At this moment, the bottom hold was empty; the battlefield of Han Qingyu and the other two was on the second deck from the bottom, where the base of the traction field was located as well. The deck above it was the command deck where the small Red Shoulder was situated. Amidst a chaotic melee, it tilted its head up, waiting for everything to be completed. On the uppermost deck, aside from the main force pinned down below, the remaining nearly one thousand Azure elites had breached into the mothership's interior to fight, though they remained temporarily stalled there. Under these circumstances, there was a high probability the small Red Shoulder would appear on the lower battlefield first to stop Han Qingyu and the others from attacking the traction field. Therefore, Azure's battlefield commanders grew frantic and joined the fray in person. Liu Yiwu's combat blade remained razor-sharp... Nepal Front commander Upadhyaya clutched a shattered slab of the outer iron wall, charging repeatedly against the inner iron partition amid the melee, attempting to open a passageway downward. The second deck from the bottom. The path ahead was blocked by more than twenty blue-sheened Great Spikes. Han Qingyu had already gotten to his feet. Rusty Sister was at his flank. Wu Xu was in front of him, his black spear locked tightly against an incoming Great Spike, blood welling from his shoulder. "Qingzi, are you still going?" He asked in a tone that sounded utterly ordinary. "Have to," Han Qingyu replied just as casually. "Alright. Then, come." Wu Xu meant: *Then I'll carve open this path for you.* But he didn't say it aloud. Against a formation like this, Qingzi could never hack through on his own; recklessly diving in would only leave him surrounded. Bending forward with another beast-like low roar, Wu Xu kept the Binggu spear bound to his arm, its shaft spinning like lightning as he drove it forward again, piercing through the chest of the foremost blue-sheened spike and flinging it aside. Then, raising the spear in both hands, he brought it down like a staff, cleaving into the cluster of Great Spikes before hoisting the weapon and sweeping it hard left and right... Amidst the swarm of Great Spikes, a narrow opening appeared before the three of them... Wu Xu released the spear, hurling it straight through the middle, while simultaneously drawing his column sword, charging into the swarm to slash open a path forward. Rusty Sister did the same, charging in. Throughout, there were no effective kills, yet the two of them forcefully tore through the swarm of blue-sheened Great Spikes before them in an instant, carving out a path ahead of Han Qingyu. "Go!" *Whoosh!* Han Qingyu's source energy erupted as he swept through the gap... Gripping his column sword with both hands mid-sprint, he slashed toward the iron wall breach, facing the final fewer than ten blue-sheened spikes. Behind him, Wu Xu and Rusty Sister turned silently, spear braced and shield raised... holding back the twenty blue-sheened Great Spikes from the rear. Without looking back. Han Qingyu had never been someone who forged ahead heedless of consequences; he had always calculated his moves with hesitation and caution, always acting within his means... But now, he had to, and could only, press forward without looking back. *Boom!* The heavy sword cleaved into the breach, cutting straight through the cluster of Great Spikes. The moment his feet touched the deck, Han Qingyu didn't pause for an instant. Parrying away weapons slashing from his flank with a swing of his blade, his source energy erupted once more as he lunged toward the traction field right before his eyes... *Clang!* From the deck ahead, an unexpected Great Spike suddenly threw its body across and wrapped its arms around him. These blue-sheened spikes truly were intelligent. Then came a second, a third, a fourth—four blue-sheened Great Spikes dragged him back with all their might. All four of these blue-sheened spikes were already heavily wounded and weaponless; they were the four that Han Qingyu had disarmed and sent flying during his initial surprise attack. All they wanted was to stall for time. Han Qingyu's sprint was checked. In his ears came the sounds of combat behind him and the shattering of iron plating above... "Ahhh!" Han Qingyu, who had never acted recklessly or brutally, went wild for the very first time—so brutal and reckless it was shocking. He actually dragged all four blue-sheened Great Spikes along with him, stubbornly forging ahead, right into the range of the source energy field surrounding the traction field. The instant the source energy barrier slammed against him, he plunged his column sword into the deck, relying on the sword and the weight of the four blue-sheened Great Spikes... to stand his ground against the impact. *Spurt!* A mouthful of blood sprayed out, wracking his entire body with excruciating pain... And then... *Thud!* Like an ordinary person trudging through a swamp, an agonizingly difficult step landed heavily on the deck. Han Qingyu stepped into the traction field.