Vengeance

At this moment, Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei stood on a knoll on the same side as the tank. Their position placed them even closer to the Great Spike horde below than the tank was. As far as the eye could see: The rioting horde of Great Spikes still surged toward the riverbank, but their overall speed had slowed from before, seemingly distracted and delayed by the shelling. Farther ahead, directly in the path of the horde, were over a hundred ordinary Azure squad soldiers deployed with their backs to the river. Five defensive formations stretched across the riverbank, a thicket of blades glinting in the early morning light. Behind them, several dozen plateau residents were moving downstream along the river. The ground trembled as the distance closed steadily. The rumbling roar of the river rushed continuously into their ears. A clash was on the verge of erupting... Yet to the flank of this straight path, at an almost perpendicular angle, that solitary, battered old tank was still churning forward across the rolling grassy slopes. It was not fast, wobbling erratically at times due to the rough terrain, but it never stopped pressing forward. A fourth shell plummeted into the Great Spike horde. It detonated with a thunderous roar. "It's probably men left behind from the regular army who saw this and came to help." Even now, that remained Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei's assessment. Earlier, the local regular garrison had evacuated in an emergency overnight on the very evening the Great Spikes began descending; their primary task then had been gathering up nearby residents from all around. Because the whole operation had been so rushed and arduous, it seemed understandable that a few personnel might have stayed behind at the garrison after Azure took over, or that some equipment had been left behind. *You can't keep pushing forward!* Han Qingyu wanted to shout, but he figured the driver would never hear him. "Qingzi... the riders," Wen Jifei suddenly murmured, looking into the distance. Han Qingyu followed his gaze and looked up past the five battle formations, spotting the cavalry line of herdsmen drawn up in a row. Liu Shiheng was back on horseback as well, blade in hand, standing at the very head of the riders. ...The situation was critical and chaotic, and Han Qingyu's thoughts were momentarily thrown into disarray as well. Right then. *Thump!* The battered old tank fired its fifth shell. The shell whistled through the air, tracing an arc before plunging toward the Great Spike horde. A Great Spike leapt up from the swarm, raising its column sword in both hands and cleaving straight down. *Boom!* The shell was cleaved apart in midair. The Great Spike merely flew backward a short distance before landing firmly back among its peers. "What... what the f-fuck are these things?!" In the tank's cockpit, Old Man Tian swore numbly, his body freezing for a moment. He had finally seen the effect of his shells clearly for the first time... His eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. Everything before him lay far beyond the veteran's comprehension. At the same time, the tank finally drew the Great Spikes' attention. A contingent quickly broke away—roughly a third of the horde—shrieking as it lunged in this direction. Between slopes, the tank jolted as it rolled along. Old Man Tian snapped back to his senses... Looking up at the swarm of black-armored Great Spikes charging straight at him, his body and hands trembled uncontrollably. He reached for the liquor he had brought along, tilted his head back, gulped down several mouthfuls, and set it aside. Reflecting on it, what curled at the corners of his lips was not fear, but a faint, gratified smile. "Tian Jiao, you little brat... Holy mother of God, you really killed things like this?!" "Good. That's my boy. You're amazing." At this moment, there was no savagery, no grief-fueled fury, nor any overly intense emotion. In his expression was only relief and resolve. Old Man Tian's gaze settled... Sitting in the driver's seat, he resolutely locked his steering. Only two shells remained. Old Man Tian climbed entirely out of the driver's seat to load one, then turned to glance at the hefty pile of hand grenades beside him... He had originally planned to make a big score today. "Good thing I didn't brag to you beforehand... Looks like your old man has no other moves left, Tian Jiao... I'll go over there, do my best to kill one of them, and count it as getting vengeance for you. "And uh, the army gave us a big pension and left a way to contact them. Said they'd take care of us for good. I've taken care of Zhifan and the others, so don't you worry... "Forget it. Your dad will tell you all about it when I come down to join you." The clatter of the treads ground loudly as they rolled swiftly forward, the lone tank hurtling in a straight line toward the enemy. *Thump.* Another shell was fired. "If I can't kill you, I'll still hit you!" The old veteran reloaded with practiced ease. He remembered back in the old days, the enemy tanks had had superior armor too. One shot didn't blow them up, two shots didn't blow them up... No matter, he'd just keep hammering away; he'd take them down eventually. Down below, Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei saw the battered tank suddenly accelerate, charging straight at the Great Spike horde. In that instant. The final shell fired. Continuing its charge, the tank crested yet another earthen knoll. It was on the verge of being swallowed by the onrushing Great Spikes. Around this time, the people along the riverbank finally spotted the solitary tank. Gasps and cries of shock erupted. *Whoosh!* A majestic burst of source energy roared from the distant ridge, its overwhelming momentum drowning out every other sound on the field. Like everyone else, Liu Shiheng turned his head to look. "Qingzi?!" Young Master Liu nearly burst into tears on the spot. Behind him, the herdsmen cavalry raised their sabers and roared. "Who is it?!" shouted someone from the frontline. Who? Liu Shiheng racked his brain, blurting out in flustered excitement, "Qingzi... Squad 1777, Han Qingyu! Right, that, uh, Major The Qing—you know him? Have you heard of him?... Anyway, it's that guy!" The five battle formations fell silent for a single second. "We've got a chance, brothers!" "Yeah!" "Ready!" "Hah!" The shift in morale across the battlefield was stark and palpable. Within their line of sight, high on a flanking ridge in the distance, descending down the slope— A sputtering blue starlight column sword plunged straight downward parallel to the slope, racing ahead of the sprinting figure. "Qingzi's running posture looks a little off," Liu Shiheng noticed. Soon, everyone else noticed it too. His left arm was bound tightly to his torso with bandages. "He's..." *Boom!* The column sword crashed into the tank's path of advance, slamming right into the vanguard of the Great Spikes. Four Great Spikes were blasted into the air by the shockwave. *Whoosh!* With another sonic burst near the foot of the hill, Han Qingyu launched himself straight toward the tank. At the same time, a clatter rang out from the tank. The turret hatch popped open. The upper half of a man's body emerged from inside. In his arms, he clutched a massive bundle of grenades, using his elbows for support as he scrambled to climb out. His hair was grizzled with white. "Uncle Tian?!" Wen Jifei murmured through his sniper scope, completely stunned. It was something he never could have anticipated, yet thinking about it now, he found he was not entirely surprised after all. Han Qingyu was in midair, much closer; he saw clearly and was utterly certain. It was Brother Tian's father. The old man who hadn't shed a single tear after his son's sacrifice, but who had poured them wine during dinner and asked, "Do you need old veterans when you fight terror?" When they finally parted, he had fashioned a spear himself, silently and earnestly demonstrating thrusting and vaulting over a wall in the courtyard for Han Qingyu and the others... silently saying that this old veteran could still fight. And so this stubborn old man, this Huaxia veteran, had come after all—come to avenge his son. He had driven a tank here. "Uncle Tian!" Overcome with a tangle of emotions, Han Qingyu called out in midair, his eyes rimmed with red. Old Man Tian turned his head in confusion to look. Recognizing him, he said, "You... don't come down here, young officer!" "Uncle, you..." Han Qingyu stepped down onto the tank from the air, reached out, hauled Old Man Tian up, and with another step, *whoosh*, surged toward a flanking slope. "Move!" "Hey, hey, hey!" Dangling in midair, Old Man Tian panicked slightly, but he still refused to let go of the heavy bundle of grenades bound in his arms. "Young officer, you don't need to worry about me! I saw that you're hurt... You get out of here first. I'm going to blow them to pieces!" Emotion surged through Han Qingyu once more. Sighing helplessly, he came to a stop on the earthen slope, turning around to steady Uncle Tian as he said, "Throw it!" "Huh?" "Blow them up! Can you reach from here, veteran?" Han Qingyu yelled. "I can! Alright!" Old Man Tian turned, gritted his teeth, primed one of the grenades, and with both arms swung a massive arc with every ounce of strength in his body... hurling the entire bundle down into the Great Spike horde. "Aargh... Give me back my son's life! I'll kill every last one of you motherfuckers!" *Boom! Boom...!* Amidst the relentless, violent detonations, earth and stones flew in all directions, and smoke billowed into the air. Through the dust and smoke, a blue starlight column sword sliced back through the air. Han Qingyu reached out and caught it. Down below, five or six Great Spikes lay strewn across the ground. One of them was disintegrating, a third of its body shattered. It was unmistakably dead. Having found his footing, Uncle Tian looked down and saw it... Stunned, he seemed almost unable to believe his eyes. "I killed one... Tian Jiao, look, your dad killed one of them. "Look, blown to pieces! I took one down!" "Impressive, Uncle Tian," Han Qingyu said beside him with exaggerated excitement, his eyes shining red.