"Han Qingyu!" Milla had changed into a fresh combat uniform, but her hair was still wet. Standing at the far end of the passageway, she barked fiercely.
"What is it, Milla?" Han Qingyu stood halfway out the doorway, giving an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, my bad."
"Don't you smirk at me." Milla didn't smile. With a stern face and her hands clasped behind her back, her brow furrowed. "What did you just call me?!"
"Milla..." Han Qingyu paused. Catching on, he snapped to attention and shouted, "Captain Milla!"
"Hmph, so you do remember," Milla said with a nod. "Then right now, in my capacity as captain, I order you to approve my surgery—"
*Bang!*
The cabin door slammed shut. Without the slightest hesitation or delay, it just shut.
Then came a *click*—the sound of the lock turning.
Milla froze for two seconds. "Han Qingyu!"
The young captain's helpless roar echoed down the corridor...
"Is doing that... really all right?" Inside the cabin, Wen Jifei gestured toward the door and asked in a low voice.
"It's fine. I'm not afraid of this; I'm more afraid of that surgery." Han Qingyu chuckled. "How is it? Has the announcement gone out?"
"Yeah, sent out just as we discussed." Wen Jifei nodded, picking up a sheet of paper from the table. On it was the exact message the Azure Alliance Council was currently hearing.
Just a few lines, in English and Chinese... As Han Qingyu read it, He Tangtang leaned over to look as well. He recognized almost all the characters, but the underlying meaning felt a bit fuzzy to him.
"So after all that talk, what does it actually mean? Give it to me in plain speak," he said, looking up at Wen Jifei.
Wen Jifei chuckled. "Don't come, and we're still friends. Come, and don't blame me when I cut you down."
That was essentially the gist of it. Hearing this, everyone chuckled.
"What if people really come?" He Tangtang asked next, his tone turning anxious. "What if a huge crowd shows up, or worse, those two experts in the top five of the Dome Leaderboard come too..."
Han Qingyu lowered his head in brief silence, then said slowly, "Top fighters are fine. I only hope the frontline soldiers don't come."
If he had a choice, he would never want to draw his blade against Azure's frontline soldiers.
***
Alliance Council Chamber.
Amid a sea of gazes laden with unspoken meanings, the French councilman froze by the back door, the skin on his face twitching involuntarily. He shouldn't have been here in the first place, but he had forced his way in.
He had spoken those words himself just moments ago. By rights, he should now thump his chest and declare he would go. But going meant facing The King's blade.
According to the latest intelligence, The King had suffered a narrow defeat at Xiongzhanli, but had severely wounded Butcher Ivan, fifth on the Dome Leaderboard.
Everyone present had a good idea of what kind of monster Butcher Ivan was, which was precisely why they were so anxious... After running as a fugitive for so long, The King now truly possessed the potential to threaten Alphonse.
On top of that, their ranks included three super combat powers, at least eight top-tiers, and ten thousand thugs from the City of Iniquity.
"Haven't any of you realized it? This is a provocation! He is provoking Azure!" the French councilman blurted out, his head jerking up.
He was trying to deflect the issue, but aside from a scattered few murmurs of agreement from his closest allies, the hall offered no response at all.
No response was their response. Their eyes said:
*Not at all. What The King said was rather mild. If one had to sum up his announcement in a single sentence, he is merely saying: Comrades, please do not force my hand.*
The French councilman's eyes dimmed in defeat. He looked down at the floor as if searching for something, while a rustle of murmuring arose throughout the hall.
"If that's truly how it is, perhaps we will have no choice but to ask the Star of the Mediterranean to intervene," another European councilman remarked.
Christine, fourth on the Dome Leaderboard, was commonly known as the "Star of the Mediterranean," or "the strongest woman in the world."
If the various Fronts of Europa were viewed as a collective whole, she was also the strongest being in all of Europa.
*If Christine acts, combined with Alphonse...* Some council members silently weighed the combat strengths of both sides.
"But Christine is in Antarctica!" a councilman stood up and countered. "Does the General not know? A few days ago, a Great Spike with bizarre armor, never seen before, appeared there. The Coalition forces don't yet know its true strength, but Christine has already gone to rendezvous with General Bochen to prepare for it."
Fourth and third on the Dome Leaderboard—aside from that man who was invincible in the mortal realm, this was the strongest lineup Azure could deploy, and both were currently in Antarctica.
"Besides, Miss Christine won't just obey your orders. Given her usual leniency toward handsome men, I doubt she'd even be willing to lift a finger, would she? After all, our Venezuelan Rose, Stefania, is still smitten with The King to this day!"
The one speaking with mockery was a Venezuelan councilman. The Stefania he mentioned was the only S-grade fusion degree holder in their country.
Three years ago, Stefania and her Mérida Squad had nearly been wiped out on Xilang Peak...
Bound by the bonds forged on Xilang Peak, council members from Venezuela, Mexico, and several other nations had withstood all manner of pressure from the first-generation Starlight and his allies over the years, standing resolutely on Han Qingyu's side.
Soft chuckles sounded around the room, with many nodding in agreement.
The Council was on the verge of turning into a farce again. The Council President's brow furrowed. "Order, please. I wish to hear opinions that are actually constructive."
"Apply pressure to the Huaxia Front." The councilman who had debated Mayne earlier stood up.
"Right, pressure the Huaxia Front!" As if suddenly jolted awake, the French general shouted excitedly from the back door.
The chamber instantly plunged back into chatter and chaos.
"Indeed. At present, the only and best solution is to request the Huaxia Front to prioritize Azure's big picture and step in to stop The King..."
"But it's said that the Legion Commander spoke with Major Qing in Xiongzhanli, and he didn't say anything back then."
"Then we implore him to say something now."
"At least he didn't express support for The King, did he?"
"..."
"Report!" Amidst the commotion, a secretary appeared at the door once more.
The chamber fell quiet.
The Council President turned his head, signaling with his eyes for him to speak.
"A telegram from the Huaxia Sole Witness Legion." Lowering his saluting hand, the secretary indicated the document in his grasp.
The President hesitated for a moment, then said, "Read it!"
"R-Read it?" The secretary was nervous and perplexed.
"Read it," the President said, exhausted by the whole ordeal.
The secretary took a deep breath and looked up at the silent hall...
[Azure Huaxia Front, Sole Witness Legion, Chen Buer, to the Alliance Council:
Mr. President, esteemed councilors, this old man imagines you are currently deliberating over Major Han Qingyu of our Huaxia Front.
Regarding this matter, I have a few words to say.
As of today, three years have passed since the Xilang Peak Incident. Over these three years, to preserve the greater cause of humanity's resistance, my Sole Witness Legion has never made a single public statement on the matter... exercising the utmost restraint.
My conscience is not clear.
That guilt is toward him.
Three years ago, he paved his path with his merits to avenge his comrades-in-arms, wiping his achievements clean in a single stroke, yet we said nothing. Only because of that do you all now have the leeway to discuss whether or not he is still part of Azure.
For three years, the truth of the incident remained shrouded. He was hunted into exile, fleeing far to the City of Iniquity. Meanwhile, the other party involved continued to sit in the Council time and again, hailed like a hero.
Not long ago, three years later, if you are all willing to be honest, I believe we all know that someone went in person to the vicinity of the City of Iniquity and laid a trap to kill him, but failed...
Since Azure has never truly protected him across these three years, then this old man believes that today, three years later, neither you nor I possess any right to command or obstruct him.
It has been three years. Since the Council has accomplished nothing and can produce no concrete solution, why not simply step aside and treat this strictly as a private vendetta?]
The letter was rather long. Having read to this point, the secretary paused, looked down at the words that followed, then looked up with an expression of hesitation.
"Very well-reasoned. Must be the work of that old chief of staff again."
"Without a doubt."
Just like in years past, the council members chuckled and chatted amongst themselves. Huaxia's Legion Commander didn't have this kind of literary polish, nor was it his style. Had he written it himself, he probably would have just drawn a blade on the letter, people thought.
"What is it?" The President turned to the secretary. "Continue."
"...Yes, sir." The secretary nodded, then unconsciously changed his tone:
[Anyway, that's how it is.]
[Let me lay down the hard truth upfront.]
[The fact that I'm not going out there to help him is already my greatest restraint.]
[In short:]
[On this journey of his, anyone who moves to block or kill him along the way shall be deemed a mortal enemy of my Huaxia Sole Witness Legion. Whoever he cannot cut down, I will cut you down myself—to the bitter end.]
Signed: Chen Buer.
Chapter 552