At Yuejiang University, the remaining red-shoulder was dead. Its abdomen had been pierced completely through, leaving a massive bloody hole before it crashed to the ground.
It had already been wounded, and after bearing the raw fury of Han Qingyu and the others, it died faster and with far less struggle than anticipated. Han Qingyu had hacked at it like a madman, willing to take injuries just to end the battle fast.
The Han Qingyu of today undoubtedly possessed the strength to battle a red-shoulder alone.
Moreover, among those of his level, he might be the most suited to fighting red-shoulders, because many in this batch also wielded column swords.
Upon initial contact, bone source permeated, turning the column sword in the red-shoulder's grasp into a combat traction device for Han Qingyu.
Right up to its death, this red-shoulder never understood why this newcomer opponent, who also wielded a column sword, was so fast, his attacks so precise and unavoidable.
In its dying moments, it could only struggle to transmit this intelligence back.
"Report: from Shenghai toward Linzhou, the newest special craft suspected of carrying a red-shoulder has abruptly turned back."
"Report: the suspected red-shoulder has abruptly turned back. Currently over Shenghai, the swarm of Great Spikes has adopted a temporary defensive posture; the ground situation has eased."
These were the surveillance reports from the Shenghai battlefield and the Rejectors at that moment.
A red-shoulder that had likely been preparing to reinforce the Linzhou front had suddenly turned around.
From this situation, two conclusions could roughly be drawn:
1. The number of red-shoulders assigned to secondary battlefields might not be as vast as feared;
2. Their initial probing and elimination campaign against human military strength had suffered a heavy, potent counterblow that far exceeded their calculations.
Of course, none of this was known to Han Qingyu and his companions, nor would they have cared much if they did know.
"Tu Zi! Are you there? Help me find Wu Xu and Yang Qingbai! Help me find them, tell me where they are!" Running at full tilt, Han Qingyu roared into his communicator.
He had taken the red-shoulder's column sword with him; other than that, he hadn't cleared the battlefield.
They were desperate, but their sprinting footsteps gradually and involuntarily slowed to a halt... Standing in the middle of the chaotic city, looking up, they turned around, utterly lost.
Because no matter how frantic their hearts or how fast their legs, they had no direction, no idea where to search.
Only now did Wen Jifei and Rusty Sister finally learn of the choice Yang Qingbai had made earlier, and the plight he was in.
"Maybe we should have left with the students and teachers back then, leaving the bigger picture in Linzhou to Azure."
"Maybe from the very beginning, we shouldn't have cut into the battle so recklessly and drawn so much attention."
"..."
These were inevitable pangs of regret and self-doubt born of worry and heartache.
In this battle, they had only set out to save a few people they cared about, which slowly escalated into saving a group of people, saving a city, saving two cities... until Wu Xu and Yang Qingbai were both on the line.
"Brother Qingzi. I'm sorry, we still haven't found Lieutenant Wu Xu and that red-shoulder. But Second Lieutenant Yang Qingbai has actually been under our surveillance all along..."
Tu Zi's voice came through, sounding heavy.
"Is Qingbai... still alive?" Han Qingyu tried his best to keep his voice steady.
"Yes, he's still alive. It's just his current situation... Brother Qingzi, wait, I have the latest intel here. It might be related to Second Lieutenant Yang Qingbai."
The transmission went quiet for a few seconds. Then Tu Zi returned.
"Good news, Brother Qingzi! The Legion Commander is in Linzhou! Right now he's on a rooftop in northwest Linzhou, waiting to rescue Second Lieutenant Yang Qingbai..." Tu Zi continued, "Also, the situation on the Shenghai front has temporarily eased. We will immediately mobilize all available resources to help locate Lieutenant Wu Xu and that red-shoulder. I'll update you as soon as there's progress."
Han Qingyu: "Understood."
The call ended.
"Are we going to Qingbai?" Rusty Sister asked, at a loss.
Han Qingyu thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No need. We'll look for Wu Xu—search blindly."
He felt worry in his heart, but not fear. Han Qingyu had known how mighty and terrifying Chen Buer was for a very long time.
Later on, as he himself grew stronger and closer to humanity's current limits, he had instead become bewildered and confused about just what realm and height the old man truly stood at.
Han Qingyu knew what Chen Buer intended to do. The old man was going to stand on that rooftop and cut down that train in the sky.
Namely: slash down more than thirty Great Spike craft flying at extreme speeds.
Han Qingyu had contemplated this plan himself earlier. Of course, in reality, he lacked the capability to do it. The scale of that train was far too enormous. In this world, there were perhaps only two, two and a half, or three people who could pull it off.
Han Qingyu didn't know what other existences existed in this world—for instance, just how strong Ne truly was, or how massive a chunk of dead iron Bochen could hurl into the sky—but he knew that even if only one person on the entire planet could do it, that person was bound to be Chen Buer.
***
Meanwhile, at the Azure Alliance Headquarters Council.
"Broadcast it! Immediately use every signal resource to broadcast that scene from the Huaxia front to all humankind!" The situation was urgent, leaving no time for a vote. Chairman Kemore made the call, slamming the table as he stood up.
Humanity was falling apart. Humanity needed to see that blade—to see that mankind possessed an invincible, unstoppable edge.
"But what if... the Legion Commander fails? Or what if he passes away after that strike?" an uneasy council member asked.
"Yes, if the Legion Commander fails, the faith of the entire military, and even all humankind, might crumble," another council member chimed in.
"I know." Kemore turned his gaze toward them. "But if that is truly the outcome, then we have no choice but to crumble."
"..." Total silence fell over the hall.
"Go do it," Kemore said. "And turn on the television."
***
From extreme high altitude, the Rejectors' surveillance lens panned at an angle, spotting that cluster of buildings from afar.
This provided a wide field of view, but naturally lacked detail. People could only see an uneven skyline of buildings—some pointed, some round, some flat—against a distant, hazy backdrop of sea and sky...
A solitary, tiny figure stood upright on the roof of the tallest building.
Far in the distance, that legendary aerial train finally punched through the clouds, entering the frame. Among them was a Needlefish-class craft, undergoing the most brutal slaughter in the history of human source energy flight.
It was struggling toward the rooftop.
"Who is that person? What... what is he going to do?" In a remote mountain village, in front of the flickering screen, the crowded folks of Fenglong'ao watched with concern, murmuring nervously.
No one gave them an answer.
Only behind them, Master Jiang Longchi leaned against the wall alone, staring blankly at the figure on the screen—at once a stranger and familiar.
The man who had passed along a message saying he would be glad if Longchi still remembered him.
"Old Chen," he muttered softly, holding a small white bottle of milk. "Always acting the old veteran." His tone was thick with the dust of the Huaxia Front's decades of battle history.
"Beep, beep." High on the tower, the wind howled. The communicator on Chen Buer's chest suddenly chirped twice, and a secondary channel softly patched in: "Major Han Qingyu requesting transmission."
"Oh. Patch him in."
"...Thank you," Han Qingyu's voice came from the other end of the communicator.
"Hm? To hear you sound so suddenly formal and polite is really something I'm not used to," Chen Buer chuckled. "No need for thanks."
"Duty-wise, saving any soldier I can is my responsibility. What's more, this can bolster humanity's morale and conviction, and Azure can gain a great deal from Yang Qingbai."
"Personally, thank you for joining the fight... and I cannot allow you to feel that you did the wrong thing."
With that, Chen Buer decisively cut Han Qingyu's transmission, switched back to the main channel, and lifted his head.
He raised his hand and gripped the hilt of the Red-Slaying Saber.
"Legion Commander, I..."
The black train was surging through the sky toward the rooftop, but the angle was imprecise—it was projected to drift off course, and its altitude seemed a bit too high.
This was already the absolute limit of what Yang Qingbai could achieve with everything he had. Anxiously, he made his final communication.
"It's fine. You don't need to slow down, nor do you need to descend. Just fly past according to your current trajectory," Chen Buer replied calmly.
*Boom!* The scene violently flared into turbulence, the explosive roar shaking the entire sky.
The air seemed to ignite, detonating continuously into a gray sea of clouds like fish scales.
The colossal black train bore down furiously upon the rooftop.
*Rumble-crash...*
Across the entire complex, roof after roof was torn open by the immense airflow, ripped apart and swept away. Countless tiles, bricks, and stones whipped through the air like a tornado.
Only the highest rooftop was engulfed, yet stood utterly unshakeable.
Under the obscured view, the figure could barely be seen anymore. At this moment, countless people stood up before the grainy broadcast screens.
***
*Whoosh!* Leading the train, the Needlefish craft swept across the space above the tower—at least a hundred meters away and a hundred meters high—drawing an arc like a surging wall of tidal waves.
The train was massive. The train was vast.
Rolling waves of sound in the sky.
Rolling gray clouds.
Rolling bricks and tiles swirling like a giant tornado.
*Clang-shing!*
Beneath the sky-blotting gloom, the sound of a blade being drawn tore through the heavens.
Chapter 623