A Great Victory

"Where is Hughenden?" Zhang Jiexia asked blankly, tilting her head. On the television screen at that moment, an announcement was broadcasting joyful news: The Great Victory of Hughenden. Zhang Jiexia understood what "great victory" meant; after all, she had watched plenty of television dramas over the years and knew it signified that Azure had just won a major battle. "No idea. Just some place where they're fighting, anyway." Han Youshan thought to himself, *How on earth would I know?* Pointing a finger toward the TV, he said, "In that... what's it called, Oceania." At this moment, the room before the black-and-white television was packed to the brim with men, women, young and old. Ever since learning Master Longchi's true identity, the villagers of Fenglong'ao loved crowding into the Han household whenever they had free time. Deep down, they were all thinking that if someone from the Cult of Daie came seeking revenge, or if Great Spikes suddenly descended one day, they would at least have an Azure general beside them for protection. Whatever came, he could just swat it away with a single slap. Even though before their very eyes, General Longchi clutching a bottle of Wahaha every day did not look the least bit dependable. "The TV says your Azure won a huge battle, Qingzi's godfather! Said they killed over five thousand of them, didn't let a single one get away. They even shot down the Great Spike crafts and drove the rest off!" Zhang Jiexia turned around happily and told the old monk. In truth, during that earlier stretch, she too had spent a couple of days filled with cautious awe and trepidation because of Master Longchi's true identity and terrifying martial might. Then she quickly realized it was completely unnecessary. Quite naturally, they went right back to how they had been before, living together like family. "Oh." Master Longchi smiled and gave a calm nod. "I'm watching." A flicker of inner struggle and a touch of loneliness hid in his lowered gaze, vanishing in an instant. It was always at times like this, watching the broadcast on the television, that Jiang Longchi would occasionally remember he had once been an Azure general, one of the two great pillars of military might in the history of the Huaxia Front. Yet he forgot all of it in the blink of an eye. The struggle, sorrow, and loneliness were forgotten along with it, and he went right back to his cheerful life. Jiang Longchi had a general understanding of his current condition; he might not even be able to walk out of this village. As for petitioning Azure? Jiang Longchi knew full well in his heart that his old friend would never send him to the battlefield in this state. "Old Chen should be there, right? Wonder how he's doing, whether he stepped in." Jiang Longchi muttered softly and raised his head, searching the TV footage. "Eh... Who... who is he?" Now that the battle had ended, low-altitude aerial shots and on-site footage of the battlefield had been edited together and broadcast onto the television screen. "Oh! Wow! Whoa!" Amid gasps and exclamations that lifted the villagers right off their stools, the camera slowly panned across the battlefield, showing the ground strewn with corpses of Great Spikes and downed craft, Azure soldiers falling into formation, foreign generals sitting on the ground, chains of dead iron, and the sky-shattering giant hammer mentioned in the broadcast... Wu Xu, clad in black and holding a long spear, lingered in profile on the screen for a few seconds. "Who is he? I feel like I've seen him before. And that one next to him..." Jiang Longchi racked his brain, but could not remember at all. "A robot! Wow!" The villagers beside him suddenly shouted again. A low-angle shot from the scene slowly panned halfway around, capturing Rusty Sister's full suit of iron armor and column sword, making her look towering and majestic. "So incredible!" "Yeah! Looks far more imposing and cool than the Great Spikes, and must be way more powerful too." "No wonder they won such a huge victory." The synchronized news commentary broadcasted: "At the critical juncture of the battle, comrades from Stream Vanguard arrived on the battlefield in the nick of time, making a monumental contribution to this glorious victory." "This robot is so majestic!" Zhang Jiexia said. "Yeah!" Han Youshan nodded. "There's someone inside, right? If it's a young man, tsk tsk, I bet he's half a head taller than our Qingzi." "Probably. With so many soldiers in Azure, anyone who gets to wear that certainly isn't ordinary." "True. But what was that stream...? Wait, the TV just said the rhino went crazy—what was that about?" Zhang Jiexia asked suddenly. "...No idea." Han Youshan felt a bout of exasperation. *Aren't I watching the same TV as you? Why do you always think I know everything?* *Qingzi's mom seems to admire me a bit lately. Could it be because of the heroic spirit I showed last time?* Han Youshan thought, puffing out his chest with pride. *But what could I even do? Maybe...* The day before yesterday, Zhang Jiexia had suddenly suggested to Han Youshan: borrow the old monk's Azure device and try putting it on. At the time, Han Youshan had flatly refused, saying how could ordinary folks like them wear such a thing? *Maybe I should try?* Han Youshan was suddenly a little tempted. Just then, the shot cut. In an aerial wide shot, another group of robots appeared—about seven or eight of them—though they remained on screen for less than half a second before flashing away. "I feel like I've seen that iron armor before." Jiang Longchi thought for a moment. Looking up, he was suddenly struck by the sight of the villagers beaming with smiles, thoroughly thrilled and energized. Though he didn't know why, he found himself smiling happily along with them. "Looks like we humans have hope again!" a toothless old farmer said, puffing on his pipe. Hearing a phrase like "humanity's hope" from the mouth of a remote mountain villager was not something heard often in the past. Now, it meant the concept had truly sunk deep into the heart of every single person across this world. "That's right, that's right!" Many present chimed in with emotional sighs. "By the way, did they kill that Daie God?" someone asked suddenly. "The TV didn't say." "Then probably not yet. The war isn't over either." "True enough. They said the Daie God stands up in the sky. Wonder if that big iron hammer can hit it." The villagers chatted on, their joy mingled with a touch of worry, yet joy predominated in the end. Seeing that mealtime was approaching, they said their goodbyes one after another and walked out the door in high spirits. On their way back to their respective homes, catching sight of the seedlings growing in the fields from afar, almost everyone felt a fresh swell of joy rise in their hearts, along with a profound sense of relief. Relief that they hadn't let their fields and livelihoods fall to ruin when disaster struck. This was a mountain village. In the cities, in places that were safe for the time being, brave citizens had already taken to the streets to celebrate. They hugged one another, waved their arms together, and shouted excitedly toward the sky... venting to their hearts' content the immense, long-suppressed dread and terror within. Almost identical scenes played out in every corner of the world. After such long-standing despair and oppression, humanity desperately needed a victory like this. Azure desperately needed this victory. The soldiers fighting to the death on the Oceanic battlefield desperately needed this victory. Unlike Chen Buer's heroic feat of slaying the Red Shoulder forty years ago, and unlike the magnificent achievement more than four years ago when humanity kept the Great Spike mothership atop Xilang Peak, this was a more thorough victory in a purely military sense. It was the first time humanity had struck toward the zenith, repelling reinforcements from the Great Spike aircraft; the first time on a large-scale battlefield that they had achieved the total annihilation of a Great Spike force... And that number was over five thousand Great Spikes—unprecedented in history. From a military perspective, the Great Victory of Hughenden was humanity's most significant and glorious victory to date. Following this single battle, less than a third of the swarm of Great Spikes blanketing the skies above the Oceanic city of Melbourne remained, and the remnants had completely pulled back into their shells, elevating their defensive perimeter. The first wave of Great Spike forces arriving from Antarctica suffered equally heavy casualties and vanished without a trace. Across nearly the entire Oceanic theater, the Great Spikes ceased all interception and hunting of humans on the ground, falling into an inferior position. Evacuation efforts for the populace were able to proceed smoothly. The massing of Azure forces for the decisive battle also returned to its original plans and timeline.