A War That Must Be Fought After All

The Great Spikes that had retreated to Antarctica were now deeply anxious. When they first arrived on this azure planet as an advance force, the strongest state of the enemy they had anticipated was merely a scattering of Yanxiu who lacked skeletal remains. Yet what they actually encountered—their most powerful and terrifying adversary—was not a Yanxiu at all, but a transcendent human. This had begun to instill in them a dread of humanity's future growth. Then, when Han Qingyu struck with that blade during the Zenith War, he was not even that transcendent human, yet that strike deepened their terror exponentially. Even though the overall combat power humanity currently displayed was still insufficient to form a true counterweight, and the Great Spike commander in Antarctica firmly believed that once their main armada arrived and Putaer and Miwang descended, everything would be crushed to dust… Their great army was still stranded in the depths of the sea of stars. Humanity, meanwhile, was advancing at a frantic pace. Because of this, panic and urgency began to gnaw at them. Another core reason for their mounting dread was that when they finally attempted to follow the clues once transmitted back by their predecessor to unearth the buried remains, they found nothing… At the burial site indicated by their predecessor, there were no remains. Not a single fragment. "If these skeletal remains were acquired by humans…" At this moment, the scene across Antarctica showed an outward posture of suicidal defense, maintaining blanket source energy interference. In the interior, however, deep within the glaciers, Black Armors and blue-sheened Great Spikes numbering nearly ten thousand worked like worker ants, dismantling crafts of all sizes and hauling materials to construct a colossal structure. It was the towering dark silhouette that Ne had projected to Liu Shiheng and Ye Jian. It was also the steel outline now appearing on the screen inside Azure's confidential conference room. Vast and grim, swarming with black specks of Great Spikes clustered thick around it, it exuded a sense of horror so palpable that the Azure generals present sucked in sharp breaths and gasped in dismay—to say nothing of Han Qingyu. The current Han Qingyu could hardly picture what it would be like to stand before it. "Looking back now, the strategy we drafted earlier was far too naive," Siglo said, a self-deprecating smirk tugging at his lips, though his facial muscles were pulled taut into an ugly grimace. "We had originally planned to wait at least a year before gradually whittling down the Great Spike forces in Antarctica, treating the continent as a training ground and a source of materials. We wouldn't even have minded if a few more Great Spike detachments arrived." Azure had originally intended to spend two to three years eradicating the Great Spike forces in Antarctica, forging an unprecedentedly powerful human army in the process, securing the resources required for the subsequent grand decisive battle, and simultaneously waiting for Chen Buer's full recovery. "However, this thing is far too massive." Siglo turned sideways, gesturing toward the unfinished mega-fortress on the screen. "Without a doubt, it is a traction field. It may have other functions we don't yet understand, but first and foremost, it is a super traction field. From our past experience, even the lowest-class Great Spike craft could execute a small-scale traction… and this!" "What will it bring? A super-army! One with a very high probability of Daie among them, and perhaps even beings beyond Daie!" Siglo turned back, his expression grave as he swept his gaze across the room. Time. The developmental window humanity had earned through its victory in the Zenith War was being compressed once again. Just when the scientific research wing had only recently begun studying how to repair mothership-class Great Spike craft… Just when general conscription had only just officially launched… Just when Azure had finally discovered the two paths to elevating humanity's high-end combat power, confirmed that there was a missing piece to becoming a Yanxiu, and begun trying to locate it… This was the true reason so many pivotal figures had gathered for this conscription launch ceremony. Following humanity's triumph in the Zenith War, before they could even accomplish anything further, they had already plunged into yet another unprecedented crisis. *Looks like we'll have to fight another war.* Inside the hall, Han Qingyu kept his face impassive while a silent tremor of panic rippled through his chest. He had no concrete concept of such a war right now, yet he knew he would have to face it. Stream Vanguard had two people invited to this confidential meeting: him and Wen Jifei. In this assembly, their status was distinct. Strictly speaking, Azure could not issue orders to Stream Vanguard; they could only invite them to take part in the battle. Neither of them spoke throughout the entire proceeding. *** Earlier, beneath the Antarctic glaciers, Ne had once said to Liu Shiheng: *We don't need to break out, because before long, Azure and your friends will come here on their own.* "We must stop it!" Siglo declared in the Azure conference room. "We must storm the Antarctic continent." The super traction field shown in the photograph was still far from complete. According to estimates by Azure's scientific and intelligence branches, current progress was roughly around one quarter. In other words, after more than three months of building at full tilt, the Great Spikes had only finished a fourth. Extrapolating from this timeline, humanity should have roughly nine months of buffer, which did not differ much from Azure's original one-year plan. In reality, however, no one dared treat this extrapolation as a reliable benchmark. They were dealing with an alien species. Whether the Great Spikes' construction logic mirrored humanity's was something nobody understood; they might accelerate abruptly at any moment. "The intelligence department will continue attempting to scout the traction field's progress, but it will be exceedingly difficult. The maximum timeline we have currently set for ourselves is about five to six months; by then, we must launch our assault." Siglo explained that this was another gamble humanity had no choice but to take. The timeline was not only derived from intelligence assessments, but also shaped by two additional considerations: First, if it was going to be a gamble either way, could humanity possibly reap even greater rewards from this expedition? For instance, obtaining the Great Spikes' source energy spatial technology from a super traction field with a relatively high degree of completion. Second, from the aerial Great Spike invasion through the Zenith War, Azure had paid too steep a price, suffering immense casualties from basic troops up to top-tier combat power. Without a certain period to reorganize, recuperate, and replenish their ranks, Azure was simply incapable of mounting this expedition. They had to wait for super-recruits from the general conscription to distinguish themselves, wait for General Bochen to recover, and wait to see… just how well Major Qing's physical condition would actually mend. When the meeting adjourned, the attendees departed in staggered groups. Han Qingyu walked side by side with Wen Jifei. "War is coming," Han Qingyu said under his breath. "Yeah." Wen Jifei's voice sounded somewhat heavy. Han Qingyu pondered for a moment. "We have to go, don't we?" "That's something I should be asking you," Wen Jifei replied with a smile, turning toward him. "Oh, right… Then think about it on behalf of the me from five years later. What do you think that version of me would decide?" "You..." Wen Jifei paused, then said, "Qingzi." "Hm?" "We'll go… You don't have to. If your memories haven't returned by then, I'd rather you stayed home," Wen Jifei said. "You do need to fight to recover, but you shouldn't start with a war of this scale. Don't worry, we have Xu'er now. He's very strong. We also have Theodore, Rusty Sister…" "Then I have to go all the more." Han Qingyu put on a brave front. Having blurted it out, he felt an involuntary prick of fear, yet he also knew there was no way he could bring himself to stay at home. As they spoke, the two had already wound their way from the underground facility to the surface. Soon, they entered the reception hotel's lobby. After staying one more night, they would head back to Huaxia first. Over the next few months, they might receive invitations to attend events for various front armies, but overall they would be free. "Come to think of it, if we could get in touch with Young Master Shiheng right now, we could fly straight to Gangcheng to fool around for a few days," Wen Jifei said with a laugh as they stepped into the elevator. Han Qingyu turned his head in confusion. "Young Master?" "It's a nickname," Wen Jifei chuckled. "His name is Liu Shiheng, one of our brothers. But a few years ago he ran off back to the secular world of luxury, and he hasn't contacted us since." Saying this, Wen Jifei suddenly realized that Stream Vanguard was now fully capable of protecting Young Master Shiheng. Even though he was a deserter, as long as public opinion was kept under wraps so he wasn't exposed, he would no longer have to live in hiding.