Cleaving the Mountain (Part 2)

Setting aside for now any debate over the right and wrong, or the merits, of Project Fireseed... At the very least, they could not leave now. To flee now would not only consume a vast share of existing resources and leave all of humanity in an even more desperate plight, but it would also shatter morale. First would be the hearts and minds within Azure's upper echelons. Once the core leadership of the resistance had an escape route and room for selfish calculation, their unified resolve would inevitably fracture. If that happened, Azure would be imperiled, and humanity would be doomed. Next would come the morale and determination of Azure's soldiers on the battlefield. If the resources they had bought with their lives were handed over to runaways, if the top brass squabbled only to save their own skins... how would Azure's soldiers feel—those who truly staked their lives in battle, shedding blood to defend humanity's survival? What reason would they have left to raise their blades and fight to the death? And ultimately, looking further ahead, once such a decision was made, it might one day drag all of humanity into deep regret, bitter sorrow, and absolute despair. Wen Jifei understood this logic; the Little Prince understood it; even Rusty Sister and He Tangtang had some grasp of it, and Chen Buer naturally understood it best of all. In truth, the Lord Legion Commander had also been feeling rather gloomy lately. For one, he was frustrated by his physical condition, which had hit rock bottom. For another, he was irked by how, right after the Zenith War, he had suddenly stopped being the one propping up the world—and now it had become that kid instead. As for all these twists and turns... well, Han Qingyu didn't really understand any of it. He only knew that, somehow or other, a colossal responsibility for this world had fallen upon his shoulders. Because of that, he had to prove something to the world soon—preferably with a blade. Thinking back to his performance during that assassination attempt yesterday morning... *It really was so fucking humiliating.* At the military funeral ceremony, Han Qingyu knew many eyes were on him right now. He felt a bit nervous, striving to look straight ahead without moving a muscle. Within his view, a simple makeshift platform stood not far off, low to the ground, with flags planted on either side. An old man in the uniform of a general stepped heavily onto the stage. Xu Xiaohong. Most outsiders didn't know his name, and even if they happened to hear it by chance—a chance that usually meant Chen Buer shouting it in an argument—they wouldn't dare address him by it. Perhaps because the name felt so mismatched with the grim, bloodstained aura of the Sole Witness Legion, Xu Xiaohong himself cared about it quite a bit. And so, for decades, soldiers below and people outside simply referred to him as Chief of Staff. Chief of General Staff of the Huaxia Sole Witness Legion. Although in Azure's organizational structure, staff chiefs were established even at the regiment level—meaning tens of thousands across the entire military—if someone dropped the prefix and simply said "Chief of Staff," it undeniably referred to Xu Xiaohong. In the past, people often said it was Chen Buer who had held up the world through those grueling years when the Red Shoulders first arrived and humanity's combat strength was still frail. What they often did not know was that it was actually Xu Xiaohong who had kept the Huaxia Front running and developing all along, just as he had supported Chen Buer through countless cycles between life and death, helping him rise to his feet again and again. This time, both men had arrived together to see Zhang Chiyuan off with the highest-grade military funeral in Huaxia's history. On site, Chen Buer served as a pallbearer himself, while Xu Xiaohong mounted the stage to speak. Azure's military funerals were not standardized. The ceremonial proceedings of the Huaxia Front featured neither priests reciting prayers nor monks or Daoist priests, nor was there a gun salute. "I've known Chiyuan for over twenty years now, as I recall. Back then he was only in his early twenties. He had prowess, courage, and talent, but plenty of flaws too—greedy for merit and fiercely competitive. Eventually, he stirred up trouble, and the matter landed before Old Chen and me. "That time, Old Chen chased him, beating him from behind the desk all the way to the entrance of the command tent. "When he backed up to the tent entrance, he suddenly stopped running and said, 'Commander, do me a favor and don't knock me flying outside. If the boys see, how am I going to become an army commander later?' "Later on, he truly became the commander of our Huaxia Sole Witness Legion's Fourth Army." What Xu Xiaohong delivered was not strictly a eulogy. He spoke, and the crowd listened in silence, the eleven caskets resting quietly on the shoulders of the pallbearers. "...In truth, no one in this world is born obligated to go to a battlefield of life and death; it's just that some went. In truth, no one truly wishes to cast away their name, far from their parents, wives, and children... "A Great Spike mothership of that size—I refuse to believe they couldn't tell how many enemies were inside, or how perilous and difficult it would be. Yet they still charged right in, heads down. "Military orders are like a mountain?! "That military order in Huaxia... was issued by me. "...I'm sorry." Xu Xiaohong had started out as a scholar in his early years. Under the weight of this unique atmosphere, the scholar's temperament deep in his bones flared up inappropriately after all. Coming from a man of his standing, those words of apology were perhaps out of place. With that, the old man lowered his head, turned toward the families of the fallen soldiers, and bowed deeply. He could not apologize to his soldiers. For that was a military order. Yet he believed he had to apologize to their loved ones—because it was his command that had sent their fathers or sons, their elder brothers or younger brothers, to fight and die for a sliver of distant hope. With that apology and that bow, tears breached the dam once more across that section. Low sobs echoed out. Mothers pulled their weeping children close to their chests, and elderly parents swayed on trembling feet... The sight moved everyone around, soldiers and citizens alike. Han Qingyu was no exception; his eyes stung as he watched, but he forced the tears back. Because supposedly, that guy never wept. In his effort to hold back tears, Han Qingyu drifted off for a moment. When his focus returned, Xu Xiaohong's speech on the platform was drawing to a close. "As everyone knows, every Azure soldier who took part in the Zenith campaign left behind a final letter before marching to the front. Because of Chiyuan's high rank, out of concern that secrets might be exposed, his letter was kept by the Rejectors. "I retrieved it this morning. "With Madame Zhang's permission, I shall read it here for the families of all Azure soldiers under heaven." The brown envelope unfolded in his hands... Xu Xiaohong looked up, his eyes already rimmed in red. Striving to keep his voice steady, he read: "Xinghe, your dad is going off to fight, to fight monsters... Dammit, if you get to see this letter, it probably means Dad couldn't make it back, and won't get to see you grow up. "In this life, I'm so glad to have been your father, and so honored to have been your hero. "No, wait, scratch that—superman. Dad suddenly feels a bit worried about you. I bet you won't be able to beat that girl Yan'er from your mom's friend's family in school, which means your mom is definitely going to scold you. "So, you don't need to study your head off, because trying hard won't help anyway. "From now on, just remember to play with Yan'er as much as you can. Don't be stingy—give her all the game consoles and toys Dad bought you, got it? "As long as you drag her down with you, you'll be safe. "As for fighting: If you can't beat kids your own age, practice a bit and go at him a second time. If you still can't beat him, just put up with it. "But if someone older bullies you, or if they gang up on you—call for backup! My subordinates here are all Azure soldiers, so having them help you fight kids probably wouldn't look right. "Go find a guy named Han Qingyu. "Right, that's the name, remember it. He owes your old man a favor. If you ever have a problem you can't solve, go find him. "Including taking him to school to help you fight." Zhang Chiyuan's final words to his son, Zhang Xinghe, masked the gravity beneath playful humor. Listening, people tried to imagine what frame of mind he must have been in when writing them. Quiet chuckles rippled through the crowd, but as they laughed, tears finally broke free for so many, while others fought to keep them pooled in their eyes... Meanwhile, Xu Xiaohong did not stop. "All these years, you've worked so hard, Yunmei, my wife. "Now that this letter has reached you... I'm afraid the days ahead will ask even more of you. Bear through it bravely, and look after my son—and above all, my wife. "Sigh." Those last two lines were Zhang Chiyuan's final words to his wife, crashing down abruptly amidst the laughter and tears. Just two brief lines—perhaps he simply could not bring himself to write more. He Yunqing broke down completely on the spot, turning away and weeping hoarsely. The vast majority of the crowd could no longer bear it either; even Han Qingyu's tightly reined emotions collapsed in an instant, his eyes reddening with brimming tears. On the platform, Xu Xiaohong paused for over a dozen seconds, closing his eyes to the sky in sorrowful endurance. A torrential downpour suddenly broke over them at that moment. Azure staff members hurried forward, holding umbrellas over the children and the families of the fallen. Aside from them, everyone remained standing in the rain, letting the downpour lash them until they were quickly drenched through. "Cleave the mountain!" Finally, the moment of final farewell arrived. Xu Xiaohong spoke, uttering those two words. He spoke them calmly, without shouting, yet the words pierced through the curtain of rain and reached every single ear. *Boom!* In an instant, the square formation of over a thousand Fourth Army soldiers detonated in roaring unison. *Hum, hum, hum...* In sheets and streaks, a thousand blue lights from their apparatuses flashed in continuous succession. Source energy surged through the air... Rainwater splashed wildly across the sky, turning into a misty sea. *Clang-hum!* The first battleblade leaped from behind a soldier's shoulder, pointing diagonally toward the sky. Rainwater sprayed off the blade edge. *Clang-hum...* An entire rank of long blades left their scabbards, angling skyward like a forest of steel. *Clang-hum-hum...* As rank upon rank of long blades unsheathed in succession, the pouring rain reversed direction, blasting skyward. "For all that breathes—no retreat, our bodies barring the skies!" The sheer impact of this spectacle made the onlookers in the distance clench their fists in silence. It made Han Qingyu's entire being freeze in place as well. *Cleaving the mountain—will the Lord Legion Commander strike?* *Or will it be Major Qing, who has suddenly appeared again?* At this moment, countless people wondered and asked. "Cleave the mountain," Chen Buer suddenly turned back in the commotion and called out to Han Qingyu. Han Qingyu froze for a second. He had not known much about this, but Wen Jifei had told him earlier that it was originally arranged for him, only to be reassigned to the Legion Commander later. ...He did not move. "Cleave the mountain!" This roar came from the soldiers of the Fourth Army in unison. With another collective eruption of source energy, the falling rain around them ceased to reach the ground. Hearing and seeing this, Han Qingyu felt the source energy apparatus behind his back activate unbidden. *Hum!* With a low burst of source energy, surges gathered without pause. "The edifice is tottering, and people's hearts are wavering. Cleave the mountain," Chen Buer turned his head, his eyes earnest as he stared at him and spoke slowly. "I... I'm afraid I can't do it," Han Qingyu said, yet he still pulled his shoulder back unawares and took a step outward. It was not that he did not want to; he truly believed he was incapable of it. Yet Chen Buer paid no heed to his words, offering neither guidance nor encouragement. He simply pressed on with stubborn resolve: "Go. Hold up this world for two years. Two years from now, I will stand before you." The old man finished speaking, his gaze resolute. At the same time, "Commander, rest in peace! Brothers, rest in peace!" the thousand soldiers of the Fourth Army erupted with source energy collectively for a third time. Azure military funerals lacked the gun salute of the civilian world; these three bursts of source energy and the forest of blades were the Sole Witness Legion's gun salute. In an instant, it was as if the battlefield itself had descended before this cemetery—grim, heroic, and magnificent. Amidst the booming roar, the churning rainwater gathered in midair split to both sides. A corridor neither clear nor rainy opened up, stretching directly toward the front of the three-hundred-meter-tall mountain not far away. Suddenly—*whoosh!* A massive blue-light column sword shot down this parted corridor. Swift as lightning, the column sword flew forward. *Boom!* It breached the rock, lodging itself deep into the lower flank of the mountain. Then—*hum!* A majestic surge of source energy resonated outward, its ripples spreading like ocean waves. *Clang!* Unseen for so long, Major Qing's iconic dead iron battleblade whistled out from behind his shoulder, rocketing straight toward the sky. Immediately after, a figure blurred, charging forward, soaring upward, gripping the blade with both hands. For a split second in midair, the phantom holding the blade solidified—less than half a second. Half a second later, it blurred again, and at the same time—*boom!* The two-handed battleblade finally cleaved downward. An Azure battleblade measured just over half a meter in length. How could a half-meter blade cleave a mountain?! The man wielding the blade above had once slashed a rainbow across the zenith. The blade slashed down. As it struck... the torrential rain converged, surging forward into a semicircular blade-wall that swept ahead. *Whoosh!* The man had already landed. Standing with his back turned, the figure slid the battleblade back behind his shoulder. *Crash!* The wall of rain struck the earth, lashing against mountain forest and soil like a tidal surge. *Crack!* The mountain split in two.