Azure's press transparency regarding the Lost Continent Expedition was unprecedented. At the same time, the Council as a whole placed a record high level of importance on wartime documentation.
A large cohort of war correspondents had already been recruited and trained in the preliminary stages, establishing a complete governing department and operational system for the first time.
They would arrive here subsequently. On one hand, they would assist the Rejectors in relaying the latest combat situation in Antarctica to the entire world without delay; on the other, they would capture more people and events with their pens and lenses, leaving behind a more detailed history of struggle for humanity's uncertain future.
From the Azure Council's perspective, this was likely a blend of short-term optimism and long-term anxiety. In the eyes of the majority, this expedition would probably end in victory, yet the future of humanity remained completely unpredictable.
The future.
If humanity ultimately emerged victorious, it was not hard to imagine that the sacrifices along the way would be overwhelmingly immense. These sacrifices made while hurling themselves against despair, along with this magnificent chapter of history, undeniably deserved to be remembered forever.
And perhaps afterwards, humanity's collective character and state of existence would be altered as a result.
Yet if humanity ultimately failed to produce a miracle and met defeat...
Perhaps a small fraction of people would survive by sheer luck—underground, or in the deep sea?
Perhaps a few scattered sparks of life would escape Blue Star, journeying elsewhere to continue the species?
Or perhaps everyone would die and the race would go extinct, but this planet, having endured devastation and depredation, would still endure, waiting for life to sprout once more?
Whichever the case, let this history be preserved to the utmost. Let it tell the descendants of humanity, the races of the future, that their ancestors had not simply yielded without a fight, but had staked everything they had.
On October 3, 1995, one hundred thousand elite vanguard troops of Azure's combined forces departed the Antarctic Peninsula in two waves. Alternating in the lead, they cut into the continent along the western front.
The following day, October 4, another hundred thousand elite troops mobilized abruptly. They advanced straight toward the pole tractor field before executing a sharp pivot west, forming a triangular pincer with the previous day's vanguard and launching large-sector sweep-and-clear operations.
The Great Spikes' continental defense system, centered on the tractor field, was disrupted, and their forces began shifting westward.
That same evening, Han Qingyu and the seven thousand troops of Stream Vanguard quietly departed the Antarctic Peninsula and marched east. Pushing along the coastline, the spearhead of their forces pointed straight toward Mount Erebus.
In terms of the coastline, the region where Mount Erebus was situated was the closest coastal position to the pole along the circumference of the Antarctic continent.
Six days later, on October 11.
Led by the Stars Expedition fleet's space carrier Mechanical Cradle, another human source energy airship cluster touched down on the Antarctic Peninsula.
By this point, all six of Azure's mothership-class airships and over ninety percent of its source energy aircraft were massed in Antarctica. The frontline base for humanity's Lost Continent Expedition was also essentially declared complete.
Field hospitals, war materiel depots and supply lines, food and water, Rejector bases and frontline emergency research stations, modified vehicles, and sled dogs... Azure had brought over nearly everything that could be moved.
Antarctica, a frozen continent that had seen few human tracks even during "peacetime," was trodden upon by so many humans for the first time, abruptly rendered vibrant, bustling, and lively.
...
On Alexander Island, at least twenty thousand people were welcoming the arrival of the Mechanical Cradle and the fleet's airships. Mountainous supplies were hauled out from the cargo holds, old friends reunited amidst the crowds, and snowmobiles shuttled personnel away to their respective branches.
Guided by an icebreaker, a Huaxia destroyer slowly navigated past the island along the newly opened shipping lane and berthed against the peninsula.
Airships were limited in number, after all; most non-critical personnel and supplies still had to reach Antarctica by sea.
Furthermore, these warships would not leave. Upon completing their transport missions, they would remain temporarily anchored around every stretch of coastline where human forces were active, in order to handle any emergency evacuations that might arise later.
"Let's move. Time to disembark." He Daqing was the leader of this war correspondent detachment. As a former man of letters, the majestic expanse of Antarctica had only prompted him to come out of the cabin a bit earlier and take a few lingering looks from the bow.
The entire deck of the destroyer was packed with people. Squads from different branches marched together, their steps wobbling after so much time spent at sea.
Their source energy bodies, not yet strong enough, were insufficient to overcome humanity's natural physiological reactions.
"Everyone all right?" He Daqing turned his head and asked.
"No pr-problem at all," replied someone whose tongue seemed to be swaying as much as their legs.
The squad members chuckled. Laden with heavy equipment, food, and medicine, Yao Yue and Lin Ya supported each other, wobbling forward a few steps before finally steadying themselves.
They patted each other's cheeks to snap their minds into focus.
The Antarctic battlefield—we're finally here. Lin Ya and Yao Yue had encountered Great Spikes and faced danger before, but truly stepping foot onto an active battlefield was a first for them. Just like the raw recruits, most of the squad were experiencing it for the first time.
"How come nobody's here to pick us up, Captain He?" Lin Ya asked, gazing eagerly out over the ice sheet as she watched the personnel from other branches who had arrived on the same ship almost entirely clear out.
They probably just couldn't spare anyone. Besides, the Great Spikes on the peninsula had mostly been cleared out, so there was no real danger. Thinking it over, He Daqing looked up and said with a grin:
"Pick us up? What for? You think we're here on a sightseeing tour? If you need a reception just for this, does that mean they have to assign someone to hold your hand through the whole battlefield later?"
Slap. He Daqing lightly tapped the back of his hand against an oilpaper waterproof map and continued:
"Besides, isn't there already a map in everyone's hands?"
"And the devices and blades on your backs—are they just for show?! If you want to be war correspondents, rule number one is to consider yourselves soldiers first and reporters second."
"Let's go. We'll find our own way. Keep an eye out for one another on the road."
The twelve-person war correspondent squad followed the map out into the snowy ice sheet. Soon enough, they discovered that the map wasn't of much use here.
With directional instruments on hand, maintaining their general orientation was easy enough, but finding the exact route was exceedingly difficult.
Fortunately, Azure sentry posts now dotted the entire peninsula.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask: how do we get to the Huaxia Front Antarctic Expedition Fourth Battle Group?"
Two sentries wearing combat uniforms of Headquarters' direct detachment appeared on an ice crag. He Daqing looked up and asked in English.
"Follow this line, straight ahead," a sentry said, gesturing along a route with his arm. "It's not too far. Just don't veer off course. But you'd better hurry. It looked like they started assembling two hours ago over there, and they could march out at any moment."
"All right, thank you." Setting out so soon already? No, of course they wouldn't hold back just to wait for war correspondents. He Daqing grew somewhat anxious.
Their mission had been clearly laid out before departure: once on the ground, locate and shadow the Fourth Battle Group throughout its operations, documenting the battlefield conditions.
However, they hadn't been issued transceivers. The Rejector base stations in Antarctica were still under construction, and communication bandwidth was tight, meaning their squad could not yet be accommodated.
Looks like we'll have to engage our devices and run, He Daqing thought to himself.
"What about Stream Vanguard? Where is Stream Vanguard?" Lin Ya, standing in the back of the squad, suddenly piped up, looking thoroughly excited.
At that question, all the journalists in the squad looked up, waiting eagerly for the answer—even the anxious He Daqing.
As war correspondents who had followed the work of Ashleia and Ian all this way, who wouldn't want to personally photograph Stream Vanguard on the battlefield? Major Qing, Lieutenant Wu Xu, Second Lieutenant Shen, Second Lieutenant Wen...
"Stream Vanguard? Don't you guys know? They already set off eastward six days ago, advancing toward the main continent!" one sentry said.
"Yeah, after all, they're the elite of the elite. With just seven thousand fighters, they took charge of an entire axis on their own," the other sentry added, then paused thoughtfully. "By the way, are you war correspondents?"
"Yes, why?" Lin Ya asked in return.
The two young soldiers atop the ice crag, both bearing youthful faces and clearly raw recruits themselves, exchanged a glance before turning back:
"Then could you take a picture of the two of us? It doesn't have to be used in a report..."
"But... what if it does get used? What if we become heroes?"
"No problem." Lin Ya quickly retrieved her securely wrapped camera from her backpack.
The young soldiers promptly stood at attention on the ice crag, chests out and heads held high.
Click. The shutter tripped. Lin Ya glanced down at it, packed it away, and waved as she looked up. "All set! It turned out great. We've got to run now—see you on the battlefield!"
"See you on the battlefield!" the soldiers waved back.
Before the correspondent squad had gotten very far, however, the soldiers shouted after them, "Wait! What will you name the photo? I mean, this is our very first battlefield photo. If it gets published someday, could you give it a really cool name? Like Major Qing's Banner on the Shoulder, Gleaming Slash of the Rainbow, and Lava Sky..."
"Ha! It's my very first battlefield photo too! How about... Two Little Soldiers Standing on an Ice Crag?" Unable to think of an impressive name on the spot, Lin Ya called back with a laugh.
"Huh?" The two soldiers were visibly disappointed.
Lin Ya felt the title was a bit lacking too. After thinking for a second, she asked, "What are your names, then?"
"I'm Duocha."
"Jazar."
"Then let's call it Duocha and Jazar!" Lin Ya called out with a smile. She gave a final wave, spun around, and broke into a run. "When your names shine bright, that will be the best title this photo could ever have!"
Chapter 783