Pegmont had never been a complicated person. His mind was accustomed to traveling in straight lines; even when his logic took a turn, it bent straight with a sharp snap-snap, falling right into place.
This often made him appear foolish, wicked, and thoroughly obnoxious.
For example, when he believed Han Qingyu had stolen his crown as the strongest newcomer, he openly and unabashedly loathed him, competing with him and targeting him at every turn, regardless of whether it was appropriate.
He thought Stream Vanguard's Endless Sniper Rifle was great, so he wanted to snatch one for Makarov.
When one day he discovered he finally had the chance to kick a man while he was down and beat Han Qingyu up, he came looking for trouble, shamelessly declaring: Since you're crippled, perfect, I've always wanted to beat you.
Yet at other times, because of that exact same simple logic, the guy was inexplicably kind and perceptive, even somewhat endearing.
A brain like that was probably what suited his nature best.
So if you expected him to weigh the big picture and make choices with long-term foresight, that was completely out of the question.
Just now had been an excellent opportunity.
Yet Pegmont felt he ought to save Marshal Hua first, so he saved him, never once considering that if sacrificing Marshal Hua yielded a thirty-percent chance of killing Daie, from a rational perspective, it was actually worth the gamble.
Even Marshal Hua himself agreed and wished he would take that gamble.
Because what lay on the other side of the scale was far too heavy—countless lives and the future hope of mankind.
Yet Pegmont had not thought that way, nor had he acted that way.
The opportunity was already missed; anything said now was too late.
On the ground now, Lieutenant General Anton and Marshal Hua had both completely lost all combat effectiveness, critically injured and on the brink of death. Only five of the top seven-person formation remained, leaving no possibility of stopping Daie.
The entire battlefield's last and only hope remained that streak of pink confronting Daie in midair.
Yet he was wounded—a grave injury puncturing clean through his body. If it were an ordinary top-tier or super combat power, they would likely have died swiftly.
Of course, Daie was wounded too, likewise bearing a near-fatal injury, with a massive gash torn even into its neck.
"What did he just say?"
"He said he's going to drag Daie down to die with him."
Pegmont said he would perish together with Daie. To anyone else, those words mostly signaled his determination, conviction, and fury. But Makarov was different. He knew that when Pegmont said such things, what followed very well might truly be mutual destruction.
From the perspective of the battlefield and the overall situation, if Pegmont could truly finish off Daie at the cost of his own life, it would undoubtedly be a good thing.
And yet, "Don't, Peg," Makarov muttered, discovering that he, too, was not a rational person after all.
"Mutual destruction? But Daie's regenerative capacity..."
Visible to everyone across the field, the wounds on Daie in midair were healing. While not particularly fast, it wasn't slow either.
This inevitably brought a sense of helplessness and dread.
Yet—
"Whoa!"
"What is it?"
"Look at him! Pegmont!"
Suspended in midair, the wound on Pegmont's chest was repairing itself as well, progressing at almost the exact same pace as Daie's.
He was actually terrifying to such an extent!
So, was it truly going to be mutual destruction?
Just as everyone thought this, regaining hope even as sorrow welled within them, everyone had in fact made a mistake.
Because Daie would never choose mutual destruction with Pegmont.
To put its mindset into Huaxia phrasing, it would be: Why the hell should I? I am the sole supreme commander of the entire army. Who are you, you pink-furred creature?
"Fuck!"
It ran. To everyone's astonishment, Daie actually fled. It abruptly broke away from the battlefield, though it did not vanish entirely. Its demonic silhouette still appeared intermittently among the distant icebergs, continuing to deter the Western Front forces from turning back to reinforce the others.
At the same time, the Great Spike forces on the Eastern Front began mobilizing on a massive scale toward the central sector—the junction connecting the mainland and the peninsula—erecting yet another line of defense.
Daie was determined to stall, intending to butcher the Antarctic Peninsula completely.
............
[The Western Front forces have already turned the tide on their own battlefield. They drew the greatest number of Great Spikes, breached countless defensive lines, and even held off Daie's onslaught...
Yet they still seem unable to salvage the overall situation.]
—Thus stated the opening of the fourth battlefield report from the Rejectors, filled with deep reverence and sorrow.
............
The Antarctic Peninsula.
Casualty counts could no longer be calculated.
Swarms of Great Spikes, each numbering at least a hundred or more, were plowing across the entire peninsula. Wherever stubborn resistance flared up, Red Shoulders materialized like ghosts.
As one of the human super combat powers remaining behind on the peninsula and the former captain of the Golden Eraser squad, Shao Xuan actually wasn't quite sure how he had ended up alone.
His consciousness was already growing hazy. Holding his blade, he wandered dazed and alone across the bloodstained ice plains.
"Super"—what a proud title that once was. As a super combat power who had advanced without an S-degree of fusion, Shao Xuan held even greater pride and self-drive than many others.
"Effort still matters. As long as I keep working hard, I can eventually change many things and bring conviction to many people."
As a traditional Azure soldier who strictly observed rules and convictions, a warrior who truly possessed the will to guard humanity with his whole heart, Captain Shao had always told himself this, standing firm and unwavering.
Yet today's battlefield had ruthlessly shattered all of it.
Today, what he had to face and endure was not merely the hardship of battle, but immense psychological agony and torment.
Because he was a super combat power, yet not a pinnacle super who could single-handedly hack down an entire swarm of Great Spikes or cut down a Red Shoulder alone...
Many times, even if he threw himself into battle regardless of cost, the overall situation could not be reversed. He could only watch helplessly as the soldiers around him fell one after another.
"I think I should swap my source energy block."
"Right, and bandage my wounds while I'm at it. I'm bleeding."
For some distance, he hadn't spotted any traces of soldiers or Great Spikes. Shao Xuan came to a halt, looked around dazed in all directions, and eventually climbed atop an icy crag, leaping down from above into a sunken ice pit.
Fatigue and drowsiness washed over him. He reached into his pocket, only to find his cigarettes had gone missing at some point.
"I've got some." An arm reached out from the side.
A cigarette, followed by a flame.
A Huaxia man in his mid-thirties limped out, supporting another comrade who was already unconscious.
"Thanks. He..." Shao Xuan lit the cigarette, caught his breath, and instinctively looked up to ask.
"Still breathing. Look, I'm no deserter... It's just that the two of us are all that's left."
The man spoke as he cradled his comrade and sat down, introducing himself as surnamed He, He Qingfeng, a native of Xiaoshan, Linzhou.
"A veteran?" Shao Xuan asked, his mind clearing slightly as he swapped his source energy block.
"Yeah, by age, sure. But I've been in the army for less than a year." Even in such a bleak and hopeless predicament, He Qingfeng tilted his head and smiled.
So he was a recruit from this latest intake. Most recruits in this Azure enlistment were young, though they didn't turn away those in their thirties. Shao Xuan began bandaging his wounds.
"You're Captain Shao Xuan, right? Our Huaxia super combat power," He Qingfeng asked suddenly.
So he actually recognizes me. Shao Xuan considered it and nodded. "Yeah, but..."
"I'm not asking you to get us out. In a place like this, where could anyone even get out to?! Just keeping you company for a chat. Once you're patched up, you just go on ahead."
He Qingfeng was calm—not at all like a recruit, nor like someone having his first private encounter with a super combat power. This probably couldn't be chalked up solely to his age; his life experience before joining the army had likely been substantial.
"Then..."
"I just have a favor to ask. In case I don't make it out alive, Captain Shao, if you get back, could you help me take care of something?"
"Name it." Even though he didn't believe he would leave here alive either, and wouldn't make surviving his objective, Shao Xuan still replied, "What is it? Didn't you mention it in your letter before deployment?"
"Ah, yeah. When the time comes, if you have time yourself, or if you don't, have someone make a trip to Xiaoshan in Linzhou. My family..." He Qingfeng gave an address and household name, then paused. "Just tell my wife that I'm dead, and ask her to change one of our sons' surnames to mine."
Shao Xuan didn't catch on right away. "Huh?"
"What's with the fuss? Never seen a matrilocal son-in-law before?!" He Qingfeng snapped, sounding somewhat annoyed.
Chapter 798