Across all of Antarctica, was there anything more important to the Great Spikes than the battlefield? Everyone knew the answer: the super towing field situated at the pole.
As the battlefield reached an agonizing deadlock and flared into a white-hot phase, the Great Spike forces mobilized on a massive scale, resulting in a shortage of troops and a severe imbalance... Xu Xiaohong's sharp gaze swiftly caught that gap.
Yet in truth, that could hardly be considered a gap at all.
Because even if the Great Spikes' defense in the east had grown thinner, it still existed, and it remained formidable and daunting.
At the same time, the swarm of Great Spikes densely guarding the perimeter of the towing field was deployed around a single focal point, meaning there was virtually no real distinction between east and west.
Conversely, the armed human source energy forces on the eastern front numbered a mere six thousand.
Even if that was Stream Blades—the six thousand with the highest average combat power on the entire battlefield—they were still just six thousand men, nothing more.
Therefore, it was practically impossible for Stream Blades to execute a direct assault on the towing field; even a one-in-ten chance was pure fantasy.
All they could do was attack it, pose a threat...
...and draw the Great Spikes from the outer battlefields back to reinforce it.
Antarctica was vast, and the battlefields were widely scattered. Once Daie judged that a massive redeployment to reinforce the towing field was truly necessary, the only ones capable of getting back, and the only ones that would, were the Red Shoulders.
As long as the Red Shoulders returning to reinforce the towing field reached a certain number, a glimmer of survival would appear for the Peninsula battlefield, and the path of return for the Western Front forces would become significantly easier.
Thus, the closer Stream Blades got to the South Pole, and the greater the threat they posed to the towing field, the more Red Shoulders would inevitably peel away from the battlefield to reinforce it, and the less pressure the Azure Coalition would bear across the entire Antarctic battlefield.
This was a very simple logical deduction.
And following that came an even simpler, more direct deduction: if they did that, Stream Blades would be completely wiped out.
First, after plunging deep into the hinterland, if their attack failed, they would be encircled and utterly annihilated.
Second, even assuming they worked a miracle, broke through layers of defensive lines, and mounted a direct strike against the towing field... they would still end up completely wiped out in the end.
The swarms of Great Spikes rushing back from across the entire continent would submerge them entirely.
...
Across the entire Azure organization, or rather the source energy world as a whole, Xu Xiaohong was certainly not the only one capable of seeing this right now.
The same deduction occurred almost simultaneously in four or five different places. Across the Refusers' channels, messages and proposals were being relayed frantically between the front lines and the rear.
The old fossils in the small dark room at Azure Headquarters managed to keep their composure for the time being.
The Council hall, however, had long descended into utter chaos. Clashing opinions and proposals collided, and the debate quickly degenerated into yet another shouting match.
At the Azure Antarctic Frontline Command, the atmosphere remained on the verge of collapse.
"Regardless, convey to them our current assessment... along with our request."
General Siglo knew what it meant to utter those words. It was tantamount to asking: *Could you please go die? That way, there might be a tiny chance the situation on the Antarctic battlefield could improve.*
Yet he spoke it nonetheless, issuing the order to the communications officer standing before him to patch through the call.
Of course, all General Siglo could do was request.
It could only ever be a request.
Stream Blades was an independent force, not subordinate to Azure. In fact, most of its members shared a complicated history of gratitude and enmity with Azure. Before deploying this time, they had an agreement in place: they would only cooperate in combat if circumstances permitted, and they were under no obligation to take orders.
The young officer holding the receiver suddenly turned back. Instead of handing it over, he looked at General Siglo with despair in his eyes.
"What is it?" Siglo asked, sounding drained.
"They... Stream Blades has blocked all communication requests from our frequency. And not just us—all top-level channels, including the Headquarters Council and the Military Department, have been cut off," the communications officer reported in utter dismay and defeat.
"..." Siglo froze, stunned.
So, they had seen it too, and had already chosen to refuse? In this exact manner.
This was not the first time Azure's frontline command had sent a request to Stream Blades. The previous one had been a call for reinforcement, and Stream Blades' response had been that they were unable to turn back.
After that, they had maintained complete silence.
*Well, we truly have no right to demand that they willingly choose death for such a minuscule possibility. As for grand sermons about the future of mankind, they likely need no lecturing from us...*
Furthermore, given the current situation, they might very well be the single force with the greatest chance of survival on the entire Antarctic battlefield.
The fleet previously ordered to take refuge in deep waters had just reported that they were preparing to sail back to pick them up.
"Then just live, Major Qing, Second Lieutenant Wen..."
General Siglo chose to let it go.
However, Azure Headquarters Council exploded in outrage.
Under these dire circumstances, Stream Blades had actually blocked the Council's incoming transmission. Were they truly going to abandon more than a million human soldiers on the battlefield, to completely disregard the future of humanity?!
...
Antarctic battlefield, Eastern Front, Mount Erebus region, near the coastline.
Little Prince Zhu Jiaming stood among the crowd off to the side, warily sneaking a peek at Wen Jifei. Fortunately, Wen Jifei was engrossed in studying the map.
*I hope he can just be stupid for once.*
The refusal of high-level communications had been secretly ordered by the Little Prince. As a man who had spent most of his life weighing circumstances, seeking paths to survival and opportunity, he had actually seen that potential "breakthrough point" earlier than anyone else in the world.
He didn't want to die, nor did he want Qingzi, Plague Chicken, Rusty Sister, Wu Xu, He Tangtang, Milla, and the rest to die. He didn't want the six thousand men of Stream Blades here to die.
Yet hoping Wen Jifei would fail to see it was asking too much. The Little Prince wondered whether he should quickly find something to distract him.
"Report." A communications officer came over, came to attention, hesitated for a beat, and said, "News just came over the Refusers' information channel. Azure Huaxia Front's super combat power... Lieutenant General Shao Xuan has fallen."
"...Captain Shao?" He Tangtang spun around in shock, standing frozen to the spot.
"Yes." The communications officer gave a heavy nod, eyes laden with grief.
Because this was a name occasionally mentioned among Stream Blades, the communications officer was well aware of the relationship Lieutenant General Shao Xuan had shared with Major Qing, Second Lieutenant Wen, and the others.
In the past, he had even taken two call requests from Lieutenant General Shao Xuan. There was never any urgent matter; he just called to shoot the breeze with Major Qing and Second Lieutenant Wen.
If not for that, he wouldn't have rushed over to report it. Reports of super combat powers falling in battle were hardly rare on this battlefield.
The atmosphere froze solid in an instant.
"Captain Shao is gone?"
"He... he still had so many things he wanted to do. He used to bring them up all the time."
"..."
As captain of the Golden Eraser—the Ninth Army's most elite squad—Shao Xuan had taken part in nearly the entirety of Han Qingyu and the others' early growth. He was the first top combat power Han Qingyu had ever crossed blades with. It was precisely that fight that had spurred Major Qing to invent the first signature combat technique of his life: the Rusty Sister Dimple Slash.
Later on, he became a super.
As a super combat power who had advanced without Grade S fusion, Captain Shao had always been optimistic, claiming that an advancement from Grade A could just as well reach peak super. To that end, he had always quietly poured in several times more effort than anyone else.
As the Ninth Army's sole super combat power at the time, Captain Shao had also said that a day would surely come when he would go confront Ye Jian.
Ye Jian had once been his idol, but later became the deepest shame of the Ninth Army. Captain Shao said he wanted to wipe away that disgrace for the Ninth Army with his own hands. No matter how others viewed him, or how people gossiped behind his back about overestimating his own strength, he never cared. He simply pressed on with stubborn persistence, taking step after step forward.
Yet Captain Shao hadn't reached peak super yet.
He hadn't gone to find Ye Jian yet.
He hadn't made the time to visit Stream Blades as a guest, to spar with Wu Xu and Qingzi.
Immense sorrow swept through the entire core team. Yet Wen Jifei's eyes remained fixed upon the battlefield map. He stood with his back to them, never turning around, never speaking a single word.
Only the Little Prince saw his shoulders quiver slightly just moments ago.
"Report," another communications officer arrived. "Latest battlefield report: Azure casualties on the Antarctic Peninsula have exceeded three hundred thousand, possibly reaching three hundred and fifty thousand. Western Front forces remain blocked; due to Daie's sudden assault, casualties are currently impossible to estimate..."
"Report. Senior Colonel Tong just established contact. He said they have already begun their return voyage and request that we designate an embarkation point." The third communications officer brought the day's first piece of good news.
Wen Jifei finally turned around. Standing still, a complex mix of emotions in his eyes, his gaze slowly swept across the faces of everyone around him...
"No, don't say it. We're not doing it," the Little Prince pleaded, his voice nearly begging.
Chapter 800