Virtually everything occurring on the Martian battlefield had to be reported back to the Blue Star at the earliest possible moment. Critical intelligence such as "Pegmont is alive and rescued" or "Han Qingyu and Pegmont have resolved to mount a two-man raid against the Martian Great Spike tractor field" was especially bound by this imperative.
General Elgena had already relayed this information immediately just moments ago; as each development unfolded, it was transmitted at once.
In recent years, under the threat of racial extinction, human science had advanced by leaps and bounds to provide this once-unimaginable communications capability, yet a certain degree of delay and instability remained difficult to avoid.
Miracle Space Station was humanity's first large-scale space station to break away from the Blue Star's own orbital path. Established two years prior, it served as a covert forward post for monitoring Great Spike movements.
Roughly two months ago, the space station had welcomed a new batch of personnel. Tasked with intercepting communications from the Mars Expeditionary Force at the earliest possible instant, Azure had dispatched some of its finest relevant specialists here, including three translators.
Here, "translation" referred to the deciphering of the Great Spike civilization's language.
Although two years of research and training had produced a cadre of Azure officers capable of comprehending simple Great Spike syllables, that remained rudimentary at best. Deciphering complex phrasing and uncommon vocabulary remained an exceptionally intricate and difficult undertaking, even for the primary researchers themselves.
Therefore, confronted with the increasingly complex and uncertain battlefield conditions of this expedition, Azure had granted special authorization for Major Xin Yaoqiao of the Huaxia Front to board Miracle Space Station and lead the translation efforts.
According to the operational plan, relevant personnel embedded with the Mars Expeditionary Force would do everything possible to capture any "Great Spike language" signals they could intercept and immediately relay them back for deciphering, hoping to glean something that might offer this unprecedentedly grim expedition a sliver of hope for a miracle.
[Expeditionary force has successfully arrived at Mars.]
This was the message relayed back earlier. The moment it was received, it had been forwarded straight to Azure Headquarters on the Blue Star, and with the approval of the Headquarters Council, solemnly announced to the entire world.
Yet humanity on the Blue Star had held no cheers or celebrations over it, because nearly every person knew in their heart that this arrival did not point directly toward victory or joy.
[Report: Communications and observation vessels have deployed smoothly into position. Tactical map of the Martian battlefield fully rendered.]
[Report: Massive unusual movements among Martian Great Spike craft. Expedition command assesses the fleet may have been detected.]
[Report: Battlefield decision: Airship CA117, carrying Major General Yang Qingbai and Major Han Qingyu, will initiate an aggressive sortie to draw the attention of enemy craft, buying time for the expedition fleet's main body to conceal itself and bypass.]
[Report: Operation successful. Expeditionary main force and vessels have landed smoothly and begun concealment. However, Major Qing and CA117 have not yet shaken off pursuit by enemy craft swarms.]
[Report! CA117 has sighted Major General Pegmont!]
[Report! Major General Pegmont is in grave danger. CA117 has resolved to mount a direct rescue. Major Qing has deployed solo to the Martian battlefield to initiate rescue operations...]
The workspace aboard the station was somewhat noisy. Every task force looked intensely busy, except for the "Translation Group."
So far, no assignments had come their way.
Xin Yaoqiao sat quietly, head slightly tilted, watching and listening to it all.
The name she had cared about for so many years—and continued to care about—appeared as frequently as it had during every pivotal campaign in the past, embedded within all manner of heart-wrenching transmissions.
Yet surprisingly, aside from the shared prayers she held as a member of humanity, Xin Yaoqiao discovered that she wasn't quite so nervous or racked with anxiety over these reports.
This was entirely different from before. In the past, as a girl, she had been terrified by such things.
Perhaps this shift had existed for a while, only to be clearly recognized today.
"Is it because of my faith in him? He's always so strong, and he never gives up," Xin Yaoqiao initially told herself with calm optimism.
Yet her sharp, rational mind swiftly returned a negative verdict. "In truth, from the perspective of personal emotions, he became distant long ago." Xin Yaoqiao was soon forced to admit this to herself.
They hadn't seen each other in a very long time, and rarely even spoke over comms.
Yet that wasn't the core of it. Where did the truth lie?
Xin Yaoqiao stepped back into the perspective of an onlooker, thought calmly for a moment, and soon understood.
"It's that Qingzi seems less and less like an individual living being. Without anyone realizing it, as Major Qing rather than Han Qingyu himself, he has become a symbol on which the entire human race pins its collective hopes. A symbol representing the strength humanity yearns for, as well as its hope and its future.
"I don't think this has anything to do with who he really is. A guy like him has always disdained such things, and that probably will never change.
"It's just that, beyond anyone's control, in the eyes of almost every human being in this world—even including me—Qingzi has unconsciously transformed into that symbol. Perhaps a sword... a sword of destiny that might decide humanity's future."
Thinking of this, Xin Yaoqiao felt an ache in her heart, accompanied by a pang of guilt and sorrow that even she had undergone such a change in perspective.
"Have you noticed it yourself? What would you think of it?
"Aren't you exhausted?
"Do you have any plans of your own deep down?"
Lost in these thoughts, she drifted off a little.
[Report! Rescue successful! Major General Pegmont and Major Qing have fought their way out of the ground Great Spike encirclement and returned aboard CA117!]
In an instant, passionate, electric cheers erupted across the entire Miracle Space Station.
Then at Azure Headquarters.
And then, throughout the entire world.
For the very first time, humanity seethed with fervor over news from Mars. Before this, even the report of Pegmont's discovery had stirred only an anxious ripple of excitement among some, laden as it was with far too much uncertainty.
And now, the reason they were finally rejoicing wholeheartedly was, first and foremost, the victorious survival of Pegmont and Major Qing. But beneath that, following a deeper logic many were not even consciously aware of, was the certainty they had gained: humanity's sword of destiny, even upon distant and alien Mars, remained mighty and lethal.
This allowed humanity's heart to rest easy, if only for a moment.
[Report! Direct comms from General Elgena, requesting input from Blue Star Headquarters. An unexpected change has occurred on the Martian battlefield: Major Qing and Major General Pegmont have made a sudden decision to seize a tactical opportunity and, with just the two of them, launch a direct raid on the Great Spike Martian tractor field!]
The space station fell silent.
The entire world fell silent.
[They have set out! Raid operation codename: Operation Despise!]
In the silence, wherever night had fallen across the Blue Star, people unconsciously walked out of their homes clutching radios, or pulled their cars over to the curb... and then lifted their heads to gaze up into the night sky, as if they could see that raid of "grand individual heroism" unfolding on a distant celestial body.
[Report! Major Qing and Major General Pegmont have initiated an airborne raid. Combat occurred en route: working together in the skies above the tractor field, the two struck and instantly killed a Great Spike Daie in a single blow, pressing on without pause toward the tractor field in the deep valley!]
This was the latest transmission—a clash and kill that Han Qingyu and Pegmont, caught in the thick of the fight themselves, had not even had time to process.
Yet...
An instant kill on a Great Spike Daie in a single blow?!
Humanity's strongest warriors had slain a Great Spike Daie in a single blow?!
Yes. Just now, on Mars.
When the entire world, having absorbed the initial shock, began descending into a near-blind frenzy of excitement and joy, those surviving Azure veterans—in barracks, in logistics depots, at Azure Headquarters, the Council of Elders, front headquarters... in every corner of the ordinary world—simply stood stunned. After staring blankly for several seconds, they smiled silently, tears streaming down their faces.
They still remembered those years, those days when taking down a single Black Armor Great Spike required gambling the lives of dozens of brothers.
They still remembered that back then, crossing paths with a blue-sheened Great Spike spelled profound misfortune and the tragic slaughter of an entire combat squad.
They remembered more than thirty years ago, when humanity first laid eyes on a Red Shoulder—as though facing an invincible demon from the heavens—the entirety of Azure had plunged into despair, and tens of thousands of soldiers threw their lives away to feed the meat grinder to virtually no avail...
They remembered a few years ago, when the first Daie humanity had ever seen cruised through the skies above the world, including Azure Headquarters, looking down upon more than a billion humans and every Azure soldier, casually proclaiming the slaughter and destruction of a civilization and race.
Chapter 920