I'll Help You Bring Him Back

Pegmont had already been carried aboard the ship by medics at the first possible moment. A rapid examination confirmed his vital signs were present, and he was in no immediate danger of dying. He was still alive. After taking a direct punch to the chest from Puta'er, he had not even fallen into a near-death state. Considering his unique trait, this was likely because Pegmont himself had never once entertained the thought that Han Qingyu could already be dead—blasted straight into oblivion by Puta'er's strike moments ago. In truth, if anyone looked at the situation calmly and objectively, they could not be entirely certain whether Major Qing, lying prone in the crater, was alive or dead. Yet reality was quite the opposite. The vast majority of the Mars Expeditionary Army clung to an almost blind, subjective certainty that he was still alive. And so, they were risking their lives to save him. Many had already plunged into the fray. Even more gripped their weapons tightly, standing firm on their positions and refusing to board the ships, looking ready to charge out at any second. This emotional alignment and collective breaking point seemed to be drawing perilously near. "We can't keep waiting like this! In our current situation, we must order them to board immediately! We have to leave! Second Lieutenant Wen! Second Lieutenant Wen?!" This was a dedicated transmission from Yelgena. Having returned aboard the Mechanical Cradle, the old general seemed to have calmed down somewhat upon seeing that Pegmont was alive. With Major Qing's fate hanging in the balance, Pegmont being alive yet unconscious was undeniably the best possible outcome. That way, even if Major Qing had truly perished, those in the know within Azure would have various ways to remedy the situation and stabilize Pegmont's conviction once he woke. Of humanity's two greatest hopes for the future, at least one had made it back. "The fleet must depart immediately. Time is pressing—this is our last chance," General Yelgena continued after glancing at his comms unit and confirming the channel was active. The communicator hummed against Wen Jifei's chest. He knew General Yelgena was asking for his help to reinforce the evacuation order to the troops across the battlefield. Though a veteran commander of great renown within Azure, Yelgena had not taken part in commanding the major campaigns of recent years. The Expeditionary Army consisted mostly of reactivated veterans, and very few had served directly under his old command—to say nothing of the fighters from the City of Sin and the various Superior-tier combatants. In ordinary combat, this would have posed little issue. But today, under this compounding crisis and widespread defiance of orders, the old general's commands inevitably lacked coercive authority. As for Wen Jifei, his name commanded absolute influence. That held true even among the soldiers of Azure. Over years of relentless war, Han Qingyu was not the only member of Stream Blades renowned across the globe. Even if Wen Jifei's renown was slightly less prominent in ordinary human society, among the military and its soldiers, he was equally recognized, lauded, and revered—regarded as one of the pivotal figures who would guide humanity's resistance in the future. "Understood, General," Wen Jifei replied. He tilted his head, blew out a sharp breath to steady himself, and prepared to switch channels to reinforce the boarding and evacuation orders across the battlefield. This was not merely General Yelgena's request; it was also the condition Qingzi had set before going off alone to intercept Puta'er. "Please urge as many Superior combatants as possible to return, Second Lieutenant Wen. The road ahead is perilous, and humanity needs them," General Yelgena added in a heavy voice. Then, after a brief pause, he continued, "To be frank, Second Lieutenant Wen... have you considered that Major Qing... might have already fallen?" On the other end of the line, Wen Jifei's mind rang with a sharp buzzing sound. He did everything in his power to keep himself calm. As a battlefield commander, Wen Jifei could not say General Yelgena was wrong. His assessment, his choices, and even his veiled attempt to urge cutting their losses—from an objective standpoint, every bit of it made sense. "Understood, General. But please allow Wu Xu and the others to keep trying. And please allow me and the brothers on the Doomsday Great Wall to wait for them a little longer." With that, Wen Jifei switched the channel and broadcast the boarding and evacuation orders across the entire battlefield. The orders, however, excluded Wu Xu, Shen Yixiu, and He Tangtang—just as they excluded CA117 and the Doomsday Great Wall. *** Wen Jifei would not leave first—not while Qingzi lay fallen on the battlefield, and not while Wu Xu and the others were desperately fighting to save him. As the deputy supreme commander on the battlefield, he could issue the fleet's evacuation order. But as a brother, it was utterly impossible for him to depart ahead of them. On that point, no matter how much anyone lectured him about the heavy burden on his shoulders, his mind would never waver. Walking this path over all these years, none of them had ever been entirely rational people who prioritized the bigger picture. To define them accurately, they had originally been nothing more than a group banding together to survive. Swept along by the tides of fate to this very point, they had shouldered humanity's weight and pressed forward. If a day truly came when they could go no further, they would simply stop. Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, and He Tangtang would not leave either. No matter what orders were issued, and even if someone could definitively prove to them that Qingzi was dead, they would still charge forward just the same—either to bring back his body, or to die fighting beside him. Pegmont's slash had briefly halted Puta'er's advance. CA117's high-speed, direct charge had also forced the creature to remain on guard. *An opening!* This was undoubtedly their best opportunity so far. Yet a dense horde of Great Spikes still stood ahead. A portion turned back to intercept them, while another rushed frantically forward—drawing closer to the crater with every stride. The time for a desperate gamble had arrived. Wu Xu triggered his Near-Death Surge for the second time in a short span. Blood seeped from all seven facial orifices, and his source energy erupted with even greater ferocity. Raising his spear horizontally with both hands, he parried more than ten pillar swords at once, preparing to forcefully bulldoze through the obstruction ahead at any cost so Rusty Sister and He Tangtang could seize a chance to break through. "You two..." Wu Xu began. "Let me." A voice rose from behind him. "Send me over," the voice called as it swept past his flank. "I'll help you bring him back." The speaker was already in front of him. Clad entirely in black, Cat Girl Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet appeared before Wu Xu. Midair, she hooked one foot back and stomped heavily onto the spear shaft held horizontally in his hands. *Hum!* The spear shaft bent sharply under the force. Wu Xu understood instantly. Without wasting a breath, he timed the spear's recoil, thrusting his arms forward and pushing with all his might. *Twang... whoosh!* She was launched forward. A slender black shadow shot like a small arrow, extraordinarily light and swift, darting over the heads of the Great Spikes and streaking straight toward the giant crater. As a former leader of one of the four great factions in the City of Sin and a Superior-tier combatant, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's raw, head-on combat strength had never been exceptionally formidable, and the same held true now. Yet in this rescue operation, among all the Expeditionary Army's Superiors outside of Wu Xu, Rusty Sister, and He Tangtang, she was the fastest to arrive—and the only one who had matched their pace. Throughout the breakthrough, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet had barely engaged in direct combat. Her black-clad form had flickered like a phantom, slipping effortlessly through the ranks of Great Spikes. Her flame-decay property was lightness and speed—light as drifting catkins, and swifter than an agile cat. It was precisely because of this that the members of Stream Blades had always called her Cat Girl behind her back.