Chapter 305: The Sun Did Not Rise

Chapter 305: The Sun Does Not Rise

The Interleaved Regiment, gathering its waning strength, marched toward the Bang Lake defensive line to shield the Han River City expeditionary force’s retreat, fated to survive this brutal clash.

Yet on the opposite front, the Xuyi line of the Mechanical Cult had deteriorated beyond repair.

At first, events unfolded exactly as Zhang Tao had plotted.

The Beast Tide, launching from Nüshan Lake, pressed onward toward Xuyi.

There, the Holy Legion employed its heavy and giant cannons to unleash the first barrage upon the tide.

Their initial aim was the identified, most threatening Level‑Two monster, Qin Yuan.

Dozens of giant guns and more than forty heavy cannons, under the coordination of artillery priests and mech‑servants, laid a blanket of fire upon the Qin Yuan mother‑body; as the shells rained down, Zhang Tao felt a fleeting illusion.

This time, it seemed secure.

If the Huaxia forces could, from ten‑odd kilometres away, strike a monster with pinpoint precision—perhaps even with a so‑called “electromagnetic projectile” that, without any explosive damage, could cleanly decapitate a Level‑Two beast—then why could our few dozen guns not, from less than five kilometres, annihilate a relatively modest‑sized, lightly armored Qin Yuan, as past experience suggested?

———

The answer, alas, was a stark no.

He had plainly forgotten a crucial fact.

The Qin Yuan mother‑body earned its “Level‑Two” designation because, before the Huaxia army’s arrival, no faction on the wasteland could eliminate it without incurring grievous losses.

The reason was simple.

Speed and slowness.

Qin Yuan moved far too swiftly, while the shells fell far too sluggishly.

Moreover, hampered by archaic artillery techniques, our artillerymen could not achieve the precise fire coverage required.

The impact zone of the falling shells resembled a careless handful of beans scattered from the sky—chaotic and unordered.

Within that vast vacuum, the Qin Yuan mother‑body needed no elaborate maneuvers to evade mortal harm.

It merely had to stand still.

Some unfortunate monsters, caught unawares, were struck by the barrage and met a miserable death on the very path of the first charge.

Yet the loss of those creatures would not sway the larger tide of battle.

When the Qin Yuan surged to the northern shore of Nüshan Lake, its reverberating wave rippled across the water, raising towering swells.

In an instant, the Holy Legion’s First Battalion, stationed on the southern bank’s first defensive line, was felled before it could react, crushed by infrasound exceeding 190 decibels; they were not instantly killed, but nearly all were rendered incapacitated.

No one could come to their aid.

The nearly two‑hundred‑strong First Battalion was thus swallowed by a torrent of sound.

The Beast Tide required no further assault; the relentless sonic onslaught alone could drag the First Battalion to a grisly end.

“We must rescue them!”

Zhang Tao, still composed, issued orders with steady resolve, marshaling the scant resources at his disposal.

“While Qin Yuan’s speed wanes, unleash another bombardment!”

“Ignore the mech‑souls!”

“All priests, move to haul the shells!”

“They may pray as they carry!”

“I want those shells to explode—at least to sever Qin Yuan’s sonic wave!”

“Understood!”

The Archbishop’s face was a mask of panic, yet as Zhang Tao’s hand‑picked commander he retained a core of calm amid the crisis.

“Cannons! Load!”

“Fire upon those aberrations!”

“For the honor of the Holy Trinity!”

“We must save our brothers from the monsters’ claws!”

“Second Battalion! Prepare yourselves!”

“When Qin Yuan’s assault ceases, rush forward to rescue the First Battalion!”

“For the Holy Trinity!”

The refined commands rang out, and the Second Battalion answered in unison.

The stretcher teams were already in place, though this makeshift rescue unit—composed of civilians barely trained—could scarcely make a dent.

Fear etched every face; some even vomited from sheer terror when confronting the beasts.

Panic spread through the crowd, a riot seemingly inevitable.

Yet, under the Archbishop’s firm suppression, the great cannon roared to life.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

The thunderous explosions rose and fell, shattering the Qin Yuan mother‑body’s sonic wave; Zhang Tao gave the order:

“Charge forward!”

A surreal tableau unfolded: the monster surged from the northern side of Nüshan Lake toward the south, while the Holy Legion’s Second Battalion advanced northward, bearing down on the lake.

It was as if two truly fearless, death‑defying forces were set to clash at the lake’s edge.

But such a duel was impossible.

Upon reaching the First Battalion’s position, the Second Battalion, without hesitation, led the stretcher crews to rescue their comrades.

They could not discern who still held a chance of survival and who was beyond hope.

They simply hauled every fallen warrior onto a stretcher, then, under the cover of artillery fire, fell back swiftly to the second defensive line.

Chaos became the battlefield’s dominant melody, each soul sprinting in bewildered haste.

The meticulously arranged defenses offered no real barrier to the Beast Tide; countless monsters leisurely leapt into the lake, swimming toward the southern shore.

“There is no time left.”

“We must fall back to the third line, east of Qili Lake!”

“Someone must stay behind to trigger the nuclear charge.”

“Where is my Imperial Guard?!”

“My lord, the Guard has always stood by your side.”

The true leader of the “Imperial Guard” stepped forward, and Zhang Tao, his voice low, issued the final command:

“You, take two soldiers and hold the second line.”

“Your task is to conceal yourselves as fully as possible.”

“When those monsters—especially the colossal Qin Yuan—pass, detonate the nuclear bomb and raise the sun!”

The blazing sun of the Holy Trinity will melt everything, including you.

Yet your pure souls shall be redeemed.

Your spirits will return to the heavenly realm of the Holy Trinity, where you shall merge with it, becoming a great mechanized soul beyond all things.

Yes, sir.

The commander of the Imperial Guard bowed his head, answering with calm steadiness:

“For the Holy Trinity.”

“For the Holy Trinity!”

Zhang Tao inhaled deeply, then issued his orders:

“Everyone, withdraw at once.”

“Establish a defensive line on the eastern shore of Qili Lake.”

“Start every locomotive without delay!”

“We still have time; haul away all the cannons!”

“Understood!”

The archbishop relayed Zhang Tao’s command once more.

A moment later, an absurd rout unfolded upon the battlefield.

The Holy Army, hailed by many citizens of Jinling as “invincible,” had not even truly engaged the beast tide; after firing a few shots from several kilometres away, they fled in panic, abandoning their own lines.

Only their final line of defense remained.

Should that line fall again, the whole city of Jinling would lose its sole shield.

Perhaps the Holy Army should retreat straight back into Jinling?

But what purpose would that serve?

In that instant, Zhang Tao’s heart sank into utter despair.

He realized he had overestimated himself and the power of the Mechanical Cult.

He had intended, after clearing the northern beast tide and while the Huaxia forces and other beast tides battered each other to ruin, to seize the new capital of Jinling and eradicate the heretics who never truly held faith.

Now it seemed nothing more than a delusional fantasy. Indeed, my sole purpose was for the people, for humanity’s future.

Yet that future is too heavy; I seem…

…unable to bear it.

Zhang Tao’s gaze dimmed a little.

He boarded a diesel locomotive and fled toward Qili Lake; behind him three solitary, towering silhouettes waved a distant farewell.

“We can’t live any longer.”

The Imperial Guard commander crouched on the ground, asking the rifle‑handed soldier beside him:

“Zhang Chao, will you resent me for having marked your name at the final hour?”

“What I mean is, if you retreat with the others to the Qili Lake line, you might yet survive.”

“But staying here with me, you have no sliver of chance to live.”

“Sir, you should ask Liu Hao that.”

Zhang Chao glanced at the third man also crouched nearby, his tone tinged with sarcasm as he said:

“He has a family; perhaps he has even less right to stay here than I do.”

“After all, abandoning one’s wife and children to ascend to the Holy Trinity’s heaven feels far from noble.”

“Right, Liu Hao?”

As the words faded, the guard named Liu Hao wore a faintly mocking smile.

“Do you truly think we can reach heaven?”

With that, the other two fell silent.

Liu Hao continued:

“I’m not denying the existence of the Holy Trinity’s heaven.”

“I just think that, by this method, we are unlikely to enter it.”

“But that matters not.”

“At least, if we detonate this so‑called nuclear bomb and raise a sun here, my family in Jinling will probably survive.”

Speaking, Liu Hao turned his gaze to the column wrapped tightly in explosives beside him.

Around the column, a web of fuses linked every charge; even without counting the “nuclear” core, the outer explosives alone could turn everything within dozens of metres to ash in an instant.

What a terrifying weapon.

Liu Hao sighed, brushed the fuse, and went on:

“If we wish to ignite the charges swiftly, we seem to need to light three points simultaneously.”

“That is why the three of us must stay together.”

“Indeed.”

The Imperial Guard commander nodded, replying:

“Only a simultaneous blast, generating enough pressure, can trigger the nuclear device.”

“This knowledge was painstakingly extracted from the holy scriptures by the archbishop; it cannot be wrong.”

“Let us hope so.”

Liu Hao gave a slight nod, looking toward the distant Nüshan Lake shore.

At that moment, countless monsters were landing on the southern bank of Nüshan Lake, and Liu Hao remarked:

“It is my first time seeing so many colossal beasts gathered together.”

“Terrifying, yet magnificent.”

“Perhaps after we light the fuse we should run far away and fight the monsters to the bitter end with the weapons in our hands.”

“We must show the Holy Trinity our loyalty, for only then might we gain entry to its heaven, correct?”

“Very sensible.”

The Imperial Guard commander turned to Liu Hao, nodding in agreement:

“I never imagined this, but it seems the best solution.”

“Indeed.”

Beside him, Zhang Chao also nodded, and in that instant the three forsaken guards, now bearing an immense responsibility, reached a single purpose.

They all glanced back; not far away, the Holy Army that had withdrawn from the second line had reached the western shore of Qili Lake, boarding steamships that had long been prepared.

Even merely boarding would cost them at least twenty minutes.

Not to mention, they were also bearing a plethora of heavy armaments, cannons among them.

A foreboding premonition rose abruptly in the leader's mind.

What if this nuclear bomb fails to detonate?

Or even if it erupts, what if its force proves insufficient to halt the onslaught of the beast tide?

The beast tide would swiftly overtake the Holy Legion, drowning them in the lake.

Undoubtedly, that would be the most tragic ending.

The leader furrowed his brow, yet there was no time left for further contemplation.

The first monster had already crossed their hidden perch, its fetid slime raining from the air, its massive steps grinding the earth like rows of gears, leaving vast, uncanny scars upon the ground.

Soon after, the second and third followed.

Fortunately, not a single creature detected their presence.

And this, then, was the chance they had been waiting for.

“Ignite the fuse.”

The leader barked the order in a low voice, and the other two simultaneously drew their igniters.

A spark from the flint flickered, and a faint flame kindled.

Immediately, the three pressed their flames toward the detonator.

“Sss—”

The fuse burned fiercely; the leader sprang upright, raising his rifle.

“For the Holy Trinity!”

“For the Holy Trinity!”

“For the Holy Trinity!”

Their shouts rang feebly against the roaring tide of beasts.

Amid the southern flood, the trio’s counter‑strike seemed utterly insignificant.

Flames spewed from the rifle’s muzzle as bullets hurled toward every monster within sight.

“Bang—bang—bang—bang——”

Gunfire roared incessently as the commander of the guard shouted:

“North! Away from the blast’s heart!”

“Slay a beast, and we draw nearer to Heaven!”

“Yes!”

“North!”

The other two answered with matching roars.

At that moment, they were more than two hundred meters from the nuclear device.

The leader knew the distance was still insufficient.

Yet they had no time left.

The final segment of the fuse had already burned out.

The next second.

“Boom!”

A violent explosion erupted.

A shockwave surged, hurling the three through the air.

In that instant, the searing pain in their bodies could not diminish the fierce honor burning within their hearts.

They faced death with calm resolve.

The sun rose.

The monsters’ apocalypse.

No.

The leader, struggling to his feet, stared in disbelief toward the distant blast.

Near the epicenter, several monsters lay fallen, some shattered.

But.

That was nowhere near the power a nuclear bomb should wield.

The sun did not rise.

It’s over!

(End of Chapter)