Chapter 86: Blessing of the Ancestors

Chapter 86: The Blessing of the Ancestors

A twenty‑kiloton tactical nuclear bomb, with a blast‑wave lethal radius of about six hundred meters, a thermal‑radiation radius under one kilometer, an early fallout contamination radius of 1.5 kilometers, and an overall lethal radius against humans of no more than two kilometers.

For field troops, such destructive effect was hardly more impressive than a single barrage from an artillery battery; even during the Cold War, Soviet armies demanded that their field units possess the quality to charge forward under nuclear bombardment.

Indeed, this device was rather a worthless trifle, capable of unleashing its full devastation only against cities.

——

But, of course, there is always a but.

The nuclear bomb detonated by Leijie was delivered with astonishing precision.

Although it was not an air burst, the detonation point lay right in the midst of the Machine God Sect's fleet.

In an instant, the fierce heat incinerated every wooden‑hulled vessel on the river, reducing them to ash, and likewise turned to ash the four hundred soldiers of the Holy Hall Guard Brigade, fully equipped and ready to deploy.

Their armor became a burden, the heat melting the metal, which then flowed as molten iron, tightly encasing muscle and bone.

After a fleeting brilliance, the vaporized iron was swept away by the shock wave, dispersing into the air across nearly five square kilometers.

It was a true annihilation of corpses, yet not the most agonizing manner of death.

Six hundred meters from the blast center, the shock wave had fallen below the threshold for instant lethality.

The evangelical troops, already on the march from Han River City, were flung to the ground; as they struggled to rise, they horrified to discover their own bodies melting.

The final images lingered on their retinas, bearing witness to their dying torment, and then their souls vanished amid the intense radiation.

Farther out, as the thermal radiation was weakened by hazy air and numerous obstacles, its residual power still ignited the clothing of most of the evangelical troops, while their swollen skin peeled away in layers.

They had no chance to survive.

——

Perhaps in Chen Jian's era they might have clung to life with modern medicine, but here their survival was measured in minutes.

At a distance extending to one kilometer, the thermal radiation's force had dwindled to its limit.

Yet the various intense radiations produced by the explosion had penetrated the enemy's bodies, shattering the DNA of their surface skin.

Soon they would die slowly in agony.

But at this moment they had not yet realized their fate.

The enemy forces facing Yuchengzhou had been utterly annihilated.

In fact, after this blinding sun rose, the miraculous spectacle had already shattered the will of all the enemy.

The Machine God Sect's troops heading toward Xianning were likewise fleeing, as the terrifying heat wave swept in, as the wind set the dry woods ablaze, bearing an irresistible force that devoured them; all faith had become meaningless.

Flee.

Only to flee.

In their eyes, this was no longer a clash between men, but divine punishment visited upon sinners.

But why would divine punishment fall upon their own brothers?

Those heretics

Are they truly the spokesmen of the true gods?

A dreadful thought spread through their ranks like a plague.

Will the next divine punishment strike us?

This question has no answer, and no answer is needed any longer.

Only to flee!

The enemy from Xianning collapsed at an inevitable pace, they had no time to wait for comrades, nor to gather their heavy gear; they simply abandoned everything and ran madly toward Xianning.

And in Huangshi City, many also witnessed this heaven‑shattering, earth‑rending scene.

They had indeed obeyed Chen Jian's command, lowering their bodies to crawl on the ground, tucking their heads low against their chests.

But when they noticed the sky suddenly brighten in an eerie fashion, they could no longer resist lifting their heads.

Then, a colossal mushroom cloud, glittering with bright yellow light, rose on the horizon, precisely above where the enemy stood!

A hurricane swept in, and people staggered, falling to the earth.

Close beside Chen Jian, Huang Yu stared, face rapt with fascination, and at that moment he was suddenly enlightened, grasping what Chen Jian had told him.

The sun was about to rise.

Indeed.

The sun had risen, but it was the 'Ancestors' sun!

He opened his mouth wide, wanting to speak, yet could not utter a single word.

And after the blazing sun's impact finally subsided, his throat, already strained to hoarseness, finally managed to utter a few words:

"Is this... the sun truly a miracle?" Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

"Your ancestors told you: trust the ancestors, not religion."

"Of course, do not trust gods either."

"This is indeed the sun, but it is the ancestors' sun."

"The ancestors' sun"

Huang Yu silently repeated those words; in his mind, already worn and warped by this apocalypse, he could scarcely imagine how such a thing could have come into being.

The enemy had clearly been obliterated, and the whole affair had taken only a few seconds.

"Our ancestors truly possessed such astonishing power."

Huang Yu knelt in the rite of ancestor worship, gazing devoutly at the fading mushroom cloud, and then said:

"You must be saints just like them."

"Those who created the 'sun' were never saints."

Chen Jian let out a long breath, then said:

"Among them there were indeed some astonishingly gifted geniuses who led the way forward."

"But far more were ordinary folk, just like you and me."

"When that sun first shone upon this land, tens of thousands had already devoted the greater part of their lives to it."

"In a sense, they lived even harder than you do."

"They lacked sufficient water, sufficient food; they endured desert, desolation, loneliness."

"Even many had only just returned victorious from the slaughter of battle, their enemies' blood still wet upon them."

"They undertook a task all but impossible."

"To plant apple trees in the desert, or to ride a bicycle to the moon."

"Yet in the end, they succeeded."

"Four hundred years later, the legacy they left still watches over us."

"The sun rises for them, not for us."

After Chen Jian finished speaking, Huang Yu nodded, half‑understanding.

He couldn't grasp the story Chen Jian told, but he understood one thing.

The warriors who had just returned victorious could still achieve new greatness.

They can do it—why can't we?

We must be worthy of our ancestors!

Huang Yu's gaze grew steadier.

He looked at Chen Jian and asked:

"Captain, the battle isn't over yet."

"I think I can take our people and completely wipe out those enemies."

"Certainly."

Chen Jian clenched his fist lightly, then quickly gave the order:

"Follow my command!"

"Shen Yue, lead Huang Yu and an additional thirty fighters southwest to pursue the scattered enemy fleeing toward Xianning."

"Hesuo, Lishi, and the other fighters, follow me to Yuchingzhou."

"A 20,000‑ton atomic bomb will see its radiation drop to safe levels within half an hour."

"There are still some scattered enemies on the outskirts."

"Let's send them on their way!"

(End of chapter)