Chapter 88: Triumph

Chapter 88 Triumph

Triumph.

Those two characters look stirring, yet behind the simple strokes lie countless costs of blood and fire.

Following Chen Jian's request, Shen Yue led his team in pursuing the Mechanical God Sect's guardian forces in the Xianning direction; after a frantic run, cutting down over ten kilometers, that force was finally utterly crushed.

Vast amounts of equipment were abandoned, many stragglers of the guardian forces were harvested like by the King of Hell's roll call, and some, lost in fear, plunged into dense jungles, likely becoming monster fodder.

Shen Yue naturally felt sympathy for these people; after all, educated soldiers could not be utterly cold-blooded killers.

But he understood one truth:

Sympathy on the battlefield is the most dangerous thing.

Thus, the squad he led showed no mercy.

No persuasion to surrender, no acceptance of prisoners, and they would not be deceived by believers feigning allegiance.

Want to live?

You can, after all, on the wasteland population is a precious resource; we will not exterminate to the last.

I will slightly release the trigger, raising the barrel half an inch.

Seize this moment—run for your life.

But do not return.

If you try to counterattack, only bullets await you.

Based on this hardline principle, in just eight hours Shen Yue's squad swiftly cleared all remnants to the southwest.

When they returned, Chen Jian had also led his team to patrol the entire Dahuchi Lake, either driving out or slaying the remaining guardian forces and Holy Blooded.

The fire sparked by the nuclear blast became the best aid; Chen Jian had regretted lacking fuel to set fire earlier, but now the problem was solved in a wondrous way.

At the same time, Lei Jie returned safely with Xie Liu and Zeng Yi.

All forces gathered in Huangshi City, in the town utterly destroyed by dozens of hours of bombardment; they looked around and, in a daze, felt no enemy remained.

The sword was drawn, its cold light gleaming.

After enduring life-and-death combat, this great victory could most temper the soldiers' hearts; at this moment, even if Chen Jian ordered a direct charge on Jinling, those few dozen broken cavalry would without hesitation raise their guns and follow.

——

But that is a story for later.

Now, let the people here first savor the joy of this great victory.

Chen Jian lifted his leg and walked toward the Mechanical God Sect's church; behind him, the smoke‑stained warriors followed closely.

Before him, the civilians sheltered in the church filed out, greeting the returning heroes.

They stood one by one on the small square outside the church, their eyes flashing with an unusual light.

No one spoke, no one cheered, yet this solemn silence was enough to convey their respect.

In the crowd, an old man with white hair suddenly dropped to his knees.

Immediately, the child standing beside him ran forward, using his small body to prop him up.

No need to kneel.

We must stand.

This thought rose in everyone's mind, then was deeply imprinted.

Chen Jian stepped onto the final stair, his gaze sweeping over the hopeful crowd, he drew a deep breath and spoke loudly:

"We have annihilated the enemy's main force, routed their remnants, and cleared all foes from the surroundings."

"They have been defeated."

"We have won!"

Silence.

Moments later came a roar like mountains and seas.

The long‑awaited civilians surged forward—pregnant wives threw themselves at their husbands, young children at their parents, the elderly frail with age clutched their sons' blood‑stained hands, gently wiping away the lingering blood.

Laughter and tears intertwined.

Chen Jian quietly withdrew from the crowd, and with him went the original six teammates.

He powered down his exoskeleton, his steps somewhat heavy as he walked to the corner stair and sat down.

At that moment the sun had already slipped from its zenith.

Yet everyone sitting beside Chen Jian knew it would rise again tomorrow.

They were utterly relaxed.

Shen Yue, He Shuo, and Li Shi leaned back on the stairs beside Chen Jian, half‑asleep; Lei Jie fiddled with a ratchet wrench he had somehow found; Xie Liu silently watched the sunset; while Zeng Yi let out a long breath, laid his long blade across his knees, and then spoke:

"I never imagined that weapon would be something like this."

"I had thought it might be some poison gas, or some strange device I couldn't comprehend." "But I never expected its effect to be so direct."

When Zeng Yi finished speaking, Chen Jian nodded slightly and replied:

"That is indeed a rather direct weapon."

"The more direct it is, the more terrifying it becomes, right?"

"Indeed terrifying."

A hint of longing flickered in Zeng Yi's eyes, and he continued:

"I have never seen anything like this before—I could not even dare to imagine it."

"I remember when we first found that box, you mentioned its power."

"Back then I completely imagined it would appear in this way—good thing, the weapon was not buried."

Having said that, Zeng Yi suddenly chuckled, then turned to Chen Jian and asked:

"Do you know what I was thinking when I saw the sunrise over the river this morning?"

"What?"

"Chen Jian asked curiously:"

""Thinking it was good we had already allied with you; otherwise you'd be the one blown up?""

"No."

"Zeng Yi shook his head, sighed, and said:"

"I simply figured out one thing."

"Actually, you don't need us at all—we need you."

".I didn't understand."

"Chen Jian looked at Zeng Yi with slight puzzlement, while Zeng Yi seemed unwilling to explain further."

He merely coughed once, brushed past the topic, then turned to Xie Liu beside him and asked:

“And you, what do you think?”

“They’ve probably seen this before; just like me, it’s your first time—don’t you have any thoughts?”

Xie Liu pondered briefly, then replied with a solemn tone:

“It would be nice if a few more of these showed up.”

“.I actually wish there were more—better still if they could be tossed all over the ground.”

Chen Jian laughed helplessly, while Lei Jie beside him suddenly perked up, scratching his head and said:

“Finding a few more isn’t impossible, is it? Although the missile unit’s location is top secret, Captain, you dare say you don’t know where one might be?”

“Once things settle here, we’ll definitely keep heading out to scavenge gear and fight monsters.”

“By then, grabbing a few on the side wouldn’t be out of the question.”

“Of course it’d be great to snag some—don’t you think I want that too?”

Chen Jian rolled his eyes and went on:

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves; we’ve got plenty on our plate right now.”

“The blast over here—I’d bet every nearby town can see it.”

“Xianning and Han Shui need no mention; they’ve already been crushed.”

“As for elsewhere. I expect the Holy Blood Hall and the Machine God Sect will send investigators soon enough.”

“I’m curious to see what kind of reaction they’ll have.”

As he spoke, Chen Jian rose to his feet.

“Alright, that’s enough for now.”

“We all need to rest.”

“Zeng Yi, Xie Liu, Li Shi—you’re the toughest; keep it up, take turns on watch.”

“Understood.”

Zeng Yi gave Li Shi’s shoulder a hard slap; the latter jerked awake, dazed, lifting his gaze to Zeng Yi.

Zeng Yi reached out, pulled him up, then said:

“Snap out of it!”

“This is our first watch!”

(End of chapter)