Chapter 89: Sleepless Night in Hanshui City

Chapter 89: The Sleepless Night of Hanshui City

After prolonged high-intensity combat, Chen Jian's energy was utterly exhausted, yet even so, his sleep was not particularly deep.

But each time he awoke, the surrounding quiet air steadied his heart a little.

Only after finally confirming that Zeng Yi and the others could fully handle guard duty did he fully disengage from "alert mode" and slip into deep sleep.

In the aftermath, Huangshi City welcomed a tranquil night.

—

But at the same time, for the residents of Hanshui City dozens of kilometers away, this was a sleepless night.

Everyone saw a second sun rise alongside the true sun at dawn.

At first, they did not know what it was.

But soon, unsettling omens began to appear.

Large numbers of electronic devices inside the city failed, overburdened components and wires smoking, and the flickering neon lights exploded one after another.

Radios went dead; someone desperately tried to contact brethren on the Huangshi "frontline," only to find that the radio, which had still been usable, suddenly turned into a brick.

They climbed to the highest point of Hanshui City and gazed outward, seeing only a mushroom-shaped black cloud slowly dissipating.

Then a sudden gust of scorching wind swept over them, whipping the observers' collars into a frenzy.

Something momentous was happening there!

Could it be the Holy Hall Vanguard Brigade launching an attack?

If so, their enemies must have been utterly annihilated by this terrifying strike—

But did they truly possess such formidable power?

Anticipation, doubt, agitation, and fear intertwined, and the agonizing day passed thus.

And when the sun set, the first message finally returned.

It was brought back by a Holy Blood scout, his body drenched in blood, his skin cracking and peeling.

"Everyone is dead. Everyone is dead."

"It's the heretics' curse! We're doomed! We're doomed!"

The Holy Blood scout ran through the streets of Hanshui City, spreading this despairing yet incredulous news everywhere.

When he was pinned to the ground by the few remaining Source Bloods in the city, this horrifying rumor had already spread among the populace.

Everyone... dead??

Nearly a thousand Protectors of the Faith, over a hundred Holy Bloods of various duties, and more than four hundred members of the Holy Hall Vanguard Brigade, plus their invincible flagship, the Blade Sea.

All dead??

How could this be possible??

Just a dozen hours ago, word from Huangshi was still of a great victory!

The Holy Hall Vanguard Brigade, the heavy cannons, reinforcements from Xianning and Jiujiang, twelve Source Bloods, the Machine God Church's bishop-priest personally commanding the front, and the overseer of the Holy Blood Hall.

They all died???

Fear rolled over them like a tidal wave, and at that moment, the high-ranking officials still stationed in Hanshui City began to doubt the correctness of their earlier decisions.

They should not have spread rumors about mimetic heretics among the populace!

Because now the situation could no longer be contained!

Some residents had already begun packing to flee, while those merchants who lived by trade, well-informed and keen-sensed, departed Hanshui City at the first opportunity.

They might not have known where to go, but they knew they absolutely could not stay in Hanshui City!

The council chamber was lit, but unlike before, they illuminated it with candles and carbide lamps.

Seated in the center was Li Xian, a bishop-priest of the Machine God Church; beside him stood the highest-ranking Source Blood left by the Holy Bloods, Zhou Qin, who was to succeed Overseer Zhou Yan.

As for the other civilians who had joined the council and appeared here, they were merely there to make up numbers.

They originally had no right to speak, but now they were forced, for their own survival, to muster a few words.

The captain of the city defense, responsible for guarding the walls, lifted his head and spoke with a trembling voice:

"It's too late. We must evacuate immediately!"

"The situation is now clear: those mimetic heretics used an unknown terrifying weapon and have utterly crushed their enemies!"

"No, not crushed—annihilated!"

"They have no mercy; they spare not a single one!"

"Haven't you heard what the escapees said? After the blast, those mimetic heretics surged out of the city to counterattack, nearly slaughtering everyone who had lost the ability to resist!"

"They are demons, vengeful spirits that claim lives!"

"We can't fight any longer!"

"No one can defeat them; we can only flee for our lives!"

"Hanshui City still has nearly four thousand civilians; we cannot risk their lives!"

As the captain's words fell silent, the two seated in the chief positions simultaneously fell into silence.

Bishop-priest Li Xian looked toward Zhou Qin; their exchanged eyes flickered with fear they could not conceal.

"Nonsense, you think I don't know these things?!"

"I know better than anyone how dire the situation has become there!"

"Even if we gave our all, we would still be invincible—no, we would still be unable to overcome them!"

"Two thousand are dead; do you really think the few dozen left in our hands could defeat them??"

Li Xian let out a long breath and said:

"I never said we should keep fighting; no one here is saying we should keep fighting."

"We have suffered a crushing defeat—that is an indisputable fact."

"But we cannot abandon Hanshui City; we must not lightly give it up."

"As you said, there are still four thousand residents here; they are a precious resource."

"If we leave, these residents will become supplies for those mimetic heretics, making them ever stronger!" "We must stay."

"Stay?"

The city defense captain, Huo Ran, rose to his feet, incredulous, and demanded:

"What would we be staying for? To throw away our lives?!"

"They'll be upon us soon, grinding us to powder—I'm leaving!"

"You can't stop us! Even if you kill me, it's better than dying at the heretics' hands!"

With those words, the captain turned and strode away.

Li Xian likewise rose to his feet and then shouted:

“Calm down!”

“Do you think we don’t want to leave?!”

“But the problem is, where can we go?!”

“Xianning City has also been attacked, the main force of Jiujiang has already been destroyed, and all the surrounding towns have lost any ability to resist!”

“They can attack any town with impunity, and no matter where we are, we cannot possibly withstand their assault!”

“Are we supposed to build another town in the wilderness? The monsters would tear us to shreds!”

“We have no retreat left; we must negotiate with those mimics, with those madmen—no, we must seek peace with Huangshi City.”

“This is our only chance.”

“Only by making peace can we survive; if we can hold out until more reinforcements arrive, we still have a chance!”

Having said that, Li Xian turned his head to look at Zhou Qin.

“Inspector, I think you should lead your blood-source followers on a trip.”

“We?”

Zhou Qin froze for a moment, then snapped angrily:

“Why aren’t you going?!”

“How am I supposed to go? There are no steamships left!”

Li Xian, furious, continued:

“By the time I get there, they might already have attacked!”

“Only you can get there in the shortest time; rest assured, Huangshi City is reasonable—we have cooperated with them before, they—”

“That’s all the more reason for you to step forward!”

Zhou Qin interrupted Li Xian again, saying:

“If you think you’re not fast enough, I can have our blood-source carriers lift you!”

“You’re being ridiculous!”

Li Xian glared at Zhou Qin, the atmosphere instantly turning tense.

The guard behind him had already gripped their weapons tightly, but at that moment Li Xian’s tone suddenly softened.

He sat back down, looked up at Zhou Qin, and then said:

“Inspector, this truly is our only chance.”

“We must act quickly.”

“Huangshi City will likely launch an attack as soon as the sun rises; we must show our sincerity before they strike.”

“Let go of our prejudices; we all want to live!”

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Qin fell silent.

After a long while, he finally sighed and spoke:

“In the name of the Holy Father, for the great work of the Holy Blood Hall.”

“I can go.”

“I only hope those chosen ones still retain compassion for the common folk in their hearts.”

(End of chapter)