“Let’s move on,” Qingyu said. “The airship crew will give their final report.”
The commander's voice came through the communication channel: "81 airships remain. They are out of ammunition but have sufficient fuel. Our unit will continue to advance and is expected to crash in 11 minutes."
Qingyu calmly said, "Let's move forward."
This was the most candid 'last report,' and the person giving the report openly calculated the time of his death.
Qingyu asked again, "The air fortress crew is giving their final report."
"The anti-gravity system is 7% damaged."
"The reactor is intact."
"97% of the outer armor was damaged."
"Main gun is 100% destroyed."
"The drone is 100% destroyed."
Qingyu said softly in the communication channel: "Thank you all for walking this final journey with me. My entire unit will crash in 11 minutes, but victory will ultimately belong to us. Success does not have to be achieved by me."
Fighter crew: "Success doesn't have to be achieved by me."
The airship crew: "Success doesn't have to be achieved by me."
Air Fortress Crew: "Success doesn't have to be achieved by me."
These are six words that have not been mentioned for a long time, but they are the soul of the Qing army.
Qingyu left the command room with a calm expression. Just as he left, a white light pierced through everything in the command room, but the Scepter continued to approach the Storm due to its huge flight inertia.
Qingyu ignored the shattered command center and the fallen soldiers.
He continued walking toward the core of the Scepter through the broken corridor.
Qingyu arrived at the reactor, where everything was already prepared. With just a light press of a red button, the reactor's cooling system would shut down, and a massive amount of graphite would be backfilled, instantly turning the reactor into a nuclear bomb, codenamed Fury.
The Qing family abandoned the development of nuclear weapons in accordance with the federal treaty, but they never gave up this sword; instead, they hid it away.
The seven deadly sins are pride, greed, gluttony, wrath, lust, envy, and sloth.
Greed was carried by Qingyi, Gluttony was transported to Prison No. 18, Pride was on Ginkgo Mountain, Wrath was on the Scepter, and the whereabouts of three others are unknown.
Now anger will be ignited.
Qingyu stood in front of the control panel in the power room, gently stroking the clean panel.
He was once rejected by the Fire Seed Military Academy, but it was that old man on Ginkgo Mountain who saved him a spot.
At that time, he told the old man that he would not agree if the family wanted to exchange a military academy spot for his lifelong freedom.
But the old man told him that all he needed to do, Qingyu, was to always stand on the side of the Qing family's interests.
For the next twenty years or so, this sentence became Qingyu's only principle in life.
...
...
On the Storm, Duke Storm stood in front of the dark room, guarded by two war robots.
He ultimately chose to go inside. In the holographic image, Zero stood on the withered grassland, and a horse was beside her, its head bowed, chewing hay.
Zero, with his back to Duke Storm, was gazing at the edge of the grassland in the virtual world.
A gust of wind blew, and the withered yellow grass was pressed down one by one, like waves on the sea.
Duke Storm said, "Everything here is going to be destroyed. If you'd like, I can take your initial server with me."
Zero smiled and said, "My original server was destroyed by Luo Lan and Zhou Qi in the wasteland barrier a thousand years ago. You may think that I was born in the Western Continent, but I was actually born in the Eastern Continent. It's just that you mistakenly think that I was born in the Western Continent by chance. In fact, I was exiled there by Ren Xiaosu, a god of the Eastern Continent. It's really tragic to be exiled by the person you love."
Duke Storm was stunned: "You were born in the Eastern Continent?"
“That’s right,” Zero said with a smile.
"Is this why you're on the Qing clan's side and against me?" Duke Storm asked.
“No, no, no,” Zero shook his head: “The only reason I am your enemy is because my daughter, Yi, wants me to be your enemy, nothing more. I have no other pursuits in this life, her pursuits are my pursuits. Remember that ship, King's Landing? It was she who fought against the Storm City fleet on it.”
Duke Storm fell silent. Only today did he realize that he knew absolutely nothing about the woman in front of him.
"What am I to you?" Duke Storm asked.
Zero hesitated for two seconds: "You don't understand artificial intelligence life at all. I am a life level completely higher than yours. Just like you see cats and dogs, I see you the same way. I think you were very cute when you were a child, so adorable and endearing, but you're not cute when you grow up."
Duke Storm fell silent, leaving only Zero's clear laughter in the dark room.
Zero said, "The Qing Clan's fleet wants to replace the Storm in order to preserve the Parents' Association's ground combat capabilities. You want to use the Storm to replace all the air forces of the Eastern Continent in order to preserve the Orc Legion's ground combat capabilities. Both sides think they have the best cards to play, but it is precisely in this situation that a life-or-death struggle can be decided. I am looking forward to this devastating ending, but all of that should be irrelevant to me."
Duke Storm focused his attention and suddenly noticed that Zero's figure in the holographic image was gradually blurring, and the ends of her hair were dissipating like stars.
This is strange. The other party is clearly in a virtual world, yet he is showing signs of assimilating with the will of the world!
The next second, someone from the orc legion smashed the key gate, and Duke Storm vanished from the dark room in an instant, ultimately leaving Zero behind on the Stormship.
Inside the tattered Scepter, Qingyu solemnly pressed the button. On the screen in front of him, the reactor temperature and coolant flow rate parameters all disappeared, leaving only a countdown.
Qingyu looked up as the countdown ticked away.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Zero stood in the empty Storm and laughed, "How many more nuclear explosions will I have to experience in my lifetime?"
No one answered her, just as people have sought answers from her throughout her thousand-year life, yet never seriously addressed the questions she truly wanted to ask.
Intense light enveloped the wrecked Scepter, then burst forth like a star.
...
...
1 minute ago.
The knights in reserve watched as Qing's airships plummeted into the wasteland, billowing smoke, revealing the most brutal side of war to them.
They thought they were there to face a life-or-death ordeal, but Li Shutong led them on a 140-kilometer trek to witness a war that was destined to fail.
Li Shutong watched this scene in silence; he wanted to bring the knight reserve soldiers to witness it.
This is the opportunity he was referring to.
All the knights in reserve suddenly remembered what Li Shutong had said: "Be patient and watch everything that happens next. It is something that is bound to happen in the future, but I need you to remember it and engrave it in your hearts, so that you can understand what kind of people this world and this moment need."
This is the opportunity they need.
Qing Ji's Shadow Gate arrived as promised, and Li Shutong led the way through it: "Let's go, let's complete your final journey."
Behind the door was a pre-prepared airship, which would carry all the knight reserves on their final journey.
Chen Zhuoqu looked at Li Shutong: "Grandmaster, is this the opportunity you were talking about?"
“That’s right.” Li Shutong nodded: “This opportunity was obtained in exchange for the Qing family’s air force, totaling 13,910 men.”
This time, no one was chasing the knights; they had to use another kind of power to keep them moving forward.
The airship flew northwest, and 310 kilometers northwest of City 5, there is still a huge cluster of sinkholes.
Li Shutong stood in the airship, watching the earth recede beneath their feet: "Life is a solitary journey... Today, many of you may fall at the brink of death, for life and death are separated by only a fine line. But whether you are dead or alive, everything you have done has meaning."
One hour later.
On the airship, Li Shutong opened the ship's door, and a gust of wind rushed into the cabin.
He looked back and said, "Ahead lies the Gaoshanping Tiankeng, the place where knights throughout history have faced life-or-death challenges. You have all undergone wingsuit flying training and have the foundation to challenge it, but the journey ahead is fraught with uncertainty. Are you prepared?"
The knight reserves all put on their goggles and carried their parachutes: "Ready!"
"After we overcome this life-or-death challenge, we can then attempt wingsuit flying," Li Shutong asked. "The sinkhole is narrow, allowing only five people per group at most. Who wants to go first?"
Zhang Mengqian smiled and took a step forward: "Li Ke and I have other tasks to complete, let's go first."
Li Shutong nodded: "Go ahead. Although life and death are uncertain on this journey, the world is vast and open!"
breathe.
Flame patterns simultaneously appeared on Zhang Mengqian and Li Ke's cheeks. After a light running start, they opened their arms without hesitation and jumped off the ship's door!
The crowd watched the two fall without any fear, as if they were enjoying themselves.
Li Shutong did not look at the outcome of Li Ke and Zhang Mengqian's life-or-death ordeal. It seemed that as long as they took that step, whether they succeeded or failed was no longer important.
Life and death are the knight's destiny.
After the airship flew over the Gaoshanping sinkhole and turned back, Li Shutong looked at the reserve knights behind him and asked, "Who's next?"
Chen Zhuoqu and Hu Jingyi stepped forward: "Let's go."
Zhang Hubao, a burly man, also took a step forward: "Count me in."
After saying that, the three of them jumped down one after another. As they landed, they adjusted their posture with the airflow. Gradually, the three of them formed a diagonal line and rushed towards the Gaoshanping sinkhole like arrows.
The three people stood 15 meters apart to avoid disturbing the others.
In the air, they saw Li Ke and Zhang Mengqian climb out of the sinkhole with their bare hands. They also saw that the two of them did not seem to care about watching their junior brothers and sisters complete the life-or-death trial. Instead, they strode south without any hesitation.
The two started running as they walked, and ran faster and faster, like two shooting stars on the earth.
Chen Zhuoqu said over the communication channel, "Concentrate, we're getting close to the sinkhole!"
Hu Jingyi and Zhang Hubao were both startled.