NIP Chapter 236 Pre-Battle Mobilization
Chapter 236 Pre-Battle Mobilization
Lin Qingxue fidgeted with the hem of her dress, unsure of what to say.
Zhou Xiaoman tried to argue, but she grabbed her wrist.
She gently shook her head, and the two of them retreated to the edge of the crowd on the side of the gate, standing out of the line of guards' sight.
Just then, the city's alarms went off.
All the alarms simultaneously sensed the approaching presence of the Beast King and sounded their piercing alarms.
Wang Sheng looked up abruptly, his businesslike expression instantly turning tense. Had the beast tide broken out?
The martial artists queuing in the square for conscription all looked up, and someone shouted, "Look at the sky!"
Everyone looked up at the same time.
A spaceship was slowly descending from the clouds, with five beast kings, each about 100 meters long, hanging from its hull.
All five Tier 5 Beast Kings are still alive, but they are tightly bound by S-level psionic chains.
They were still struggling; the armored rhinoceros's horn was still smoking; the golden-maned, blood-eyed wolf was still baring its teeth; the two heads of the two-headed venomous python were still hissing and flicking their tongues in different directions; and the dark-scaled pangolin's tail was still swishing.
But their spines were precisely severed, their limb tendons were cut, and their psionic centers were scorched by lightning.
Bound like livestock awaiting slaughter, they swayed and turned in the wind beneath the spaceship.
The square was completely silent. A middle-aged martial artist in line subconsciously took a step back, stepping on the foot of the person behind him. Neither of them made a sound.
A martial arts apprentice dropped his luggage on the ground. He didn't bend down to pick it up; instead, he tilted his head back with his mouth open.
Then came a collective gasp of surprise.
This shouldn't be a beast tide.
The spacecraft slowly descended, and the hatch opened.
Song Chen slowly flew out; he didn't land, he remained in the air.
The whole city was watching him.
He stood at the entrance of the spaceship, gathering his strength, and his voice rolled across the entire square and the entire city.
"Fellow countrymen of Nanjiang, I am Song Chen."
"Fifty years ago, strange beasts came, and humans retreated behind the city walls."
"For the past fifty years, every base city has been surrounded by hunting grounds for alien beasts. Farmers were torn apart, those who walked on the roads were dragged away, and people living at the foot of the city walls could hear the sounds of wild beasts gnawing on bones outside the city at night."
Are you scared? You probably are, actually I am too.
At this point, Song Chen paused for a moment.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the city looked up, completely silent.
"But what's the use of being afraid? We've been afraid for fifty years, have the number of strange beasts decreased? No."
"So we're not retreating now. The council has issued a general mobilization order, with 30 million people assembled and 108 base cities launching simultaneous attacks."
"There will be war, people will die, people will be wounded, there will be times when bullets run out and blades are chipped and still pointing upwards."
His voice suddenly rose a fraction, and he pointed to the five beast kings hanging in mid-air by psionic chains above his head.
"But after this battle, your children will no longer have to stay in bed listening to the city's artillery fire."
"Your parents no longer need to worry about never returning after leaving the city, and you yourselves no longer need to look up at the sky and see only the crenellations of the city wall."
As he spoke, he drew the Heavenly Blade, its blade reflecting a blinding cold light in the afternoon sun, pointing it at the five beast kings.
"The war is about to begin. Before the war starts, I personally captured these five beast kings alive."
"Later, in the garrison commander's mansion square, I will personally cut them down as a sacrifice to the flag."
"Then the whole city ate the beast king's meat together, and after they were full, they went to war!"
Song Chen's voice echoed in the square.
The square was quiet for a moment, then erupted in cheers.
An old soldier slammed his battle axe on the ground, the handle striking the stone pavement and sending sparks flying. He then roared, "Good!"
The young martial artist next to him roared, and the martial arts apprentices next to him also roared, the roars spreading from the center of the square to all sides.
Some people waved their conscription registration forms above their heads, some laughed while patting strangers on the shoulder, and some squatted on the ground and cried.
A middle-aged woman, holding a child in her arms, bounced the child up slightly and pointed to the Beast King below the spaceship, saying, "See that? That's a live Beast King, captured by Councilor Song. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
The child was too young to understand, but seeing his mother laughing, he giggled along.
The honor guard in front of the garrison commander's mansion sounded their bugles without waiting for Lu Zhengbei's order.
It was a bugle call, short, sharp, and bursting with a fierce force emanating from the chest.
Lu Zhengbei stood on the steps and cursed, "These little brats," but didn't make them stop.
Lin Qingxue stood at the edge of the crowd, looking up at the figure standing at the door of the spaceship in mid-air.
Everyone around was shouting, laughing, crying, and blowing horns...
But she seemed unable to hear those voices; her eyes were only on that person.
He stood there, with five living fifth-tier beast kings hanging behind him, holding the sword that had killed the beast king, and addressed the entire city.
She had heard his voice countless times. When they walked together at night after evening self-study in high school, he said, "You walk on the inside."
When they parted on the playground of Nanjiang University, he said, "I will never forget you."
But at that moment, his voice echoed in the square, like a knife cutting through the clouds, and she suddenly felt that this person was a complete stranger.
It's not that he's changed, it's that he's climbed too high.
It was so tall that if she looked up, her hat would fall to the ground.
Lin Qingxue did not consider herself an inferior person; she never felt that she was inferior to others.
But now, her fingers, gripping the hem of her clothes, tightened one by one, and she unconsciously took a half step back, her heel touching a crack in the stone pavement.
She tugged at Zhou Xiaoman's sleeve and said softly, "Xiaoman, let's go."
Zhou Xiaoman was standing on tiptoe looking towards the spaceship when she was pulled back and stumbled: "Go? Go where? Didn't you see him up there? He'll definitely come down after he finishes speaking."
"I..." Lin Qingxue lowered her head, looking at her shoes and the beautiful light blue dress she was wearing.
"I'm standing here, he can't see me."
Zhou Xiaoman held onto her sleeve tightly, but Lin Qingxue pulled back with more force than she had expected, and hurriedly said, "He can definitely see it! He can definitely see you wearing this!"
Just then, a voice came from behind.
Wang Sheng has been maintaining order at the edge of the square since just now.
Today is the first day of the general mobilization. The garrison commander's office is short-handed, so he was temporarily transferred to manage the flow of people around the square.
He saw that Lin Qingxue and the others hadn't left yet; one was standing on tiptoe looking towards the spaceship, while the other was looking down, clutching the hem of her clothes.
"These girls who are obsessed with celebrities are so annoying. Don't they know what time it is or who's coming?"
He muttered a curse under his breath; he'd seen plenty of these kinds of fangirls.
Whenever an important figure comes to inspect the area, there are always people who try to sneak into the garrison commander's residence.
Wang Sheng walked up to Lin Qingxue and said somewhat impatiently, "Students, you've been standing here for a long time. If you're here to register for military service, go to the left side of the square to line up. If you're looking for someone, go to the information desk on the right."
"Congressman Song is arriving soon, don't block the passageway."