Chapter 379: Fast
At this moment, with just over thirty hours remaining until the deadline set by Bai Mo, the entire Hua-Ya Federation stirred with unease due to his declaration.
Compared to the sleepless high-ranking officials who hadn't closed their eyes for days and nights, ordinary people actually had a more comfortable time these past few days. This was because all information available to them was obtained through the media. As long as the media maintained a unified stance and made every effort to downplay Bai Mo's influence, public opinion could largely be controlled, maintaining overall social stability.
As for the actual intelligence regarding events in Australia, it had been completely and strictly sealed for the time being. Even the most zealous of whistleblowers, without support, couldn't possibly overcome immense obstacles to reach the battleground and broadcast live. Thus, the narrative was directly concentrated in the hands of the Tianqing authorities.
However, all of this hinged on them possessing a hope of victory. If Bai Mo could truly be killed in Australia, then naturally all would be well. The higher-ups would be seen as brilliant and divine, having crushed a madman's conspiracy to rule the world, thereby sparing the nation from suffering.
But now, all media control, in the face of an absolute disparity in power, had become mere whitewashing. With just over a day remaining, when the countdown ended, everything would be exposed.
As for the grand funeral held for Bai Mo more than a year ago, no one paid it any mind now. Compared to their own lives and fortunes, that trivial matter was utterly insignificant.
“Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert! Numerous high-energy signatures detected along the southeastern coast!” At the front-line command post resisting the Sea Race on the southeastern coast, hundreds of red dots suddenly appeared on the combat assessment radar, immediately triggering the alarm.
“Enemy attack! Wake up, everyone to your stations, enter emergency combat readiness!” The military camp, which still held many soldiers on shift rest, was now roused by weapon-clutching comrades and the blaring alarm. They rushed to their respective posts.
Since the very inception of the Hua-Ya Federation, an iron rule had been established: coastal defense units were prohibited from engaging in any missions other than combat against the Sea Race. This was to minimize the impact of internal power struggles on the safety and security of the entire nation.
The Sea Race now was no longer the shrimp soldiers and crab generals of ten years ago, seafood that would perish if they left the water for a day or two. Instead, they were vast hordes of powerful mutated organisms, capable of withstanding artillery bombardment, virtually immune to pistol fire, and able to freely transition between land and sea.
Therefore, even with Bai Mo issuing such a declaration challenging the entire system, the various coastal defense forces merely continued to hold their ground, awaiting the final outcome.
“If these are all monsters of the Sea Race, then there’s nothing left for us to fight,” the front-line adjutant said, swallowing with difficulty as he stared at the radar data.
“Over three hundred strong Spirit Energy signatures at the Fifth Tier... what’s there left to fight? The entire Hua-Ya Federation only has just over fifty Fifth-Tier individuals and two Sixth-Tiers...”
“The battlefield, or perhaps it’s the best resting place for a fellow like me. But at the very least, I must drag some beasts down to be buried with me.” Hua Tian Gang, the general in charge of the southern front, murmured after carefully reviewing the intelligence. At this moment, he still believed this was the Sea Race launching a full-scale assault, taking advantage of Huaxia’s internal chaos.
“Deploy every weapon within my authority that can be used against the enemy! If necessary, launch the hydrogen bombs right here, at my position!”
Having served in the military for most of his life, facing an utterly unmatched enemy, he resolved to fight to the death, even if it was just to buy a little more time for the rear.
The information from the front lines was relayed at the fastest possible speed to Tianqing City in the rear, fanning the flames of anxiety once more in the already restless city.
Staring at the radar intelligence map in his hand, Chen Bo remained silent.
“Could they be his avatars? Our last satellite image, right before the Ayers region in Australia plunged into darkness, showed avatars continuously emerging from that colossal monster.” Wen Jian recalled the final image transmitted by the spy satellite.
“Unclear.”
No matter what those in the rear thought, Hua Tian Gang had already issued an emergency combat order at the first possible moment.
“Prepare for battle!” Through the electronic command system, every soldier who received the order completed their firing preparations immediately.
Due to years of engaging in war against the Sea Race, the soldiers here were able to complete their combat preparations with extreme speed. However, in the face of the numerous Spirit Energy avatars flying at high altitude at over five times the speed of sound, such preparations held only symbolic significance.
The Spirit Energy radar, with its thousand-kilometer detection radius, only provided them with a pre-warning that amounted to just over fifteen minutes in total.
“Where are our enemies?” A few minutes later, various grassroots commanders reported their soldiers’ and their own confusion to headquarters via the command network.
According to the regulations, when such an emergency alert occurred, the enemy would generally appear within fifteen minutes. The first ten minutes were for soldiers to prepare, and the last five were for battlefield standby.
“Too fast...” Hua Tian Gang felt as if he could almost vomit blood when he saw the enemy swarm in the sky directly bypassing their defense line from three thousand meters up. Yet, discreetly supported by his adjutant, he maintained his standing posture, unwilling to shake the morale of his troops.
He had prepared himself to buy time against the enemy with his very life, yet the opponents didn’t even glance his way, simply bypassing their defense line with a detour.
Hua Tian Gang felt his current situation was like a condemned prisoner on the verge of execution, suddenly granted a reprieve, only to be told immediately after escaping that his house had caught fire and his entire family had burned to death inside—a torment just as unbearable.
“Reporting, Commander Hua, the Blood Battle II Missile Defense System has been fully activated. The first wave launched a total of three hundred seventy-two Spirit Energy tracking missiles, but we’ve also discovered a problem...” The head of the long-range interception system spoke in a voice that sounded like he was about to cry, “Our missiles might not be fast enough to catch them.”
Unlike intercontinental missiles with flight speeds exceeding Mach ten, the interception system’s missiles only reached Mach four to five, roughly on par with Bai Mo’s avatar speeds, hence this awkward situation.
“What about the ground-based laser pulse defenses and heavy electromagnetic cannons?! And what was the effect of the positron cannons on the geostationary satellites?!”
“The lasers were swallowed by a sudden emergence of black matter on the targets, and as for the electromagnetic cannons, they were forcibly deflected by an unknown force field. Finally, the satellite attacks were... were blocked by a monster over a kilometer long!”
“I hope Tianqing can still do something.” Hua Tian Gang let out a long sigh, as if decades had been added to his age, feeling utterly powerless. A Sea Race behemoth over a kilometer long... in his eyes, perhaps only those two individuals possessed the ability to deal with it.
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