Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!-Chapter 579 - 297: The Last Day of the Old Era
Inside Jinling City.
When the first gunshot rang out, the very meaning of the word "cost" ceased to exist.
In the city center, the bodies of the Forbidden Army and Supreme Army, who made the last stand, were carried one by one to the edge of Jinling City, waiting for the trucks there to transport them to a temporary burial site 15 kilometers away from the urban area.
There is no doubt, this was a brutal battle.
----But only for the defenders of the Mechanical God Sect.
Facing the complete suppression by the Huaxia Army, they had no room to resist at all.
By the battle’s end, the desperate Forbidden Army launched a fearless charge against the Huaxia Army.
But they couldn’t take anyone down with them.
The cold radar waves emitted by the unmanned combat clusters picked off one active target after another, with War Skull precisely maneuvering each combat unit, the fire control radar guiding the muzzles to eliminate the resisting enemies with the highest efficiency and methodical rhythm.
When their blood flowed like rivers on the ground, the Huaxia Army’s surviving forces finally stepped onto this battlefield.
And all they needed to do was clean up the battlefield.
Jiang Yu stood beside Lei Jie, this time she did not pilot the bomber for support.
Because this battle didn’t require such strong firepower support.
The rifle barrel in her hand hadn’t completely cooled down yet; she felt a slight warmth and heat when she touched it.
This made her feel a bit more comfortable.
----After all, the recent vomiting had consumed a lot of her strength.
Seeing her somewhat pale expression, Lei Jie joked:
"I thought you were the standard emotionless female warrior----just like Ji Xing, Xie Liu, and the others."
"But now it seems... you’re not that... tough after all?"
Jiang Yu exhaled softly, even feeling like her entire lungs were filled with the taste of blood that wouldn’t dissipate.
After a few seconds, she finally replied:
"Not quite."
"I have participated in battles and seen the dead."
"When the village was attacked by monsters before, our companions died in ways more gruesome than anyone here."
"But how should I put it..."
"Those monsters were hunting."
"And we... were just clearing up."
"It’s hard for me to describe this feeling----you’d know if you’ve ever hunted."
"You can kill dozens of rabbits, wild boars, or deer in one day without feeling anything."
"But if you crush an ant nest and drown all the ants in there with water, you’ll feel a numbing disgust all over your body."
"It’s kind of like that now..."
Upon hearing Jiang Yu’s words, Lei Jie nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed.
Even he felt a visceral aversion upon entering the battlefield.
Because he had already anticipated the outcome of the battle and knew the Mechanical God Sect couldn’t mount any effective resistance.
All he had to deal with was a devastated city, along with the fear, anger, and hostility of its inhabitants.
This psychological barrier caused by resistance is really not so easily overcome.
Taking a deep breath, Lei Jie asked:
"Has He Shuo’s plan started?"
In the earphones, the voice of Fu Xi came through.
"The materials are ready and leaflets are being distributed in the city."
"Intelligence personnel have already entered."
"Public opinion control is expected to begin within 4 hours."
"Understood."
Lei Jie nodded slightly.
In fact, He Shuo’s influence in this city wasn’t shallow.
At least when it was decided to take action, most of the merchants in Jinling City defected immediately.
This greatly reduced the intensity of the conflict and kept the casualty numbers at a relatively low level.
The casualty figures on the smart goggles kept refreshing.
Starting from 150 people initially, it rose to 340 now.
The rate of increase gradually slowed, and Lei Jie predicted that this number would eventually stop around "500."
Of them, about 80% were casualties among the Mechanical God Sect’s "professional soldiers."
The remaining 20% mainly consisted of Mechanical Servants and City Defense Army temporarily formed by civilians.
Real civilian casualties were minimal, not exceeding 10 people. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
For Lei Jie, this was good news.
Not just because it proved the precision of the Huaxia Army’s strike, not just because the assault on Jinling set a template for actions in other cities and towns.
Most importantly, the lower the civilian casualties, the lower the will to resist among the civilians.
This indirectly proved that the influence of the Mechanical God Sect was quickly dissipating.
This made the transformation efforts smoother.
And this, in turn, filled in the last piece of the puzzle for the Huaxia Army’s comprehensive strategy.
By this time, the last corpse had been carried out of the urban area.
Lei Jie walked towards the Holy Hall of the Mechanical God Sect, and Jiang Yu followed behind him.
They both looked up at the shaky Holy Trinity symbol atop the Holy Hall, and Lei Jie said:
"We need a true flag now."
"Not the August First military flag, an actual red flag."
...
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Wanzhou City.
Guo Xu had already removed his heavy armor, the wound on his arm still faintly oozing blood.
In fact, the wound was fully stitched up, and the bleeding was due to the heavy load on his back.
Guns, ammunition, rations, emergency medicine, clothes, bedding, canvas to set up a tent...
These items collectively weighed over 30 kilograms, making him feel the weight even as a seasoned warrior.
Not to mention, the road ahead of him was unprecedently long.
Yu Qian stood by his side, saying:
"Goodbye."
"Even if you say you want to just take a look, I still have to remind you one last time."
"Don’t attempt to spread the ideology of the Mechanical God Sect, because you’re not a priest, and you lack the ability to change their beliefs."
"You can only observe, not act, understand?"
"Understood."
Guo Xu nodded.
He was ready to set out.
But before leaving, he asked the question he shouldn’t have:
"So, why are you letting me go?"
"Aren’t you worried this is letting a tiger back into the mountains?"
Yu Qian shook his head.
"You still don’t get it."
"Our biggest issue isn’t the existence of enemies, but their dispersal."
"If you have the ability to gather those who cannot be reformed by us and those who can’t accept the new world..."
"That would actually be a good thing for us."
"Because then, we could eliminate them all at once."
"The commander said once the new era arrives, the old era will always make one last struggle."
"And people like you... often make sure that struggle disappears quickly."
"So letting you go doesn’t harm us."
"Got it."
Guo Xu suddenly laughed.
"Then I won’t let you succeed."
With that, he walked forward resolutely, without looking back.
Watching his back, the adjutant beside Yu Qian asked:
"Are we really letting him... just go?"
"And the others, are we letting them go too?"
Yu Qian shook his head.
Then, he replied:
"They haven’t been let go."
"We just want them to... find a new path themselves."
